Heart of a survivor × Chishiya Shuntaro

Chapter Thirty Four

When Takara awoke the next day, she quickly noticed the absence of Kuina in her bed. She took a glance around the room, noticing a note sitting on the table across the room.

Stretching her body, she got up from her bed and made her way over to the note. She folded it open, reading what Kuina had scribbled inside.

Gone training. Next time you're coming too!

See you at lunch?

Kuina xox

Takara smiled at the note, folding it back over and placing it back down on the table. After their conversation last night, Takara felt like she needed to make more effort with her friends. She'd been neglecting them recently.

Picking up a knife from their dinner last night, Takara walked into her closet room. She opened up the door of one of her wardrobes, her fingers tracing over the tally marks she had etched into the inside of the door. She held the knife in her hand, and made another mark in the wood.

"Twenty one days" she muttered to herself.

Three weeks. That's how long she'd resided in the Borderlands. To her it felt like an eternity. A never ending loop that she couldn't escape. She understood why some people went insane here, or simply gave up the fight to live. Only the strong survive. 

She was grateful that she hadn't been tested as much as some, that she had yet to play a high numbered game. The fear of not being as strong as she thinks she is lingered in her mind at the thought of playing a difficult game.

Shaking the depressing thoughts from her head, she started to look through her bikinis and pick one out for the day. She'd have to get changed again later for her game, so opted for something a little prettier for her daytime look.

The dark red halter neck bikini set stuck out to her more than the others, picking it up off of the rack and placing it in her arms. For a little more coverage, Takara also picked out some black mesh shorts to go over the bikini bottoms.

Setting out her outfit for the day on her bed, Takara went to her bathroom to shower and change her bandage dressings. After about an hour, Takara was ready to leave her room and head down to the dining hall.

Lunch had been prepared for the beach residents. And today, bento boxes had been prepared and lined up neatly for the people to pick up. Takara grabbed the closest one to her, she had been waiting longer than usual in the queue and wanted to sit down and eat already. Takara placed a green tea bag in a mug and filled it up with hot water, grabbing a spoon to stir it with before leaving the canteen.

Instead of keeping her head down and leaving the hall, Takara scanned the rooms in the hopes of seeing one of her friends. The waving of a hand belonging to Kaito caught her attention, smiling at the boy and heading over to his table.

As she got closer, she saw that Kuina was also at the table, the food in front of her already demolished. She noticed Kaitos' box was in a similar condition, guessing both of them wolfed down their food pretty quickly.

"Fancy seeing you here," Kaito said once Takara was within hearing distance.

"I thought I'd make a guest appearance now that I'm getting better," Takara said while making a small gesture to her bandaged stomach.

"Well I've missed your presence, Kuina has been keeping your seat in the group warm for you. I think she's earned a spot on the cool kids table too" Kaito joked, crossing his arms in an attempt at looking "cool".

The two girls laughed at him, Takara taking a seat next to Kuina. The warm feeling settling in Takara's chest confirmed her thoughts from the other night, she had been needing the company of her friends more than anything.