Top. (Reader x Various Kakegurui)

6: What Do You Say

"What do you say?! Let's keep rolling, yeah?" Meari was getting on your nerves now, but you waited to see the bet. Yumeko stayed quiet. "Is something wrong?" Her face turned ugly. "Don't tell me you're getting cold feet. Well, after losing one million yen, who can blame you?" She laughed twistedly and you almost wished Kaede was here with his seriousness to balance it out.

"Not really. Our showdown is only beginning." Yumeko kept a pleasant tone. "I think I'll go back to two chips this time around."

You went to leave, but Ryota looked at you pathetically. He was unusually upset about this game. Perhaps it was because he didn't want to see his new friend fall into debt like he had. Or maybe it was that he really enjoyed being close to you. Either way, his face begged you to keep standing next to him, whether he meant it to or not.

If only he was part of student council. Then I could spend my days with him.

Luckily it was an extremely quick game.

"Two chips it is!" Meari said crazily.

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

"Scissors. What a shame Yumeko, it would appear that you've run out of chips." She sneered.

The game has to be over now. You thought to yourself.

"Did she just lose 1.2 million yen?"

"That was a huge gamble."

The voices buzzed around you.

"Meari, how would you feel about giving me just one more game?" Yumeko asked so very politely.

Your heart melted again as you watched the odd girl make Meari gasp in surprise. Ryota looked distraught.

"Happy to! How much do you wanna bet?" Meari then mumbled something you assumed was disparaging underneath her breath. But Yumeko showed her.

Immediately, Yumeko dumped out a pool of money onto the table, shocking everyone in the room once again. She's crazy like Midori maybe... You couldn't wrap your head around this girl.

"I was thinking ten million. In cash." The cool words fell out of Yumeko's mouth, making you grab Ryota's arm, make an 'o' with your mouth and bend over in astonishment. This was crazy indeed. And you loved it.

"Why would you walk around with that amount of cash?" Meari looked at Yumeko suspiciously and stood up shaking her head. "Don't be ridiculous! Staking ten million yen on a single casual game of Rock-Paper-Scissors. You... You're insane!"

"Isn't that what makes it fun? Insanity is the essence of gambling, right?" Yumeko said darkly.

Her words shot through your heart. You might have just fallen in love.

"In a capitalistic society, money and life are the same."

Yessss, you thought to yourself. She's just like Kirari.

"Trusting your life to fortune, no one in their right mind would do that. And yet, people still throng casinos because people derive pleasure from the insanity of risking their lives. In that case, the more insane you are, the more you enjoy gambling!"

Her face was one of pure pleasure and you couldn't help but notice how... hot she looked. With red cheeks and glowing eye, Yumeko was ready to bet.

"Now then, let's get our gambling freak on."