Elsa stepped out of the elevator with the clack of her heel. Her eyes darted around the room frantically looking for something – she found it when Hikari stepped out of the elevator besides hers.
Hikari breached the distance between them in a step, and the urgency in the gesture made her prosthetic leg clang lightly.
"Are you okay?" she said.
Elsa nodded.
"Yes. Where are we?"
Nervousness accentuated her norwegian accent. She'd been told that it normally didn't sound, but she always noticed it and disliked the imperfection. Hikari's eyes narrowed.
"I don't know."
Elsa straightened her dress to give herself countenance. At her side, the American inspected their surroundings. They stood in a hallway flanked by two bathrooms but lacking in any other signage.
Hikari shrugged off a feeling of immediate danger, seemingly percieving no direct threat. Elsa found comfort in the ritual – wariness, then safety.
"Well, only one way to go," the American sighed.
She walked forward, and Elsa followed. The hallway lead to a dimly lit bar behind which stood a woman.
"Come on in. Welcome to Quindecim."
Warily, they made their way to the bar under the bartender's unwavering gaze. Elsa felt a chill, the distinct sensation that something was wrong. Her bodyguard lay both of her hands on the counter – one of flesh, and one of steel.
"Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Quin."
"Where are we?"
"Sorry, I can't answer that question."
Hikari leaned forward as a threat.
"Don't fuck with me. Where are we?"
The bartender shook her head.
"Before anything else, I must ask you a question: do you remember anything just before you came here?"
Hikari grit her teeth. Elsa stepped forward and set a hand on her shoulder to feel her tension. To try to ease it.
She opened her mouth to answer, but found her mind blank where she expected memories of the past fifteen minutes.
"... No, actually. The last thing I remember is... we walked into the hotel, right?"
She turned to look at her bodyguard, who nodded.
"Good. Thank you for your answer," the bartender said.
"Now that we've answered your question, the least you could do is answer ours."
Hikari's voice boomed subtly, like a roar she'd camouflaged as speech. The woman on the other side of the bar didn't react.
"I'll explain your circumstances to you. First of all, I can't answer the question of where you are. Secondly, I will now have you play a game. Third, the type of game will be chosen by roulette."
"Cut the shit lady, we have places to be!" Hikari interrupted. "It doesn't matter that I've only got one arm, I can choke you out before you have a chance to blink if you don't tell me what the fuck's going on in the next five seconds!"
The bartender paused, but didn't react. Her face showed no visible concern, or fear, or anything, really – she felt robotic. Elsa couldn't help but shiver.
"I would advise against that," the woman said.
And the display behind her slid open to reveal the barrell of a turret, mounted to the ceiling. From her hand, previously hidden behind the bar, the bartender produced a remote with two buttons.
"I'll break all your fingers before you have a chance to press –"
Elsa reached out to lay a shaky hand on Hikari's shoulder once more. That stopped her in her tracks.
"Just. Hear her out, Hikari."
The American swallowed her next words and retracted her stance, to be closer to Elsa.
"As I was saying, fourth: you will stake your lives on the game."
Elsa felt Hikari almost explode forward – her hand slid from her shoulder to her wrist, and she gripped it with cold fingers. The beast remained ready to pounce, but kept the aggression inwards.
"Five: until the game is over, you cannot leave the bar."
Elsa swallowed. Her eyes glued to the barrel overhead, she glanced at the bartender and didn't let go of Hikari's wrist.
"And what if we... what if we refuse to play?"
The woman gestured upwards.
"I would advise against that."
"Hm."
Hikari had stayed silent. She retracted her stance, again, leaning towards Elsa.
"This is bullshit. The fuck do you want from us, anyway? I –"
And again, her words caught in her throat under the Norwegian's touch.
"I don't... I'm not exactly willing to test the threat, Hikari."
Her voice shook, her fingers trembled. The American pursed her lips. She turned to face her.
"I'll get you out of this."
"Us. You'll get us out of this."
Elsa knew Hikari didn't make promises she couldn't keep. Silence as an answer didn't surprise her, but it did send down a feeling like lead in her stomach.
"We'll play your game," she spoke through the pain.
"Excellent."
The bartender pulled out a button from under the bar.
"Please press this button to choose the game."
Before Elsa could reach out, Hikari slammed her metal hand against the device. Behind the stranger, a screen flashed and settled on the word
CHESS.
There was a bang and a flash to the side, and suddenly what used to be a wall revealed a room. At its center, a chess table and two chairs.
Without a word, the bartender led Elsa and Hikari to the table, and gestured towards the chairs.
Hikari picked the black side. Elsa sat at white.
"The goal is simple: to capture the opponent's king. Do I have to explain the rules?"
"It's okay," Elsa said. "I've played a lot. Hikari?"
"I don't play chess. But I do know the rules."
"Good. As you might have noticed, each piece is decorated with a representation of a part of your bodies."
Elsa looked down – the pawns were four ringed fingers and four ringed toes, the rooks towers grossly wrapped in intestines, the knights horses' heads gnawing on bones, the bishops stakes planted in eyes, the king a crowned brain and the queen a heart.
"Each piece is connected to your nerves – on capture of one of them, you will feel pain in the associated area."
"Excuse me?" Hikari choked out.
"Each piece is connected to your nerves –"
"I heard you the first time! What kind of bullshit is that? That's not even possible, you expect me to believe –"
Elsa shot her a look, panic settling in her guts. Hikari shut her mouth.
Undeterred, the bartender continued:
"Do you have any more questions?"
Elsa shook her head.
"Excellent. Let the game begin."
It was as if the stranger faded. In front of Elsa now sat Hikari and Hikari only, in a game where their lives were at stake.
"White goes first," Hikari offered.
Of course, Elsa knew that. She lifted her hand, slowly, to reach for a pawn. She retracted when her fingertips brushed against it.
"It's warm!"
Hikari stared. Elsa knew better than to expect answers from their captor, so she swallowed the disgust and the fear condensed in a lump in her throat. It didn't work.
Trembling, she moved a pawn. She could feel panic slowly rising, threatening to drown her. A game where their lives were at stake? What did that even mean? Would the loser die? What was this mysterious woman planning? And, most importantly, why?
Hikari moved a pawn.
One turn later, Elsa found the opportunity to capture one of Hikari's pieces. Her fingers hovered over her own.
"Do it," her bodyguard ordered.
Had she put herself in that position on purpose? Or had she realized, her turn over, that she'd made a mistake?
"But..."
"It's bullshit, anyway. Just do it."
Elsa obeyed. She took Hikari's pawn.
"GAH!"
The sound startled her – she looked up, to Hikari clutching her organic hand with the other.
"What the fuck?!"
The American snapped her gaze to the bartender, rage on the tip of her bared teeth. The woman didn't move a muscle.
"Hikari, it's –" Elsa's voice trembled, "it's okay. Don't worry. We'll be fine. It'll be fine."
She reached out, to Hikari's hand. She gently took her fingers between her own and brought them to herself, to inspect them. No apparent trace of a wound. Her bodyguard had turned back to her and away from their captor, and slowly unclenched her hand.
She took it back once Elsa was done, and Elsa wished that she could've held those fingers just a bit longer.
She remembered deciding to hire Hikari as her personal bodyguard. It had been an easy decision, at the time, but she'd never expected her to accept.
And yet, here they were. A handful of years had come and gone, memories that bounced against one another in Elsa's skull. She'd always felt safe with Hikari by her side. And, somehow, understood.
Of course, she'd kept it professional. There had to be boundaries.
A memory made itself clearer in Elsa's mind. One she'd tried to bury. She remembered the alcohol numbing her senses, and its scent on Hikari's breath. They'd just talked, that night. Elsa hadn't been honest. Sometimes, she regretted it. But she'd been so afraid...
Hikari moved a pawn.
In taking one of them, Elsa had left herself open. Hikari hadn't taken the opportunity, no doubt because she hadn't seen it.
Elsa severely outclassed her bodyguard at this game. But, she realized, she didn't want to win. She didn't want to die, either, but she didn't want to win.
Without thinking, she made a stupid move. Hikari didn't capitalize on it.
Now Elsa could take several of her pieces. A board full of opportunities. She hesitated.
She looked to the bartender.
"What happens to the loser?"
"I can't tell you that. All I can tell you, is that this is a game where your lives are at stake."
She swallowed.
Hikari said: "Just do it, Elsa. I suck at this game. Get it over with."
"But..."
"We don't even know the conditions. Our lives are at stake, but maybe we'll only lose them if we end in a draw, or if we refuse to play, or if we cheat. Nothing is certain. Just win."
Hikari was right. They couldn't possibly just murder the loser, could they? It would make no sense. If they had captured them and brought them here, surely it was for a ransom. As CEO of a multinational energy company, Elsa had many enemies, and the ones that had wanted her dead were put behind bars long ago.
"You're right. I'll... I'll get this over with."
A feeling of dread still sat at the bottom of her stomach. She ignored it. She made her move, and captured Hikari's rook – Hikari grit her teeth through the pain without making a sound.
Her breath raspy and shallow, she lifted her gaze to Elsa.
"Talk to me, Elsa. Tell me... Talk to me about..." then, under her breath; "fuck," and out loud again; "how we met."
She made her move.
"We... uh..." Elsa's voice trembled, "We first met in an elevator. You didn't even say hello to me, you just asked me... who I was. And I didn't answer. The next day..."
Her eyes darted around the board, then to Hikari. She hiccuped a quiet sob.
"You came to the conference I was giving. And there was... an attempt on my life... A masked shooter burst through the door. You... you rushed to me, and pushed me down... out of harm's way. After that..."
She reached for her bishop and moved it.
"I decided to hire you as my personal bodyguard. Because it made sense – since you'd already saved my life once... I..."
Hikari picked up her king and moved it forward. Out of harm's way.
"Yes. It's a good story. Now tell me... What's your favourite memory of us together?"
Elsa noticed. It would now take her at least a couple turns to manage to get to Hikari's king without taking any of her other pieces.
She didn't say anything. Instead, she wracked her brain for a memory, precious – one she wouldn't give up for the world. She cycled through a million thoughts, painful, and all of the dread devouring everything else.
"Do you remember... that night on the roof of the company headquarters? With the northern lights?"
"Of course."
"Like the night sky was suddenly awake."
Hikari nodded. She moved her queen.
Elsa pursed her lips.
"You never told me... about your past."
Hikari's eyebrows shot up.
"... I didn't."
Elsa had realized that she was buying time. It erased any sense of hope. Now, there were things that she needed to know before it was over.
"We did a background check before hiring you, of course. So I know about it anyway. I hope you're not upset."
Hikari shrugged.
"I didn't assume you'd hired me on faith alone."
"Right. So..."
Hikari Oni. Honorably discharged from the american military after an explosion robbed her of her entire squad and two of her limbs.
"What happened after that? Why were you in Norway?"
Elsa made her move with trembling hands.
"I've had a recurring dream, ever since I can remember," Hikari said.
A pause.
"The most beautiful woman I've ever laid my eyes on. She's there, in front of me. And all I know is that I have to keep her safe for the rest of my life. We don't talk, we just stand there staring at each other."
She stared.
"Happiest I've ever been. That dream... When I thought I couldn't go on, somehow it could anchor me down. I searched for that face in the crowd, all my life, without really trying to."
She glanced down, half a second, to move her pawn.
"Then I lose half of me. Alone in a shitty apartment in whatever city. There isn't anything else left to do than chase that dream. So I hop on a plane to wherever, and when I get there I scan the crowd for the woman from my dream."
Elsa held her breath.
"And then, eventually, I step into an elevator – and there she is."
A storm unleashed itself inside her chest. She couldn't let it out – it needed to be contained, so she just stared. She stared at Hikari, and Hikari stared at her.
She had to blink away tears. In that blink, the second where their gazes couldn't meet each other's, Elsa's heart had a painful beat. A flash, a deep pain – the feeling that she had lost something.
She opened her eyes, the tears fell along her cheeks and she realized that Hikari had lost something too.
Hikari smiled.
"Move your piece, Elsa."
Elsa cried. She shook her head.
"I've lost. Move your piece, Elsa."
She'd realized, much too late, that Hikari far outclassed her at this game. There wasn't a move she could make that wasn't victory. Technically, she'd already won. But the bartender had said 'the goal of the game is to capture the opponent's king'.
"I can't – I"
Hikari reached out. Softly, she grabbed Elsa's hand – softer, she guided her fingers to the white queen, grasped them around it, moved, and took the black king.
A memory exploded in Elsa's mind.
They'd walked into the hotel in Tokyo, and they'd gotten into the elevator. It had stopped halfway up.
The voice in the intercom had said something about a bomb threat. Hikari had assured that it would be alright, they would fix the elevator soon.
They'd been in there for hours. They'd fought, and then made up, and then the intercom sounded again. The man on the other side said
I'm sorry.
Fatality had sounded. Elsa had grabbed Hikari's hand and said
I'm in love with you. I'm sorry it couldn't have worked. My only regret is that I never got to kiss you.
Hikari had pulled her in and they'd gotten so close she could almost taste it and then
nothing.
Elsa blinked.
She heard the bartender, Quin, clap once.
"Congratulations. Elsa is the winner."
Hikari said:
"It doesn't matter. We're already dead."
And Quin nodded.
"That's right. Both of you have already passed on. After their deaths, humans are sent to either Heaven or Hell; to be reincarnated or not. This bar serves as a place to make that ruling. Sorry for not being able to tell you earlier."
Quietly, Elsa got up. She stumbled to Hikari, who stood to be besides her.
Elsa lay her hand against the side of Hikari's face. Then, she leaned in and kissed her.
"It doesn't matter anymore," Elsa breathed almost without pulling away.
"There's some regrets you can't carry to the grave twice," Hikari agreed.
Quin's voice sounded.
"Now, if you'll please follow me back to the elevators."
So they did. Elsa intertwined their fingers, one moment longer. They stood in front of the doors to Heaven or Hell and stared at each other.
"I'm sorry," Elsa said.
Hikari blinked. She said:
"It doesn't matter where they send me. No matter what, I'll find my way back to you."
Elsa smiled.
"Okay."
She wasn't the one who broke their gaze, but she was the first to step away. Their fingers separated, and Elsa stepped into the elevator.
The doors slid closed – no.
"Wait – ELSA"
Hikari threw herself at them and got stuck, half of her chest in, her prosthetic arm reaching out to her.
"I'm – fuck – I'm SORRY! I was the one who sent the shooter, I made it up, it wasn't real – NO ONE WANTED TO KILL YOU! I'm gonna go to hell for this, for lying to you, and for all the shit I've done so we can't – I won't be reincarnated, but I swear to god I'll claw my way out of there and I'll find you again! Just wait for me! Just wait - "