77 - [Death Revolver]
Ikishima Midari drew a gun, spun the cylinder, and slowly pressed the muzzle against Jabami Yumeko's forehead.
"The winner of the gamble gets to pull the trigger as many times as the number of points they win by."
"We each have our own gun. We can load any number of bullets into it—up to six—and spin the cylinder. You can load them all or none at all."
"Then we toss the guns into a box where we can't see them. After the gamble ends, we randomly draw a gun and shoot at each other."
Midari paused, her face crazed.
"You can shoot anywhere you like. As long as one bullet hits, the game ends. So, what do you say—"
"Heeey, Jabami Yumeko, Hikigaya Hachiman—this game sounds super exciting, right?!"
Hikigaya Hachiman's eyes darkened. He no longer had the patience to entertain her madness.
He bitterly regretted agreeing to go into the woods with Yumeko—had he refused, he wouldn't be stuck with this lunatic.
His mind slowed down, carefully watching Ikishima Midari's every move.
'All I have to do is disarm her.'
"Oi oi oi, what're you staring at, Hikigaya Hachiman?!"
It was as if Midari could read his mind. She suddenly drew her gun and fired several shots into the floor just in front of his feet.
Loud bangs echoed through the small interrogation room.
Bullet holes lined up neatly before Hikigaya's toes.
A clear message to the two before her: the gun she held was no toy—it was a real weapon, one capable of taking lives.
Hikigaya didn't even blink. His fierce gaze locked onto the smoking barrel. His heart sank into the depths, and his face grew ashen and grim.
This was his first time facing gunfire at such close range—and yet, he was utterly powerless.
There was nothing he could do.
Sure, in some anime, there's trivia that says you can dodge a bullet if you sidestep 0.03 seconds before the trigger is pulled. But anime is anime. Hikigaya Hachiman wasn't about to gamble his life on something so unreliable.
So, there was only one path left to take.
Win the gamble against Ikishima Midari.
'Once this is over, I'll crush everything this woman has.'
For the first time, Hikigaya felt true rage.
Rage at himself for slipping up.
Rage at being forced to face death.
Rage at the danger Yumeko was in.
Rage at Ikishima Midari for bringing it all about.
Seeing that Hikigaya wasn't frightened, Midari pouted in disappointment. Usually when she did that, boys would wet themselves in front of their girls.
Boring. Way too boring.
Hikigaya's excessive calm had killed her desire to keep provoking them.
"If you get it, then let's begin already! Hikigaya! Yumeko! Let's have the most thrilling game of mutual intuition!"
"Don't worry. A single shot won't kill you instantly. You'll be rushed to the hospital right after!"
Ikishima Midari didn't notice that after she had aimed the gun at Hikigaya, Yumeko's previously frenzied face—twisted by gambling lust—had cooled and sharpened.
She continued on, oblivious:
"Wait, don't tell me you're worried about what'll happen if you kill me?! Don't worry about that, the President will clean up the mess~"
"Maybe you didn't know—but our President is terrifyingly powerful~ Something like a student dying on campus? She can cover that up easily~"
"If the school had a death by shooting, no rich kid's parent would dare send their child here to be her plaything~ So yeah, the President will definitely make sure the results of this gamble stand~"
"In other words, even if one of us dies, it's fine!"
"We can trample Japan's boring laws under our feet!"
"You don't have to worry about anything—just enjoy the thrill to your heart's content!"
Ikishima Midari's voice grew louder and louder as she reached toward the joy tokens, circling around Hikigaya and Yumeko like a maniac.
She even scattered droplets of water on them during her dance, completely unaware of her own actions.
Finally, she stopped in front of Hikigaya, pointing the gun at him.
"Hey hey, Hikigaya-kun, you're not gonna stop me, right?"
SLAP—
A sharp slap echoed through the room.
Ikishima Midari stared blankly at Jabami Yumeko. The stinging pain on her cheek told her she'd just been slapped.
She looked into Yumeko's eyes—and saw a blazing red glow shimmering within her pupils.
"I'm not refusing this gamble, Ikishima-san. So stop pointing your gun at Hikigaya-kun."
"If you want me to gamble with you, I have four conditions."
"First, we only play three rounds. Second, Hikigaya-kun acts as the dealer. Third, the loser pays the winner ten billion yen. Fourth, the loser becomes the winner's dog in school from now on."
Yumeko's cold, commanding voice echoed through the room.
Hikigaya turned to look at her in surprise. This woman, who was usually all about the thrill of the gamble, seemed to have undergone some subtle, unknowable change.
"…Huh?"
Midari was stunned.
"You're insane. What makes you think you're in any position to make demands?"
"Though, fine. Ten billion yen? Whatever. If you want it, take it. You don't trust me not to cheat? Letting Hikigaya act as the dealer is fine too. Becoming someone's dog? I don't care."
"But—"
"Why just three rounds?!"
Midari burst into maniacal laughter.
"You bastard… Don't tell me you're trying to end in a tie? You're not thinking of guessing all three card arrangements perfectly and then just missing the shot on purpose, are you?!"
"…Guess," Yumeko said, lips parting slightly.
Midari froze for a second—then smirked, wide and deranged.
"Whatever. You're not the type to make the game boring. I believe in you, Yumeko~"
"But I'm adding a rule too: however many times you miss your shot, that's how many times your opponent gets to fire back. That way, three rounds are fine with me."
Hikigaya stood silently to the side, listening while calculating in his mind.
'The rule Ikishima Midari added... that means, even if Jabami wins the card guessing, she can't purposely miss her shot. If she does, she'll be shot by Midari—and that woman absolutely won't hold back.'
'One of them is guaranteed to get shot.'
'Wait... is that what Midari really meant...?'
Hikigaya narrowed his eyes slightly, as if a certain possibility had just dawned on him.
"All right, I can't wait to start feeling the thrill! Let the game begin!"
"Hey hey, Hikigaya, get to the monitoring room already!" One of the Beautification Committee members gave him a shove, leading him toward the interrogation room door.
Hikigaya turned his head and locked eyes with Jabami Yumeko—within that glance, they understood the trust they shared.
"If it's Hikigaya-kun acting as the dealer, then I feel totally at ease~"
"The bond between Hikigaya-kun and me—it's unbeatable, after all."
'Don't say things like that right before a gamble starts, Yumeko... It'll have the opposite effect,' Hikigaya thought, breaking into a cold sweat.
It seemed like ever since he came to this school, every opponent who had declared themselves "invincible" ended up losing to him.
"Nice, that's the spirit I'm talking about!" Ikishima Midari laughed heartily from the side.
"Well then, let's get started!"