Luck and intuition play the cards with Spades to start
And after (s)he′s been hooked I′ll play the one that′s on her heart

The sudden downpour abruptly broke through the stuffy sultriness. A pleasant breeze blew in through the open window and gently passed over my face. Soon, however, the rain was pelting down so hard on the asphalt that I decided to close the car window again quickly.

Some vehicles had already returned from their nightly tour and most of the people who got out of the cars hurriedly tried to escape into the building before the downpour began. Umbrellas were frantically opened and hoods were pulled over their heads in a rush.

My gaze involuntarily wandered over to the car that had arrived almost at the same time as us. I watched the three people getting out carefully, unconsciously looking out for those dark brown curls. I had no plausible explanation for this, but I was interested to know whether she had actually survived her game.

Headband and Ueda had already got out, only Mira was still sitting motionless next to me in the back seat. Her intense gaze rested on me again, and her eyes had that eerie gleam in them again, as if she could bore straight into my heart with them.

"It's really a shame that our trip is over so soon," she sighed heavily, and there was a hint of wistfulness in her sweet voice. "It was so much fun."

"Yes, most unfortunate," I replied curtly and reached for the door opener almost hastily. The cold shower of rain seemed almost tempting at the idea of being stuck in a car with this woman for a second longer.

Out in the parking lot, I put on my hood of necessity while my eyes carefully scanned the surroundings. However, the heavy rain increasingly obscured my view and it was barely possible to make out more than a few shadowy silhouettes disappearing ghost-like into the darkness.

The heavy raindrops lashed at me mercilessly. Within a few seconds, I was soaked through to my underwear, which is why I quickly looked for a dry shelter under the canopy of the building, where I leaned against the side of a wide pillar.

From my hidden position, I was able to observe the bustling activity in the parking lot unobtrusively. Another vehicle slowly rolled up, the sound of its engine muffled by the rain. My eyes, which had become accustomed to the darkness, focused on the dark blue estate car. This time, despite the poor visibility, I was sure it was the right vehicle.

Four human silhouettes got out of the car one after the other, followed by another person who apparently almost had to be lifted out of the back seat. She allowed herself to be dragged defenselessly upwards and then clung tightly to the person who had helped her out.

A dazzling flash of lightning suddenly illuminated the surroundings and bathed the scene in an almost ghostly light. In that fleeting moment, I caught a glimpse of Izumi's curly mane appearing from under the hood of her jacket, which I was sure she hadn't been wearing earlier.

So she was obviously still alive, but her condition seemed anything but good. She seemed weak and worn out, almost absent from what was happening around her. Even in this short space of time, I could see that she was shaking like a leaf.

Close by her side, the lanky guy with the puppy eyes was walking, holding an umbrella over her protectively while supporting her sideways with his other arm. I watched suspiciously as he whispered something into her ear and pulled her closer to him as they walked towards the entrance of the hotel together. The way he was making an effort with her made me feel a strange aversion. But maybe that was just because of the stupidly naïve look on his face.

Why had this guy been in their vehicle at all, even though they had set off separately?

The group walked a few meters past me, ignoring me as I tried to catch a few of their words, but their voices were all drowned out by the patter of the rain.

Just before they reached the revolving door, Izumi raised her head lazily and unexpectedly caught my gaze. In that brief moment, she got almost lost in my eyes, a moment that felt like an eternity and at the same time passed far too quickly. Despite the distance, I couldn't miss the clearly reddened edges of her eyes.

Had she been crying?

"You're not going to start worrying about that little thing, are you?" a honey-sweet voice sounded next to me, rudely breaking through my train of thought.

I suppressed the urge to groan in annoyance and instead turned away demonstratively from the person who belonged to that voice. The fact that Mira was talking about Izumi to me of all people made me narrow my eyes suspiciously.

Did she possibly suspect something?

An inner voice warned me not to respond to her comment at all, but this time I studiously ignored it.

"Of course not. I was just curious to see how many were returning today and whether one of them might be able to get hold of the missing cards."

"Well, I don't know, but a little birdie just told me that there was a very large game with an unprecedented number of players. Supposedly it was an 8 of hearts."

She laughed coyly, as if her greatest wish had just come true.

An 8 of hearts, then.

At least that explained why Izumi was in such a miserable condition.

Heart games - I knew them only too well. They were merciless, brutal and played on people's deepest fears. Anyone who showed even a hint of compassion for their fellow combatants hardly stood a chance. That was probably one of the reasons why I prefered these games more than others. Not more than diamonds, but definitely more than spades or clubs.

I had successfully completed two games of hearts during my time here. I knew a few others from stories. So I had a rough idea of what Izumi had been through. It was almost a miracle that she had survived with her naive attitude of wanting to save the whole world.

"The human psyche really is incredibly fascinating. You always seem so cold and calculating on the outside, but then you suddenly save this young woman's life unexpectedly. Who would have thought?" she chuckled, holding her hand over her mouth, while I just stared at her blankly. "Oh, don't worry, Chishiya. Your little secret is in good hands with me," she added with a conspiratorial twinkle in her eye as our gazes crossed. "I'm sure no one will find out about me."

With one last suppressed giggle, she turned away from me and disappeared. I looked after her with a bitter expression.

That snake in the grass.

I had known that something was up as soon as I found out that she had been assigned to my group - no - I had known it much earlier. The look she'd given me during the council meeting had given her away. She was planning something. She wanted to play with me. In a way, she already was. I didn't believe a single word that came out of her mouth. Her entire demeanor had been a subliminal threat.

'I have you in the palm of my hand, because I know your little secret, Chishiya.'

That was the unspoken message she had sent me. But how had she found out about it? When I had brought Izumi here four days ago, I had exercised extreme caution, carefully considering my every move and even avoiding the surveillance cameras.

Had she possibly overheard our conversation before today's game? Or did she have secret informants scouting out what was happening on the beach for her?

One thing was certain in any case: I had to watch out for this woman in future. She was far more dangerous than all the members of the Council put together. From the very first day, I had noticed how skillfully she wrapped Hatter around her little finger and pulled the strings in the background. By the end, he was firmly convinced it was his own idea. She was a master of manipulation and therefore a serious competitor for me. I had to think carefully about how best to proceed. After all, I still had a few days to think of something before my reprieve finally expired.

The rain had eased a little by now, but the clammy fabric on my skin was becoming increasingly uncomfortable, so I decided to get moving again and go to my room to get some rest.

But when I unsuspectingly entered the lobby, the next commotion was already brewing. A tall guy ruthlessly pushed past me, followed by three other men who I immediately recognized as members of the military squad. They charged straight towards another group of people who had settled at the edge of the lobby. A group of three people I was all too familiar with.

"You'll pay for this, you little bitch," he roared loudly through the hall and, to my surprise, set up directly in front of the armchair in which Izumi's slumped figure was sitting. Kuina was unmistakably crouching in front of it, now also turning to the men in astonishment. The Puppy immediately jumped in and stood protectively in front of them.

"Hey, what's your problem?" Puppy growled at him. He grabbed him menacingly by the T-shirt and shook him.

"What my problem is? That little girl killed my sister. She's a murderer. So get out of my way, you loser."

He gave him a good shove, causing the Puppy to stagger, but he quickly picked himself up again.

"It's not her fault, man. She was just trying to save her life. Just like all of us," he pressed out between clenched teeth.

"You think I care about that? She's responsible for her death. So she has to die too."

I cocked my head to one side, a little taken aback. Izumi was actually supposed to have killed someone? Hard to imagine, after all I knew about her.

The guy pounced on the little puppy like a bloodthirsty wolf and suddenly pulled a gun out of his belt to point it at Izumi. He released the safety with an audible click. But her protector still tried to push him back vehemently to take the gun from him.

"Leave him alone, Koto. He's right. It's my fault. I should be punished for this," Izumi uttered with a quiet sob. "I don't deserve to go on living."

Her words seemed to momentarily throw the guy off his game. He paused for a moment and stared at her in disbelief.

Damn, had she completely lost her mind now?

"Move aside. Please. Make me pay for what I've done," she insisted in a firm voice.

"No," he shook his head desperately without moving. "I won't let you do that."

His bravery in all honor, but the Puppy certainly wouldn't even manage to stop a newborn kitten.

Sighing, I buried my hands in my jacket pockets and strolled leisurely over to them. When they noticed me, I received confused looks from all sides. I waited briefly until I had their full attention.

"Sanada, isn't it?" I then asked the guy with the raised gun. He frowned in irritation and nodded, embarrassed. "I remember your sister. I noticed her talking to a friend before today's game. What I overheard there was really revealing, because she claimed that you had withheld a card without permission after your last game. If I'm not mistaken, she was talking about a... 6 of spades," I said, trying to put on a concerned expression. "I'm sure Hatter wouldn't be happy if he found out about it."

The man's face literally fell apart with bewilderment. Dumbfounded, he lowered the gun in his hand.

"What the heck are you talking about? I don't have a card," he shouted at me angrily and I watched with satisfaction as his face turned an ugly shade of red.

The other military members now eyed him skeptically as well.

"Is that true, Sanada?" one of them asked.

"Of course not," he contradicted in a panic, but the others continued to grill him with their questions, so that I briefly found the opportunity to let my eyes wander meaningfully to Kuina.

She will know what to do.

A barely perceptible nod was exchanged between us, then she unobtrusively moved away from the action.

Meanwhile, the others were still involved in a heated discussion.

"Then why don't you prove that you don't have any cards? Let's all go into your room together and check if you tell the truth," another now suggested.

"You're welcome to, but I swear I don't hide any card from you," Sanada continued.

A tiny twitch crept into the corners of my mouth.

Not yet.

"Swear it on your sister's life?"

"Damn it, I'll kill you, you bastard!" Sanada snapped at him and immediately went after him. "Chishiya is a sneaky liar. I've never embezzled a single card."

I watched as someone punched him hard in the face, causing him to stumble.

"Chishiya is a member of the council. He's hardly going to make something like that up. And if it's not true, then you can certainly prove it to us."

Sanada still held his swollen face indignantly.

"Have you gone mad?" he snapped at him. "You're welcome to look everywhere, but you won't find anything. I have no secrets from the Beach."

How convincing he sounded.

Unfortunately, he had the misfortune that I had more influence on the Beach than he did. If Kuina did her job satisfactorily, his body would soon be rotting in the container with the others.

"We'll see about that. I've always thought you untrustworthy," one of the men spoke with a hint of triumph in his voice before he and the others gradually moved away from the lobby. Izumi and her protector followed them with their eyes, stunned. When our gazes met for the second time, uncertainty was reflected in their eyes.

The young man turned to her, genuinely concerned.

"Are you all right?" he asked, reaching for her hand.

Izumi's lips only managed a nervous smile.

"Yes, don't worry. I just feel drained."

She seemed to be trying to feign lightheartedness, but I knew a fake smile when I saw one.

"It's no wonder after everything..." he said as I watched her gallantly release her hand from his grip.

A satisfied smile stole onto my lips as I indicated a mocking bow in front of them, which drew their attention back to me. Izumi stared at me, perplexed.

"You're welcome," I said sarcastically and then turned away from them without another word.

"What an arrogant pompous ass," growled the Puppy behind me.

I grinned with amusement.

My antipathy was obviously mutual.

♢

"Do you know how damn close that was? They almost got me," Kuina hissed angrily as she appeared next to me on the roof. The shower had now passed, but the muffled rumble above us was still clearly audible.

"Since you're still in one piece, everything seems to have gone well," I said calmly.

She nodded a little contritely and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"I even handed out a few more cards to make sure those idiots would find them."

"Very good. I knew I could count on you."

"Don't you think it'll be obvious that they're just replicas?" she asked, frowning.

I snorted snidely.

"To them? Hardly."

"Okay, and what's the point?"

"What do you mean?" I pretended to be clueless.

She rolled her eyes.

"You know exactly what I mean, Chishiya. Your poker face doesn't work on me."

I sighed softly.

"Let's put it this way: that guy deserved it. I don't care about the rest. One less in the military is hardly a tragic loss."

"Okay, I agree, but..." she hesitated briefly, taking her plastic handle out of her mouth and staring at the ground uncomfortably, "didn't you do it to help Izzy in the first place?"

I paused for a moment and let my gaze wander thoughtfully into the distance. I had asked myself exactly the same question shortly before. But what did I care about the young woman anyway? I had paid my debt to her long ago. So there was no logical reason why I should continue to care about her fate.

And yet I had done what I had done...

"I think she might be useful to us," I replied after a moment's consideration.

Kuina stumbled and then lowered her arms again in bewilderment as she stared at me in amazement.

"Useful? You mean she's the right one for our plan?"

"I'm going to find out. But yes, maybe she's exactly what we've been searching for all this time," I replied vaguely.

Even without looking at her face, I realized what she thought of my statement. When I did, she gazed at me with an expression as if she was seeing me clearly for the very first time. You could tell she was swallowing what she really wanted to say.

"Well, I don't know..." she finally said hesitantly.

"Let me worry about that, Kuina."

She groaned.

"Do what you want, but I'm going back downstairs now to offer her my help. That game must have been cruel. An 8 of hearts, I don't even want to imagine it. Night, Chishiya," with this last snippy sentence, she turned and roared off.

Now I knew again why I generally preferred to work alone. On the other hand, I wouldn't have managed to smuggle the cards into Sanada's room without her. If she wanted to, she could move around silently like a ninja without leaving a trace, which made her the perfect accomplice to a crime. Therefore, I'd better not make Kuina my enemy.

Although my answer about Izumi was mainly meant to appease Kuina's curiosity, I had to admit that the young woman with the curls might actually prove useful to our plan. But before I knew that for sure, I first had to get a closer look at her.