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Night settled upon the Abyss, the encroaching darkness a warning to divers of the oncoming dangers of the night. Riko's team was extremely close to the 7th layer of the Abyss, but had to make a detour for a place to shelter during the night.
The team stumbled upon a small cave used by some of the various Abyssal wildlife and agreed to settle in it for the night. Riko made dinner for her friends, everyone filling their tummies on her delicious cooking before they succumbed to slumber.
However, tonight was special for a certain fluffy member of the group. Nanachi gazed upon the snowy bundle of fur cradling itself against the opposite corner of the cave, that 'bundle of fur' being Faputa.
Seeing as Nanachi and Faputa were both fluffy girls with ambitious dreams, it seemed as though they would make a great pair. But despite that Nanachi felt jealous that there was more than one fluff ball within the group, and felt that needed to change.
Nanachi inched towards Faputa's sleeping spot, one of her paws tucked behind her back as she clutched onto a weapon. She hesitated as she stood right over Faputa, her mind whirling as she pondered whether to go through with her plan or not. If Nanachi wanted fate to decide the outcome, there was still a possibility it wouldn't be so kind to her.
Steeling her resolve, she crouched down and shook Faputa with her free paw and grinned as the bundle of fur jerked and began to move. Faputa uncradled herself from her slumber and rubbed one eye as she gazed up at Nanachi through her other half-lidded one.
"What is it, sosu?" Faputa groggily questioned, irritated that her sleep had been disturbed.
"One of us cannot be on this team." Nanachi blurted out.
"What!?" Faputa gasped, immediately losing her sleepiness as she sat up to stare into Nanachi's serious eyes, "Faputa wants to know why, sosu!"
"Nnaa... The reason why is unimportant." Nanachi said, but knew damn well it was because of her jealousy, "But I do know how we can choose which of us stays."
Faputa paused for a long moment, her hazel eyes still shining from her initial shock. She had a lot she already wanted to ask, and Nanachi announcing this suddenly and so late into the night was already odd.
"How, sosu?" Faputa asked, breaking out of the shock she was in but still expressing serious disbelief.
"This is how." Nanachi said, exposing the paw that was behind her back and revealing a strange silver object in her grasp.
"Pretty...!" Faputa admired the object's beautiful silver, "But what is it that you carry, sosu?"
"It's called a revolver, specifically a magnum." Nanachi answered as she rubbed her paw along the barrel, "It will be what decides our fate."
"But why, sosu? Why can't both Faputa and Nanachi stay?" Faputa repeated her question from earlier, scared of what Nanachi was trying to do with her. Nanachi never explained what problem there was for both of them being on the same team.
"You wouldn't understand." Nanachi hissed, her fur fluffing up and her tail lashing in anger, "Are you going to take a chance with fate or let me decide!?"
Faputa's ears flattened as Nanachi hissed at her, every instinct telling her to hiss back but fearing what Nanachi might do to her if she did. And even then, Faputa had no idea how this 'revolver' worked and Nanachi did.
"Fine." Faputa finally snapped, knowing Nanachi was leaving her with no choice.
Nanachi, seemingly satisfied with her answer, sat down across from Faputa and pulled something on the revolver that caused the internal circular part of it to drop to the side. Nanachi pushed on the ejector rod and six shiny, golden casings fell out of the chamber and clattered against the stone floor. Faputa's eyes widened as she eyed the beautiful gold hidden within the silver mechanism.
"What are these, sosu?" Faputa asked, picking up one of the casings that had rolled near her leg and using another paw to tap at the gold.
"Bullets." Nanachi replied.
"Bullets?" Faputa echoed the name.
"They are needed to make the revolver work." Nanachi explained, "To decide who gets to stay on the team, we're going to play a game called Russian Roulette."
Faputa blinked. She watched as Nanachi grabbed one of the bullets that was on the floor and inserted it into the chamber of the revolver before snapping the chamber back into place and squeezing down on the hammer.
"We take turns aiming the revolver at ourselves and pulling the trigger." Nanachi continued, "Whoever shoots themselves first loses... If the blood and splattered brains doesn't make that obvious already."
Faputa winced as she imagined such a scene, the fur on her shoulders standing on end as Nanachi searched her face. She didn't imagine there was something so deadly about what sounded like a simple game.
"Faputa wishes to get this over with, sosu..." Faputa meekly begged, setting the bullet she was holding down among the others scattered on the floor.
Nanachi nodded and held the revolver up to the side of her head. Faputa shut her eyes in fear, only for an audible click to echo through the room. When she opened her eyes, Nanachi was passing the revolver to her and Faptua hesitated before taking the revolver and holding it between paws.
"You can also point the revolver at the other player and fire." Nanachi pointed out, "However, if there's no shot then you must fire it on yourself before you can end your turn."
Faputa nodded and immediately pointed the revolver at Nanachi. Nanachi held a blank stare as Faputa squeezed on the trigger, only for another empty click to answer her. Faputa breathed, having braced herself for something to happen.
Nanachi's piercing gaze made Faptua tense as she slowly turned the revolver around and pressed the barrel against her throat, swallowing hard as the cold steel met her warm fur. Faputa cautiously pulled the trigger again, the now memorable click answering her action once again.
Nanachi held her paw out as Faputa returned the revolver to her, but it took Nanachi less than a few seconds to hold the revolver back to her head, pull the trigger, and pass the revolver back to Faputa. Faputa whined as Nanachi pressed it against her paw once more, having not yet recovered from the pressure.
Faputa grabbed the revolver out of Nanachi's paw and pushed the revolver against her head instead of her throat this time. Pressure was starting to squeeze on her stomach, forcing Faputa to hold her breath as she expected the worst.
Her claw lowered on the trigger, and the clicking sound that followed almost made her pass out with relief. Faputa took a moment to breathe, her heart pounding in her chest as she quivered from the stress.
When Faputa looked up she noticed Nanachi's eyes were wide with anticipation, her brown fur standing on end as if knowing what came next. Faputa hesitantly extended her paw as she passed the revolver back to Nanachi.
Nanachi lunged forward, yanking the revolver out of Faputa's paws and standing up to press the barrel against the white-furred Narehate's forehead.
"I win!" Nanachi screeched.
"Wha-"
Faputa wasn't even able to get the words out as Nanachi squeezed the trigger in excitement. The revolver recoiled in her paw as a split second of light flashed through the darkness of the cave, Nanachi's eardrums being violated as the revolver went off and the bullet pierced Faputa's skull, shattering the red gem on her forehead as she fell backward and her limp body hit the floor with a thump.
Nanachi stared at Faputa's corpse, motionless against the floor. She felt no pity, rightfully taking her place as the fluff ball of the group just as she should be. Riko and Reg audibly shuffled in the darkness, alerted and spooked by the gunshot they had just heard. Now Nanachi just had to explain her reasonable actions.