Chapter Text
After the female high school student, another person arrives. The first detail Arisu notices about her is the blue highlights of her wispy hair, freshly dyed in this desolate metropolis.
He and his best friends once again attempt to dissuade someone from passing through the borderline. She pauses her approach, her expensive running shoes mere centimeters away from the sensor.
"Why?" She simply inquires.
"Because there is no turning back." It is Arisu who answers her. Her unperturbed gaze meets his own perturbed one. She stifles a laugh under her breath before taking the final leap of doom. She saunters straight to the lineup of phones and chooses a white one with no hesitation, like it is second nature.
"You guys are sweet..." She looks like she is about to say more when their phones ring simultaneously. Registration has now closed.
Arisu is a veteran gamer. He should be dissecting the meaning behind the game title, paying attention to what is and what is not said in the list of rules, and committing the clear condition of the game to memory. But even with his eyes glued to the black text flashing on his phone, his regard is drawn to the latest newcomer.
Arisu is not blind; she and the cold woman are not new to this. But they each carry themselves differently. Between the two of them, she is the only one who reacted, albeit minutely, to the announcement of the game's difficulty. She knows its significance.
The ding of the opening elevator brings his observation to a close. The office lady and the high school student enter first, but none of them follow right away. He then feels a featherlight push between his shoulder blades and his step forward spurs his two best friends into march.
The elevator closes when she stands between him and Chouta.
"You're new players, aren't you?"
"Yes." Arisu confirms even though it is posed as a rhetorical question.
"Three of Clubs means the game is the third least difficult of the suit. While Clubs itself means the game strongly encourages teamwork." Based on the glance Karube flicks at him, he is already hearing the gears turning in Arisu's head.
What she just generously informed them implies that there are fifty-one other unique games, each one with a set difficulty and suit to match the standard deck of playing cards. The completionist side of Arisu's gamer mind both does and does not want to know if they will be forced to play fifty-one more of these games.
"And why should we believe you?" Cynicism coats the cold woman's words. Arisu peeks at the person beside him from the corner of his eye. She does not look behind her but her nose adorably scrunches. The first word of her likely rejoinder is drowned out by another ding of the elevator. They have arrived at their floor.
She promptly steps out of the cramped space before the phone even announces the time limit. Her urgency rouses him to exit as well, and their group follows. She strides towards the nearest door to her, the one matching her hair funnily enough, and twists the doorknob. Almost everyone in their group reacts. He and Chouta immediately pull her away while Karube rebukes her for having a death wish.
"How do you know that Death is the correct door?" Arisu does not want to side with the office lady at all because of her attitude, but he also wants to know the reasoning behind her decision.
"I don't. I simply wanted to check if the doors are locked." She slips off his and Chouta's lax grip and does indeed test if the door for Life is locked. Both are not.
"Which means our choice is not set." So other games force you to pick only one from the other and commit to it. Arisu files that tidbit for later.
"What happens if we choose wrong?" Because his gut is telling him that there is no retry in this game.
"Then it is Game Over." The way she enunciates those two words, like they mean something else entirely. The surreality of their situation is starting to crack. But before Arisu can parse through the many connotations of the phrase, the office lady proclaims that the right answer is to Live.
"And how do you know that Life is the correct door?" Arisu would have laughed hard over her near perfect mimicry, if it were not for the situation they find themselves in. Especially when the high school student has become misty-eyed and wants to go home. Chouta is quick to reassure the girl.
She is eyeing the skeleton again when their phones chime that only one minute remains. Meanwhile, the cold woman is insisting that they should open the door for Life despite giving no sound explanation to back it up.
When the time limit hits the 45-second mark, Chouta mentions a suffusing smell while Karube notices smoke rising from the floor. Almost everyone starts to panic and shout at each other. It is inevitable that the high school student would be the first one to break and she sprints towards the pink angel, the office lady's assertion poisoning her judgement.
"Wait!"
Thirty seconds remaining and he and his friends still cannot wrap their heads around the fact that the girl is now and truly dead, killed by the very same laser from the registration area.
Arisu feels slender fingers wrap around his wrist and tugs his stupefied self towards the door of Death. Karube does the same to Chouta, while the cold woman passes through the doorway last.
She gently lets go of his hand before marching towards the office lady. There is an obvious height difference between the two of them and she has to tilt her head up to look her target in the eye.
"This is a Clubs game, and her death was unnecessary."
"Clubs could mean anything!"
"Oh, very well. Based on your demeanor alone, I can easily deduce the suit of your previous game." The woman takes a wary step back.
"It's Hearts, isn't it." Her tone is even and matter-of-fact but Arisu can hear it for the resounding slap it is, making the woman recoil from the hit. That is all she needed to say for the office lady to finally believe her. Her information proven reliable by the woman's very own past experience. And whatever Hearts games are infamously known for, he doesn't want to find out yet.
It seems that her next prey is him as she approaches him, her dyed hair fleetingly pulling his attention once again.
"What's your name?" Arisu's mind turns into the blue screen of death at the non-sequitur.
"Eh?"
"I'm Nezumi, but I prefer Nezu-chan. What should I call you?"
"He's Arisu. I'm Karube and Chouta's the one puking on the floor. Don't know about the murdering bitch though."
"It's Shibuki, asshole."
"Alright. Now, Arisu-kun, you saw the evacuation map of this building, correct?" Arisu-kun?! But now that he is coming out of his shock, he has indeed glanced at it before riding the elevator. From Nezu-chan's (Nezu-chan?!) expression, she is witnessing him visualizing it through his eyes.
"Good. Here." She hands him a burgundy pocket-sized notebook and a black gel pen out of nowhere. He flips through the last ribbon-marked page and catches a glimpse of a doodle of circles and lines on the left side, before focusing back on replicating the map on the right blank page.
It's a square building.
"What's the matter?" Nezumi asks when she notices that he has stopped drawing, the pen still hovering on the outline.
"BMW 523d!"
"Eh?" If they are not in a pinch right now, Arisu would be internally celebrating for turning the tables and chipping Nezumi's composed mien.
Arisu proceeds to rattle off the exact length of the car and the approximate measurements of not only the building but the rooms as well. He goes back to Nezumi's notebook and sketches out the division of rooms and their future route.
"I trust you, Arisu." Karube pats him hard on the back before volunteering to be the one to open a door.
"Wait!" Nezumi pulls out a white handkerchief from the pocket of her grey and black jacket and offers it to Karube.
"The laser most likely operates on motion detection. So trust but verify." Karube nods once and after steeling himself, thrusts the door open and tosses the handkerchief away. It descends to the floor, unscathed and still pristine white. Their group proceeds to the next room with time to spare.
"Geometry and games have always been Arisu's specialities." Chouta cheerily brags to the two women.
"And the BMW factoid?" Arisu feels his ears grow warm at Nezumi's mild teasing.
"Ha! A real enthusiast, that one. Oh, and don't get him started on the Audi." Now Karube has joined in. Arisu cuts their ribbing short by already being on the other side, intact handkerchief in hand.
Death. Life. On they go, time and smoke no longer nipping at their heels. Until this room.
"Eh?" The last door should be right in front of him.
"Where there is smoke, there is fire." What is it with Nezu-chan and cryptic one liners?
"Arisu-san, where is the fire exit of this building located?" He inhales a sharp breath as the puzzle pieces perfectly fall into place. The clear condition of this game is to leave the building within the allotted time limit. But it has never explicitly stated why they are pressured to do so. Though why the sudden politeness?
He scans the conjured up evacuation map in front of him and then hurriedly twists the doorknob of Life. Arisu may just be imagining it but he swears there is a tint of pride on Nezumi's smile.
However, it is not over yet; and with only ten seconds remaining this time. But Nezumi does not stop walking and is heading straight to the door for Death.
"Wrong door, Shibuki-san~" Nezumi waves at her before exiting the game. It seems that Shibuki mostly trusts her now as she listens to her warning and runs past the three of them. They are right behind her when Chouta's left leg gets caught on fire as the floor ignites at the one-second mark.
Karube quickly removes his orange outer shirt to snuff out the flames while Arisu slams the door shut. Nezumi is suddenly right beside the three of them despite being the first one out of the narrow room.
"Move." Nezumi crouches near Chouta's injured leg as Karube steps aside. She pulls out a roll of bandages from a belt bag previously concealed by her oversized jacket. She wraps the burn with proficiency and Arisu is vaguely in awe of her everything while he sits beside Chouta and gives much needed comfort.
"Let us take a breath for now, lest Chouta-san go into shock." No one argues with her and the rest of them sink to the dirty floor as well.
When they finally go down the metal stairs of the fire exit, Karube carries Chouta on his back to prevent him from putting pressure on his burnt leg. The two women lead the way while Arisu brings up the rear, a shaky but warm hand resting between Chouta's shoulder blades. They end up in a barely lit alleyway dumped with trash.
GAME Clear. Congratulations.
Nezumi never falters with her pace and daintily picks up the lone Three of Clubs card from the out-of-place white circular table. Their phones then emit a short but triumphant ringtone.
Arisu learns what a hollow victory feels like for the very first time.
Both Nezumi and Shibuki decide to stick with them. Arisu cannot hide his relief that their only gold mine for information about this place is staying. And he might just do about anything for Nezumi when she not only relinquishes her limited medical supplies but also performs first aid on Chouta's injury with trained and certified ease.
In the morning, and Arisu still cannot believe he just had a sleepover in a shopping mall, the group sans Chouta go their separate ways for provisions. Nezumi stealthily leads him to an unraided drugstore. The reality of their predicament only furthers in sinking in when he realizes the reason for Nezumi's wariness. Everyone is willing to fight for the commodities of this store, and no one wants to get caught in it.
Arisu tries his best to be as vigilant as possible while Nezumi deposits everything she believes to be essential in the reusable bag he is holding out for her. Then she covers their tracks as best she can before they agree to return to their base.
"Thank you, Nezumi-san." Arisu finally conveys while on the way back.
"Whatever for?" He cannot help but feel incredulous at her oblivious response.
"For everything! For helping us with the game and for treating Chouta's wounds. And now with this!" He shakes the reusable bag slung on his shoulder. He would not have snatched half of what she dumped in there because he lacks the knowledge of their usefulness.
"You were the one who figured out the solution for the Three of Clubs. And well... I had a cute assistant." He splutters not only over her words but also her playful wink. Her good-natured trait is more pronounced outside of the game but then again, one must be levelheaded in that situation to be able to keep their life.
"And it's Nezu-chan, not Nezumi-san."
"Nezu-chan...?" He tentatively tries it out. The cutesy and familiar nickname warms his cheeks for some reason; but he does not feel embarrassed calling her so.
"You have questions." She seems to be enjoying their stroll under the mild weather in spite of their conversation being anything but light.
"Yeah, plenty."
"I know, and I will try my best to answer them." Every morsel of information regarding this place is bound to be priceless and Arisu still cannot imagine his great luck at encountering the one person who is as forthcoming as Nezumi.
Not only is she going to indulge his curiosity right now but she has also given impromptu first aid lessons to him and Karube last night while helping her attend to Chouta. You're a quick learner, she had complimented, and his best friends immediately smelled the blood rushing to the apple of his cheeks and teased him for it.
"So, any pressing ones?" She prompts as she clasps her hands behind her back and stretches her arms.
"Uh, yeah. Electricity and time."
"I've never met anyone who figured out why people arrive here at different points in time. Only that time is relative." From the way she speaks of the topic, she has not given it much thought either. Because why would it even be in the forefront of anyone's mind when they should be putting all of their energy into surviving another day?
"How long have you been here anyway?" Then Arisu chides himself internally for asking a potentially sensitive topic.
"Weeks."
"Oh."
Weeks?!, he repeats a bit hysterically in his head. They have only been here for almost two days and they would have been floundering if not for her.
But that alone is testament to Nezumi's knowledge, sangfroid, and overall capabilities. Yet Arisu knows that weeks in this place are not merciful to the heart and body. He cannot imagine doing this for a long period of time, especially without his friends, and hopes that Nezumi had someone she relied on during those days.
"As for the electricity, ask not the how but the why." She doesn't seem bothered by his follow-up question and even attempts to lighten the mood by trying to sound solemnly sage. He chuckles at her efforts.
"Okay, then why is there no electricity and why do none of the electronic devices no longer work despite still having juice?"
"Because electricity is an advantage." Arisu pauses in his tracks, mind whirring at the implications. Almost everything is reliant on and accessible with electricity nowadays.
"So the game masters want to observe how we would fare without it." Something glints in Nezumi's eyes when he says this, an emotion so swift at receding that he does not even get to read and decipher it. And then she smiles at him, seemingly proud of his conjecture.
"A single card in your hand and you already think that there is someone overseeing these games. Clever Alice~" He feels butterflies in his stomach over her words. But surely he isn't the only one who speculates so. Nezumi must have read it from his face because she raises an eyebrow at him.
"Arisu-san, as you know, I've been here for weeks and I've met all sorts of new players in the games. They don't usually stop and consider that there may be people behind the curtain after their very first game."
"Oh."
Their conversation tails off as their destination comes into view.
"Nezu-chan?"
"Hmm?"
"It's Arisu-kun, not Arisu-san."
Her warm laughter echoes throughout the empty mall.
Arisu feels like they are starring in a T.V. commercial on dining tables while they eat brunch at the furniture and interior goods floor.
Nezumi is once again a godsend for turning their scavenged canned goods into a home-cooked meal just by adding seasonings. All four of them have been in disbelief at first because those should not be the first items one packs or finds in a survival kit, but no one is complaining when they take their first warm and flavored bite.
"What were you four doing, by the way? When the people disappeared, I mean."
Arisu still does not trust Shibuki entirely, but she has thawed after surviving with them. Is that one of the purposes of the games? To incite a person's basest self? Because this Shibuki who is initiating small talk is different from the one last night who manipulated the high school student into opening the door for Life.
Nezumi titters when Chouta brazenly shares that the three of them were in the same cubicle together. And then for some reason has a look of skepticism when Shibuki recounts her own story.
"How about you, Nezumi-san?" Chouta prods.
"It's Nezu-chan. And I was arguing with my older brother on the phone." Remorse mists Nezumi's eyes and Arisu cannot possibly imagine having that as your last conversation with a loved one and then finding yourself in this cruel city.
They return to their bowls in sympathetic silence until his curiosity rears its head again. He asks Shibuki to describe the previous game she has played.
"How did you figure out that my first game was Hearts?" Shibuki is the one who beat Arisu to the question. He also wants to know what a Hearts game is, as well as the rest of the suits.
Nezumi, who is nursing her untouched lukewarm beer, shrugs in response.
"I was simply stereotyping you."
"What?!"
"So in Hearts games, you sacrifice people to win." Karube surmises. Shibuki rationalizes that she just wanted to make it out alive. It may be naive of Arisu but he does not believe that he would ever reach that point of using someone else's life for his own survival.
"Yes and no."
"What do you mean?" Arisu prompts her to elaborate.
"Hearts are psychological games. They mainly test players' morality beyond its limits. How far are you willing to go to win and keep your life? In an ideal situation, everybody lives if they trust each other and ignore the game's manipulations. But humanity is not inherently altruistic, so it almost always ends up in a bloodbath."
Arisu is glad that he has already finished his meal because he would have lost his appetite after this. Nezumi passes her full beer can to Karube when he tries to swig his empty one.
"I'd normally suggest playing one to see for yourselves but, well..." Nezumi attempts to lighten the mood but it does not quite land.
"How about the other suits, Nezu-chan?" Chouta asks in a forced upbeat tone.
"Right. Spades are purely physical. They demand strength, stamina, agility, and dexterity from the players."
"We know which suit these guys would suck at." Karube slants his chin at them and Arisu tolerates his teasing, if only to assuage the tension.
"I strongly encourage exercising or working out in the mornings to improve your body and clear your mind." Nezumi advises without even a hint of disparagement.
"Anyway, Diamonds are the opposite of Spades. Players must utilize their knowledge and their skill in both strategy and problem-solving. Your luck and how well you read and predict your opponents' moves may also make or break your chances of survival. Know that it is common for Diamonds games to only have one winner." Arisu thinks that makes sense in its own macabre sort of way.
"And Clubs..."
"Wait, there's more to Clubs than just teamwork?!" Karube exclaims.
"Yes. To know the full extent of Clubs is to first learn about the rest of the suits, and I did not want to use our already short time limit for that when we needed every second to clear the game." It is not Nezumi's intent to chide but Karube still crosses his arms like a child.
"Clubs are indeed played in teams and that is because the games incorporate the elements of the three other suits. For example, the Three of Clubs is a combination of Hearts and Diamonds. Clubs games are preferred by players who have formed a balanced group of game specialists."
"I get why it has a Diamonds aspect, it really was like a puzzle game! But what about Hearts?" Chouta furrows his brows in question.
"It's as you claimed before. A person would surely pick Life over Death."
"Is that why you were considering the other door?" Arisu recalls her intent to choose Death.
"Yes, but it was also a gamble. It's because there is almost always a trick in the suit of Hearts." Arisu never wants to go through a Hearts game ever.
"You mentioned specialists. Who are they?" Shibuki quickly follows up before the conversation peters out.
"It simply means a person who excels in playing games of a particular suit over the others. And you, Shibuki-san, have already shown potential of being a Hearts player." This time, Nezumi grins at her judgement of Shibuki's character.
"What about you then?" Shibuki retorts.
"Guess."
"Where did you learn all this?" Arisu asks as Nezumi guides him in divvying up their acquired medical supplies and organizing them in a large makeup pouch. Misleads thieves, she winks.
She pauses her explanation on the different types of gauze and Arisu internally winces at mistepping on an emotional landmine.
"My ex-fiancé is a doctor." Arisu waits for her to elaborate but knows that it will not happen because of the heartbreak gleaming in her eyes.
"How old are you anyway, for you to already have an ex-fiancé?" This startles a chuckle out of her and she is no longer dwelling on her unhappy past.
"Arisu-kun, don't you know that you should never ask a woman her age?" He splutters over her teasing.
"But I am feeling magnanimous... I'm twenty-three, and you?"
"Huh? You're older than me?! I honestly thought we were the same age!" He gets to make Nezumi laugh again, and louder this time too.
"And that is?"
"Nineteen. And I can never imagine myself marrying at only twenty-three." Arisu wants to pull out his hair for frequently but inadvertently saying the wrong things to Nezumi.
"Engagement does not mean we will marry the very next day, Arisu-kun."
"Oh. Wait, you mentioned that he's a doctor. How big is the age gap exactly...?"
"Oh, Arisu-kun, you and your imagination!" She manages to remark in between her giggling.
"It's only three years."
"What?! He's already a doctor at twenty-six?! That's honestly a catch, Nezu-chan!" This sets off another peal of laughter from her.
"Oh, the look on his face if he ever hears you say that, Arisu-kun. And he hasn't finished his residency yet, just so you know."
"That's still amazing, Nezu-chan! What's his specialty? And how did you two meet?" Arisu groans internally because of course, he has done it again.
"I know. And I will not say, I'm sorry. But we were childhood friends."
"Oh." Arisu doesn't often get engrossed in drama, his only source of relationship problems being Karube. And yet he cannot help but desperately want to know how it all fell apart despite literal years of knowing each other. Or maybe that is the point. They are so familiar with one another that they realize it is never going to work out in the end.
Arisu decides to change the topic before he gets carried away in coming up with absurd theories about Nezumi's past relationship or worse, ask something asinine again.
"Speaking of doctors... I think Chouta needs to be seen by one. Uhm, not that it means the first aid and painkillers and antibiotics didn't help!"
"Arisu-kun..." Nezumi trails off, her fingers fluttering before committing to holding his hand.
"I'm so sorry to say this but, it is futile to look for one in such a place like this. And even if you try to approach anyone at a game arena, no one would readily admit that they are one. They would be too wary and mistrusting."
Arisu squeezes the hand of the person commiserating with him.
"You're right, but that still doesn't mean we shouldn't try. Chouta is one of my best friends and I'd do anything for him."
At night, Arisu proposes the same to Karube. His best friend leans over the railing, pensive in mood.
"Nezumi's right, Arisu. You're not going to waste your visa days searching for a doctor all over Tokyo! It's easier to meet people in a game, so that's what we're doing tomorrow night."
"Do we have to?" Arisu knows he sounds like a whiny child. Their first game may not be as very traumatic as Nezumi implies them to be but that doesn't mean he wants to immediately jump at the chance to play another one.
"Arisu, remember what Nezumi said. We need to play a game to get used to how it works and feels. It will take a long time for Chouta's leg to heal, even with a doctor, and he's going to have to rely on us to clear the games for him." Karube is right, of course. That still doesn't stop his chest from tightening with dread.
"And we need to rack up visa days so that we have time to recover." Arisu finally concedes. And the more games they play, the more he will learn the reason for all of this as well as the disposition of the game masters, if they truly do exist.
"Hey, come here." Karube pulls him into a tight and reassuring hug.
"Just stick with me, I'll protect you." His best friend's deep voice always has a soothing effect on him.
"And if we ever get separated, stick to Nezumi. I don't trust her anymore than I trust Shibuki, but at least her first instinct is not to kill another player. She has also more than proven that she knows what she's doing."
"Eh? But she's been nothing but helpful to us!" Arisu leans away from the hug but doesn't fully let go of Karube. He doesn't know where his friend is coming from.
"You always see the good in people, Arisu. But kindness in a place like this usually has an ulterior motive." Karube squeezes his forearms before stepping away. Arisu trusts him unconditionally but Nezumi also doesn't seem to have a duplicitous bone in her body. Karube sighs at the obstinate look on his face and then relents.
"Don't let your little crush on her get you killed, Arisu."
"What?! I don't have a crush on her!"
Nezumi clucks her tongue at the small kitchen knife Karube is about to pocket. The three of them are preparing for tonight's game away from Chouta and Shibuki as she distracts him from getting distressed.
Arisu doesn't know exactly what Karube has told Nezumi to get her to join them tonight, but his friend is right that it is safer to be with someone who is essentially an experienced player. Nezumi also doesn't seem disinclined and disquieted to be playing another game so soon with strangers she has just met.
"Here, you can borrow this." She pulls out a sheathed combat knife from her sling backpack. Arisu raises an eyebrow at the military-grade weapon while Karube immediately tests out its grip.
"It never hurts to be prepared." Nezumi shrugs before offering him a dark grey tactical pen. He gingerly accepts it.
"It suits you." His best friend teases as he tucks his better knife away.
"Any last minute advice?" Karube asks as Nezumi slings her belt bag across her chest and zips up her grey and black oversized hoodie. If Arisu does not know any better, it feels like they are playable characters in a video game equipping themselves with upgraded items before challenging a boss. They even warmed up beforehand.
"Yes. If the game is anything but Clubs, prioritize yourself and your allies, not strangers. It is better to be underestimated by your fellow players than to be targeted. Always listen to what the rules are not saying, the solution to the game may be there. Look for a map of the venue before the game when you can and familiarize yourself with it. Weaponize your surroundings, if needed. No complacency until after the game is cleared. And finally, do not take unnecessary risks. There is no retry in Life." And with that, they leave with determination.
The three of them make their way towards the closest lit up arena from the mall.
"Are there really fifty-two games out there?" Arisu asks Nezumi to distract him from the inevitability of playing one this evening.
"No. There is more than one unique game per number card." He and Karube choke at the idea of the games being double or even triple in number.
"What about the face cards? And doesn't the rank of an Ace change depending on the card game?" His best friend follows up and Nezumi's eyes always shine when asked with clever questions.
"Aces are always the least difficult games. But there are rumors that they can have a higher difficulty if the right conditions are met." Arisu mentally schedules to ask Nezumi later to elaborate on what those conditions are and how exactly they are fulfilled.
"As for the face cards, no one has encountered one yet."
"Oh, yeah? How would you know?" Karube combats.
"Word of mouth. No one has lived to tell the tale yet." The topic is dropped after that.
"Is there a way to predict which suit the game would be?" Arisu asks apprehensively as they draw nearer to their destination.
"Yes, though it is not one-hundred percent accurate."
"How?"
Nezumi halts their journey and scrutinizes the T-shaped apartment complex they are about to play in.
"Based on its long and narrow hallways, the game is most likely a Spades. But do not be swayed. The games often make creative use of their designated venues." From the way Nezumi is pouting, she does not want to be right. Arisu finds himself relaxing at the cute sight.
"So not a Spades specialist then."
"Not at all. I may be physically fit, but it's the suit I prefer to play the least. Anyway, you have one last guess and then I will take the answer to my grave." Nezumi suddenly splits up from them and waves goodbye, heading towards the building using a different route.
"Hey, where are you going?" The two of them jog after her. She comes to a stop so they can catch up.
"Oh... Force of habit. I never really play with others unless it's a Clubs game." Nezumi shrugs.
"But we'll stick together for this one, right?" Arisu can clearly make out the past and present warring in Nezumi's eyes. To persist with her lone wolf act or to change in the presence of allies.
"Fine. But I suggest we arrive separately. That way, no one would ever suspect the three of us knowing each other. Of course, don't take my pretense to heart." This is why Arisu continues to have faith in Nezumi.
"And ask around for a doctor after, lest someone pretend to be one at registration so they could manipulate your desperation and use you as human shields during the game." With that, Nezumi saunters away from them and disappears into the unlit street, never looking back.
By the time they climb the last steps to the apartment, there is already a silent group of people standing in the small lobby. A young woman with short hair and in athletic wear briefly meets his eyes while he studies each registered player and searches for Nezumi. He shoots a concerned glance at Karube but his friend just shrugs over their missing teammate.
The only other person who manages to ensnare his attention besides the short-haired woman is the young man in a grey and white hoodie. Not only is he wearing earphones and presumably listening to music, he is also charging what seems to be a cassette tape player to the wall outlet. Arisu is curious if it has another purpose, seeing as the guy already has a separate portable music player.
Nezumi finally turns up in the nick of time. If he hasn't been staring at the blond man and attuned to Nezumi's presence, he wouldn't have taken heed to their minute reactions of spotting one another. Do they recognize each other?
Registration has now closed. There are a total of 13 participants.
Nezumi discreetly taps his shoe with hers over the imparted number. There are eleven players right now in the lobby but it is not a miscount. Every minor detail matters.
A fretful man in blue plaid asks him what is going on. He wonders if he looked like that during the Three of Clubs.
"It's a game."
"He's right. Calm yourself now and pay attention." Karube scowls at the two of them, looking sorely tempted to admonish them.
Difficulty, Five of Spades.
Nezumi sighs beside him and Arisu has never wanted to laugh at the most inopportune moment until now.