===Tori Jakurin===

At the start of the fifth battle, the group broke off; there was nothing surprising about that–it was obligatory. However, the air in the room had shifted. The lighthearted conversation had just been denial of the inevitable: that by the end of this game, two of us would lay dead.

This time, I sought out the girl. She was sitting in a booth, staring hard into her tablet. I slid into the booth across from her. She looked up. "What's up?"

"I think we should team up. Strategize together. There's no way either of us can win alone. Not with him." I said, nodding my head towards his direction

"Who will you save if you win?" She asked.

"You. You're the youngest."

"Exactly. And I asked the man straight-up. He said he'd save me. The woman told me herself already during the second round that she'd save me should she win."

"I... Don't think you can trust that man. While the rules were explained, he literally said that the point of the alliance rule was to encourage scheming and secret collisions. Not to just reduce the casualty by one."

"Oh crap. You're right." She said, her eyes fixed to the table. "Do you think, perhaps, the man and woman are in a secret alliance?"

"Maybe they both told you that they'd save you to pacify you. If you thought you'd survive, you wouldn't play as hard, so then the two of them would only have one opponent to deal with."

"So what do we do?"

I pondered our next move, before shaking my head. "I don't know."

"So... Will you truly die if you get a Game Over?"

"Yup. That's the entire point of the Borderlands." Suddenly, a cold chill creeped down my back, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. My head turned, scanning the entire area we occupied.

"What?"

"Nothing. I... I just had the feeling that we were being watched."

The girl faltered, before tightening the window blinds at the end of the booth.

"If neither of us know what to do, should we just both choose zero until we come up with something?" I suggested.

"Hmm, I suppose so."

'She trusted the man so soon, then now she trusted me so soon. There's a certain friend her character reminds me of...' After some further deliberation, I chose zero. As the round ended, we both sat back down.

"Here are the results of the fifth battle."

Beach: 0   -   80
Maindo: 1   -   93
Butt: 0   -   69
Kingdom: 1   -   87

Beach: -4
Maindo: -3
Butt: -3
Kingdom: -4

"What the hell?" The girl shouted, jostling up from her seat the moment the locks released, accompanied by the battle six announcement. She turned to the other two, glaring at them with a dark sense of accusation. "How did you two know exactly what we were going to choose?"

"That must've been a coincidence." The man said. "Personally, I noticed the two of you sitting together, looking quite timid. So it was likely you two didn't know what to do, and would choose zero as a result."

"I just choose one out of instinct. I just got lucky, that's literally all." The woman said.

I turned back to where we sat, unable to ignore the feeling of having been watched. And there it was: a security camera pointed straight overhead of our table. Out of all the tables to choose, how did we end up at the one closest to the camera? The fight fizzled, and the two separated. The girl huffed, turning around, and I pointed out the camera to her at once.

"I think I figured it out."

"Oh..." She caught sight of the camera. "So that's how they knew our options! How, though? Is there a security room?" I paced to the back of the restaurant, past a mop bucket and a bottle of soap, which led to a small antechamber. Inside were several crates and two doors: one to a bathroom, and one labeled 'Security Room'.

The girl pushed the door open; to the left was a black wooden desk with a computer on top of it, displaying an array of different views across the bar. One of them was the place we had sat last round.

"Damn." She muttered, her fingers tracing over the keyboard. "Let's put an end to this."

"Can't we use this to our own advantage though?"

She leaned closer to the screen, searching for the other two, before shaking her head. "No, look at how careful he is." I leaned forward. The man raised his tablet to make his selection, keeping it angled down. The camera was pretty close, about one seat down. Yet even then, there was zero chance of seeing anything. The woman did the same. I sighed, but rewinded the video; last round, the two had never sat together. It had truly been a coincidence.

"So I guess I jumped to a conclusion." She said, "I'll apologize to her next round. But regardless, neither of us are smart enough to use this for any other strategy than spying, but everyone is too cautious. Let's just destroy this computer." She opened the drawer, fishing out a pair of scissors, then slashed several of the wires. With a blip, the screen descended into blackness.

"What do we choose for this round?" I asked. "We only have one minute left."

She shrugged. "Three?"

I paused, but couldn't think of any other number. "Sure. It follows the fluctuations of the game."

We chose our number within the room, and made our way back to the table.

"Here are the results of the sixth battle."

Beach: 3  -   77
Maindo: 0   -   93
Butt: 3   -   66
Kingdom: 2   -   85

Beach: -4
Maindo: -4
Butt: -3

"Nothing really special about this round." The girl muttered, as the seventh battle began. "And also," she turned to the woman. "I was wrong about you. Sorry. We reviewed the security footage, and you guys never sat together. However, that was how the man knew which numbers we chose." She glared at him.

"I'm just making use of resources." He said, indifferent, walking away.

I sighed. "Now what?"

"Well, we're about over halfway through the game, and we still have more than half of our troops. Let's use a bit more this round." She whispered.

"I'm thinking perhaps seven?"

She nodded. "Sounds good."

We inputted our selections, and made our way back to the table as the round ended. As the game went on, it seemed that time started passing by faster and faster. Not wanting to sit down yet, I made my way to the bar. However, the other two weren't there. I made my way to the other part of the bar, and even into the bathrooms.

'Where did they go?' I wondered, stepping back outside after a quick sweep of both bathrooms. As I crossed the kitchen doors, the man exited from them. He gave me a quick nod of acknowledgment before returning to his table. I followed after him, and was met with the woman already back at the seat.

'What?' I decided to ask the girl about it after the current round concluded, and sat down as the final minute ended.

"Here are the results of the seventh battle."

I rubbed my eyes, breathing in a deep sigh, but jolted when the girl cried out in surprise. I opened my eyes.

Beach: 7   -   70
Maindo: 0   -   93
Butt: 7   -   59
Kingdom: 15   -   70

Beach: -5
Maindo: -5
Butt: -4
Kingdom: -5

"You chose fifteen? But that's so far ahead of the fluctuation! Why?" She asked.

The woman shrugged. "I have lots of points to spare, so why not?"

"Let the eighth battle commence."

The seats unlocked, and the group split. I leaned towards the girl, making sure to find my voice. "When did the woman return? And where did she return from?"

The girl raised her head in thought. "About one and a half minutes before the round concluded. And she came from the left side." She said, pointing her head in that direction. "Why?"

"I think the two of them are colluding. Starting from the last round. I couldn't find them anywhere but found the man coming out of the kitchen."

"Wait... That would make sense. Naturally, the man has proven himself to be the best player out of all of us. If he wins, which is most likely, then he'd likely ally with me, just as a means of saving the youngest person. That's what you and the woman think as well. But the woman wanted to save her own life, so she likely begged the man to ally with her at the cost of saving herself."

"If he really wants a partner so badly why didn't he just choose you, though?" I asked. "If he was most likely planning to ally with you anyway?"

"Because he could probably tell I'm unpredictable, and not desperate, since I already know anyone else would save me. If that woman truly colluded with the man, then she's desperate to survive, and she'll submit completely to his orders and he can be sure of her complete loyalty. Honestly, I think that man overestimates me."

"Okay, I'm going to go to the kitchen."

"What for?"

"To confirm my theory that the two of them were secretly talking. Keep an eye on the man, okay?"

She nodded, and I headed to the kitchen. Once inside, I made my way to the door that the man exited out of during the last round, but turned around. I scanned the walls, my sight running down its tiled length, before the second door came into view, confirming my suspicions. I returned to her.

"There was a second door." I explained, leaning forward with my arms on the table. She sat with another glass of her alcohol-cola concoction, stirring the straw with her index finger. "That's where the woman came out of. They came out at different times through different doors to subvert suspicion."

"Any ideas what exactly their plan is, then?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

"Then what's the move?"

I paused, drumming my fingers on the wooden table. "Wouldn't it be unwise to make a move if we don't even know our opponent's plan? Let's do zero again this round—we still have three more chances. Let's see what they do first."

"That's smart. Let's do that." We made our selection; it had become muscle memory. In the background, the man still sat on the bar stool, shot glass in hand. As the round ended,  we walked back over to the seat.

"Here are the results of the eighth battle."

Beach: 0   -   70
Maindo: 0   -   93
Butt: 0   -   59
Kingdom: 10   -   60

Beach: -6
Maindo: -6
Butt: -5

"We know what you two are up to." The girl accused.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about." The woman replied. The girl shook her head, getting up as the ninth round began. I kept my gaze glued to the man, who was silent as ever, as he made his way back to the bar, then drew closer to the girl.

"We need to do something this round." I murmured.

"Like what? Send more armies than them?"

"Yes. The woman has sixty left. So I'll send sixty-one to ensure my victory this round. The woman clearly doesn't mind dying, as it's for the sake of the man winning, so we can be sure she'll end up destroying her own troops and won't just send zero."

"Then what if the man is the one who sends armies? He beats you with ease."

That gave me pause. "But, on the other hand, I can no longer send zero armies this round, as it'll bring me to -7 points. On round ten, the man will know I need to send all our armies minus one to maximize not losing the war, or else I'll die, and then he can just send seventy-one. By sending armies this round, I have a chance. By sending zero, my loss is guaranteed."

She nodded, slowly processing what I just said. "Yeah... That makes sense. You should give yourself more credit, you're not too bad at this."

"Thanks." I said, letting out a nervous chuckle.

"What do I choose, though?"

"Zero. Save your brunt force for when you're at -6."

"Alright."

I selected sixty-one, exhaling a sharp stream of air, as I sank further into the seat, taking a moment to breathe.

"I think we have a shot at winning." She said, a smile spreading on her face. "We have something they don't: transparency. We're both equals, and are on an even playing field. In their duo, it's just a commander and a timid follower.

"I guess that's an... Optimistic way to put it."

"We still have some time left." She said, tapping her glass. "How long have you been here?"

"Less than a week. By all means, I'm a newbie, but had to learn quickly, because only those who pick up on the Borderlands quick can make it past their first few games."

"Well damn, I'm only a high school student. How am I going to make it?"

"You got any special skills? Smarts? Strengths?"

She shrugged. "I'm in track, and am a climber."

"That'll come in handy for Spades. How about smarts? Strength won't get you everywhere."

"Um..." She scratched her neck. "I'm not dumb, but I'm no genius? I don't know."

"You seem chill though. If we both survive, we should definitely be friends." I said, smiling.

She smiled back. "Yeah, that'd be cool. My first apocalypse friend."

"Oh crap, the time is almost out." I said. "Come on, let's not be late!" We rushed back to the playing table, taking our seat, as the time ran out.

"Here are the results of the ninth battle."

Beach: 61   -   9
Maindo: 0   -   93
Butt: 0   -   59
Kingdom: 0   -   60

Beach: -6
Maindo: -7
Butt: -6
Kingdom: -6

"Oh no..." I muttered. "We failed to consider the remaining armies. I may have won this battle, but it's just delaying the inevitable!'

The girl sighed. "You guys don't have to keep pretending. We lost." As she said that, she cast a knowing glance towards me.

"Let the tenth battle commence."

The man smiled. "It appears so. I apologize it's had to come down to this. You two have been playing defensively the whole game whenever lost for your next move, so it was easy to predict you'd choose zero for round eight. Though, I will admit, I applaud you for sending armies this round instead of zero. This gave you a chance of winning, whereas delaying your army until you were at -7 would've guaranteed your loss. Do whatever you please; no matter how many armies you send, me or her are guaranteed to win."

I looked at the tablet. The man would send sixty this round to keep himself afloat, then no matter if he or the woman sent out the winning armies next, either of them would win.

We were cornered.

"Well, I guess this is it then" The girl sighed, turning towards me. "We've lost. "I know I was just being optimistic, but it's pretty hard to be optimistic now."

"Let's have one last drink then." The man said. "This round. Shall we end this game with no harsh feelings?"

"Next round." I muttered. "The very last round before we die."

He nodded. "Let's hurry through this round then." It didn't matter what number we chose this round–we lost anyway. So, I just chose zero. None of us had even emerged from our seats.

My mouth was stuck open, my fingers stuck in place after I had made my selection. 'I... Die? Right now? There's got to be something I can do, something I can–'

"There's nothing that can be done." The man said.

"Think!" The girl shouted at me. "Is there anything we can do? Can we just escape–"

"You will be killed for escaping this venue." The woman said.

"There's got to be something!" She said, rising from her seat. "The armies... If I..."

"Here are the results of the tenth battle."

Beach: 0   -   9
Maindo: 59   -   35
Butt: 0   -   59
Kingdom: 0   -   60

Beach: -7
Maindo: -7
Butt: -7
Kingdom: -7

"Let's drink now, shall we?" The man said, emerging from his seat.

The four of us got up, moving to the bar. At the start, the mood around the counter had been light; now, it was a heavy somber. The man poured a shot of the half-tequila-half-cola mixture the girl had been occasionally sipping on, and handed it over to her.

"Thanks." She murmured.

"I guess this isn't so bad." I said, allowing myself a single shot. "My last minute spent drinking a shot of alcohol, eating chips, and with no harsh feelings."

The girl stiffened at the mention of chips. "Yeah... Chips." She got up. "I'm going to use the restroom. Apparently people have been known to pee themselves after dying. That'd be embarrassing if that happened to me."

The woman laughed. "You're a brave girl. Even in the face of death, you can still joke."

"You guys keep talking." She walked behind the two of them, then eyed me, as if saying 'keep them talking'. I raised an eyebrow, then slowly nodded.

"So how long have you been here?" He asked.

"Oh... About a week." I said. "I arrived here with my friend–"

My friend.

BENKEI!

I gasped. "Wait. How is he–" I dropped the glass I was holding. It shattered on the floor, breaking into countless fragments of glass.

Benkei will be broken.

"I'm sorry." The woman said. "I've lost friends too."

Tears welled in my eyes. "How is he... Going to react when I don't come back?"

The man set his glass down, sighing softly. "I'm sure your friend is very strong. He will be torn, but life will go on. Rest assured, he will one day recover."

I exhaled, fighting hyperventilation. 'Benkei, how is he going to react? '

"One minute left." The man said.

The girl returned, and finished her shot. "Let's stay here for as long as we can. I joke, but... I'm scared. I don't want to die just yet."

"You... You look a lot like my daughter." He said.

"Oh, dear..." The woman soothed, pulling her into a hug. "I wish there were words I can say to console you."

The man rubbed his eyes, and I zoned out, the world blurring around me.

Sounds of the restaurant faded out along the lights, and my heart pumped in large, echoing drum beats, as the sobering reality of death gripped down on me.

And, when I came to, there was a clear noise. It was the man. He had started quietly crying, and was rubbing his eyes.

"Save her." He weeped. "I lost a daughter a month before the Borderlands to a car accident. If there's even a chance you can get out alive, I'd rather die than put another man through that pain."

"Oh..." She breathed, walking over to him. "Sir, I... Oh... Thank you." She bowed. "Thank you."

He turned to me. "Is that okay with you?"

I sighed, then nodded. She pulled me into a hug after she was done with the man. I leaned into her ear. "If you need anything after the game, look for the Beach." I whispered, the noise barely audible. "It's a large group of players. They'll take you in. You'll survive every game with their help." I pulled away before she could react.

"Before we... Part ways, should we get to know each other's names?" The woman asked.

"Tori."

"Hiroshi." The man said.

"I'm Maeda." The girl replied, putting her hands in her pockets. Her expression had changed; her eyes reflected it. What was once one of subtle convening had shifted.

"I'm Sueoka." The woman said. "Only twenty seconds are left. Let's go now, okay?"

"Okay." Maeda said, her head down.

With only five seconds left, Hiroshi arrived at his seat, and sat down. He yelped upon contact with the seat, tumbling out. "What the hell?"

I sat down, and turned to him; he had a shard of glass jut into his rear, spurting out blood. He stumbled