"Hello?" Yumeko answered her phone cautiously. It had been ringing through most of homeroom and now, between classes, she only had a few minutes to answer.
"Hello. Is this Jabami Yumeko?" a voice asked.
"Yes?" Yumeko answered curiously.
"Great! Um- I'm- uh... I'm Mary's mom," the woman introduced. Yumeko panicked internally, wondering why Mary's mom would be calling her, but she did her best to hide her panic.
"Oh? What's up?" she asked.
"Well- Mary's in the hospital," she said simply.
"Which one?" Yumeko asked, maybe a little too quickly.
"South Hospital," the woman answered.
Yumeko grunted as she was meant to gamble with someone by lunch, and she wouldn't be able to do that if she was going to South Hospital. It was far enough away that she'd never make it back in time if she wanted to spend time with Mary.
"Be there in 5," Yumeko said as she hung up.
The raven-haired girl slipped her phone into her butt pocket as she raced to the nearest train station. "Come on, come on, come on," she mumbled as she waited for the train to arrive. In the meantime, her brain wandered to reasons Mary was in the hospital. Car accident? Bad fall? Something worse?
As the thoughts filled her head, Yumeko tried to maintain a poker face. Luckily the train arrived a few seconds later, and she was the first one on it. South Hospital wasn't many stops away, and Yumeko was familiar with it since it's the hospital housing her sister.
When she arrived, she raced to the main area of the hospital where she saw a woman who looked eerily similar to Mary. "Mrs. Saotome?" Yumeko asked as she approached the woman.
The woman gasped as she saw Yumeko, and the younger girl tilted her hair towards the other woman, silently requesting an answer. "You just... You look just like them," the woman whispered apologetically. Yumeko turned her head away as emotion filled her usually stoic face before she composed herself and faced the woman again. She smiled as she made eye contact with the woman again.
"What happened?" Yumeko asked once the two had sat down.
"It's all my fault," the older woman burst into tears as she buried her face in her hands.
Yumeko didn't have much experience with her own emotions, let alone those of another person. All she could think to do was put a hand on the woman's shoulder and whisper, "I'm sure it wasn't." It wasn't the most reassuring thing in the world, but she still wasn't sure about what had caused Mary's hospitalization.
"Her father... He's always been... hot-headed," the woman trailed off.
"Her dad did this?" Yumeko exclaimed silently.
"I've been trying to leave him for years, but I have nowhere to go!" the woman exclaimed in exasperation as she began crying.
"Don't worry, it wasn't your fault," she assured her as she pat the older woman's head, "You did your best, and that's all she could've asked of you."
"Saotome family?" a doctor asked. The older woman sprung out of her seat while Yumeko just turned her attention to the doctor. "Mary is out of surgery, but she's going to need some time to recover," the doctor informed them, "In the meantime, we'll need you to fill out a report about what happened."
The woman looked panicked before she smiled devilishly. It was obvious the woman was happy to get vengeance for her daughter, but she still looked weary of what the outcome might be. "Mrs. Saotome," Yumeko stopped her after a moment.
"Yes?" the woman answered with a smile.
"Have you contacted the rest of Mary's friends?" Yumeko asked.
"I called those who I knew were her friends and you," her mother said.
"Why me?" Yumeko asked.
"You were the top contact," the woman shrugged with a smile as she walked away with the doctor.
Yumeko smiled softly to herself as she notified Itsuki and Ryota of the situation. She then sat back on the chairs, not wanting to bother Mary if she was supposed to be relaxing; she didn't think Mary would find her presence very relaxing.
After a few minutes, a familiar face showed up, and Yumeko's eyes practically popped out of her head. She felt a tear fall down her face as the other girl finally noticed her. "Yumeko?" the other girl asked, unsure of the raven-haired girl's identity.
"Ririka?" Yumeko asked with both hopefulness and uncertainty in her voice.
Before she knew it, the older girl was jumping into her arms, and Yumeko laughed heartily as she caught the girl. "I thought you were dead," Ririka sniffled as she put her head on Yumeko's shoulder.
"Sorry," Yuemko apologized remorsefully, "It was the only way to keep me alive."
"I get it," Ririka smiled, "I'm just glad you're okay." Ririka then pulled away from the hug as she put on a straight face and asked, "What happened?"
"Her dad," Yumeko answered angrily.
"I should've known that bastard would-" Ririka seethed.
"He's done this before?" Yumeko asked as her mind flashed back to her encounter with Mary when they were both house pets when she had noticed a bruise on Mary's face and the blonde had shrugged it off as nothing. "I should've realized," Yumeko sighed as she put her head down.
"There's no way you could've known," Ririka assured her, "I only knew because she told me, and I've met her father and know what he's like."
"I had my suspicions about it, but I didn't think much of it," Yumeko said with her head still down.
"No one every does," Ririka said sadly as she sat down next to Yumeko.
"Saotome?" a voice asked as she stopped in front of them. The two girls nodded. "You may see her," the woman said as she waved to them to follow her.
"You coming?" Ririka asked as she saw that Yumeko started walking the opposite way.
"I don't think I'm the person she wants to see," Yumeko smiled sadly, "Plus, I have someone else to see."
Ririka seemed to connect the dots that this was the hospital that housed Atari, and she smiled apologetically. "I'll tell Mary you were here," Ririka told her.
"Don't worry about it," Yumeko shrugged.
Ririka continued following the woman to Mary's room, and she gasped as she saw the state the younger girl was in. She rushed to the blonde's side and grabbed her hand as she squeezed it. "God, what did he do to you?" Ririka asked rhetorically as she put her head down on the bed, beside their hands.
About an hour later, Ririka heard a groan, and she shot up. "You're awake," Ririka said with a smile.
"Ririka?" Mary asked groggily.
"Mhm," Ririka hummed.
"How are you here?" Mary asked.
"Your mom called me. I told my parents you were in the hospital, and they said I could go," Ririka answered, still smiling.
"Oh, did she call anyone else?" Mary asked as she tried to sit up, causing her to wince.
"You just had surgery! Don't do that," Ririka scolded her as she forced Mary to stay laying down, "And yes, she called someone else."
"Who?" Mary asked as she brought her hands to her eyes carefully and rubbed the sleep out of them.
"Yumeko," Ririka said.
Mary sharply inhaled, and had she been moving, Ririka would've thought she had hurt herself. "She probably had something better to do," Mary mumbled to herself.
"She left school and sat in the waiting room until she knew you were awake," Ririka told her.
"She left school to make sure I was okay, and she didn't even come to see me? I swear, that girl makes no sense," Mary groaned.
"She said she didn't think you wanted to see her," Ririka informed Mary.
"Of course I want to see her! That girl," Mary said matter-of-factly as she shook her head.
"That girl?" Ririka prompted.
"Is an idiot," Mary finished.
"I can go get her," Ririka offered.
"I don't want to bother her," Mary waved her hand dismissively, "Not to mention, things are awkward between us right now."
"Awkward?" Ririka asked with a smirk as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"Ew!" Mary exclaimed, "I confronted her, and she completely turned me down."
"Oh, Mary," Ririka said as she placed a hand on Mary's hand and patted it softly.
"Ow," Mary said as she squeezed her eyes shut.
"What?" Ririka exclaimed, scared she hurt her friend.
"My brain feels like it's gonna explode out of my head," Mary complained as she put her hands on her head.
"I'll go get a doctor," Ririka said as she squeezed Mary's hand and left the room.
"Doctor?" Ririka asked as she approached a familiar face.
"What can I do for you?" he asked.
"My friend, Saotome Mary, is complaining of head pain," Ririka explained.
"That's to be expected, she had severe brain trauma and brain surgery," the doctor exclaimed.
"She had brain surgery?" Ririka exclaimed quietly.
"Yes," the doctor answered simply, "She broke 4 ribs, her nose, and her leg, and her brain was bleeding severely."
"Holy shit," Ririka whispered. "Is there anything you can do for the pain?" she asked louder.
"She's already on pain meds. I'm afraid this is all we can do for her," the doctor said. Ririka growled softly before she nodded and returned to Mary's room.
"They can't do anything for the pain," Ririka said apologetically.
"It's okay," Mary said through clenched teeth, "I've felt worse." She frowned after that statement, realizing that she had said that outloud.
"How did all this happen?" Ririka asked.
Mary paused. She realized it had all happened because her father had been angry with her for years, but her talking back to him threw him over the edge. Of course, she had been talking back to him to defend Ririka, but she couldn't tell that girl that.
"I said that wrong thing," Mary answered simply.
"He did all this because you talked back?" Ririka exclaimed quietly, "He's gonna pay for what he's done."
"Don't worry about that now," Mary said as she put her arm over her eyes to block the light, "We can deal with him later."
"Okay," Ririka said as she squeezed Mary's hand.
------------------
"Morning Atari," Yumeko said as she entered her sister's room and sat down in a chair, "I think you'd be proud of me today."
She paused, waiting as if her sister would actually reply. "I came here to see a friend who got hurt. Not that coming here for that is something to be proud of, but I was supposed to gamble with someone," Yumeko explained, "I was supposed to gamble, and I came here instead."
Atari said nothing. She continued to rock herself back and forth on her bed as she stared into nothingness. Yumeko smiled sadly at her sister as she brought her knees to her chest on the chair. She put her arms over her knees and put her chin on her arms as she continued to look at her older sister.
"Atari........ Do you think Mom and Dad would be mad if I.... If I.... If I let people in the house?" Yumeko asked again, still, for whatever reason, hoping for an answer.
"Who am I kidding? Of course they'd be upset. They'd probably come back from the dead just to haunt me," Yumeko chuckled bitterly that quickly turned to crying.
"Why'd you have to do it?" she asked in a whisper as she continued to cry. "Everything could've been so different," Yumeko mumbled to herself as she let herself think about what her life could've been like.
A while later, she snapped herself out of it. "No, it wouldn't have been like that," she stopped herself, "You, Mom, and Dad would be dead anyway, and I'd be living with the Momobamis. You did what you thought was best. Mom and Dad are dead now..... Why should I care about what they think?"
Yumeko stood up and walked to the door. "Nice chat," she smiled at Atari, "I love you, Oneechan." She walked out the room and back to the waiting room, hoping to find Mary's mother.
Luckily, she spotted the woman as she was about to enter a room, presumably Mary's. "Mrs. Saotome!" she exclaimed loud enough for the woman to hear. The woman turned to her and smiled. She glanced into the room she was heading towards before she turned to Yumeko and walked to the younger girl.
"Yes, Jabami?" she asked with a smile.
"I- I know a place you can stay," Yumeko said as she clenched her jaw, convincing herself that she had to do this. If for no one else, she could do this for Mary. Mary's mom just gave her a quizzical look, encouraging her to continue. "You can... You can stay at my family's mansion," she finished.
The older blonde gasped in surprise as she looked at Yumeko, even more confused now. "Sweety, I could never ask that of you," she smiled as she patted Yumeko's head. Yumeko reveled in the feeling momentarily, remembering how her sister would always pat her head, before she regained her composure.
"You're not asking me too; I'm offering," Yumeko told her.
"That's your home. We could never do that," Mary's mom said.
"I live at the school too. The mansion isn't my favorite place anyway," Yumeko smiled apologetically, and Mary's mom looked solemn for a moment.
"That's why we could never move in there. It's a special place, and we wouldn't want to ruin it," Mary's mother said.
"Please just," Yumeko practically begged, "No one's using it, and I don't want it to go to waste."
"No," Mary's mom said more formally.
"Listen," Yumeko said, her voice changing to a demanding one, "Mary is my best friend, and I'd do anything to make sure she doesn't get hurt. This is what I can do. I can offer you a safe place to live, and if you don't accept it, you're knowingly putting your daughter at risk of being hurt again. That makes you a bad mother and a bad person, and if I find out Mary was hurt because of your pride, you'll regret the day you were born."
Mary's mother looked star-struck before she started laughing hysterically. "Wow, that's-" she continued to laugh, "You really are just like them." Yumeko just stared the woman down, her eyes not showing any sign of emotion except sincerity.
"Fine, if it matters that much to you," Mary's mother agreed, "Should I tell Mary you love her while I'm at it?"
"Love?" Yumeko froze, her eyes showing many more emotions like fear and confusion.
"It's obvious you love her. I'm not sure how she hasn't realized it yet," Mary's mother laughed as she, again, patted Yumeko's head.
"I don't- I can't love her," Yumeko said as she turned her head away.
"I get it," Mary's mother smiled as she ran her hand over Yumeko's hair, "I won't say a thing to Mary. It can be our little secret." she put her finger over her mouth before she entered the room with Mary in it.
Yumeko then turned around and walked back to school. By now, she'd missed her match with the person from school, but she could at least go and try to get some school work down. She could also bring make up work to Mary, so she wouldn't fall behind.
--------------------
Mary looked up from her bed as her mother entered the room. "Mom," Mary greeted calmly with a smile.
"Mary," her mother cooed as she softly patted her daughter's head. Ririka smiled at Mary as she left the room to give the pair some privacy. "I'm so sorry," her mother burst into tears at the sight of her injured daughter.
"It's fine, Mom," Mary chuckled gently, trying not to hurt herself, "I'm okay, you see."
"Yeah, but," the older woman wiped the tears off her face, "I should've done something sooner."
"What could you have done? He would've just hurt you. There's nothing you can do with a man like that," Mary assured her mother. She wasn't sure why she was so calm about it. She was angry, fuming even. Although it wasn't necessarily her mother's fault, she somewhat blamed her for not doing anything sooner. Still, she also understood that there wasn't much the older woman could've down.
"I have good news," Mary's mother smiled as she grabbed her daughter's hands.
"What?" Mary said, a little excited.
"I found somewhere we can go," her mother smiled, and the look of relief that washed over Mary's face was enough for the older woman to feel eternally grateful and indebted to Yumeko.
"Where?" Mary asked curiously.
"The Jabami mansion," Mary's mother said cautiously.
"No way!" Mary exclaimed, immediately regretting it and bringing one hand to her head and one to her ribs.
"Just relax, It's already been settled," Mary's mother said as she put a hand on her daughter's arm.
"I can't do that," Mary said sadly.
"That Jabami girl really cares about you, you know," Mary's mother assured her, seeing the crestfallen look her daughter had at the mention of the other girl. Mary laughed bitterly, remembering their last conversation.
*******
"I'm gonna be late for class," Yumeko said coldly as Mary finally released her wrist.
"Stop!" Mary yelled, and surprisingly, Yumeko did.
"Just- Just tell me what I did wrong?" Mary asked sadly.
"Nothing. You did absolutely nothing wrong," Yumeko told her as she continued walking out of the bathroom.
In seconds, Mary had Yumeko pinned against the bathroom wall. "You don't get to run away from all your problems," Mary hissed as she pushed Yumeko harder into the wall but not enough to hurt her.
A tear slowly rolled down Yumeko's cheek as she realized she had been doing that her whole life. Running. She ran when her parents died, she ran when the Momobamis wanted her dead, and she ran when she had kissed Mary.
"I'm sorry," Yumeko said as she managed to get out of Mary's death grip and walk away.
"Just tell me how you feel, you idiot!" Mary yelled, and Yumeko heard her voice crack.
"I feel nothing," Yumeko said flatly.
She heard a sharp intake of breath before she was pressed against the wall again, only now, there was more rage behind those hazel eyes. "Liar!" she yelled as a few tears rolled down her face.
"I feel nothing," Yumeko repeated, and it sounded more like a prayer than an admission.
"Stop lying!" Mary said as she pulled backward and pushed Yumeko back into the wall.
"I feel nothing," Yumeko repeated.
"I know you're lying!" Mary yelled as she slammed Yumeko into the wall again, causing the taller girl to grunt at the force.
"What do you want me to say?" Yumeko asked in a softer tone.
"I want you to say the truth!" Mary yelled at her in exasperation.
"I feel nothing for you."
*********
A tear rolled down Mary's cheek, and her mom quickly wiped it away without asking any questions. "She told me that if I didn't accept her offer and something happened to you because of it I'd 'regret the day I was born'," Mary's mother explained, hoping it would lighten her daughter's mood.
Mary laughed at seemingly nothing. "I knew she was lying," Mary whispered to herself as she continued laughing, causing her to cough and wince all at once.
Mary's mother laughed at her as she tried to calm her daughter down. It was obvious to her that something had happened to her daughter and the Jabami girl, and while she was curious about what happened, she didn't want to pry. She also knew that if her daughter was to fall in love with a gambler, she'd want it to be a Jabami, so she had no qualms with the girl. That is, unless the other girl did something unforgivable, but even if she did, Mary's mom would bet -even though she wasn't a gambler- that Yumeko would've done it to protect Mary with no regard for herself.
"I'm okay," Mary whispered as she panted softly, "I'm okay."
"Quite the fit you had there," Mary's mother laughed.
"Oh, shut up," Mary joked as she laid her head back and closed her eyes.
"You should get some rest, sweety," Mary's mother said as she played with her daughter's hair.
"You'll stay here, right?" Mary asked in a quiet, groggy voice.
"Yes, baby. I'll be right here," her mother assured her as she continued to run her fingers through her daughter's hair, feeling the girl fall asleep.
--------------------
When class was finally over, Yumeko sprinted to her other classes to collect her work as well as Mary's. The teacher's were hesitant to give it to her, but when she told them Mary was in the hospital and would be gone for a few days, the teachers reluctantly gave her the blonde's work.
She arrived at the hospital about an hour later, and she made her way to Mary's room. She knocked quietly, and smiled when she saw Mary's mom answer the door. "So, you did come to see her?" Mary's mother smiled.
"Well, not really," Yumeko rubbed her neck sheepishly while Mary's mother raised a curious eyebrow at her, "I came to drop off her school work. I don't know if she'll be able to do it because I don't know her state, but I figured if she could...."
"I'll place it near her bed," Mary's mother smiled, not pressuring Yumeko to say more.
When the blonde walked back from putting her daughter's work down, she noticed Yumeko looking at her daughter from the doorway. "You can come in, you know," the older woman said, chuckling a little.
"I- I don't think she'd want me here," Yumeko smiled as she continued to look at Mary.
"You know, she feels something for you too," the blonde said.
"How do you know?" Yumeko said, directing her attention to the older woman.
"Mother's intuition, I guess," she shrugged as she looked at her daughter.
"That's why I have to stay away," Yumeko smiled apologetically as she took one last glance at her friend before turning on her heel and making her way back to the school and her dorm.