The Path of Regrets

Summary: When the the game fails and two survivors are left instead of one, Kuzuryu decides that he's going to take a more active role. Chishiya's manipulations might keep him alive, but at what cost? Kuzuryu's walked a similar path to the younger man and knows what lies ahead
Warning(s): Spanking; spoilers for seasons one and two of Alice in Borderland; AU; violence and character deaths

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Kuzuryu had been prepared to die. He'd accepted it by the time the game ended, Chishiya having revealed the number he'd chosen each time. Kuzuryu knew it was manipulation. He knew that Chishiya was turning his own ideals against him. Really, it was no different to what the younger man had been doing since entering this world. Chishiya was smarter than most of the other residents; smarter even than most of the citizens. And Kuzuryu had seen him use everyone in his goal to eventually escape this place.

Somehow, despite all that, Kuzuryu wasn't afraid to die. He accepted it, almost welcomed it. He didn't even look up at the acid that would fall on him. Instead, he focused his gaze on Chishiya's face, wondering what he would see as he died.

And then the room was plunged into darkness.

Kuzuryu went still, listening for the sound of the acid that would fall and kill him, as it had killed the other players of the game he'd created. As the seconds went by, though, and there was no sound or feel of the acid landing, he had to accept...he wasn't going to die. Not at this point.

It was Chishiya who broke the silence. "I assume this isn't part of the game."

"The building must have lost power." As he said the words, Kuzuryu's eyes adjusted to the darkness; enough to see that Chishiya was just sat there, completely calm. As if he had nowhere to be, despite how hard and desperately he'd fought to get out of this world. "With the power gone, the mechanics holding us here will fail." Even as he said the words, there was a click as the restraints that held them both in place opened.

"What are you going to do?" Chishiya asked, as he slowly got off the chair, rubbing his wrists. "You lost your game. Will you join another one?"

"There's no need." Kuzuryu shrugged. "I might not be dead, but the rules of the game are clear. You are the winner. What will you do?" he asked.

Chishiya shrugged. "I will continue making my way through the games. If they live, I will meet up with my friends."

"Your friends?" Kuzuryu shook his head. "You don't truly see them as your friends. Do you? If you did, you wouldn't have used them. I know you see them as nothing more than tools; as chess pieces to move around the board of your choosing." He pushed himself up.

"You think you know me." Chishiya's voice wasn't upset or angry. He merely sounded curious as he made that statement.

"We're not so different," Kuzuryu said. "I saw it when we were at the Beach. If there's one thing I've learned since coming to this place, it's that the things that meant so much to me in life aren't as important now."

"In life," Chishiya repeated. "Do you think this is the afterlife, then? Purgatory? And if we die here, we'll go on to heaven or hell." He shrugged, the movement casual. "I won't ever stop believing there's a way to get out of here. I'll find it. I'll find the way home. Whatever it takes."

"And then what will you do?"

Chishiya paused. Hesitated. For a brief moment, he looked almost uncertain. Then, he shook his head. "I'll go back to my old life, of course."

"If you think that will be so easy to do, you're mistaken." Kuzuryu advanced slowly on the younger man. "This place has changed you. It's changed everyone who comes here. Whatever or whoever you were before, it won't be the same as you are now."

"It's a little late for a morality lesson, don't you think?" Chishiya looked around at the burned bodies of the other players, then focused once more on Kuzuryu's face. "You chose to create this game. You chose the way they would all die. You chose the way you would die, if the power hadn't gone from here. Are you really trying to lecture me about morality?"

"If you don't change, then all you'll do is ensure none of your 'friends' will trust you, even if they do survive," Kuzuryu said.

Chishiya watched him, head tilted to one side like Kuzuryu was an interesting specimen. Finally, he spoke. "I assume you're going to tell me how I can change my behaviour. But that means you're assuming I'm going to see the same thing you are. How are you going to convince me of your point of view?"

"You think you can read people perfectly. You're certainly good at making people do what you want," Kuzuryu said. "But I think you care about them. Arisu. Usagi. Kuina. I saw you at the Beach, and even though you used and manipulated them, you still acted when it truly counted."

Something flickered in Chishiya's eyes. It was only there for a second before it was gone again, but it was enough for Kuzuryu to see he'd hit a chord in the younger man. He continued speaking. "I think you care about them more than you're willing to admit."

"There's no point in discussing this," Chishiya said. "I need to leave this place. You can stay here, or come with me. It's your choice." He began walking past Kuzuryu.

It would be easy to let Chishiya walk away. He thought about it. Thought seriously about letting the younger man walk away, and do nothing to try to help or 'change' Chishiya's behaviour.

He reached out and placed a hand on Chishiya's arm, arresting the other's movements.

Chishiya paused, glancing down at Kuzuryu's hand and then up into his eyes. "Let go of me." His voice was calm. Almost casual. But his body was tense and stiff under Kuzuryu's hand.

"If I let you go, if I let you leave, what will you do?" Kuzuryu asked directly. He continued without waiting for a response. "You'll continue to use your friends. You'll continue to break their trust and faith in you. Unless something stops you. Unless I stop you."

"You had the opportunity to kill me during the game," Chishiya said. "I gave you that opportunity. You can't kill me now. It would break the rules of this place."

Kuzuryu smiled, but there was no humour in it, only bitterness. "I'm not going to kill you." He didn't give Chishiya enough time to respond to that before he pulled the younger man over to the table they'd sat down. He propped his leg up on the table and pulled Cishiya forward, hauling him over his raised leg. Then, he lifted his hand and brought it down in a firm, solid smack against Chishiya's right buttock.

A quiet hiss escaped Chishiya's lips in response and he immediately threw his hand back, covering his backside. "Let me go."

"You can't tell me that you don't feel anything, that you don't feel any sense of guilt or responsibility, for all the things you've done since coming here." Kuzuryu pulled Chishiya's hand out of the way, holding it against his back, and began swatting in earnest, working over every part of Chishiya's backside from the crest down to mid-thigh.

"And you can't tell me that I've done any differently to what you yourself have done, or what any of the others here in this world have done." Chishiya's breathing hitched as he began to shift and then squirm in earnest as Kuzuryu began a second circuit of swats, covering skin that had already received attention.

Kuzuryu took a few moments before he responded verbally, still bringing his hand down in firm, hard smacks. "You're right," he agreed. "None of us can claim innocence in this, except perhaps Arisu. Even when you betrayed him, he still did everything he could to save all of those at the Beach." He paused, but only to hook his fingers in the waistband of Chishiya's pants to tug them down, following those quickly with his underwear, leaving the younger man's backside bare and vulnerable. "You were more concerned with stealing the cards." He began to swat Chishiya's bare bottom, putting more force behind the smacks.

A tiny sound, maybe a sob or maybe a whimper, escaped Chishiya's lips. "I was just trying to find a way to escape this place!"

"By betraying your friends? By turning on them like a rabid animal?" Kuzuryu paused when he could hear more tiny whimpers and huffs of air escaping Chishiya's lips. He moved his hand towards his waist, unbuckling his belt and pulling it slowly through the loops, doubling the leather over in his hand.

Chishiya's backside visibly clenched at the sound of the belt being removed, although he didn't make any protest. When Kuzuryu brought the belt down across the centre of his backside, Chishiya cried out and kicked his legs up.

"I don't know how many deaths you were directly responsible for." Kuzuryu continued to bring the belt down in firm strokes, leaving behind thin lines of red on the younger man's backside. "I don't know how many people you used and manipulated. But the next time you're tempted to do that, perhaps you'll remember this spanking and think twice before treating others as merely tools."

Chishiya's breath caught in his throat and then he slumped over Kuzuryu's lap, beginning to cry audibly.

After three more stripes from the belt, wanting to make sure the punishment stuck in Chishiya's mind, Kuzuryu brought the spanking to a stop. He replaced the belt around his waist and then rubbed Chishiya's back for a few moments, waiting for the younger man to calm down. Once the tears had died down to quiet sniffles, he pulled Chishiya's clothing back into place and helped him to stand up.

Slowly, gingerly, Chishiya moved his hands behind his back and carefully rubbed his bottom. He kept his head lowered as he breathed in and out, then finally looked up at Kuzuryu with a face that was calm and composed. "Will you come with me?" he asked. "After all, you lost the game. You're no longer the king of diamonds."

Kuzuya considered the question for a few moments before he nodded. "I don't have anywhere else to go, so yes. I will go with you. Lead the way."

The End