I'm innocent here. Don't blame me.
Oh, and about my upcoming vtuber x kiyo fic. Well, I'm still brainstorming about the plot. Maybe an isekai where the vtuber characters get their skills? (Like Marine being an actual pirate. Or gura having the ability of a shark. Calli being a grim reaper.)
I'm still not sure about it. Gotta upload on my profile for any latest update.
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Kiyotaka POV
It was before the start of classes when Itsuki, an underclassmen, challenged Yumeko into a gamble. In which she humbly rejected and passed the baton on me.
So right now, I'm having my first gamble in this school with an underclassmen. Since I skipped a year ( Well, not really since there's only a few more months left before I become a second-year. ) and jumped my way onto the next year, I can't really call her my underclassmen, since we're technically the same age.
But anyway, let's get back to reality. I'm standing in front of a not-so-long table in the cafeteria. The chairs are removed, and two tables are stick together to form a long table, much as to what students do on forming study groups.
In front of me-on the other side of the table, stood Itsuki with her grin.
"Now then, the gamble we will be playing is called "Double Memory". As the name suggests, this is just a memory game by using two decks of cards." she stated, pulling out a deck which seems to be a brand new one put of thin air. "In normal memory, you simply match out the numbers of the card to get a point. However, in Double Memory, not only must the numbers match, but the suit as well." She said.
"In other words, every card only has one match in the every 104 card deck." she continued, looking at me with a slightly narrowed eyes, as if telling me "Do you understand?".
"I see. Thanks for the explanation. I understand the rules."
Actually, I already knew what's the rule of the game by the name itself, and there's no need to explain it to me, but it's not like I can just say that out loud either.
I took a glance at the side of my vision where my companions are. Suzui has a slight concerned look on his face, probably because of those 'strange rumors' that he's talking about earlier.
However, Yumeko has her usual interested face. If she really is interested, then why did she rejected the invitation?
Crowds startes to gather around us little by little. It's not really that big of a deal, but looks like seeing someone from the student council play a gamble against a 'famous transfer student' seems to piqued their interest.
"Okay! Now, time to talk bets. These are student council issued 1,000,000 yen chips." pulling out tons of chips from her pocket with a million yen written on it, Itsuki said so. "I'll use twenty of them."
"So I'm starting off with... 20,000,000 yen! What do you think?"
The quantity seems to be the bet Yumeko made with Saotome doubled. It goes without saying that this isn't something someone can gain just by playing a mere memory game.
I don't even think working yourself to death in a span of a year will even give you 20 million yen, let alone half of it. Huge companies will surely acquire those numbers in around half a year or maybe a full year.
But gaining those in a day is close to impossible if you're not in this school. I'm quite surprised, yet that is to be expected on a school where the main fun is revolving around money.
Anyway, now that I have that man's card with me, money isn't really an issue anymore. I already confirmed that a huge amount of yen are inside of this, and I already gain the authority to spend this as I please.
The apartment's monthly payment won't really hurt me that much, even for a year. Daily expenses, foods, monthly payments, bills and miscellaneous items. I already put all of those into consideration for a span of a year, and yet I can't see the balance of the card being reduced by a two or three percent.
As much as I want to use this card as an opportunity to try to spend money on leisure things, I want to try something out.
"I'm sorry." I said, slowly letting out a sigh. "I don't have that kind of money with me. I wouldn't be able to prepare 20,000,000 yen to use."
"Hmm? Contrary to your appearance, I guess you do like to spend your money quickly. Or could it be that you have a debt to pay off?"
None of those is the correct answer, but it doesn't really matter. What I'm expecting here is if she will offer me something if I don't have any.
"Anyway, no need to worry!" she said in an excited tone. "I'll let you borrow the 20,000,000 yen! It'll even be interest free!"
It's just as I expected. I'm pretty much sure that an offer is already in the table the time that I said I don't have any moneys with me.
Why?
Because it'll be advantageous for her if I have a debt to pay. She only said she'll 'let me borrow', means that I need to pay back. The interest free is something that I didn't expect, but I'll soon figure out if there's really no string attached, or if she needs something other than the debt.
Anyway, the game is one thing. But I'm quite interested about those strange rumors that Suzui is talking about. I'll learn them all by the end of this match.
"To be honest, 20,000,000 yen isn't really that big of a deal for me. Getting everyone else interested in my company's cards is far more profitable in the end." she stated, showing a childish behavior as she circled around me.
It's true that gaining those customers will bring much more impact on a company's business. That is to say, if the one owning it is famous, or if the company itself rose up the rank and became famous itself.
Saying that it's not big of a deal is acceptable if it came from her. I gotta say that if I'm a normal person, I'll surely be tempted by the 'interest free' alone.
I'll just go along for now. After all, acting like I don't have any money in front of a rich girl seems to be amusing.
"Is that so? Then, I'll gladly accept it."
"Wha-? Kiyotaka...! You shouldn't just-" Before Suzui can speak anymore, he got cut off by the sudden clap of Itsuki.
"Okay then! We've settled the terms of the game!"
An intense atmosphere enveloped the area around us. Murmurs here and there started to rise up among the students watching the game which about to start in a few minutes.
Itsuki pulled out another deck of playing cards from her blazer. The box alone already shows that the decks is brand new.
"As I mentioned before, we'll be using two brand new deck of cards. My company's top product: Raclette. It's the second most popular cards in Japan." she stated, then raised her one hand up in the air, looking as if she's talking to someone from far away. "One of it's selling points is how they good they feel in your hands! Please buy some!"
Quite a clever girl. She seriously promoted the product that she'll be using on the game as a way to earn the people's attention. Though the atmosphere said otherwise, she seems to be the laid back type of person, and completely ignored the tense atmosphere around like Kouenji. How interesting.
I inserted my left hand in my pocket while continuing to watch Itsuki prepare the cards. Really, the boxing of the deck is interesting, it seems kinda unique. It also has a strange smell on it, some kind of perfume, if I may assume.
It took her 3 minutes to set down the cards face down on the long table. From the very corner of the table to the center, all cards can now be seen.
"All right, now we're all set up." she said, eyes closed. "Let's start our game of "Double Memory"!"
Contrary to her excited tone, I continued to analyze the 104 cards before me. There doesn't seem to be any kind of difference from the cards. The back are all the same; from the design through the colors, the shapes and the layout are identical. No traces of fingerprints except for Itsuki can be found either.
If Itsuki will also pull a 'Saotome strategy' here and try to gain everyone's help, I already have a counterattack in mind, so that's the least of my worries. What I need to keep in mind is the chances of winning, and how I can raise that numbers.
As much as I'm confident in my perfect memory, that's not the only essence of the game. The overall game revolves around luck, much as to what every game is.
The chances are 1 out of 103. The chances will slowly increase every time a player turns end, or every time a player make a pair. One way for me to win is to memorize all of the cards position that I flipped before, or to simply guess the pairs out of whim, but the latter is something a stupid person will do.
In short, what I need the most is luck.
I got snapped back to reality by the time Itsuki told me to go first, saying that "Since I'm a senpai." and all. Anyway, there's no harm in gaining the first move, since it will increase the chances of winning after all.
"Four of hearts." I said, flipping out a card with my right hand. "Four of diamonds".
Under the rules of a normal memory game, this will be a match and will give me a point. However in this game, what I need to find is the same kind of card that I flipped over.
Meaning, either another four of hearts, or four of spades. Cards other than that will not give any point.
I returned the cards face down as I nudged her to make her turn. She replied with a relived smile, as if a mother happy that her son got something correct.
Wait, do I look dumb for her? I disregarded that thought as fast as my running.
"The king of diamonds and the three of of spades." she let out a sigh. "No luck, huh..."
"The ace of spades and the two of hearts." A close one on my four of hearts earlier, but no luck either.
"Four of clubs, the king of clubs."
"Ace of hearts-"
I've already memorized all of the cards that have been shown by the both of us. However, no one's making any point. So far, this is a competition of who will flipped over the card who already has an existing pair.
"The six of clubs and the seven of clubs." A close one, but not a match.
Hmm?
I flipped over a card on my left, not expecting anything at all. "Four of diamonds..." looks like the first player who will gain a point is me.
Not saying anything anymore, I continued to reach on the card that I remembered to be the four of diamonds. It was correct.
"That's a point right?" I asked, turning my eyes away from the card that I'm holding to Itsuki.
"Yep! And since you found a match, you can pick again." She said.
So finding a pair will give you another chance to make a match. I'm pretty much sure I won't make a match again at this early in the game, what I made back earlier is just by luck.
After all, all of the cards haven't even flipped over yet, let alone half of it. There's a total of 104 cards. To win, I need the majority of 54 cards- which is 27 in pair.
And that is to say, if I ended up in the 50 card brackets, then I will obviously lose.
"Seven of diamonds and the king of clubs." Another miss, and a free point for Itsuki. If only I picked the king of clubs first, I would've made another pair.
Well, no point in regretting it anyway. After all, this may be my chance to ascertain if her memory is on par with me, or maybe the potential to surpass mine.
"Oh-ho, I remember seeing a king of clubs before." she stated in full confidence. "Right here!" Itsuki flipped the card face up, which revealed to be the pair of the card.
Looks like she isn't losing either. Looks like I'm going to have a hard time finishing this in my next round. I see no traces of cheating, meaning that her confidence isn't just for show, and she has the ability to back it up.
She may become a good toy for me if the time comes, but what I want to do right now, differs on what I should do today. Should I let myself to lose, or perhaps win this round over?
I can just pay the 20,000,000 yen if I ended up losing, but that thought alone isn't enough for me to forfeit defeat. If I ended up winning, however, then my position as a student will most probably skyrocket.
As Itsuki said, looks like I'm kinda popular in the underclassmen. Spreading my name in the upperclassmen, and to the whole school is also a way to spread my father's name.
But, one thing that I desire in my time here at this school is to have fun. Saotome already deemed herself to be a good toy, only a bit of break down and she will be mine to play with.
Yumeko is still a mystery to me. I need to get informations about her before I conduct my move. Being her friend is also a way of espionage, but it's not bad to befriend her anyway.
Will Itsuki add in that list? I don't know. Looks like I really need to win this game after all.
Her turn finished with a miss pair. It's a pity that I won't enjoy this game any longer. I need to finish this, somehow. Giving her a turn will prove to be full of demerits for me.
After all, the point is 1 to 1- which is 2 to 2 cards. I need to score 26 more points- or 52 cards in a row, or a 15- which is 30 cards in a row. Why? Because the number of cards will be reduced. Meaning, the chances of guessing a pair will increase.
If I gave her a turn while I made a pair of, let's say, 20. If that ever happens, the remaining cards will be reduced to 60 cards. The chances will surely skyrocket, as it is now 1 is to 59. Considering the cards that has been flipped over earlier, it will be a walk in the part for her to steal the win from me.
But, that's only if she's lucky enough, or wise enough to guess the right pair of cards.
Nevertheless, I can say that I'm more in the tight spot here. I need to guess 26 matches- or 52 total cards in a row. Let's see if lady's luck is smiling upon me.
"The six of clubs..." I mumbled upon flipping a random card on my left. "Right here." I continued, flipping the card that I knew is the pair.
That's another point for me. Let's continue.
The next card that I flipped over is seven of diamonds. I already knew where the location of the pair is, in which I successfully scored another point.
Another pair
Another pair
Another pair
I continued to reduce the numbers of the cards in the table one after another. It also shocked me to the point that I don't even know what to get, or what to flipped over. I'm merely picking cards while relying on my guts. My hands didn't stopped, I don't want to stop.
5 whole minutes. Upon seeing that I already completed the 27 majority card required to win the game, I slowly inserted my right hand in my pocket.
"I suppose it's my win?"
It was boring, actually. I didn't even have the time to slowly give her hope, making her score 50 cards, while I steal the win from her. That way, it was killing two birds with one stone.
I won the game, and I successfully broke down Itsuki. It was necessary to defeat her. After all, it's a way for her to grow as a gambler.
Yet again, I don't want to waste my opportunity on any miscalculations. Why? Because I yet to know the full extent of her capabilities. Challenging an opponent without knowing their abilities is suicide. I don't want to take the risk in my early days in this school.
If this game happened after a few months have passed, I'm sure I already acquired the necessary informations at that point. I'm sure she's one of those people that I got the information to.
In short, my options are limited; close to none. That's why I immediately ended the game. Nonetheless, it goes without saying that I took a much more risk, a gamble, when I chose this option.
Because I'm solely relying on luck. I didn't used any abilities other than my memory. That's why.
Even if I didn't enjoyed this, I'm sure that if I did what I planned, and no miscalculations intervened in the procedure, then Itsuki will surely be a new version of herself.
May it be boring or not, so long as I get what I need in the end, then I see no problems with it.
"That's..."
"Holy shit..."
"Did he just ended it like that?!"
"Is he cheating?"
"Of course not! Didn't you see that Itsuki-san was the one owning the cards? It's even brand new! It's acceptable if Itsuki-san is the one cheating, but that's not the case here...."
"Then how...?"
The audience watching the event unfold before their eyes, murmured to themselves. A lot of words that 'I cheated' can also be heard. But the opinion got knocked down from people with logical perspectives.
"You gotta be kidding me..." Itsuki mumbled, let out a sigh as she pushed both of her arms on the table.
It's actually surprising that she didn't threw a tantrum like Saotome uppn losing. Should I say that it's so mature of her?
No, that's a way for mocking her.
"Looks like we're even now right?" She let me borrow a large sum of 20 million yen, and I won the game fair and square, which means that the debt is already paid off, and she now has a debt on me.
A complete win with an extra reward
"Hahaha! That sure is something I didn't expect." she stated while returning the cards from the table to the deck. "To think that you will end the game like that. It really is something!"
"It's boring right?" She didn't even have the time to react, or counterattack on my never ending matching. She lost without fighting back. I'm sure she's exasperated on her lost.
"Of course not! To think that a student who didn't enrolled at this school in junior high, has the ability to end a game revolving arouns luck that easily. That thought alone is fun!" She finished cleaning the cards, and returned the deck on her blazer.
"I guess until next time, Kiyotaka-senpai?" She smiled at me then extended her right hand to me, asking for a handshake. "Next time, I'll be sure to beat you!"
I took out my left hand from my pocket. Feeling it was a bit moisty, I slightly wiped it with my pants, which earned a giggle from her.
"It's nice playing with you too, Sumeragi." I replied back.
About the rumors, I didn't actually know the details of it, did I? It's not like I can just outright ask her that out of nowhere, so maybe I'll just ask Suzui for the explanation, even if he's not sure of it. I have my ways to confirm it anyway, so it's not really necessary.
With that, the bell loudly rang through out the campus, indicating that the classes is starting. Suzui, Yumeko and me left the cafeteria, satisfied by the outcome.