At first I was paralyzed with shock, then my thoughts came flooding back. But in reality it was just one thought: Chishiya.

That was all it took to get my legs moving. Completely headless, I ran down the hill in search of green arrows that would lead me to the game. I ran as if my own life depended on it, never taking my eyes off the airship for a second, and at that moment I was glad I'd chosen the boots this morning. The way to the courthouse was even further than I had initially assumed. Nevertheless, I didn't think about stopping.

My feet were as nimble as ever, but my breathing was still pathetic. I was audibly gasping for air and at one point felt a painful twinge in my side. But I ignored all that. I coughed in agony from the sudden lack of oxygen and was forced to slow down a little. I didn't have any spray with me this time. Nothing at all.

When the airship finally came into view after what felt like an eternity, I gave it all one last time.

One last set of traffic lights crossed my path and then I stopped breathlessly and put my hands on my knees to stop myself from falling over. Panting, I looked up at the steps leading to the entrance. There was no one to be seen for miles around. I took the long staircase up and stopped in front of the large, heavy entrance door. I shook the glass door with the last of my strength, but as expected, it didn't budge a bit.

"Chishiya..." I called out desperately and sank to the floor, completely exhausted.

Then I finally burst into tears because I knew it was too late. The game had already begun. My body began to shake uncontrollably. I had never felt so completely powerless as I did at that moment. How was I supposed to carry on if he was going to die in there?

Weakly, I pulled myself back to my feet because I wasn't willing to give up just yet. I circled the entire building in search of other entrances, but this concrete block seemed like an insurmountable fortress. For a moment I even thought about smashing the glass door with a stone, but on the other hand the glass seemed very sturdy, almost like bulletproof glass. And even if I had managed that. Then what? Just burst into the game and save Chishiya? I knew it wasn't that easy.

Resigned, I lowered myself to the bottom steps. My body was still shaking with fear and I knew that I wouldn't move again until the game was over. While I waited, I clutched my legs for help and buried my face in my arms, discouraged. Then I began to sob quietly again. I cried until there wasn't a single tear left and at some point I lost all sense of time. Had I only been sitting here for a few minutes or hours? I didn't know. At some stage I wondered whether it had really been such a good idea to come here. What did I expect if Chishiya ever came out again? That he would fall around my neck? Certainly not...

Nevertheless, I was unable to move from the spot. The game must have gone on for half an eternity. With every minute that passed, I became more and more distraught and I couldn't even manage to form a clear thought.

I heaved an infinitely heavy sigh.

"What the hell am I doing here?" I asked almost angrily to myself.

"I'd like to really know that too," replied a familiar voice directly behind me.

Completely stunned, I raised my head. Then I jumped up and turned around. Chishiya was standing in front of me with his arms crossed, as nonchalant as ever, looking at me with a neutral expression. He didn't look angry or particularly surprised to see me again. I, on the other hand, stared at him, completely perplexed, almost as if he was a god-like apparition.

"You're alive," I breathed and couldn't stop my eyes from filling with tears again. Without giving it much thought, I went to him, put my arms around his body and pulled him tightly against me. I noticed how Chishiya stiffened a little as I pressed myself against him. "I was so scared for you," I mumbled against his shoulder as my heart almost jumped out of my chest. I was so relieved that for a moment I didn't even care what Chishiya thought of me.

"You are and always will be a stalker," he finally said in a calm voice. Then I felt his arms wrap around my body and he pressed me almost gently against him. A warm, tingling feeling of happiness instantly spread through me.

"Don't you like being stalked by me?" I whispered against his ear.

Chishiya released the tight embrace to look deep into my eyes for a long moment. My heart felt like it was about to burst when he pushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

Slowly, I leaned forward towards him and as Chishiya didn't flinch, I became momentarily self-conscious, but suddenly he put his hand on my shoulder to stop me. He paused briefly and turned slightly. I followed his gaze and we saw the airship of the King of Diamonds crumble into ashes and dust. But that was obviously not what had caught Chishiya's attention.

It was another airship slowly emerging from behind the building and heading straight for us.

"We have to get out of here now," he said and grabbed my hand to pull me along behind him.

I had barely realized what was happening when I heard deafening gunshots behind us. I turned around and saw the King of Spades banner hovering almost directly above us out of the corner of my eye.

Panic rose in me, but Chishiya still held my hand tightly. My legs felt far heavier than before, almost like lead. I couldn't remember the last time in my life that I had to run as much as I had in the last few hours. I could feel myself desperately gasping for breath after a short time, but the gunshots behind us were getting louder by the second. Then something exploded right next to us. Dust was kicked up and I started coughing again.

Chishiya didn't let go of me for a second, but by now I was having a lot of trouble catching up with him. We ran into a spacious park where there was hardly anywhere to hide except for a few trees and bushes.

"Chishiya, I can't..." I gasped weakly.

By now, my lungs were burning so badly that I stopped paying attention to my feet. Shortly afterwards, I realized that I had caught my right foot on a root and a sharp pain went through my ankle as I slumped down.
Chishiya reacted quickly and came back to me. He pulled me up again, but I quickly realized that I could no longer walk without pain.

"Run! I can do it," I said defensively. When we turned around, the King of Spades was already so close that we could make out his silhouette in the distance. Chishiya, however, didn't move an inch. "We're both going to die if you don't get out of here right now!" I shouted at him in an unrestrained manner.

He turned his back to me and then crouched down.

"Jump up. Come on!"

I sighed and devotedly put my arms around his neck. Chishiya pulled me up and grabbed my legs. He was even slower with me on his back and I was afraid that this was our death sentence. The only reassuring thought that came to me was that we would at least die together. Almost like Romeo and Juliet. Tragic, but also somehow romantic. I flinched violently when another loud bang sounded close behind us. The trees had now blocked our view a little, so at least he didn't know exactly where we were.

We came to a playground with a huge climbing frame that looked a bit like a knight's castle. At the very top were several of these little wooden houses that could only be reached by climbing rope or a narrow ladder. Chishiya aimed for one and stopped right in front of it.

"Try to climb up the rope," he instructed me, turning so that I could grab it with my hands.

"Are you serious?" I asked in dismay.

But when the gunshots got louder again, I grabbed the rope and slowly shimmied up it. Unfortunately, my arm strength left something to be desired, but it was only a few meters to the top, so I laboriously tried to climb up.

Chishiya waited patiently until I had arrived. Only then did he follow me up, taking the ladder on the other side. I flinched in panic as shots were fired in our direction again and it sounded like they had hit something. Probably one of the wooden beams, because shortly afterwards our surroundings vibrated like an earthquake. I huddled anxiously in a corner, still trying hard to control my breathing.

Chishiya put his finger to his lips. I wished it was that easy to be quiet when you were about to collapse. He moved closer to me and then carefully placed his hand over my mouth, making sure I could still breathe through my nose. I tried to hold my breath and for a moment it was completely silent except for the quiet, deliberate footsteps outside on the sandy ground.

When I finally managed to breathe a little more calmly, I took Chishiya's hand away, but didn't let go, instead clutching it tightly with my own. As he squeezed it tightly, I smiled slightly despite my all too present fear of death and my heart pounding loudly in my chest.

We stayed there until the footsteps had finally faded away completely and waited a little longer for good measure. Then Chishiya suddenly let go of my hand and straightened up a little to look out of the small barred window.

"I think he's gone. The airship has moved on."
I breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed my swollen ankle, groaning. "Let me see that foot," he said as he watched me. I positioned it so that he could reach it better. Chishiya lifted it slightly and then took off my shoe. He gently felt over the thick ankle, but that light touch was enough to make my foot retract quickly.

"Can you move it?" I tried, but even that was only possible with pain. "It looks like your ankle is a bit torn."

"And that means what?"

He smiled a little amused.

"You've sprained your ankle. But on the bright side, your ligaments probably aren't completely torn, so it should heal relatively quickly."

I nodded understandingly.

"That... sounds good, I guess."

At least we were still alive. A sprained ankle was probably the lesser of two evils.

I reached for my shoe and put it back on. Meanwhile, Chishiya was still keeping an eye out for the airship, but it seemed to be a safe distance away.

"I'll go ahead. You wait here for a moment," he instructed me and climbed back down the ladder. I got moving too and crawled to the ladder to watch Chishiya closely.

"What now?" I asked uncertainly as he reached the bottom and brushed some sand off his jacket. "How do I get back down now?"

Chishiya looked up at me and shrugged his shoulders.

"Looks like you'll have to jump."

I stared at him in disbelief and then laughed soundlessly.

"What, no way."

"Then I guess I'll have to leave you here."

He put his hands in his jacket pockets and then looked at me triumphantly.

"I hate you, Chishiya," I growled.

"That's not the first time I've heard that." I pushed my lower lip forward a little defiantly. Then he stepped back a little and stretched out his arms. "Don't worry about it. I'll catch you, okay?"

"Oh, with your injured arm, you mean?" I snapped.

Chishiya sighed.

"Yes. Don't worry about that. The arm is as good as new."

I snorted.

"As if..."

"Well, go on. I promise I won't drop you." I looked down again, scrutinizing. It must have been three meters to the bottom. On the other hand, I also trusted that Chishiya wouldn't just leave me to my fate. "Tsuki, please!"

He gave me an unusually insistent look this time, which admittedly made me feel a little weak.

"Alright then."

I swung my legs over the parapet and then looked down at Chishiya, who still had his arms outstretched in my direction. Then I closed my eyes and pushed myself off with my healthy foot. I heard myself scream briefly, but in the next moment, Chishiya's arms clutched tightly around my waist while my hands held onto the back of his neck. Then he gently set me down on the floor without releasing his embrace. He pulled me close to him and his lips tenderly touched my forehead.

"I'm sorry, Tsuki," he murmured softly against my head, while I didn't know what was happening to me. My pulse almost skipped a beat at his intimate touch and I was sure my legs would give away at any moment.

"What for?" I asked, although of course I knew exactly.

"Everything."

"So you're sorry you just saved me, too?"

He smiled audibly.

"No, I'm not. That was intentional."

His lips broke away from my forehead and I looked up at him nervously. The look he was giving me now was unusually gentle and warm-hearted. My trembling hand came to rest on his cheek and stroked it tentatively. Then I leaned forward to him again, but this time I carefully placed my lips on his. Fortunately, Chishiya didn't let go of me during this, otherwise I might have collapsed from sheer euphoria when he began to return my kiss somewhat reluctantly.

His lips were still moving hesitantly, while I was a little more demanding. My hands went back to his neck and pulled him closer to me. Then it felt like he was smiling into the kiss.
I broke away from him and looked at him confused.

"What is it?"

He shook his head.

"Nothing. I just...I don't think I'm the hero you're looking for."

I looked at him motionlessly. Then I lifted my hand and stroked his hair lovingly.

"That's not true, Chishiya. You're everything I've ever wanted. I know I may have seemed more like some crazy groupie to you at first, but..." I hesitated for a long moment. "...I really like you. The thought of you dying in that game was unbearable for me."

I looked deep into his eyes and a tiny smile played around his lips.

"I've been thinking about it too, and I've realized that I shouldn't waste my life. It's worth just as much as any other life and when this is all over, I want to go back and do better next time." He pulled me a little towards him again and kissed my forehead. "And I won't leave you here."

His words touched me so much that I got goosebumps. Coming from Chishiya, it was almost like a declaration of love. I would have loved to stand here with him forever in our deep embrace, but I knew how quickly everything could change again.

"We should go back first so that I can take care of your ankle," he said at some point and stroked another curl from my forehead.

"Well... Unfortunately, I had to leave all my things behind. A woman and a boy took me in last night and I ran off head over heels when I saw that the King of Diamonds game was about to start."

Chishiya's expression looked astonished and amused at the same time.

"You really are incredible. However, it would still be more sensible if we went to my place first. We can always get your stuff later."

I nodded hesitantly and thought of all my drawings that were still in my bag. Hopefully Mei and Kota weren't too worried about me either. I wished I'd had the time to tell them beforehand, but that couldn't be helped now anyway.

Chishiya sighed, turned around and squatted down again.

"Let's go then."

Smiling, I put my arms around his neck as he carried me piggyback all the way back.