Just Lucky

"My girlfriend, she has an impossible debt we can't pay off. She's acquired Housepet status and we want to rid her of that. So, I have a gamble for you; if I win you'll undertake Sayaka's debt, if I lose, I'll surrender all twenty-five of my votes." She explains.

Nagito purses his lips thoughtfully as he mulls it over.

"This has got to be a trick." I mutter.

"Is it?" He giggles, "Did Junko send you?" Mukuro tucks a strand of black hair behind her ear.

"Of course not! Junko doesn't know about Sayaka," She mumbles back, "if she did, we'd be in a lot of trouble."

He tilts his head, sizing her up like a predator would it's prey. "I suppose that would be true, but how do I know Sayaka's even real?" The fluffy boy points out. Mukuro nods.

"A fair point," She pulls out her phone, hits some buttons, and points the screen towards us, "this is her. Sayaka, that is."

The screen reveals a long, blue-haired girl with blue eyes and a dazzling smile. "She's real," She huffs, "so do we have a deal?"

Nagito grins, pressing two of his fingers to his lips. "I'm not so sure you deserve it. After what you did to Hajime, I don't think I will," He leans in close to her, "it's not like you'd win anyway. And I do hope your girlfriend gets used to the added weight around her neck. She's going to have it for a while."

With those words he shoves Mukuro out of his path and continues down the hall. Not really knowing what else to do I hurry to catch up to him.

"You don't think that was a little mean of you?" I hiss. He shrugs, smiling at me.

"Sayaka will be fine," He assures me, "as soon as my victory is assured in eighteen days, all the Housepets will be well taken care of, Sayaka included. And I certainly don't owe Mukuro any favors after what they did to you." His fist clenches.

"Still, Sayaka did nothing wrong and you have a lot of money so can't you just. . ?"

"You'd prefer if I undertook all Housepet debts? See, it's as simple as that. Other peoples' debts aren't my problem," He flashes me a teasing smile, "unless they're to me, of course."

I roll my eyes. "Shut up. Besides, even if you took the gamble you'd probably win and get twenty-five more votes easily." I point out.

"Probably," We arrive in front of my locker and I open it, "but I'd rather gain more votes than just twenty-five. As in, it's not a fair gamble to me and I can easily play for more. I prefer a more challenging gamble and twenty-five isn't that promising to me." He sniffs.

"I mean, I guess you're right? But any amount of votes is more votes for you, right?"

His eyes narrow. "I'm going to do things my way. And what do you even care, I'm doing this because you guys asked. My methods get results, unlike others. Stay out of it." He scratches the back of his neck. I huff.

"Fine. Whatever."

"I've got to head to class soon, sweetheart," He sighs, "try not to get bullied or anything. Better yet, I better give you a kiss for protection."

And that's when I get a devious idea. Ehe, this'll be good revenge for all of his teasing.

I turn around with a mischievous smirk, grab him by his tie, and quickly press my lips to his, pulling away before a second can even pass. I watch as his face flares up pink, like a sudden explosion behind his skin. I grin.

"You're right, I feel much safer now. Thanks, Nagito!" I chirp. His eyes darken.

"Don't poke the dragon, Hajime, the dragon will poke you back." He mutters. I blink, confused.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

He grabs my shoulders and slams me hard against the wall. He grins lazily at me, leaning in real close. I gulp.

"I-I'm sorry!" I squeak.

"Don't be sorry, I like it when you take charge. But I never expected you to do that. I must say I'm impressed." He slides his knee between my legs.

"Please," I whimper, "we're at school."

He cocks an eyebrow. "You'd rather continue somewhere more private? If so I'm all for it." He murmurs. A bead of sweat forms at the top of my forehead.

Oh, I get it. This is just revenge. He really isn't going to do anything, is he? Well, two can play at that game.

I wrap my hands around his waist. "You're bluffing." I state. He smiles.

"Is that so?"

"Never going to be together, my ass."

A familiar, feminine voice sighs. We both flinch, Nagito jumping off of me. Standing beside us with her hands on her hips is Chiaki.

"It's not what it looks like!" I squeak, embarrassed. Nagito smirks.

"It's exactly what it looks like! But no matter, I need to get going now!" He leans in and kisses my cheek.

"This isn't over," I hiss, "I won't lose."

"We'll just see about that." He responds softly before pulling away. He waves to Chiaki before continuing once again down the hall. She turns her gaze on me.

"And what was that?" She demands. I shrug sheepishly.

". . .I tried to mess with him and then he messed with me right back and then it turned into a competition." I mutter. She tilts her head.

"I see. You're going to go broke, Hajime. You're going to lose the bet. Especially now that Sonia and Shuichi are in on it, it's up to ten million." She informs me. I groan.

"You're seriously all betting it's going to happen? It was just a little teasing!" I protest. She sighs, brushing past me on her way down the hall.

"Gonna go broke~" She sings

-

"The game is Finger-Cutting Guillotine," Kirumi announces, "the rules are simple but the game can grow rather intense. The three participants will put their fingers in the holes-in this case Nagito Komaeda, Shuichi Saihara, and Peko Pekoyama. The device has several ropes, but only one is the correct one or the "winner", with players cutting one rope per turn each. Cutting that rope will cause the guillotine to fall, however cutting the "winner" doesn't earn the player a victory, in this game a player is deemed a loser if they remove their finger first. In other words, it is a game of chicken where the player that holds out the longest wins."

Peko's gaze hardens, tightening her grip on the red-headed girl on her lap. How she got some votes losing the first one right away I'll never know. I'm too tired to question it anyway. Nagito looks cooler than a cucumber as they say and Shuichi is unreadable.

"The matter of the wager then?" Nagito says, scooching over so I can sit next to him.

"How risky are you feeling?" Peko responds.

"As risky as you want." He answers, expression unwavering.

"Shuichi?"

"I only have twenty."

"What if we all wager fifteen then? You have at least fifteen, right Peko?"

"Certainly. Then let's begin."

Deciding to ignore saying that it was only five more than getting twenty-five I keep my mouth shut, watching the three insert a finger into the guillotine. "This game is so exciting!" Nagito gushes, "the thrill, the risk, just everything! It's so wonderful!"

". . .Play begins with Saihara." Kirumi mumbles, deciding to ignore Nagito's comment. Shuichi takes a deep breath, reaching for the scissors with a shaky hand.

There's only nine strings. One of them will slice all of the fingers. I wonder who will be the last to back out.

. . .Nagito probably. Like Shuichi once said, he has nothing to live for and he plays with it. And on that same day he was willing to sacrifice a finger. Or he had complete faith in Maki's abilities. I don't know that much about Peko and her gambling style yet so this could get interesting.

The blades close around a random string and Nagito sucks in an excited gasp. Luckily, nothing happened; the string was a fake, eight remain.

"I got excited for a moment there~" The white-haired boy breathes dreamily.

"You're insane and gross." I mutter. He pats my thigh.

"And now Pekoyama." Kirumi sighs, leaning forward on her podium. Peko shifts around her girlfriend to cut another random string. Nothing, seven remaining.

Nagito eagerly reaches for the scissors. "My turn!" He declares excitedly, "do you think I'll get the winner?! The chances are even more likely now!~ This is exciting!"

I lightly slap his arm. "Settle down, you." I tell him. He rolls his eyes at me, going to close the blades around a random string. Nothing happens, thankfully. (Six remain.)

"Ahaha~ Damn, I really thought I had it." He giggles, passing the scissors to Shuichi. "Say, where did you even acquire this device, Peko?"

"I believe it belonged to a former student," The silver-haired girl answers, "their family specialized in torture, I'm told."

"I see," He muses, "I wish I could've been here at the same time as them so we could gamble together!"

Shuichi angles the blades around a string, squeezes his eyes shut, and cuts it in half. Nothing, five remain.

"Higher and higher!" Nagito sings eagerly.

"You're fucking crazy, you know that right?" I comment. He grins at me.

"I know!"

"Idiot."

Peko reaches for the scissors, calm and poised as she tries to select a string to cut. Finally she shrugs, reaching around the red-haired girl to cut a string. Nothing falls, five remains. Nagito eagerly snatches the scissors out of her hands and cuts a string before I can blink. (Nothing falls, four remain.)

He thrusts the scissors in Shuichi's face now. "Now, Shuichi!" He demands impatiently, "it can happen any second now!"

Shuichi's face looks paler than usual now, like he regrets every decision in his life that led him to participate in this reckless game. Or maybe just befriending someone as fucking insane as Nagito, who knows? Still, better him than me, I certainly wouldn't have lasted this long.

Shuichi furrows his brow nervously, trying to block out the white-haired boys pestering.

"Shuichi," I murmur, "it's okay, you've got this."

He gulps nervously, raising the scissors, and snapping the string the furthest to the right. (Three remain.)

"Now!~" Nagito gasps, "Now, one of us in this next round is going to draw the winner! But who?! It can be anyone of us, it can happen any second! Not that I really need my finger of course, ahaha!~"

His laughter sounds so. . .disturbing. It's got to be one of the scariest things I've ever heard. It makes me want to curl up in a hole and fall into a deep sleep.

"Now Peko," He orders, "cut your string! Choose, pick one to cut! Will you make the correct choice or the dreadfully wrong one?!" He leans forward, "Pick! Pick! Left, middle, or center?! Hurry up, we don't have all day! Come on come on come on!" He urges.

I inch away from him slightly. Peko's jaw is clenched, she certainly looks as intimated and frightened as I feel sitting next to him right now.

He grabs the scissors, "CUT," He thrusts them in her face, "DO NOT DELAY ANY LONGER!" He drops them on the red-haired girl's lap, "DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE SCARED?! YOU CAN'T BACK OUT NOW, I WON'T HAVE IT!"

I place my hand on his chest and gently push him back. "Hey, calm down." I mutter. He sniffs, grabbing at his jacket. Peko lets out a shaky sigh, lifting the scissors, closes her eyes and cuts.

Nothing. Two remain.

This is incredibly nerve-wracking and I'm not even one of the ones playing!

Nagito takes the scissors in his hand and turns to me. "Which one shall I cut, sweetheart? I'd love for you to pick for me." He says sweetly, suddenly calm again.

My eyes widen. "Are you crazy?! I can't make a decision like that!"

He gestures to the guillotine, asking; "right or left? If you don't pick I won't hesitate to cut them both, rules be damned."

"Still I-. . .I can't!"

He gives me what some people would refer to as 'puppy-dog eyes.' "Please?"

I grit my teeth. "Fine. Right, then. Not my fault if you lose a finger." I grumble. He beams.

"Thank you for your input, Hajime! I was worried you were getting bored."

With something this ridiculous? Never.

He positions his blades around the string on the right-handed side.

And then he cuts.