Everywhere I go
I'm haunted by your ghost
You stay on my mind, can't help but keep you close
Oh baby, everywhere I go
I'm haunted by your ghost
You're the one I love and I fear the most

"Pah, no way. He's just trying to find out who did it because he doesn't tolerate traitors at the Beach. That was a sneaky bluff to get you on his side and find out if you know more than you're letting on."

Kuina looked visibly upset when I told her about my conversation with Hatter. She didn't believe, any more than I did, that he ever intended to show his gratitude to my saviour.

I nodded thoughtfully and stirred the ice cubes in my empty cocktail glass.

"Hmm, but he's right about one thing. The Beach could need someone with his medical skills. Wouldn't that be a reason to spare his life?" I asked hopefully.

Kuina snorted.

"I wouldn't bet on it. I don't think he'll care much as long as Ann is there to do the job."

"But she's only a forensic scientist and I think she's already at the end of her tether."

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Not Hatter's problem, is it?"

I let the ice cubes clink against the glass in frustration. She was probably right. From everything I knew about the man who ruled this place, he seemed to be someone who cared about being in the spotlight and being worshipped by his people. He saw himself as a kind of saviour who liberated mankind and led them back to the old world. However, he demanded absolute sacrifice for his cause in return. That is why he had also made rule number 3. Because the Beach would probably not work any other way. So traitors could not be tolerated under any circumstances. And since I was new here and had come against their will, he wanted to put me to the test and see if I would prove to be trustworthy. It was risky to keep lying, but what other choice did I have? No matter what I did, I would be considered a traitor - either to the Beach or to the person who had saved my life. But I could probably live with my current decision better than handing my saviour over to the Beach. For me, it was simply a matter of morality not to betray him.

"Come on, let's drink something to the shock or do you want to watch your ice cubes melt all evening?"

Kuina jumped up from the table overzealously and I followed her through the hustle and bustle straight to the bar, giggling in an amused state. Time to throw sanity overboard for a moment. After all, life was short enough.

However, I had almost forgotten that I couldn't take much. The cocktail that followed really had it in for me. I was so exuberant, fuelled by a mood I hadn't felt for so long. Even Hatter and my previous concerns soon became a distant memory in my mind. The music on the dance floor pulsated through my body and my senses were filled with a feeling of freedom and carefree abandon. At that moment, all my worries and fears seemed to fall away from me. I danced with Kuina, laughing and enjoying the electrifying atmosphere around us until it got dark.

But with every drink I had, I also felt my senses becoming considerably clouded. My balance became increasingly unsteady as I tried to push my way through the crowd to get to the toilet. My stomach also rebelled a little, I had clearly overdone it. The last strawberry shot I'd had was offered to me by Hideki, the barman. He obviously found it amusing that I was completely wasted after just a few drinks. I giggled all over the place and he had probably misinterpreted it as flirting again, because in the meantime he had leant quite close to me over the bar and tried to elicit a few personal questions from me, which I, buzzed as I was, had all answered dutifully. If he had asked the right questions at that moment, I would probably have even revealed my deepest secrets, but fortunately the conversation remained largely superficial.

Kuina, who noticed my increasing awkwardness when I came back from the loo, turned to me with some concern.

"Man, you look really exhausted. Maybe we should call it a day," she said with a mild smile. I nodded and then leaned gratefully against her as we fought our way through the dancing crowd. Kuina supported me from the side as soon as I started to sway too much.

She gently led me out of the noisy confusion of the party and up to my room.

The music was still ringing in my ears when we took the lift to the third floor.

"We'll probably have to get you ready to drink. Watch out, this way," she giggled as I headed for the wrong room door and then pushed me on to the next door.

"Everythin' looks the same in this shitty corridor."

"That's why there are numbers on the doors. You've got 13, remember?"

"Shhure, I'm jus' drunk, not demented," I slurred. "But the numbers dance kinda weird. Did ya know that 13 is considered an unlucky number in the Wesht? My ex was in Umerica a while ago an' they don' even have a thirteenth floor there," I told her with a baseless giggle as Kuina manoeuvred me over the threshold with difficulty.

When I bumped my legs against the bed, I dropped onto it, weakening. I smiled blissfully as my hands gripped the pillow and cradled it longingly in my arms.

"You can tell me all about it tomorrow," Kuina said reassuringly and spread a fluffy blanket over me. "For now, you should sleep it off. I'll pick you up for breakfast tomorrow. Sleep well, Izzy-chan."

I laughed tipsily.

"Have ya seen that guy with the beauuutiful eyesh?"

Kuina looked at me doubtfully.

"What kind of guy? Are you talking about Hideki?"

I chuckled with amusement.

"Nah, not him. The one with the white jacket and the light blonde hair. He was in the lobby. You must've sheen him too," I replied in a defiant tone.

She laughed.

"You probably saw a ghost."

"Maybe, but it was a damn attractive ghosht," I mumbled into the pillow.

"Well, have a nice dream about your mysterious ghost haunting your little head."

She patted my hair and then switched off the light. I smiled gratefully and closed my eyes as Kuina quietly left the room. The silence gently enveloped me and I gradually drifted into a deep, carefree sleep.

♡

The next morning brought me rudely back down to earth. I was startled out of my sleep by a demanding knock. I looked around in confusion. I was lying in my room and it was already daylight.

Why hadn't I woken up from the light?

"Izzy? Are you all right?" Kuina's voice came to me. "I'm coming in now."

The handle was pushed down noisily and Kuina hesitantly stuck her head through the door. My head turned weakly in her direction. As I did so, I felt a sharp dull pain run through my forehead. Just a few seconds later, Kuina was next to me and opened a bottle of water.

"Are you all right?" she repeated, genuinely concerned.

I nodded and took the bottle from her, which she handed to me as I struggled to heave my sluggish upper body upwards. I put the bottle to my lips and drank greedily from the clear liquid. I immediately felt a little more alert.

"Must have been a bit too much yesterday?" she chuckled with amusement. "You were pretty out of it. You barely made it to your room on your own. How good that I was there."

I put on an agonising smile.

"Thank you, Kuina. I don't usually drink that much," I mumbled a little ashamedly, massaging my temples thoroughly.

"Time to toughen you up a bit. But first we should probably find you a painkiller. I'm sure Ann has some left. Can you make it to the infirmary?"

I nodded.

"Give me ten minutes."

As I struggled out of bed in slow motion, I took a quick shower. The cold water on my skin revitalised my senses a little, but it wasn't able to banish my persistent headache so easily. My limbs felt stiff and immobile with every step I took.

What was I thinking?

I laughed soundlessly as I looked at my frazzled reflection in the mirror.

Probably not that much.

To make matters worse, I realised that an unsightly red pimple had formed on my chin. I tried to salvage what I could with a little foundation, powder and eyeliner.

Okay, it's not going to get any better today.

I gave my hair a quick shake in the hope of giving it a deliberately wild, styled look.

"Wow, the party animal returns," Kuina joked when she saw me coming out of the bathroom.

I hid my face behind my hands.

"No comments on my appearance, please."

Kuina giggled.

"Come on, nothing disfigures a beautiful person."

We made our way to the infirmary together. Kuina knocked on the heavy door, but there was no response from inside. We cautiously entered the room. It looked deserted.

"She's probably downstairs having breakfast.

If we hurry, we might still be able to catch her," said Kuina confidently.

"Sounds good. I'm about to starve," I sighed. Even though I was still a little nauseous, my stomach was rumbling loudly by now. I definitely needed a foundation to get through this day.

When we entered the restaurant, it was packed. It was probably peak time. We took a quick look around, but there was no sign of Ann, so we joined the long queue with a tray in our hands.

"Maybe she's somewhere further back. How I know her, she'll have found a table away from the crowds."

"And how well do you know her?" I asked with a wry smile.

Kuina's cheeks turned a little pink at my question.

"You just know each other..."

Oh well, that was an unexpected reaction.

I didn't ask any more questions, but just raised my eyebrows with a pinched smile. We probably didn't know each other well enough to talk like that and this was hardly the place for it.

After we had finally received our food, we scanned the huge restaurant with watchful eyes, but the forensic scientist was still nowhere to be found. Most of the seats were now taken, so we meandered haphazardly between the tables for a short while. Suddenly I froze in my tracks. Just a few metres away from us sat a person with a white jacket and light blonde shoulder-length hair, their back turned to us. My heart skipped a beat.

"Perfect," Kuina suddenly called out from beside me and her face immediately brightened. "Come on, Izzy. I think I've found a place for us."

She started moving and headed with her tray straight for the table with the young man who had been haunting my thoughts for days.

Did she know him?

I followed her with a queasy feeling. Kuina stopped next to the table and the guy looked up at her in subtle astonishment.

"Morning, Chishiya. Surely you don't mind having two helpless young women at your table. The other seats are all taken," Kuina said with an apologetic expression.

His watchful gaze slowly wandered over to me and lingered on my face for a few uncomfortable seconds. I lowered my head a little and felt my cheeks burn.

Don't lose your nerve now.

I squinted over at him again. He looked even better than I remembered.

After what felt like an eternity, he nodded curtly and Kuina dropped into the seat opposite him. As it was a table for four, I hesitantly sat down next to her.

"By the way, this is Izumi Tsuki," she introduced me. "I told you about her the other day."

I put on a forced smile as his gaze slid over my face again, enquiring.

Then Kuina turned to me again.

"Izzy, this is Chishiya. He's a member of the council, so watch out for him," she joked.

I nodded understandingly and looked him boldly in the eye.

"Pleased to meet you," I said, my heart clearly pounding.

He was a member of the council? Even though he had obviously betrayed the Beach.

The guy called Chishiya barely reacted to my words, instead turning his attention back to his food.

Kuina seemed to notice the strange tension between us.

"Tell me, have you seen Ann today?" she asked, addressing Chishiya again.

"I have. She was here just before you."

"Oh crap, then we must have just missed each other. Izzy really needs a painkiller. Hideki gave her a little too much yesterday," she giggled indignantly.

I hid my face behind my fringes, a little embarrassed.

Ground, open up!

"Ginger and juniper grow outside in the herb garden. An infusion of these will do, or alternatively coffee with a little lemon," Chishiya replied without looking at me.

"Uhh, does someone speak from experience? I wouldn't have thought of you like that," Kuina teased him with a mischievous grin.

He, in turn, raised an eyebrow disapprovingly.

"Most types of headache are treated in the same way, regardless of whether they are caused by alcohol or something else."

"Jeez, Chishiya. Stop being such a smart ass all the time. It's really annoying," she complained.

Chishiya curled his lips into a smug smile, but didn't say anything back, instead turning his attention back to his food. I used this brief moment to scrutinise him unobtrusively from the corner of my eye.

He was handsome. Untiringly handsome. His demeanour, however, was dismissive, almost hypothermic. He was still ignoring me, even though I was sitting almost directly opposite him.

I had to admit that it hurt a little after all, but he certainly had his reasons for it. Nevertheless, in my opinion, his behaviour was much more conspicuous than if we had just exchanged a few profane words.

Suddenly, he stood up abruptly from his chair.

"Excuse me. I've got work to do," he said curtly.

Kuina seemed a little irritated.

"Erm well. Maybe I'll see you later."

He picked up his tray and turned round. I looked after him in panic as my mind raced. Before I had thought about it, I jumped up from my chair too.

"What's going on?" Kuina asked beside me, confused.

I put on a fleeting smile.

"I... have to go to the toilet urgently. I'll be right back."

I didn't wait for her to respond, but stormed through the restaurant without a thought. A few people blocked my way, but I impatiently pushed past them and ran out into the corridor. I looked around desperately.

Where had he gone?

Following an inner prompting, I turned left. My heart was still drumming painfully against my chest as I ran frantically along the corridor. I looked into a neighbouring corridor without stopping... and slammed into an unexpected obstacle with full force.

"Ouch..." I rubbed my head in pain and looked up into a familiar face. Completely surprised, I stared at the person in front of me. "Makoto?"

The person's face suddenly brightened as he realised who had bumped into him.

"Tsu-chan. I can't believe it. What are you doing here?"

"The same as you, I guess," I said with a helpless expression on my face, still trying to let my gaze wander around searchingly.

Damn, he had got away from me.

Makoto eyed me with concern. How I had grown tired of that pitying look.

"How is that possible? I thought you were..."

He broke off.

"Dead?" I asked when he didn't continue.

He nodded silently.

"Well, it looks like that's not the case. Obviously fate had other plans for me."

"H-how are you? How long have you been here?"

He seemed to be struggling for words as he could barely take his eyes off me.

"Only a few days. The hospital was suddenly empty and then I had to play this deadly game. I was brought here shortly after that."

Makoto turned pale.

"Are you the new girl everyone's talking about? The woman who won the four of spades?"

I smiled wanly.

"Live and in colour. I'll give away autographs later," I joked.

He looked completely dumbfounded.

"How did you manage that without an oxygen machine?"

I hunched my shoulders unsuspectingly.

"I...can't explain it. It's like this place...healed me."

At that moment, I couldn't stop my eyes from getting moist. It was as if I had just realised at that moment what this meant for me: I would live on. I didn't have to die. At least if I somehow won these games. That was still the small catch.

"Tsuki...," Makoto unexpectedly pulled me into a tight hug, "I've missed you so much. I've thought about you every day."

His revelation didn't surprise me much. He had been reluctant to accept the separation at the time because he was determined to stay with me til the bitter end, no matter what it looked like. But I didn't want him to suffer because of me and couldn't bear the pain and pity in his eyes any longer. Apart from this, Makoto had been the perfect boyfriend. He had always supported me when I was getting worse and had tried to cheer me up when I was completely devastated. He had been my harbour, my everything.

I sobbed involuntarily.

Why did I have to get so emotional now of all times?

As a few people walked past us, giving us suspicious looks, I took another small step away from him and quickly wiped the tears from my eyes.

"I have to get back to breakfast. Kuina is probably already waiting for me," I said apologetically.

He was smiling again now, but I could tell from his glazed eyes that the moment had affected him just as much as it had me.

"That's a good thing. I was just about to eat something too. So if you don't mind, I'd like to join you."

He looked at me hopefully.

I nodded.

"Yeah. I'm sure Kuina won't mind."

♡

"Ex-boyfriend?"

Kuina stared at him, puzzled, as he took a seat opposite her at the table, exactly where Chishiya had been sitting before.

"Erm, yes," I said, almost embarrassed.

"It's a crazy coincidence that you've bumped into each other here of all places."

"I don't believe in coincidences," Makoto interjected. "I think it was meant to be."

I rolled my eyes a little. Hopefully he wasn't going to start lecturing her about the supernatural forces that governed our lives and the whole universe, otherwise we wouldn't be leaving here today.

"Well, then things can only get better, can't they?" Kuina grinned at me conspiratorially as she said this. I just shrugged my shoulders. "I think your food's cold by now, as long as you've been away," she remarked as I turned back to my bowl of rice.

"I can heat it up for you if you want," Makoto offered generously. "I work here in the kitchen."

"Really?" I asked, mildly surprised.

"Are you saying you expected something else from me?" he grinned.

"To be honest, I didn't," I replied and returned the grin. "But it's fine. Thanks for the offer."

"So you're the chef here at the Beach?" Kuina asked in astonishment.

He nodded.

"Yes, but not the only one. There are two others apart from me."

"It's certainly not easy being a cook in Borderland with the limited opportunities," Kuina mused aloud.

He smiled wryly.

"To be honest, it's a disaster. But what can we do? We don't want to starve."

"That's true," she agreed with him.

When we'd finished breakfast, we went out into the corridor together.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go back to the kitchen now. It was really nice to see you again, Tsu. I guess it won't be the last time."

His eyes pierced me with a hopeful expression.

"Definitely not," I smiled.

"Don't you have to play again today? It should have been exactly four days since your last game, right?"

"Yes, that's right," I said gloomily. I had actually managed to put the thought of the upcoming game far away from me. But the memory of it sent me into a sudden panic again.

"I have to play aswell today. I hope I'll see you again before then." His voice sounded a little depressed now. He was scared too. He turned away from me with one last gaze and I looked after him, lost in thought.

"Is he the one who gave you the necklace?" Kuina interrupted my train of thought when he had disappeared.

I pressed my lips together tightly and then nodded.

"Yes."

"Okay, I'd better not ask any more questions," she said, crunching on a plastic straw on the side. She obviously realised that I didn't want to talk about it at the moment.

"It's complicated."

That was probably quite an understatement.