Alice in Borderland

Chapter 62 - Broken glass pane

For a moment, I look sadly at the dead man on the floor, but I feel the stares of Chishiya and Katsu at my back, so I pull myself together and stand up.

"Thank you for cooking something so late," I turn to Katsu and smile at him in thanks. It's almost midnight and still he cooked something for the man. Even if it wasn't elaborate it's not something to take for granted.

"Of course," he says, placing his hand comfortingly on my upper arm. I just nod and walk past him to leave the room, not turning back to the dead man. The two men follow me and as Chishiya walks beside me I notice him put on his emotionless expression. I look toward the stairs at the end of the hallway and give him a questioning look. Silently, I ask him if we're going up to the roof together and he seems to understand me wordlessly. A small smile creeps onto his lips and he just nods, which is why we head for the door to the roof. As Katsu heads in the same direction, Chishiya stops and looks at him with raised eyebrows.

"Don't you have some sandwiches to make?" he says dryly, and I look on in confusion as the two of them just stare at each other. Katsu is the first to break eye contact and nods at me again before walking into the opposite aisle. Did I miss something?

Chishiya starts moving again and I can see him grinning cheekily. This sight alone makes me forget the situation from just now and I follow him to the roof. We sat down on the edge overlooking the pool area as we have so many times before and just stay silent. My thoughts go to Meiyo and I hope I made his death more comfortable for him. I was already thinking that he would fixate on one of the three choices of rock, paper, scissors and I could let him win that way. It's not fair for a person like him to come to Borderland without any chance of survival. I have often wondered where the borders are, who comes to this place.

"You were wonderful in there," Chishiya's voice snaps me out of my thoughts and I look to him. As soon as our eyes meet, a soft smile creeps onto my lips and his words cause my cheeks to begin to glow slightly.

"He's been scared and confused since the hospital. It didn't feel right to let him die like that," I say honestly, trying to maintain a smile at the sad thought. He pulls something out of his vest pocket and hands it to me.

"Here," he says, and I accept the photo. Smiling, I look at the photo of me and my mother that I left at the hospital last time. "I hope you're not mad that I took it".

"I am," I say, putting on a stern face. He looks at me frozen and I can see a spark of sad amazement in his eyes. "But you can make it up to me by showing me a picture of you as a child sometime".

I smile broadly and his expression brightens a little too. He leans in a little so our shoulders are touching and looks at the photo with me.

"There's not much choice," he just says and I look at him questioningly, "My parents never cared about keeping things like photos or memories."

His expression becomes stern and emotionless, but I don't want his smile to disappear. I lean a little closer to him and put on a playfully thoughtful face.

"I bet you looked pretty damn cute as a kid," I say, and he just nods with a grin. He raises his eyebrows a little and comes a little closer.

"Of course," he says confidently, sure of himself, "But not as cute as this."

He looks significantly at the photo, but I can't take my eyes off him. We are so close and somehow my fingertips start to tingle. I shake off the feeling of getting even closer to him and bite my lower lip lightly.

"How did you know where the staff locker rooms were?", I ask him curiously. My mother worked as a nurse and often took me to work with her after school. That's how I knew about the second exit in the elevator to the area where only staff has access.