“How come you’re sitting by yourself? No Yori or Mei?” Choko asked as she sat down. I found it funny how similar this conversation starter was to what I said to Osamu, so I looked down as I hid my smile.

  “Nah, to be honest I was starving so I didn’t want to wait.” I showed her my smile as I dodged the question.

  “Haha, I get that. I almost came here alone but Choko was practically begging me to wait for her.” Hibiki looked at Choko and started laughing.

  “Did not!” I chuckled as Choko looked at me and rolled her eyes.

  “Did too!” Hibiki kept up her playful teasing, and it was really nice to see this side of them. They’re both more withdrawn in front of the entire group, so I had a lot of fun getting to see them relax.

  “What are you laughing so much about?” Choko playfully teased me.

  “No no, don’t deflect the attention to him. Just admit you begged me to come have lunch with you!” Hibiki started grinning and I couldn’t help but let out another chuckle.

  “It’s nothing. I feel like I’ve never really had the chance to get to know you guys since all three of us tend to be quiet when the entire group’s hanging out.” I paused, making sure they both got to see my smile. “It’s nice seeing how chill you guys are.” I ate another spoonful.

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Choko replied before tasting her soup for the first time.

  “You seem way more talkative even though Yori and Mei aren’t here, how come you’re also so quiet with the entire group around?” Hibiki added.

  I smiled and took a few seconds to reply.

  “I’m not sure. I guess I struggle speaking up with people I’m not that close to, but it’s easier in a smaller group.” I paused, drinking some water. “It feels easier when there’s less people listening to what I say.” They both nodded in agreement.

  “If you struggle to talk in the group, how come you managed to take control so easily in ‘Democracy’?” Choko's casual question caught me off guard.

  I needed to think of a good reply.

  I took another spoonful of soup to buy myself time to think.

  There wasn’t any point trying to deny an accusation when I didn’t know what exactly she was referring to.

  “I took control? What do you mean?” I’d be able to give a much better answer once I understood exactly what she meant.

  “Well, when the game first started, you were the first to speak.” She paused to have some more soup. I did the same, waiting for her to continue.

  “You basically forced Hibiki to tell Osamu that he should be silenced.” I immediately glanced at Hibiki who didn’t seem to mind so much. She smiled at me and waved her hand, gesturing that it was ok.

  “It’s fine, I understand. Someone had to do it.” She paused, letting out a chuckle. “Besides, it’s my own fault. I shouldn’t have stared at him.” She laughed again, and I made sure to keep note of the way she replied before answering Choko.

  “I mean, I wasn’t really taking control. I was just scared that no one would speak up… so I kinda forced it onto Hibiki.” I spoke softly as I finished my sentence.

  I contrasted the words control and scared to try and show Choko that I wasn’t truly taking control. Despite that, I could tell she wasn’t convinced yet.

  “What about your back and forth with Yaeko? You went head to head with her, not just once, but twice.” Choko kept eye contact as she waited for an answer. Her gaze had a quiet sense of overwhelmingness. It felt like she was trying to read me, so I knew I had to mask all my reactions.

  “Well, those were both matters of principle, so it was way easier to speak up in front of everyone.” I continued eating and took a few spoonfuls without elaborating. I’d already answered her question, so there was no point in giving her any extra details.

  “What do you mean?” Choko eventually asked, but her voice wasn’t accusatory. She seemed genuinely curious.

  “Well, at first, it was a matter of what’s fair for the group.” I paused, looking them both in the eye. “Yaeko claimed to have the most points, so it was most fair for her to lose the 5000.” I left it there. I limited the amount of information I gave her so it was less likely that I slipped up.

  “What about the second time?” She kept going as Hibiki continued innocently eating her soup and drinking her water. It’s like she was oblivious to my conversation with Choko.

  “The second time wasn’t about being fair, but it was about right and wrong.” At this point, I knew that if I didn’t elaborate, Choko would explicitly ask me to explain. It’d be better for me to continue so it didn’t look like I was intentionally withholding information.

  I looked away for a second to pretend I was imagining the moment before establishing eye contact and explaining.

  “It was obvious why Nobu chose to check Yaeko’s points. We all sensed that he was about to explain, and then Yaeko intentionally said those mean things to antagonise him.” I paused and looked away.

  “That just isn’t right.

  I couldn’t stand it.

  I had to defend him.”

  “That all makes sense. Fair enough.” She had another spoonful of soup, but I noticed she was still watching me. Watching for signs of a sudden sense of relief.

  I wouldn’t show her any.

  A few seconds passed before she spoke up again.

  “If you’re willing to speak up for the things you care about, why were you so silent when Mei revealed she was at risk of being eliminated?” I was impressed at how much she noticed, and how well she kept the pressure up, but I wouldn’t let it get to me.

  “Why weren’t you and Yori comforting her? And why did you wait so long to speak up and help save her?” I only had a few seconds to think. I looked down at my bowl and I had maybe a quarter left. I took another spoonful as I took more time to think. I couldn’t think of an explanation that wouldn’t involve explaining part of my plan, but I didn’t have much of a choice.

  “I was initially silent because I was racking my brain for a plan.” I took another intentional pause to show I was thinking about the situation. “In those few seconds that I hesitated, I realised that you guys were already comforting Mei, so I realised I could focus all my attention on making sure everyone voted to save her.” Reframing the narrative had worked till now, but there was no other logical reason for why I had Yori convince Nobu. I’d have to reveal some of the truth.

  “The reason I waited so long was because I know Nobu’s closer to Yori than me.” I paused, trying to get a read on her face. I wanted to know if she was believing me, but she hid her thoughts well.

  “I figured that since Mei was the person who initially implied Nobu was lying, Nobu may have voted against her out of spite. Since Yori’s closer with Nobu, it made more sense for him to handle it.” That was partially the truth, but I managed to hide the extent of my analysis.

  “If that’s true, then why did you confront Yaeko? You guys probably have the worst relationship out of everyone in the friend group, so why not leave that for Yori as well?” These were excellent questions, but I didn’t let it show on my face.

  The truth was because I’m better and I’m more used to manipulating people than Yori. I didn’t want to put him through any extra pain than necessary, and I also knew that I’d be good enough at manipulating Yaeko to get past her.

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  There’s no way I could admit any of that.

  I had an idea, but it was a pretty desperate one.

  “Well, that’s actually pretty simple.” By framing it as an obvious solution, I limited Choko’s ability to question its validity in a casual social setting, regardless of whether or not it made logical sense.

  “Yori had just offered Nobu a miracle. We both thought that if he tried to convince Yaeko next, there’s no way she’d listen after he just let Nobu redeem himself.” I paused, looking her confidently in the eyes.

  “That’s why I stepped in.” We sat in silence for a few seconds. I chose to stop eating my soup since I was running out of spoonfuls, and I didn’t know how many more times I’d need to buy a few seconds.

  “That all makes sense, fair enough.” I could tell in her tone and body language that she wasn’t relaxed yet.

  She wasn’t done.

  “The last thing I’m curious about, what did you tell Mei that did such an amazing job of cheering her up? Why did she say thank you when you were done?” I fought my initial instinct to swallow. I knew she’d be watching for any possible tells.

  While it seems the most innocent, this was actually the most dangerous question she’d asked so far.

  It’s the question that most closely targets the very thing I’ve been trying to hide.

  Not just that.

  They all heard Mei question whether or not we trust her. You don’t just suddenly fix that. I wouldn’t be able to give a believable fabricated story.

  Luckily, I had one advantage I could leverage here.

  “To be honest, it’s pretty personal. It’s something I haven’t even told Yori, which is why Mei was so shaken up by it.” I paused, trying to feign vulnerability. I’ve seen what it looks like countless times, so I hoped I did a good enough job at acting.

  “She was genuinely shocked that there's something I hadn’t told Yori, and that I was comfortable telling her.” I took another pause, staring blankly across the canteen before bringing my eyes back to Choko’s. “That’s why she said thank you. She was thanking me for telling her something that’s so important to me. Since it’s really personal, I wouldn’t be comfortable telling you details.”

  I didn’t need to create a fabricated story. I just had to make sure that Choko couldn’t ask to hear it. If she does ask, I’ll be able to refuse.

  Even after all of that, she still watched for any tells.

  A few seconds passed and she spoke up.

  “Hmmm. Seems like you’re a pretty quick thinker!” She chuckled as that sentence gave me chills.

  I felt my lip twitch.

  Did she mean I thought quickly during the game, or I thought quickly just now while lying to answer her questions?

  I analysed her smile and her face. They seemed innocent, but the way she worded that can’t have been a coincidence.

  She kept watching me.

  She definitely saw my lip twitch, but I ignored it since there was nothing I could do about it now. I just smiled as I finished eating my soup.

  “Are you finished blabbing yet, Choko? Like seriously, I've already finished all my soup and you’ve barely made a dent in yours.” Hibiki’s voice had a tinge of annoyance. I knew she was listening to our back and forth, but she didn’t seem too invested.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m done blabbing.” Choko laughed, but it was extremely unsettling. How did she mask her relentless pressure so well? How did she naturally transition to this so easily?

  “Good, I’m gonna go get more water. You want any?” Choko shook her head as Hibiki went back to the counter.

  “Actually, I’ve got a question for you.” I wanted to find out more about Choko, and there had already been a question weighing on my mind. She smiled and nodded her head as she swallowed more soup.

  “For someone who’s also really quiet in front of the group, I found it really weird how you got involved in the fifth round.” I intentionally framed my question as an accusation since I wanted to put her under pressure as I scanned for any tells, but there weren’t any.

  She just smiled.

  “What do you mean?” She took a sip of water while maintaining eye contact.

  “During my back and forth with Yaeko, you told her I was never trying to prove Nobu’s innocence. I was just trying to show that he could be innocent. Why did you get involved?” Hibiki returned, taking her seat as Choko began answering.

  “I wouldn’t say that I “got involved” or anything like that.” She paused, and I immediately realised what was going on.

  She avoided my first question by getting me to clarify what I was asking.

  She avoided my second by underplaying her role, exactly as I did.

  She was mirroring me almost exactly.

  “I understood what you were trying to do, and I agreed with your point.” She took another spoonful. “I knew Yaeko wouldn’t be able to deny it if you weren’t the only one making it.” She almost seemed too composed.

  “What about the third round? Yori was about to say that Yaeko should lose her points, but you stepped in and said it instead.” I didn’t see any reaction.

  It’s like she knew I’d ask that question.

  I decided to make my point more explicit to increase the pressure.

  “If you were acting to show Yaeko how the entire group agreed, wouldn’t it make more sense to get involved after Yori said it himself?” She hesitated before answering.

  “Nah, my motivation was different then.” She took another sip of water before answering. “I’d already gone against Yaeko in the first round when she tried silencing Hibiki. It would’ve been better for the group if I was the one that challenged her again. We wouldn’t want Yaeko to also be mad at Yori.”

  She glanced at Hibiki who was taking another sip of her water. Her hesitation, and now breaking eye contact.

  I could tell she was losing confidence. Her answer made sense, but it wasn’t the full truth.

  What was she hiding?

  “Really? That makes sense, but why do it in such a confrontational manner?” I made sure she couldn’t deflect the question, or answer it in a round about manner. “You outright said “it should be Yaeko.” Why not say it more subtly or politely, like “Since Yaeko has the most points, wouldn’t it be fairest if she wins the vote?””

  I backed her into a corner.

  There wasn’t a logical way out of this contradiction, so why was she still smiling?

  “Haha, I guess it’s a bit silly…” She looked away for a few seconds. “I guess I was mad at her for trying to silence Hibiki out of spite.” She chuckled and looked me in the eye again. “You’re probably right. I should have been more polite…” She took another sip of water before continuing. “I guess I was confrontational out of pettiness.”

  She gave me a smile, but it wasn’t genuine.

  She knew that I knew she was lying.

  She also knew I wouldn’t press her on an obvious lie in front of Hibiki.

  I couldn’t accuse her of lying about making a mistake due to her emotions without appearing cold to Hibiki.

  It’s exactly how I deflected her last question by making it a matter of being too personal to explain.

  What if she’s mirroring me on purpose?

  “Akira, why did you ask for bottled water at karaoke?” Hibiki asked the question while staring at her glass.

  “I didn’t want to spend that much money.” I calmly stuck to the same lie I told earlier.

  “But the way you worded it was really weird, why bottled water? Why not tap water?” She shook her glass around, still avoiding eye contact.

  “Well, like I said earlier, I didn’t want to spill it then have to ask for more water.”

  Does she think I lied?

  “Akira, I’m going to be completely up front about this because I don’t know how else to phrase it.” Choko and I both looked at her, waiting for her to speak.

  “Did you know we were going to be kidnapped?”