ᵀᴴᴱ ᴳᴬᴹᴮᴸᴱᴿ'ˢ ᴮᴱᵀ ⚾ ᴬᴺ ᴼᴺᴱ ᴼᵁᵀˢ ᶠᴬᴺᶠᴵᶜᵀᴵᴼᴺ

ℂℍ𝔸ℙ𝕋𝔼ℝ 1

"𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞
𝙸 𝚜𝚊𝚠 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚢 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜
𝙸 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚊𝚢
𝙰𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗...

𝚂𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚘𝚌𝚌𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚞𝚜
𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎'𝚍 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗
𝚆𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚐𝚘 𝚘𝚏 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛'𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜...

𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙 𝚢𝚘𝚞?
𝙸 𝚊𝚜𝚔 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛
𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚊 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚛..."

Deception, manipulation, cheating, mind games, psychological torture and so on...

This is how Tokuchi Toua function, especially in gambling.  And this is how he crush his victims and take their money.

Tokuchi has always been great at deciphering human thoughts. Their emotions, future actions and decisions, they were all written on their faces, just for Tokuchi to read them like an open book.

Most people would be jealous of him for possessing such incredible talent. However that was not the case for Tokuchi.

It's not like he hate his talent or anything, however it made his life dull, devoid of excitement.

What is there to be excited about when you are so observant and is ready with counterattack plans for every single situation?

There's one fleeting arousal when things go as he planned but like every other youths, Tokuchi craved for something more.

Right now, he is sitting inside of a bar, a pile of money on his side and a few cards on the table. Across of him was a middle aged man, who Tokuchi remembered to be the one who challenged him with so much confidence, declaring that he would defeat Tokuchi a few minutes before.

But now, all the confidence was gone from the man's face, replaced by distress as he stared at his money that now belonged to Tokuchi.

Tokuchi smirked, definitely enjoying the state he put the man in, as he pushed the cash pile into his bag.

"I'll get going then." He stated calmly as he walked away from the man and the crowd gathered there to watch them.

"Did you hear? Re;vale disbanded after that accident."

Tokuchi stopped when he heard people talking about the idol group, Re;vale. He isn't a fan of music but he do listen to various types of music occasionally. Re;vale's songs aren't bad, he would say.

Tokuchi lighted a cigarette and walked towards the exit, until he saw a certain someone sitting on one of the stools by the counter of the bar, with an cup of golden liquid with a few ice cubes in it.

"Well, well... What do we have here?" Tokuchi couldn't hide his grin as he walked towards the person.

Tokuchi took the seat beside the person. "You know, it's not best for your idoly image if someone finds you drinking alcohol in a bar alone, Orikasa Yukito of Re;vale."

The person, Yuki turned his head towards Tokuchi with a glare. Tokuchi noticed Yuki's right cheek was red, but before he could ask, Yuki had already snapped.

Yuki pushed the chair back and grabbed the cup. He poured the alcohol over Tokuchi's head, before smashing the glass back on the counter.

"Shut up! Don't call me an idol!" And Yuki walked out, without even bothering to pay for the drink.

Tokuchi placed the money on the counter, covering for both him and Yuki, and wiped the droplets of alcohol from his eyebrows. His expression was cold.

"A stupid move, Yuki, to make a gambler pay for a stranger's drink. I hope you are ready for what awaits you."

Tokuchi walked out, towards the place where he's sure he'd find Yuki.

∆∆∆

Yuki always admired Banri, who was a year older than him.

Banri always took care of Yuki, cooked for Yuki, fed Yuki, stopped Yuki from getting into fights with the talent management, let Yuki name their band Re;vale and also helped with Yuki's homeworks.

According to Yuki, Banri is the perfect partner one could have, and he openly admitted it in an interview when the host asked who his ideal type was. Yuki said he had already found his ideal partner and was planning to marry Banri in the future. He also stated he wish to adopt the fans who loves their songs.

Their fans had squealed hearing the response, however their manager Momo had scolded him for the inappropriate answer.

Banri didn't help him as he was blushing, crouched over in the corner, while Yuki blinked genuinely wondering why he was being scolded for staring the truth.

According to him, marriage doesn't require romantic feelings. If two people care for each other, they had already met the criteria to become life partners.

However, he didn't expect fate to interfere with his future plans. The moment he stood infront of Banri's fallen body, already at the brink of death after the unexpected accident...

The door of the operating room opened and the doctor shook his head as no with that fake kind look...

How their management who supported them a few days back, put his dear Banri into the digged up hole six feet into the earth, eternally seperating Banri from him today morning...

And how he fought with the president of the agency for a trivial reason and ended up in a bar, where all people were talking about the disbanded group Re;vale.

Life is so hard.

And then a random guy came to him telling that drowning his sorrows was not fit for his idoly image. Yuki doesn't blame himself for lashing out. And he's sure Banri would understand why he did it.

Right now, he wants nothing more than to be by Banri's side.

To have Banri comfort him like he did when everyone judged him for his antisocial personality and insensitivity.

All he wants to do right now...is to die...

After all, it was his fault. If Banri hadn't pushed him from the falling lights on the stage, Banri would still be alive, singing.

It was all his fault.

Yuki climbed the bridge, ready to jump down into the strong currents underneath, if not for someone pushing him back down.

"Not so fast, brat. You haven't paid me back yet." The voice, belonging to the one saved him said.

All the excitement about dying had tired Yuki as he hasn't slept since Banri's death. Before his blurred vision turned black, a handsome man with spiky blond hair appeared in Yuki's view. The same man he met at the bar. And then, everything was black.

To be continued...

(1074 words)