Archive of Our Own ^beta

Ganji has always been a very standoffish person to those around him, but for some reason, he feels calmer around the newest survivor, Anne Lester. She has a very gentle demeanor, but the look in her eyes suggests she's scared and alone in this cruel mansion.

Ganji sits down at the table with some of the other survivors. Not for a match, but just to eat and hang out a bit. It's not mandatory to come down to eat, so not everyone is here. But Ganji, being a cricket player, needs to eat a lot to maintain his slim build. Halfway through eating his curry pilaf, he feels eyes on him. He looks up and sees Anne. He looks at her, slightly smiling, but her reaction suggests that she is wary of him. 

Ganji runs his fingers over his burn scar while continuing to eat. Unknowingly, Anne kept her stare on him. Rather not at him, but the little sheep Ganji carries on him. It has started to rip at the seams from what seems to be years of play and wear.

Anne got up and walked toward him. She was scared, but her love for toys overrode her rational thinking.

She firmly stood before him. Mustering up the courage to speak, unfortunately nothing comes out. Ganji turns around, a bit surprised that she appeared behind him. Close to him in fact.

"I'm sorry, I'm just a bit nervous is all. I wanted to ask about your stuffed sheep; I couldn't help but notice it's coming apart." Anne pointed, now shaking. Ganji quickly snatched the toy from the table, causing her to gasp and step back. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude! I'm a toy maker, and I thought I could fix it for you."

Ganji knew about her profession. Though the idea of letting a stranger take his sheep, made him feel awfully uncomfortable. He looked down at the plush. She did make a good point. At this rate, the sheep would surely fall apart. 

“Look here,” Ganji said. “I’ll let you help, but it has to be done under my supervision. If anything happens to it, there’ll be hell to pay.”

Anne nodded, a new excitement in her eyes. "I promise nothing will happen!" she said as she sat down next to him. She pulled out the little pouch she carried on her belt. Anne took out a little tin toy soldier and placed it on the table. The soldier was missing part of its leg. Various colors of thread and a small pack of needles now laid out in front of them.

"May I?" Anne asked as she stretched out her hands, requesting the sheep.

Ganji hesitantly placed it in her hands. Anne quickly got to work, matching the color of the thread to the sheep's original thread color. Ganji noticed her hands also had calluses; he likes hard workers. He was entranced by the way her hands delicately handled his sheep. It was as though she was lost in her little world. He was certain that if it were a heart she was handling, she would treat it as if it were her own. He looked in awe as she efficiently worked, yet he couldn’t help but notice a certain look in her eyes. Past the excited spark in her eyes, there was a look of held sorrows. Untold to everyone but herself.

"Ganji...?" she said, more confidently than in their previous interactions. She held it out to him, a small smile plastered on her face.

Ganji took the sheep and looked it over. His stomach twisted with happiness, but he didn't show it. "Thank you... it's... well, I don't know how to say it, but I'll cherish this." Ganji stuttered, "I'm sorry, I'm not good with words."

"You're welcome! It was no hassle! I make doll clothes all the time." She said as she started putting everything away back into the pouch. Ganji wasn't sure how she managed to get everything to fit into the pouch, but in the end everything was put away. All except for the tin soldier.

"Hey, why does this soldier have only one leg?" He pointed to the toy.

"Oh... it's just something that was meant for someone, but they never had a chance to have it. It ended up breaking on its own." Anne sighed, as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She picked up the soldier carefully and put him back in the pouch.

"Thank you for talking to me, I really appreciate it." Anne said as she rushed off without giving Ganji a chance to respond.

It gave Ganji the same feeling as though he had just gotten stood up for a date, but he decided to leave it alone. It wasn’t any of his business. Ganji got up from the table making sure to take his dirty plate to the sink. Being here was like living with a family. More or so, what he thinks about living with a family; the constant arguing of who should clean what and when. He often heard others call the barmaid, Demi, the drunk tía? Ganji doesn't even know what a tía even is. Was he even saying it right? But thinking about it he only ever heard that miner person call her that; What was his name?

Ganji cleaned his used dishes and headed off to his room to have a small nap before his scheduled match. His room wasn’t much. He had some stuff, but it was mostly barren. Sure he has some clothes, but it’s those costumes everyone gets once in a while. Maybe Anne has one too? Ganji shook his head, taking his attention back to his sheep. His memory is hazy but he knows it was given to him by his mother; What did she look like again?

Ganji laid down, closing his eyes to drift into slumber. He was soon woken up by the sound of a match bell. He misjudged how much time he really had. Ganji always felt so sleepy after eating. The interaction with Anne; he won’t say that it didn’t feel refreshing to be able to talk a bit more than his usual nods and occasional ‘okays’. But it took a lot of energy to actually socialize.

Ganji pulled himself out of bed, deciding to change into something else to maybe help him wake up a bit more. He opened his little closet, which had maybe four or five outfits that didn’t include his everyday wear. Ganji pulled out a pink looking shirt and looked at the tag. “Campsis.. This’ll do I suppose.”

Ganji flicked the hanger off the shirt, he put it on and pulled out the little make-up kit that came with it. It felt silly to wear make-up, but he liked to make sure everything matched and that included his face.

Ganji walked out of his room after getting dressed with his cricket bat and balls in tow. He sat down at the waiting table, trying his best to fight his sleepiness when Anne walked in.

Ganji wouldn’t say he is the type to swoon but she looked really good as a brunette. That woke him up. Compared to him he looked like a clown, or maybe it was his makeup. The air around Anne radiated with caution and uncertainty despite how powerful she presented herself. Anne decided to sit in the chair next to him, it was a bit too close for comfort but he’ll let it slide for now.

“Hey Ganji. It seems to be just us right now..” Anne laughed nervously, “I’m sorry, I’ve been here a week already and this is my first real match outside of training. It’s just so scary and I’m scared that I’ll let everyone down and that I’ll just be a burden like I always am. I’m sorry. I’m rambling..”

“No, it’s okay. Everyone gets nervous before their first match. Depending on the hunter, they might just go a bit easier on you.” Ganji tried to comfort her with a smile but he thinks it will just scare her more than she already is.

They sat together, an awkward silence filled the room. “So.. how do I look..? I hope it's not too silly. This shirt is a bit too open for my liking.” He didn’t like how it revealed more of his scarred chest than he liked. His attempt to strike conversation again worked. Anne glanced over him, quite mesmerized by how he looks. He never liked the idea of someone staring over him. Before he could say anything, Anne replied.

“Pink is a good color on you, and I think your shirt and makeup looks lovely.”

They sat in a comfortable silence, Ganji still processing why he felt funny; maybe his lack of a nap is getting to him.

A moment later some talking came in through the door. It was the Seer and Mercenary; Eli and Naib. “I told you my visions aren’t wrong! Hello Ms. Lester! I am Eli Clark, the Seer.” He smiled, the bird that was perched on his shoulders stared at the two seated players.

“Whatever, one day you’ll be wrong and I’ll be there to rub it in!”

The Mercenary laughed, having been in a good mood at the moment. “Annie Lester was it? Nice to play with you!”

He held his hand out for her to shake but she simply touched his hand, not wanting full contact yet.

“It’s not Annie.. it’s Anne..” Her voice was no higher than a whisper. “Oh I’m sorry Anne. I’m Naib, Mercenary. And of course here is Eli; we will help you as best as we can.”

Anne waved to them, “I hope I don’t drag everyone down..” she spoke as Ganji gave her the smallest smile, hoping to reassure her.

Eli and Naib talked while Anne and Ganji simply sat together in a comfortable silence. As usual, everything went dark and quiet.

Anne heard the sound of glass breaking. Her vision was once again restored to the sight of a large broken boat and the sound of waves splashing not too far away. She looked around, everything felt surreal. Anne felt sick but if she wanted to prove herself to her teammates, she needed to move.

Anne walked up the stairs of the big boat to the cipher that was positioned in the far corner. She pulled out the papers that she somehow knew were there. She looked the cipher over, finally understanding what she needed.

“This is.. Number 3.” She filed through the papers until she came across the decoding code for it and began to input it onto the typewriter.

She’s practiced so many times but no amount of preparation can prepare her for reality. Anne felt nervous, her heart was beating so fast. Why? She looked around, seeing a small figure round the corner, with sounds of some sort of object scraping the wood.

Anne froze, making herself press a wrong key; a small electric shock coursing through her fingertips caused her to yelp and pull her hands to her chest. She looked back at the figure. She presumed it was the hunter, they were short, just under four feet.

The figure stepped closer, Anne’s fight or flight response kicked in and her body chose flight. She ran down the opposite stairs and out of the boat. She ran as fast as her body could keep up. She made the mistake of looking back at the figure following her. When she turned to look straight ahead again she was greeted with pain. Anne had run full force into a tree. Why was there a tree here?

Anne held her face, feeling a bit of blood trickle out of her nose. She didn’t have any time to react when she suddenly felt a presence standing behind her. She turned around slowly. Anne stood stunned, she was face to face with a child, maybe no less than seven, they carried some type of axe.

Now Anne felt really sick, she had enough sense to grab the pager in her pocket and page in her situation.

The child approached her, digging for something in their pocket. Judging by the build, they were a boy. He held out his hand, presenting a few pieces of candy, She hesitantly took a piece from his hand when Ganji ran from around the corner, cricket bat already in motion.

The ball flew into the boy, knocking him against some barrels; Ganji grabbed Anne’s hand running away.

“Don’t trust hunters, ever.”

Anne’s mind was yonderly, he hit that child with no hesitation. Why? What did he do? Her mind was spiraling. He didn’t do anything to her.

Anne yet again looked back, the boy followed them; he looked angry. The boy held his hand out, making circling motions before pulling it towards his chest. Ganji grunted, some blood now soaked through his shirt. What hit him?

The boy was rapidly approaching, Anne was slowing Ganji down. She let go of his hand, reaching into her wooden pack on her back; taking out the catapult and placing it in front of Ganji.

“Put a foot on it and jump. Now!”

Anne pushed him towards her catapult, hoping she set it up in a direction where he wouldn't hit anything.

“GO!”

Ganji did what she said, he placed his right foot on the catapult and jumped. He wasn’t sure what to expect but he gained distance very fast but Robbie was very persistent, his soul hit his side, fortunately where there’s no major organs.

Anne was left running from the boy, he was so close, but Anne was starting to feel tired. The boy went for a swing that would have hit her if the seer’s owl didn’t come in and block the attack.

The others worked fast, the sound of an alarm went off.The boy was hot on her tail, she felt a new rush of energy making her body work harder.

She was almost there, to where she could be safe but the boy was going in for a hit with his axe. She braced herself but no pain came, Naib appeared behind her, taking the hit.

How’d he get here so fast? It didn’t matter to her anymore, Anne just wanted out. Ganji appeared from inside the exit gate, ready to hit the boy again.She ran in the exit gate, tugging Ganji by the shirt, making sure he left with her.

Her vision went dark again.

Anne appeared in her room again. Any trace of ache or pain was gone; the blood from her nose was gone. She sat on the floor next to her bed and just sobbed.

No amount of practice prepared her for the real thing. Her mind was muddled with events of what happened. Why was a child here in a place like this? Are there more children that she doesn’t know about? How cruel this place is..

A knock came from her door, she didn’t have the energy to get it and just laid on the floor; letting the tears stream down her face. She looked at the door, watching the knob turn and someone’s head peak in. Ganji..

He came down to sit on the floor, gently picking her back up to lean against him.

“Are you okay?” He asked, saying the words that would make anyone start crying again once that had calmed down. Anne turned to him and hugged him, she didn’t care if he got mad or not; she just wanted comfort in the one person she knew.

Ganji let her hug him, slowly wrapping his arms around her to bring her closer. “It’s okay, just let it out.. I’ll be here no matter what.”

Ganji stroked her hair hoping that this is what bringing comfort to others is, how it’s done. Anne relaxed, the mental exhaustion setting in.

“I’m so tired Ganji..” Anne closed her eyes, letting sleep take over; tears still streaming while others started to dry.

He lifted her up and laid her on the bed. She wouldn’t let go of his shirt, so he opted to just lay down next to her. Ganji covered both of them with the blanket and let himself drift to sleep too. Anne is his protective embrace.