"We'll now be announcing the results of the Gambit Roulette. In first place are the Azure Diamonds, with..."

As the chairman, Shirafuda Junko, began listing off who won and who lost, our club's president stood up and left.

"Oi, Saitou-san. Aren't you going to at least stay and listen?"

The secretary, Usui Asami, grabbed Saitou's sleeve and tried pulling him back.

"In second place are the Golden Wonders, with..."

Saitou stood firm, glancing back at Usui.

"We already know how this is going to end. Staying here is just a waste of time."

"In third place are the Lilac End, with..."

"You don't know that! We could've beaten the—"

"It's our loss. By a landslide."

Saitou, not having any of Usui's optimism today, shut her off before she could continue. Usui gritted her teeth and nodded, letting go of his arm.

"In fourth place are the Emerald Dragons, with..."

"That's why you should come with me instead. You too, Haruno."

Usui's eyes widened as Saitou grabbed her arm and pulled her up, before beckoning me to come join them.

"In fifth place are the Persimmon Jokers, with..."

"This is our club's last chance to turn things around. Otherwise, we're going bankrupt and losing everything."

"Um, alright..."

Even though I wasn't high up the club hierarchy, Saitou Kakeru always seemed to drag me into the club's internal affairs no matter what. I honestly couldn't tell you why, especially since we barely spoke to each other and I wasn't a very good player...

I think I've contributed maybe... once or twice to the club's success? And that's being generous with the estimation. I am by no means a key player, especially compared to Saitou and Usui.

Usui sighed as we followed Saitou back to our clubroom. Was she annoyed at the obvious result? Or was she annoyed at Saitou's ever increasingly flippant behaviour?

Noticing I was staring at her face, Usui looked back at me and tried smiling a little.

"Good work today, Haruno-kun."

Not expecting her to notice me, I jumped a little and averted my eyes.

"T-thank you..."

I don't think I did any good work today. In fact, during the final day of the Gambit Roulette, I couldn't win a single chip against everyone I played...

Because of our poor performance, I'm sure we're deeper in the red than ever before now, which is kind of fitting since we're the Crimson Champions... contrary to our name though, we've never won a single thing in the history of this school.

Our distant predecessors, the Scarlet Dread, used to dominate the competition. They dominated so much, the club was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and was forcibly disbanded for a year so everyone else could have a chance to participate.

This birthed the Rose Flames, who did well until an internal uprising happened, which completely replaced the board of directors and led to the club being rebranded as the Crimson Champions.

The dispute lost a lot of our best players, including Sawaragi and Haku. The only people who stuck around were Saitou, who will be graduating next year, and Usui, the former president of the Rose Flames.

I used to be part of the Golden Wonders, but was "voted" out from the club due to my lack of results. In reality, the president kicked me out the moment he got to, since my older sister, Yuka-nee, had graduated last year.

In the first place, she was the only reason why I was part of the Wonders, as I was her little brother, and she wanted me to be in the same club as her.

Under usual circumstances, this wouldn't be allowed, but due to how good she was at Gambit, the president saw value in keeping me around if it meant keeping Yuka-nee around too. Plus, they all thought I would end up becoming as good as her at the game.

Of course, this meant that the moment Yuka-nee graduated, my use as a bargaining chip had been completely used up.

That, combined with never living up to their expectations and finally being able to show their frustration and anger towards me now that Yuka-nee wasn't here, gave Moroboshi, the club president, the confidence he needed to break his promise with Yuka-nee.

Instead of keeping me on the club after she left, Moroboshi ruthlessly exiled me on my first day back.

While I was sad, I wasn't bitter about it. During my time here, I was basically riding off the coattails of Yuka-nee's success and had nothing of worth to show for it, except being known as "Yuka's cute little sister", which makes no sense since I'm a boy...

Anyways, afterwards I went around applying to other clubs, and the only ones who accepted me were the Crimson Champions.

That was the first time I met Saitou, and the first time he started dragging me into the club's affairs.

"Alright ladies, here we are."

"I-I'm not a girl..."

Before I could correct Saitou, he kicked opened the club door and smirked.

"Say hello to our new club mate."

My eyes widened. Usui's face stiffened. Saitou's smirk grew even larger.

"I'm betting everything on him."

Standing in the back of the club room was a man wearing a white strait jacket and chained to a standing trolley. His mouth was gagged, his eyes were covered in a thick black blindfold, and rabid saliva drooled down his corners of his thin lips.

"Katagiri Shinichi."

Saitou ripped the blindfold and gag off Katagiri's face, revealing to us his pitch black eyes and wet pink tongue. He groaned as his eyes adjusted to the sudden influx of light. Lapping up his drool and wriggling in his jacket, Katagiri stared at me and Usui.

He leaned his body forward, the creaking chains stopping him precariously short from hitting my face. I yelped and staggered back, Usui catching me.

"...where, am I?"

Katagiri whispered, his hoarse voice sounding like a zombie's growl. Saitou waltzed over and pushed his body back up straight, ushering me to go stand behind Usui for my own safety.

"You're at Kajino Full House Academy. Starting today, you're a 1st Year part of the Crimson Champions club."

Katagiri stared at Saitou, before eventually nodding.

"...I see. Then, let me get some rest..."

Before he could even finish his sentence, Katagiri fell asleep.

"Saitou-san... what the hell is this?"

Usui, understandably pissed at what she just witnessed, demanded for answers.

"This is what I've been working on in the background. Project: Final Gambit. Katagiri is what's going to drag the Crimson Champions out of the mud and into the limelight, where we belong."

"That guy? You're kidding me. He looks more like a deranged criminal or psychopath than someone who's going to save our asses from being permanently disbanded."

"That's the thing. This crazy son of a bitch is a criminal."

Saitou's smile disappeared as Usui grabbed him by the collar.

"...what the fuck is wrong with you? Do you think this club is a joke or something?"

Saitou didn't flinch, nor did he say anything.

"You don't get to waltz in here, take everything I've built up for the past two years, trash it down the toilet on a selfish whim, and think that you can put a band aid on your fucking mistakes by inducting a fucking criminal in our— in my club. If murder wasn't illegal, I would've already killed you ten times over by now."

Usui whispered venomous words deep into his ear. Saitou snickered a little.

"...you know Usui, it's really reassuring hearing you blow a fuse at me. Because if you didn't, then I would be way less confident in both you and my decision to enact this plan."

Usui punched Saitou in the ribs, causing him to clutch his stomach.

"Ugh..."

"Oh? Did that hurt? Good. Because if you don't want another, then drop the bullshit and skip to the chase!"

"That kind of violent attitude is what got you kicked out of the first place, you sadistic bitch..."

That cheap potshot earned Saitou a punch to the face, which he reluctantly took by gritting his teeth.

"U-Usui-san, I think that's enough..."

I couldn't bear to watch this any longer, so I tried to stop her from hurting him. However, I quickly understood I had no place to interfere in their squabble when she looked at me with the same fierce eyes she was stabbing Saitou with.

"Haruno-kun... you're a good kid, so I don't want to hit you. But if you're going to side with this scumbag, then I'll have no choice but to punish you too."

I couldn't say anything back. No... I did want to say something back, but my body wouldn't permit me to do it. I didn't want to make Usui more stressed than she was already... and in the first place, I didn't support what Saitou did either.

If only Yuka-nee was here... she'd know what to do...

"Hold on a second. Keep your anger directed at me, Usui. This project was my idea. There's no reason for you to lash out at other people, especially Haruno."

"I guess we can agree on that much. That means you're okay with taking everything, yeah?"

Usui took his words a little too literally and raised her fist at him. Saitou scoffed.

"As long as you don't kill me, sure. But first hear me out. Katagiri might be a criminal, but he's not a bad criminal."

"I don't think there's such a thing as a "good criminal", Saitou-san."

"Good people can do bad things for the sake of their own justice."

"And what good has Katagiri-san done, huh?"

"He brought down a multi-level marketing scheme all by himself, with his own two hands."

Usui's grip on Saitou's collar slipped a little. Her fist was still hovering above his face, ready to land at any moment.

"However, the people running the MLM he dismantled wanted revenge, and used their influence to frame Katagiri for a murder he didn't do. They succeeded, he was wrongly incarcerated, and subsequently he was put into death row."

I guess that would explain the strait jacket and sensory deprivation devices...

"But thanks to some connections in my family, we managed to bail him out, and now he's indebted to us."

Saitou's family is made up primarily of successful lawyers, so that makes sense.

"It's hard to believe someone younger than Haruno-kun could bring down such a large organisation by themselves..."

"That's the thing... Katagiri is actually 20. He's just never been to high school before, hence why he's a 1st Year."

"And you don't think that's weird?"

"What can I say? He looks really young for a twenty year old."

Usui, having received some satisfying answers from Saitou, finally lowered her fist.

"Alright, fine. I can accept... some of this. But what I don't get is how any of this is helping us save the Crimson Champions."

"It's simple. Katagiri's specialities are lying, deceiving, and cheating others. That's how he managed to pull one over the MLM. Of course, if we apply these skills to Gambit..."

"...he can cheat his way to victory."

When Usui uttered those words, Katagiri snapped awake.

"No."

Saitou and Usui looked up at Katagiri. Saitou furrowed his eyebrows while Usui's eyes widened.

"Huh? What do you mean, "no"? The entire reason I brought you to this island was so you could cheat in games, win us back our money, and turn things around. Since it's my last year here, if we get caught, I'll take all responsibility and leave early. This doesn't negatively impact you at all."

"But it does."

Katagiri wriggled in his strait jacket, drawing attention to the fact he was bound and gagged for such a long time.

"While I'm glad to have destroyed that awful and scummy organisation, what I'm not glad about is the fact cheating others has robbed me a whole year of my life. In fact, I should feel lucky that I only lost one year while I was rotting in prison."

In Katagiri's dark eyes, I could see waves of sadness roll between them.

"While in solitary confinement, I realised this. Telling the truth is more powerful than lying. If I didn't expose the MLM for the scam it was, then I would've never crushed it. Making people face the darkest and ugliest parts of humanity is how you get them to change. That's why, for the rest of my life, I'm never tricking anyone ever again. Whatever crazy ideas or notions in your head you have about me cheating in Gambit, forget it. I'm not doing it."

Saitou was in complete shock, while Usui was in complete awe. She was sternly against the idea of cheating to win, hence her apprehension to Saitou's plan, so hearing Katagiri take a stance against it must've left a strong impression on her.

"But wait, you're indebted to my family for what we did to help you! We pulled you out of a rough situation, so it's your turn to help pull us out of one too!"

Katagiri shook his head.

"Listen carefully to your own words. I'm not indebted to you, Saitou-san. I'm indebted to your family— or more specifically, your father. He's the reason why I'm out of prison and off death row. Not you. Your father. I owe nothing to you."

"You can't be serious..."

"Huh... maybe I did get the wrong impression of you, Katagiri-san."

Usui let go of Saitou's collar and turned to Katagiri with a small smile. Katagiri shook his head.

"No, please keep thinking of me as a good for nothing criminal. It is what I am at the end of the day."

"Either you're a more lousy liar than you claim to be, or Saitou-san hyped you up way too much."

"Hmm. Probably the former. I'm not that good at lying."

"I guess it really was a waste of time bringing you out... damn it."

Saitou sighed, sitting down on one of the sofas.

"I don't think so. I'm glad to have finally visited a high school for the first time in my life. It's even more beautiful than what I imagined it to be."

"If you want, I can show you around." Usui said.

"Oh? That'd be lovely. The issue is, I can't exactly walk..."

"No problem, I'll free you from this stupid jacket."

Usui walked over and began freeing Katagiri from his restraints.

"I'm wondering why he even has one on in the first place..." Saitou said.

"M-maybe he's naked underneath?"

"Haruno, is there something you've been meaning to tell us?"

"I don't think so..."

"Hm, I see."

What was that all about...?

"Thank you so much."

Katagiri bowed, thanking Usui for helping him. Surprisingly, under that jacket, he was wearing the school uniform like we were.

"You're welcome. Hope you're feeling more free now."

"Yeah, definitely... if you're still up to it, do you mind giving me that tour?"

"Sure thing! Haruno-kun, you come as well."

"M-me?"

"Yes, you! Let's show Katagiri-san around together."

Usui grinned and pulled me by the arm. Katagiri smiled a little and followed behind us.

"Wait, but Saitou-san..."

"Forget about him. Let that guy wallow in his own mistakes so he can properly learn that resorting to cheap tricks will never work."

Usui pulled me closer to her, as if to keep me away from him. Even so, I still looked back, noticing his slumped back and the bangs covering his eyes. Even though he tried doing a bad thing, I still felt sad for him...

"Are the halls usually this empty?" Katagiri said.

"Nope. It's just that everyone is in the auditorium celebrating or crying over the results of the Gambit Roulette right now."

"Gambit... Roulette?"

"It's an event that lets you earn money for your club even if you're not the one participating. Students who wish to battle enter the main hall, while the other students go to the auditorium to place bets. Betting is the same as betting on a roulette wheel, you choose a colour alongside a number. This will then correspond to one player in the main hall, which is who you are gambling on winning or losing. It sounds like an easy way to farm cash if you know where all the good players are, but thing is, you're not aloud to see who is playing where. So, it's really all just up to fate, just like in a real roulette."

Usui continued to explain.

"To mitigate the chance of losing money, there are two main strategies you could've followed. The first was by determining who was red and who was black based on which side of the board they sat at. If they sat on the left, they were red. If they sat on the right, they were black. So you could order your club's best players on specific side to increase the odds of hitting them. We managed to figure this out on the third day. The second was solely dependent on the players inside the hall— they had no choice but to win, regardless of who put bets on them."

"Y-yeah... it was really weird too, since the players could see who bet on them, and how much they bet. If you saw someone you really didn't like, you could forfeit the game and make them lose their money."

"Conversely, if you see a bunch of your friends putting huge sums on the line for you, then you'd have a lot of extra pressure on your mind to make sure you couldn't let them down."

"Huh. That so?"

Despite our lengthy explanation, Katagiri seemed disinterested in the minute details of the event.

"Does the school do these events often?"

"Yeah, every two or so weeks there's a new challenge."

Katagiri nodded, before stopping at a certain door and peering into it.

"Hm? Katagiri-san, something caught your attention?"

As Usui called out to him, Katagiri blinked in surprise.

"Oh... no, sorry. I was just checking my reflection in the mirror. I almost... didn't recognise myself there."

"Did they not have mirrors in prison?"

"They didn't."

Katagiri ran a hand through his black hair, tweaking the ends of his bangs with his fingers.

"If there were, the prisoners would smash them and use it as a weapon... or, more gruesomely, use it a way to kill themselves."

I shivered. Usui didn't flinch even a little. Instead, she laughed.

"How ridiculous... a broken mirror as a weapon?"

"If you put enough thought into it, anything can become a weapon."

I shivered even more when Katagiri said that. There was something more unnerving about the idea that anything could be used to harm someone if you knew how to use it correctly.

In a way, that was also true of this card game we played. By winning in Ruler's Gambit, we hurt each other by taking away each other's chips and sinking them further in debt as a result.

"Anyways, that's enough about that depressing prison life. You girls look terrified."

"A-actually, I'm a guy..."

"Huh? I wasn't scared one bit by what you said. It's just Haruno-kun who's on the verge of wetting their pants."

"I don't know, it looked like your thighs were shaking for a moment there."

"And just where exactly were you looking at on my body?"

"All the right places."

"Pervert."

Once again, I was ignored...

Usui showed Katagiri where the classrooms were, where the cafeteria was, and where all the toilets were. All I did was silently follow and listen to their banter. The two of them got on surprisingly well.

Since assembly had ended, by the time Usui showed Katagiri the other clubrooms, they were already packed with members from those clubs.

Normally, you'd receive glares or be told to get lost if you were caught snooping around other club's territories, like we were. However, since we were part of the Crimson Champions, no one bothered.

Despite boldly walking down the corridor in a place we didn't belong, nobody batted an eye at us through the classroom windows. Nobody confronted or told us to leave. They completely ignored our existence.

That's just how weak we were seen by everyone else... we weren't even considered as threats to them.

Even though it was his first time here, Katagiri also noticed the indifferent, stale, and uncomfortable atmosphere presented to us. Usui didn't need to explain for him to perfectly understand what was going on.

He stopped, watching at two girls walk past us as if we were ghosts, laughing togethe. His grit his teeth, looking back.

"Ignore them. Nothing good will come from picking a fight with people who don't even think you exist."

Usui looked over her shoulder and warned Katagiri to back off.

"But they just laughed at us... are you really going to take this lying down?"

"We don't have a choice."

"You do though! You could stand up for yourself, tell those girls to—"

"We can't because we're the ones responsible for his mess."

"What...?"

"This culture of ignoring, scorning, and laughing at those at the bottom... it was something the Scarlet Dreads did back when they ruled in this school. Not only did it normalise this sort of behaviour, but it also gave the other clubs an excuse to make fun out of us when we tumbled to the bottom. And honestly, I can't blame them. We're just getting a taste of our own medicine."

Katagiri clenched his fists.

"...fuck off with this bullshit."

Usui's eyes widened.

"Don't serve me that pile of crappy excuses as to why you should take this lying down... you guys aren't your ancestors, so you shouldn't deserve to suffer this treatment. You aren't them. You are you."

Katagiri looked behind him, glaring at those girls.

"If they're going to disrespect you, then disrespect them back."

Usui's surprise melted into joy. The corners of her lips cracked up, forming a fiery smile.

"At first, I thought you were going to be a shitty no-good brat who I'd never get along with..."

She put a fist to Katagiri's chest, her fiery smile growing into a burning grin.

"...but god damn, now you're talking my fucking language!"

Katagiri smiled slightly, bumping fists with Usui.

"That's the spirit. Which club is at the top then?"

"The Azure Diamonds."

"Let's kick their asses then."

A pumped up Usui led a pumped up Katagiri deep into enemy territory, straight towards the den of the Azure Diamonds, their club room. When we arrived, she kicked open the door, and Katagiri followed her with his hands in his pockets.

"S-sorry, sorry..."

I apologised on their behalf, hiding behind Usui. The club members were unbothered by our appearance, but seemed confused on who Katagiri was.

Their club leader, Aizawa Momoka, stood up and approached us. As she did, Katagiri stepped forward.

"Did Saitou-kun die and make you leader, Usui-san?"

"I wish. That guy is crying himself a river because his pathetic plan failed."

Aizawa laughed.

"I'm glad to hear. So, what business do you, Haruno-kun, and this gentleman have with the Azure Diamonds, hm?"

"My name is Katagiri Shinichi."

Without wasting a second, Katagiri pulled out a deck from his pocket.

"And I'm here to bet everything against you, Aizawa-san."

"Oh? Well, if you're going all in, how could I refuse?"

Aizawa giggled, taking out her own deck.

"It's an easy way to bankrupt you losers into the ground even further."

Katagiri and Aizawa shuffled their decks and drew their starting hand. Before they mulligan, they need to open the bet. The ante for a standard game is at least 1 chip.

"I'll open with 100 chips."

I gulped seeing such a large amount of chips being put on the line, but Usui seemed unfazed by that number.

"Just 100? Have the Crimson Champions really run out of funds that fast?"

"This is from my personal fund. Every student receives 100 when they enroll in this school."

"Oh, you're a transfer student? No wonder I haven't seen you around before. I'll raise to 500."

"...ma'am, I don't have that many chips."

"You can borrow 400 from the school. Of course, that makes you indebted to them, which is why your club is in deep trouble at the moment."

Katagiri sighed.

"Is that so?"

"If it's too much for you, you can always fold. If you do though, the school takes the ante and I take what you initially bet."

Essentially, if Katagiri chose to chicken out of this fight, Aizawa would earn 100 chips without so much as even lifting a finger.

"Forget it. It's annoying, but I'll call."

Calling is to match the amount the opponent bet. Basically, Katagiri borrowed 400 chips from the school to equal Aizawa's raise of 500 and bet it.

After the mulligan, these two can make additional bets. Once again, they pay an ante of one chip, but the minimum starting bet is the same as the last bet, meaning it was 500 chips.

"I'll check."

To check means to pass the bet to the other player.

"Sure, I'll bet another 500."

"You must have one good hand... or be that confident in your own skills, ma'am."

"What can I say? I'm aiming to bankrupt you guys to the ground in one fight."

"If that's the case..."

Katagiri smirked.

"Raise. 1,000,000."

My jaw dropped. Usui whacked Katagiri over the head. Aizawa's expression didn't change.

"What the fuck are you doing?! You know each chip is equivalent to 500 yen and not 100, right? That's going to put you 500,002,000 yen into debt with the school on your first day if you lose!"

"...so? This forces Aizawa-san to also bet one million, or it's a free win for us. If she loses, she's the one royally screwed."

"And so are you if you lose! Are you seriously that confident in your ability to win?"

"If I wasn't, then I wouldn't be making such an outrageous bet."

Katagiri smiled.

"Usui-san, don't worry. I'll gladly accept this challenge."

A small fire was lit in Aizawa's eyes.

"It's been a long time since someone has been this bold against me. I call 1,000,000 chips."

"You two are insane...!"

Usui was right...

In total, this game had 2,010,000 chips on the line... in other words, these two were betting 1,005,000,000 yen! They're seriously playing a game of Ruler's Gambit for over 1 billion yen!

I can't believe it... whoever wins this game will walk away with life altering money, and whoever loses this game will be financially crippled for the rest of their life. That's terrifying... if I was in their positions, I'd be losing my mind and trying to get out.

After rolling the dice to see who would go first, the gamble officially began.

"Gambit, open." Aizawa said.

"Open the Gambit!" Katagiri said.

"My Kingdom is Secret Garden. (10 LP)"

Being the leader of Azure Diamond, it makes sense that Aizawa would be using Blue's best Kingdom. Both it and the Ruler were extremely strong.

"I'm using the Ziggurat of Uruk. (10 LP)"

Aizawa giggled a little. Usui's eye twitched. My jaw dropped. The Azure Diamond members watching the fight began laughing.

"Huh? Why's everyone looking at me like this?"

"Oh my god... you're using a Kingdom from a Trial Deck, that's why!"

Usui pulled his ear and shouted into it, making Katagiri flinch.

"Ow... hey, don't knock it until you try it. This is a good Kingdom. Free advantage every turn adds up over time, you know?"

She sighed and let go of him, crossing her arms.

"I swear, you better not lose."

"Don't worry, I've got this."

Katagiri waved Usui away and turned to Aizawa, who was beginning her turn.

"Charge and draw. Secret Garden's effect, I get to charge twice during my charge phase. (3 > 4) I cast Mana Gift to charge 2 (4 > 6), then pay 2 mana (6 > 4) to call Winter Magus, Nezorf. Turn end."

Aizawa:
Hand: 4
LP: 10
Mana: 4
OXO

Katagiri:
Hand: 5
LP: 10
Mana: 2
OOO

"I charge and I draw! (2 > 3) I'll start things off by using Ziggurat's effect to call an Ego Token. Then, I pay 2 mana (3 > 1) to call Master of Illusion and Trickery, Damas from my hand!"

Getting Damas out turn 1 was extremely strong, as it would allow Katagiri to call one of his main boss units from his deck without paying the cost. Granted, he would have to get a little lucky though, since the opponent gets to choose which one he gets...

"Damas's ability, Jack in the Box! On call, I pay 1 (1 > 0) and discard 1 to search my deck for three units with different names, set them face down, and you choose one for me to call without paying the cost! The rest are discarded."

But, if he chooses 3 huge threats, Aizawa would be pressured no matter what she picks. I hope Katagiri gets lucky...

Katagiri picked up his deck and looked through it with a thoughtful expression. He chose the first card fairly quickly, and put it down. Then, he chose a second card and put it next to that one.

For the final card, Katagiri seemed stumped. He would switch between looking through his deck and looking at his hand, flicking between cards before ultimately plucking one from deck and setting it face down with a wobbly hand.

"Alright, here are my three cards."

Katagiri presented them to Aizawa, who looked as calm and collected as ever. Just as she was about to reach out and pick one though, Katagiri stopped her.

"Hang on. Before you make a final decision, let me help you out."

"Alright. What is it?"

Aizawa raised an eyebrow, but listened nonetheless.

"The card on the left is Dusk Sword Dragon. The card in the middle is Full Zodiac Dragon. The card on the right is Occult Tear Dragon. Out of these three, I want Full Zodiac the most."

Aizawa nodded, sharply looking straight into Katagiri's eyes.

"...you made a valiant effort to try and trick me into picking one of the cards on the outside. In all likelihood, you do want Full Zodiac, but by making it's existence an apparent threat as the middle card, you were trying to goad me into picking one of the other two cards... or more specifically, Dusk Sword Dragon, since he can seal Nezorf. If I did pick him, Occult Tear would be sent to GY, making him callable later. However, if I pick Occult Tear, his first effect would block the call and nothing would happen, but Full Zodiac and Dusk Sword would still be sent to GY regardless. I think the choice is obvious."

I shrunk, hiding behind Usui further as Aizawa calmly deconstructed Katagiri's reasoning and exposed his bluff. Usui kept her arms crossed, not showing any change in expression, while Katagiri started sweating a bit, and his legs fidgeted under the table.

"You got all that from how slow or fast I put the cards down?"

"Yes. Your body language says it all. You're both an awful liar and an awful trickster. You were better off keeping quiet than trying to play mind games with me. Not only do I know what your targets are now, but I also know which card to choose from."

Aizawa boldly picked the middle card.

"What?!"

I exclaimed, unable to hold back my surprise.

"If Katagiri-san was telling the truth, she would've given him exactly what he wanted!"

Usui glared at me from the corner of her eyes and elbowed my ribs, making me shut up.

"Unfortunately Haruno-san, you would've fell victim to Katagiri-san's trap. The truth of the matter is, he's double bluffing me. The card he wants most is on the right, since he took an exaggeratedly long time choosing it earlier."

Aizawa saw right past Katagiri's mind games, making him crack a nervous smile.

"And just now, you tried to trick me into choosing that one by presenting it as the worst option, but now you won't receive it because I saw through your paper thin lies. This just leaves the left and middle card. Normally, this one would be a gamble, but your bluff from earlier has worked against you. By saying the card you want most is in the middle, it'd throw me off from choosing it and make me lean towards between picking either the left or right side. If your right side bluff fell through, this was your back up plan to goad me into picking the left side."

I was shaking. How did Aizawa see through Katagiri's entire strategy so quickly...?! Wasn't Katagiri meant to be a master deceiver? Didn't he destroy an entire MLM because he was a liar and a trickster? This makes no sense...

Suddenly, I remembered something from earlier.

"...so, you want the middle card?"

Aizawa nodded.

Katagiri's nervous smile turned into a full on smirk.

"Checkmate."

I gasped. Aizawa's eyes widened. Usui began cheering.

"That was Full Zodiac Dragon. My other two cards were Dusk Sword and Occult Tear, just as I said."

That's right... earlier, Katagiri said that he was done lying, tricking, and deceiving other people.

He had been completely honest the entire time, just like he said he would.

"Alright! Way to go, Katagiri-san! You really are a master trickster!"

Katagiri raised an eyebrow at Usui.

"I don't know what you mean. I didn't trick her at all. If anything, it was solely Aizawa-san's fault for thinking I was trying to pull the wool over her eyes. I really just felt bad hiding the cards that I chose..."

Aizawa swallowed the lump in her throat, her face turning light red. The Azure Diamond members whispered between each other, some genuinely impressed by what Katagiri did.

Normally, Full Zodiac would require 12 Zodiac cards in the GY to call. However, thanks to Damas, Katagiri was able to cheat it out and swing the game in his favour!

"Now with Full Zodiac's ability, Starlight Boundary, you'll only be able to cast 1 spell per turn. Hope that's not too much of a hard ask."

This effect would give Katagiri a huge advantage too since he's up against Blue, a deck which loves to take advantage of casting multiple spells per turn! It was the perfect counter to Aizawa's deck!

The only downside was it's Lifelink 12, meaning that if Aizawa could simply destroy it, Katagiri would lose the game right then and there... I hope he has some ways it protect it.

"Now I'll go into battle! Full Zodiac Dragon, attack Nezorf! (8A)"

"I activate Nezorf's effect, Snowstorm of Affection. I pay 1 mana (4 > 3) to scry 3 and add a card from among them to my hand. I add Man on the Moon and botdeck the rest. Then, I choose one of your units, Full Zodiac Dragon, and it cannot stand for the rest of the turn. Nezorf gets injured."

"Damn it..."

Usui clicked her tongue. I looked up at her.

"Um, what's wrong...?"

"Aizawa-san stopped Katagiri-san's OTK..."

"E-eh? Katagiri-san could've won?"

"Yeah. If Aizawa-san didn't stun Full Zodiac, Katagiri-san could've swung directly with Full Zodiac twice to deal 8 damage, then finish her off Damas and the Ego Token for a total of 10 damage."

"Wow..."

I didn't even realise Katagiri was in a winning position... that's amazing! He's such a talented player... maybe Saitou was right. Maybe Katagiri really is the key behind pulling us out from the bottom!

"The Ego Token will kill Nezorf and I'll swing directly with Damas! (1C)"

"Nezorf dies. (10 > 9 LP)"

"Turn end!"

Aizawa:
Hand: 5
LP: 9
Mana: 3
OOO

Katagiri:
Hand: 4
LP: 10
Mana: 0
XXX

"Charge and draw. (3 > 5) I pay 1 mana (5 > 4) and cast Glacial Turnover. I add a unit with 2 or more cost from deck to hand, which will be Freezing Moon Blade, Yagami, and since it was an Ice unit, I pay another mana (4 > 3) to call it without paying the cost."

"Full Zodiac's effect, you can't cast anymore spells for the rest of this turn!"

"I'm aware. Then, I pay 1 mana and put Yagami into my soul. Enter the next stage and evolve, Moon's Edge, Frostbite Yagami!"

"There it is... there's Aizawa-san's ace..."

Usui grit her teeth and laughed grimly to herself.

"Frostbite Yagami, huh?"

Katagiri didn't seem fazed by it however.

"And since I have a Yagami unit, I can superior call Midnight Succubus, Kumori and Fake Ideals, Yudzuki from my hand. Kumori's effect, she gets +2A/2D/1C since Yagami is out. (4A/5D/2C > 6A/7D/3C) I link attack Full Zodiac with Yagami and Kumori! (12A vs 8D)"

"T-this is bad... if it hits, Katagiri-san is sure to lose because of Lifelink...!"

"I'm not out just yet. I perfect guard with Scorpio!"

"Yagami's double attack, he restands. Next I link attack with Yagami and Yudzuki! (10A vs 8D) Yagami's ability, Frozen Bout! I pay 1 mana (3 > 2) and tribute Kumori to make you discard 1 or give Yagami +2A/2D/1C."

"Go ahead and give Yagami the buff. Full Zodiac gets injured."

"Yagami's Trample. (3C)"

"I take it! (10 > 7 LP)"

"Turn end."

Aizawa:
Hand: 2
LP: 9
Mana: 2
OXX

Katagiri:
Hand: 3
LP: 7
Mana: 0
XOX

"Charge and draw! (0 > 1) I recover Full Zodiac!"

I blinked, turning to Usui.

"Um... Usui-san..."

"Hm?

"C-couldn't Aizawa-san have killed Full Zodiac last turn by tributing Yudzuki and restanding Yagami...?"

"She could, but it was smarter to attack with a link attack from Yagami and Kumori first since the spell Lucky Fortune exists."

"L-Lucky Fortune?"

"It gives a Zodiac +3A or +3D. If Katagiri-san has it, he could use it to boost Full Zodiac's defence to 11, which would overpower a link attack from Yagami and Yuzuki, which would only equal to 10. In that case, Aizawa-san would have to tribute Kumori anyways and bet on Katagiri-san not discarding 1 to overpower it. This would mean that the only way Katagiri-san could protect Full Zodiac was by using a PG, which he fortunately had."

"I completely forgot that card existed..."

"Well, when you're a top player like her, you have to be acutely aware of all cards that exist in this game, even the bad or underused ones. Since Katagiri-san is a person she's never faced before, Aizawa-san took the safe route. It makes sense since she can stall for another two turns at least by using Yagami's abilities."

"K-Katagiri-san... please be okay."

I quietly prayed he wouldn't lose. Otherwise, we'd be in an even worse debt than before.

"I stock Full Zodiac and call another Ego Token. I cast Ghoulish Tombstone (1 > 0) and add Dusk Sword and Scorpio to my hand Turn end."

Aizawa:
Hand: 2
LP: 9
Mana: 2
OXX

Katagiri:
Hand: 5
LP: 7
Mana: 0
XXX

Knowing that Aizawa could end the battle phase with Yagami, Katagiri decided to play it safe and stock Full Zodiac to make sure she wouldn't be able to kill it.

"Charge and draw. (2 > 4) I call Frozen Meteor. Yudzuki attacks an Ego Token! (4A vs 1D)"

"He's injured."

"Yagami attacks Damas! (6A vs 4D) Frozen Bout! I pay a mana (4 > 3) and tribute Yudzuki! Either discard 1 or Yagami gets +2A/2D/1C."

"Yagami can get the buff, and Damas is injured."

"Yudzuki's ability, Frozen Falsehood. When tributed, I pay a mana (3 > 2) to stand Yagami. Then, Yagami's Trample. (3C)"

"Thanks for the Ruler. (7 > 5 LP)"

"Where you're going, you won't even be able to awaken it. Yagami attacks the Ego Token. (8A/8D/3C)"

"Did you forget? I added a perfect guard to my hand. Scorpio, you're up!"

"It doesn't matter. You can't break through my defence without Full Zodiac, but as it stands now you're in no position to bring him back out unless you want to risk him being destroyed and you losing. Yagami's Double Attack, once more at the Ego Token. (8A/8D/3C)"

"It gets injured!"

"Trample. (3C)"

"Heh... (5 > 2 LP) My back's really against the wall now, huh?"

I gulped.  All thanks to one card, the game has been completely turned around...

Aizawa:
Hand: 2
LP: 9
Mana: 2
XXO

Katagiri:
Hand: 4
LP: 2
Mana: 0
OOO

"I-if Yagami wasn't there, Katagiri-san could win..."

"Grr... come on, Katagiri-san! You've got over a billion yen on the line here! Don't you dare fucking lose, or I'll really fucking kill you!" Usui said.

"Charge and draw! (0 > 1) I recover Damas and kill my two Ego tokens! I cast Dark Mana, charging two! (1 > 3) Since I control no units, I superior call Black Comet Witch from my hand! Then I use the Ziggurat to spawn an Ego Token! It's time to turn things around. Aizawa-san, watch closely."

Katagiri smiled, tossing Damas, Witch, and the Token into the GY.

"With this soul and body, I offer you my life. Resonate with my heart and become one. I tribute 3 units to awaken you, my Kingdom's egotistical Ruler! Overturn it all, Egotist of Epic, Gilgamesh!"

Katagiri flipped his Kingdom over, revealing the Ruler card on the other side. Aizawa's grip on her hand cards tightened ever so slightly.

"This is the strongest hero to roam the Earth. The man who took down the Gods by himself. I unstock Full Zodiac and call Gilgamesh! Now I'll activate his ability, Dark Gate! I pay 1 mana (3 > 2) to destroy Frostbite Yagami!"

"Yagami is... destroyed."

He did it! Katagiri really did it! In a single flash, he's managed to turn it all around!

Even so, despite removing her boss, Aizawa remained calm in the face of imminent danger. Her poker face was tough to crack, that's for sure...

"This is enough... this is definitely enough...!"

Usui covered her mouth, whispering fervently to herself. I also was starting to get excited seeing Katagiri on the edge of victory.

"Let's do this... battle! Full Zodiac Dragon attacks Frozen Meteor! (8A vs 7D)"

"Tidalizer perfect guards."

"Once more, Full Zodiac! (8A vs 7D)"

"Frozen Meteor... is injured."

Aizawa tried not to show her reluctance, but it slipped out anyways. Usui began cheering wildly.

"Alright, Katagiri-san! Smash that bitch's face in with three direct attacks to the face! Ram her from behind with Zodiac and stab her silly with Gilgamesh!"

"Full Zodiac Dragon, direct attack! (4C)"

"I take it. (9 > 5 LP)"

"Gilgamesh has Triple Attack, so here comes the first! (2C)"

"Ngh... (5 > 3 LP)"

"And the second!"

"I... also take it. (3 > 1 LP)"

"Where's your confidence from now, huh? I thought you were sure to beat me! Isn't that why you bet that insane sum, Aizawa-san?!"

"If you need to have the last word to kill me, then you don't deserve this win Katagiri-san."

"I didn't deserve a lot of things in life, but I still took it anyways. Now here comes the third... Gilgamesh, finish this! (2C) GATE OF BABYLON!!!"

"Ah... (1 > 0 LP)"

Aizawa flinched in pain.

"It's... my loss."

The room went silent.

Katagiri was breathing hard.

Aizawa lowered her head.

My head was spinning.

Katagiri... won?

He... he really won?

That means...

That means our club just earned over 2 million chips in one fight...

My eyes widened.

Saitou was right...

Katagiri can really do it...

Katagiri can really turn everything around for us!

Usui screamed in delight, hugging Katagiri and crying into his shirt.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Katagiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-san! You did it! You really did it! You really won all the chips and put Aizawa-san over 1 billion yen deep in debt! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! You really can turn this all around for us! Katagiri-saaaaaaaaaan!"

A small smile appeared on Katagiri's lips as he put a hand on Usui's head.

"Yeah... about that."

Katagiri pulled Usui off him and smashed her head on the table.

"U-Usui-san!"

I screamed as Usui slumped to the floor. I rushed over, kneeling beside Usui and cradling her in my arms. Aizawa raised her head, staring at Katagiri in disbelief.

"Usui-san... Usui-san, stay with me!"

Blood dripped from Usui's right temple. She clutched my shirt, trying to keep her conscience. However, just as she tried speaking, she passed out.

"Usui... san..."

Tears started filling my eyes. I could hear Katagiri laughing.

"Katagiri-san... what is the meaning of this?" Aizawa said.

Some members of the Azure Diamonds closed in, ready to strong arm and hold back Katagiri.

"Sorry, but..."

He looked down at me with a sadistic smile.

"...I lied."

"...huh?"

My body was shaking.

"I lied, Haruno-san. I lied about everything."

My throat closed up, and my hands clutched Usui's limp body even tighter.

"From the very start, I lied to all of you. You, Usui-san, Saitou-san, Aizawa-san, and even the school. Truth is, I was never going to help your club in the first place, nor was I trying to help you guys win this fight. I was only doing this for myself... and myself only."

I froze up. I couldn't even respond. I looked up at Katagiri with tears streaming down my face. My body had been completely paralysed just from being in his terrifying presence.

"Just think about it for a moment. Wasn't everything about my existence strange? Wasn't it weird? Didn't it not make sense?"

I tried to open my mouth to speak, but Katagiri continued rambling on, his voice dominating the conversation.

"Didn't you think it was strange that I was wearing a strait jacket? I was a criminal for deceiving others, not harming others. Didn't you think it was strange I'd give up tricking others so easily? I'm a compulsive liar, it'd be nearly impossible for me to stop. And finally, didn't you think it was strange I was willing to call such an absurd amount? If I really cared about the Crimson Champion's funds, I would've folded while we were still ahead instead instead of going for broke. All of this is just a game to me. Not even I was sure whether I'd win against Aizawa-san or not."

Katagiri zeroed in, practically pressing his face up against mine.

"Face it, Haruno-san. All of you were deceived by me. None of you could see through my lies, and because of that, you're no better off than before, Aizawa-san lost an absurd amount of money, and I've made myself worth over 1 billion on my first day here."

I wiped away my tears, staring up at Katagiri's face.

Ah... I understand.

From one look, I perfectly understood what truly lied behind that human skin.

Katagiri Shinichi... is a monster.

That smile is the real him.

"Also, Aizawa-san..."

"What...?"

"Thanks to my victory in this game, your club's total funds have actually dipped below the Golden Wonder's total funds. You know what that means, right?"

"...yes. We are no longer the strongest club."

"You're welcome."

Katagiri stood, making his way to the exit. Just before he left, he stopped at the doorway.

"I think I'll first crush the Golden Wonders, then I'll join the Lilac End. Purple is my favourite colour, after all."

Then, he went.

Silence engulfed the Azure Diamond's clubroom.

I haphazardly wiped away my tears.

"...I don't trust a word that man says."

Aizawa sighed, before getting up and taking Usui from my hands.

"Don't worry about her. I'll bring Usui-san to the infirmary. What you need to do right now, as a member of the Crimson Champions, is to go and inform Saitou-san about the monster he's just unleashed in this school before it's too late."

"O-okay... please, take good care of her."

I rushed back to the clubroom, finding Saitou still sitting on the couch.

"Sai... Saitou-san..."

I huffed, stumbling over to him.

"Katagiri-san is... he's..."

"No need."

Saitou lifted his face, revealing a conspicuous smile across his lips.

"I already know what's going on, Haruno."

"Wh... what? Y-you... do?"

"Mhm. Katagiri deserted us."

I nodded.

"Good."

I raised my eyebrows.

"E-eh?"

"Then that means Katagiri wasn't lying after all."

"Saitou-san... what are you talking about?"

"I'm orry for lying to you too, Haruno. To trick your enemies, you first need to trick your allies."

Saitou leaned in and whispered into my ear.

"You see, Katagiri's mission was never to overturn our debt... it was to infiltrate other clubs, spy on them, and destroy them from the inside."

My eyes widened.

"H-he's... on our side?"

Saitou nodded.

"For now... at least."

The visage of Katagiri's sadistic smile flashed in my mind.

Is this... really okay?

Somehow... my chest felt hollow when Saitou told me this.

Katagiri going around spying on others and eventually destroying them from the inside...

Is winning that way truly just?

I remembered Usui's face as her consciousness began slipping away.

The shape of her lips as they tried to speak.

The lies Katagiri fed us from the very beginning.

The lies Katagiri will feed us in the future.

...it didn't feel right at all.

I pushed Saitou away.

"...I can't accept this."

"You can't? Why not?"

"...I just can't, Saitou-san!"

Saitou sighed.

"You're an excessively pure person, Haruno. But that exactly the reason why I like having you around."

"What do you mean...?"

"My heart is completely black. It's so black, I feel like I'm one step away from losing all my morales and stepping straight into sin. But you... your heart is completely white. It's so white, I don't think you could ever hurt someone else intentionally."

"H-hey..."

"What I'm trying to say is... when I'm around you, it feels like there's something keeping me tethered from not going far into the abyss, the well of regrets. Because I know the moment I taste the darkness... I'll never be able to go back."

I clenched my fist to my heart.

"...then I think you've already crossed that line, Saitou-san. You crossed that line a long time ago by saving Katagiri-san so he could act upon those dark impulses for you."

Saitou looked at me in mild surprise. Then, he let out a small laugh.

"You think so?"

"I..."

Katagiri's sadistic smile was burnt into my head.

"I know so..."

I tightened my fists.

"That's why... even if you don't want me to..."

Saitou opened his lips to speak.

"...I'm going to beat Katagiri-san and earn back all the money he stole."

He closed his lips, forming a small smile.

"Even if it means going against me?"

"Yes... if I have to leave this club to stop him, then I will."

"...you've grown up a lot, Haruno."

Saitou took out his deck.

"Fine then. Beat me in a gambit, and I'll help you with your plan. If you can't, you'll have to live with my plan."

"...alright."

I took out my deck and squeezed it tightly.

Please don't fail me now... Lenina.