wash || alice in borderland

ix. a mad tea party

the pool deck was full of sweaty people dancing, laughing, and screaming in joy, the scent of alcohol lingering everywhere. reiko could feel the bass from the blasting music thumping in her chest. it was all together a much louder scene than she would normally enjoy, but to blend in with everyone else she still joined in. her clothes that had dried from the previous game were beginning to get damp again due to the hot, humid environment of the party.

she decided to stand in the corner with a drink tasting of butterscotch and toast in her hand, taking sips every few minutes as she observed everyone in the crowd. her eyes landed on arisu and usagi talking about something with kuina, though she was unable to hear what it was. she continued to stare at them, eyes fluttering with tiredness every few seconds.

"stop staring so much, you look like a creep."

reiko's posture straightened as she looked behind her, her stoic face turning into a large grin when she saw who approached her.

"chishiya!" she beamed at the smirking boy, grabbing his hand and intertwining their fingers. she tugged him a little closer to her so that her shoulders were pressed against his. "i'm not staring! i am simply observing. i'm an observer!" she protested playfully.

chishiya smiled down at the cheerful girl and gave her hand a squeeze. "sure, but there's a way to do it without looking crazy." he spoke teasingly, lifting his head up to do his own surveillance of the crowd.

reiko raised an eyebrow, seeing how he glared slightly as he looked around. "you can't say anything, you look like you're trying to find your next victim to kill." she took a sip of her drink, lifting it slightly to offer it to chishiya, who softly shook his head.

"how was your game? i heard it was exciting." he asked curiously.

"oh it was." reiko's eyes flicked to arisu again. "before you ask, he was more than good. he was great during the game. very intelligent. i would say more but i assume you already have a plan for him." she whispered as lowly as she could, pressing her cheek against chishiya's shoulder.

chishiya looked to where reiko was, seeing arisu, usagi, and kuina talking. "yes i do. i'm sure you can figure it out." he resisted the urge to shrug, not wanting to move reiko's head.

"you know i can. hey," reiko shifted her gaze upward to meet chishiya's eyes. "after this do you want to go to my room?"

chishiya smirked at the girl. "of course."

"oh my..." reiko's eyes widened in faux surprise as a slight confrontation seemed to break out between the executives. she lifted her head from chishiya's shoulder which made the blonde boy huff in annoyance. "what a scene. i suppose they were always one for dramatics."

chishiya narrowed his gaze at the other executives. everyone had gone silent, watching as hatter and aguni spoke. "of course. we can never have a night of peace, can we?"

"executive members!" hatter yelled out. "meeting in the conference room!"

reiko gently let go of chishiya's hand, setting her drink down on a random table. "i guess you need to go."

"arisu, you too." hatter called out, making reiko's eyes widen in actual shock this time. "anne told me you have potential. come with us."

"well," reiko took chishiya's hand back into hers. "it seems everything is going just as we need it to."

━ ━ ━ ━

reiko sat alone in her room, fiddling with her wristband. she sighed and fell back into the soft covers of her bed, tired from the games and curious about what was going on in the meeting.