The Queen of Spades (promise this is good)

Chapter 40-high stakes

"How'd you figure out that he was the murderer?" Ayaka asked you. "When that group of men came, I could see him sweating and threatening people more fiercely, as if he was trying to garner votes, but not too many. It seems that everybody else noticed that. This game seems to be more entertaining than I thought," you remarked.

Soon, you were met with Akira and Banda. You told them the same thing, that you were not the murderer for that round. All the other three people all shook heir heads as well. None of them seemed to show signs of lying, so you shrugged it off. Swallowing the lump of apprehension in your throat, you decided to loiter around the cafeteria.

Banda noticed how you watched as Keiko eat her red snack. "You know, the jack used the same method to communicate with a player who was teaming up with Yaba," he told you. You raised your eyebrows in shock. "Matsushita? He's that dumb?" 

"You know, Banda, if Akira suggested that we all team up with every player to kill the king, would you accept?" You questioned him, curiosity getting the better of you. He responded almost instantaneously, "No. I would prefer for the game to be mot fun, and I don't just trust people I meet in here, that including you." 

"In a hearts game, there's always a way that people don't have to die. It's just a matter of whether you trust people enough or not. But, I bet that Yaba also wouldn't agree," you sighed, going to the toilet to take a 'piss'.

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"So, Keiko. Who is it?"

"M-Me..." her lips quivered with uneasiness. You tilted your head in amusement. There was a small dilemma whether or not to vote for her. If nobody voted for her, then everybody would die except for her, letting her win the game. She probably thought that if she openly told enough people, then she could survive, even if just one person voted for her.

"Does anybody know about this?" You interrogated her, debating in your mind if you should vote for her that round. She nodded. "Yaba has managed to trick some people into voting me, and I believe that the king is one of them. It should be less than half, so I can kill him this way."

You hummed. Yaba did have his ways. There always was a difference between survival manipulation and literal manipulation. Yaba was clearly using her, but he did not plan to kill her unless absolutely necessary. Why did the borderlands have to take in such smart people? 

You left the toilet, going back to your original position.

Akira received this information that Keiko was the murderer for that round. "So...do I vote for her?"

"No. Absolutely not. It's better if we decrease the number of people in here, so the chances of being the murderer increases. Besides, we need to get some people out of here to find out more about the game," you reasoned with him. He held up his thumb, showing that he understood what you had just said.

You saw a red light blink continuously on his hearing aid, meaning that the battery was low. You took out the last set of batteries you had, and changed them, before putting them back on Akira's ear. "All done! Can you hear me?" You asked him.

You saw him remove the hearing aid, putting it back onto his ear. He shook his head, not being able to hear properly. You took out the batteries, checking them again. "Oh shit! This is the wrong battery type!" You threw them on the floor.

Using sign language for the first time in about a month, you signed to him, *I used the wrong battery type. I'm so sorry, but for the rest of this game I'll have to use sign language to talk to you.*

*Doesn't that make it better? That way, nobody knows what we're telling each other! But, then I can't listen to what people are saying, unless I lip read, which is hard for them not to notice me watching.* he signed to you, finding the bright side.