Gambling In Love

Chapter 3: Gambler's Debt

"There's a gambling game between Saotome and Yuriko," Ryota told her as class let out that day.

Immediately, Yumeko wanted to watch. Despite her rude and cocky demeanor, Yumeko liked Saotome Mary. There was something about her that convinced Yumeko that she was a good person. In fact, Yumeko guessed she was forced into being the person she is by the cruel social system at the school. Saotome became so obsessed with her reputation as well as not becoming a house pet that she forgot to just have fun. Gambling stopped being a fun experience, and it became a means of survival.

"Who is Yuriko again?" Yumeko asked, giggling.

"She's on the student council, and she's President of some club. I can't remember what it's called," Ryota answered as he gently grabbed Yumeko's wrist and pulled her to the room where Saotome was gambling.

Immediately, Yumeko noticed the piercings on the woman's knuckles. Yumeko prided herself on being an attentive person, so she immediately put this information to the back of her mind.

"Are you here to watch?" the woman asked.

"Yes," Ryota answered for her. Seeing as he paid off his debt to Saotome, he was no longer a house pet, and people actually acknowledged his presence which made Yumeko happy.

The woman stepped inside, allowing them to enter. Upon entering, Yumeko was greeted by the image of an angry, fuming Mary. It seemed her loss to Yumeko drove her into a kind of madness. A madness Yumeko easily recognized. A madness she had seen before. "Saotome!" Yumeko yelled, loud enough to get the blonde's attention.

The girl's head snapped to her at the sound of her voice. "Focus!" Yumeko snapped back. Saotome blinked at her repeatedly before nodding. Yumeko watched as the madness in her eyes faded, and the usual, rational look returned.

"Why'd you do that?" Ryota asked. He had become aware of Yumeko's weird way of existence, and he even respected it. He respected that she didn't follow the social hierarchy, she didn't care about money, and most of all, he respected that she never treated anyone unfairly.

"She was panicking," Yumeko shrugged as she stood taller by Ryota's side.

"So, you weren't obligated to help her," Ryota told her.

"Just, forget it," Yumeko said. She had barely known the guy; there was no way she was going to tell him about her psycho brother.

A while later, the game had ended in defeat for Saotome. In fact, the defeat was crushing. She was now 50 million dollars in debt; a sum even Yumeko couldn't help her with. She watched Saotome grumble under her breath as she trudged out of the room angrily. She must've muttered something about defeat and her reputation because unlike her last game, this one had witnesses.

Yumeko suddenly remembered Saotome's words from the end of their last match. " You'll pay for this Jabami! I'll kill you! " She snickered to herself. She could see past the girl's cold demeanor, and she knew empty threats when she heard them. However, she didn't doubt that the blonde could hold a grudge.

"Mind if I play a round?" Yumeko asked. She had hoped to play against Yuriko after watching the game closely. She was sure there was something rigged about the system, but she couldn't figure out what it was from the distance. Of course, finding out these kinds of cheats were half the fun of gambling, at least, for Yumeko.

"New girl's still a house pet?" she chuckled.

"Humor me," Yumeko said, and if you asked anyone in the room, they'd swear her eyes changed colors with a kind of determination. In fact, most would describe it as hypnotic as if her eyes could make you bend to her will.