Top. (Reader x Various Kakegurui)

73: Don't Go

"Don't go..." Kaede mumbled, reaching his hand out towards the beautiful kimono that was fluttering away from him in his uncomfortable hospital bed.

But you wanted to go. You didn't want to stick around and talk to him; especially after leaving the life plan.

And so you went home.

"Kaede is in the hospital, I hear." You father greeted you with a hug. "Were you there with him?"

You nodded with a sniffle.

"What happened?" He asked, guiding you to sit down. "Tell me what's been going on. I haven't seen you two together in so long and normally I have to remind you both that it's a school night! I miss him."

"He hurt my feelings," You began as you mother joined you at the table with hot tea. "I told him not to keep any secrets from me, because I didn't keep any from him and yet, the other council members revealed a very important one."

"Ah, well I would be upset too, if your father kept a secret from me." Your mother validated you.

"And so I told him never to speak to me again." You looked away.

"Very harsh, my daughter. A princess should modulate her emotions." Your father scolded you lightly.

"I know, father. I didn't really mean never. I just meant I wasn't ready to speak to him any time soon. Any way, he kept trying to talk to me, and it kept bothering me and making me less apt to talk to him and bothering all of my other friends. And then, he decided to gamble with my friend Yumeko, the girl who came over the other night?"

"Ah, yes, I hear she's one of the best in the school!" Your mother noted. "But not much in society. Is she really worth spending time with?"

"Just interesting. Good to keep an eye on." You nodded, earning a nod from your father. He would agree with that statement.

"And that was today. He made foolish mistake after foolish mistake until..." You began choking up. "Until... Kirari fired him! And he was so shocked and so upset that he collapsed and his hair! His hair turned entirely white!"

"Oh my!" Your mother gasped and set her tea down with an unladylike clank.

"I rushed down to him, and I know I should not have, it was not as a princess should have, as I even bruised my knees, but I was so scared he could have injured his head and his hair was stark white! My closest friend! Even if we are not on speaking terms at the moment..." You wiped your face with a napkin. "I could not let him lay there, in humiliation after being fired from the council."

"And his father will be severely disappointed... You won't be able to see him anymore." You father looked away, unhappy with the situation. "How much money did he lose?"

"Twelve billion yen." You gulped.

"T-Twelve billion?! What kind of bets were going on?!" He hit the table with his hand. "Never mind that! How is this going to be repaired at all? He will never be able to repay that now that he has lost his position in society. No life plan could cover it."

"I wrote his life plan in the ambulance..." You whispered.

Kaede looked down at the first page.

Name: Kaede Manyuda

Spouse: YN LN

Occupation: Emperor of Japan

"I gave him me." You looked at your parents.