Marionette ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

Nine of Hearts - Part Three

PLAYER BATTLE

KING VS COLOURLESS JOKER (V)

Just like the previous two players, he too was dragged out of the window.

Now, it was just her and Glasses.

CURRENT CARDS

RED DRESS - COLOURLESS JOKER, ACE

GLASSES - COLOUR JOKER

BEARD - JACK

HANDBAG - QUEEN

LAST MAN - KING

"Ha! What an idiot!" Glasses laughed. "He did one good thing though, he wasted your Joker for me. Not that it matters, seeing as when two Jokers meet, the colourless loses. Let's end this game now. I'll battle-"

"Before we enter into a battle, can we talk for a little while?"

"You want to talk? Right now? Before you're about to die? Fine, I'll grant you a dying wish."

Red Dress smirked.

"I just want to say, thank you."

Had she gone insane? Was the thought of dying sending her over the edge figuratively?

"You were so kind, explaining everything to us. But I wanted to thank you especially, for letting me know what a Hearts game entails. Just, answer me this one question. Do you really think you can win?"

"What?"

Glasses was caught off guard. What did she mean? Her Joker was battled twice, it became obsolete. And he made sure to battle her before she could touch her card to change it. Even so, when two Jokers meet, the colour one would win. The rules were very clear about that.

"From the moment you told us a Hearts game is basically psychological, I've been watching you. All of you. Do you know the term micro expression? It's a short moment, a fraction of a second, when someone shows their true feelings.

"The man with the beard, he frowned when he saw his card which tells me that he doesn't think it's a good card. Seeing as I hold the worst card, it can only mean he has the Jack. The woman doesn't really fall into the equation, because all she had on her face was despair and confusion. The quiet guy was hard to read, so I didn't bother with him. You, on the other hand, are like an open book.

"You smiled when you saw your card. And the fact that you kept pushing others to do your dirty work for you, it can only mean that you have a good card. Now, whether that was the King or the Joker, I didn't know yet. If you were the King, you would want to waste the Joker's battles. If you were the Joker, you would want to protect your battles."

As she spoke, Red Dress moved her hand slightly.

"I'm done talking. We're in battle right now, you can't change your card!"

"You're not very good at psychological warfare, are you?" Red Dress sighed.

PLAYER BATTLE

COLOUR JOKER VS ACE (V)

"What? No...no, no, no, no, no, no. This cannot be. You never touched the card! I battled you before you could!"

"Didn't I?"

Indeed, when he challenged her right after the quiet man's death, the Colourless Joker was still chosen. But she interrupted him before he could finish his sentence. The battle had yet to start.

"That's impossible...when did you-"

"If there's anything you can take away from this, not that you would be alive to use it, is that you should never let your opponent have a monologue."

His eyes widened and Red Dress held her hand up, wiggling her fingers at him as goodbye before he was pulled out of the window.

CONGRATULATIONS

GAME CLEAR

Stepping off the podium, Red Dress headed into the elevator as the sole survivor of the game. Once she got to the ground floor, she was greeted with a register. A piece of paper was printed out, along with a playing card.

VISA
IMMIGRATION STATUS CERTIFICATION

Chuya Kurenai Earned Points: 9 points
Total Points: 9 points

LENGTH OF STAY 9 DAYS ADDED

PLEASE BEWARE OF YOUR REMAINING ALLOWANCE

Registration: Heart 9.

Holding the playing card, she fell to the ground as her legs finally gave out. 

"Damn...that was really high up."