The Hidden Heart
"You... you dare deceive me?"
"Hic..." Scarlet glared at No.13, her hand clutching the Joker card she had just drawn.
"Scarlet, this was always a game about deception from the start."
"I-I know that...!"
Besides, No.13 had kept her eyes squeezed shut and her head turned away the entire time Scarlet was choosing her card. There had been no attempt at psychological warfare at all.
"Fine. The match isn't over yet."
Truthfully, No.13 was hoping to lose as quickly as possible and put her mind at ease. The last thing she wanted was to get burned by that blazing competitive spirit.
Only one card remained in No.13's hand. Scarlet also had one card left besides the Joker. Whoever drew the non-Joker card would win.
"Go on, pick one."
She had shuffled the two cards thoroughly behind her back before holding them out in front of No.13.
"I-I'll pick..."
No.13 hesitated before finally reaching for the card on the right.
"..."
"Hic, I-I'm sorry..."
Scarlet's brow furrowed as she began glaring at No.13 like she wanted to kill her. The moment No.13 changed direction and reached for the left card instead, Scarlet finally relaxed her expression. Without needing to read her mind, it was obvious the left card was the Joker.
"Scarlet, this isn't how the game works."
"...What did I do?"
"Shuffle them again. And this time, look somewhere else."
"Tch..."
Ever since the day I got Scarlet to promise she would apologize, the three of us had been spending time together like this more often. It was all at my initiative, of course, but I believed it was important to slowly close the emotional distance between them. I also hoped this process would help with No.13's counseling. Fortunately, after already showing an embarrassing side of herself in front of No.13 once, neither of them seemed particularly resistant to simply facing each other anymore.
Today we were playing cards. Since I could hear their inner voices, I was simply emptying my hand at the right moments and watching the two of them compete.
"Go on, pick one."
Scarlet shuffled the cards again and turned her head away as I instructed, but she still tried the same childish trick right up until the very end.
"Um... the cards..."
"Is there a problem?"
"N-no..."
No.13 once again managed to avoid the Joker. Scarlet was gripping her remaining card so tightly her knuckles had turned white, refusing to let go.
"...Scarlet."
"..."
Thud...!
"Uwaaah..."
The moment I called her name with a sigh, Scarlet loosened her grip. No.13, who had been pulling at the card, tumbled backward with a cute yelp and landed squarely on her bottom.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes... I'm fine. Thank you."
As expected, the card No.13 pulled completed the final pair.
"Scarlet loses."
"...I know."
Fwoosh...!
Small flames flickered around her shoulders before vanishing. It wasn't just that she looked angry—the actual heat of real fire had risen and disappeared.
"...You're not mad, are you?"
"Why would I get angry over losing a single game like this?"
"Well... you're right. In that case, as promised, could you clean up? I'll go prepare some snacks."
For someone who claimed she wasn't angry, her voice was noticeably louder than usual. Moreover, the way she stared down at the scattered cards on the floor was downright chilling.
"Clean up... I could just burn them all, right? Yeah... that would be best."
"...We agreed not to use your ability."
"..."
"And you remember the promise, don't you?"
I knew she hated losing. She probably saw apologizing to No.13 as bending the knee, as defeat. That was why I had chosen this method—playing simple games together so she could experience losing in ways she wasn't used to. Of course, the most important thing was properly teaching her that apologizing wasn't the same as losing, but beyond that, enjoying these games together was also a good way to repair their relationship.
"I'll... help too."
"...Stay back. I'm really annoyed, but... a loss is a loss."
No.13 tried to help clean up while carrying that strange guilt about having won, while Scarlet stubbornly tried to preserve her pride. Their dynamic was similar to before, yet clearly different now. They had changed, and they were still changing. But the black restraint around No.13's neck showed no sign of coming off anytime soon. Just how...
"...Hey."
No.13 only had about ten days left...
"Hey, Counselor!"
"Huh?"
"Are you ignoring me?"
"...No. Sorry. I was just thinking about something else for a moment."
Before I knew it, we were in Scarlet's room. I finally remembered that counseling had ended and I had followed her here to help with her bath.
"What the hell, suddenly spacing out like that..."
I'm about to take my clothes off... You could at least pay a little more attention.
"You've gotten pretty used to the yukata, huh."
"I still can't tie the knot nicely, so you'll have to help me."
Actually, I can tie it now, but... having him kneel in front of me while tightening the waist a little and fidgeting feels strangely nice... It also gives me the feeling that I'm the one ordering him around.
"...Right. It's not that difficult."
Ever since that day—when I showed her my sincerity and she showed me a sincerity I would never forget—I had been hearing her inner voice quite often. One could interpret the growing gap between her heart and her actions negatively, but when I thought about how someone who had only ever charged forward with violence and destruction was now putting on an act, it felt different. She still didn't seem to realize I could hear her thoughts, so she occasionally voiced these rather rude ideas out loud... Well, it was cute enough that I could let it slide.
Oh, and one more thing.
"Only two days left now, huh?"
"...Yes."
The one week she had given me was almost over. As if it had become routine, I always reminded her of the remaining time before we began the bath after counseling. I had promised to find something that could replace her affection within that week. At first I thought she was saying this to make me anxious, but for someone doing that, she followed my suggestions quite well and seemed to enjoy herself to the fullest. I prepared meals for her by hand, brought her favorite desserts, watched movies together, played games...
"Ah, and tonight we're playing thief again. I need to practice."
"Were you that upset about losing today?"
"...That's not it."
Of course, what she enjoyed most was when I helped bathe her and washed her body, but I believed she had grown quite fond of the other activities as well. The strange thing was, even though that seemed to be the case, whenever I asked her how today was before leaving her room, she always answered that it hadn't been particularly satisfying. With only two days left of the promised week... I still hadn't heard her say she was even slightly satisfied.
Perhaps because of that worry—
"Kyaa, where are you touching now..."
"..."
"Are you listening...?"
—I had been spacing out a lot today. Even with her luxurious body right in front of me, a body that could easily attract truckloads of men desperate for just one night together, here I was worrying about how to make her happy instead of embracing her. It was almost laughable.
"Seriously, what's wrong with you today? Did something happen?"
Eventually, even the time I spent helping her bathe passed while I moved my hands absentmindedly. Thanks to her speaking first, I was finally able to voice the words that had been stuck in my throat.
"...Scarlet."
"W-why? Suddenly looking so serious."
Face... your face... it's so... close.
"All the time we've spent together so far... was it boring for you?"
"...Why are you asking that?"
It was ridiculous to lose confidence midway through declaring I would make her happy in a different way and ask directly like this, but while her reactions at the time had seemed fine, she always answered that it hadn't been particularly satisfying. Maybe I was starting to feel impatient.
"...I'm sorry. Thinking that only two days are left must have made me anxious."
"W-well, yeah. You were so confident that after a week I'd be grinning from ear to ear."
"No... I don't remember saying it quite like that."
"Anyway, give it your best shot. Did I look like such an easy woman to you?"
No matter how hard you try, until the promised week is completely over, you'll never get me to say I was satisfied.
...?
When he suddenly grabbed my shoulders with that serious face earlier, it was a little dangerous... but it looks like I got through it. If I say no, what can he do?
She was saying an awful lot. And listening closely... it almost sounded like she was deliberately saying she hadn't been satisfied.
Only two more days... If I can just endure these two days without my heart racing in front of him...
"What are you doing? Let's just play thief already."
Then... I can really let him hold me.
"...Wait a moment."
"Huh?"
Wait, wait wait wait... just a second.
...What did Scarlet just say?
Right, so... I had asked for a week because she had suddenly demanded a physical relationship, and I needed time to refuse. During that week, I wanted to help her find the affection or happiness she desired somewhere else. But...
"...Scarlet, how was the meal I prepared?"
"The food you made...? You asked me that back then too."
...It was delicious. At first I thought it would all taste the same, but when I heard he woke up earlier than usual just for me and even prepared the ingredients by hand... for some reason, it started feeling strange from then on...
"...It was just so-so, I guess."
Is he not going to make it again...? Last time when I said that, he looked so dejected that he seemed to give up on this method. Maybe I should have just said it was delicious after all?
"..."
...Why was today different? Back then, her inner voice hadn't been like this. It had been ambiguous, neither good nor bad. What was the difference between those days and today?
"Why are you staring at me like that...?"
Ever since then, whenever we're together my heart keeps racing more and more... If he keeps looking at me like this, it'll be hard to hide... Ugh, I have to be careful since I don't know when he'll use his ability...
My ability... So that was it.
"Today, you just look especially cute, Scarlet."
"..."
....
Both her mouth and her heart fell into sudden silence. From this point on, deliberately suppressing her emotions would be impossible. I was going to hear everything right here.
"How about playing board games with me in the evening like this? Is it fun?"
"..."
It's so... fun... I don't have any worries... I wish every day could be like this. No, more than that, he just said... cute... I'm cute... me?
"...Now I understand."
The week I had obtained from her had been under the condition that if it ended without any results, I would do as she wished. In other words, all this time she had been enjoying and feeling incredibly happy whenever we were together, but—
"W-what...?"
—she had been thoroughly hiding her emotions in order to take the initiative and throw herself into my arms. Was that what this was about?
The last time she had shown any noticeable agitation was right after we kissed in the bath that day. ...Had she been hiding it like this ever since then? Because she didn't know when I might connect our minds with my ability and find out everything?
"..."
This was... well, how should I put it. It seemed like there was some kind of misunderstanding. Should I apologize to her?
"Scarlet."
"Y-yeah... go ahead."
No... rather than apologizing right now,
"Actually, I..."
I needed to tell her the truth.
"I can hear everything you're thinking, Scarlet."