#voidswap

His head on her bosom and her fingers combing through his hair. Her face was sunken from eyebags and her hair was frizzy, and yet her touch remained caring. And yet... Teruya could not relax. As much as he should, it was impossible for him.

For luck was on the mind. And with it came spite-- how utterly unfair it was that it was the only reason for his survivorship. The other two? They survived via intellect. But he? He survived via luck alone.

Most would be thrilled! He survived a game, he joined an agency dedicated to fixing the world, and, hell, he married Rei Mekaru! That would have only been a silly dream previously.

But it disgusted him. Because luck and the twisted idea of it was what got him into that mess. Luck in all its sick glory was what killed his friends.

Sure, he lived. But what of those who deserved to? That anger shook him to his very core, until he was a shell-- just as Kinjo, just as Iranami.

Rei let out a sigh and paused her combing in favor of grabbing his face in her hands and lifting it from her chest. "What's wrong?" as blunt as ever, demanding answers that he'd given once before.

Part of him was tempted to lie so he wouldn't have to sleep on the couch again. But he knew her well enough-- she'd find out somehow, and she'd be even angrier than if he just told her.

"Divine luck." He grunted as he tried to put his face back down in search of her warmth. He really just wanted to keep cuddling-- or, more accurately, crushing her with his weight. "That's all."

Rei groaned and let go of his face, leaning her head back in frustration as he moved to place his head between her neck and shoulder. "Teruya," She sighed with an edge of frustration. "That is never all. Not in regards to you, not in regards to Kinjo."

Teruya huffed and loosened his embrace on her, his own frustration already beginning to simmer. "No idea what you're talking about." Lying through his teeth... he'd done it before, but now she could no longer recognize the man he was as he did it.

"I know when you're lying, Teruya.." She hissed as she moved to pin down on the couch cushions, her hair framing her face as it fell over her shoulders. "Do you take me for a fool? I took your last name because I was sure you knew me better than that."

Teruya turned his gaze away, not meeting hers as her golden eyes burned his skin. The frustration, previously simmering, was now a full-on boil.

"Is this about the killing game again? How you only survived because of 'luck'? Is that it?" She leaned down and dug her knees deeper into the leather cushions. She didn't even need him to answer, as she already knew what he'd say and how she'd respond.

Teruya's lips begin to lift into a partial sneer as he focused on the texturing of the leather. "Of course it is. You and Kinjo--"

"Kinjo shot himself!" Rei snapped; that caught Teruya's attention, forcing him to stare at her face for a second. Her glasses were beginning to slip from her face. "Kinjo shot himself," she repeated, her lower lip trembling, "and the only reason he survived was sheer luck!"

He tore his gaze from her again, pushing her up with his hands placed firmly on her shoulders so that he could stand up and pace around. As he moved, his hands flailed. "You and I both know it was so much more than that!"

Rei rolled her eyes in retort and pointed at the spot on the couch beside her. "Sit back down."

Teruya did not. Instead, he continued pacing and continued getting more and more agitated. "You and Kinjo both survived from pure intellect! I survived from pure and stupid dumb luck! Kobashikawa, Iranami, Maki--! They should've survived instead of me, and--!"

"And they didn't." Rei spat, finally standing up so that she could meet his eyes easier. Her heels hit the floor as she stalked closer, her previously relaxed muscles now stiff. "They didn't survive, but you did. You should be trying to survive for them, not be bitter because of it."

He snarled at that, turning his back to her. "Like hell you'd understand! I don't know why I even bother. You don't know what it's like to have friends!"

That shut Rei up. When he turned back to her, regret already beginning to seep in, he was met with pained eyes and down-turned lips. But, before he could apologize, she spoke.

"I'm leaving."

Frosty but informative. She'd already moved to grab some of her stuff-- where would she stay? He wasn't sure. But he didn't have the mind to ask. "Rei." He began, lowering his voice.

She ignored him and stormed off. The one glimpse he got of her face, he could have sworn there were tears.

-----

Teruya stood at his podium, anger seething as he watched the survivors gang together. Utsuro was "Alive," as planned-- but it seemed his plan would fail nonetheless.

Kinjo stared at Teruya, an annoying bit of shock in his eyes. As if he was shocked that someone sharing his morals would have gone so far... but it had happened many times prior, hadn't it?

"Getting rid of luck," Teruya spoke in a sing-song voice, biting back that frustration as he stared, "isn't it what you wanted, Kinjo?"

His former friend, former director, stuttered and stumbled over his words. It was kind of pathetic, really.

But, in that time when Kinjo struggled to form a response, he noticed something. Where was she?

She'd been right there a few minutes ago. Leaving without saying goodbye to her husband? Again?

And then he heard the cock of a gun. He was familiar with the noise-- he'd used one many times, after all. He didn't even have to turn completely to know who was aiming it-- he could hear her shallow breaths.

"Put it down, Rei-rei." He said as smoothly as he could manage, keeping his eyes on Kinjo. "You don't want to do this."

She gave no response. For a heartbeat, he was convinced that someone else was holding the gun. So he turned slowly.

Sure enough, it was her in all her radiant glory. "You were angry." She croaked, a grief that wasn't her own in her eyes. "so you took away Maki's last remaining family?"

He paused. Oh, that was right, wasn't it? Emma was Maki's mother... and Maki-- er, Ryutaro... he and Rei had become quite close, hadn't they?

"Well--" Teruya tried to begin, tearing his gaze from hers as his theatrics fell flat. What point was there, with people who could see right through it?

Rei turned the safety off, but her grip was still shaking. "Don't you dare call it a needed death-- or-- or anything of the sort! You know damned well that... that none of this needed to happen!"

Her voice was cracking... Did she really learn to care for someone so much that her voice cracked at their suffering? Had it ever cracked in regards to him or his suffering? No, surely not.

"He was by her side when it happened." She pressed on, stepping closer until the barrel of the gun was pressed to his chin. "When her heart stopped. Do you know how he reacted?"

He did not dare respond. Not with her finger on the trigger. How could she be so willing to kill the man she married, he wondered?

"You claim that you are a shell of yourself." Her voice trembled as she hissed at him, "but Maki was a strong man. I watched him crumble to his knees and beg because you took his mother away. He had hope left for a better future, Otori, and you took that. You took the last family he had."

"....This isn't like you, Rei-rei. Upset on someone else's behalf?" He spoke finally, adding a teasing edge to his voice-- previously, she'd grown flustered when he'd teased her. Now, she did not.

There was silence around the room. The trial was over, so of course it was at a standstill... and yet there was usually whispering. There was none.

Finally using his hand, he pressed his fingers to the barrel of the gun and moved it away from his chin. Finally, he could focus on something other than that-- he could focus on the anger in her eyes. "Are you really so willing to shoot your husband?"

Rei snarled and snapped the gun back to his chin. "He stared at me when the tears stopped. He stared at me with such helplessness it hurt to meet his eyes. And then he asked me why I couldn't stop you, Otori."

She must've been on her tip-toe, with how close her face was getting to his. "Why couldn't I, Otori? With all the times I tried to explain the flaws in your thinking, why was it never enough? Did you even bother to listen to any of my other advice?"

Hm. He was reminded of something, in the moment. The reason he married her. It wasn't just her beauty, although he noticed it in the way tears clung to her eyelashes; rather, it was her intelligence.

How funny, to have forgotten that his love for her stemmed from the very thing that made him despise her. Or was it still love, just anger that she did not understand him and side with him?

"I'm not doing this for myself." Rei said, her voice icy as she blinked away the tears. "I'm doing this for the families of those who died here. You killed them all for a stupid reason, Otori. It only feels right for you to die for that reason, too-- if you truly believe that luck was the only cause for your survival."

"Rei." He began, his voice shallow as he grabbed at her wrist. From the corner of his eye, he could see her wedding ring-- strange that she was still wearing it, even when pressing the gun to his chin. And then he stared at his own. He'd designed them to match.

She moved the barrel from his chin so that it pressed to his throat. "This is the only mercy I have for you. And it is only because you are my husband."

Teruya opened his mouth to continue, but the gun went off. He expected to die instantly, but he did not.

The two of them collapsed to the floor together, the gun skidding off to the side as it left Rei's grasp. She was still breathing, as was he-- but hers was sharp, and his was shallow.