YOU, ME & DEATH ━━ polyam ann & kuina

𝟯𝟬 matsushita

TOMOKO FELT A deep sadness settle inside of her.

Whilst it was true that she did not know much about Ippei nor did she even consider him a friend, it still pained her. That was because he was innocent and kind and much too good for this world. And it filled Tomoko with a misery she didn't know she could feel for someone that was essentially a stranger to her.

She glanced over at her brother, who was gazing at the floor with the same sadness in his eyes. It had to be harder for him, Tomoko supposed, since Ippei was closer with him.

Chishiya looked up at her then walked away in silence, heading down the stairs to where the food was stored.

Stifling a sigh, Tomoko left herself. As she walked by, she noticed a man and a woman exchange a glance. She knew their names were Matsushita and Kotoko, respectively, from the computer screen. Tomoko had often seen them walk past each other, gazing at the colour of each other's biscuit packet and thus the flavour. But she never really took too much notice until now. She never cared for it as she was too busy trying to figure out who the Jack of Hearts was.

   But what if the Jack was one of them?

Then, Tomoko realised that every single time one of them was downstairs getting food, the other was there as well. And it was always when there was only thirty minutes left of the round, like it was scheduled.

Without a doubt, they were connected. It was possibly a secret communication but the fact remained: why would they do that?

And then, it hit Tomoko. There were four different flavours of biscuits. There were four possible symbols on someone's collar. They were communicating what each other's symbols were. Clearly, they didn't plan on surviving with their partner if they were working with somebody else. It had to be one of them; one of them had to be the Jack.

Suddenly, a hand tapped Tomoko's shoulder and she turned to find her brother staring at her with a blank expression despite his intriguing words, "I believe Matsushita is the Jack of Hearts."

Tomoko nodded, "Alright, we kill him, then we get out of here."

Eyebrows raised a little in surprise, Chishiya chuckled, "You don't need any proof?"

"Of course not. I trust you wholeheartedly."

Chishiya smiled at that then went back to a serious tone as he stated, "There are six players left and three pairs; the Jack will definitely make their move this round. I hate to say it but we're in trouble. Everyone I have spoken to distrusts us because they believe we killed Ippei."

Sighing softly, Tomoko shook her head, "It doesn't matter. We'll be fine as long as we keep trusting each other."

"And that will never change, obviously." Chishiya finished for her.

Before they entered their cells, the twins exchanged their cells and Tomoko made sure to tell Furuta her symbol since the poor girl had been left to fend for herself, nobody available to be her partner. But Tomoko liked the girl a lot despite their little time together and she wanted her to live, so she helped her newfound friend.

   Once the round ended, Tomoko heard one explosion. She was about to step out of her cell when she heard someone cackling maliciously.

   "I did it! I won!" Matsushita's voice screamed with delight.

   However, it was soon cut off as Tomoko opened her cell door. Glancing behind her, she realised her brother had exited as well and he was smirking at Masushita. Then, Tomoko cast her gaze upwards to spot Furuta on the upper floor leaving her cell, grinning with relief as she began to run down the hall and leave the building.

   "I had a feeling you were the Jack of Hearts." Chishiya announced to Matsushita, "You teamed up with Banda from the start and he's a murderer so it just made sense. Even if somehow you were moved by the little monologue Banda fed you, I knew you wouldn't trust him. Nobody trusts strangers in this world and certainly not as fast as that."

   Another door opened and Banda stepped out, "Most people won't even talk to a guy like me but you wanted to kill me. I could sense that in you right away. So I wanted to see if you were smart, or just stupid, or whether you were a true psychopath. You thought you were controlling me this whole time. But I was manipulating you into thinking that way. Ultimately, it was your huge superiority complex that gave you away."

   "That kind of self-importance usually comes from being put in a special position. Something that made you feel untouchable. Like being chosen as the Jack." Chishiya continued.

   Matsushita's eyes widened and darted from side to side, desperately trying to think of something that would save him, "You–you guys are wrong about this. Banda is the Jack of Hearts!"

   "Sorry, kid. It's not Banda." A third voice spoke up as he walked down the hallway. His name was Yaba. "You and Kotoko were connected. I told Kotoko what her symbol was. And yet, she still died, which means Kotoko was being manipulated by someone other than me."

   "You should be accusing this guy instead!" Matsushita yelled, pointing a finger at Chishiya.

   Stepping in front of her brother protectively, Tomoko snapped, "Just stop it, you're making yourself into a bigger embarrassment than you already are! I know you and Kotoko were connected because every time I went to the cafeteria, you and Kotoko would always be there, getting snacks at the same time. You and Kotoko were secretly communicating in the cafeteria. Both of you were just pretending that you were being controlled. There were four different flavors of the snack. You would confirm your symbols by checking the packaging, using those snacks as a code with each other."

   Yaba sighed, "And then, you told Kotoko to give me the wrong symbol. I really did trust her...except at the end."

   Matsushita gulped audibly, shaking with terror, "When did you guys start working together?"

   "Well, the very first announcement said that this game is about how much we can trust one another. So we simply followed that principle. In order to gain someone's trust, you can't control, or manipulate, or guide them in any way. You can't brainwash or hypnotize them, lie to them or instill fear. It's called equality." Yaba explained with a smug grin on his face.

   "Wait a sec!" Matsushita yelled, getting more fearful by the minute. He knew he had been caught and he was scrambling to pick up the pieces of his lies, "What makes you so sure it's me? The Jack of Hearts could easily be one of you guys! Okay, maybe I did try to blame everything on you by setting you up, but that's not enough. You guys don't have any proof that I'm the Jack of Hearts!"

   Sighing, Tomoko shook her head as she stalked toward him. "Don't make me laugh, Matsushita, you basically admitted it whilst we were in our cells." Then, she shoved him backwards by the shoulders and he tumbled into Banda and Yaba's grasp, their grip so tight he could not escape.

   Yaba smiled gratefully whilst Banda said, "There have been so few opportunities to really get to talk to the citizens of this place. We're going to get him to tell us the ins and outs of this country, by any means necessary. Would you like to join?"

   Tomoko could tell that he meant they were going to torture the information out of him. A part of her wanted to join in but a bigger part of her no longer cared for it. Her old ways of violence and anger as her only means of communication had died the day she woke up in the wreckage of The Beach. She hated Matsushita for what he did — allowing innocent people to die for nothing — but she'd rather leave now and search for her friends, instead of wasting time hurting someone worth nothing to her.

   She shook her head but showed the two men an approving smile, "No, I'll pass. Have fun, though."

   And with that, she and her brother left.

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