01
Sweat dripped from the grim covered face of the balding player before him.
The older mans face while once full of undeserved self-confidence and despicable humor, was now pale with fear. Ataki forced himself to stifle his grin and 'karma' comments.
He himself was confident the game was almost over, soon the pathetic old man before him would be dead, that he was sure of. It was only the two of them left now after all, the bodies of three individuals that were once players alongside himself and the old man were now crumbled, bloody, and headless, Atari forced himself to spare them less than a glance, the sight was sickening. Two of the bodies, still dressed in their school uniforms, had been new arrivals to this 'place' whatever this place was, and were unfortunate enough to stumble upon a Hearts game.
In the months days he'd been alone 'here' playing the games, he himself had already been subjected to four games of Hearts, this would be magic number five. He felt like some seasoned Hearts professional at this point.
He knew Hearts were not exactly good games for beginners, hell a game of Hearts had been his very first game and it had ended in total bloodshed, even now weeks later he still didn't with to remember the exactly details that lead to his survival, Ataki had been the only one that survived that game and he knew he'd , He'd chocked ibe the only surviver of the one as well.
This truly wasn't what he thought all his hard work would amount, winning games by killing and watching others kill, but at least it wasn't a game of Spades or Clubs.
Methodically tapping his long scarlet painted nails against the wood grain of the large round table they sat at, Ataki began to hum a jovial tune. A tactic he'd began to use at his second Hearts game. It was anxiety enticing, at least for his opponent.
Another moment or two and the next round would start, and while Ataki knew the old man was already down for the count, at least mentally, a sadistic part of himself wished to drag out the fear the man felt, if only just for a moment longer, he was nothing more that a piece of this trash, one that that needed to be taught a lesson.
He sure didn't find any satisfaction in watching innocent people die, but the man before him was not innocent.
The way he so confidently lied to the two small teen girls whose torsos now lay slumped against the table and upon the floor, waiting to rot, disgusted him.
He'd long since come to realize heart games were difficult enough, even if they were the ones Ataki was best at, add two young girls both still children and terribly naive and the manipulative old man who was perfectly fine with killing anyone so long as he lived and they'd been in for a shit storm of blood and death.
"Round Four:-" With the soft chime, the screens of his -along with his opponents- newly picked up phones lit up, the white screen displaying ' ラウンド4 ' , Through the speakers the feminine mechanical voice announced the games final round "-Within the stipulated time frame figure out your opponents lie. Player 3- Begin."
A three minute timer began to tick away.
It was Atakis turn to go first this round. With one final hum and a click of his tongue against his teeth he began.
Their game had been simple enough. 5 Of Hearts- with 5 players total. Two Truths and A Lie it was called. In turns they were told to state 3 facts about themselves, with one 'fact' being a lie. If your opponents figure out which is the lie within the time allowed you die. If they can't guess you live to play another round. Game ends once only one player 'stands'.
The teen girls had been first to go, tricked by the old man and who Ataki assumed was his accomplice-the third body that littered the room with blood.
They'd been manipulated and threatened to tell simple facts like names and favorite colors under the pretense of it making the game 'easier on themselves, unless they wanted the shit kicked out of them or their necks snapped', and in the end both girls had been terrible liars with even worse worse poker faces, not to mention they'd become completely hysterical over the old mans threats. The collars hadn't helped of course. T
he third player to die obviously hadn't been the brains of the pair of shitty men, and in the end his buddy was the one to guess which of his facts was a lie sending him to his death.
Ataki wasn't as easy thought. He wouldn't let this bakayarou pick him off.
"My full name is Ataki Ikie, My father is a Romanian-Amerian named Iosif-" Ataki paused, his eyes flickering behind the old man head before dancing across the blood that had been sprayed across the table, meeting the mans eyes only after his little methodical 'show' "- A-and I teach psychology at the University of Tokyo."
Folding his hand across his chest Ataki mimicked a defensive posture. The old man seemed to smile to himself, giddiness radiating off of him in waves. Baited and Hooked. Ataki knew he had him now.
"Pathetic boy!" The sweaty old man cackled and he sat up straighter, swiping a dirty sleeve across his face, he began to cheer himself on thinking he'd won. "You ain't no damn sensei! That's the lie!"
Their phones lit up in sync, flashing red before the the chime that signaled the end of a tun rang out. The old shit was wrong of course. No he wasn't a professor, nor did he say he was, but he was a student aid sensei for his psychology professor -learning the ropes and he DID teach the psychology freshman class- it wasn't technically a lie. Iosif was the lie, Ataki's knew the best lies were just twisted truths after all, his father was indeed a Romanian-American man but his name was not Iosif.
Ataki wouldnt even begin to pretend to know how it was that the game masters knew which truths were actually true and which were fake, but they knew.
Beyond pissed the man across the table began to loose it, both anger and fear being his driving motives as he began to yank at the collar trying desperately to rid himself from the detonation device that no doubt was about to end one of them. It was obvious to Ataki that the man had psyched himself out so much he was having issues bouncing back. Words and pure hate were throw Atakis way, and for a moment he was sure the old man was going to hit him, having lost all sense of true self preservation.
The signals chime ragout throughout the room again, phones perfectly in sync and with it the voice. "-Within the stipulated time frame figure out your opponents lie. Player 5- Begin."
The three minute count down began.
The man ignored the voice and violently jerked himself from his spot at the table, fat tears that enlisted no sympathy from Ataki rolled down his cheeks cleaning the caked on grime away in thin lines. "NO!" He shouted, throwing himself to the floor as his body was rocked with sobs. Ataki glanced down, watching the white screen he had only a minute and a half left, if he said nothing he'd die.
Ataki chose not to remind the man and instead opted to watch the timer slowly run out, tuning out the mans cries and whimpering as he mentally did the math on how many days he'd have added to his visa, his last game was a 2 of Spades and before that a 6 of Clubs, he'd done the two games one night after the other so with the 5 of Hearts added he should have thirteen days -nearly two weeks of a break if he so chose to use them- apart of him wanted to use them, spend two week raiding the liquor shelves of the closest bar, hell maybe try and find a mildly attractive surviver to send a day or two with, the other part of him though wanted, no needed, to keep playing, to find answers.
Finally the sound of the last explosion of the night reverberated through his skull, he flinched his already bloody white button up splattered yet again, a migraine forming behind his eyes as he grimaced, pulling the fabric away from his torso. He really needed a change of wardrobe, something dark he deduced. Maybe brown?
"Congratulations Survivor." The mechanical voiced chimed.
The collar upon his neck unlocked itself, and Ataki was swift to remove it, The heart gamemaster sure loved their collars Ataki thought to himself as he not so gracefully tossed the metal device upon the table and turned to leave.
Outside the office room in which their game had been held the familiar white circular table held the singular 5 of Heart playing card and nothing more. Like some grand prize. Ataki swiftly snatched up, discarding the phone he'd used for the game like some sort of trade.
Exiting the four story office building, Ataki glanced up, the brilliant stars greeting him from the unpolluted sky. They sure were beautiful.
Sucking in a deep breath, Ataki silently thanked the stars he'd beat another game before dipping into the back seat of the closest car that sat discarded just across the street, Hed stated his leather brief case of supplies their before the game. It wasn't much, mostly just what he'd had on him upon his arrival, save for his bulky non functioning laptop and multitude of ungraded research papers which had long since been ditch in exchange for protein bars and a small med kit.
Taking his time stationed at the back end of the vehicle he'd care to tuck his new prize safely away in-between the pages of a small leather bound journal with the handful of others he'd collected, he then tucked the journal into the band of his trousers, grimacing as his fingers came in contacused as a hiding spot, he used the truck as a table and carefully pulled of his old leather bound journal, tucking his newest prizes along with his others between the yellowing pages.
Now he needing a shower and a change of clothes.
-And a drink.
Shrouded under the darkness of night Ataki used a newly picked up tire iron to smashed in one of the large windows of the nearest shopping centerl.
The building, two stories tall and about a block long, looked relatively nice -it lacked any tell tail signs of having yet to be ransacked by players at least- and although it was dark the glass roof down its center which would allow for the plants below it to thrive, allowed for just enough lights that Ataki could safely -or at least without tripping and eating shit every other step- see the many signs that lined the shops entrances, the center wasn't quite what he'd call a mall but it did have twelve to sixteen different shops within it. He was sure to find some useful shit.
A boutique located on the second floor was easy enough to find. They had a decent variety of mens clothing, more basic then he'd ever wore in his old life, he had always been the type to wear nice slack and trousers and his signature button ups paired with his vests of cardigans, but seemingly perfect for the fucked up post apocalyptic word he found himself in now.
Logically he understood he needed to be prepared, for anything -including extreme physical activity, and he'd held on to his trousers and button up for far to long.
Swiftly pulling a few pairs of dark cotton shorts off a table Ataki began to circle the mens section, claiming a few different tops and a both a thin pair of dark leggings and thicker pair of sweats. The shorts he'd chose were obviously targeted for a younger audience than he, teen probably by their design choices, but his short and thin stature would fit them perfect. He also was sure to grab the only pack of socks they had that fit him smaller than average foot size and a pack of boxers. He was in desperate need of essentials after all.
Arms full and briefcase much to small, Ataki set out for a bag. Only successfully acquiring one after searching the girls section, it was large enough with multiple pockets though it was definitely not something he'd wish to be caught dead using, colored tan, orange, and green with a little bunny and bear embroidered on to it.
"Fucking Adorable." He hissed aloud to himself as he delicately folded and stashed his newly acquired clothing into it, as well as his journal, med kit, and handful of protein bars. Verbally preparing a check list of what was next. "Sneakers. Food. Bath-" He paused, exiting the shop and searching the building for the convenience like small grocery stop he'd spotted on his was up. "-Alcohol."
Two hours later and a lukewarm bottled water -convienence store bathroom- 'shower' later, Ataki, now dressed in a clean pair or grey sweat pants, random long sleeve shirt and white sneakers, stood in front of the drink aisle a peach chuhai in hand, it tasted sweet enough for . It was already his second one and for a 3% rice liquor was doing its job just fine. He'd already raided the snack aisles, having stashed every protein and cereal bar he could find into his new back pack. His bloody clothes long since abandoned in a random trash can along with his brief case
Sleep didn't come easy that night, not that it had at all since coming 'here', but the lack of actual nutrition mixed with his pounding migraine left him laying awake. Downing cans of highball and the peach chuhai one after another tucked behind the covienecne store counter, His mind unable to shut down.
Answers. He wanted answers for the many, many questions he held.
Like how did he even get 'here'. He was sure this wasn't the Tokyo he'd grown up in. It looked like it enough, but he was sure he was somewhere else. So where was he? Why was he even here? Why with the death games?
Pulling out his little journal Ataki sprawled out his stack of cards. In total he had 13 now. Staring at them like this, all in numerical order based upon their suit had begun a bit of an addiction, just like playing in the games had. His fucked up collection.
5 Heart cards: Ace, 2, 3, 5 and 8. 3 Diamond cards: Ace, 2, and 6. 3 Club cards: Ace, 2, 4. & 2 Spade cards: 2 and 3.
His very first game had been the 8 of Hearts, and thankfully he hadn't dealt with very man high numbered cards yet. Last nights games of hearts and his games 6 of diamonds from a few weeks ago had been the hardest since.
Swipping away his stack of cards Ataki tucked them away carefully into his bag. Nothing made sense here. Nothing added up. It honestly scared him a little, what if this was life now? Playing the games every 3 or 4 days, hoping not to die while thriving off the adrenaline each game dealt out. Killing and watching others be killed. Savaging and stealing to live.