Heart of a survivor × Chishiya Shuntaro

Chapter Thirty

It was now the next day, and apart from seeing Kuina and going downstairs to eat, Takara had mainly been keeping to herself. She didn't feel like socialising right now, she just wanted the peace of her own room.

Takara had been taking extra care with her wound dressing, reapplying the healing salve hoping she'd get better quicker. It would only be another three days until her next game, and she needed to rest up if she stood any chance of surviving.

Just like the last few mornings, Takara had woken with a fright from having the same bad dream she'd been having ever since she had come back from her last game.

She had no idea how to stop the nightmares from returning each night, Takara knew they were meant to be telling her something. Maybe her brain was struggling to process killing people, which was completely understandable.

After having the disturbing dreams several times, she didn't know who to turn to about how they had made her feel. She felt confused on how to deal with taking a life.

In the old world, she would have never thought of such a dark concept. However now, it was a constant battle she had inside her head.

Takara glanced over to the oak drawers on the other side of her room, a shiny metal object sitting on top of them. Because she had been carried in from her game basically unconscious, she never handed over her weapon she had concealed in her pockets. Niragi's knife.

A thought formed in her mind. Niragi seemed to be extremely well versed in killing, so maybe he could help her? Seeing as she still had his knife, she decided it was the perfect excuse to head to his room to confide in him.

If she went to anyone else about the thoughts she had been having, or confessed what she had done even under this world's circumstances, they'd think of her as a monster. But a monster would never judge her so quickly, and Niragi prided himself on being one.

Takara found it slightly amusing, the thought of going to Niragi for support. But the more she spent living in the Borderlands, the more she got used to expecting the unexpected.

Grabbing the knife from one of her bedroom drawers and sliding it down the back of one of the boots she was wearing, she exited her room and headed for Niragi's.

She recalled the room number and floor Niragi had told her the first time she had met him in a tragic attempt at flirting, and pressed the elevator buttons to take her up to the sixth floor.

As Takara walked down the long corridor, Niragi's door came into view and found herself standing in front of it in no time.

Loud music was emanating from inside his room, the bass sending vibrations through the door. Takara was surprised at how the music hadn't made him completely deaf yet. She knocked on his door as loudly as she could, hoping to be heard over the music.

A few seconds passed and no answer. She knocked again with a little more effort.

Still no reply.

She knocked a third time, her knuckles going red from the force she used.

"Niragi, it's Takara! Can I come in?" She shouted.

No answer.

Takara huffed, she hadn't come all the way to his room to turn away without speaking to him. It had taken a lot for her to get this far, each step she had taken was accompanied by a stabbing pain in her side from her injury.

Feeling impatient, Takara took hold of the doorknob. She knew no doors at the beach had locks on them, and it wasn't like she hadn't tried three times to get him to open it himself. Slowly, she pushed the door open.