Pain {Kakegurui FanFic}

16.

"What's gotten you so happy, Yumeko?"

Tilting my head to the side ever so slightly, I smirked at her before taking my seat at the lunch table that we had been asked to meet at to discuss whatever it was that Yumeko had in mind. Mary and Ryota also sat there, suspiciously eyeballing Yumeko with grim expressions on their faces. Their suspicions made sense, the girl was smiling ear to ear with a blissed out look in her eyes whilst she mindlessly played with her HousePet tag.

"Maybe there was something in that later she received? A gambling invitation or something?" Ryota prompted, ruffling his hair in discomfort. Mary's head snapped towards Yumeko at this statement but I let it slide, having a sinking feeling about what the letter was about. A small, almost unidentifiable cough sounded from the side of us and a cheshire cat smile creeped across my lips as I took in the person standing before us, uncomfortably shifting from foot to foot as they slowly scanned our faces.

"Yumeko senpai! Aiko! I'm not sure if you remember me, minus Aiko of course, but I'm Sumeragi Itsuki from the year one flower class! I come bearing gifts," the smile on Itsuki's face seemed to triple in size as she removed the bag that she had previously obscured from our view "Japanese style Mont Blanc from Seifudo! The best of the very best!"

I glared at Itsuki throughout her spiel, noting how she rudely ignored Mary and Ryota and her shameless tact of bringing gifts to try and woo over Yumeko. It was clear to anyone that she had an ulterior motive at hand. Her eyes darted around nervously as she shuffled her feet again, the nervousness that she had was overwhelmingly detectable as small beads of sweat began to gather upon the top of her brow. She had every right to be nervous; we could easily turn her away. But she was desperate. She needed us which was why she had sought us out, especially after I had proposed her that irresistible offer in that quaint café that day.

"Didn't you get kicked off the student council? Is that why you're here?" Mary chortled, eyes gleaming with malice. Itsuki gulped and I snickered slightly, ducking my head so that my face was obscured from her view. The poor, poor girl. Teasing her a little bit won't hurt her much, she probably deserves it after all of the things that she's done during her time at the academy.

"Please, take a seat." A beaming Yumeko wildly gestured to the seat across from her, signalling for the bumbling girl to sit down. I smirked, knowing that we'd roped her in as she sat down slowly, hands fidgeting slightly.

"My father is the owner of the largest toy store in Japan! He prides himself heavily in his work and I've been preparing all of my life for the day that I will eventually take over the company and extend the lineage of his work," her blue eyes dulled as she looked down at the white table in discomfort "unfortunately, I have dishonoured my family by getting kicked off of the council...they didn't even give me a chance! Yumeko! There's rumours floating around that you're going to gamble with Kirari and become the head of the council! I beg of you! Please let me join your council board when you take over!"

Tears had formed in Itsuki's eyes, her face becoming red as she tightly clenched her fists and stared Yumeko down, her soul shining vulnerably as she wore her heart shamelessly on her sleeve for all of us to see. The atmosphere of the table shifted as we all looked at Itsuki, the desperation that she had causing a suffocating presence over all of us. Yumeko sat still and as poised as a figurine, barely blinking as Itsuki turned brighter and brighter with frustration and anger. Yumeko's eyes flashed with an unnoticeable expression before quickly fading away, leaning over and clutching both of Itsuki's hands within her own.

"Of course! We're friends, are we not?" Yumeko smiled, wrapping an apprehensive looking Itsuki into a hug. Mary and I shot each other a quick look before I turned my head away, trying not to scoff at the scene. Idiot  I thought as I stared at the blushing Itsuki who chattering away with Yumeko. As horrible as it was, I had only contacted Itsuki in the first place because she was an economical asset for our plan. You see, gambling is a trap, a trick. The reason why most people go broke whilst gambling is because they don't have a larger amount than what they intend to win. A fool will gamble with a million Yen and expect to double their winnings to two million Yen when really this isn't the case. A real gambler would know that you'd have to gamble a lot more than what you intend to win to actually win in the end. The aspect of risk is a large portion of what makes gambling what it truly is but a lot of people tend to neglect it and play it safe. That's why we needed Itsuki for our plan. She's rich and would happily give up a large amount of her funds if it meant restoring her pride and we needed an endless amount of funds if we ever wanted to take down the council. That's why I chose her. I just didn't expect her to come into the fold that easily.