Round by round, my pile of chips shrink rapidly. By the end of round 7, I have a mere 700 million yen, compared to Yumemite's 3.3 billion.

"How," I say with anger, "how are you cheating? How can you cheat so well that not even I could notice?" Mary hides her face in shame.

"Have you ever heard of Sachiko Juraku?" Yumemite asks me. The very name seems to make Mary uncomfortable. "She was the former head of morals last year, and she managed all of the gambling den payments. She was the best gambler in the academy, besides Kirari."

"What does that have to do with this game?" I ask angrily.

"She was the one who beat Mary at her own game- Doubt Poker," she responds. "I had her teach me. As an idol and an aspiring actress, I had to be able to read other's emotions like she did. It was like she could read minds. It was so amazing."

Mary interrupts. "We will now begin Round 8." She hands us our cards, and I hide them like I have been doing before, but instead I make sure she couldn't see any of the back of the cards.

"Kokoro-san," Yumemite says to me in a soothing voice. "I'm not cheating. In fact, I haven't cheated once this entire game."

"That's bullshit," I reply. I have a full house of aces and kings. I can win this. I really can. Yumemite bets 400 million yen, and I raise by betting all in. I've basically just won 700 million yen. I can't lose, I can't lose!

"Kokoro-san, you poor girl." Yumemite tells me in a way Kirari often speaks to me. "I have a straight flush, and I'm positive that's better than your hand. You can either leave this match losing 2 billion yen, or you can 'doubt' and lose 2.7 billion. It's your choice, Kokoro-san."

"I doubt," I grunt at her. I'm tired of this game. Just let me win this one hand, and maybe I can come back.

"I'm sorry, Kokoro, but you have to hear this yourself," Yumemite condescends me. "I'm certainly a worse gambler than Juraku-sama, and she's most likely a worse gambler than Kirari. If you really think you can take her on," as she's speaking Yumemite's expression grows from a condescending taunt to a raging fury, "then YOU'RE A TOTAL IDIOT!"

She throws her cards onto the table, showing a 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, all of which where hearts; she has a straight flush.

"This game is over," Mary announces with abject sorrow. "Kokoro owes Yumemite 2.7 billion yen."

Yumemite puts on her cheerful voice, preparing to leave, but before she opens the doors to outside the room, she turns around and says to me in her signature cheery voice. "Nyan~~~ you thought you could get away with playing a game that hasn't been played for over a year, owo, but choosing Doubt Poker is now the biggest mistake, uwu~~. Thank you, Juraku-sama!"

Yumemite throws open the doors to meet her adoring fans, as I sit at the table in silence.