Chapter 10: Trickster
The poolside bar at night was a neon-lit purgatory... Bodies writhed to the beat of electronic dance music, desperate to forget that death was waiting for them at sunrise and Alcohol flowed freely, a sedative for the doomed.
Renji sat at a high table near the edge of the pool. He was the only person in the entire resort wearing a suit. The dark navy fabric stood out against the sea of bikinis and board shorts like a black hole in a galaxy of stars.
He nursed a glass of sparkling water. He didn't drink the alcohol here; he didn't trust it.
He was "aura farming," as the gamers would say. He didn't need to speak. His presence alone created a perimeter of empty space around him. People whispered, pointing at the "Executive in the suit," the man who threw Niragi through a bar.
"You stick out," a voice said. Soft. Mocking. Intelligent.
Renji didn't turn. "And you blend in too well, meant to be ignored."
A young man with bleached blond hair and a white hoodie slid onto the barstool next to him. Shuntarō Chishiya. The Cheshire Cat. The smartest man in the Beach—until now.
Next to him, a woman with dreadlocks and a stick of "cigarette" (which was actually just a plastic holder) leaned against the table. Kuina Hikari.
"Chishiya," Renji identified him without looking. "Top medical student. Specialized in pediatrics, didn't you? Or was it internal medicine? You have the hands of a surgeon but the eyes of a coroner."
Chishiya paused. His permanent smirk twitched. "You did your homework? Or are you just guessing?"
"I don't guess," Renji turned to face him. He lowered his sunglasses, revealing the Six Eyes.
"I observe as Your fingers are calloused in specific spots scalpel grip , so your posture is defensive and you analyze before you engage."
He looked at Kuina.
"And you , you a Martial artist Dojo daughter because you walk with your weight on the balls of your feet, ready to pivot and you chew that plastic stick because you're trying to quit a habit that reminds you of a past you ran away from."
Kuina's jaw dropped the cigarette holder fell from her mouth. "Who... who are you?"
"Renji," Chishiya answered for him, recovering his composure. "The new Number Six and the man who had cleared a Seven of Hearts without killing anyone also now rumor has it you trick death and save everyone in the death game."
"Physics," Renji shrugged.
"Interesting," Chishiya murmured. "I thought it was impossible as the Seven of Hearts is designed to break bonds but you bypassed the psychological torture with simple engineering."
"The game makers are too arrogant " Renji said. "They assume players will act emotionally but I act algorithmically....and see it work"
Chishiya smiled. It was a genuine smile, sharp and dangerous. "We're alike, you and I. We see the strings."
"No," Renji corrected him gently. "We are not alike, Chishiya. You see the strings and you try to cut them to save yourself, I see the strings and I plan to strangle the puppeteer with them."
The distinction hung in the air. Chishiya's eyes narrowed. He realized, in that second, that he was sitting next to a monster. Not a physical monster like Aguni, but an intellectual leviathan.
"I'm planning something," Chishiya whispered, leaning in. "A way to take all the cards is to leave this place and Hatter is losing his mind also the muscle guy named Aguni is a ticking bomb and so my conclusion is that Beach is going to burn soon."
"I know," Renji said. "The Witch Hunt is coming."
' opps spoiler ' I immediately close my mouth
"The... what?" Chishiya blinked.
"A figure of speech," Renji lied smoothly. "This place is a powder keg with entropy dictates it must collapse soon."
"Join me," Chishiya offered. "With your brain and my plan... and her muscle..." he gestured to Kuina, "...we can steal the cards and we can escape this place."
Renji looked at Chishiya as he admired the audacity because in the original story, Arisu was the pawn Chishiya tried to use but now, he was trying to recruit the King.
"I don't join alliances, Chishiya because they're inefficient for me , I can trust this alliance which might betrayed me and why Betrayal because statistically inevitable in a group of three or more possible is very high."
Renji stood up and towered over the small doctor.
"But," Renji added, looking down at them. "I'll let you play your little game. Steal the cards. Plot your coup. I won't stop you."
"Why?" Kuina asked, stepping forward protectively in front of Chishiya.
Renji smiled. It was a smile that made Kuina blush and shiver at the same time.
"Because it will be entertaining to watch," Renji said. "And when your plan fails and it will fail, Chishiya, because you underestimate the emotional volatility of the Hatter—I'll be there to pick up the pieces."
He turned to leave, but stopped and looked at Kuina.
"By the way, Hikari-san. Your mother would be proud of the woman you've become. You don't need the plastic stick to prove you've changed."
He walked away, vanishing into the crowd.
Kuina stood frozen, her eyes wide. "How... how did he know about my mother?"
Chishiya stared at Renji's retreating back. His hands were trembling slightly. He clenched them into fists to stop it.
"He didn't just observe," Chishiya whispered, his voice laced with a rare fear. "He read us. He read our entire history in ten seconds."
"Is he a genius?" Kuina asked.
"No," Chishiya shook his head. "He's something worse. He's the guy who read the walkthrough before starting the game."
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Two hours later, at the front gate.
Arisu Ryohei, Karube Daikichi, Chota Segawa, and Saori Shibuki stood before the massive gates of the Beach. They were exhausted, cover in dirthin the clothes, and by looking at the facial expressions they look like they had traumatized by someone
"This is it," Arisu said, looking at the map Renji had sent him coordinates for (a lie, he had just told them the name, Arisu found it). "The Beach."
"Do you think he's really here?" Chota asked, leaning on his makeshift crutch. "Zero?"
"He said he would be," Karube grunted. "And that guy... he doesn't lie but just said the fact in front of us."
The gates opened. A militant stepped out.
"New players?" the guard barked. "Strip. Check for weapons."
"Wait," Arisu said. "We're looking for someone. A man with white hair. Goes by Renji. Or Zero."
The guard's attitude changed instantly. He stiffened. He looked at Arisu with new eyes—eyes filled with respect and a hint of fear.
"You know Executive Renji?" the guard asked, his voice lowering.
"Executive?" Karube's jaw dropped. "He's been here for three hours and he's already an Executive?"
"He's the Number Six," the guard whispered, as if speaking the name of a demon. "He threw Niragi-sama across the room,He walks through the hotel like he owns it and If you're friends of Renji-sama... come in quickly don't make him wait."
The guard ushered them inside, treating them like VIPs.
Arisu walked into the courtyard. He saw the lights. He heard the music but all he could think about was the gap.
While Arisu had been trembling in the dark, Renji had conquered paradise.
"He's not just playing the game," Arisu realized, a cold sweat breaking on his neck. "He's designing it."
(To be Continued)