Heart of a survivor × Chishiya Shuntaro

Chapter Forty One

Takara stared blankly at the wall. A heavy feeling weighed on her chest, feeling numb to what she had just witnessed. She didn't know how to process it.

Daido's words replayed in Takara's head.

“We can make sure that we're the surviving pairs”

The memory of his sweet smile as he had said that caused a pang of grief to shoot through her.

“Takara,” Chishiya called from behind her.

He received no reply.

“Takara” he said, a little more forcefully.

He moved to kneel down beside her, studying her features once he reached her level.

“They were both so young,” she whispered.

“I know. But we have to keep going” Chishiya pushed, worrying that they might be falling behind.

A tear fell from her eye as she looked over to him.

“I- I don't think I can. This isn't fair.” she muttered, turning back to face the wall.

Chishiya sighed, rubbing his temples. He had never been good with emotions, but he needed to get her head back in the game. And fast.

“These games never are.” he paused, thinking of how to get through to her.

“Do you think that they'd want you to die here too?” he asked.

“No…”

“Exactly. You need to survive, not just for yourself anymore. But for them too” he put his hand out for Takara to take.

She stared at his open hand, hesitant on taking it. Chishiya heard her sniffle slightly.

“Think of Kuina. She needs you back at home in one piece.” Chishiya tried to persuade her further, feeling a little sick at calling the beach ‘home’.

“Okay” she mumbled, taking his hand and letting him pull her to her feet.

“Let's go,” he said, not wanting to waste any more time.

They walked in silence for a while, the weight of what had just happened still heavy on Takara's shoulders.

Chishiya's mood had depleted as well, not from the death of the boys, but how they're deaths had now overshadowed his chance at manipulating Takara. Her kissing him had been a step in the right direction for his plan for her, but now she seemed to have completely forgotten about it, grief taking hold of her instead.

He let out a sigh, deciding that once they were out of this maze, he'd have to recalculate his next actions with her.

“We must be close by now” Chishiya grumbled, mostly to himself.

Chishiya had been leading the both of them through the rest of them maze, Takara resigning and trailing behind him instead.

They were both about to turn a corner when they heard a commotion ahead of them. They both stopped dead in their tracks, listening to what was happening around the corner.

"No! Please no!" A young boy cried out, followed by the sound of thudding.

Chishiya and Takara crouched low to the floor, slowly peeking around the corner to see what was happening. There was a large, fruit bearing tree in the center of the grassy clearing, followed by two pairs of players at odds with each other.

One was an old man getting beaten by a guy who was in his twenties. To the right of them, a woman was holding down a boy in his mid teens who was struggling to escape the woman's grip.