Chishiya didn't allow her to sleep in his bed the last night, even though Sina actually fell asleep in the end. But she enjoyed it with no doubt – waking up while being wrapped in bed sheets that smell like him, and Chishiya gently touching her shoulder to tell her it's time to leave.
She wakes up early the next morning and knocks on Chishiya's door, hoping that the two of them could have breakfast together, maybe even together with Kuina. But he's not answering the door, and when she carefully opens it just a tiny crack, the room is empty.
A bit disappointed, Sina makes her way down to the dining room alone. Chishiya most likely won't be there, but maybe at least Kuina?
Someone bumps right into her, apologizing heavily as they don't even care to stop running. It's that caretaker guy, Tatta, and he's heading to the staircase as if a horde of cheetahs was chasing him. Sina can only shake her head about how many weird people live here at the Beach.
She enters the dining room with a yawn and quickly spots Kuina sitting at one of the tables. Chishiya is not with her, and even though Sina knows that he doesn't really eat in here, a part of her has still hoped to see him.
"Hi there", she greets with a wave and takes a seat next to Kuina after grabbing a cup of coffee and something to eat.
"Mornin'!" Kuina grins at Sina and punches her shoulder, chinking her cup with hers. "Had to sleep in your own bed, I assume?"
Sina nods. "Sadly, yeah. Where is he, anyway?"
Kuina sighs, giving her a look that tells her she's definitely annoyed by something. "Emergency meeting. Has to be something serious."
Hatter is in fact the salvation for many of those people. It would be a catastrophe for them if he died tonight. Sina has a bad feeling in her gut as you remember Chishiya's words. Maybe something had happened during yesterday's game. Could it be, that…?
"Has… has it something to do with Hatter?" She asks quietly, but Kuina just huffs and shakes her head.
"No one cares to tell me." She murmurs something more inside her coffee before placing it down on the table again. "Dunno if it's about Number 1. But as far as I know, he hasn't been seen since heading to that game."
This wouldn't have been disconcerting since Hatter was known for celebrating into early morning and then staying in his room until noon, but an emergency meeting? Just after Hatter attended a game? Maybe she's just exaggerating with her thoughts. She is probably just worrying too much about things that are not that bad at all. Couldn't it be that Hatter was able to collect the last card missing and that's what they are discussing now? Or something completely different that she just doesn't know because she is not part of the executives?
"I don't like that." Sina confesses, and Kuina agrees with her. But there's nothing they can do but wait. Chishiya most likely won't tell them about the meeting's topic, but Sina just wants to see him and hear him say that everything's fine.
It takes almost two hours for the meeting to end. Kuina and Sina have long left the dining room and strolled along the Beach's hallways to kill some time. They have talked about their past, and those things they regret. For Kuina, it's not standing by the side of her mother for way too long.
"I was selfish enough to leave my family, because I couldn't stand the judging looks of my father any longer. It took time to find my true self, and in all those countless months, I didn't even know my mother was sick. And when I finally returned to her…" Kuina sighs and leans her back against the wall as she sits down on the dusty carpet.
"My mother never cared if she got a daughter or a son. All she wanted was a child, and that child rejected her because of selfishness."
Sina shakes her head, because with everything Kuina has told her in these last days, Kuina seems to be everything when it comes to her mother - except selfish. "You're not. And you never were. You needed to get out of your father's toxicity so you could become strong enough to help your mother. I'm sure she never felt rejected by her daughter for a single time."
"That's why I need to return to her so badly. I have to make up for the time she had to suffer alone."
"You will. I'm sure of that."
Kuina gives her a tired smile, but suddenly changes the subject to Sina. "What about you? What's your reason to get back?"
It's not surprising that Chishiya's face is the first thing coming to her mind, but he is not the only reason.
"Hmm… As far as I can tell, everyone coming to the Borderlands has something dark about their past. Not a single person here seems to be entirely happy with their life, and there are lots of things that I'd change if I was given the chance." Some people have experienced traumas, some were criminals or psychos, and some just were not happy. Because of an exhausting job, failed relationships, the personal misery of feeling useless… Sina too had her reasons to dream of a different life before this death game started.
"And…" While she is not sure how she'd try to make her life better once she got out of this, there is one thing that remains certain. "I will find Chishiya, if we both make it out of here alive."
"How? Has he told you where you can find him?"
Sina shakes her head. "No. Not yet at least. But even if he doesn't tell me, I will try to find him."
Kuina can't help but laugh. "You sound like a stalker. What exactly did you do before the Borderlands?"
Before Sina can answer, someone walks past them who attracts their attention. It's a tall guy with glasses and a neat haircut, and the way he looks he could have been some kind of lawyer or judge before. But more importantly, Sina has seen him together with Hatter more than once.
"Hey, Kuina! Isn't that the Number 2?"
Kuina nods and they both get up the floor. Considering the fact that he is here, that means the meeting is over. They follow the direction where he came from, and actually encounter Chishiya around the next corner, though he looks pretty serious this time.
Sina don't wait for him to say anything and gives him a tight hug. To her surprise, he even pats her back instead of pushing her away immediately, but he does sign Sina to let go after a few heartbeats, though his hand remains on her back for a while longer.
"Kuina, I need you to come with me to the conference room. Arisu is already collecting Usagi, and we don't have much time."
Sina's eyes open with surprise. Usagi? There are even more people involved to this plan that no one will talk to her about? And isn't Usagi that pretty athletic girl that came to the Beach together with Arisu?
Kuina nods, facing Sina with apologizing eyes. She has the feeling that Kuina really wants to let her in on whatever is happening, but she can't. "Sorry", she whispers, and the look that Chishiya gives Sina seems to say the same, but it won't ease the heaviness inside of her.
No matter how close she manages to get to him, there will always be a barrier between them two.
Sina watches them disappear and a huge part of her wants to follow them in secret. But while she might be stubborn and sometimes stupid, she knows her place this time. And in that moment, it's not next to Chishiya, even though it almost reduces her to tears again.
For the next couple of minutes, she strolls through the hallways alone, not sure what to do or where to go. But soon, members of the militia are summoning all players located at the Beach to the great hall in the annex. There is no further information given, but since they're knocking on every single door, it has to be something huge. And it doesn't ease Sina's sense of foreboding.
While all people are scattered over the Beach area, it's hard to grasp the number of players who have become part of the Beach. But now that almost everyone has gathered in the annex, the amount of people all at once is overwhelming. As is the noise, since everyone is excited and nervous about the news, with Sina being no exception.
Though no matter how hard she searches, she can't find Chishiya or Kuina. They still have to be in their own little meeting, and Sina wonders if they know about the huge gathering.
Almost all executive members are waiting on the gallery, looking down at them as if they were nothing but insects. The only ones missing are Chishiya – and Hatter.
Niragi is the one speaking up, and the way he carries that gun over his shoulder makes Sina want to run away instantly.
"The leader has changed. Hatter is no longer with us." He pauses to let people assimilate the information, and Sina's heart sinks to her boots as her worst worry has come true.
"The new leader will be Aguni."
Sina can't help but stare at the tall buff man with the dangerous looking scar on his face, and she knows immediately that Chishiya was right. With Hatter gone, this place won't change to the better. Though she can't tell yet how bad it will be.
Niragi puts the noisy crowd to silence with a shout and with her heart beating heavily, Sina waits for Aguni to speak up.
"Now, what Niragi said is everything. With Hatter gone as the previous Number One, I now have full control over the Beach. Follow my orders, live for me, and die for me."
At least it's good to see that she is not the only one feeling absolutely uneasy in that situation. Hatter had been a god to the people here, because he gave them hope. But Aguni? He won't hesitate to kill everyone with his bare hands, and he doesn't even try to hide that fact.
To Sina's surprise, she sees a white hoodie appear on the gallery, whispering something into Aguni's ear. So Chishiya's secret meeting is over, but where's the rest?
Aguni frowns and immediately disappears from the gallery together with most of his men, followed by Chishiya. That leaves the rest of the players, including Sina, standing in the hall all dressed up and with nowhere to go.
It takes time for the gathering to dissolve, as people need time to process the happenings. But despite the worry and confusion, one message quickly makes its way through the whole Beach:
Arisu has been caught trying to break into Aguni's suite, and he'll probably be killed because of the Beach's third rule: Death to traitors.
But Sina knows there's more into it, as she slowly starts to connect the pieces of the puzzle. While she still doesn't know what it is all about, she is suddenly glad that Chishiya decided she was not the right one for this. Because otherwise she'd have been the one caught and most likely being killed.
Has Arisu been nothing more but a puppet to Chishiya? And what for?
What, for god's sake, is this man trying to do?
