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CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
plans

⚠︎︎⚠︎︎ — Once again, if you have emetophobia, I suggest you skip the first part of this chapter!! Thankfully there's no more cannibalism in this chapter but there is (obviously) more vomit. Take care! x

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༇ SHE doesn't make it far.

She's on her hands and knees the second she leaves the building—the building she randomly ended up in. She remembers getting split from Chishiya and then waking up in the game.

As she throws up, her entire body wretches. And she vomits again. And again. And again.

Stomach acid burns her throat raw, but she keeps going. She keeps choking, gagging, sobbing into the mess in front of her like she can rip the taste out of her mouth. Her fingers scrape her tongue until her nails are red. She claws at her lips, her throat, her stomach.

She vomits blood. She doesn't stop. She wants her insides gone.

Her hair sticks to her face. Tears blur her vision. Her nose runs, her jaw aches from how tightly she's clenching it. And the taste... it lingers.

It's in her. It's inside her. She slams her head into the floor. Again. And again.

"Get it out. Get it out, get it out, please, please—"

She starts running. Down stairwells. Through endless corridors. Her mind is unraveling. She sees shapes that aren't there. Every shadow makes her jump. Her arms are wrapped around herself, nails digging so hard into her skin they draw blood again.

"Chishiya," she whispers through cracked lips, over and over like a prayer. She rounds a corner and gags again, falling to her knees. She slams her fists into the floor.

The world is spinning. She claws at her neck like something's choking her. Her own skin feels wrong. Her mouth is still filled with the memory of that taste, and it won't go away, no matter how many times she scrapes her tongue with her teeth.

She's still at the table. She's still feeding that man. She's still chewing someone's eyeball.

She screams, a hoarse, broken sound. The city is too big. Too empty. She has no idea where the others are. Her panic swells again. Her knees are raw. Her hands are shaking uncontrollably. "Chishiya," she whispers again. "Please."

She gets up. Her feet carry her through alleyways, through roads and parks. She doesn't know how long she runs—ten minutes? Thirty? An hour? Everything blurs. She sees people in the distance but doesn't approach. She looks wild. Her hair is soaked with sweat, face pale, mouth covered in vomit and blood. She hears every sound like it's a threat. She jumps at birds. At wind. At her own reflection in a shop window.

Until finally, a familiar voice.

"Baya?"

She turns around too fast and stumbles, catching herself on a lamppost.

Usagi. Arisu. Ann. Kuina. Aguni.

They're all standing there, alive. Arisu has an abrasion on his cheek, Aguni's bicep is bleeding heavily, and Ann's lip is split—but they're there.

"Baya, hey," Kuina says quickly, jogging over to her. "Are you okay?"

Baya lurches forward and grabs her, arms clutching her like she's drowning. Kuina gasps. Ann moves in with a hand on Baya's arm. "Is she hurt?"

"No, I don't see any injuries," Usagi murmurs. "But something's wrong."

Ann tries to touch her cheek, but Baya flinches. "Hey, it's okay," Arisu says, stepping forward. "It's just us."

"Where's Chishiya?" she rasps.

They all exchange a look.

"We don't know. All of us got split up. We all played a different game. The five of us reunited eventually. Chishiya could be on the other side of Tokyo or he could be..." Kuina stops, though the word she was about to say speaks for itself. "We don't know where Heiya is, either. I'm sure they'll be here eventually."

She doesn't know who Heiya is, but the mention of Chishiya's name cracks something open in her again. Her knees give out and she sinks to the ground.

"She's in shock," Ann mutters, crouching beside her. "Major shock. We need to get her out of the open." A pause. "Baya, it's okay. You're safe now. You survived."

"I'm not. I'm not safe. None of us are," Baya panics. "They made me—he made me—"

Her words crumble. The others go still.

Usagi crouches down beside her as well. "You're out of the game, Baya. You're not there anymore. You're with us now."

Baya looks at her, but she's not seeing Usagi. She's still in that hall. At that table.

She throws up again. Nothing but bile. Aguni steps back, grimacing.

"We need to find a place to rest and we need to find Chishiya and Heiya," Ann says.

"Find a place first. Chishiya and Heiya must arrive eventually."

Usagi wraps her arm around Baya's shoulder, brushing the hair from her eyes. Baya doesn't say anything and just presses her face into Kuina's jacket, shivering.

They take her to an abandoned apartment complex on the suburbs of the city. It's quiet there. Isolated. No visible games. No Jokers.

However, the Jokers aren't visible either way. No blimps. No game instructions on screens.

The room they choose is on the fourth floor. It smells faintly of mold and dust, but there's a mattress on the ground and a broken window that lets in light. It's the best they can do.

Kuina leads her to the mattress. "Here. Sit down, babe. You're okay."

Baya obeys like she's sleepwalking. Her eyes are wide, her face pale, her lips dry and cracked. Her hands don't stop shaking. She keeps touching her mouth. Her tongue. Like she still feels the texture of what she ate.

She wants to act normal, but she can't.

Usagi finds water. Ann takes an old towel and wets it, gently wiping the blood and vomit from Baya's skin. Kuina combs through her hair with her fingers, softly murmuring nonsense, anything to ground her. Arisu paces the room like he's trying to figure out how to fix it. Aguni stands by the window, arms crossed, jaw clenched. He doesn't say much.

"What color and difficulty level was your game, Baya?" Kuina asks.

"Grey," she whispers. It comes out weak, barely audible. "Ten."

"Ten?" Arisu repeats.

Baya curls her knees to her chest. Her body trembles like she's freezing, even though it's warm. Her nails have left crescents in her skin from how hard she's been digging into herself.

They take turns watching over her. Kuina never leaves the room. She holds Baya's hand for hours, humming softly, telling her stories about stupid pre-Borderland stuff: broken shoes, coffee dates, sunburns at the beach. Ann tries to feed her, but Baya can't eat. She can barely sip water.

That night, Baya wakes up screaming. Usagi's the first to reach her, arms wrapping around her tightly. Baya kicks, claws, thrashes—she's still in the game. Still chained. Still chewing.

"It's not real!" Usagi says. "It's not real anymore."

But Baya's sobbing, gagging, clawing at her tongue, trying to rip it out.

"Baya!"

Usagi struggles to hold her down. Baya's body jerks and spasms.  The hallucination of the game still grips her.

"Stop, Baya," Usagi pleads, her voice full of helplessness, but Baya doesn't hear her.

And then Aguni steps forward. His presence is commanding. His eyes lock onto Baya, and there's a calm in them. "Yuzuki," Aguni says. "You're not there anymore." He moves with precision, kneeling beside her and gripping her shoulders with a force that's firm but not cruel. "Listen to me. You're not there anymore. You're safe now. You're not there anymore, Baya."

Baya's breath catches in her throat, and for a brief moment, she looks at him. Her eyes flicker with recognition, but she can't seem to break free from the panic. Aguni doesn't back down. He leans closer. "You're not there anymore."

Baya's hands still claw at her mouth, yet something in Aguni's tone seems to slow her. Slowly, her body relaxes. She stops fighting against Usagi's arms, though her body still trembles with the aftershocks of the panic. Her wide, terrified gaze meets Aguni's, and for the first time, she seems to see him.

"You're not there anymore. You're with us. You survived. You made it out," he says, again and again and again.

Usagi's hand rests gently on Baya's back. There's a quiet strength in the way Aguni holds her.

"You're here with us," he continues. "You're safe now, Baya. You don't have to fight anymore. We've got you."

His hands move from her shoulders to her trembling hands, and he gently takes hold of them, squeezing them. As the shaking in her body begins to slow down, Aguni pulls her closer, his arms wrapping around her in an embrace. He holds her firmly, but with a kind of gentleness that no one expects from someone like him. He rests his chin against the top of her head, the heat from his body an anchor for her as she starts to regain her sense of reality.

She exhales shakily, a long, slow breath.

The others are still there, watching, but no one interrupts. And after what feels like an eternity, Baya's body starts to relax into Aguni's hold. The tension in her muscles slowly eases, and the shaking in her hands lessens, though they're still cold. He doesn't let go of her until she feels safe enough to breathe normally again.

When Baya finally speaks, her voice is small, "Do I have to play more games? Do I have a visa? I don't want to—"

"Shh," Kuina assures. "You're safe now. Just rest, Baya."

They do have visas. But Baya was so worked up about the grey game that she didn't hear the Joker tell her about it, nor has she noticed the phone in her pocket.

They sit there together in the quiet, Baya held securely in Aguni's arms. For now, they're not worried about the games or the future. They're here, together. And that, for this brief moment, is all that matters.

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The game ends with a peeping noise.

Chishiya stumbles out the exit.

The blast of warmer air hits his skin like fire, but he doesn't react to it. His lips are blue. His fingers shake despite being shoved deep into his pockets. A trail of blood creeps from one nostril, dried half-way down his cheek. His hair is soaked, plastered against his forehead.

He pulls his hoodie tighter around him and walks. The blood on his face itches, but he doesn't bother wiping it. His legs are stiff from what he endured in the last hour, and his breath still comes a little shallow.

He turns a corner. Pauses. No Baya.

Another street. No one. Just another glitching traffic light and the sound of something distant groaning.

He walks faster now. There's a thin, lingering smell of smoke in the air as he passes the remains of a small plaza—some recent game must've taken place here. Scorch marks trail up the side of the wall. He walks past them, not even blinking.

By the time he reaches a train station, he's swaying slightly. His muscles are exhausted. His nose has stopped bleeding, but the dried trail remains like a mark he's forgotten to care about. He played a Teal Joker. Teal Five. And it sure as hell wasn't his best performance.

He leans against a cracked wall. Closes his eyes. And waits to feel something other than the sharp absence of her.

Who knows how many hours later, Chishiya sees them before they see him.

Arisu, Aguni, Ann, all gathered beneath an apartment complex.

Chishiya starts moving, fast. The ache in his legs protests, but he doesn't stop. "Where?" He pleads.

"Fourth floor."

He climbs the stairs two at a time. He doesn't slow down until he pushes open a half-closed door.

Inside, there's a dim light pouring in from a shattered window. Kuina sits on the mattress, Baya curled beside her, head tucked into her lap. Usagi is near the door, eyes flickering up as he enters.

A soft, relieved gasp escapes her, but Chishiya doesn't even glance at her. All he sees is Baya. Blanketed in a jacket far too big, her skin pale, lips cracked, eyes sunken. She doesn't notice him yet. She's staring at nothing. Kuina hums something under her breath, rubbing slow circles against her back.

He crosses the room in four steps.

"Baya."

She doesn't flinch.

"Baya."

Her eyes slowly rise.

It takes her a second.

"Chishiya," she breathes.

Kuina moves aside as Baya struggles upright. Her body doesn't work properly. Her hands tremble too hard. Her knees barely cooperate. But she manages to rise to her feet.

And then she's in his arms. It isn't graceful at all. It's desperate. She slams into him like she's falling, and he catches her with a grunt, arms curling tight around her back. Fistfuls of each other's clothes, faces buried in the crooks of each other's neck, hands tightly holding the other.

"I thought—" she begins, but the words choke. "I thought—"

He pulls her closer. Her body is trembling so hard he has to shift his stance just to stay upright.

"I'm so tired," she gasps.

"You can rest now."

She pulls back. "Do I have a visa? Am I going to die? I didn't hear it, I didn't hear—"

Chishiya reaches into her pocket. Her phone is still there, and when he presses the button, it flickers to life.

Visa: 002:23:58:17

"Look," he whispers, tilting the screen toward her. "You're not dying."

She stares at it for a long moment. Then lets out a small, broken laugh that turns into another sob.

Chishiya pulls her back into his chest as he looks at Usagi, and the rest who has entered by now. "What happened?"

"She won't tell us," he murmurs. "She just... came running out of nowhere. Screaming. Collapsing. She threw up multiple times, then she stopped talking completely. She hasn't said a word in hours."

"Grey Joker. Difficulty ten," Ann adds.

He looks at Baya again. He wants to ask what happened. Wants to shake the game's description out of her. But all he does is sink down beside her.

Chishiya presses his thumb lightly against the inside of her wrist, just under the bone.

"Can you tell me what happened?" He wonders.

She curls into herself, pressing her forehead to her knees, as if trying to shut everything out.

"You don't have to talk if you don't want to. But I'll listen."

Baya doesn't say anything. She only wraps her arms around herself tighter. Chishiya leans back slightly, glancing at the others. Aguni doesn't push further, but Usagi looks worried. Her hands are clenched in her lap, her eyes darting between Chishiya and Baya.

"Maybe we should note down the games everyone played. We should try to find out which color requires what skill. Might be handy in the future," Arisu announces.

"Yeah, and we should figure out how we join games," Aguni adds. "There are no blimps, nor signs. Are they gonna keep splitting us up and dropping us into random games?"

As the others continue theorizing, Baya finally whispers to Chishiya and Usagi.

"I woke up chained... wrists, ankles. There was a table. A feast. Plates..." Her fingers twitch like she can still feel the cold metal against her skin. "There was meat."

Usagi's expression tightens. Chishiya doesn't move, just watches her, silent and patient.

Baya swallows. "It wasn't... it wasn't food. It was... people. Parts of them. Cooked. Served." Her lips tremble. "There was a hand on my plate. I could see the fingernails. I think it was Tatta's."

Usagi covers her mouth, eyes wide.

"The Joker said it was made from those who came before. He said if we didn't eat, we'd die. He said if we guessed wrong... if we couldn't tell who we were eating..." She shakes her head slowly. "He'd feed us himself."

"There were multiple rounds," she whispers. "Tongues. Bodies. Skin. Then a face. A whole head. They made us feed each other. I chewed on an eyeball—" she immediately starts gagging again.

Chishiya squeezes her hand. "You did well. You survived. You won the game."

"So did you." She stares up at him, reaching out to wipe the dried blood above his lips away. "Are you okay?"

"I am."

"What was your game like?"

Chishiya shifts on the edge of the mattress. "My game was Teal Joker—difficulty five," he begins, eyes never leaving Baya's. "I suppose teal games test adaptability. The floor beneath us rose and fell in waves. Sometimes literal walls of water, sometimes platforms that tilted until you lost balance. One minute you're climbing, the next you're sliding into darkness. There was no time to plan. Not exactly my kind of game."

Arisu flips through his notes, scribbling: 'Teal Joker: adaptability' and 'Grey Joker: dilemmas (?)'

"If we want to survive this," Arisu starts, "we need to work together. We need to teach each other our skills, so everyone should be able to play any game. But first, we'll try to find out how we're supposed to find games and if we get the chance to choose which game we play."

"One benefit," Chishiya begins, grinning lightly, "in the Joker's version of the Borderlands, the power does work."

"What?" Multiple gasps.

Most of them were so used to no electricity in the Borderlands that they didn't even check.

"Showers should work. In fact, they should be able to produce warm water," Chishiya goes on. He looks at Baya, then his gaze flickers between Kuina and Usagi. "Can either of you clean her up in the shower? The bathroom's right over there."

"I can do it, too," Baya insists.

"Are you sure?"

She nods.

"Seriously, Baya, what have you done to Chishiya?" Arisu mutters below his breath before raising his voice. "I suggest we find a new place in the suburbs, big enough for all of us, but small enough for us to communicate and to notice intruders. Maybe some kind of hotel or a villa?"

"I'm going to find Akane first," Aguni announces. "She must be out there somewhere."

"Who?" Baya whispers.

"Heiya. They met during the face cards. They feel like unrelated father and daughter," Usagi explains softly.

"Come back soon," Kuina calls after Aguni, who nods before vanishing. "Speaking of first name bases..." she looks at Baya and Chishiya with a frown. "Why are you guys not calling each other by your first names?"

Baya, still leaning into Chishiya's side, blushes slightly at Kuina's remark. She avoids looking directly at Chishiya, her fingers nervously tracing the fabric of her jacket.

Kuina's gaze darts between them, eyes glinting with mischief. "Come on, you two. It's getting a bit ridiculous. You've been through all that chaos, but you still haven't made it to first-name terms? Really?"

Chishiya's eyes flicker toward Baya for a moment, then back to Kuina, his lips curling into a smirk. "There's no need to rush into labels."

Baya stiffens slightly at his words. "Labels?" she repeats quietly, though she knows what he means. It's just the way he said it. The way it sounded like he was making an excuse.

"No, no. I get it. But... you know, just an observation," Kuina adds. "Don't be shy. Try it."

"Try what?"

"Calling her by her first name, duh. Or do you not know her first name?"

"Of course I know her first name."

"Does Baya know yours?"

Baya nods.

"Go ahead, then. Both at the same time."

"Really, Kuina?"

"Shut up, Arisu, or I'll make you and Usagi do the same."

Baya turns to Chishiya, slightly more cheerful now, and raises an eyebrow.

He also raises one, then his eyes gain a certain look. She nods in return.

Silent communication.

"One, two, three," Kuina calls.

"Caffeinated squirrel," Chishiya says.
"Sugar surgeon," Baya says.

"Are you kidding me?" Kuina crosses her arms. "Wrong. Don't use these nicknames. Try again."

"Gold digger," Chishiya offers next, deadpan.

"Cookie monster," Baya snaps back instantly, eyes narrowing.

Kuina groans dramatically. "You're both hopeless."

Usagi, trying not to laugh, says, "Come on, at least try the actual names. You do know them, right?"

"Oh, I know his," Baya says, crossing her arms. "Shuntarō."

"Mm," Chishiya hums. "And you think I don't know yours, Yuzuki?"

Her nose scrunches. "I hate it when you say it like that. You sound like a disappointed dad."

"I am disappointed."

"In me?"

"In your choice of insults."

"That wasn't even the best one I had! You should feel lucky I didn't go with 'emotionally constipated corpse.'"

Kuina snorts so hard she nearly chokes. "Okay, that one's going in my notebook. But seriously, just say each other's names like normal humans."

Baya glances toward Chishiya, then back down at her hands. "Shuntarō," she tries.

"Yuzuki."

Baya blinks. "Ew. Never mind. That felt illegal."

"I agree," Chishiya says at once, almost too quickly. "It sounded like I was about to scold a student."

Kuina flops onto the mattress. "You two are a lost cause. Also, I want to know how you two remembered the Borderlands."

"Through playing cards," Chishiya says flatly. "Why?"

"Oh, well, there are certain methods..." Kuina's eyes practically glinster as she looks at Arisu and Usagi, who look very fascinated by the ceiling out of a sudden.

"Methods?"

"Yes. Methods."

"Ohhhhh," Baya draws out. She turns to Chishiya. "Remember how him who shall not be named remembered?"

Both of his eyebrows shoot up as he looks at Arisu and Usagi. "Ah-ha."

"I hit my head and remembered everything," Arisu tries.

"I tripped," Usagi goes on.

Kuina snorts.

"What about you?" Baya wonders.

"I wanted to change my appearance a bit more. Every time I changed something about myself, I remembered more."

"You still look the same."

"I know. I didn't like the new looks and went back."

"Hm." Baya nods slowly. "Remembering through changing your appearance? That means I should've just cut Chishiya's hair at night!"

"What?" Chishiya touches the strands as if her words caused a magical change in his hair.

"If you would've cut it, you would've remembered without having to search for all the cards!" Baya explains. "Either way, get a cut. I like the silver but your roots have grown a lot. If you'd go short now, nothing will be left of the silver and you'll just be a regular guy with dark hair."

"I don't want to be that." And yet he's smiling lightly. No matter what, Baya always somehow picks her spark back up again.

"But it'll look good! Either that or dye the roots again, but you're not going to do that in the Borderlands, are you?"

"I don't know. Just don't even try to get scissors close to my head," he threatens.

"Or what?"

"I haven't decided that yet, but it won't be good."

"Alright, alright." Baya chuckles lightly.

"Can you two just... not? For, like, five minutes? We're supposed to be making plans, not running a hair salon," Ann sighs.

Chishiya leans towards Baya, quietly telling her, "She's in no position to complain."

"No? Why not?"

"Because Aguni went through a lot more."

First, Baya laughs, then she pulls a face and hits Chishiya in the chest, hard. "Stop laughing!"

He rubs the spot. "You were also laughing."

"Not anymore. It's not funny," she scowls. "It's still the worst moment of my life."

"I'm glad it seems like you've forgotten about what you consumed a few hours ago."

Her mouth drops open. "Chishiya—!"

"Well, what's actually worse? That or our lovely conversation after I saved your life instead of staring like a creep?"

"Unfair." She scoffs. "What's actually worse for you? Me taking away your cookies or me bringing scissors near your head—"

"Guys," Ann, Kuina, Arisu, and Usagi press at the same time. "Shut up."

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🂱 — A/N: Anyone got theories about anything at all yet??

Maybe about how they're supposed to join games or what kind of building they'll find to live in?

Have a good day!! You can now always remember that Baya will forever carry a piece of Tatta inside of her. She's very humble for that, isn't she xx