Mahito screams echoed in the distance.
BOOM
CRASH
"WHY IS THERE A MAHORAGA HANA?!"
Nobody at the table acknowledged it anymore.
At some point it had become background noise.
Takeru shuffled the cards.
Fffshh.
Fffshh.
Fffshh.
Nanami had coffee.
Higaruma had coffee.
And somehow both looked noticeably happier.
Yuji leaned forward.
"…Okay, I genuinely don't know this game."
Hakari pulled up another chair.
"…Me neither."
Megumi sat down too.
Not because he wanted to.
Because he had already accepted resistance was pointless.
Takeru started dealing cards.
One.
Two.
Three.
Until ten face-down cards sat in front of everyone.
Then he placed the remaining deck in the middle.
Flipped one card over beside it.
Takeru pointed.
"Okay."
He leaned back slightly.
"You get ten face-down cards each."
He pointed at the center pile.
"There'll be a deck in the middle with one flipped up."
Nanami nodded carefully.
Actually paying attention.
"The person after whoever dealt starts."
Takeru grabbed a card and demonstrated.
"That person takes a card."
He flipped an Ace.
"An Ace is one."
Then he flipped a seven.
"Everything else is itself up to ten."
Then he flipped a Jack.
"Jack is anything."
Hakari's eyes widened.
"Ohhh, okay."
Takeru nodded.
Then flipped a Queen.
"King and Queen count as nothing."
He tossed it into the pile dramatically.
"So if you get one of those…"
He pointed.
"…you put it in the deck and the next person grabs from the top."
Yuji was intensely focused.
Like he was studying for a final exam.
Then Takeru pointed at everyone's cards.
"Whoever reveals all their cards first—"
He held up nine fingers.
"—gets nine cards next round."
Eight fingers.
"Then eight."
Seven.
"All the way down."
Then—
he held up a fist.
"…To zero."
Silence.
Then a smile.
"…And then you win."
Yuji gasped.
"…WAIT THAT'S ACTUALLY COOL."
Hakari immediately grinned.
"Oh I'm taking everyone's money."
Nanami looked at him.
"…We're not betting."
Hakari's smile vanished instantly.
"…Worst day of my life."
Far away—
Mahito smashed through a wall.
"TAKERUUUUUUUUUU!"
Takeru looked over briefly.
Sipped coffee.
"…We're in the middle of something."