"I wanna try out that brand new card game Hiyori found..."
"Is that so? Alright, we'll try it out once we Saori gets home. The instructions here says that it's fine to play with only two people, but it'll be better to play with more people...?" Atsuko tilted her head slightly as she read the description.
To be honest, Kasuka found the thought of constantly farming from home repetitive. She wanted to move her body! Injure herself! Watch the others' reactions!
There's a limit to how many points she could farm without access to the outside world!
"I'm back."
"Welcome back, Saori."
"Saori, play with us!"
"Play? What kind of card game is that...? Oh, is it the one Hiyori found?"
"Yes. From the rule written here, it says that everyone needs to be dealt 7 cards each. The cards given must be completely random."
"Then, we'll place the rest of the deck on the sides and reveal the one on top. The first person to take action needed to place a card with either the same number or the same color."
"There are some special cards like the +2, or the Wild +4. But I think it'd be better to understand it while playing."
"The player who successfully removes all the cards from their hands first wins."
"That's pretty simple, actually. I see, let's do it then. Is Hiyori here?" Saori looked around, seeing the empty living room, no sign of any bushes randomly appearing in the house.
"She should be back soon. As for Misa... I think she's still out in the back."
"I see. Is there a limit to the amount of people that could play?"
"Wait, let me see... From what I can tell, there's absolutely no limit. And it's also written right here that the more people that play, the more fun they'll have...? In that case, let's play together, the 6 of us."
With a soft smile, Atsuko began to take out the pack of colorful cards.
After a while, Hiyori, Misaki, and Azusa came back, and Saori called for them for a game of UNO.
And, well... the game went well?
-Why do you still have a +2?! I thought it was all placed down already!?
-Hah. What a naive thought, Misaki. I've taught you before to keep your final weapon a secret unless there's really no other way.
-Tsk. Whatever, I'll have to use this then.
-What? No, no, no, no! How many +4 are there...!
-It seems like you'll need to pick up 6 cards, Hiyori.
-Hime... help me...!
-I'll reshuffle the cards for a bit while you pick them out.
-Hime!
-Take this!
-Kasuka...! You also had a hold of a wild +4!?
-Misa isn't the only one with power here!
-Heh, the leader fell into a trap, it seems.
-Uno!
And in the end, Hiyori still somehow won even though she had more cards than everyone else combined in the first half of the game.
[Bond: Karumi Kasuka
Joumae Saori: 59
Imashino Misaki: 55
Shirasu Azusa: 74
Hakari Atsuko: 70
Tsuchinaga Hiyori: 63]
That single game of card had also strengthened her relationship with them. Perhaps having competitive spirits against one another is a good way to get closer to people.
As they say~ Rival for life knows more about you than you about yourself~
Huh? What do you mean that isn't a real quote?
Well, I created it just now, so it's my quote!
I claim full royalty over the usage of my quote!
"Good night."
"Night."
After a stressful game of Uno, the sun had unknowingly set, sending the moon out instead.
The moonlight streaked through the open window, lighting up dust and particles in the air, landing squarely on Kasuka's face.
"...You're kidding me." In a quiet whisper only she could hear, she lamented her luck.
'Fortunately, I wasn't planning on sleeping tonight, otherwise I might steal the moon for specifically targeting my eyes.'
Softly, Kasuka sat up so as to not disturb the others.
She looked around at the sleeping position, feeling a bit weirded out by the fact that there's nobody here that slept energetically.
Everyone was clean and neat, sleeping on their own side of the carpet without entering someone else's.
There's no halo to be seen other than her own.
"...I'm sorry."
A quiet whisper, seemingly aiming at the others, yet also aimed at herself.
Without another word, she left the building, swift like the wind.
Her destination?
Of course, it's Beatrice's office!
It didn't take long for her to arrive at the Madam's office. Since she had made a run for it straight from home without any detour, it barely took her 10 minutes to reach the distinct door.
And then, without even knocking, she pushed the door open, entering without a sound.
Clank Click
The sounds of metal hitting one another echoed as she made her way closer to the main room.
Slowly, she reached the corner. A single turn of her head as she passed by... caused her eyes to widen.
Beatrice, the supposedly 'elegant' adult she is, was in quite a disheveled state.
Her clothes weren't purely white anymore. Instead, stains of brown and red covered her sleeve.
Her previously long but neat hair was now unkept, her mask barely covering the bags under her eyes.
Beatrice was currently looking through her equipment.
"I'm here."
Beatrice froze, then her head turned stiffly.
And just like that, a creepy smile returned to that face which had seemed like it experienced the deepest pit of hell.
"Finally." Without a care about her appearance, Beatrice buckled for Kasuka to get closer. "I discovered something the other day."
"You. You are perfect."
"...?" What was this woman suddenly yapping about?
"I've never seen a conclusion more conclusive than yours. Hey, how about it, would you like to join hands with me? I promise you, you'll be able to get much more than you could ever imagine."
"Wealth? Fame? Power? Those are merely dirty human desires. The things you could achieve with me wouldn't compare to such a small result."
"No."
In a heartbeat, Kasuka responded decisively. Shutting down any future attempts at recruiting her.
"..." To be honest, Beatrice wasn't surprised at such a response.
After all, this child had always been unpredictable.
If she were to suddenly give out a clear agreement instead, then, Beatrice would start to get suspicious.
But as for this issue?
It's not something Kasuka could refuse.
"Your family... How have they been doing recently?"
Kasuka's eyes widened as she took a step forward. "You...!"
"Don't worry. I haven't done anything yet. Don't you see how much I treasure you with the way I've been keeping my promise?"
"But... I've been putting off their punishments for a while. They've built up quite a bit of karma, don't you think?"
Kasuka's expression sharpened as her eyes darkened. "...Fine. Do whatever you want."
"Hah." With a chuckle, Beatrice smiled victoriously knowing Kasuka can't do anything if she threatened to touch her so called 'beacons'.
This child, doesn't she know that holding someone so closely could be a weakness?
Moreover... It was 5 different people.
If anything happens to one of them, she'd undoubtedly blame Beatrice.
But who cares?
If Beatrice simply made it seem like she's keeping her end of the contract, then everything would be fine.
After all, Kasuka isn't one to break a promise.
That child, she hadn't changed one bit since that day Beatrice found her.
Except... she grew addicted to 'Hope'.
Pushing aside her own 'Happiness' for 'Hope', even while knowing it was in vain.
Truly, she has such a contradicting characteristic.