"Hey. You dropped your pen."

Nothing pierces through you more than the voice of a person you expected to meet the least. It was the wrong time, wrong circumstances. Maybe even wrong people—both of you. And yet, the moment you turn around to face him, it almost feels right.

"My, you haven't changed much."

Chishiya Shuntaro smiles in his usual, absolutely unbothered manner. He started the conversation the same way he did many years ago—in the school hallway, when he didn't even attempt to help you. It would be difficult to imagine how someone as cold and selfish as he would become your boyfriend, and yet, nonetheless, while venomous to others, he became your pill.

Despite breaking up many years ago, Chishiya hasn't felt like a stranger. In fact, there is a sweet nostalgia hanging in the air between you two. Both of you are older and more mature. Even the round face of your ex now has a few more lines and deeper features. With his great intelligence, you can't doubt that he became a doctor just as he was planning to. Whatever happened, it doesn't really matter now. You're in Borderland, and your past life hardly affects you as long as it's not something useful to survive. 

"And I see you've already made quite the reputation." Chishiya nods towards the firearm you were holding. He was on the Beach longer than you, nearly since its creation—a so-called 'paradise' in the hellish world you poor people were trapped in. But he knows that people like you are faster to get privileges. Not because you were pretty, smart, or good—although in his eyes, you were the combination of all that. No, you were chosen to become one of the militants due to your mental instability. This is how it worked here. Those with violent tendencies get under Aguni's command, and your bipolar disorder, although not disclosed, was felt and put under control. Just in case. It isn't forced or vile; however, you realized how the system worked. You do the job and you don't get bothered. You kill the traitors and get a treat. Like a simple game—like life.

"I don't think that there's a necessity for teary embraces and excessive dramatism, is there?" He slowly steps towards you, ignoring unimportant passerbyes who seem to have nothing better than to mindlessly walk around with a drink or two and someone of the opposite gender to have fun with.

"But I'd want you to stay close to me," Chishiya states bluntly. He was your tranquilizer, and you were his perfect partner in crime, matching his brilliant mind. Even if you weren't together anymore, he simply doesn't see why you shouldn't work with him.

"You know I like you. So why don't we get straight to the point and you join my plan?"