The blood. So much blood. Why won't it stop?

It is Usagi who loosens the sling around her arm to try and wrap it around Chishiya's body, and Sina helps her with that. But the white cloth is soon covered in red blood over and over, and there comes more.

"The bleeding won't stop!"

Usagi's voice is as desperate as Sina feels, but at least she is able to speak in proper sentences while Sina can do nothing but to mutter his name again and again. Chishiya looks at her, and even in a situation like this he has the audacity to smirk.

"There's likely internal damage… Without the proper facilities in this country, I… only have a few more hours… or maybe half a day left…"

"Stop it. Stop talking such nonsense. I won't hear any of it!" Sina sobs uncontrollably now, and she takes his face into her hands, brushing aside a strand of blonde hair with her finger. It leaves a crimson mark on his skin, but most of it is quickly washed away by the rain. Or is it her tears?

Leaning her forehead against his and causing their noses to touch, Sina realizes just how cold his skin is. And his eyes, those endless brown orbs, are covered in a feverish film now, but at least they're still able to lock with hers.

"Chishiya… you're the med student. Tell me… tell us what to do, so we can fix you up! There has to be something I can do."

Usagi kneels down next to her, and while she does not cry, she looks quite shaken as well. "Why did you cover me? That's uncharacteristic of you."

The chuckle coming from Chishiya is not at all like the sound Sina has fallen in love to. His voice sounds so weak and pained, and she wants to shush him so he won't hurt himself more than necessary.

"Maybe I just wanted to try being 'uncharacteristic'…" He glances to Usagi for a short time, but quickly turns back to Sina. "I came to accept that… the prospect of changing in order to see the future ahead… didn't sound all too bad. That's all."

"What are you talking about-," she whispers to him while she continues to caress his cheek. Change to see the future? What sense lies in such a change if it will get him killed shortly after; where's the future in that?

"Hey, Chishiya." As Sina looks up, she can see Arisu, his eyes glued to the concrete under their feet while he speaks. "Before this shootout… You had something you wanted to talk about? What was that about?"

A hiccup shakes her body, probably because of all the sobbing, but Sina is too confused and shocked about what's going on to care about that. As far as she knows, Arisu had been the one being used by Chishiya in his attempt of stealing the cards. Something she had only learned after the Beach burnt down because of the Witch Hunt. And yet he does not seem to be angry at all. Something has happened between those two while Sina was gone. Just how much has she missed in less than a day?

Chishiya doesn't speak for a while. The bleeding still hasn't stopped, but there's less blood now. Not that this'd be reassuring in any way, considering the huge puddle of crimson continuously growing under his body. If there's less blood to come… it's not because the wound is closing. It is because there's not too much blood left inside his body.

He groans and closes his eyes for a moment, and Sina kisses his forehead and strokes his hair as an attempt to ease his pain a little. But even though it obviously hurts him, Chishiya answers, the words leaving his mouth slowly and pressed. "I… used to view humans as foolish beings… I couldn't stop the psychological abuse… I…"

Sina lifts his head as he coughs, and the sight of his pale lips quickly being covered in red and viscous liquid is almost too much to bear. "Please, you have to stop talking!"

But he doesn't stop. "I I couldn't get by without hurting someone… Well… I was probably jealous… They had things I didn't have… It was like I existed to show… just how empty a human can be…"

He suppresses another cough, and Sina tries to wipe the blood off his lips with the tip of her shirt. "Don't. Things changed! You have me now, right?"

"…Yes. It seems I found my purpose… only a bit late."

Not bothering the rainy street, Sina lies down next to him and cuddles herself against his side the way she likes to do. His heartbeat has always been soothing to her, strong and confident. Now she can barely hear its pounding, and it beats out of rhythm. So wrong. It feels so incredibly wrong!

She places a kiss onto the crook of his neck, and it tastes salty from her own tears. "I'm sorry that I left like that. If only I had returned to you sooner…"

Chishiya chuckles, just so slightly, and Sina feels his attempts to move his right arm up to her hair, but he can't do it. With another pained groan, he drops the arm back to the concrete. "It would have spared me two gunshots."

Through the never-ending cascade of tears, Sina manages to smile against his skin, but it quickly vanishes again at a very disturbing sound quickly growing louder. It sounds like a blimp, just with a heavy and unhealthy rattling and…

A heavy explosion sounds close to her ear, and following an instinct, she leans over Chishiya's body and presses her hands onto his ears to protect him from whatever is happening right now. Something crashes down onto the concrete, causing whole cars to flip over, and the sound of splintering glass mixes with bending metal.

Sparks fill the air, glowing red for a heartbeat until single drops of rain distinguish their fire, and with wide eyes, Sina manages to look up and stares at the blimp that has just collided with the highway. Its proximity to Chishiya and her is frightening, but it's like a miracle that not a single scrap has reached any of them.

In the burning and steaming mass, she catches sight of the face card quickly turning black like the rest of the blimp, and just behind her, Arisu exclaims with the same amount of shock and disbelief: "A blimp?! The King of Spades… was defeated?!"

There's no doubt of it. Last time she checked the sky, the blimp was nowhere to be seen, and the sniper King is the only one with a moving airship. But who managed to defeat him?

Sina carefully takes her hands from Chishiya's ears, just in time to hear another cackling sound, this time coming from everywhere around them.

FOR ALL PLAYERS RESIDING IN THE BORDERLANDS-

it's the unnervingly happy computer voice liable for all announcements inside and outside the games,

-THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT. CONGRATULATIONS! OF THE FACE CARD GAMES, THERE IS ONLY ONE REMAINING. YOU'RE WITHIN REACH OF CLEARING ALL GAMES. GOOD LUCK ON YOUR FINAL GAME!

One game. Just one more game left…

"Have you heard that, Chishiya? Hold on a bit longer, and we can get you out of this!"

Sina barely listens to Arisu and Usagi, but a soft hand on her shoulder causes her to lift up her head. "We're heading to the final game venue. If there's a chance for Chishiya and Niragi to survive…"

"I don't care for Niragi." Maybe it'd even be better if that devil died here, considering all the pain he has caused during the last weeks. Usagi gives her a smile, understanding but not ready for a discussion. "Stay here with Chishiya while we're gone. We'll try to hurry."

With the crash of the blimp, the rain has stopped, and Arisu suggests to bring the injured to a more safe place and away from the burning wreckage. While he takes care of Niragi, Usagi and Sina carefully drag Chishiya to a dry poach overgrown with grass so it will make for a more soft bed than the concrete. Niragi complains loudly, and Sina swallows down the urge to kick him into the still bleeding wound.

But Chishiya is in pain as well, and he needs her full attention now. Sina puts her jacket over him to keep him warm, and after Usagi does the same with Niragi, she watches their figures disappear in the empty streets of Tokyo. She doesn't know what the last game will be, but they have to clear it. There is no other option.

A piece of ash lands on her nose, and Sina lifts her face up to the sky. Lone rays of sunshine are trying to make their way through the heavy clouds, and their warmth on her skin feels like a glimpse of hope. But then she turns her attention back to Chishiya, with his eyes half closed and his chest barely moving under the shallow breaths he takes.

"It's all my fault! This wouldn't have happened if I stayed with you…"

Sina watches how his eyes focus back to her again, but the feverishly film won't leave. "I told you… to make a decision."

"But… I shouldn't have listened to you." Her voice is nothing but a whisper when she takes his hand and put it into both of hers. It doesn't matter that they have started to tremble again, since all Sina notices is how cold his fingers are against hers. Chishiya's hands have never been colder than hers. Never.

"Yeah… You… rarely do."

The sight of his face blurs because of the tears, and Sina squeezes his fingers tightly in a desperate attempt to warm them up. "I won't leave you again, Chishiya. And I won't allow you to die! You are my weakness, but you are also my strength. With you gone, there's just… nothing. I'll be as empty as you were before."

It hurts more than being actually shot to see how he tenses under another wave of pain, how his eyelids flicker with the strain to stay conscious. To stay alive.

"Don't… stop… talking."

Her whole body shakes under another wave of sobs, but Sina bites her tongue to calm down. "I… I won't allow you to go, because you still owe me a favor. And… and I demand it now! I want you to stay alive. Stay alive so you can fulfill the second favor that you still owe me, remember? You have to hang on so we can eat our strawberry crepes!"

His eyes lose focus again, but Sina can see the smile on his face. It is pained, and looks more like a grimace with the crimson stains against his white skin, but as long as he carries this smirk on his lips, she knows he's still with her. At first Sina doesn't know what to talk about, although it doesn't matter as long as a sound escapes her mouth, and soon enough, they keep flowing without the need to think about it too much.

She tells him how she met Kuina, that they actually had meat for dinner together with terrible beer; she tells him what Kuina said about him being Sina's Prince Charming. And just like that she continues to talk, about the most trivial things coming to her mind while never letting go of his hand, and once in a while, she'll feel his fingers move against hers. Sina reveals him the thoughts she's had about him when she first developed feelings for this unapproachable man, and what moments have burnt themselves deep into her memory. She talks about the plans of what to do when she finds him in the other world; that she'll pull him into a tight hug and won't let go for at least a month.

"You'll probably be so annoyed about my clinginess, but we both know that it can't be helped. After all this, everything we went through together… All I want is to feel that you're real. That you're not only a part of my imagination or a wonderful dream, but that you exist just like I do. That probably sounds stupid to you, I know… The thing is – a tiny part inside of me is afraid that you won't be there when I wake up. That you never existed in my world in the first place. Does… does that make any sense to you?"

Some things repeat, and some things won't make sense, but Sina continues to talk until her voice is hoarse and she doesn't have the strength left to say much more. The clouds leave slowly until the whole sky is colored brightly blue, and the longer she speaks to him, the further the sun moves, until the horizon starts to burn with the warm colors of sunset.

Chishiya has not talked to her again, and even the pained groans and grimaces have become less. His hand in Sina's has grown colder, and it has been a while since he last moved a finger. Sina frees one of her hands and instead lets it run along his cheek and through his hair. While he is still breathing shallowly, his eyes are closed now.

At this point she doesn't know if he will endure long enough. Why does it take so long to clear the last game… What if they fail?

Sina bends over his face to plant a kiss onto his lips, and it's laced with the salt of her tears and the metallic taste of Chishiya's blood. "I love you. I love you more than anything."

Blinking away the tears, she watches his now calm face, expecting him to open his eyes for her again. But that doesn't happen – he simply continues to breathe, in and out, slower and weaker with every time.

Even if he dies now, Sina won't leave his side. In fact, she doesn't want to go anywhere without him. What is left for her when he won't be there, waiting for her on the other side of the Borderlands?

She curls up next to him and burrows her face into his hoodie while the tears stream down silently. No strength is left to sob, and Sina feels so tired. For the first time since days, night approaches with the promise of a clear and starry sky. But will he still be with her to watch it?

I don't want you to leave me. I can't do this alone. Not without you.

A tremble passes through his body, and Sina can hear how he shakily breathes in. "I… like it when… you say that…"

And she does. Sina wouldn't hesitate to say it again and again, even if her throat hurt with every single word, as long as it keeps him here with her. "I love you, Chishiya Shuntarou."

The last rays of sunshine disappear behind the city skyline, leaving them in the dark. It has been hours since Arisu and Usagi left, and Sina is about to lose hope about them clearing the last game. But losing this hope would also mean to give up Chishiya…

And she can't give him up now. Not after everything they went through. All the tears, the pain piercing her heart, all the talks and touches, kisses and hugs, tender moments as well as heavy ones. Sina is not able to let all of that go, she won't allow it to fade into a memory that can never be repeated.

She hears a single hiss in the distance, and at first she can't classify the noise. But within a heartbeat, more hisses follow, and they suddenly turn the dark night sky into a colorful mass of exploding lights. Some are small, others are huge, and Sina can see red and green and blue and yellow…

"Fireworks…" she whispers is drowned in the noise of rockets exploding above their heads, and Sina turns to Chishiya, whose eyelids are fluttering, as if he tries to open them.

If there are fireworks now… Does that mean…

CONGRATULATIONS! WITH THE RECENT EVENT, ALL OF THE GAMES THIS TIME HAVE BEEN CLEARED. ALL THE SURVIVING PLAYERS; PLEASE INDIVIDUALLY ANSWER THE FOLLOWING: FROM NOT UNTIL FOREVER, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO CONTINUE THESE DEATH MATCHES AS A CITIZEN OF THE BORDERLANDS IN THE NEXT GAMES WITH PERMANENT RESIDENCY. YOU NOW HAVE THE CHOICE TO ACCEDE OR ABDICATE THE POSITION. WILL YOU ACCEPT IT OR REFUSE IT?

Even without Chishiya being fatally wounded, it wouldn't have been an option to stay in this cursed land forever.

"I think… I'll refuse…" Through almost fully closed eyelids, Sina can see Chishiya focusing on her, and she takes his face into her hands.

"Of course I refuse to stay in this wrecked land! But whatever happens, I'll find you. That's a promise."

Chishiya doesn't tell her not to make a promise she can't keep. He simply lets out a sigh and eventually manages to lift his hand up to hers with a hint of a smile on his face. "I know you will."

And as Sina bends down for another kiss, the fireworks disappear and another source of light fills the sky. It is spreading fast, soon swallowing them whole and dragging her away from this place.

Home.

I'll find you, whatever happens. I promise.

But little does she know that this promise will be almost impossible to keep.