Free Rock-Paper-Scissors

Manabu Horikita had never met anyone with such a stark contrast between their outer appearance and inner self. The student in front of him, named Seishiki Otonashi, was certainly no ordinary student. His eyes revealed an endless madness.

"So this is who you really are, Seishiki Otonashi?"

The Student Council Room door swung open. A blond-haired young man walked in, whose looks were on par with Manabu Horikita's. But their auras were completely different. One was composed; the other, flamboyant.

"How could you not invite me to something this interesting, Senior Horikita? A first-year challenging the Student Council President sounds like fun."

"Who's this guy?"

Star Color could sense that the man was like him. But he was far too green—practically a baby of a first-year.

"Vice President Miyabi Nagumo."

"Oh."

Star Color didn't care who the guy was. Manabu Horikita stood in his way. All he had to do was use his own strengths to take him down.

"So, are you willing to play a game to decide this?"

"A game? Do you think the Student Council's work is easy? I don't have spare time to play some boring game with you."

"It's just an unusual version of rock-paper-scissors. It won't take long."

"An unusual version of rock-paper-scissors?"

"The Red Heart 3 Game: Free Rock-Paper-Scissors."

Game rules:

[Before the game begins, each player adds one [original hand sign] to the [three hand signs].]

[Create a hand sign and give it a name. Its shape must be doable with one hand, like scissors, rock, or paper. The shape and name must correspond.]

[The original hand sign can have a special effect, so feel free to use your imagination. But not too freely: effects that are too powerful, complex, or open to dispute are forbidden, such as [defeats all hand signs], [appears and automatically wins], or [its strength changes depending on different conditions]. At least one hand sign must be able to defeat the special hand sign.]

[If the effects of [original hand signs] are identical, cancel each other out, or conflict, the result is a draw.]

[The game is played as best of seven, with the first to four wins taking the game.]

[If a player makes the wrong hand sign or shows one that doesn't match the specified sign, it counts as an empty hand, and the opponent wins.]

[Before the game begins, both players confirm each other's special hand signs. Their effects are not revealed.]

"A rock-paper-scissors game with five hand signs? That sounds like so much fun."

The orange-haired girl beside Vice President Miyabi Nagumo, wearing a sunflower hair clip, gazed at Star Color with shining eyes.

"Senior Nagumo, c-could you be the host or referee?"

Star Color switched back to his usual well-behaved demeanor.

"What do you think, Senior Horikita? I don't know what led up to this, but a first-year's issued a challenge. Will you accept?"

Miyabi Nagumo was fanning the flames, delighted to watch the drama unfold.

"Interesting. If you lose, how about joining the Student Council, Seishiki Otonashi?"

"I'm honored, but I can't imagine myself losing. If I win, the board game club gets to open, and, Senior Horikita, you'll grant me one wish. How does that sound?"

"You're asking for a lot."

"Heh. Aren't you doing the same, Senior Horikita?"

Star Color gave a sly smile.

"All right, all right. So what does the host and referee need to do?"

"Check and confirm the effects of both players' special hand signs, then call out 'Rock, paper, scissors' when the game begins and announce the winner of each round."

"What an interesting game."

Miyabi Nagumo somehow produced two slips of paper.

"This game is all about information. You have to deduce the effect of your opponent's [original hand sign] and whether yours can beat it. Whoever hides more information can win more often. You need to make reasonable deductions based on how the game unfolds. It's not a bad game."

Manabu Horikita pushed up his glasses, their lenses reflecting an eerie gleam.

But the black in Star Color's eyes was terrifying...

This wasn't going well at all. At that moment, Star Color was panicking inside. He hated head-on confrontations most of all. He was good at cheating within the rules, using all kinds of tricks from outside the game to lay other plans. He was completely unsuited to games of luck or anything unpredictable.

He should've known better than to show off. Star Color regretted it a little.

"Are you two ready?"

Miyabi Nagumo handed them each a slip of paper and a pen.

"Let's begin. Draw your original hand signs."

As they drew, Star Color looked up at Akane Tachibana.

"Senior Tachibana, could you pour me a cup of tea?"

"Huh... Sure."

Akane Tachibana quickly poured a cup of tea.

"Thanks~."

Star Color took a tiny sip, then immediately stuck out his tongue and puffed out his breath.

"Hot, hot, hot—"

His cute act instantly tugged at the hearts of the two girls in the Student Council Room, stirring that simple, irresistible urge to get closer whenever a girl saw something adorable.

"You can wait for it to cool down a little before drinking it."

"Okay~."

Star Color fanned his tongue with his hand, radiating a lazy air.

Five minutes passed in no time. Manabu Horikita carefully inspected the slip with his [original hand sign].

Star Color had already handed his to Miyabi Nagumo and returned to the sofa.

As the referee, Miyabi Nagumo examined the effects of both players' [original hand signs].

Star Color counted the seconds to himself: one, two, three, four, five, six.

[Six seconds]. That meant roughly thirty to forty characters. It definitely had a special effect, but the length was just right. He could probably interpret it in several ways...

Miyabi Nagumo needed only three seconds to confirm Star Color's [original hand sign].

"Both players, show your original hand signs."

Star Color made a [pistol] with his hand, thumb cocked like a hammer and index finger as the barrel, aimed at Manabu Horikita's forehead.

Manabu Horikita formed a circle with his thumb and index finger, keeping the other three fingers clenched.

"This is a clock."

"Oh, that's a really creative idea, Senior Horikita."

"First round. Free Rock-Paper-Scissors. Begin!"