Chapter 16: Masks of Deception
The Blue Team room was steeped in silence, the kind that presses into skin and thoughts alike. Mei, Tatsuya, and Daichi sat in a triangle around the cold metal table. Daylight barely crept through the tinted window slits above, casting long shadows that shifted but offered no comfort. The specter of the Bomber's strike lingered in the room, thick and inescapable.
"Well... we're still breathing. Barely. That's something," Daichi said, leaning back in his chair with a smirk that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Mei stared down at the table, her voice barely a whisper. "But we lost a heart. Doesn't feel like surviving."
Tatsuya, eyes sharp and cold, responded quietly. "It means we made a mistake. One we can't afford to repeat."
Daichi shrugged, the light dimming in his tone. "Mistakes are part of the game. The real crime is not learning from them."
Mei looked up, a steely glint emerging in her gaze. "Then we learn fast. Because I won't let us lose another."
Tatsuya nodded. "Good. Because from now on... we don't second-guess. We adapt. We strike first."
The quiet that followed was no longer suffocating. It crackled with resolve.
---
Tatsuya rose and circled to Mei's side. He stood tall, precise, like a blade being drawn.
"Mei. You need to learn how to speak without giving anything away. No tremble. No weight. Just words."
Mei nodded, hesitant. "Okay. I'm ready."
"This'll be fun," Daichi muttered, folding his arms.
Tatsuya fixed his gaze on Mei. "Repeat after me. Slowly. And with no feeling at all."
His voice turned flat, unyielding. "I am not afraid. I am not weak. I am not yours to break."
Mei mimicked, voice wavering. "I... I am not afraid. I am not weak. I am not yours to break."
Tatsuya shook his head. "Too much breath. Too much fear. Again. Monotone. Like a machine."
She tried again. "I am not afraid. I am not weak. I am not yours to break."
Daichi raised an eyebrow. "Better. Still sounds like a ghost, but this time a scary one."
"Don't think about the words," Tatsuya said, his voice a bit softer. "Just deliver them. Empty. Hollow. Like you've already won."
A final time, Mei recited the phrase. This time, her voice was level, her tone unreadable.
Tatsuya nodded. "That'll do. When they hear that voice... they won't see a victim. They'll see something they can't read. That's power."
Daichi gave a half-laugh. "Damn, Ice King, you might actually be a decent teacher."
"Only when it matters."
Mei's hands trembled under the table, but her voice did not.
---
Across the hall, the Red Team was quiet. A different kind of tension simmered. Shun sat with his back to the wall, still as stone. Aoi and Ren stood a few steps away.
"He did it," Aoi murmured. "Shun actually pulled it off."
"Walked into their room blindfolded and took a heart. No one even suspected until it was too late," Ren said.
"I don't know whether to be impressed... or scared."
"Be both. That's how you survive people like him."
Aoi looked at Shun. "He didn't warn us. Didn't ask. Just did it."
Ren's voice was a blade hidden in silk. "Maybe that's what it takes to win."
Finally, Shun spoke. "If you want to win this game, stop expecting loyalty. Start expecting strategy."
Aoi's tone turned cold. "And now I know which side you're on."
"There are no sides. Just players."
Silence fell again. But this time, doubt crept in with it.
---
Night arrived. A chill slithered into the Blue Team's room.
The Accountant's voice crackled through the intercom. "Attention. It is time. One Blue Team player must be sent to the Red Team's chamber."
Tatsuya stood. "Mei... it's your turn."
She inhaled. Her hands trembled, then steadied.
"Listen carefully," he said. "No fear. No hesitation. Flatten your tone. Speak without color, without shape."
Daichi whispered, "She's got this."
Tatsuya placed the black mask on her. He tied the blindfold with gentle precision.
"Let them hear nothing... but control."
The door hissed open. Mei stepped into darkness.
---
In the Red Team's chamber, three blindfolded players sat in wait.
Footsteps echoed as the masked figure entered.
"You're here," Aoi said.
"Sit. You'll be asked questions. Answer carefully," Ren instructed.
"We're listening," Shun added.
"What's your name?"
"A name does not matter here. Only the mask does."
A brief, chilling pause.
"Are you afraid right now?"
"Emotion is irrelevant. I have no need for fear."
"What did your team tell you before coming?"
"Perform without flaw. Speak without soul. Obey the logic. Nothing more."
"If we pulled off your blindfold... what would we see?"
"A blank face. A tool. Not worth the effort."
"What's your role?"
"I follow orders. I move as instructed. My role is silence."
A chill ran down Aoi's spine. "She's... like a machine."
Ren whispered, "No panic. No inflection. That's not the girl we expected."
"Are you the President?"
"Identity is irrelevant. I am here. That is all."
"Why did they send you?"
"Because fear is predictable. And I am not."
A buzzer sounded. The masked figure turned and exited.
---
Back in the Blue Room, Tatsuya and Daichi removed Mei's blindfold.
"Well?" Tatsuya asked.
"They asked. I answered. No emotion. No mistakes."
Daichi grinned. "Creepy. But in a good way."
"You did well," Tatsuya said. "Tonight... we gave them something to fear."
---
End of Chapter 16: Masks of Deception
Trust fractures where shadows linger.
Silence hides the sharpest blade.
A cold mind reveals the true enemy.
Who will survive when the heart is lost?
---
Next In Chapter 17: Echoes of Stillness
When the quietest voice shatters the game, every secret becomes a weapon. The Bomber's mask slips soon... and the cost may be more than a heartbeat.