50) Next Stage

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

Part 4: Division

"To whom it may concern, I am the King of Hearts."

===Gabura Sachi===
Athlete
Specialty:

"...Shit." Chihaya cursed.

Chihaya Korinsu
Freelance DJ
Specialty:

"And think about it." Kazetani continued. "They said that the King of Hearts trial, or game, or what it might've been called, was only available after all the others were cleared. Why is that? Because if that wasn't the case, the King of Hearts among us would have to leave our group to fulfill their duty."

Kazetani Tomoyuki
Actuary
Specialty:

"Oh my god..." I shook my head. "That's terrible. Absolutely terrible for us."

"Can the King of Hearts role also be a woman?" Benkei asked.

Benkei Furetcha
Waiter
Specialty:

"I wouldn't leave that out of the equation, at this point." Zakū said. "We seem to be dealing with quite the sleazy crowd, so I wouldn't put it past them."

Zakū Raisunei
High School Student
Specialty:

"I think th-the six of us have to m-make a promise." Rafferty said.

Rafferty Bucke

Forensic Scientist (On Probation)
Specialty:

"That being?" Chihaya asked.

"That, no m-matter w-what game w-we end up doing, if it's just a d-death match, or one-w-winner game, w-we keep our friendship, and trust all the s-same. W-We don't doubt or hate each other, e-even if we are forced to sacrifice each o-other."

"Agreed." Chihaya said.

"I cannot possibly make that promise." Kazetani said, putting his hands into his pockets.

"...Me neither." Benkei murmured.

Rafferty's eyes saddened, as he continued looking around the room.

Zakū shook his head. "I'm sorry, Rafferty. But you're asking too much from me."

"I..." I hesitated. "I can't make that promise yet."

Rafferty remained silent, but eventually sighed. "I understand. W-We've only known e-each other for w-what? A m-month?"

Kazetani straightened out the files, arranging them in order. "I think I can already loosely make out what the first sentence says; I've been looking at it and calculating the positions as we've spoken. 'To whom it may concern, I am the King of Hearts.' I'm assuming this is some sort of journal, or entry. Perhaps his way of leaving his legacy behind. It's telling the story from his point of view–or hers.

Chihaya grabbed some of the other files, loading them into Benkei's backpack.

"I think we can agree on one thing, though." I said, putting a finger to my lips. "We tell no one about the second King of Hearts, and how it may be between us. We cannot have the king knowing, or have such radical distrust sewn into the entire group."

We nodded; this would remain within only our minds. But my mind flickered–what about Aoyama? 'I'll have to think. She deserves to know... But by that logic, doesn't everyone? No–it won't hurt if she knows, considering she isn't as integrated within the group.'

I sighed. 'On one hand, I'm glad I know such a dangerous, insightful secret. But on the other hand, it's now a huge burden I have to carry.'

"I believe that's everything of use." Chihaya said. "And we've put everything we found into Benkei's backpack already. It's time we left, it's starting to get late."

I brought my watch up to my eyes; it was just past eight. Zakū didn't say anything else, weaving between us and heading towards the door we came from. I followed, as did everyone else, back over the bodies and through the sewer tunnel. I slowed down as I continued, scanning through the endless room one final time.

Something caught the corner of my eye. I turned around to the others, who hadn't noticed my lack of presence. I bent down, picking up a charred piece of paper. It was only a fragment, and its edges were jagged and burnt. There were four lines that were visible; the fifth was partially visible, but had been scribbled out in marker, and was cut off by the fire only a few words in.

Odiumic Dimethyltryptamine
...can be in a powder or vapor form...
...stimulates amygdala, which in addition to...
...or, it can be broken through an iron will.

"What the hell is this?" I muttered.

"Gabura, you okay?" Chihaya shouted from the door.

I turned around. "No worries, I'm coming!" I stuffed the sheet of paper in my pocket, walking to Rafferty.

Benkei was the first to climb up, followed by Kazetani, who paused after each rung, his shoulder faltering where he'd been shot.

"Hey Raff." I whispered, pulling him aside.

"Y-yeah?"

My hand began pulling out the paper, but from the top, Benkei gasped.

"What is it?" Kazetani asked. Benkei remained silent, as he stepped out into the morning sunlight, his eyes glued in one direction.

Zakū climbed up next, cursing under his breath. Chihaya followed, climbing hastily. They each seemed to gawk in the same direction after emerging to the top.

"W-What is it?" He asked again.

"I'll ask you when we get back, I think this seems more important."

He nodded, taking the ladder next, as I trailed behind him, being the last to leave the underground.

The entire street–the road, the buildings, and the other five–were all cast in a shadow. 'What could cast such a huge shadow?'

I rolled onto the asphalt, turning to face where they were all looking.

In the distance, was a massive zeppelin. The blimp blocked out part of the sky like a metallic cloud.

And below it, the size of a building's facade, hung a King of Hearts playing card.

. . .

===Benkei Furetcha===

"They... Knew of all your names?" Judumai trilled. "Wha–how?"

Judumai Waka
Pianist
Specialty:

I nodded. "These people... They're not like anything we've faced so far."

"So–massive blimps." Ashikaga said, gazing through a pair of binoculars from atop a lifeguard tower situated on top of Miyamoto's campus walls. "I guess these Face Cards will work very differently from the pip cards."

Ashikaga Kayami
Ōendan Member
Specialty:

"Which ones are closest to us?" Zakū asked.

Ashikaga looked through her binoculars again. "Jack of Hearts, and Queen of Clubs."

"Which one out of these two is the closest?" He asked again.

"Jack of Hearts."

"Then that's where I'm going."

The entirety of Maindo buzzed around in the courtyard, as Gabura and Aoyama popped up next to us. "This is finally happening. After all this time." Gabura said.

"It feels surreal. I don't know what to make of it." Aoyama replied.

Aoyama Tōka
Vigilante • Musician
Specialty:

"Since the Face Cards will begin, it's likely that our Visas will begin ticking down too." Kazetani said.

Gabura turned to Aoyama. "You know, I think challenging the Queen of Spades wouldn't be so bad! Maybe her first, then build up to taking down the King of Spades!"

Aoyama laughed. "Maybe you're getting ahead of yourself, but I definitely wouldn't stop you."

"I need to clear my head." I said, running my hand through my hair, which, by now, had all its former red highlights faded away. All that remained was its original color–brown. "I can't go into the Face Cards still processing the dealer's base."

"There's always another day to process it." Gabura assured. "If you want to worry, just save it for tomorrow. In fact..." She paused, her eyebrows creasing.

"What is it?" Aoyama asked.

"I feel like there's something I'm forgetting to do." She said. "But I can't place my finger on it."

"It's fine, you're probably still on the effects of the adrenaline from the expedition." Aoyama said.

"Time to kick some citizen asses!" Niko said, running up to us. Aulia followed behind, brushing her platinum hair.

Niko Cheney

Chef • Foreign Exchange Student
Specialty:

"It's easy to be cocky in the face of those who've tormented us for months, but I say we tread carefully." Shirai warned.

Shirai Ui
Therapist
Specialty:

"Hmm, I might regret this, but I think I'll tag along for the Queen of Clubs!" Aulia offered.

Aulia Choi
Restaurateur
Specialty:

Niko nodded. "Yup, same here." He looked around at the rest of us. "Anyone else?"

I raised my hand, as did Judumai. "I... I also want to play my role in bringing an end to these games." He said.

"I was thinking of warming up with the Queen of Spades, then tackling the King of Spades next!" Gabura said. "Even though it's hard to sit back, I probably should prepare myself... I'll spend these next few days training, then face the Queen of Spades on day four."

"You bet I'm in, then." Aoyama said. "No way I'm letting you take all the glory for yourself."

"Anyone else want in?" Gabura asked.

Niko hesitated, but raised his hand. "I'm not certain yet, but I think the three of us are quite powerful combined. We'll stand a very good chance together, so I think I'll go too."

"Awesome!" Gabura shouted, clapping her hands.

"Since the Jack of Hearts is so close, I won't head there until noon." Zakū said. "Anyone else want to come with me?"

Silence followed. He shrugged, indifferent. "I guess I understand."

Then came Rafferty, who dragged Charī behind him. "Y-You w-wanted a teammate? I heard he's w-willing."

Charī stumbled forward, dusting off his shirt and straightening his posture. "Hello fellow people." He greeted. His mask was back on; it was functional again.

Charī Kasutoro
High School Student
Specialty:

Zakū raised his eyebrows. "Him? Um... I guess I can work with that. Someone you trust is already a pretty powerful weapon."

"A Queen seems like too much effort, so a Jack should be better." He reasoned.

"Close proximity, easiest difficulty, makes sense." Zakū said. "But Shirai is still correct, we should be careful. It's likely that the difficulty curve between ten, Jack, Queen, and King will not only be huge, but exponential as well."

"Speak for yourself," Niko said, "I'm not about to play another game where we gotta kill each other. It's us versus them, not ourselves."

Rafferty chuckled. "But s-still. I'm looking f-forward to some of th-these cards. They sound l-like fun."

"To you!" Aulia scoffed to Rafferty, then sighed. "I just wanna go home already."

"Yeah, we don't all enjoy treating our lives like a dice roll, Raff." Charī said.

"Oh please." Zakū said. "You've cleared two games worth a ten, you'll do fine in a Jack."

Maeda and Tori joined us, both of whom had been walking together.

Maeda Mihoko
High School Student
Specialty:

Tori Jakurin
College Student
Specialty:

"Oh hey, Tori!" I greeted. "How's your side?"

"Yeah, it's getting better!" They said. "Thanks."

"You two planning on any games?" Judumai asked.

Maeda sighed. "Honestly, I don't know. Is it bad I just... Don't want to participate in any more games right now? Or ever? Is that selfish?"

"I understand." Tori said. "We've come a long way and been through so much, and you're one of the youngest people here. Me... I'll definitely play in a Face Card eventually. I don't know which game, all I know is that I'll play one eventually."

"Okay, here's everything we know before heading off." Kazetani said, clearing his throat. "The Queen of Clubs takes place in Shibuya Square, while the Jack of Hearts takes place in a skyscraper."

"Interesting venues." I commented under my breath.

"The Queen of Diamonds is barely in the horizon, and... Takes place at a shrine." He hesitated, uneasy.

We shared a few uncomfortable glances; if the video was any proof, she would be a formidable opponent.

"Zakū and Charī to the Jack of Hearts, while Niko, Aulia, and Judumai to the Queen of Spades. To you three, there's also four others who wish to play in the Queen of Clubs, so they'll be all joining you. You guys will take the van so you all fit."

Chihaya emerged from a crowd, tossing Niko the keys. "Kazetani filled me in on everything, good luck, guys!" He smiled, bags under his eyes, clearly still perturbed over the dealer base expedition.

"What about me and Zakū?" Charī asked.

"Your choice." Kazetani said. "You two want to take a thirty minute bike ride there, or have someone drop you off?"

"I think we'll be fine with the bike ride." Zakū said, turning to Charī. "You?"

"Yeah, that'll give us more time to strategize!" He said.

"But remember, we all have at least ten visa days left, there's no need to feel obligated to participate in a game." Kazetani assured. "Please, feel no pressure. Take the time to rest. It's okay."

"I'm gonna get those tasty eleven visa days then it'll be the last game I ever participate in." Charī laughed.

"Good luck, everyone. If-" Kazetani cleared his throat. "When you make it out, come back here so we all know you're still alive. We'll see where to go from there."

Niko, Aulia and I entered the truck, while the other four crowded into the back. Zakū and Charī mounted their bikes, turning around and facing the onlookers.

"G-Goodbye... Friends." Rafferty said. "I'm really p-proud of how long w-we've all come, and how fiercely w-we still fight."

Gabura nodded. "Let's not fear these citizens, alright? Let's show them who's boss!"

Some people cheered, but the mood remained somber. For all we knew, this could be the last time any of us saw each other.

Zakū took a deep breath, and pedaled away. After a few more seconds, Charī followed him.

Niko sighed, then started the car. As we drove off into the horizon, the group kept their eyes on both of us, waving until they could no longer be seen.

Nothing would be the same ever again.

Words: 2290
===
QotD: It's been a while since I asked a simple question, so today, what's your favorite hobby?


You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net