[Name]'s lungs felt like they were on fire, the burning in her chest tightening the organ until she had to stop and swallow down painful gasps of air. As she leaned against a nearby pillar for support, she listened to the wheezing sound of oxygen filling her lungs. She let the toy gun she was holding in her left hand drop to her side, the hard plastic hitting her thigh with a muffled thump. Her right hand clutched at the front of her shirt, just above where her heart was, as she tried to soothe the pumping organ to a more reasonable pace.

[Name] should have never agreed to play in a Survival Game with her friends.

The fact that she was too out of shape to be constantly running away from—or in her friends' case, running toward—the opposing team did not bother her in the slightest. No, she had suspected from the very beginning that she would be tapping out of the game early on due to her low stamina. What did bother her, however, was that all of her friends—the ones who had dragged her into the game in the first place—had run off without her, leaving her to fend for herself in her first match ever. The next time she saw any of them, [Name] swore she would curse their names.

The scuffle of feet against dirt pulled her out of her thoughts and back into the fast paced world of survival. She couldn't risk standing still for too long.

Running after her short breather seemed harder than it had been when she initially started, like the break had done more damage than good. [Name] could feel the muscles in her legs screaming for her to stop, take a seat, lie down, do anything but continue running. She could feel a dull ache in her chest and knew her lungs would eventually start to burn again. Her arm twitched, the weight of the gun in it almost feeling heavier than what she had felt when she first picked it up.

Salvation came in the form of a flag.

It had been a glimpse at first, something that only caught her eye because of its bright color waving through the wind. Backtracking a few feet, she looked down a walkway where she'd caught sight of the flag. Wasn't this thing the objective of the game they were playing? [Name] could hear the crunch of dirt under her shoes as she walked toward the fluttering flag, eyes trained on it. Take the flag and the game would be over. She could rest.

If only things were that easy.

Being new to Survival Games, [Name] hadn't even thought to check and see if anyone was guarding the flag. A single guy came out from the shadows in front of her; he looked defenseless, his arms down as he walked into her field of vision. [Name] lifted her gun, training it on him the best she could for a first-timer. This was the part where she was supposed to shoot him, take him out of the game, and she could walk away free.

The trigger wouldn't pull and there was a dull clunk coming from her gun.

In her confusion, [Name] almost missed the mocking laugh coming from the guy. "You left the safety on, sweetheart," he teased, finally revealing his own gun which he had been hiding. As he lifted it up, he turned the toy to the side and showed her the little switch, flipping it for her own visual example. "Rookie mistake."

Thinking that she could still get him if she worked fast, [Name] reached for the safety and flipped the switch, getting ready to aim once more.

"Don't even think about it, sweetheart," the guy sneered, bearing his teeth in a grin that made [Name]'s stomach drop.

She heard scuffling again and suddenly there were two more guys, both of them behind her and to either guns were up and pointed at her; she didn't have to check to see if they had their safety's off either. She was surrounded.

There was a zip through the air and a small explosion of dirt just a few inches to her left. [Name] let out a startled scream before realizing that the impact had been made by an airsoft pellet hitting the ground. One of the guys had just shot next to her!

Jeering laughter filled the air from all three of the guys and [Name] looked around at them in mild horror at the situation.

"What are you doing," she cried and none of the guys failed to notice the panic ebbing in her tone.

"We're just having a little fun," the first one said.

Lifting his gun, he aimed it right at her face and began to pull the trigger. [Name] flinched, realizing at the last second that he had shifted his aim to the ground. Another clod of dirt exploded, dropping small stones around her. She screamed again when a third shot got even closer to her feet; she could feel the small impact vibrate the immediate soil around her. It was her scream that started a miniature onslaught of pellets from each guy, their aim getting closer to her feet inch by inch.

"Stop it," she yelled. In her moment of terror, she fumbled for the trigger to her own gun, but only managed to drop the toy to the ground. "Stop it!"

A second scream caught them all off guard and, for a moment, each guy lowered their guns by a fraction to see what was going on.

"This is injustice!"

The yell tore through the air the same time a body did and a fourth, much smaller boy skidded to a halt in the dirt right next to [Name]. He was panting, though not as hard as she had been earlier, and if she had to venture a guess she would say definitely not for the same reason.

"Do not worry," the boy said to [Name] as he stood straight and took aim. "I, Tachibana Hotaru, will get rid of these bad guys once and for all."

There was a scoff from one of the three guy surrounding them, as if he'd just clicked his tongue in distaste. This was the start to what [Name] could only describe as a fast paced whirlwind of pellets and limbs. The boy, Tachibana as he had introduced himself, was fast on his feet as he darted past each guy. Though his aim wasn't perfect, he had persistence as he kept firing at each enemy, all while dodging their own pellets aimed at him.

The chorus of airsoft pellets hitting padded skin and the echo of 'I'm out's was like a song to [Name]'s ears. She watched as, one by one, each guy who had been tormenting her was sent back to the entrance to the field, begrudging grumbles on their breaths as they complained about the boy who'd saved her.

Speaking of, [Name]'s eyes were now trained on Tachibana, watching as he grinned to himself in victory. The light sheen of sweat that formed on his brow and the heavy rise and fall of his chest were enough evidence for her to know he had worked hard to get rid of those opposing guys. He had worked hard to save her. She was completely in awe, heart quickening in pace for a different reason altogether.

Maybe playing in weekly Survival Games would not be so bad after all.

EXTENDED ENDING

"Are you okay?" Tachibana had finally calmed down after getting rid of the three tormentors and he was beginning to make his way back over to [Name]'s side.

Squeaking a bit in surprise that someone as cool as him had even talked to her, she tried to stand a bit straighter while her hands immediately went to fussing with her disheveled hair. Color rushed to her cheeks and her eyes darted away from him as quickly as they could. Had he caught her staring?

"Oh, this is yours right?"

[Name] turned her gaze back to him just in time to see Tachibana stooping low to pick up her fallen weapon. He dusted it off, appraising it with his eyes for a moment before extending it out for her to take back.

"I think it suits you," he complimented. "I'm glad it didn't get any damage when those guys made you drop it."

Thanking him under her breath, [Name] reached out to take her gun back, but just as her fingers brushed against it a zipping sound went through the air. Tachibana yelled, a sound that was a mix of surprise and frustration.

"I'm out," he groaned, watching the little pellet that had hit him roll on the floor.

A few seconds later, a second zipping sound was heard and [Name] felt a dull pinch on her side. She looked down to see a pellet rolling away from her feet. "Oh… Me too."