Turns out the mall doesn't have a pharmacy or anything useful at all when it comes to wound treatment. Clothes, food, child's toys, yes. But not a single sign of disinfectant.
"We don't need that", grumbles his stubborn as she tries to rearrange her hair, "we can simply grab everything we find here and go back." The wind has messed up the top of her head completely, and it's useless to comb it back with her fingers now. As soon as they step out again, it will be for nothing.
Complaints about the weather have been Chishiya's constant companion on their way to the mall, and his stubborn's mood really has seen better days. It's somewhat understandable now after her start into the morning, and if complaining helps her to make it better, Chishiya won't prevent her from doing so. Most of it is drowned by the wind around them anyway. What he won't accept though is to leave without proper medication for her infected wound, given that it already looks worse than it should and will undoubtedly become worse if he does nothing.
He smirks over his shoulder, still finding a secret delight in the annoyance and resignation in those fascinating eyes now staring at him. "You're free to do that. I will search for a proper pharmacy in the meantime."
She would never, though. Go back alone and risk that he'll jump into another game without her knowledge? Or risk that anything might happen to him, although she usually is the one getting into trouble? No.
They leave the mall without grabbing anything. Since they have to walk further anyway and will probably stop at a bigger mall, it'd be unnecessary to bring extra weight. In the unlikely case that something will still be missing afterwards, the way back to the caravan will lead past here no matter what.
Chishiya moves quickly through the wind, eager to be back in a sheltered building as soon as possible. While he doesn't complain openly about the conditions, he doesn't want to spend more time out here than necessary. This is far from a pleasant walk in the sun, but it is needed.
"If only I could have taken the hoodie…"
There they are again, the complaints. About the lack of a hood, about the wind, the day in general. Chishiya barely listens to them more than to the other constant background noises, since he has spotted something in the distance that seems to be useful, although he will need to get closer to make sure it is what he thinks it is.
"… will catch a cold if this doesn't stop. And how are we supposed to take back all our supplies in that storm? It will all be blown away. Besides… We should have made a list."
The desperate grunts can't be drowned by the wind, and Chishiya watches from the corner of his eye how she continues to fight with the hair always blowing back into her face. Fascinating how she still hasn't given up on that, but it is just one more reason for her to be his stubborn. Stubborn enough to make her own day even worse. Luckily for her, Chishiya has everything memorized that's missing, from the medication to her instant coffee. "Don't worry. I won't forget anything."
"Still…" the way she eyes his hoodie speaks clearly for the fact that she envies the hood that's keeping him safe from most of the wind. "I would have felt more secure with a list."
Her own hoodie is currently drying in the caravan, but nothing kept her from asking for one of his. Nothing kept her from making a list, either. He would have given a hoodie to her, actually, despite the high chance that it'd get destroyed or ruined in anyway, be it through a bullet or through dirt. All she had to do was ask.
"Why didn't you write one then?"
"… Because I forgot." Her lips turn into a pout, and it gets even better when she stumbles over some roots sticking out of the street. Chishiya should really feel sorry for enjoying this sight so much, he should. Only that it doesn't stop, and just like that he can't stop smirking.
The smirk doesn't leave when two blimps get closer with each step they take, and two King's banners wave heavily in the strong wind. One is Hearts, and the other is Diamonds.
It is still there, and it has been waiting for him. Chishiya has wasted too much time already, and now that they're here… He could grab the meds and treat the cut, then head for the King. The Jack can wait a day or two longer, but the King's game is too close to retreat just like that. Too many days without a Diamonds game – it is time for a true challenge.
"Do you want to take part in it?" shouts his stubborn against the wind, since she has noticed his obvious interest. She won't be too happy, but she won't try to hold him back. They both know it'd be fruitless.
Chishiya nods. "I could use some challenge again. Would you be able to find the way back on your own?"
There's no reply. Maybe it is drowned by the storm, or she doesn't bother to answer, knowing that it won't change anything. Even if she was worried to get lost on the way back, she could wait for him like she did back with the Queen. They are surrounded by buildings and stores that'd be easily accessible, perfect to wait without being exposed to the weather. Her denying this question wouldn't keep him from participating, no matter the complaints or tears.
What has caught Chishiya's interest some minutes prior actually turns out to be a pharmacy with its door shattered entirely, but the building is facing away from the storm front, making the inside still comfortable despite dust and rubbles. Getting inside isn't too hard once he moves away a larger piece of what has once been the door, and some smaller animals scurry away from the sudden intruders. Can't be larger than a couple of rats.
To use the spare light they have before it runs out, Chishiya immediately heads for the counter and scans what has been left untouched. Most of the pain killers have been taken and almost everything that can be used as a drug is gone, but at least some disinfectant is still here. He chuckles when his glance falls upon a small notepad with a pen, perfect for the list his stubborn wanted to write. And while doing so, she'll definitely forget something.
Said woman has sat down in the waiting area and has already removed the old bandages, now tapping and inspecting the wound of hers. The way her face turns into a grimace is more than enough proof that it hurts and that it definitely needs to be treated, no matter how she thinks about it. Chishiya gains her attention with a soft whistle and throws the notepad towards her as soon as she lifts her head, not even waiting to see if she catches it. Since he can't hear any curses or rumbles, she must have been successful, and he returns to the shelves, this time focusing on the backside of the store.
Most people coming here didn't waste their time searching through the hind shelves, and the choice of medication is much better here than at the front counter. Still a clear lack of painkillers and drugs, but some are still hidden in the dark.
A bag from the counter is quickly filled with clean bandages, the disinfectant and gauze pads as well as some other stuff that could come in handy, and when Chishiya returns to the entrance, his stubborn shoves the pad towards him so he can check it. He takes out what he needs for the wound treatment first, but a first scan over the list has already proved what he predicted. "You forgot the coffee."
She scoffs, obviously sure that she would never forget such an important thing as that, only to find out that he's right. "What? No way, I-"
Chishiya reaches for her arm, forcing her to add the coffee with her other hand, and prepares the disinfectant. Cleaning the wound is priority number one, and it obviously hurts. "That's why I need the list", mutters the woman next to him with clenched teeth and pain-furrowed brows, but she doesn't withdraw her arm. Instead she tries to focus on her list to ignore the burning of the alcohol, and she doesn't even cry.
"There's more missing", Chishiya casually throws in, and she forgets about the pain for a second, eyeing him with a questioning look.
"Toilet paper and crackers."
The wind hasn't eased down once they step out of the pharmacy again, which is not too much of a problem for now since other useful stores are close. On top of that, it seems they're not alone. Somewhere through an open window, although Chishiya wonders why someone would keep it open during such a storm, the sounds of a piano make their way down to the street, parts of it being swallowed by the wind but not everything.
It is a cheerful melody, accompanied by the singing of a female voice, and pleasant to listen to despite the mis-tuned instrument. The song seems to brighten his stubborn's mood and it accompanies them while they roam through a grocery store, where the woman even manages to find some sugared fruits. Chishiya didn't eat anything like that since the Beach burned to the ground, and he doesn't mind at all to spend some time just sitting there and munching conserved peaches until their fingers are all sticky. Most of the cans have already gone bad, but the store provides enough of them to try until they find more than enough fruits that are still edible.
There's plenty of other stuff as well, from coffee to toiletries, and they could have gathered enough provision for an entire month if they had the space to carry it.
Chishiya still has the sweet taste on his lips when they eventually leave the grocery, each of them carrying a huge bag filled with enough food to last for another week or two. Or one day, if Kuina decides to come over again. But in that case, Chishiya will force her to bring them at least double the food as repayment.
The last stop is an apparel store on the other side of the road, its huge glass front shattered but not too much of the inside affected by that. While Chishiya doesn't need anything, his stubborn goes wild with all the clothes, trying on multiple things and much more that she could carry. It is somehow cute to look at, even more since she is aware of the fact that half the store would be impossible to carry even for the two of them, and she decides for a more suitable jacket than the one she's currently wearing.
"You don't mind if I get some other things, right?" she asks from the other side of the store, already eyeing the smaller stuff like underwear and soft socks.
Chishiya shrugs. "As long as you take the bag, I don't care."
Throwing a side glance towards some shirts hanging close to him, he notices that this would have been one of the more luxurious stores back in the real world, with prices that his stubborn probably could never afford. She wouldn't have even entered this store, too reluctant to face the truth that this was out of her class, but nothing of that matters anymore. Not prices, not brands. She can grab clothes worth thousands of dollars and burn them a second after and no one will bother.
The Diamonds blimp is close now, and this would be a perfect spot for his stubborn to wait. He places his bag against the wall, shoving it far enough inside to be safe from the rain. Why wait for her to finish the shopping when he could make better use of the time-
Right as he opens his mouth to tell her, Chishiya notices something else. Lingering behind one of the taller buildings, uttering the same rumbling noise as the Diamonds blimp. It is another King, but it's not the King of Hearts. If Chishiya would have walked around the apparel store, he would have seen the Hearts banner nearby, and its blimp doesn't move. Within the Borderlands, there is just one blimp that does.
And right now, it is resting in the air as calmly as all the others. Only that it hasn't been here a couple of minutes ago.
Footsteps behind him indicate that his stubborn has finished or at least stopped her shopping for now, but she is hesitant with the sudden tension. "Chishiya…?" Her voice is nothing but a whisper, and it sounds frightened.
She is clever enough to notice, and the color leaves her face immediately, turning it even whiter than after her dream. After waking up from that nightmare, she might have been worried about his life, but right now, she's clearly afraid of her own as well.
Chishiya can't see the King so far, but there's no need to. With the soft piano and singing in the air, he already has an idea for the sniper's first goal, and it is confirmed with a body slamming against the keys, ending the cheerful melody with a terrible dissonance. A moment of silence follows, and then the King's silhouette appears in the open window, facing them immediately. His gun is ready to shoot, and he won't leave until both of them are dead.
It is almost funny to think about that now; how Chishiya possibly wouldn't have fought it he had been on his own. But with the stubborn woman next to him – his stubborn woman -, he won't give up so easily. They still have a chance.
"No! No, no, no…" her voice is so desperate, so full of fear. This is so much different from her former mishaps and complaints and all. Talking about a terrible day when she stumbled into a puddle of refuse or stumbled over roots had been funny, but this is nothing Chishiya could enjoy; in fact, it makes him clench his fist.
Within a mere heartbeat, the bags drop out of his stubborn's hands and they both start to run. Since the King is jumping out of the window and heading straight to the apparel store, the only logical direction is towards the back door, which follows the plan Chishiya is already making up in his head.
The King won't stop until he kills them, and no door or building or whatever will keep them safe. With one exception – the areas of the other games.
If they manage to enter another game before the sniper shoots them dead, the King will move on and hunt down a different target. They're almost lucky to have two games to choose from, although Chishiya doesn't need to choose at all. He immediately knows that only one of the games is a realistic option, so he runs.
Neither of them are Spades players, and it quickly shows with both panting heavily and struggling to keep up a pace quick enough to avoid the King. There wouldn't have been the slightest chance in the open, but here, charging from door to door and from room to room, it works out so far.
Chishiya doesn't hear any shots being fired, which means that the King is not desperate to kill them. He doesn't waste ammunition and fires around like a maniac, but instead calculates his chances carefully and waits for the perfect opportunity. He's the King for a reason, after all.
Next to Chishiya, the woman is sobbing heavily, trembling from head to toe and shaking with fear. She keeps running though, and Chishiya reaches for her wrist so she won't slow down. It's hard for him to keep track of their direction since the doors always lead left or right and windows barely allow him to glimpse at what he's trying to aim for, and the heavy footsteps behind them never cease. The King follows them, not slowing down at all while they are quickly running out of energy.
Crashing through another door with his shoulder, Chishiya swallows down the pain spreading through his side and instead blinks against the sunlight. What a sense of irony that the sun has managed to fight its way through the clouds just now, and there's the building Chishiya has been searching for.
It waits just across the street, the one door that will keep them safe from the King.
Only that his stubborn decides now to slump down to the ground, with no strength left in her legs. Her timing couldn't be worse! Chishiya can hear the King close behind, and it's just a matter of seconds until he finds them…
"You have to get up. We can't stay here."
Talking is hard while being so out of breath, but he forces his voice to sound steady, holding out his hands for her to take. She's a fighter, and he refuses to accept that she has given up so quickly.
The crashing sound of an opening door makes her cry out, and her hands almost slip out of his. "I don't want it to end like this… I don't want to…"
Chishiya could take the advantage and run to the game on his own. Right now he would easily make it in time; it would even give him an advantage that the King would most likely shoot her first. And yet he's kneeling on the wet street, forcing the woman next to him to run.
"No other life should be of a higher value than your own, because those who you'd happily give your life for would never do the same for you."
Those had been his own words, spoken to this woman what feels like an eternity ago. He knows now that she would immediately give his life to save him, and while he can't say that the same goes for him, he won't leave her to die. "I won't let it end this way. But you have to get up and run. Now."
With all the strength left, Chishiya pulls her back on her feet, and then they run. He is still the one to lead the way, heading straight to the game door while the King of Spades steps out of the metal door in their back.
As the sniper makes his weapon ready to shoot, Chishiya pulls a bit stronger on the trembling hand clinging to his.
His stubborn won't die today. At least not like this.