The following is a side story

Feel free to either read this as an intermission to the Ten of Clubs, or to save it until after the Ten of Clubs, if you wish to finish Treasure Hunt in one go.

===Zakū Raisunei===

"It's only been two days since the Four of Spades." Saiki whined, stepping into a puddle. Faint droplets of rain cast down onto the road, leaving scattered dots of moisture. I pulled up my jacket, buttoning the lower half. "Do we really have to play so soon?"

"It's good to keep our senses sharp." I said, as a breeze blew past me.

He shivered, his cheeks flushed. "Why is it so cold today?"

"We'll be fine." I said, stopping, and craning my head upwards. The venue today was an abandoned asylum. The window's were busted and cracked, with withering shrubs lining the walkways. The door was ajar, fluorescent light cascading through the crack. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, but I simply rubbed it, shaking the feeling off.

Saiki grimaced, backing away. "I... Don't have the best feeling about this.

I turned around. "What's wrong with this place? It's just like any other venue. Can't be any worse than that dark prison venue two weeks ago, where we met."

"There's lots of urban legends about this place." Saiki explained. "A lot of suicides, apparently. A guy slit his wrists here back in the seventies, because they cut off his access to morphine. There was also a murder..."

"Hmm, good thing then that this isn't the seventies, and that we're not on earth." I said, stepping inside. Saiki hesitated a few moments longer, before stepping in after me.

"Well sorry not everyone has balls of steel."

I smiled. "When you've seen so much death, a creepy asylum isn't that bad."

Inside, there were three other people. The entrance led into an antechamber, with crumbling wooden walls and tiles dirtied beyond filth. A cobweb draped around an ancient sofa in the corner.

Saiki approached a table, while I shot a glance at each of the other players. One was a teenage boy, likely in one of his final years of high school. There was a middle-aged businesswoman, as well as a man with graying hair in a plaid jacket. They each wore a bracelet around their wrist; I faced the table Saiki had walked up to, which had them laid out.

Equip the bracelet. One per person.

"I wonder what this is for..." Saiki muttered, slipping it on his right wrist. They were thick both in height and width, with a large screen embedded onto the surface on the metal. At the end of the table was a gun under a clear, glass case with a yellow label on top of it.

Victory prize

"Interesting. Anyways, aren't you right-handed?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah?"

"So put it on your left wrist."

"Oh. Right, I should." He took it off and put it around his left wrist, as did I. The door opened, as two more people stepped inside. It was a policewoman and a rookie cop, both of them still in their uniforms. And these uniforms, they were crisp and unmarked. It was apparent: this was their first day here.

"Hey... there's people here!" He said. "Um, hey, does anyone have any idea what this is? Me and my friend just got here today and we have no idea what's going on!"

Saiki opened his mouth, but I elbowed him, meeting his eyes. He closed his mouth, remaining silent. The businesswoman stepped forward, grabbing two bracelets and handing one each to them.

"Now that you're here, you can't leave. You either play and win, or lose and die. This is not a joke."

The policewoman grabbed the bracelet, her face paling. "D-Die? This has got to be some elaborate prank, right? There's no way–"

"Registration has concluded. Make your way into the asylum foyer."

The door to the antechamber opened by itself, as the door to the outside shut with a thundering slam, dropping a hanging painting. I squinted, the buzzing, flickering fluorescent lighting painting the walls an off-white gray hue. There were two halls and two stairways that led out of the foyer each in opposite directions, and tables lined in rows, alongside couches and counters.

In the center of the room, there were five open coffins. I gulped, looking past them, where there were two tables, one with an empty fish bowl and one with a fish bowl filled with small, sealed, coal black envelopes. Finally, at the tail end of the foyer, between the two stairs, was a table with a large, blue, wireless speaker on it.

"There's... A lot of different mechanics that this game uses." I whispered, leaning closer to Saiki's ear. "The bracelets, the coffins, the envelopes. This might be quite a grand game."

"Players." The speaker announced. "Today, the game you must play is Pants on Fire. Difficulty... Eight of Hearts."

My heart flipped for a moment, and my chest tightened. Six games under my belt, yet I still hadn't faced a single Hearts. My and Saiki exchanged a glance, his eyebrows creased in panic.

I let out a deep breath. "We'll be fine." I reassured him under my breath, holding his shoulder. "We'll be fine."

He shook his head. "No!" He hissed. "Aren't Hearts notorious for being the deadliest?"

"We just have to use our brains, like we always do, and we'll be fine. You can't–" I paused. "We can't succumb to panic."

He nodded, taking a deep breath, running his hands through his hair. The newbies pressed the older man for information, who briefly explained the card system.

"Every round, each player will draw an envelope from the bowl. Each envelope will contain a question that the player must answer truthfully. The difficulty of the question is denoted by a card ranking from ace to kin, with ace being the easiest and king being the hardest. If a player lies, the bracelet will detect it."

On cue, the bracelet tightened, and jammed a skewer into my arm. I winced, gritting my teeth, while Saiki squealed, shaking his arm. The rookie cop yelled, his arm bleeding the most out of anyone. The businesswoman dabbed her wound up with a cloth, while the teenage boy was pressed against a wall, on the verge of tears.

"I don't want to do this!" He wailed. "Someone get me out of here!"

I was sweating, and unbuttoned my jacket.

"The questions are all on light-sensitive paper, so the paper and its contents will quickly turn black. Read the question quickly, and discard the paper in the other bowl when answered. The bracelets can track heart rate and other body functions. If all players answer truthfully, then the next round begins, and all players repeat the process.

"However, if anyone lies, then judgment must be exacted. The liar, or any one person who lied, must be killed and placed in a coffin. After someone has been placed in a coffin, the game proceeds to the next round, even if the player placed in the coffin wasn't a liar. Furthermore, if there is a liar, players only have ten minutes to kill someone and place their body into the coffin, or else it's an automatic Game Over.

"It's Game Clear if more than two players remain after ten rounds, or if any liar is ever caught. But if the game ever reaches only two people, it's an automatic Game Over for those two as it'll be impossible for any of them to lie anymore since the liar will become apparent. There are weapons all over the asylum to kill the liar. In addition, your bracelets can also track the positions of everyone. Any area of the asylum outside the lobby is locked when not in judgment phase. Furthermore, violence isn't permitted when not in judgment phase. The rules have been concluded. Start drawing questions."

"That... doesn't sound very bad." The teenager said.

"Yeah." The man added. "We all just tell the truth for ten rounds, and take the easy win."

"But I don't understand this game." The policewoman said. "Why would someone lie if there's no incentive to?"

"It could fall into the questions, honestly." The businesswoman shrugged. "You don't know for sure what incentives there are."

I walked up to the fish bowl, digging my hand into the fish bowl. "Might as well take the initiative here and now." I mumbled.

I tore the envelope open, pulling out a small slip of paper. "Difficulty two—what color is your underwear? What." I flashed the question to the crowd, and it soon faded into an opaque black.

Saiki burst into laughter, covering his mouth, as the other teenager smirked, giggling. "Awfully funny for a death game." The latter said.

"Well then." I said, discarding the paper scraps. "It's gray." I pulled the rim of it upwards for physical proof, before backing away.

The teenager stepped up next, pulling. "Difficulty four–what is your favorite subject in school? I'd have to say history."

The policewoman, police rookie, businessman, and older man all drew, answering an array of questions about themselves, none of them exceeding a five in difficulty. Finally, Saiki was the last to draw, and he read his aloud.

"Difficulty six—who here is the least attractive, in your opinion?" He looked around the room. "Um, let's see... Myself." Abruptly, he flashed an awkward smile, stuffing his paper into the discard bowl.

"So, is that everyone?" The policewoman asked.

"I believe so." The older man replied.

"Round one has concluded. No one lied. Let round two commence."

"Oh!" The businesswoman said. "How pleasant. Maybe this game will go lightly, if none of us lie."

"This game seems way too easy." The teenager said, smiling. "If there's no reason to lie, then why would anyone lie? We got this game in the bag!"

The second round breezed past; my question was asking about my age, and Saiki's was a difficulty seven about what he believed happens after death.

"Hmm, that's an interesting question." He pondered. "Well, realistically, I suppose nothing? Or perhaps there is an afterlife... I'll go with nothing, though. Just an eternal void."

"Curious response, young man." The older man nodded, unfolding his envelope. "Difficulty–" He grimaced.

"Difficulty nine. What do you think is element seventy-eight?"

"Oh, that's a strange question." The rookie cop said.

"Well, it's not asking for the definitive answer, uit's asking what your honest prediction is." The policewoman reasoned. "So if you just say your honest guess, surely you can't get it wrong?"

"Oh, man. Okay." He tilted his head up in thought. "My mind is jumping to palladium. Final answer." He discarded the envelope.

"I see why these questions might get hard." I whispered to Saiki. "Imagine a question that asks you obscure trivia. Like, say, how many countries are in Europe. But it presents it as an objective correct/incorrect answer. If you don't know the answer you're bound to get it wrong and therefore lie."

He rubbed his chin. "Maybe that's what the highest difficulties will be like. You have to convince people that your answer is true even if you don't actually know."

"Round two has concluded. No one lied. Let round three commence."

"Oh, so it seems that as long as you were thinking that the element really was the right answer, it's considered correct." The teenager said. "That's useful for us to note."

The businesswoman was the first to draw. "Difficulty ace–what color is your hair?" She threw her hair back. "Well, as you can all see, it's black."

"Is palladium actually the seventy-eighth element?" Saiki asked me under his breath.

I shrugged. "Who knows that off the top of their head? What's important is that, for any subsequent questions where it asks what we think the answer to an objective question that we have no immediate way of proving, simply answering our thought is enough to prove true, since I doubt palladium is actually element seventy right. That's good."

By now, everyone had drawn except the two of us and the older man. The three of us drew simultaneously, and Saiki opened his first.

"Difficulty three—what are/were your grades in school?" Saiki read. "Well, mostly A's, and maybe an occasional B or C. I'm not the top of my class, but am above the median."

I opened my envelope next. "Difficulty seven—what is your body count?" I squinted, bringing the paper closer to my eyes. "Why do I keep getting such... lewd questions?"

"There's another way it could be interpreted." The businesswoman said. "It could also mean your kill count."

"So... the question is open for two interpretations..." The policewoman said. "That's an issue."

I shook my head. "No, I can give a truthful answer regardless of its true interpretation. My 'body count' is at least zero." With that, I crumpled the paper, and tossed it into the bowl. Finally, the man opened his. His face dropped.

"Difficulty—nine." He sighed. "Again with the nine. If you were given a chance to kill Yajima Tetsunori to earn an automatic Game Clear, would you take the opportunity? Um, who is he?"

"That would be me." The teen said, raising his hand.

"Well... the answer would be no. I have my set of morals which I follow, and avoidable killing is among them." With that, he put the envelope into the discard bowl.

"Round three has concluded. Someone didn't tell the truth this round. Someone has lied."

"The hell?" The rookie cop exclaimed. "Who would lie?"

The doors leading out the foyer all swung open with a shriek that carried throughout the entire building, and on our bracelets, a timer appeared with a blip, counting down from ten minutes.

"Um, okay. Let's review each of our answers." The businesswoman said.

"The two answers I'm most suspicious of are you two's." The policewoman said, pointing at me and the older man.

"Yeah, the harder questions are either more personal, which increase odds of purposefully lying, or more vague, which increase odds of accidentally lying." The rookie said. "It seems the most likely for you two."

"The answer 'at least zero' works for either interpretation of body count, idiot." I said. "And plus, it's mathematically impossible for 'at least zero' to be a lie. Let's say I've killed three people, or fifteen, or sixty eight. 'At least zero' would still be correct."

"So then it's you!" The rookie pointed to the man.

"Let's not jump to conclusions." Saiki said, interjecting himself forward. I grabbed his shoulders but failed to pull him away from the confrontation. "What about him makes you so suspicious?"

"Because out of all of us, his question is most likely to be lied on." The policewoman said. Think about it. In a Hearts game, having people trust you is most important. Who'd want to go out and say they'd be willing to kill a teen?"

"Even if I actually thought that, I'd just say it." The man cried. "Why would I lie to save my face when all that's doing is putting myself and everyone else in even more risk? Please, I'm not the liar?"

"Then how about everyone else?" Yujima asked. "My question was my age. I'm seventeen, and there's no reason or possibility for me to lie. You—" he pointed to the policewoman, "were asked about your job. You said police, and came in with your uniform, so you can't have lied."

"And you—" he pointed to her partner. "You were asked how many children you had, and you said three. Again, no reason to lie." Finally, he turned to us. "You already proved you couldn't be lying, and you also don't have a reason to lie for your grades."

"So see?" The rookie cop accused, leaning closer to the man. "It only could've been you!"

"Please!" He wailed, beginning to cry. "Don't kill me, I just want to survive this game as much as the rest of you. Think about what I said. Why would I lie to save my face when lying would only submerge myself and everyone else into trouble? Does reducing the trust anyone else would give me make up for guaranteeing a life having to be taken? Wouldn't me being honest and saying that I'd kill the teenager earn me more trust?"

"Five minutes left." Saiki said, glancing at his bracelet. "We have to make a choice."

I looked around; the businesswoman was gone. As the discourse continued, I saw her figure slip back into the lobby from the right wing stairs. I said nothing.

"Wait a second." The policewoman asked. "Where did the other woman go?"

"I'm right here." She said, hands in her pockets, walking down the stairs and joining our crowd.

"Where were you?"

"I was getting stuff."

"What stuff?"

"This." Her hand shot out of her pockets, syringe in hand. The needle planted into the neck of the man, and he gasped.

He ran, but his limbs began quivering, and the rookie cop took hold of him, grabbing his shoulders as his eyes rolled over. He slumped, falling to the ground, and the businesswoman pulled out a knife.

Saiki turned away, and I remained silent, as the rookie cop took the knife, spearing the back of his neck, and tossing it aside. The two officers dragged the body into an open coffin, and closed the lid.

"You... you two killed him!" The teenager shouted. Saiki backed up, facing away from the puddle of blood.

"He was most likely the person who lied." The policewoman said. "And someone had to die regardless. We did what we had to do."

"Round three has fully concluded. The victim of judgment was not the liar. Round four will now commence."

"Fuck..." Saiki murmured. "This game is so messed up."

"Only way out is to keep playing." I said, pulling my next card. "Difficulty four–what is your favorite food, and why exactly is it your favorite? I'd have to say soba, I like the flavor of buckwheat compared to regular noodles, and eating them chilled can be very refreshing on a hot day."

Sighing, Yujima pulled next. "Difficulty eight–what does this letter say? What?" He turned it around, but the letter had already turned black. "What–why did that turn black faster than usual? Well, the question answered itself, didn't it? The letter said 'Difficulty eight–what does this letter say?'."

"Huh... alright. That's a strange question, Saiki commented, pulling his envelope. His face flushed, and he covered his mouth. "Oh my god, um–okay. Difficulty seven–kiss, fuck, kill between any of the people still in this room."

Everyone awkwardly turned away, as Saiki began stammering his response. "Um, I'd... uh... well, I know Zakū the most, so I guess I'd choose him for f– um, the second option, also considering we're both... um... anyways."

My face was hot, and I buried it within my hands. 'That damn idiot.' I thought, shaking my head, suppressing a hysterical bout of laughter.

"I'd kiss, um... you." He pointed to Yujima. "Because you, erm, didn't work to kill that old man. And then I'd kill... um... myself, after having to do all that." He chuckled.

The policewoman raised her eyebrows, whispering something to her partner as they each pulled a slip.

"Difficulty five–are you a good liar? I would say so." She answered.

"Difficulty three–when is your birthday? November twenty two." He answered.

Finally, the businesswoman drew. "Difficulty nine–did you lie last round? No, I did not lie last round."

With all envelopes discarded, we backed away, our eyes turning to the speaker.

"Round four has concluded. Someone didn't tell the truth this round. Someone has lied."

"Again?" The businesswoman asked.

"No way!" Yujima shouted, as the doors opened again. "Who the hell was it?"

"One of you two." The policewoman said, pointing to Saiki and Yujima. "We and