━━━━༻ ♦ ༺━━━━ break 00100000 ━━━━༻ ♦ ༺━━━━

Just a few moments before, Jaehyun was still in the student council room. "Hey," he hissed, slamming his hands down on Tristan's table. "That guy—I want him gone." The two were alone in the room; Kieran and Leon had left earlier. What they were doing or what they were planning to do, they didn't say. Not that Tristan minded.

The blue-haired male raised an eyebrow. "Who may 'that guy' be, exactly?"

"Him," the blonde spat. "The annoying one who's always stuck to (Y/n)'s side. It's annoying. She doesn't need him."

"Oh? And what makes you so certified to make that decision for her?"

The boy's eyes darkened and his fingers dug into the wood. "If I needed another Kieran I'd ask for one," he spat venomously. "I came to you because you're the levelheaded one. Kieran's too reckless. She could get hurt."

Tristan laughed, a cruel and unforgiving sound. Reckless? He nearly said out loud. That describes you perfectly. Then to the boy before him, "Kieran situated in a different Hall. You're free to do as you wish in yours"—his eyes flickered to his laptop screen, where many blinking dots were on what appeared to be a blueprint, or a map—"Or are you unable to handle one boy by yourself?"

Jaehyun didn't look amused. "You're the one who set up the silly rule that we can't be noticed. If I try anything, that still counts as him noticing me."

"Very well, I'll change that. Numbers can't notice you. Is that alright?"

"That doesn't—"

Tristan raised a hand, silencing him. "I cannot make any more changes than this, Kim," he sighed. "But think about it. If you were in Fujikawa's shoes, how would you use that rule to your advantage?"

The blond frowned, deep in thought. "I'd...use a Face?" The blue-haired male smiled in satisfaction.

"Precisely. And as for the one you should use..."

The rest of their conversation was lost as his voice dipped into a whisper. As he pulled back, Jaehyun's face was no longer confused or angry. It was now determined, his resolve set.

Knowing him and that girl, Tristan mused as he watched the boy leave. They should be able to pull it off. He sighed again and weaved his fingers through his hair, a little pleased by the fact that there were no knots. I hate to admit it...but Jaehyun is one of the few people I cannot predict.

That's what makes him so dangerous.

AUTUMN:HALL ━━━━━༻ ❀ ༺━━━━━ ℓαtєя

"Did you know that I don't actually like tomatoes?" Was the first thing the red-haired male said as they stepped through the double arches and into Autumn Hall, recognizable by its gold and white furnishings.

(Y/n) gave him a funny look. "That was random. What makes you say that?"

"I don't know, Autumn just really reminded me of tomatoes. They're kinda weird. They're all squishy and mushy and weird. But salsa's great. Better than guac—"

"Finish that sentence and I'll put guacamole into your Redken Beach Envy Volume Texturizing Sham—"

"Wait—I'm sorry, please don't! Not the hair!"

Autumn Hall was both a familiar and unfamiliar place for them. Having walked these hallways for two years now, the two were used to the splendid grandeur. But its current chilling emptiness was foreign to them; frightening, even. Gone was the perfect chaos that milled about habitually. Gone was the steady hum of a class through closed doors.

They passed the medals, trophies, and certificates without a second glance at them. Where before the weight of the school's expectations on full display might've made them falter, it was no longer their priority. At least, for the time being.

A few of the rooms were locked, (Y/n) saw. Most of them had their lights turned on. But a few, just a few, seemed to be occupied. Right, by the Chariot card, she mused. Now that I think about it, isn't that card really useful and dangerous? You could set up a trap in any room and when someone walks in...

She shook her head to clear the more gory thoughts, such as a beaker of acid spilling down over the door. Not everyone will be like that. Not everyone is capable of murder. I'm not, I think.

Reese seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Let's go somewhere else. How about the physics lab? Worst-case scenario, we can throw calculators at them."

"What's that going to do?" She snorted. "Put them all on radian mode? Scare them?"

"Hey, a calculator on radians instead of degrees is very scary, okay?"

They stopped before the physics floor. This is where most of the physics classrooms were, on the third floor of Autumn Hall. A few rebel physics teachers set their classrooms up on the first or second floors, but the majority of them were on the third floor. (Y/n) liked this floor the best for one reason and only one reason; she didn't have to stare at life-sized models of the human anatomy all day.

"It's a good thing this place is so big," Reese murmured. "It'll be hard for people to find us, and vice versa."

"Izzy and the others are probably at Winter Hall," she said as she looked around. "And woah, we haven't met a single Number yet. We're obviously not very good at searching."

He gasped in mock offense. "We? Speak for yourself. What is there this Reese Grayson isn't good at?"

(Y/n) began ticking off a list on her fingers. "Braiding your hair, staying quiet, not getting into fights about Marvel and DC, tying knots—"

"You're supposed to support me and say 'I know right?' just then!" He scowled. "Now you make me sound like a primary schooler."

"I know right?"

"(N/n), you're late!"

(A/N: aKaAsHI you'Re laTe)

The hallways are bleached marble floors and white-gold walls, not a single fingerprint or scratch marring the pristine surfaces. The glossy door they stopped before was just as perfect, just as elegant, numbered with little digits on a slim golden plate.

Reese pulled it open; it was unlocked and gave away without a fight. The door opened soundlessly and smoothly. The door was empty, just as expected. But to make sure, the two took some time to survey every crevice there was with hope in their hearts they would find another card.

Their salvation came in the form of a thin envelope tucked into the overhead lights. Reese and (Y/n) shared a look, something like a mutual agreement passing between them before she seized a stool and slid it under the lights. He got up on the stool, being the taller of the two, and strained his arms to reach the lights.

His fingers managed to graze the letter and it began to fall. He caught it out of the air before it hit the ground. "Got it!" He jumped off the stool triumphantly. "Please be another Hanged Man..."

(Y/n) wrinkled her nose. "If you took that out of context that would sound so wrong."

"Shush, you know what I mean." Reese made a face at her. "Anyway," he slid his nail under the flap of the envelope and broke through the seal. Opening it, there was yet another piece of paper and tarot card. Only this time, it wasn't a map.

The two frowned at the innocent little paper. "'Look behind you?'" (Y/n) echoed the words on the paper. "What is that supposed to mean...?"

As she spoke, her curiosity got the best of her. Like a scene straight out of a horror movie, the two swiveled towards the door they had entered through. Pale golden light peeked in through the doorway, shying away fearfully at the touch of the shadows within the room. A few brave challengers met the darkness head-on before fading into it like spilled paint.

And amid this light, they saw—

Nothing, she deadpanned. Absolutely nothing. Reese's face was a mixture of disappointment and relief. Relief at nothing bad happening, she assumed, but disappointment at such a sorry excuse of a clue. She didn't know her face must've appeared to him, but it was probably something along those lines.

"That's weird," the red-haired male scratched his head in confusion. He took another look at the paper. "Either I'm going crazy or that isn't behind."

"Maybe they meant a different kind of behind," (Y/n) shrugged off-handedly. "Like behind this room. We could've been facing any direction for all they knew."

He snapped his fingers. "Yes, exactly! Good work, Watson."

She raised a dubious eyebrow. "Why are you Sherlock and I Watson? Shouldn't our roles be reversed—"

"Nope! I called it first."

She wasn't even going to try.

"Oh yeah! The card." Reese took the card out from the envelope. Unfortunately, it wasn't a Hanged Man. It was the Empress.

She blinked at it. Once, twice. "Is that a good thing?"

Then their phones chimed. It was a new message from the headmaster, signaling another death by the hands of the Fixer. It was a name neither of the two recognized. What caught their attention was the text underneath the grueling notice.

Attached is an applet Yours Truly had designed, it said. A list of cards and their uses will be on it. The hidden card, the one to victory, will not be on it. I suppose that will be how you know you've found the card. May Fortuna be with you all!

There was an attachment signaling something needed to be downloaded at the end of the message. Reese turned to the girl beside him before doing anything. "Should I?"

"We don't have a choice, do we?"

The applet installed within seconds on their phones. A well-designed screen popped up. There were two interfaces; one was the gallery of cards and the other was their profile, complete with their names, portrait, and the card they were represented by.

(Y/n) looked at her card, the Hermit, once again. She remembered first receiving it just a few hours ago that morning when everything was fine. She hadn't known the second time she'd look at the card would be in a totally different scenario, when everything started going wrong.

Flashes of Nicholas' body reappeared in front of her eyes. It took all her willpower to not double over and heave the contents of her stomach. She quickly composed herself before the redhead could notice.

Reese was scrolling through the card gallery. "I can't click on anything," he said. "Seems like we can only click on the cards we've found. They probably have some kind of chip in them that lets the app know. I didn't even scan it or anything."

"What does it say about the card?" She hid her shaking hands behind her back.

"It says it's a hint card," he read. "You can trade it in at the commons room for hints on the whereabouts of the nearest tarot card. Pretty useful, I guess."

"Then let's go there while we're at it. We have to go behind this room anyway, so I guess on the other side of the hallway. The commons room is that way too."

"Mhm, let's."

(Y/n) felt uneasy as they left the classroom. The last time she had gone through these hallways, she had stumbled upon a girl murdering another girl in cold blood. What would she see this time? She asked herself again and again. She wasn't optimistic enough to believe things would be fine this time. Would it be another death? If so, whose would it be?

And what would she do if it was someone she knew?

Reese didn't seem to be affected as he walked slightly in front of her. His hands were shoved into his pockets, giving him a laidback look. He didn't look worried or frightened at all. He felt at home, almost.

It suddenly reminded the (h/c)-haired girl of the few snippets of her memory with the redhead as children. Large buildings, gilded staircases, hidden cupboards—the scenery felt so familiar, but she couldn't quite name where it was. All she knew was that the two were playing hide-and-seek, their favorite game at that age.

"(Y/n)...?"

A small voice startled them. Reese sprang into action, shoving her behind him at the unfamiliar voice. The male tensed, his eyes sharpening, his posture defensive and alert.

(Y/n) peeked over his shoulder and her face lit up. "Wei Wei!"

The Asian girl's eyes widened at the sight of the other girl. Reese looked confused. "You know her?" He asked.

She nodded. "She's my friend from P.E., Liu Wei Wei. Wei Wei, this is my best friend, Reese."

Wei Wei smiled, although it looked a little strained. "Hi..." Her hands were tight around her other arm, her nails digging into the skin. (Y/n) noticed it and frowned. She must really be scared, huh?

Reese's only response was a suspicious nod. "Anyway," he interrupted. He took her wrist and started walking away. "We gotta go. Nice to meet you. Come on, (N/n)—"

"Wait!" The black-haired girl flung out a hand, her eyes wild. (Y/n) turned back, startled. Wei Wei smiled awkwardly and coughed into her hand. "A-ah, I mean, can I talk to you, (Y/n)?" She glanced at the redhead nervously. "Alone?"

"Hey, I just said we can't—"

"It's fine, Reese," (Y/n) reassured him. "I know her. Nothing will happen. Besides"—her voice dropped—"If it makes you feel any better, I'll be right here, a few steps away. We're all going to make it out of this."

He scanned her face for any trace of falsehood. Then he sighed and relented. "Five minutes," he said to the black-haired girl. "Then we go."

Wei Wei nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes, that's enough." She watched as the male went a little further down the hall and turned the corner. Her expression was unreadable and her dark eyes betraying nothing as she looked around her.

"What's wrong?" (Y/n) asked, genuinely concerned. It wasn't like the other girl to behave this way. Then again, a death game changes everyone.

Wei Wei finally looked at her. Really looked at her. And what she saw in her eyes took her aback. They were empty. So so empty.

"(Y/n)," she suddenly seized the shorter girl's shoulders. "Is it true?"

(Y/n) frowned. "Is what true?"

The Asian girl's serene features twisted into a snarl. "Don't play dumb with me! You know what I mean! So I'm asking you, is it true?!"

(Y/n) winced at the long nails digging into her shoulders with such force she was afraid her arms would come clean off. "Wha—ow, hey! I don't know what you're talking about!"

Wei Wei's mouth opened again to retort. Then as if just realizing something, she seemed to calm down. "I won't get mad," she began softly. "Just be honest with me. Do you have feelings for Jay?"

What the hell? "No, of course not," (Y/n) said. "Didn't I tell you?" The other girl stepped back and began to laugh. "Why are you laughing?"

"It's true...it really is true!" Her laugh was high-pitched and feverish, coming out in uneven bursts that chilled the (h/c)-haired girl to the bone. Unwittingly, she took a step back. "He said you'd say that...and he was right!"

Anger blazed in her eyes, now two twin bottomless pits of tar and ire. "You're a liar, (Y/n)," she spat. "How did it feel while you egged me on when you were sinking your claws into him the whole time? You're a filthy, back-stabbing, little bitch. Y—You..."

Wei Wei clawed at her arm, drawing red streaks down the pale flesh. Her chest rose and fell sharply, her breaths coming out ragged. Her head hung down, her hair hiding her face.

Then her head snapped up, and what (Y/n) saw on it scared her. "You should just disappear. Yeah, that'll solve everything...he'll forget you, and everything will be okay again. So disappear, (Y/n)!" With a broken scream, the taller girl pulled out a serrated knife (Y/n) didn't know she had been hiding from behind it, plunging it straight towards the (h/c)-haired girl's face.

HOLY CHEESEBALLS! Was the only thing on the (e/c)-eyed girl's mind as she somehow managed to duck under the lethal weapon despite the difference in the two's athletic abilities. She danced back, clear out of the range of the blade. "Wei Wei, what's gotten into you?" She tried to reason. "If I did something, then tell me. I can't understand you if you don't talk."

"Talk? Talk?" Wei Wei lunged forward with the knife; (Y/n) rolled out of the way. "What good did that ever do me? He told me everything, (Y/n). All about how you two started dating last week. And what did you do? You told me to go for it! You wished me good luck! All the while laughing at poor lil Wei Wei inside your head, didn't you? You skank!"

Dating?! She nearly spluttered aloud. While keeping a careful eye on the silver blade, her mind was doing cartwheels and her cogs turning furiously in thought. What kind of dumb donkey lie is that? Who even said that?

"Okay, we seriously have some big misunderstanding here!" (Y/n) stumbled back away from the knife. "I am not dating anyone, honest! I'm no way ready for a relationship—you should know that, Wei Wei. They're annoying to me! Besides, aren't we friends?"

"Friends?" She laughed bitterly. "Between you and him, I'd choose him any day!"

"Who the freak is 'him?!'"

"Stop LYING!" Wei Wei shrieked. She managed to kick the other girl's legs out from under her and pin her down, her knife angled towards her neck. "Just disappear already!"

(Y/n) struggled, kicked, flailed. She didn't want to die. Not here, not now. She couldn't die. There were too many things she needed to do, too many things to apologize for. Her friends' smiling faces, her dad's silly antics, her collection of pillows—they brought newfound strength into her limbs, allowing her to somehow swipe her legs and make the taller girl lose her footing.

She rolled to the side and the knife pierced the floor where her neck had been a moment ago. Her self-preservation instincts made her want to call Reese's name. But concern for his safety stopped her from doing so. They were both Autumn Hall students, and Wei Wei was a three-time basketball champion. Perhaps Reese would be able to take down the black-haired girl, but would he be able to do so unscathed?

Even with his proclamation that he was willing to do the dirty work in her place, (Y/n) wasn't about to let him stain his hands with blood anytime soon.

I'll have to use that then. Sorry, Wei Wei. She fought down her nerves and choked down the feeling of betrayal and anguish that welled up her throat. With one hand doing her best to fend off Wei Wei's now frenzied and anger-blinded attacks, her other reached behind her and with one fluid motion, she pulled out the gun, pointed it at the ceiling, and fired it.

The sound of the blank firing was enough to momentarily stun the black-haired girl, giving (Y/n) the time to free herself from Wei Wei's hold and escape. Thank you, Wikipedia for telling me blanks can still be dangerous. I wouldn't want to accidentally hurt her.

"COME BACK HERE!" Wei Wei screamed. She picked herself off from the floor and retrieved her fallen weapon before sprinting after the other girl. "STOP RUNNING!"

"I never listen when people say that!" (Y/n) called back. Holy ducks, she is fast! The Asian girl was catching up to her in no time, given her long legs and athleticism. (Y/n) didn't exactly have a choice anymore. "RE—"

A hand grabbed her arm from nowhere. "This way!" A new voice yanked into a new hallway than the one she was sure Reese had gone into. Her savior—or captor—was fast, blindingly so, as he took them down the hallway and into another one. He threw open a classroom door and pulled her into it, locking the door behind him.

(Y/n) bent over, pressing her hands on her knees for balance as she caught her breath. This is why I don't do sports. Only after she calmed down enough did she lookup.

(E/c) eyes met kind crimson ones.

Jaehyun smiled widely at her, his expression one of mirth and relief. "Found you, (Y/n)!"

AUTUMN:HALL ━━━━━༻ ❀ ༺━━━━━ мєαηωнιℓє

"(N/n)?!" Upon hearing the (h/c)-haired girl's scream cut short, Reese immediately peeled himself off the wall and ran back the way he had come from. (Y/n) didn't usually scream, not even on roller coasters. And if she did, it meant something had gone wrong. Really wrong.

His heart leaped into his throat and the world seemed to fade away at the corners of his vision until all he saw was red. (Y/n)'s face, her annoyed face, her smiling face—he couldn't lose that. No, not now, not ever. He promised both her and himself he'd protect her even after they grew up, even if the person herself has forgotten the promise.

"W-we'll be friends fivever, okay?" Seven-year-old Reese Grayson asked the (h/c)-haired girl shyly. He held out his hand. "Pinky promise?"

The young girl hooked her pinky around his. "Okay!"

The redhead could still feel the warmth on his finger at the memory. His emerald eyes dropped to it and softened, just a little, affectionately, before hardening once one into two cold, viridescent jewels.

He burst into the hallway he had left (Y/n) and the black-haired girl who had given him the creeps. They were gone. Holding back his panic, he ran towards where they last stood. There was nothing there besides a few scuff marks on the otherwise polished floor, signaling a struggle, and a few long scratch marks.

Those scratch marks looked too much like knife marks, he realized. The realization was his worst fears coming to reality. At least there's no blood, he tried to console himself. That means she's alive.

But the little voice in the corner of his mind betrayed him. And in a tiny voice he didn't want to hear said, What if she was taken away?

Reese didn't usually get mad. Sure, he gets annoyed in one of his many bouts with Isla, but he never really means it. He's happy, cheerful, optimistic, and loyal. He's all of that in one package. But as they always say, volcanoes are beautiful and filled with life, calm and forgiving.

Except once they erupt, they rain havoc everywhere, far and wide. And there is no stopping them.

Fire laced through his veins and crept up his spine, burning away all emotion until all he felt was desire, the desire to hate. The feeling was intoxicating even as it offered its thorny claw to him, the Devil's apple he took without a moment of hesitation. He sank willingly into his anger's murky depths. He took satisfaction from the feeling of the toxic waters bubble and boil within the container that was his body, yet too small to enclose the monstrosity within him.

He was a wildfire, though a calm and controlled one, and that's what made him all the more lethal. Forgive me, (N/n), he closed his eyes. You'd be disappointed in me.

His fingers curled tightly into fists, his nails pressing into his palm and leaving little red half-moons that reddened like ripe fruit, ready to burst. The ugly feeling in his stomach, all the poison and toxicity, reared its ugly green head.

Liu Wei Wei...The redhead's eyes narrowed. You better start your prayers and hope you didn't do anything to my—

He stopped. My...? Reese looked down at his hands with a startled gasp. What was he doing? What was he thinking? These strange thoughts in his head and this strange feeling...overprotectiveness? Was he perhaps like Mr. White and his overprotectiveness? (Y/n) was his closest friend he's known for years, and he wasn't willing to give the position to anyone else. He couldn't imagine doing so.

Or was it brotherhood? Was she like another family member he wished to protect? The sheer idiocy of the thought made him snort. He highly doubted he'd go such lengths for even his family.

So what made things different? He tried imagining the scenario with a different person in mind. Say, Jasper. What if Jasper was the one that went missing, and now Reese had no idea what his whereabouts were and if he was hurt or not?

The idea made him angry, but not as angry as when he imagined it to be (Y/n).

It was strange. He tried using Isla as an example, but that didn't work either. The thought of the purple-haired girl made him smile affectionately, remembering a certain phone call with a certain (h/c)-haired girl. He had wanted to burst out laughing and die of embarrassment when she asked him whether he was straight or not.

It was cute how she tried to ask me if I liked Myers or not, he chuckled. And even thought I didn't know—

He paused.

Cute...?

But before he could come to terms with what this strange emotion was, the sound of footsteps drew his attention. He rearranged his face and he tensed.

The footsteps stooped, right behind him. "You seem to be in quite the dilemma, Reese Grayson."

Reese laughed humorlessly. "And whose fault is that, Knight?"

There stood Tristan Knight in all his pristine white uniform and perfectly arranged hair glory. The male was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, and a bemused look on his face. "I'd say I apologize for all the inconveniences that's befallen you, but I'd be lying."

"I don't need your pity. You aren't even in the Game, are you? You're not supposed to be here."

"Since when did you follow the rules?" The other male straightened and began walking towards him, his strides slow and taunting as he circled the redhead. He stopped behind him. "Little Reese Grayson, vice headmaster's son, perfect student and actor extraordinaire..."

Reese narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth but did not turn. "Get to the point. What do you want?"

Tristan's lips curved into a cruel smile.

"We know who you are."