A handful of eyes soon gain interest and begin hovering over Hikashi's and Rollo's game. Their plan was going smoothly as butter, and people's interest was starting to gather around their game.
Rollo gently flips his card upright.
Angel.
He stares at Hikashi, his breath held back for a moment. Hikashi follows to reveal his card.
Angel.
"Now we've gathered spectators, let's show them exactly how we move. We'll play two more games." Rollo says, digging his hand into his pocket. Rollo begins to draw his card. "We'll gamble another 8k."
"How about 9,999?" Rollo's body can't fight the stiff shock at Hikashi's offer, an identical reaction to what they expected from their spectators. Was he seriously serious!? Even though he'd recommended gambling highly in order to demonstrate the extent of trust and self-restraint between them. Gambling this money is pure stupidity, no matter how much you trust someone.
"Are you serious?!" Rollo's gasp echoes around the table, the onlookers just as stunned as he is.
"No mind. A measure of my trust, right? It should only go up for the next match, right?" Hikashi conveys calmly as if he were not throwing out figures with the potential to ensure or destroy the possibility of survival.
Rollo smirked deeply, "I like you." He flapped his hand in his pocket a little longer, then pulled out a card.
Hikashi places his card on the table. "You hadn't already decided which card you're playing?"
"Haha, you and your paranoia; I just dropped it back in my pocket after that shock," he laughs reassuringly, soon after placing his card on the table opposite Hikashi's. "I'll match your gamble."
Rollo eagerly reveals his card.
Angel.
"I'm not one of those guys; you don't have to worry," Rollo affirms, a broad smile merging with his warm eyes, delving in relief.
"I wish I could say the same."
Rollo's eyes widen. "Wha-what..."
Hikashi's card flips over.
Demon.
The demon's devious grin glaring up at Rollo's face utterly consumes his smile as his eyes and jaw sink to the ground.
Hikashi's chibi character on the screen instantaneously soars to the top of the screen. Place #1: 𝓢31,000Â
Whilst Rollo's plummets to place #100: 𝓢-4,001
"You, bastard! You're finished!" Rollo screeches, the entirety of his initial light-hearted persona flushed down the drain.
"Keep screaming; eventually, you may fool someone other than yourself," Hikashi utters so harshly that the dreadful feeling of despair becomes contagious. "You're easier to read than a children's book."
"How f*cking dare you!" Rollo grunts, his face scrunched up like a ball of paper, understandably. What else could he do? Suddenly, his eyes bulge, and his heart sinks as he gawks up at the negative numbers across his name. "How-how-how did I lose so much."
Hikashi doesn't hesitate, "I would've succumbed to the same fate next match, wouldn't I?" a slither of uncertainty nonexistent within his pittyless glare.
"Huhh?! How the hell do you know?!"
Hikashi had already devoured him; he might as well enlighten the fool. He places both hands within his pockets and glares down at the whining dirt beneath him.
"Undoubtedly, people would be interested in a game between the man who had managed to steal a whole 5500 soulis. Something I shouldn't be aware of, isolated since the start of the game. And wouldn't question past your jovial act. Unfortunately, you chose the wrong player; the screen clearly showed you were up 16,500 soulis. Whilst a player nearing the bottom of the table is down exactly 5500. You hadn't figured out one of the plain hidden rules within the game. An idiot like you was a golden opportunity."
"What...?"
"As long as the stakes do not align alongside what they themselves had gambled." Hikashi quoted, "When the gambles are not matched, you'll have to incur the total cost of the gamble."
"I saw your gamble!"Â
"No, you heard my gamble. A blind man following the words of another doesn't make him any less blind. Whilst you was drooling over your half-assed trick, what you didn't see was the hand that hadn't left my right pocket from the moment you locked eyes with me; you didn't honestly just think I was left-handed, right?"Â
"You're despicable, doesn't the gamble have to be on the table, just you wait!" His hands quivering in pure anger, clenching his teeth, he stormed to the ushers. "Hey why the fuck don't you do something?! That guy just cheated the hell out of me."
A threat that'd bring most to their knees didn't subdue Hikashi stance in the slightest, the soulis was on the table. However pressed against the bottom of it. "On the bottom of the table is still on the table, is it not?"
The ushers remained gazing in complete silence, unmoved, ignoring the man's growling. He glared back at Hikashi, his head seemed as if it could burst at any moment.Â
"Again, don't try to put yourself on the high horse. You were planning to take advantage and defeat me, so I intended to utterly devour you. It was weird that people were gathering according to your plan before we had even placed our colossal gambles. You added this as part of your plan, so it didn't feel suspicious when your genius came through."Â
"You request a game of 3, and once the trust has been built over the first game, you ambush your opponent like a serpent. You care more about my trust than the entirety of this building. You would've placed a demon in the second game if your sheep clothing hadn't fallen when I upped my gamble to 10k. That's when you slipped. I saw the greed in your eyes — already counting my Soulis before you'd even won."
Rollo collapses to the ground, utterly distraught. His body shakes as his nails dig into the carpet.
"One thing you weren't wrong about was the concept of getting blacklisted. Which is why I'll be whitelisted for bringing a villain to his knees." Hikashi utters in congratulations.
"Like any hero."
Rollo's teeth grit as his eyes roll up to Hikashi's icy gaze, showered with the evident joy and praises of the spectators. "You're-you're no hero... Your utter evil."
Hikashi ignores him as he steps from the chair after tucking it under the table. "The faces you make are no more than a mask. Relying on something like that will be your downfall."
Hikashi: 3 angel cards, 5 demon cards
One of the spectators skips towards Hikashi, wearing a white woollen jumper, her blonde hair tied into knots on both sides of her head, with a black skirt and long black socks; she couldn't be more than thirteen. "I really thought you were gonna be another victim."
"Pretty cruel to think that and still decide to let me lose everything," Hikashi jokes nonchalantly.
"Haha, it's like you haven't existed the entire game; everyone's been on edge since those ushers showed up. We don't know what we're allowed to do and really don't want to find out."
"Not too far off," Hikashi says.
"I don't mind; you haven't just been chasing money at the detriment of others like many of these greedy pigs. Do you want to join our alliance? There are already four other members."
"I'm good, but if you want me to take a couple of cards off you, that'd be fine."
"What are you sure? How much?"
"I'll buy them, 70 for angel cards and 10 for demons."
The girl begins counting her fingers, "Okay, so I'll have- wait." The girl's words halt for a moment; there's no way she understood it the way she thought she understood it. "Did you say you'd buy them?!"
"Mhm."
The girl's face lights up like a child discovering something new for the first time; she can get rid of cards whilst simultaneously making money? It's not a significant amount, but still, there is no loss, solely gains. She throws out two demon cards from his pocket. "These two!"
Hikashi stretches out his hand and takes them from her hand; as she remains staring, still convinced by disbelief, his hand moves in slow motion, dropping a 20 soulis in the palm of her hand where the demon cards had just been. "Thank you, thank you," the girl scrambles repeatedly, bowing towards Hikashi.
"It's fine, really," Hikashi responds nonchalantly; even though they were in the same event, the girl's emotion was evidently not reciprocated.
The girl sprints to the opposite end of the room. Her excitement hardly being held within her words, "I just got rid of two demon cards for absolutely nothing other than extra soulis!"
The recipient of the joy turns round with a near identical face of joy. She had dark skin, wearing a worn brown coat. "Are you for real?!"
"So, for real, one hundred per cent."
An approaching voice calls out, "Hey, Valeria." The two of them turn towards Liora, the same girl who immediately drowned into a four thousand debt the moment the game was as young as it could be.
Next to them stood a dishevelled man; his heart undoubtedly sank as far down as her own. "I found someone else, but I'm pretty sure this is the only person left willing to join our quest to stupidity."
Valeria giggles at Liora's jest, "Hey, don't demotivate the guy any more than he is. The goal may be stupid, but not thaaat stupid. That's six of us now-"
"Um, actually, I think I'll change my mind." Valeria freezes in her smile her mind blaring sh*t! "Thanks for the offer and good luck." The man continues walking away periodically.
"Well...five. Haha."
One hour has passed. Four remain.-