Sliding his cards over to the dealer, Akiyama reached over to take his first sip of tea. Setting his cup back down, he rested his hands on his knees, looking between the others. Nao seemed a bit concerned over the loss, while Osamu was grinning like an idiot. Celes had her composure, but the light upturn of the edges of her lips and her slow body language revealed her pride in her victory: she'd regained her lead over Nao, after all.

As the next cards were dealt, Akiyama watched as Osamu's eyes spun around, keeping track of all the cards again while Celes was perfectly calm. After a few more moments Akiyama was able to take his hand: Two of Spades, Ten of Diamonds, Queen of Clubs, Queen of Diamonds, Ace of Diamonds, and Nine of Diamonds. Nao hadn't tributed anything yet, so Akiyama gave her a bit of time before passing on his Ace, and Queen, and a Two. He could have sent both Queens, but if Nao's hand was already near completion, then she'd have to break it up. By spacing out the Queens he could at least guarantee her a pair.

Once the passes were done, Akiyama took his cards from Celes before giving the players a look. Nao seemed to be concentrating, but Osamu was flustered about something, eyes darting between his and Celes' hands. He calmed down for a moment after resting his eyes on Celes, but then she pulled a card from her hand, pushing her chips forward. "I'm making a tribute."

Osamu looked back at her hand, then at the Six of Diamonds she'd placed down, then back at her other cards. He was blinking far too fast to be calm. Shakily, his hand moved to to his cards as he stewed over his choices.

Going back to his own matters, Akiyama now had the Ten of Spades, the Two of Clubs, and the Five of Spades. The Two would have been something Nao could have used, but the Tens were more promising, since he could pass both of them to her at once. He quickly did so.

Once the next round of passes had finished, Akiyama watched Osamu and Celes. Sure enough, there was a brief flash in Celes' eyes as she picked up her new cards, her fingers sliding a bit closer as she gripped them tighter.

Looking at his own two cards, he found the Queen and the Jack of Hearts. To give these cards that had won her so many hands away, Celes must have been struggling. That Queen was going to Nao, but not for a few more seconds.

Akiyama waited until Osamu's eyes were on his hand. Jack in the rear, he dropped the Queen, sliding it towards Nao. Osamu looked back at Celes' hand, clearly sweating, even as he passed along his last card.

Once everyone had their hands, Akiyama finding an Eight of Diamonds, Nao didn't waste a second this time. "I'm betting ten chips."

Osamu looked down, muttering, "I fold..."

Celes huffed, "As much as it disgusts me, I must fold."

Akiyama threw down his mediocre hand, stating, "Good. Change out the deck. We're done with your jokes."

Eyes innocent, Celes gasped, "Oh my. Whatever do you mean?"

Akiyama suggested, "Ask him. He's the reason you ended up with a crap hand, isn't it."

Celes was placid, before she mumbled, "Oh, is that so?"

Nao pouted, "Aren't we going to show our hands?" She revealed her triplet of Queens and pair of Tens next to an Ace, before mumbling, "I liked this hand too but I didn't win much."

Celes spat, "Such conceit. How many man hours would one in your low social class have to work to achieve five million yen?" With a flick of her wrist, she showed her hand: three Twos and a pair of Sevens, her tributed Six still on the table.

Osamu grumbled, "I don't know what you're talking about." He fanned out his hand: Eights of Spades and of Hearts, Jack of Diamonds, Three of Clubs, Five of Clubs, King of Hearts.

Akiyama chortled, pushing his own Two forwards, "Maybe if you hadn't marked the cards, you might have walked off with a Four of a Kind."

"Eeeeeh!?" Nao gasped. Picking up her Queen of Hearts, she studied it, before looking at the side for a dent.

"No, not there. The back." At his behest, she flipped it over, studying the back, before gasping, "Ah! What is this..."

Picking up his cup, Akiyama twirled his remaining drink around, Osamu clenching a fist. "She's been doing it since the beginning: even in the mock game. Once I noticed she was only marking Heart cards, I got some tea and mixed it up a bit." Grabbing Celes' Six of Diamonds on the table, he flipped it over, showing the stain on the back. "This was where you first realized it, right, Osamu?"

Averting his eyes, Osamu muttered, "F-fuck off."

"I also had the Two of Clubs, the Ten of Diamonds, and the Queen of Diamonds marked, plus a few more in the thought there were more Heart cards than there were on the table, so you kept pushing for Celes to get another Straight Flush like last time, but she'd could only get a Flush at best, and she'd already given up her Two. It was over by then."

Osamu grumbled, "S-stop acting like we're working togeth-"

"Let me guess, because you came in and sat in the last available spot? We did leave you alone during the first break. Your showing during the first few hands might have been to get on her good side, so once you were alone with her you could wag your tail and hope she gave you a treat. You might want to reconsider though: you're in the hole."

While Osamu festered, Celes scoffed, "Oh? You would let him wallow, Akiyama-san? And what of you, dear Nao-chan? Even were you somehow to win should all of us turn against you, would you still 'save us'?" Celes giggled at the thought.

"Akiyama-san wouldn't-"

"No, he wouldn't. He wouldn't save Osamu, and he won't win. I will."

Nao's eyes were firm. She didn't look away, though she didn't have a reply either.

Picking up his cards, Akiyama slid them towards the dealer, ordering, "We need a fresh deck. One for every hand we have left."

Celes noted, "And don't forget to separate my Six of Diamonds. It remains tributed."

Break time. Akiyama stood, heading out, as did Nao. For a change, he could hear Celes and Osamu leaving as well, though he paid them no mind as he went to their usual room.

Once they were alone, Nao let out a short whine, groaning, "She's so scary. And she seemed so nice at first..." Looking up, she wondered, "When did you mark the cards?"

"I needed the tea first. After that I only did it when Celes was drinking her tea or focusing on you. She was watching me a lot at first so I had to be careful."

Nao nodded, comprehending, before returning to her gloom once again. Akiyama gave a bit of reassurance: "We're doing fine. Now that we blew open their cheating, we just need to figure out how to take the lead back from Celes. You're not far behind though."

"I'd need a really good hand though. Almost all of hers have been really good."

"We've put together some good ones. Don't fuss about it. We already figured out the two tricks to her 'luck'. It's not something that really exists." Nao looked down at the ground. She didn't seem convinced. Akiyama insisted, "Just tribute like you've been doing. It works."

Nao frowned, "I'm just not sure if it'll be enough." Nao was normally trusting, but swayable by logic. Yet here, she'd been quite convinced of Celes and her supposed luck.

At the end of the break, Akiyama and Nao returned to the game room just as Celes and Osamu were seating themselves, the Six of Diamons in front of Celes. The dealer fanned out the fresh deck, the cards blue backed, before he began to deal the hands.

Ready for the next set, Akiyama took his new cards: Ace of Spades, Jack of Diamonds, Five of Hearts, Five of Clubs, Six of Hearts, and Eight of Hearts. The Ace was an easy pass to Nao unless she tributed, but looking at the rest of his cards, Akiyama may have found a way to get Celes to squirm.

Waiting until Celes had seemed to shift a few cards over in her hand, Akiyama declared, "I'm making a tribute." Placing the Five of Hearts down and moved his chips forward. Seeing that Celes didn't even twitch, while Osamu was pretending he didn't exist. Dissatisfied, Akiyama claimed, "I'm making another tribute." Celes was watching him now as he put down the Jack of Diamonds and pushed ten more chips into the pot next to his other five. Osamu's face tightened while Celes seemed to be looking a bit harder at her cards. Nao looked on helplessly, but Akiyama paid her no mind: she knew what she was supposed to do.

Passing along the Six of Hearts, the Eight of Hearts, and the Ace of Spades, leaving the Five of Clubs alone in his hand, Akiyama waited for the rest of the passes. Celes only took slightly longer than usual, and when Akiyama got his cards, he found a King of Spades, an Eight of Spades, and a Nine of Clubs. Thinking over his options for a brief moment, he passed along the King and the Nine from what Celes had.

Once the others passed their cards, Akiyama picked up his new ones: a Five of Spades and an Eight of Clubs. That was good. Too good. He had a Five laying down right in front of him, and an Eight was just passed to him last time. Celes just handed him a Two Pair. Akiyama couldn't see her beating that though: not with her Six tributed and taking up a spot in her hand. Still, she could pick it up at any time before they showed their hands. Was Osamu sending her cards around it? Except for the King, all of Celes' passes could have been made into Straights, but nothing was in the Diamond suit, so it was more likely she was keeping that: a Flush did beat a Straight.

Wanting to hold on to his Full House, he picked his Jack of Diamonds back up, holding on to it for a moment and shuffling it into his hand before passing it to Nao once Celes had made her choice. Taking his last card, he found the Jack of Hearts. Seems she saw his move coming once he picked up the Jack, though it wasn't as though there was any other reason for picking it up at that point.

Once everyone had their hands...

...

"Imbecile."

"Huh?" Osamu grunted.

"Open the betting," Celes hissed with a glower.

"Oh, uh, fuck. What's the one where you don't wanna start?"

"Check," the dealer answered,

"Yeah, that."

Celes seethed for a moment, before taking a sip of her tea, glancing back at her hand. Smiling slightly, she said, "I will Check as well."

"Bet. Ten chips, "Akiyama said, putting more of his chips into the pot.

Nao swallowed, looking at him for a moment, before: "C-call."

Osamu took a moment before snorting, "Fold."

Celes pushed her chips forwards. "Call."

"Check," Akiyama said."

Nao looked between her cards and Akiyama, before retreating, "Fold."

Akiyama felt a bit of a jolt. This was his fault...no. Celes pushed her away by staying in. If she'd left then Akiayama and Nao were at liberty to pump the pot full and give Nao a huge win, then spend the rest of the game folding. There were no blinds, so Celes couldn't force them to bet. He should have warned her, but it was too late now.

Celes asked, "Well?"

Osmau showed off his hand: a Pair of Nines being his best, next to the Two of Spades, the Five of Diamonds, the Eight of Hearts, and the Six of Spades.

Nao lowered her Two Pair. King of Spades, King of Hearts, Ace of Hearts, Ace of Spades, Queen of Diamonds, and Jack of Diamonds.

Akiyama picked up his tributed Five of hearts, filling out his Full House. Celes hardly seemed disappointed as she showed a Seven of Diamonds, a Seven of Hearts, a Ten of Hearts, a Ten of Clubs, and the King of Diamonds, her Six still on the table. A Two Pair, lower than Nao's.

Nao gasped. "I..."

Celes giggled, "Such a shame. You pulled your hat out of the ring too quickly."

The dealer passing Akiyama his chips: 25 from his tributes and 20 from Celes and Nao, even though he'd won the hand he hardly felt victorious at all. While he was back at 100 chips, Celes was still ahead of Nao by five. There was no victory or loss here. Cards returned to the dealer, Nao lowered her head as he broke out a new deck and passed out the next cards.

Holding his hand, he saw the King of Diamonds, Sixes of Clubs and Spades, the Seven of Clubs, the Nine of Clubs, and the Ten of Hearts.

As he bid his time, Osamu made a quick pass. He got something good. Akiyama and Celes were waiting as Nao took time to decide. Once again she decided not to tribute, so Akiyama sent her the best cards he had: the King, the Nine, and the Ten.

After Celes passed, he looked at the cards she sent: Ten of Clubs, Five of Clubs, and the Two of Hearts. Though he was one card away from a Flush, he readied himself to send one of the Sixes when she placed a card down, pushing ten chips forwards. "I'm making a tribute," Nao said, the Nine of Clubs laying in front of her. While it was assymetrical, it was not inverted, the club in the center pointing across the table at Celes.

Now Akiyama could move with certainty. Had it been a symmetrical card, he'd have done his best to send her pairs. In the event she tributed nothing, like before, he'd have sent the highest cards he could. Had she tributed the card upside down, Akiyama would have sent her cards of the same kind, or around it in hopes of a Straight or Four of a Kind. This time, however, it wasn't inverted, meaning Nao was after a Flush or Straight Flush.

Having a plethora of Clubs to send, Akiyama went with the highest ones, sending the Ten and the Seven. Opposite him, Osamu seemed a bit cocky, his eyes relaxed in a certain confidence, while Celes wasn't often easy to read. Akiyama had to give her that.

One the next set of passes were done, Akiyama hesitated as he saw what Celes was giving up: the Ace of Spades, alongside the 7 of Hearts. With her hand so cramped due to the Tributed Six, it was possible she was pawning the Ace off, but how much better could her hand really be? There was a chance she was giving away a good card in an attempt to mess with him, or she happened to have better somehow, but that seemed unlikely: neither she nor Osamu had tributed anything, and her Six of Diamonds was still on the table. There was no room in her hand for her to wait for good cards from Osamu.

When it came to his own, final pass, he had no reason not to send the Six of Clubs, except...

If Celes had nothing, then there'd be no reason not to send Nao the Six, but if Celes somehow did have something better, then Nao having a stronger hand could mean they'd risk her losing even more chips than the ten she had to give up for her tribute. Putting the fact that Celes passed him the Ace and that both her and Nao seemed to have confidence in Celes' supposed luck...

Making his pass, Akiyama waited, prepared for things to unfold. Getting his final card, he added the Six of Hearts to his hand, becoming immediately suspicious. He had the Seven of Hearts too, and the Ten he passed earlier...

Not having anything worth betting on, Osamu started things off with, "Check."

Celes began, "I'll open betting with ten chips."

Akiyama hesitated, before confirming, "Fold."

Nao swallowed, looking closely at her hand, before pushing ten chips forwards. "Call."

Osamu sighed, placing his hand down, "Fold."

"Raise," Celes called, pushing ten more chips in.

Nao started to sweat. Her lips quivered as she tried to make her call, Osamu chortelling at her expense. Finally, she swallowed, deciding, "C-call."

Once she pushed her chips in, Celes smiled. "I have no interest in raising the pot further." Raising a hand to her mouth, she giggled, "You would not Call again regardless."

Akiyama threw down his hand, used to things, as Nao picked up her Nine, determined. This time, however, Celes didn't beat around the bush, showing her hand casually. Akiyama was normally unflappable, but he felt his eyes run over her cards again in disbelief. "Oh no," Nao gasped, crestfallen.

Celes brandished a Royal Flush. The Ace of Hearts through the Ten of Hearts Akiyama himself had passed along. Osamu snickered.

"Ohohohohoho~" Celes laughed as the dealer passed her the pot.

Fans whirring, the muggy office still felt hot, the faint buzz of a half dozen CRT monitors all running at once serving as a reminder. Said fans were not pointed at the two men in the room, but at the equipment, to keep it running in the heat. The monitors each displayed a separate view of the game taking place on the upper floor: in particular their hands, though at the moment another break was in order.

Fanning himself, a portly man with short gray hair and gold eyes behind his spectacles let out a low whistle, muttering, "A Royal Flush? Don't see that every day." Standing, his suit coat folded over the metal folding chair he sat on, he said, "I'm getting some air."

"Be my guest, Heiwajima-san," Urquhart said, opening the door for him. As the two spilled out into the hall, Urquhart noted, "I wished the accommodations were more suitable, but I was not expecting company."

Waving his hand, Heiwajima replied, "No, it's quite alright." Adjusting the cuff of his white dress shirt, the buttons shaped in the emblem of Hope's Peak Academy, he mentioned, "As far as scouting goes this is nothing compared to my excursion to the Middle East to verify a story by another one of our prospects for the 78th Class." Patting down his forehead with a handkerchief, he added, "It's like a vacation, really."

Urquhart noted, "I expect no less dedication from one in your position." Briefly glancing back at the monitor room, he wondered, "What do you think of the game thus far?"

Heiwajima grumbled, "I wish I could see what the players are talking about when they leave the room, but otherwise it's facinating. I wasn't familiar with these underground gambling rings before Miss Ludenburg contacted me."

Urquhart wondered, "Is it normal for potential Hope's Peak students to contact you?"

"Most don't need too, and most of the requests we anyway receive are bogus, so she's quite lucky I'm here." For a moment, his face became jaded as he muttered, "Luck."

Not pressing the derision, Urquhart pondered, "Her luck and strategy against Akiyama's...it hardly seems fair."

Returning to their private office, Akiyama was quiet as he stood, giving Nao a moment to sort through her thoughts. Finally, she admitted, "I lost again..."

Thinking about her hand Akiyama recalled a triplet of Aces, the King of Diamonds, and a pair of black Nines. Akiyama asked, "Walk me through your hand."

Nao moaned, "I know...I passed on the Ten of Hearts."

Trying to keep Nao calm, Akiyama bid, "It's not over. Celes and Osamu could just fold every hand and walk away with what they have, but I feel like they're going to try and take it all. We have two hands to break her huge lead."

Nao seemed uncertain, before she began, "I started with the King, Jack, Eight, and a Two of Clubs, and the Six of Hearts and the Five of Spades. I kept those good Club cards and the you passed me the Ten of Hearts, the King of Diamonds, and the Nine of Clubs. I tributed that one, then I passed the Ten of Hearts and the King of Diamonds so my hand was all Clubs, then you passed me the Seven and Ten of Clubs, but-"

"Once you passed the Ten of Hearts, there was no of stopping Celes at that point. By the time the last round of passing was done, Celes had given me one Heart card each time, so I realized that Osamu was probably sending her a bunch of Heart cards. I didn't expect a Royal Flush though."

Nao whined, "I had a Straight Flush! It was my best hand so far..."

"I had another idea when it comes to tributing, so listen for a second."

Nao blinked, before wondering, "But...did you figure out their 'luck'?" Akiyama was silent for a moment. Nao reiterated, "Is there some kind of trick to it?"

Akiyama admitted, "I didn't see any sort of listening device on either Osamu or Celes, and he has the window seat, so it's unlikely we're being spied on from outside the building, even though knowing our cards would only help so much. Even if, for instance, Liar Game were working with them-"

"Ehh!?" Nao gasped, reeling at the thought.

"Right. I watched the dealer as closely as I could but I didn't see anything weird about his shuffling. He's been moving around, but Celes still won hands when she was on the other side of the table from him. Even if there was something I didn't catch, I don't think Celes would cheat like that: she wants to beat us under Liar Game's rules."

"But when it comes to her luck...I can't see it as being the real deal, but there's no trick. She won the last hand fair and square."

Nao's eyes widened, the girl look downward, but Akiyama didn't have the means to reassure her.