'So, are you the one who sent me these bullets?' Midari got straight to the point as she dropped the casings and note onto her desk. Yumekos face expressed curiosity. "I have never really delved into guns as a hobby so buying bullets let alone using them is not possible for me." Midari still wasn't convinced, she opened a desk drawer to pull out a piece of blank paper and a fine point black pen. 'Would you mind writing the sentence that appears on this note, word for word?' Yumeko was happy to oblige. "Certainly." As Yumeko wrote the message verbatim Midari watched with faded breath. Once she was done Midari quickly examined the paper and compared it to the reference. The penmanship was different. Yumeko was soft with her letters whereas the letters in the note were rigid. The space between letters for Yumeko was shorter than the note. Midari was sticking to the stubborn accuser route. 'You could have had someone write this note for you.' "I could have but frankly if I was the sender, why exactly would I be in your office when I could just pull your strings from a distance?" Midari continued to persist. 'Maybe you are sadistic and you want to personally engage in a potential class coup.' Her iris glowed while looking into Yumekos red eyes. 'We have not known each other for long but I can see it in your eyes. You are not a spectator, Yumeko, you are an active participant.' She extended her right hand to touch Yumekos face. Yumeko was not fazed, in fact she was fascinated by the glow of Midari's yellow right. She also extended her right hand to touch Midari's face. "You are correct that I am a participant, but I only engage for the excitement of a gamble where everything is on the line. Probability is the only constant in this life. A question I have for you Midari, are you willing to put everything on the line?" A silence filled the office. Yumeko became concerned with Midari's prolonged silence. "Midari, are you alright?" She snapped her finger and Midari instantly came out of her gaze of the transfer student. 'Am I the only one who is wet right now?' The glow in Yumekos eyes dimmed significantly. Her cheeks blushed from Midari's comment. "Oh dear, how lewd." Midari snickered. 'That is not a no I hear.' "And you have still not responded to my original question." Midari's eyes dimmed significantly. 'Yes, I am willing to put everything on the line.' Midari sheepishly opened another drawer to pull out an unopened deck of cards. 'We will being playing a simple game of war. I do not know if you have come into contact with other members of the Student Council but most of them have ways to cheat when playing. There will be no twists and turns here which is why I picked a simplistic game with no modifiers. What will you wager Yumeko?' "I will bet my complete honesty and assistance to your investigation until completion." 'Okay, I will bet my mortality.' She pulled out the .44 magnum from her beautification bag as well as to display the unused bullets before putting them in the cylinder. "You do not find your wager to be excessive in the slightest?" 'I cannot remember a time I could wager something as substantial as mortality with someone. No one wants to wager with me Yumeko. Not even the president can be bothered to play with me, fucking cunt.' Yumeko examined the mannerism of Midari's shuffling. "Alright, I will up the stakes a little. I will also wager my mortality." Midari gave Yumeko a genuine smile. 'Look at you, finally made this game more interesting.' Midari dealt 26 cards after continuously shuffling the deck for 2 minutes. "Are you ready Beautification Officer Ikishima?" 'I think I am content. Now, battle!'
The first play has commenced, Yumeko pulled a six of hearts while Midari pulled a nine of clubs. '69, nice.' Yumeko blushed, "I guess I was unlucky this round." Midari was reassuring, 'Ah no worries dear, I usually am the one to lose the first round.' The next play Yumeko deals a king of diamonds while Midari deals a jack of spades. The third play showed Yumeko with an ace of clubs while Midari revealed an ace of hearts. 'Would you like to destroy me?' The game continued with the both members' pile of cards shifting in volume. However after 26 turns, both revealed an equal sized deck. "You had the cards set up in a specific way right." Midari felt insulted. 'Excuse me. I think I would be a bit more explicit in my mischief.' "Not necessarily. I deal a heart while you deal a club, then I a diamond and you a spade. However to keep the pattern from being too blatant you had my hearts switch to clubs and the same for the diamonds and spades." 'An interesting theory but honestly you sound paranoid and that is coming from me.' Yumeko picked up a card to reexamine the design. "This is a custom deck. You could have ordered a specifically shuffled deck and pretend to shuffle a stock deck." Midari clapped. 'We appear to be at a tie, not a crossroads. No one wins and no one losses.' Yumeko became a little peeved. "That's it! Where the hell is the fun in a gamble when the outcome is already determined? Is that why you wagered your life without hesitation, no fear to die?" Midari began to laugh with faded breath. 'You do not know me that well yet Yumeko. As someone who plucked their own eye out with a black fountain pen, I am quite capable of performing self harm.' The laughing stopped, a deep and somber tone filled the vacancy of sound. 'There is no need for fear in my case. I do want to die. As much as I would like to blow my brains out in front of you in a game of chance. I have a conspiracy to investigate. Fuck, it is practically gnawing at me. I am aware of my infatuation with spontaneity but I can not play the Joker and merely watch the world burn. This is my path, the conspiracy is a roadblock, and you are just a possible conduit to my endgame of escaping the pain of mortality.'