Victory

"Then the first round: Free Rock-Paper-Scissors. Begin!"

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

Star Color: Gun. Manabu Horikita: Gun.

Just hearing the word "gun" carried an intimidating weight. To gather information and confirm its effect, Manabu Horikita had chosen Gun on his first move.

Manabu Horikita knew exactly what his Clock did, but he had no idea what Star Color's Gun did. Figuring out how the four gestures interacted and how to beat Gun had become the most important part of gathering information.

Which was stronger, Clock or Gun? If Gun was stronger than Clock, Manabu Horikita would use Clock's effect. So now they were at the stage of testing one another.

"Tie. Let's start the second round."

Star Color played Scissors, while Manabu Horikita played Gun.

Manabu Horikita had learned that Scissors could beat Gun. He still didn't know what Gun did, but this was undoubtedly to his advantage. He looked at Star Color's vacant expression. It seemed the guy still wasn't taking things seriously. Compared to the bloodlust he'd shown before, now he seemed like an animal that could be toyed with at any moment.

Clock's effect still hung over Star Color. The contest between Clock and Gun wasn't over yet.

"Second round."

Star Color played Clock, while Manabu Horikita played Scissors.

Manabu Horikita scored a point.

Star Color looked at Manabu Horikita, who remained calm before him.

"What a weak gesture. Clock losing to Scissors? That's ridiculous."

Manabu Horikita stared coldly at Star Color.

"Third round."

Star Color played Rock, and Manabu Horikita, after Star Color, slowly played Paper.

Star Color was stunned and looked at Miyabi Nagumo.

"Doesn't that count as cheating?"

"Senior Horikita's following the rules, so there's no problem at all."

Miyabi Nagumo looked at Star Color with amusement.

Star Color lowered his head, deep in thought. One hand gripped his arm as he gave a quiet laugh.

The fourth round began.

Star Color played Clock, while Manabu Horikita played Gun.

The two tied.

At that moment, both Manabu Horikita and Star Color realized something.

Both gestures were [weak] gestures—in other words, [empty gestures].

Manabu Horikita realized that the word [Gun] had led him astray. Perhaps Gun was an empty gesture with no effect—in other words, a blank gun, a psychological bluff devised by Star Color. Anyone who used it would be left holding a gun that couldn't fire. The rules banned overly powerful gestures, but they didn't ban overly weak ones.

So [Gun] was a psychological trick Star Color had devised. His appearance and personality really were complete opposites. What a nasty guy.

But Star Color still didn't know the effect of Manabu Horikita's [Clock], so Manabu Horikita still had the upper hand.

Manabu Horikita pushed up his glasses.

The second turn of the fourth round.

Star Color played Paper, while Manabu Horikita slowly played Scissors.

Manabu Horikita had scored three points in a row, while Star Color had only one. If Star Color lost one more round, he would lose his 520,000 points and all the effort he'd put in over the past four days.

But...

How could Star Color, who had lived in the depths of the abyss, possibly lose? 520,000 points was a small amount to him. Every gamble he'd played before had been a matter of life and death.

Star Color had already spotted the conditions for victory. He had also figured out the [effect] of Manabu Horikita's Clock.

"Clock's effect is really powerful, Senior Horikita. Once you use the Clock gesture, your opponent gets to [move late]. What a nasty special effect. You were trying to lead me into using Clock, weren't you? To get information in this game, you have to use the gestures. You used that cleverly and backed me into a corner."

If Star Color played Clock even once, it would mean taking the negative effects of an [empty gesture] and [moving first]. In a game like this, everyone would try to test their opponent's [gesture]. That was how Manabu Horikita's perfect [effect] strategy had earned him two points in a row.

Star Color laughed. As expected, his luck was abysmal. And Manabu Horikita wasn't bad either.

"Do you think you can still turn this around?"

"Maybe."

Star Color smiled.

"From here on out, my luck's going to be terrible."

Even with his back against the wall, Star Color kept smiling calmly.

Now that both of them knew the other's [original gesture], the game had returned to the most basic contest of Rock-Paper-Scissors.

Manabu Horikita never believed in games of luck. Everything came down to probability and followed a logic. He'd once read a book on psychology that described a surefire way to win at Rock-Paper-Scissors.

At the moment people swung their arms down, most showed a tell in their hands. If they were going to play Rock, they kept their fists clenched. Years of karate training had honed Manabu Horikita's dynamic vision to an extraordinary level. To him, [playing Rock-Paper-Scissors by reflex without thinking] was as easy to read as an opponent throwing a punch.

By now, Manabu Horikita had observed Star Color's habits.

[Gun], [Scissors], [Clock], [Rock], [Clock], [Paper]. That was the record of Star Color's gestures.

When he played [Rock], he kept his fist clenched, holding it in its original shape. When he played [Scissors] or [Paper], his fist loosened slightly, and he extended his fingers halfway through the swing.

So this was a boring game. Manabu Horikita believed victory was already a sure thing.

"Fifth round."

Star Color's fist loosened slightly. Manabu Horikita caught the tell. Was it Scissors or Paper?

He'd identified the safe option. If Star Color played Paper, Manabu Horikita would win. Even if Star Color played Scissors, they would only tie.

Manabu Horikita saw Star Color's middle and index fingers poke forward slightly. He immediately changed his mind and played Rock.

Star Color played Paper.

"You wear glasses, but your eyesight is surprisingly good, Senior Horikita."

"You noticed me watching you?"

Manabu Horikita was slightly surprised, but quickly regained his composure.

"Of course."

Star Color had noticed from the very beginning that Manabu Horikita was watching his gestures and habits. Fortunately, he'd learned about Manabu Horikita's abilities beforehand, so he'd used that against him.

Free Rock-Paper-Scissors was a game of information. If Manabu Horikita could use the traits of each gesture to trick Star Color, then Star Color could also plant false information in advance and turn the tables on him.

"Now we're tied, Senior Horikita. Good thing you didn't trust your luck in the end. That was a relief. I don't trust my own luck at all."

Star Color gave a strange smile, picked up his cup of tea—which had gone cold—and took a sip.

"It's still a little hot."

He blew on the tea as he spoke.

"Let's continue, Senior Nagumo."

"Sixth round."

Manabu Horikita no longer trusted Star Color. The guy had tricked him, too.

Manabu Horikita had three wins, and Star Color had two.

Miyabi Nagumo looked at the person in front of him, curious whether the woman before him could catch up or even win.

Manabu Horikita realized that Star Color had already figured out his [original gesture], and that the [strategy of reading habits] had merely been a trap Star Color had deliberately laid. From here on, it was nothing but a contest of luck.

"Rock, paper, scissors."

Star Color played: Gun. Manabu Horikita played: Rock.

Star Color aimed the gun at Manabu Horikita's heart. It was supposed to be a [blank gun] used to trick the opponent, so why had Star Color used it?

It was impossible. Why would Star Color choose [Gun]? Did it have some special effect? Was it an effect that only appeared in the last two rounds? No, the rules said gestures whose strength could change were forbidden. What was its effect?

He stared in disbelief at Star Color, the mastermind before him. What kind of gesture had he created? Manabu Horikita couldn't understand it at all. At that moment, the very concept of [Gun] began to blur again.

Star Color won.

Manabu Horikita had three wins, and Star Color had three wins.

They were tied.

Akane Tachibana voiced her confusion, too.

"Nagumo, it was [Gun] against [Rock]. How could [Gun] possibly win?"

"It didn't, Senior Akane Tachibana. The gun won."

Miyabi Nagumo gave an enigmatic smile.

"A special effect? You really laid a trap for me here, Star Color."

"Think whatever you want, Senior Horikita."

Star Color gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes, like a beckoning cat figurine.

"Last round, Senior Horikita. The so-called [deciding round]."

"Seventh round."

"Rock, paper, scissors."

Manabu Horikita thought it over. The first time, he'd beaten [Gun] with [Scissors]. But was that really the answer? Could it be a trap? Star Color had already overturned his original strategy, so playing [Scissors] outright was dangerous.

So he'd buy time first and play [Gun]! Then he'd think up a countermeasure. Manabu Horikita's plan was to stall...

That was how people from Neon were. Everyone had this common failing. When something important came up, they chose to stall or wait, even when they had no way out.

Star Color: Gun. Manabu Horikita: Gun.

Miyabi Nagumo laughed and announced the final result.

"This interesting new student is the winner."