Pain {Kakegurui FanFic}

3.

Yumeko sat there, smiling as the rest of the class gasped in confusion. Who the hell walks around with that much cash? I thought and then I shook my head, realising the awful truth that had been bugging me since the start of the game. Yumeko wasn't like the rest of us. She was insane. This girl had about zero sense of reasoning which made her seem very unpredictable and dangerous.

"Yumeko, I'm not even going to bother asking you why you carry around that much cash," as I said that her eyes lit up as she knew that I was the only one really understand her and what she was really like, "but as the dealer of this game, I cannot allow this to happen without a council student present. The gamble is too much of a risk now." Yumekos face fell as I said this but she paused for a second before standing up and taking my hand in hers.

"Aiko, I appreciate your concern but isn't it taking risks that makes gambling so fun? The thrill of chance, the high you get when you win, the uncertainty...I know you've felt it before..." Yumeko said, looking at me with kind eyes and I gave her a hard, cold glare. She was insane and now she was trying to make me relate to her but I refused to give in, my thoughts flashing back to last year.

"Yumeko, you've already lost around 1.2 million Yen! I'm warning you to stop now!" Mary yelled and Yumeko turned towards to her, all of the kindness in her eyes gone before sitting back down on her chair as if nothing had ever happened. Mary looked positively frightened and I was also worried as to what Yumeko would do next.

"Now Mary, let's play...hopefully I won't run you dry." Yumeko said teasingly and I could feel the rage from Mary bubbling in the air. If I wasn't able to stop this then surely the outcome would not be good.

"Fine." Mary snapped and I opened my mouth to protest but I was met with the fiery glare of Mary and the cool look of Yumeko. Sighing, I instructed everyone to draw their symbols and waiting for the game to start. The girls drew their cards and Yumeko smiled at Mary before speaking to her.

"Most of the class are working for you, aren't they Mary?" Yumeko said and gasps were heard all around the classroom. Mary looked at her in anger but Yumeko continued to speak. "I would say about half the class is helping you for some reason...besides, your gambling skills are terrible, making the same play twice when there was 50,000 Yen on the line...you disgust me, trying to take advantage of your poor, innocent new classmate on her first day which, for the record, I don't find very welcoming." The look on Yumeko's face was a mixture of anger and happiness, causing me to step back slightly.

"Hurry up and pick a card." Mary said and I could hear the anger in her voice. I closed my eyes for a second, feeling really sick. I had faith that Mary could win but what if she lost? I opened back my eyes and saw that both of the girls were ready to play. I hesitated, brushing my hair back slightly and trying to decide if I should throw the match by refusing to be the dealer.

"Aiko, it's not your fault whatever happens, so don't be scared. Plus I know that there was no way that you were involved in the cheating." Yumeko said and I gritted my teeth in anger. She was treating me like a child, like I needed to be comforted and reassured.

"I know that what happens next isn't my fault, it's on both of you." I said before yelling, "Rock, Paper, Scissors!"

I froze, staring at the cards, unable to form any sentences. My throat tightened up and I stepped back in horror, almost bumping into Suzui who seemed as shocked as I did. I had no idea what to do and all I could muster up was a terrible gulping sound from the back of my throat.

"Look's like I win, now please pay what you owe me which would be...about 8.8 million Yen." Yumeko said and my heart broke a bit hearing those words. There was no way that Mary would have that kind of money as most of her HousePets were unable to pay the high fees that they owed her. Mary silently sat there and I felt tears well up in my eyes as I knew the horrible, twisted fate that would await my friend.

"I'm sorry, I don't have that money right now, please give me a few days." Mary said whilst shakily bowing to Yumeko. All Yumeko could do was sneer at Mary and walk out of the room. I felt my blood boil as I saw how cocky she was, knowing that she would be able to break down Mary. Her and Suzui left the room and after glaring at everyone, causing them to flinch backwards, I stormed out after them.

I ran down the hall, huffing in anger when I saw Yumeko standing there with Suzui as she pushed some money into his hand, probably so that he could pay off all of the debt that he owed. Yumeko noticed me and smiled and I walked past Suzui until I was right in front of her.

"Yumeko! Did you plan on burning Mary like that?" I snapped and Suzui placed a hand on my shoulder, telling me to calm down. I glared at him and he shrunk back slightly, not used to seeing me in such a state.

"Aiko, are you friends with her? She seems to treat people quite mean unlike you who seems to be quite kind." Yumeko said whilst glancing at Suzui's tag around his neck. I huffed at her words, annoyed that she was already putting a label on Mary. The last part of her sentence ticked me off. I played the role of being kind and sweet but I knew I was far from it.

"Yes, she treats HousePets poorly but that's the school rules so if you don't do ask you say, you'll be punished so don't ever try to badmouth Mary without knowing why! It's hard to do the right thing in a school like this!" I paused, taking a deep breath before continuing, "Mary will give you the money as soon as possible so don't worry about that and just so that you know, I don't like the fact that she's so horrible towards HousePets."

"Hmm...I see but I just have one question. Why are you so devoted to Mary, are you her pet or does she have something that she can use against you?" Yumeko inquired and I felt Suzui tense up beside me. My eyes burned in fury at her question but I still decided to answer it.

"Mary helped me out once and now we're friends, genuine friends and if I was a HousePet, I would have a tag on me." I said and I felt bad when Suzui blushed, Being reminded of your social status in school really sucked if I was being honest. Yumeko nodded and I turned to Suzui, smiling at him.

"I'm glad that you're revoking your HousePet status, now you won't be hurt again." I said and he smiled at me. Yumeko looked between the two of us, probably trying to figure out our history that we shared. Promptly turning on my heel, I began to walk away before turning back to talk to them.

"By the way Yumeko, I'll have to challenge you at one point, I'd be a bad friend if I didn't." I sad with a smile on my face. Yumeko laughed at me and waved goodbye, her eyes ablaze with excitement.

"I'll be looking forward to it. Oh, and Aiko?"

"Yes."

"Not all pets wear collars."

***

I was seated at the vanity in my room, my shoulder-length hair down and some fluffy pyjamas taking the place of my school uniform. I sighed, looking at the silvery blonde strands of my natural hair colour peeking through and brushed it for a second before looking into the mirror. Two brown eyes looked back at me and I allowed all the emotions from today to crash over me. Fear, excitement, anger and most importantly, a feeling I hadn't felt before. I grimaced but smiled slightly, knowing that life was about to get a lot more hectic with Yumeko around.

I wonder how she got here and what's going through her mind I thought clambered into bed, staring at the ceiling for a second. The comment that she said about pets had annoyed me so far to the point I contemplated punching the wall but it also intrigued me. Just who the heck does this girl think she is? One thing was for certain though: Yumeko had awakened some kind of feeling that I had long locked away since the incident last year. Clutching a pillow to my chest, I blushed and let out a sigh of exhaustion but also contempt.

"Oh Yumeko, what will I do about you?"

***

Hello guys, here's part 3 as promised! Unfortunately, you'll have to wait about two days for part 4 as I've been uploading these chapters pretty fast and I don't want to finish the book to early! Don't worry though, I'm gonna try and write chapter 4,5 and 6 ahead of time so I can upload about twice a week which will be a challenge but also super fun! Bye now!

Opalft x