Chapter 29 – Do Die or Kill
The Accountant's voice sliced through the silence:
"Two rounds. First match… Ren."
Every head snapped toward Ren and Aoi.
The guard raised his hand.
"Rock, paper, scissors. Now."
Aoi's hand trembled before she threw out rock.
Ren, expression calm as always, lifted paper.
"Winner: Ren," the guard announced.
Aoi's lips parted in a shaky breath. Her heartbeat drummed loud in her ears.
The revolver slid across the table, stopping before Ren. Six chambers. One bullet. A single minute.
The guard intoned, "Choose: yourself… or your partner."
For a long moment, Ren didn't move. Then, with a lazy smile, he leaned back in his chair.
"Relax, Aoi. You're shaking too much. If you keep staring at me like that, you'll make me nervous."
Aoi's eyes widened. "Ren… how can you be so calm? This isn't a joke!"
Ren shrugged, fingers brushing the gun but not lifting it.
"Because panicking won't change the odds. One bullet, five blanks. Better than most games of chance, don't you think?"
Shun gritted his teeth. "Ren! Stop playing around!"
Mei whispered, "Is he… smiling?"
Daichi muttered, "This guy… he's too calm. That makes him dangerous."
Ren finally picked up the revolver, spinning the cylinder with a click that echoed like thunder.
"See? Just a game. And I always did like games."
Aoi's fists clenched against her knees. "You… you wouldn't really—"
Ren met her gaze, his voice smooth but unreadable.
"Don't worry. I'm not the type to waste my first shot."
The others froze, watching. Nobody could tell if Ren meant he would aim at himself… or at her.
The cylinder clicked again as Ren spun it slowly, almost savoring the sound. His face stayed calm, eyes half-lidded, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
Everyone stared.
Shun slammed the table. "Ren! Are you out of your mind?! How can you smile at a time like this?!"
Mei clutched Tatsuya's sleeve. "He's… he's acting like this is nothing. Like it's just… normal."
Tatsuya frowned deeply. "No… it's worse. He's hiding something. No one can be that calm staring at death."
Daichi muttered, almost to himself, "This guy… is he brave, or insane?"
Even the guards tilted their heads, the painted white smiles on their masks looking stranger in the silence.
Ren finally stopped spinning the chamber and rested the revolver against the table, tapping the metal softly with his finger.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?" he asked casually.
"You think fear will save me? Fear doesn't change the bullet. Fear doesn't change fate."
Aoi's voice cracked. "Ren… you're scaring everyone…"
Ren leaned forward, eyes locking on hers. Calm. Sharp.
"You should be scared, Aoi. Not of me. Not of the gun. But of the game. The moment you panic… you're already dead."
Without warning, Ren pressed the revolver to his own temple.
Click.
Empty.
Gasps filled the room. Mei covered her mouth. Shun half-rose, trembling. Tatsuya's jaw tightened.
Ren just chuckled, lowering the gun.
"See? I told you. Just a game."
---
The Accountant's voice had been precise: two rounds. The first belonged to Ren.
The guard barked again. "Rock, paper, scissors. Now."
Aoi's hand shook into rock. Ren's rose—calm, almost bored—into paper.
"Winner: Ren."
The revolver slid toward him once more.
"One minute. Decide: yourself… or your partner."
Ren leaned back, picking it up with lazy fingers. The cylinder spun, the click echoing.
"Relax, Angry Bird," he murmured.
Aoi flinched at the nickname. "Don't call me that! This isn't funny, Ren!"
"Odds are odds. Fear just tastes bitter."
The others whispered, furious and helpless.
Then Ren pressed the barrel to his temple.
Click.
Empty again.
"Your turn," he said, pushing the gun to Aoi.
Her hands shook violently. She aimed at Ren, tears streaking her face.
Click.
Another blank.
Ren took it back, calm as ever. "Second round starts."
The muzzle found his temple again.
Click.
Empty.
Only one chamber remained.
Ren looked at Aoi, softer this time, almost human beneath the mask of calm.
"You know why you're scared? Because you clutch too hard at life. You try so hard to survive… you forget to live."
Aoi's chest heaved. A flash of memory burned behind her eyes—Ren laughing in the schoolyard, calling her Angry Bird as the others chased them down the hall.
Her throat tightened. "Ren… I—"
He smiled. A small, crooked thing, half apology, half warmth.
"I love you, Angry Bird."
And then—
The final bullet spoke.
The crack silenced the room.
Aoi screamed, lunging, but the guards shoved her back. Ren slumped forward, blood spreading across the table.
The guard's voice rang cold:
"Aoi Himura—winner."
She fell beside him, closing his eyes with trembling hands.
"I love you too…" she whispered.
Her sobs tore through the still air. Shun's fists bled against his palms. Mei turned away, gagging on her tears.
The guards carried Ren's body out like cargo, dragging Aoi away with iron grips as her cries echoed down the hall.
Tatsuya stared at the bloodstain left behind. Grief knotted in his chest—but deeper than that grief was something harder. Colder.
Resolve.
The game had drawn its first true blood. And it was only beginning.