🂣 Card 3: Making the craziest friends 🂣
Mad Hatter ❖ Melanie Martinez
.
🂠 My friends don't walk, they run
Skinny dip in rabbit holes for fun
Popping, popping balloons with guns
Getting high off helium 🂠
.
The girl named Alice, caught by the evil wolves, had been led to their den. The den had the appearance of a luxurious castle, whose inhabitants led a lavish life as they waited to engage in a dance with death as every night fell. Despite all the glitz and the freedom granted, Alice soon realized that the place was nothing more than a prison, born out of the wild illusion and obsession of one man, and decided to pay attention so as not to fall prey to the collective hallucination that pervaded the place.
However, every cloud has a silver lining: among the inhabitants of the castle Alice found the brother she had been looking for, and she soon start to think that there she might be able to gather some information about the mysterious world called Borderland.
Thus, Alice decided to stay in the wolves' den, and soon started her quest to find the breadcrumbs that she was sure were scattered among its rooms.
🂠 We paint white roses red
Each shade from a different person's head
This dream, dream is a killer
Getting drunk with a blue caterpillar 🂠
The morning after her arrival, Alice awoke at 10 a.m., when her face was reached by a warm ray of sunlight that managed to penetrate between the half-pulled curtains. She lay basking motionless in the blankets, enjoying the softness of the mattress and the sheets.
She did not remember it being such a wonderful feeling; but after sleeping for two weeks on the hard floor of an abandoned building, she was discovering again and as if for the first time the comforts of modern life.
How many things she had taken for granted in the real world!
Megumi had slept clinging to her all night, of a restless, turbulent sleep; Alice, on the other hand, had practically passed out as soon as she had laid her head on the pillow.
After about ten minutes that she was awake, the child in her arms began to stretch and slowly opened her eyes.
"Good morning!" murmured Alice gently caressing her cheek.
"Morning," Megumi replied, crinkling her eyes, groggy from sleep. "Lice..."
"Hmm?"
"Where are we?"
At the one and only Beach, Alice thought, and the words echoed in her head in Hatter's voice.
"Somewhere safe."
"Is my mommy here too?"
Alice felt her heart clench in a painful grip, and she hugged Megumi tightly to keep her from reading the truth in her face. " Not right now, but... There are so many people here, and everyone is going to the games... I'll tell everybody to look for your mom, we'll find her super quick and she'll join us right away," she lied, closing her eyes and gently stroking the little girl's head.
Forgive me, she begged her. I don't want to lie to you, but I can't allow you to throw a tantrum. Hatter wouldn't appreciate it. Forgive me, Megumi.
The little girl remained silent for a long time. From the feeling of something warm wetting her shoulder, Alice - who had been sleeping in her underwear and bra - realized that the little girl was crying, and squeezed her even tighter.
Forgive me...
After a few minutes, the little girl's tears dried up, and Alice pulled herself to her feet, ready to distract her as best as she could.
The night before, after her talk with Aki, Alice had taken an interminable shower, basking in the hot water for a long time. Another comfort, that one, that she had always taken for granted, and the indispensability of which she realized only now. Megumi, on the other hand, had collapsed immediately; so Alice suggested she took a shower.
While the child did as suggested, the girl, who had in the meanwhile dressed in her "fighting clothes" as she liked to call them, approached the window. From outside, came a low, persistent and annoying buzz; with a dry gesture, she shook aside the curtains and, stunned, contemplated the human mass that, like one man, moved around the pool, shifting to the rhythm of techno songs blasted at an extremely high volume.
"Damn," she muttered, shaking her head. "The lunatic wasn't kidding."
She was roused from her stupor by an insistent knock on the room's door.
When she opened it, Alice was confronted with a pair of disproportionately large boobs, put on display by the bra of a skimpy bikini. Only after stretching her neck did she catch a glimpse of the owner of that impressive bust. The woman, who couldn't have been more than twenty years old and was at least six inches taller than Alice, had a sun-tanned skin, long lightened brown hair, plump lips, arched eyelashes, and a fabulous, well-turned body with soft, sinuous curves in all the right places, which the fluorescent yellow bikini helped to emphasize.
"Good morning!" she exclaimed with so much enthusiasm that it pierced her ears. "I'm Rin Fujiwara, number one of the Hatter's Girls!"
"Of the what, excuse me?"
"H-A-T-T-E-R-S G-I-R-L-S," Rin spelled out, furrowing her brow.
"Yes, I've heard that all right. But what...?"
"But that's obvious! We are Hatter's favorite girlfriends!"
Alice opened her mouth wide in surprise.
Holy shit. The junkie has granted himself a harem.
"As I was saying, I'm number one! Hana will tell you that she's his favorite, but don't believe her!"
"Um..." stammered Alice, searching for something appropriate to say, and unable to take her eyes off that body evidently favored by the gods.
"You are Alice Shimizu, right? It's really true that you are not Japanese! I almost didn't believe it when they told me! Hatter asked me to be your guide to this paradise on earth called the Beach!" Rin spread her arms wide, in a gesture absurdly similar to that of her "boyfriend," took a leap, and raised an excited squeal that resembled those of actresses in detergent commercials. "So, are you ready to surrender yourself to this trip into pleasure?"
"I was born ready, but is this pleasure trip suitable for minors?" asked Alice, pointing with a nod at Megumi coming out of the bathroom.
The first stop on Rin's "pleasure trip" turned out to be the room where a mountain of costumes, quite literally, had been accumulated as a reserve from which newcomers could draw to comply with the first (" brilliant," Rin added dreamily) Beach rule. Without giving too much thought to the matter, Alice chose a simple white two-piece bikini, over which she immediately slipped on her American collage-style sweatshirt. Since it was a men's size, the sweater came to her mid-thigh and concealed most of the delicate areas; the rest was covered by the zipper, which she closed up to her neck. However well-stocked as it was, though, the Beach wardrobe was not supplied with children's swimsuits, so Megumi was allowed to keep wearing her own clothes until the teams in charge of supplies could retrieve one for her.
The rest of the tour was quite short. Speaking rapidly, and accompanying each word with sweeping gestures that made her prosperous breasts dance, Rin enthusiastically explained the use of each environment they passed through.
"Here, this is the closet! It serves... it serves as a closet, that's it! Oh, and over there is the indoor disco! At night we dance mostly there, because it's cold outside and people use the loungers for sex! And the room next to the disco is the storage room where we keep the drug supply. We really have all kinds of them! If you need something to relax you can go there. Ask for Rihito, and say I'm sending you: he'll give you the best shit!"
On more than one occasion, Alice found herself forced to hastily place her hands on Megumi's face to prevent her from witnessing inappropriate scenes for a five-year-old girl; at first, she tried to hide from her even overly passionate kisses or hands that were slipping on bottoms and inside swimsuits, but soon she had to desist . Effusions of that kind were so frequent that it would have been quicker to have Megumi walk around blindfolded, so she decided to censor only the overly explicit scenes, in front of which she herself looked away in embarrassment.
The last environment Rin showed her, after the dining room where the guests ate their meals and where they made a brief stop to allow Alice and Megumi to have breakfast, was the swimming pool.
"Here's the pool!" she exclaimed triumphantly, with one fist planted on her hip and her other hand pointed toward the reflecting pool glistening in the sun, completely obliterated by the human throng that crowded inside and all around it. "Here you can bathe, drink, dance, and have sex!"
Alice nodded at that explanation that her guide had fed her pretty much for all the rooms they had visited. "Well, I mean...that's the real shit, right?" she said, pretending not to notice the stares from the group of boys who had just passed by them. After ten years of being in Tokyo, she had become accustomed to the attention attracted by her foreign appearance.
"I think so, too! Aaaaaaand now that the didactic part of our pleasure trip is over, how about we get down to business! Time for your welcome drink!"
Seeing the expression of genuine joy on her tour guide's face, Alice did not feel like turning down the proposal just because it was eleven-thirty in the morning and she was still not of drinking age. So, after sweet talking Rin's tattoo-filled bartender friend, they took a seat on one of the few free lawn chairs, Megumi holding a peach juice, and the two girls with an improbably blue-colored drink ordered by Rin.
"Cheers!" trilled the woman, and downed half the glass in one gulp. "And so? How are you doing here at the Beach?"
Alice furrowed her brow and, after tasting the drink with the tip of her tongue, grimaced at realizing how alcoholic it was. "It was all a bit too much... How can I say ..."
"Mythical? Fantastic? Heavenly?"
"You took the words out of my mouth ..." Alice did not have the heart to repay the dedication shown by her tour guide by telling her that, in fact, she would have described the place with any term but the ones she used.
Rin, however, seemed satisfied with the answer, and launched into an enthusiastic monologue about the gossip of the Beach, which, Alice discovered to her shock, was a remarkable amount; even in a place like Borderland, jealousy, love, envy and hatred gave rise to little daily dramas. As she spoke, the young woman pointed out the various protagonists of the narrated events, imitating their tics or manners, and more than once Alice found herself laughing in spite of herself.
During Rin's monologue, a group of three flashy girls passed by the crib where they were sitting and, without even trying to hide it, pointed at Rin and burst out laughing. The one directly concerned attempted to show indifference, merely shrugging her shoulders and continuing in her quips; although she quickly averted her gaze, Alice did not miss the flash of sadness and sorrow that ran through it.
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
Rin was beautiful, not particularly bright, and the leader's favorite. It was enough of a mix to make her disliked by a good portion of the female population at the Beach and to make men stay away from her, so as not to attract the antipathy of Number 1.
Besides Hatter, she had no one.
Rin was alone in Borderland.
This Alice read in the slightly trembling hand that was clutching the glass, and in the breath held until the group of three girls had departed. She recorded all these details, and saw in them an opportunity to insinuate herself into the ranks of the cultist faction without arousing suspicion.
She had to win Rin's trust.
Her heart rebelled for a few moments against the plan devised by her heart-player mind. Manipulating people such as Hatter was no problem for her, sure as she was that if he ever had the opportunity, the man would return the favor plus interest. Rin, on the other hand...
She was a good girl; perhaps a bit simple-minded and way too uptight, but Alice overall liked her.
Alice had never had a friend as an adult. Her life had been too busy with study, work, and other "serious" commitments, as her father called them; and certainly, even if she had had the time, the conditions for her and Rin Fujiwara to meet and become friends would hardly ever have arisen in the real world.
Yet, sitting on a lounger holding a too-strong drink at eleven-thirty in the morning in a hellish world called Borderland, Alice found herself thinking that she wouldn't mind being able to chat with someone like her again.
And so it was that her heart and mind came to a compromise.
She would make sure to become friends with Rin, but not just because Rin could be useful, but because Alice really liked her.
Taking another sip of her drink, Alice mentioned the group of girls who had just passed by and remarked in a casual tone: "It's really true that we women are terrible, with our rivals..."
Rin raised her head sharply. "What do you mean?"
"The girls over there are only laughing at you because they are envious."
"Envious? Because I'm a Hatter's Girl?"
"Not at all! Because you're a hottie, and I bet they wish they were like you!"
"You really think so?!" Rin's face suddenly lit up, and she leaned in the direction of Alice, whose heart clenched painfully as she realized the success of her plan. "If you like me, maybe I could ask Hatter if he feels like having a threesome... even though you're a little flat for his taste, I think he'll say yes if I ask him!"
Alice struggled to ignore the sense of remorse, and the little voice in her head that wondered what kind of life the woman in front of her had led to assume that a kindness could only be explained by some sexual interest. "I'm honored, really, and I assure you that I find you to be a beautiful woman, but I don't want to sleep with you."
"Oh." Rin groped her head, visibly confused. "Then why did you compliment me?"
"Because ... well, I just said what I thought. Nothing more, and nothing less. You don't need to have a reason to compliment someone, and surely that reason doesn't have to be that I want to sleep with you."
"Oh..."
As Rin furrowed her brow, trying to process the unbelievable event of having received a compliment without any ulterior motive, Alice's attention was drawn to a small scuffle that took place by the poolside. A group of three militants had just shoved into the water a boy who had been too slow in moving out of their path, not sparing insults and threats; then the three, laughing, proceeded to their destination, a raised mezzanine overlooking the entire outdoor area.
"Oh, right! I forgot to tell you one of the most important things!" exclaimed Rin, clapping a hand on her forehead, then pointed with her head to the platform on which the group had just retreated. "That is the area reserved for militants. If you are not invited by one of them, you cannot access it for any reason..."
"I think I'll get over it..."
"Besides, even if you're invited, remember that it's absolutely forbidden to have sex up there!"
"What?" Alice set the virtually untouched drink down on the coffee table and gave the other a puzzled look. She was almost sure she had spotted a couple about to hump each other along the edge of the pool, right in front of the ladder leading to the raised platform of the militants (she was not shameless enough to double-check, however) so such a restriction seemed to her to border on the absurd. "You can have sex anywhere and not there? Why?"
Rin shrugged, retrieving Alice's abandoned drink. "Who knows? It's Aguni who decided that. And Aguni is not a man who can be questioned."
Alice closed her eyelids, and rubbed them with two fingers. And just as she was finally beginning to accept the three absurd rules of the Beach, an even more absurd one popped up.
There was nothing to be done: the place was a madhouse, and nothing made sense.
"I've talked to you about this rule because you might be invited up there ... Hatter told me last night that you and Aki ... I mean, you... You're siblings... I mean, no, you're not. You're non-siblings, and so... oh, how should I know?! Hatter was so confusing in his explanation last night, and plus I was kind of stoned... I didn't understand a thing!" Rin nibbled nervously on the straw, shooting a lost puppy look at Alice.
She smiled, softened by such spontaneous and genuine reactions coming from a young woman with a racy body who looked more like a child than Megumi. "Aki and I are brother and sister, though not blood related. Even if that's the case, however, I don't think I'll go on the platform if I can help it."
"Oh..." The other nodded, assimilating the information, although it was obvious from her wrinkled expression that she still did not quite understand the bond between Aki and Alice. "Well, if you don't want to go, can you put in a good word for me? Your brother is really cool, I wouldn't mind having a little ride with him. If Hatter doesn't object, of course."
"Aki has always been quite popular with women. I'll see what I can do," granted Alice, with a jaunty laugh, noting once again the seductive power of Aki's "bad-boy charm." She then turned her attention back to the militant mezzanine to see if her brother was there sobering up. She couldn't find any sign of Aki, but she noticed a group of three people coming down the ladder, probably to take over patrol duty from the group that had just returned to the base. "Rin," she said, pulling herself to her feet. "I'm entrusting Megumi to you. I'll be right back."
That day, the Beach witnessed an event that had never occurred since the day of the military faction's birth: since Aguni had armed his men and they had begun to bully the residents, no one, neither of the longtime residents nor of the newcomers, had ever approached the militants spontaneously. Those who had been there the longest, always informed the newbies, out of the kindness, that if they wanted to have a peaceful life at the Beach and, above all, stay alive, they absolutely had to keep away from that group of deranged people.
One small detail - the most important of all - that Rin, who had nonetheless put all her efforts into fulfilling her role, had forgotten to mention.
It was true that Aki had advised, not to say intimated, her to stay away from the militants, and she herself had set out to do so. Still, Alice had not fully understood her brother's words, nor did she feel that their status forbade her from treating the militants the same as she treated any human being; at home, when she happened to pass Aki's friends outside the gate of the mansion where they lived, she at least greeted them, and with a few, the more decent ones, she even exchanged some trivial and harmless pleasantries now and then. She thought, quite wrongly, that to live in peace it would be enough not to irritate Aguni and his men, and to follow the rules; not that she should ignore them altogether, and pretend as much as possible that they did not exist.
Thus, everyone present, despite the fumes of alcohol and drugs, turned as one, dismayed and excited, when the petite girl with exotic features, who had arrived at the Beach just the previous evening under the escort of Aguni and Niragi, got up from her crib and walked confidently to the poolside, until she stood in front of the three militants, two men and a woman, who were starting their patrol.
When they became aware of the petite girl who was striding toward them, the three froze, and they, too, were panicked for a moment, unsure about how to handle the situation. Normally, they were the ones flushing people out, certainly not the other way around.
"Hey, honey! You got a problem?" Recovering from his astonishment, the one among the three who looked like the leader of the platoon, a tanned-skinned, hairy, tattooed man, took matters into his own hands. Being forced to face the unknown, he decided to do so by resorting to the usual method used by militants, namely threat. To make it more credible, he even pointed a gun at her.
Alice bent her head slightly to the side and pursed her lips. "A problem? No, I would say not." She then leaned over the man's shoulder. "Hey, you're Hawaiian shirt, aren't you? The guy from yesterday's game. Although you're not wearing the Hawaiian shirt today."
The guy jerked, and behind the lenses of his dark glasses he looked around nervously, as if the audience watching the scene spellbound might suggest exactly how to behave in such a situation. "I... yes, I am Osamu. Osamu Sasaki."
"That's it, I thought I remembered it was you. I hope I'm not disturbing you, I just wanted to check up on how your ribs are doing."
The third militant, a woman with stodgy black hair that went down to her butt and a nose as big and squashed as a pig's, burst out laughing so loudly that she was forced to lean on her boss to keep from falling over. Osamu gasped, and again eyed the crowd for support. "Well," he finally resolved to say, stammering. "Ann says a couple are cracked, but it's nothing too serious."
"What about the games? Are you going to make it?"
"Yes, it's not so bad..."
"Great, I'm glad to hear that. I would have felt responsible otherwise." Alice nodded in satisfaction then, raising a hand in greeting, she turned her back to the group.
"See you soon, then. And sorry again for the trouble."
That was the second extraordinary event of the day.
While it was true that no one, as a rule, approached the militants on their own accord, it was an equally well-established rule that no one walked away from them unless they had given the unfortunate target of their attention permission to do so.
The patrol leader, increasingly dumbfounded, had already raised his gun aiming at the foot of the girl walking away to properly punish such an affront. Fortunately for him, Osamu Sasaki decided to recover from his shock just then, and lowered his arm with a resolute move. When the chief turned angrily toward him, changing the object of his own irritation for a moment, Osamu hastened to inform him of the blood relationship - although the point was disputed, and strange and contradictory rumors were spreading as to the real nature of the bond - between that strange little girl and Aki Shimizu, and the chief ended up thanking his dumb luck for stopping him a moment before he shot.
Meanwhile, unaware of having just overturned the order of the Beach and of the confusion caused in the militants and the crowd, Alice made her way back to the lounger where her tour guide and Megumi were waiting.
Upon her approach, Rin raised her head, holding the straw between her plump, inviting lips and twirling it in slow circles. "You sure are weird" she then commented thoughtfully, completely oblivious to her own oversight and the part it had played in the event. "First you pay me a compliment without planning to fuck me, then you go and spontaneously make small talk with militants. No one approaches militants spontaneously, everyone knows that! I told you that right away, didn't I? You are weird. Actually, more than weird, I'd say you're just nuts, Alice Shimizu."
After receiving that rebuke, Alice could barely restrain the urge to drown herself in the pool.
.
🂠 Where is my prescription?
Doctor, doctor, please listen
My brain is scattered
You can be Alice, I'll be the Mad Hatter 🂠
.
Later that same afternoon, a violent thunderstorm hit the town, forcing the Beach residents to retreat inside the resort but failing to cool the spirits of those who were partying hard. The party had paused just long enough to move to the resort's large hall, and then had resumed as if nothing had happened. Alice and Megumi, who were occupying a table in the previously nearly deserted hall, were left with no choice but to get up, leave and resume their respective activities in a quieter area.
They had found refuge in one of the building's hallways that was less frequented because of its proximity to the kitchen.
Alice was crouched in the recess of one of the huge windows overlooking the garden; she sat on the wooden board that served as an inside windowsill, huddled, with one leg bent against her chest and resting against the glass, and the other dangling. She was reading in concentration the book she held propped between her arm and thigh. From time to time, her gaze lazily lifted from the pages to caress the figure of Megumi, lying on the floor and busy coloring a sketchbook, or to watch the rain drumming on the glass. She thought of Aki, whom she had not heard from since the previous evening; she should not have worried too much about his absence, he was probably engaged in some militant task but the thing, rather than soothing her, actually made her uncomfortable. So she lowered her eyes again, sighed, and resumed reading.
The tranquility of their first afternoon at the Beach, however, was about to be drastically interrupted.
Alice spotted the group of three militants on patrol as soon as they emerged from the end of the hallway, and she kept an eye on them as they noisily advanced. She knew there was no chance of being left alone; not there, in such a deserted place, and not after she caught a glimpse of a hideous animal print shirt, but still she did not lose hope. If she had kept a low profile, if she had been accommodating, if she had given them - no, him - what they wanted, perhaps she would have gotten away with only a few snarky comments
"Look, Lice! There's the guy in the weird giraffe shirt!" trilled Megumi electrified, rising to her seat and pointing a little finger in the direction of the militants.
Alice squinted her eyes. So much for getting off cheaply. Then again, she didn't feel like blaming Megumi: that shirt was a total eyesore.
"Well, well. I was afraid the patrol was going to be a pain in the ass, but looks like I found a stray kitten hiding in an alley instead. Lucky me!"
Slowly, the girl lifted her eyelids, almost as if putting off the face-off could make the huge nuisance looming on the horizon disappear.
There were three of them. Again the same militant from the morning, the woman with black hair and a snout that resembled that of a pig. The chick's dislike for her seemed to have worsened dramatically since their first meeting, for she stared at Alice as if to intimidate her. In addition to her, the group included Osamu, who shifted his weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably, and, of course, the rifle-man with terrible taste in clothes.
Niragi was staring at her with a cocky grin, and the unmistakable attitude of a predator who has just cornered a juicy prey. He was wearing the animal-print shirt from the previous day, or one very similar, but he had replaced the tight black pants with a pair of black beach shorts that reached just above his knee.
"Lucky you," Alice murmured through tight lips, barely restraining herself from rolling her eyes. She assumed the gesture would not be appreciated, and she had not the slightest intention of offering those freaks an excuse to pick a fight.
Niragi... what did Niragi want from her?
What did he want from everyone?
He wasted no opportunity to twirl his rifle around. He wanted to inspire fear, and the respect that fear generated.
He had no problem killing and hurting others. He wanted to dominate, and to always be on the side of the strongest.
He did not set limits for himself, either in actions or words. He wanted to have fun, and a good part of his fun consisted of tormenting others.
He was not interested in coming across as likeable, and indeed seemed to strive with all his might to achieve the opposite effect. He wanted to...
Alice tightened her lips imperceptibly.
Does he want to be hated?
While the girl's mind was processing those hypotheses at a very high speed, the group had caught up with them, halting a step away. Osamu tried to look anywhere but at Alice; the woman, on the other hand, scrutinized her as if she were nothing more than a garbage bag forgotten by some absent-minded person.
The object of her musings, on the other hand, was turning his attention to Megumi who, with eyes wide-open but filled with interest, was studying the man's rifle. "Hey, little mouse. We meet again." Niragi barely bent down and, smiling wryly, let the rifle slide down his shoulder, within reach of the little girl. "I see you like my rifle. You have good taste. Do you want to try it?"
"MEGUMI!"
Alice's imperious call blocked the little girl's hand, already stretched in the direction of the object and eager to grasp the gleaming metal.
"I'm sorry..." stammered Megumi, retracting her arm, intimidated. "Alice told me I can't play with weapons."
Niragi threw back his head and broke into a boisterous laugh, imitated by the pig-faced woman. "This one is really good!" shouted the man between gasps. "Don't you think so, Akane?"
"I'd say pretty pathetic," she replied in an icy tone, and winked contemptuously in Alice's direction.
He wants to be hated. He definitely wants to be hated.
Fear. Respect. Scorn. Contempt.
Hatred.
Niragi wanted all these things from her, and from anyone who came into contact with him. Rather, he did not want them; but he expected them as a logical consequence of his own actions, and he did not care at all to arouse certain feelings.
If that was what he wanted, Alice would give it to him and, incidentally, without any particular difficulty, as long as he then left her alone.
"Damn it, baby doll! You must show me the tricks you used to discipline her! I wouldn't mind my men obeying me that way, too!" Niragi paused to catch his breath, then added: "You sure have some guts to teach her something like that in this place. Don't use weapons in Borderland!"
"She won't need them. I'll protect her," Alice replied dryly, and then thought she should lower her gaze quickly, as if he was making her uncomfortable and wanting to flee like a rabbit startled by a gunshot.
Yet, her eyes would not lower. They remained fixed on the man's sneering face and narrowed imperceptibly, as some dogs do to challenge an opponent of theirs.
Stupid eyes.
What on earth was she doing?
She should have feared him, made herself small before him, trembled.
Not provoke him.
Don't provoke him, don't provoke him, don't provoke him...
"Also, I strongly believe that children shouldn't be allowed to play with guns," articulated Alice's tongue, in conspiracy with her eyes to make her go through a bad quarter of an hour and maybe get her killed.
Shit.
For a moment, silence reigned over the group.
Osamu held his breath.
Akane puffed from her nostrils, excited, eagerly awaiting the massacre.
Megumi turned her head from Niragi to Alice.
Alice mentally cursed her eyes and her stupid tongue.
Niragi's smile widened; and the tip of his tongue peeped out between his white teeth and darted swiftly as if he were tasting an appetizing dish just served.
"We totally agree on that. And do you wanna know what else I believe? Well, I strongly believe that children shouldn't be allowed to hear any adult talk, either. We should have homemade popsicles, in the freezers, if I'm not mistaken. So, what do you say, guys? Do you feel like taking this oh-so-obedient little girl for ice cream in the kitchen while I have a little grown-up chat with my princess?"
Alice was too slow to react. By the time she sprinted to pull herself to her feet and stand between Akane and Megumi, Niragi had already raised his gun with a swift gesture; with the butt of the rifle he blocked her movement, and he drove her back to her seat roughly. "Oh, no, no. I wasn't talking about you, baby doll. I'm really sorry, but I don't think you deserve ice cream."
The man continued to keep her pinned down with the rifle, crushing her unceremoniously against the wall; Alice grabbed the barrel of the weapon with both hands, praying that it was not loaded, and started to push, but no matter how much force she put into her resistance, she could not budge him an inch, and was left with nothing to do but watch in fury as Megumi was led away by Osamu and Akane toward the kitchens.
Drawing on what little self-control she had left, she made an effort to smile at the child to reassure her, and to give Osamu an eloquent look.
You owe me your life, Hawaiian shirt. Don't forget that. Make sure that crazy woman doesn't harm a hair on Megumi's head and we'll call it even.
Alice and Niragi remained alone. Without losing his winking smile, the man moved the rifle away from her with a ridiculously slow gesture. Although she was free to move, and as much as she wanted nothing but to leap to her feet, slap the asshole in the face, and run to the kitchen, she dared not get up. The barrel of the rifle was still too close to her, and in a physical confrontation she had no hope of victory.
It was one thing to face a pot-bellied, middle-aged man in the grip of hysteria.
It was another to face a real predator. A predator bigger and stronger than her, devoid of any scruples, who had her cornered and was feeding on her powerless state.
Yes, right. Her plan. She had to give him what he wanted and shake him off as soon as possible.
So, Alice simply snuggled back into her corner, but this time she did not bend her leg against her chest. She had no intention of making it easier for that pig to spy on her than it already was because of the ridiculous dress code imposed by Hatter.
"There, there, baby doll. Why don't you relax a little? The little mouse is safe with us, I promise you. If I were you, I'd worry about myself. Children, you know, shouldn't play with guns, and they shouldn't hear any adult talk. They are small, weak little creatures, and it's our duty as adults to protect them, right? That's what you said last night, if I'm not mistaken."
She had to pretend to be intimidated, submissive, weak.
Yet, the more she heard him speak, the more in Alice grew the unhealthy desire to screw up her plan.
"Adults also have another job, though. When children fuck things up they must discipline them. Especially if they are overgrown children." As he spoke those derisive words, Niragi slid the tip of the rifle under the American college sweatshirt Alice wore fully closed, from below, and lifted it slightly. "The lunatic's rule is to wear a swimsuit, and you don't seem to be abiding by it. Since it is my duty to maintain order here at the Beach, I must ask you to fix it. Security reasons, you know. For all I know, you could be hiding a knife down there."
If I had a knife with me, I would have already stuck it in your mouth to cut off that fucking tongue of yours.
This time, thank goodness, she managed to keep quiet; the flicker of amusement that flashed in the man's eyes, however, suggested that the expression on her face had nevertheless expressed quite well the thought that had just crossed her mind. Niragi, however, did not flinch; he must have been in an incredibly good mood to overlook it. Or perhaps, and in a pretty much sick way, the little game with the rifle was amusing him too much to interrupt it anytime soon.
With another studied and ridiculously slow gesture he slipped the barrel of the rifle out from under the sweatshirt, lifted it up to Alice's chest, and tapped the zipper with it.
"What do you say, baby doll? Will you fix it for me, mm?"
She should have looked away. She should have begged him to move the rifle away.
Fuck it.
Instead, with a gesture as calm and measured as the man's, Alice lifted a hand, gently moved the tip of the rifle away, and grabbed the zipper.
She was going to regret it, she knew it perfectly well.
She was going to regret it bitterly, she had no doubt.
But Alice made the decision that she would never give that sadistic asshole the pleasure of seeing his twisted desires fulfilled.
I will not feel fear, I will not be dominated, I will not tremble.
Whatever you may do to me.
Striving with all her might to stare into Niragi's eyes and not at the rifle aimed at her own chest, Alice slowly began to slide the zipper down. She shuddered imperceptibly, a gesture of weakness that irritated her; but, at least, she managed to keep her hands from shaking.
Niragi's eyes followed that carefully controlled gesture without missing a single detail.
He rested the tip of the rifle on the girl's neck and, following the movement of her fingers as they slid the zipper, gently caressed the snow-white skin revealed to his eyes: from her neck, the barrel slid along her sternum, passing between the small firm breasts enclosed by a white bra; from there, it went down to her flat belly, lingering for a few moments on the tiny navel, and stopped at the level of the slip.
As the barrel of the rifle traced that caress, Niragi's tongue darted out of his lips again, and twitched almost as if he was picturing himself licking the girl's body instead of the weapon.
Still using the tip of the rifle, Niragi slid aside the flaps of the now-open sweatshirt so as to expose her body entirely.
A body with a white, immaculate, pure skin. He could not see a single imperfection, a single sign of the passage of life and reality on her.
She was so immaculate that she appeared fake.
Immediately, his dark eyes ran over it entirely, down its full length, devouring it without the slightest shame, imagining all the things he could do to her, all the pain and pleasure, depending on the mood of the moment, that he could inflict on those few inches of uncovered skin that she had offered to his gaze, and that his rifle had just deliciously caressed.
Now he was really hard.
He didn't know whether what had provoked him so much was seeing his rifle draw a straight, lethal line across that immaculate skin, or the doll's stubbornly proud and shameless gaze, but it mattered little.
In either case, it was something he wished to dominate to the point of destruction: her snow-white skin, he would have ruined it, torn it apart, marked it permanently; and he would have wiped that proud, stubborn look from her face, imposing on her a submissive, destroyed, drained expression.
He was going to bend her. He was going to break her.
And the fact that she was Aki Shimizu's sister would not stop him in any way.
"That's so much better," he then said, nodding and running the tip of his tongue over his lips. "You really have a fuckable body, baby doll. It's a shame you stubbornly hide it under that awful sweatshirt."
Alice, of course, blushed at that vulgar remark, but did not abandon her proud attitude. "If I was disciplined enough, the talk can end here, can't it? Get your minions and Megumi back."
His already swollen dick twitched pleasantly.
Disciplining her...
Yes, imposing his own discipline on her would not have displeased him at all.
For a moment, Niragi wondered if the girl wasn't just putting on an act. Perhaps she liked to play proud and prude, but in reality she was dying to be fucked by him and was provoking him on purpose.
Without answering her, Niragi sat down next to her on the wooden board that served as a windowsill, leaning his back against the glass and the rifle against his side, his hands in the pockets of the beach shorts and his long legs abandoned in front of him, in a pose that highlighted the bulge at the crotch of his pants. If arousing him was the princess's goal, well then it would have been impossible not to notice the erection he was brazenly putting on display.
Alice, however, seemed completely uninterested in the state of his dick; from the corner where she was holed up, she kept peering into his face and occasionally glancing at the rifle languidly abandoned at his side.
She was not acting. She wasn't acting at all, the little doll.
Interesting.
Niragi let her tongue slip out of his lips. She stiffened instantly at that sight, an effect he had failed to achieve even by giving her a few strokes with his rifle, but she did not look away as she had done just the night before at the pool.
"No, princess," Niragi then said, picking up the thread of the conversation as if he had not let nearly two minutes pass between her question and the answer. "We're not done yet. As patient as I am with little girls, especially when they're a bit grown up and damn sexy, I can only handle one at a time. And it looks like I'll have to take care of you tonight."
Alice flinched back and crossed her arms against her chest, as if he had just slapped her, although it was an imperceptible movement, since she was already pressed against the wall.
"Naughty little girl. What did you imagine?" Niragi leaned in her direction, letting his tongue dangle out of his lips in the way he knew would drive her crazy. "We're going to a game tonight, and the higher-ups decided to put you on my team."
Alice turned visibly pale. "I still have days before my visa expires," she observed, with an obvious effort to maintain a firm voice.
"I know, baby doll. But the lunatic wants to test you and has instructed me to report the results to him."
That was not quite correct, but he did not find it necessary to share the truth with her.
Hatter, indeed, had announced during the morning executive meeting his intention to have Alice participate in another game. Although he would never admit it, he must have slightly regretted giving her such a high number in the heat of the moment. "We must ensure that she is worth keeping here," he tried to justify himself with a shrug. "Considering that, with the brat, her stay counts for two."
Aki, of course, had raised a fuss at the prospect and had become even more upset when Hatter had slammed into his face that he could not be the one escorting her. If the newcomer's abilities were to be seriously tested, it had to be done without her being forced to look after the brat or being in turn protected by her brother. Despite the threats, even Aki had to bow to the inflexible decision of the number one who, for once, seemed sincerely supported by Aguni, and so he had no choice but to leave in the middle of the meeting by slamming the door angrily.
At that point Niragi, who sat sprawled on the sofa with his legs resting on the coffee table, raised a hand limply. "I volunteer to accompany her" he said with a smirk, winking at Hatter. "I was just itching to participate in another game, since last night's one sucked. And how can I say no when I have the chance to play with a lovely hottie like Aki's little sister?"
And so, Niragi had obtained the role of supervisor of the newcomer; which was equivalent to saying that he had obtained the chance to torment her at will away from the Beach and especially from the apprehensive gaze of her brother.
At the announcement of Hatter's stunt, Alice barely suppressed a snort; it was unclear whether her irritation was caused by the prospect of participating so soon in another game, or by being forced to team up with him. "Of course," she hissed, cursing with all her might the stoner who was certainly having a good time upstairs. Then she raised an eyebrow, as if struck by a sudden thought.
"Oh, are you worried about me? How sweet of you." Niragi, guessing the course of her thoughts, bent his torso forward a little more, moving closer to her. Between their faces, now, there was but a few inches of distance; they were so close that the scent of coconut milk emanating from Alice's skin tickled his nostrils, and that he could make out the tiny golden straws floating in her dark green eyes. "Don't worry, it won't be a big sacrifice to go with you tonight. I don't mind games, much the same way I don't mind overgrown little girls who have to be taught to stay in their place."
Close as they were, he enjoyed the spectacle of those green eyes blazing with irritation and the flow of blood that conquered the cheeks of her face. "Figured," she mumbled, tightening her lips into a thin line.
How much pride in that single word muttered through clenched teeth.
The erection pressing against the crotch of his pants drew new life from it.
Niragi grabbed the zipper of the sweatshirt between two fingers and began to fiddle with it, exactly as he would have done with her nipples, although she could hardly imagine that. "If you prefer, though, we can do as you had thought, and lock ourselves in my room..."
"Between the two, I'd rather play," Alice cut short, without even thinking about it. "And in any case, I would like to remind you that this is harassment all right," she added, and immediately bit her lower lip, annoyed that she had failed to keep her mouth shut once more.
The man let out a boisterous laugh. "Good to know, princess. And so, what are you going to do? Shall we call the police together, huh?" Niragi leaned further forwards, completely nullifying the already small distance that separated them: he brought his face side by side with hers, bringing his mouth close to Alice's ear, and placed the hand that had earlier been fiddling with the zipper on her bare hip, exactly above her costume. He drummed lightly with his fingers, impatient, barely restraining himself from sinking into her tender flesh and imprinting the first bruises that, in all likelihood, her immaculate doll body had the honor of tasting. "Or shall we hear what your brother thinks?"
He sensed her body jerk and stiffen under his hands, and he brought his lips even closer to her ear.
"I think he might be quite interested in the matter... I understand him, after all. I'd freak out, too, if I had a little sister like you. Oh, if I did, I'd be dying to fuck you."
This time Alice did not even try to restrain herself. She planted both hands on the man's chest and pushed him away from her with all her strength. "That's disgusting!"
Niragi did not resist. Her reaction seemed to have satisfied him enough to bear the affront. "I'm afraid you're the only one who thinks so, baby doll." Without any further attempt to approach, and swinging the rifle lightheartedly at his side, the man stood up. "So, I'll see you later, sweetheart. I'll look forward to game time. And here's the little mouse coming back."
The two militants and Megumi were making their way back from down the hall; the little girl, who seemed unharmed, trotted hopping along beside the two adults, and in her hand held a homemade strawberry popsicle, which she licked excitedly and immediately held out to Alice to share with her. Niragi winkingly let his tongue slip out of his lips for the last time at the girl's direction, as if to invite her to lick the ice cream and offer him new images to refresh his fantasy.
Akane squared Niragi's noticeable erection, his tongue dangling and his eyes glittering like a consummate predator, and then Alice, and on her face appeared an annoyed expression that soon turned into a grimace full of hatred. Osamu waited until his two comrades had passed the window and had their backs to him to bow his head in apology at the turn of Alice, who had stood up and hugged Megumi tightly.
When the three had disappeared beyond the corridor, Alice snorted impatiently. "What an asshole!" she blurted, shaking a fist toward the ceiling.
"You can say that loud," uttered an amused voice from an unspecified point in the hallway, causing Alice to jerk in surprise.
A female figure peeked out from one of the doors that faced the wall opposite the window compartment where Alice and Megumi sat. Tall, slender, and with a lean, muscular physique, the woman had long brown hair combed into very fine dreadlocks that framed her face like a mane, descending to her mid-back; Alice estimated that she could not be more than twenty-five years old. Between her lips, she held the stick of a lollipop, which she kept nervously twisting from one side of her mouth to the other. "I had holed up in this room to get some peace, when I suddenly heard voices coming from the hallway. Sorry I didn't help you, but when I realized you had been boarded by that lunatic I preferred to stay out of it..." she added in a tone imbued with sincere regret.
"Don't worry. Anyone in his right mind would have done the same." Alice waved her hand to dismiss the matter and smiled encouragingly at the newcomer. "I would have been suspicious if you had behaved differently."
As soon as the woman had addressed her, she had felt a pleasant feeling of warmth arise in her chest. She would not have been able to explain the reason, but she liked the newcomer a lot. Maybe it was due to her kind and straightforward gaze, maybe it was the fact that she was the first person she had crossed paths with who did not look stoned, drunk or completely crazy, but for sure she was the first person at the Beach, aside from her brother, who had made such a positive impression on her.
"True. However, I think you can relax. Niragi clings to all the vaguely cute newcomers, but lets them go as soon as the next distraction comes along."
"Children are like that, after all. Especially overgrown ones." Alice shrugged her shoulders, and held out a hand toward the stranger. "I'm Alice Shimizu, by the way, and she's Megumi."
"Kuina Hikari." The woman returned the handshake with a smile, and took a seat where the overgrown child had been sitting with his rifle until just now. "You're the newcomers, huh."
"How do you...?"
Alice cast a sidelong glance at Kuina, trying to guess her personality and desires as she had done with all the ones before her; but she discovered, to her surprise, that the woman seemed to have absolutely nothing to hide. She stared straight into her eyes, without wavering, and in them Alice could see nothing but generosity, kindness, trustworthiness and honesty.
"Rumors travel fast. Plus, in a place like this a little foreign girl walking around with a brat attached to her arm and looking for militants to make small talk, rumored to be the sister of one of the most terrible of them, just stands out". Kuina bent the leg to her chest, rested the elbow on her knee, and removed the stick from her mouth, then twisted it between her fingers.
"At least for the second bluster I can plead innocent. It was my guide who failed to explain that I was about to commit a capital sin by talking to the militants in a friendly way."
"Ah! Your guide: Rin Fujiwara, right? A good girl, but not exactly what you can call bright." The stick returned to Kuina's lips, and she snorted in amusement. "She just failed to explain how to survive around here, basically."
"Look..." Alice bit her lip. Kuina conveyed to her a sense of reliability and security that, since she had set foot in Borderland, no person except Aki had been able to instill in her. Nevertheless, she hesitated. Addressing the question that was so important to her to a stranger could have proved to be a far from wise choice. And yet...
"Do you want to ask me about your brother's activity as a militant?" Kuina leaned her back against the wall and extended her arm until she rested the wrist on her knee.
Alice squinted her eyes. "Are you by any chance an expert in heart games?"
Kuina laughed, and the toothpick moved from the left side of her mouth to the right. "Not at all. The only one at the Beach, as far as I know, is Mira. But your face was a perfect ode to curiosity. From this I gather that you were more or less informed about what the militants are up to."
The girl nodded, absentmindedly running a hand through the hair of Megumi, who was clinging to her arm, at once intrigued and intimidated by the newcomer. After her chat with the militants, Rin Fujiwara had distractedly notified her that Aguni and his men, the only ones empowered to carry weapons, were assigned the task of maintaining order at the Beach, by enforcing the absurd laws devised by Hatter and eliminating traitors.
Kuina remained silent for a few moments, searching for the right words to express herself without sounding too brutal. "Aki is one of Aguni's right arms, along with Niragi and Last Boss. I don't know how he got that role, because he is not cruel. He never attacks someone just for the sake of it, like Niragi. However... how should I put it? You can tell from his eyes that he is someone who would be able to do anything without thinking twice about it. He is different from the others. Kind of like Aguni. No offense meant."
"No offense taken."
How could she mind? Alice knew it was the unvarnished truth.
Aki possessed the eyes of an old man, eyes that were already tired because they had already witnessed too much despite the fact that he was barely twenty years old.
And although she loved him and had always supported him, in Borderland as at home, she could not pretend that the problem did not exist.
It did exist, and it was quite a big one, too.
"I don't want to make you anxious, but it is possible that people around here will avoid you," Kuina added, after another pause, and choosing her words carefully. "No one wants to deal with the bigwigs from the militants."
Alice bent her head slightly to the side, peering at the woman with curiosity.
Once again, Kuina guessed the course of her thoughts, and especially the question that had arisen before she could even speak: if that was the case, why had she approached her? "We don't choose our blood ties, and you seem like a good person. I mean, you've spent the whole morning with Rin Fujiwara without trying to drown her in the pool, and you don't seem charmed by this fairy-tale castle pulled up by Hatter. There aren't many of us in here."
"In fact, it's good for me, too, to have met someone who hasn't yet vomited on my feet, pointed guns at me, or mistaken me for a pole because he was on drugs," conceded Alice, observing Megumi, who appeared to have finally overcome her shyness to some extent, approach Kuina timorously. "Two out of a hundred and fifty is not a bad number, is it? Better than nothing."
"Actually, there are at least three of us." After giving Megumi a few compliments and strokes, the woman again removed the toothpick from her mouth and moistened her lips. "I have a friend... maybe you've already met him, since he's part of the board. His name is Chishiya."
Alice waved a hand clenched into a fist toward the sky: yes, she remembered the guy in question, and she remembered his detestable attitude even better. "The guy with the slap-face!" she exclaimed with conviction; then, realizing that she had just insulted what Kuina had called a friend, she brought both hands in front of her mouth. "Oh! No offense meant!"
Kuina threw back her head and laughed. "No offense taken. It's true. Chish is smart, he knows perfectly well that he is smart, and he doesn't shy away from showing it. Sometimes he makes me feel like punching him in the face. But he is a good talker and an even better listener. Too bad he likes to be alone, and he often disappears into thin air, leaving me alone. That's why I decided I would take revenge by finding another friend." The woman waved the toothpick in front of Alice's face like a conductor calling the attention of the orchestra to signal the start of the concert. "If you wish, I'll introduce him to you, next time I catch him around again."
"Why not? Three out of a hundred and fifty sounds even better."
Inwardly, Alice rejoiced at the incredible stroke of luck and simultaneously asked her brother for forgiveness. Despite what she had promised him, she remained firm in her resolve to investigate the presence at the Beach of the people who, in her mind, she had begun to call as "the puppeteers." And what better place to hide than the ranks of the board, whose members were making decisions that affected the lives of at least a hundred people? For the time being, she had decided to shelve the militants, considering how dangerous it was to deal with them and that she had no intention of keeping Niragi's attention for her alive in any way; therefore, she would focus on the members of the cultist faction, and that Chishiya, from what she had heard, seemed the perfect suspect. Smart, mysterious, and a loner; a very promising profile. Certainly, she didn't think that having a chat with him every now and then, and investigating him in the meantime could pose much danger; at the very least, it couldn't be riskier than getting involved in a game with a nutcase like Niragi.
The two girls spent the next hour and a half talking animatedly; they told each other about their respective lives and, completely absorbed in each other's story, interrupted only to give Megumi a few praises or a pat or compliment her on the drawings the little girl was showing them all proudly.
Kuina revealed to Alice about her mother's illness, and how her only wish was to return home alive so she could take care of her, moving Alice to tears.
Upon the insistence of Kuina, who did not hide her curiosity about her exotic features, Alice told Kuina her family history. Takeshi Shimizu, her grandfather, she recounted, had had the misfortune of being one of the Japanese emigrants living in the United States at the time of America's entry into World War II following the Pearl Harbor attack. Thanks to some acquaintances, he had managed to escape the round-ups and internment in concentration camps initiated by the U.S. authorities against Japanese, and had fled to a rural area of Texas. There, he had met Amanda Perkins, an enterprising young pioneer woman who had succeeded in the management of the family ranch upon her father's death. She had taken him in, offering him protection and a job; and as soon as the war was over, the two, at the time barely in their twenties, had married, going against public opinion and an unspecified number of social, moral and legal laws. But Amanda Perkins had a hard head, and plenty of money, and these two elements combined had enabled her to fulfill her dream of love without undue hindrance. From the happy union was born her father, Tsukasa Shimizu, who retained Takeshi's Japanese genes in his traits. His crossbreeding with Alice's mother, a pure American, on the other hand, had made Alice come out more like a Western than an Oriental, except for her slightly almond-shaped eyes and petite figure typically Japanese.
"When I was little and still living in America, my grandfather taught me to speak and write Japanese and the traditions of his country. When he passed away, my grandmother continued the work, passing on to me the knowledge she herself had learned from her husband. Thanks to this, moving to Japan was not so traumatic. My father moved here for work when I was a little less than seven years old, as part of some kind of exchange between high-level police departments, and I joined him after thirteen months, at the age of eight. Shortly thereafter, Dad married Aki's mom, and he and I became siblings."
"My, what a story!" Kuina had listened to her with bated breath, letting slip exclamations of surprise, protest or complacency at the story's key turning points. "Your grandmother, by the way, was really a remarkable woman! She defied society and the prejudices of the time in order to pursue her heart!"
Alice felt her chest swell with pride. "We agree on that, however, I must correct you on one point: my grandmother is a remarkable woman. She is still alive and well and waiting for me in the real world. After Father decided we were going to move permanently to Japan, she stuck her neck out and wanted to come with us. Can you believe it? An old lady leaving the world she has always known to throw herself into such an adventure! She claimed that without me her life was meaningless, and that she had always wanted to visit her husband's country anyway. Visiting, living there, what difference do you think it makes; she said just that. Especially because she is waiting for me, I must survive at all costs and return home."
"What a great woman!" This time, the one who was moved was Kuina; the woman, with a slightly glazed look on her face, passed an arm around Alice's shoulders and hugged her tightly. "Then let's do it, dammit! Let's survive this shitty world and go home for our families!"
At the end of that rainy afternoon that had not started off in the best of ways because of her close encounter with Niragi, Alice realized, with her chest filled with gratitude, that she had just met someone who could be trusted in that world gone mad; she liked Kuina so much that she ventured to ask her if she could take care of Megumi in her absence that evening, and at the woman's positive and enthusiastic response Alice was reassured. As she headed to her room to get ready for the game, she was brimming with energy, good humor, and optimism like it had not happened to her in several days, and she felt ready to fight tooth and nail to the very end in order to realize the crazy, yet fundamental dream she shared with Kuina.
To return home for their families.
Those words sounded so persuasive, sweet and inviting, to Alice's ears, that they intoxicated her more than the alcohol, sex and drugs that were consumed in industrial quantities at the Beach could ever do.
.
🂠 I'm nuts, baby, I'm mad
The craziest friend that you've ever had
You think I'm psycho, you think I'm gone
Tell the psychiatrist something is wrong 🂠
.
Evening, and with it the time to attend the games, fell on the Beach residents all too quickly; the rain had stopped falling around six o'clock, and the only traces of the afternoon storm were the wet, slick ground and a slight drop in temperature.
Hatter appeared on the balcony overlooking the pool area five minutes after the roaring sound of the bell that, echoing through the entire resort, signaled the approaching departure of the cars. As was his custom, and perhaps more than usual, he launched into an impassioned pep talk that sent the crowd gathered at the foot of the balcony into raptures, and then the residents called to participate in the games made their way to the cars, accompanied by the jubilant shouts of those who would instead remain at the Beach.
Since he had not attended the speech, Niragi was already waiting beside the cars and watched the stream of excited people swarm toward their respective vehicles. Like almost all militants, he grudgingly endured Hatter's delusional speeches, so he did everything he could to avoid hearing his raving rants; if he had so far refrained from putting a bullet in his forehead, it had only been out of respect for Aguni.
The first teammate to reach the car marked with the number two, drawn with a purple spray can on the asphalt, was a boy Niragi had never noticed around. He was tiny, with stodgy, messy hair, cheeks marred by pimples, and small eyes hidden by a thick pair of glasses. It was enough for Niragi, leaning his back against the car and with his hands stuffed in his trouser pockets, to turn his head in his direction and sneer for the poor fellow to start babbling and break into a cold sweat.
Causing that loser to have a half heart attack gave him a satisfaction of a special kind.
The boy reminded him of someone he knew. Someone he would have liked to forget or, rather, erase forever.
The second to arrive was Rika, a member of the militant faction. She was a muscular, well-built woman who, because of her short stature, appeared stocky, with small, shifty eyes and a huge potato nose that towered over the rest of her face as a mountain rises over the valley at its feet. After stepping closer to the car and muttering a few words of greeting, she closed in a scornful silence.
"Ah. What a shitty team I got tonight," sighed Niragi in an exaggeratedly distressed tone. "Good thing the main course is coming..."
Alice suddenly appeared in the crowd escorted by her brother; she was again wearing the outfit in which he had met her the previous evening and which, in spite of everything, looked good on her: black sweatpants, boots, the college sweatshirt he had so kindly made her open in the afternoon, and a white tank top as the only different item. With her face contracted into a contrite grimace and her cheeks purple, she was deep in a heated conversation with Aki; at times, she emphasized sentences with exaggerated hand gestures, and once she even raised a fist toward the sky.
This was only a hunch, of course, but Niragi would have bet his ass that it was Hatter's theatrics that outraged her so much. Despite her age, she seemed to be endowed with an incredibly functioning brain, and that she had not been favorably impressed by the Beach leader was already clear from the conversation that had taken place the previous evening.
At the entrance to the parking lot, Aki made her stop, heedless of the obstruction created in the exit route of the crowd pouring toward the cars, although no one, of course, dared to protest. He took her by the shoulders and murmured a few dry words, with a serious look on his face, probably advising her to pay attention; for a moment, Niragi thought that he was going to kiss her passionately, but before that could happen Alice threw her arms around his neck and pulled him close in an innocent hug. He returned the squeeze tenderly; it was somewhat surreal to see Aki, normally indifferent to everything and spewing violence and anger from every pore, behaving so gently with someone. From the boy's face, it was clear how much that forced closeness distressed him; in all likelihood, he was putting all his self-control into not abandoning himself to an inappropriate gesture for a brother.
Niragi did not understand why Aki wasted time and energy holding back. They were no longer in the real world now: no one in Borderland would judge him if he had taken any liberties with his step-sister, and even if she had objected, no one would have bothered to stop him. Quite the contrary, Niragi would have gladly held her down to allow Aki to fully savor the experience, enjoy the show himself, and eventually switch places with him.
After pulling away from her brother, Alice stood on tiptoe to blow him a kiss on the cheek and then walked away, heading at a determined pace toward the car. At intervals, she turned to wave him away but Aki, like a parent who has escorted his child to the bus leaving for the field trip and is not resigned to letting him go, remained motionless; when he noticed Niragi's derisive and mildly disgusted look, his face grew hard, his eyes narrowed into two slits, and his lips articulated a few words of threat.
Alice reached her team without losing the determined attitude that had characterized her march even as Niragi's tongue slipped out of her lips and swirled slowly in greeting.
"Good evening, everyone! I have been assigned to team two," she announced, planting her hands on her hips in front of the three. "With some I've already had the chance, with others it's the first time, but I hope we will cooperate well together to survive. I'm Alice Shimizu, the newcomer at the Beach, nice to meet you!"
Rika rolled her eyes and, without answering, slid into the car in the seat next to the driver.
The tiny boy, on the other hand, stammered a few disconnected words; he really looked as if he were on the verge of fainting, and it was not easy to tell whether this was because of the tension from the game, because of Niragi's presence just a few steps away from him, or because no girl as pretty as Alice had ever addressed him so enthusiastically except to mock him.
She took his hand and shook it, turning a radiant smile on him. "What's your name?"
"Matsumoto... Matsumoto Kazuya."
The scene irritated Niragi, dissolving the good mood that usually animated him before a game. If there was anything he detested, it was the forced goodness of those who had led a life that was too kind, and still believed in morality and kindness; even there, even in Borderland. And she possessed all those characteristics, and even more than in the previous evening's game, she was waving them under his nose.
With his fingers he gently caressed the handle of the rifle, and for a moment he imagined slinging it and killing the guy with the glasses on the spot, or hitting her with the butt of the rifle in the face. Of doing something, anything, mild enough not to kill her or keep her from participating in the game, but enough to make her feel pain and humiliation that would, perhaps, finally force her to confront reality.
Then perhaps that proud and composed façade of hers would crumble like a sandcastle, and she would stare at him with green eyes studded with thin golden foils, flashing with a deep and unrelenting hatred.
Aki, however, was not losing sight of him; he seemed to have sensed the malignant instinct that animated Niragi, as it was made clear by the fact that he had already drawn his gun, which rested languidly against his side and ready to fire should the need arise.
He had his hands tied.
Thus, as much as he wished to do anything else, Niragi merely huffed and commented in a sarcastic tone: "What a load of crap, princess. Who cares to know a loser's name? He's bound to kick the bucket tonight anyway." Niragi pulled himself to his feet and with a sharp gesture threw open the back door of the car. "If you're done with your cheap show, baby doll, get off your ass and let's go."
For a moment, Alice peered at him with an expressionless face, and Niragi waited trepidatiously for her calmness to turn into indignation. Contrary to expectations, however, she did not take up the provocation. "Yes, I'd say I'm done! We can go!" Slipping inside the car, Alice clapped a hand encouragingly on the tiny boy's shoulders. "And don't worry! We'll make sure you don't die!"
Disgusting, thought Niragi, in an increasingly bad mood, sickening.
Still a tingle in his fingers, begging him to let them hold the rifle and at least hit her in the stomach or on that doll-like face of hers, but Aki's presence, and reflexively Aguni's order not to make trouble over a pussy, loomed over him.
No harm done.
His hands were tied. There at the Beach, at least.
But outside...
Niragi's lips stretched into a smile devoid of all mirth that caused chills to those unfortunate enough to catch a glimpse of it.
Oh, everyone knew how things worked out there.
Anything could happen in a game.
That thought was enough to put him back in a good mood, and Niragi climbed into the driver's seat humming a cheerful tune.
.
🂠 You think I'm crazy, you think I'm gone
So what if I'm crazy? All the best people are
And I think you're crazy too, I know you're gone
That's probably the reason that we get along 🂠