After the end of the last events...
Ayano: "Damn it, the first game starts tomorrow..."
Lying in her empty room, her phone beside her with a message showing the time and place of the first round, Ayano sank into thought, still shaken by the killing she had witnessed.
Ayano: "It needs a partner... but will he accept after what I did?"
She feared Tadashi might leave her because she defended Kyle. In the end, he's famous, smart, and already talented, so he doesn't need her. These thoughts bothered Ayano.
Ayano: "Daaamn iiiiit!"
She rolled to the side until she hit the wall.
Ayano: "Whether he agrees or not, I have no choice but to go..."
The next day, Ayano went early to the club and waited at one of the tables, extremely nervous, until he finally showed up.
Tadashi: "Yo."
Ayano: "O-oh hi, h-how are you?"
Tadashi: "Good."
He sat down across from her.
...
...
...
Ayano: "So... you're not mad?"
Tadashi: "Mad about what?"
Ayano: "About me defending Kyle..."
Tadashi: "It's fine. Everything's okay."
Ayano: "Ooh..."
...
...
...
Tadashi: "I'm going to check on the referees."
Ayano: "Okay..."
He got up and walked into the VIP room.
Ayano: "I can't even talk normally..."
Minutes passed, and he returned.
Tadashi: "Let's go."
Ayano: "Now?"
Tadashi: "Yeah."
Both of them left the club, followed by a referee. As usual, their eyes were blindfolded, and they got into a car heading toward the first game.
When they arrived and their blindfolds were removed, they found themselves inside a large room with two chairs and a screen. On the wall across from the screen was a one-way mirror. They weren't alone—two other players, a guy and a girl, were with them.
Referee: "Welcome to the first round. I'll be overseeing your match."
Tadashi: "What are we playing?"
Referee: "Double Roulette."
Ayano: "Double Roulette?!"
The Guy: "Huh? What's that?"
Referee: "Let me explain the rules. First, you all know the regular game of Russian Roulette, right?"
All said yes.
Ayano: "Thank God I was studying about gambling all night..."
Referee: "Good. This game is similar but more complicated.
First, you'll play two versus two. One player will sit in the chair, and the other will be behind the glass.
This is one-way glass, meaning the ones in the chairs won't see anything, but the players behind the glass will see everything clearly.
Here's how the game works: on the table, there will be a shotgun loaded with bullets—some real, others blanks. At the start of each round, the players behind the glass will see the bullet arrangement and will place three truth-or-lie markers on them each.
Now for the ones in the chairs—you'll each be given bulletproof armor, but don't be fooled; it's designed to break on the third real bullet.
The gameplay is standard: if you shoot your opponent, you go again.
If you miss, your turn ends. If you shoot yourself with a real bullet, you lose your turn. If it's a blank, you go again. In a new round, the last player who gets hit goes first. Understood?"
Ayano raised her hand.
Ayano: "Doesn't that make the ones behind the glass totally safe?"
Referee: "No. If your partner dies and loses, you'll die too."
She shivered slightly at this.
Ayano: "Alright..."
Referee: "Now please choose who will sit and who will go behind the glass."
Tadashi immediately sat on the chair without hesitation.
Tadashi: "Go."
Ayano: "Okay..."
The Guy: "You too."
The Girl: "alright."
Ayano and the girl went behind the glass.
Referee: "Now pick—heads or tails."
He flipped a coin into the air.
Tadashi: "Heads."
The Guy: "Tails."
Referee: "Tails. You go first."
Tadashi and his opponent wore the bulletproof vests and sat on the chairs, waiting for Ayano and the other girl's markings. The results reached them.
Ayano: "So these are the bullet positions... Should I tell the truth or lie? Maybe I'll..."
Referee: "Results are in. Reveal your markings."
Their guesses appeared on the screen.
Ayano's guesses: First bullet real, second fake, third fake.
Other girl's guesses: First bullet real, second fake, third fake.
As soon as Tadashi saw this, he was stunned. But the moment he looked away from the screen and forward—he saw only a shotgun pointed at him. His opponent fired—it was a real bullet.
Tadashi fell off his chair, coughing.
Referee: "That was fast."
Ayano panicked immediately.
Ayano: "Damn it... I messed it up from the start!"