𝐒𝐔𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓 // 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫ō 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐲𝐚 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

35

Neither rebirth nor damnation will free anyone from their past mistakes. It is just the beginning of a loop, a cycle. No matter what happens, they will always find a way to remember about what they have done in the past, even if it is a new life. Though, it is what is supposed to happen in a normal human's life, as a world with no interruptions would always give birth to the most sinful and destructive souls.

You counted everyone else's chips. The Jack, Amon, had 77, the man with the funky hair had 53, the unhinged man had 29 and the elderly woman had 29. They all seemed to be fairly confident with their gambling abilities.

ROUND ONE, START.

The dealer for this round is the man with the funky hair.

TIME REMAINING: 6o MINUTES.

"I'll scope things out first." The unhinged man said, betting an amount of chips and throwing them on the table.

"Me too." The elderly woman followed, also betting an amount of chips.

"One chip." You spoke, firmly setting a single chip in front of you.

"Oh, would y'look at that!" The unhinged man said, smiling insanely at you. "One chip outta 120?! You're bein' really careful, huh!"

For a moment, you seriously wanted to break the glass shield and shoot him with the gun. But you kept your composure, sighing before you stared at him from the corner of your eyes.

"Of course I'm being careful. Let me remind you that is a Jack of Diamonds game. You're basically slowly betting your life, whereas in the real world, you would only bet a certain amount of your money." You stared him down.

"Judging by your looks, you've definitely gone poor from all that gambling, so what I'm guessing is that you think that this is going to be easy." You spoke with a somewhat mocking yet solemn tone.

His eyes widened before he clicked his tongue, deciding not to say anything to counter your words. He looked away, inaudibly grumbling something to himself.

"I was definitely right." You thought to yourself before letting out a hum, smirking. "Some of these people are just too easy to read."

The dealer gave everyone 2 cards each.

"Let the game begin." You thought to yourself, resting your chin on your palm and observing everyone's move.

"Oh," you thought, "we're starting with the Jack. Of course."

"Hit." The Jack said.

The unhinged man threw a 6 of Diamonds.

"Stand." The Jack said.

You hummed. "One more card from a hit, no more with a stand."

"Split." The elderly woman said, spreading two of her fingers towards the cards. She saw the cards that went against her and took her chips.

"Two cards of the same value are split into two hands, and the bet is doubled." You thought, your intense gaze on the cards that have been placed down.

The unhinged man smiled. "Double down."

A King card was slid onto the table.

"HELL YEAH!!" He exclaimed, grinning widely. "So much for being the Jack of Diamonds, huh?!"

"Double down doubles is the bet, but only one more card is drawn." You tapped your finger against your cheek. "The Jack is up to something. He's trying not to seem like a challenge for now, but nearing the end, he'll show his true self."

"Everyone's used to this. I'm not surprised. If I'm not careful, then this could end up pretty bad."

"Your turn, miss." The man with the funky hair said, referring to you, which snapped you out of your thoughts.

"Hit." You said simply, sliding a 2 of Spades card.

He slid a 3 of Diamonds card.

"Hit." You repeated, sliding a 4 of Clubs card.

The unhinged man stared at you as if you were crazy.

You stared back at him, smiling sneeringly before staring back at the cards. You hummed, seeing the total of the card numbers.

"21." You said curtly.

"Hmph." The funky-haired man huffed. "Bust."

He showed a Queen of Hearts card. "If you hadn't taken a 4, I could have won that."

"Oh well. In the end, I did take the 4." You said with a small yet somewhat mocking smile.

The dealer took the cards and placed them face-up under the deck of cards. You stared intently, observing his moves.

"The discarded cards are face-up under the deck so when we get to it the dealer changes. If you know how many cards are left, then you should also know which cards are left since all of the cards are the same." You tapped your finger against your cheek as you thought to yourself.

"Stand." The elderly woman said.

"Bust again?" The funky-haired man clicked his tongue. "These cards really aren't in my favor."

You furrowed your brows slightly, staring at the cards. "Hmm." You slowly tapped your nails onto the wooden table, creaking a continuous clicking sound, smiling to yourself.

FLASHBACK
(little disclaimer: N/N = nickname)

"N/N," Suguru said, "have you ever gambled?"

You let out a hum. "Nope." You spoke lazily. "Why?"

"Want me to tell you how to play blackjack?" He grinned, placing a deck of cards between you.

"Huh." You hummed, amused. "I'm listening." You crossed your arms, smirking at him. "I know what a non-dealer and what a dealer is though, so skip that part. I also know what a 'hit, bust, stand' is."

"Okay! I think this point is pretty important, so I'll start off with this." He said, scratching the back of his neck and adjusting his glasses.

"A non-dealer can manage their risk of a bust. The dealer, however, has to hit if they're under 17 and must stand if they're over 16. The non-dealer has to gamble their way above the dealer's chance of a bust."

"How do you even know about this?" You hummed, nudging his arm playfully. "Have you ever gambled, Sugu?"

He laughed, rubbing his arm. "Nope." He replied, smiling. "I just learned about it and studied the game."

END OF FLASHBACK.

You smirked to yourself, remembering about a memory you shared with Niragi.

"Never thought that guy would save me, but here we are.
I think I've got it now."