Kayo offers a deal

It's when Shuri's starting to walk again that she hears it. "Wait!"

She turns around, eyebrow raised. Kayo's chewing on her lip, still gripping her taser so tightly her knuckles are almost white.

"What if I..." She clears her throat. "What if we work together?"

Shuri feels her heart sinking. This is definitely something she was hoping had been over back at the cabin, when she'd told Kayo she wasn't here to ally with anyone. She wants to remind her, but all that comes out is, "Uh--"

"No, hear me out." Kayo steps forward, eyes wide and expression so earnest that any trace of her anger or frustration or shock from earlier is completely gone. "You said you wanted to win. You wanted to look at my map, remember? So you have an idea of your strategy, to get the money?"

"Er--" Damn it, now's really not the time for Shuri to start feeling guilty again about not working with this girl. "Well, yes, but--"

"I'll help you." Kayo's practically giving her the puppy dog eyes when she speaks. "I don't want to win, I told you, I don't care about winning. I just want to get home, okay? You can have the money, and I'll go home--"

"You don't want any of it?" Shuri raises both her eyebrows.

Kayo sighs. "Well, I mean...yeah, it'd be nice to have ten million dollars. Who wouldn't want that? But that's not my priority, okay? If I get it, whatever, but I just want to get off this island without...you know."

Her voice drops at the end and she looks away. Shuri suppresses a groan. If there's one thing she'll readily admit she's horrible at, it's letting people down gently. Or being gentle in general, for that matter.

But how can she? She feels ungrateful already for having argued with Kayo right after the girl saved her. Kayo's been nothing but nice to her, even when there clearly wouldn't have been anything in it for her, and there's no reason to suspect she'll sell her out.

Shuri still remembers those past episodes she marathoned, however. She can count the alliances that ended well on one hand, and even then, it was usually because the girls who allied ended up separated somehow before either of them could betray each other or failed in getting the prize while working together.

But then again, she thinks, it's not like the winners have all turned out well either. One of them had hanged herself, another had stabbed a man who'd been in her game to ****, and the only winner who'd finished with her virginity intact had disappeared from the public eye so completely she hadn't been heard from in years.

Not like she'll turn out like them, though. She won't. Right?

"So..." Kayo begins again and trails off. "Okay, here's the deal: I'll work with you and help you get the prize, and you can use my map. All I'm asking in return is for you to--to, well, protect me from the men."

She sounds a little embarrassed at the last part, but there's no doubting she's sincere.

"You're making this offer right after you punched me," Shuri notes, trying not to directly answer just yet.

"I'll apologize for punching you if you <i>really</i> want me to," Kayo replies rather dryly, "but I know you're not my enemy. And you're not a bad person. I'll work with you if I have to, and I think I have to."

Not a bad person, eh? Shuri thinks. That's probably the most flattering thing someone's called her in a while. Usually, it was just "bitch" or "frigid" or, at worst, "cunt".

Kayo clears her throat again. "So...is it a deal?"

She extends her hand.