"Before I sign this contract, let me summarize the details of this game to make sure no errors have been made," I said as I glanced at Horikita. "The two parties, Ike Kanji-Yamauchi Haruki and Horikita Suzune, will compete against each other in a game of cards. A standard and complete deck will be given to the party of Ike and Yamauchi, which they can shuffle however they want. The cards will then be laid on the table facing down.
"There will be five rounds. For each round, Ike and Yamauchi will each choose a card and show it to me, the witness. Horikita will then have to guess which two cards were picked by Ike and Yamauchi respectively without error, all while being blindfolded the entire time. To solidify the outcome of the match, the entire game will be recorded. Is that correct?"
"Yes," Horikita confirmed.
"Then, we'll move on to the conditions," I turned to Ike and Yamauchi. "I had to put a disclaimer that whatever order anyone gives to either party would not violate the major school rules or cause any fatal injuries, mental or psychological trauma to anyone, including the two parties involved. Any extreme actions would lead to the abolishment of the contract, and proper punishments will be given out to the violating party. I'd like to remind you all that you're just high school students. This should not be a matter of life or death."
I continued, "Anyways, if the victor of this match were to be Ike and Yamauchi, Horikita Suzune will have to obey any and all orders of the winning party for the duration of three days as long as it's not deemed as extreme. Horikita's condition is the same, except that the opposing party, Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki, must stay true to her wishes for fifteen days instead."
I paused for a bit and scanned their expressions.
"Did I get anything wrong?"
"Nope," Ike confirmed.
I turned to Horikita. She shook her head in response.
"Right. Then, since I wasn't informed beforehand, I'll have to record this on my phone. Is that fine?"
"That's fine," Horikita said.
"No problem here," Yamauchi said.
"Then, let's begin," I replied as I hit the big red button on my phone's screen.
Horikita handed me a handkerchief which I used to blindfold her. Ike and Yamauchi didn't seem too skeptical about the handkerchief. Well, if she was able to see through the cloth, then that's unbelievable in and of itself.
I took the unopened deck, removed the jokers and unnecessary cards, and laid them on the table.
"You can shuffle them now."
Ike and Yamauchi gave each other a nod.
I stood at the side and watched Ike spread all the cards on the table randomly, creating circular motions at unpredictable angles. If I recall correctly, this method of shuffling is called smooshing. It's not really a term known to the average student. Even though Ike is doing it, there's a good chance that he doesn't know what it's called.
After a good minute of randomness, Ike stacked the cards again and gave them to Yamauchi. Contrary to Ike's chaotic shuffling, Yamauchi split the deck in half and shuffled the deck with a riffle accordingly.
Well, at least he tried to...
Due to the deck being brand new and Yamauchi's possible lack of experience in this field, the deck was shuffled in chunks instead of a riffle. At this point, he might as well have done an overhand shuffle.
After a masterclass showing of how you should not shuffle your cards, Yamauchi passed it back to Ike. Ike took about one-third of the deck and put it on the bottom, making a proper cut.
"Sensei," Ike whispered to me and gestured at the completely shuffled deck.
I took the cards and spread them evenly across the table with a slight arc.
Ike and Yamauchi's faces lit up in surprise. But, they couldn't cause too much noise because that would jeopardize the game or possibly make them lose focus.
What I did wasn't even that difficult. With enough practice and experience alone, anyone could do it.
"This is round one out of five. Ike and Yamauchi will now choose their respective cards."
Ike hovered his hand over the cards as if feeling out which one was calling to him the most. After gradually slowing down to the point of going back and forth between two adjacent cards, Ike picked up his weapon.
On the other hand, Yamauchi went for a tactical approach. Without giving it much thought, he picked up the card that was furthest to the left. I'm not sure what went through his head to devise such a plan but it might just work. Who knows?
But really...What is Horikita trying to pull here? Given the circumstances, there's absolutely no way for her to accurately guess which cards Ike and Yamauchi would pick. She can't even touch or see the cards. However, for some unknown reason, I feel like as soon as Horikita announces her guess, it would one hundred percent be correct.
If she really pulls this off, I'll have to reassess her value. Her whole aura screams something different about her. Honestly, it's giving me the chills, like a spider crawling on my back.
Ike and Yamauchi turned to me and showed their cards while trying to cover the side to ensure that Horikita won't see it. I believe their concerns are useless, though.
Ike held the Four of Spades. Meanwhile, Yamauchi had the Jack of Clubs.
"They have picked their cards. Ike, Yamauchi-show it to the camera as well."
"Okay."
With this, concrete proof of the two cards is guaranteed.
"Then, Horikita. What is your guess?"
Silence embraced the room. Could it be a silence of suspending dominance or a silence of realizing death? What was Horikita thinking right now?
Those questions probably bothered the minds of Ike and Yamauchi as well. To be frank, I don't know what the outcome would be but all signs point towards Horikita Suzune's self-destruction. However, she wouldn't have gone through with this if she knew she wouldn't win. Not unless she's insane.
"Horikita?" I called to her once again.
As soon as I did, a giant grin appeared on Ike's face. That's the assuming face of someone that thinks they've already won.
If Horikita doesn't answer now, I'll have to assume that she has lost.
However...
"I wonder what all of you are expecting me to say? Is your gut feeling leaning towards me guessing the cards correctly or does it fall more into my doom? If you can't decide between the two, let me help you out."
As she said that, Horikita flashed a grin.
"Ike-kun has the Four of Spades. Yamauchi-kun has the Jack of Clubs."
That's unbelievable. Even though I was expecting Horikita to get it correct out of false hope, actually hearing the right cards come out of her mouth was an entirely different matter.
"...That's correct," I announced.
"What the hell?" Ike voiced his confusion.
"You're cheating, Horikita-san! That's not possible."
Horikita scoffed in response, "You have no idea what's possible."
The two distraught students held their heads in utmost shock. I understood what they were feeling completely. This...This is no less than a miracle.
"Then, we'll start with round two out of five."
Just like the first round, Ike and Yamauchi tried their best to completely randomize the deck. Instead of going by feeling, the two of them chose adjacent cards to try and find a loophole Horikita might've missed.
However, if she could guess the two cards in the first round without even moving an inch, this is already doomed for Ike and Yamauchi. Having five rounds is just another means for them to suffer longer.
Ike picked the Ace of Hearts. Yamauchi naturally had the Two of Hearts.
After getting them to show their cards to the camera again, I turned to Horikita, "Horikita, you can guess now."
"I won't be wasting any more time for the sake of everyone's mental well-being. Ike-kun has the Ace of Hearts. Yamauchi has the Two of Hearts."
"What the fuck?!"
"Language, Ike. We're on video," I warned.
"No, that's impossible. This is bullshit!" Ike turned to Horikita. "What are you pulling here?"
In contrast to Ike's unaccepting grief, Yamauchi held his head in his hands as if bracing himself for inevitable defeat.
"It's over, Ike..."
"No! We can't let it end like this," Ike turned to the mastermind in front of them, "Hey, Horikita-san! We're classmates, right? You don't have to be this harsh."
"Sorry. A deal's a deal, I'm afraid. You're bound by the contract anyways. You-can't-do-anything."
Slam!
Ike let out his anger against the table. At this point, they might as well resign.
"Round three out of five."
This time, after picking their lifelines, Ike and Yamauchi exchanged cards.
However, to no avail.
"Ike-kun has the Seven of Clubs. Yamauchi-kun has the King of Diamonds." Horikita declared her pinpoint-accurate guess yet again.
"That's...correct."
"Are we really going to lose like this?" Ike finally started losing hope.
Yamauchi started slamming the desk as well. He was silent throughout the round but his sense of survival might finally be kicking in.
"Horikita! What do you want? Just stop this!" Yamauchi voiced his plea.
"You know what I want. It's in the contract."
"We can't accept that! It's too much!"
"Huh...I believe your request isn't that much different from mine. Who knows what kind of horrors you'd ask of me if you were given the authority, but I still agreed. Are you not capable of accepting an honorable defeat?"
Even with her eyes covered, Horikita's intimidation and logical facts struck the hearts of her victims with extreme accuracy. The aura she gave off was no different than usual. No-she's even more terrifying now.
"Round four out of five."
"Horikita! Turn your back against the wall! You can still see through that blindfold, can't you?"
Oh. A trump card from Ike. I see. Perhaps the handkerchief has been tampered with after all. In that case, the cards should also be rigged in Horikita's favor. After all, Ike and Yamauchi never dared to show their cards directly in front of her.
It wasn't directly stated in the rules how Horikita should sit. Therefore, this request was valid.
"Your inability to accept defeat will only contribute to your inevitable grief. Grasping false hopes and opportunities will lead you nowhere."
"Shut up! You can see, right? Turn around. Let's see if you can still guess."
"Horikita, could you do as they asked?"
She scoffed, "Fine."
With Horikita now against the wall, there was absolutely no way for her to cheat. On top of that, she's still blindfolded. In any normal situation, this is checkmate.
However...as soon as Ike and Yamauchi picked their cards.
"Ike has the Six of Spades. Yamauchi has the Eight of Diamonds."
It was a futile effort.
Ike and Yamauchi couldn't comprehend the level of manipulation Horikita was showing and accepted their defeat in grieving silence.
"...Round five out of five."
"No...we'll surrender here. It's no use."
"I see. Are you with that, Yamauchi?"
"Yes..."
The two of them looked lifeless. Envisioning their fifteen days under Horikita's rule must have put a toll on their mental states. Horikita was right. Any more struggle would just hurt them more. This is for the best.
"In that case, the winner of this match is Horikita Suzune. For fifteen days, Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki will have to abide by Horikita's orders with no room for negotiations."
"I applaud your courage to finally resign, Ike-kun, Yamauchi-kun. It's quite honorable. That said, we'll be in each others' care from now on."
Ike and Yamauchi didn't bother replying, possibly still trying to process reality.
"Horikita, you can take off your blindfold now."
"Thanks," Horikita untied the handkerchief covering her eyes and turned around. "Wow. What lovely expressions you two have. I have to say, it's a complete one-eighty from the last time I saw your faces."
"...What do you want, Horikita-san?"
"Ah, good. You started using honorifics again," Horikita flashed a smile. "Well, I won't be too harsh on you. For my first order, you two just have to shake my hand. This will symbolize our pact for the next fifteen days."
"The contract is in effect now, Ike and Yamauchi."
Although hesitantly, the two boys with no color in their eyes approached Horikita.
Ike was the first to shake her hand.
"Good work today, Ike-kun."
Then, it was Yamauchi's turn.
"Good work today, Yamauchi-kun."
After that, her first order was complete.
"Well then...You two can go home now and do whatever you want for the rest of the day. I'll contact you if I need anything."
For some reason, that brought confusion into Ike and Yamauchi's dull faces.
"Huh?"
"You heard me. You can go home," she repeated. "Do you not want to?"
"No...We'll go home. Thank you, Horikita-san."
"Then...We'll leave now," muttered Yamauchi in the hallway.
"Take care."
I guess they're receiving Horikita's mercy with mixed feelings. However, with this, Class D will definitely change. What exactly is Horikita planning? She's been on the move since homeroom. No, she might've been behind the scenes even before Horikita Manabu was put in the infirmary.
"Then, Sensei. I'll take my leave as well. Thanks for coming here today."
"Wait, Horikita. How exactly did you pull that off? Even I believed it was impossible for you to win considering your handicaps."
Horikita stopped and only slightly turned around.
She let out a faint grin, "Sensei, the answer is beyond this world."
Without elaborating any further, Horikita left the room for good, leaving me with an unanswered question and a deck of cards.