Chapter 6
Mary's thumb traced over the crisp edge of the folded playing card in her hand.
'Meet me in the dining hall in an hour'
The words were scrawled in Yumeko's neat handwriting over the six red diamonds printed on the face of the card. She had slipped what Mary is now recognizing to be her signature note into Mary's hand as they left their last class of the day—exactly one hour ago.
Returning the note to the pocket of her blazer, she hesitantly walked to the double doors of the dining hall. She had absolutely no idea what to expect on the other side of those doors. Yumeko was becoming more unpredictable as of late.
Her feet stalled—seemingly glued to the ground. There was something stopping her from taking the few steps forward to the dining hall. Was someone watching her? She spun around quickly, searching in the opposite direction for the source of that heavy stare she felt tingling on her neck.
But the cavernous hallway was devoid of students. She shook the ominous feeling off and turned back to the dining hall. It was probably her imagination.
Pulling the heavy doors open with both hands, Mary cautiously stepped into the room—only to be rushed onto a dining table by a twirling Yumeko. The hard wood was covered in white cloth with lit candles and grapes scattered across the surface.
To her surprise, they weren't alone. The Student Council President herself, Kirari Momobami, was laying prone on her stomach on a table similar to hers—a cherry poking out between her frosty, blue lips.
The dancing girl motioned for Mary to lay down on the table pushing a cherry into the palm of her hand. Complying, she settled onto the hard surface of the table, tilted her head back, and placed the cherry in her mouth.
From the corner of her eye, she watched Yumeko continue her mini pirouettes to the beat of an imaginary song. In her hands, she carried a fork and knife—gleefully making her way through the tables.
"Mary-san, come play with me…" Her eyes followed Yumeko as she danced away from the tables throwing a sultry look over her shoulder. The sashay of her hips hypnotized Mary. She felt her body give chase to the dancing girl past the rows of dining tables only to come to a stop at a hauntingly familiar scene.
Suzui was on his hands and knees waiting for her to take her seat on his back—opposite Yumeko.
Mary opened her eyes; blinking against the sunlight shining on her face. Her arm was throbbing from being wedged between the naked body still snoozing in front of her.
Ouch, I forgot how much that hurts.
She thought about moving her arm, but the sight of the girl's peaceful face made her pause.
Yumeko was facing her this time.
She studied every inch of the girl's features lazily—the golden shine of the morning light tricking Mary into thinking she had all the time in the world. In the moments that passed, she was left to reflect on the thoughts, feelings, and events that had come over her last night.
For two weeks, she had dominated Yumeko—controlling every aspect of their sexual encounters to establish a clear separation from "House Pet Yumeko" and—well, if she were to be honest—"Gambling Goddess Yumeko". But somehow, in one night, the lines between the two had blurred, and to Mary's terror…feelings she had thought she'd never have again begun to surface—for Yumeko.
She was angry, in all honesty.
After the shit-storm of feelings she had experienced in the past, she vowed to suppress all feelings of that nature to the deepest recesses of her being. It had worked, initially—but then Yumeko came along.
When she first transferred to Hyakkaou, Mary had planned to defeat the girl in one thorough strike, but Yumeko had beaten her to the point of becoming a house pet—with a life plan to boot.
Mary was beyond humiliated. The days she served as a house pet were absolute torture. Every day, the promise she vowed to Tsuzura had rung through her mind like an endless alarm clock. An agonizing reminder of her past failures. She couldn't protect Tsuzura like she had promised, so how did she expect to protect herself?
When news came out that Yumeko had fallen into 310 million yen debt, Mary had allowed herself a small feeling of vindication. Then, she begun to plan. As far as she knew, Yumeko was in bigger debt than Mary was and so she used it to her advantage.
If ever they were in the same room, Mary would immediately send the girl on endless errands. She ignored the other students' taunts and relished in the small semblance of control she had regained of her life.
Her own debt hung over her head like a storm cloud but having Yumeko waiting on her allowed her some reprieve from the never-ending gloom.
Then finally, the debt settlement party was announced—and she planned some more. Her trickery panned out flawlessly despite her having to rope Yumeko into the plot.
Unbeknownst to Mary, Yumeko was planning, as well. Thoughts of that damned playing card Yumeko had slipped into her hand crossed her mind. If Mary had known that that exact moment would change her entire life, she would've thrown that card right back in Yumeko's stupid, cute face.
Sitting on her bed, Mary unfolded the card hiding in her uniform blazer pocket. She had read and re-read the words a thousand times by now.
'Keep your door unlocked tomorrow'
"Tomorrow, meaning today," Mary whispered to herself. The words were scrawled over the red print of an ace of hearts card.
She didn't know what to think. What could Yumeko possibly want? As far as Mary knew, she was done with the house pet now that she was finally free from her debilitating debt.
Knock-knock-knock.
Her eyes flew up to the door. "Who is i-" Yumeko hadn't even given her a chance to voice the question before she rushed into the room closing the door quickly behind her. It was clear that the girl had been in a rush to get there. She waited while the girl caught her breath intent on having Yumeko speak first. It's not like she knew what to say, anyway.
"Saotome-sama," she took a deep breath, "I have a proposition for you," Yumeko said at last.
'Saotome-sama? Didn't she practically beg to call me Mary-san yesterday? And what proposition?' Mary thought skeptically. Things were happening way too fast for even Mary to process. She just longed for some quality alone time in the comfort of her bedroom, but here she was being bombarded by Yumeko, of all people. Although, she couldn't deny her curiosity at the girls' words.
When Yumeko didn't continue, Mary pushed, "Well? I'm listening."
Yumeko's eyes flashed. Without turning her body, she swiftly turned the lock on the door knob and gave Mary a salacious smile. Mary's eyes squinted at the gesture, "You're not about to kill me, are you?"
"Oh, Saotome-sama, you're so silly!" the girl giggled and bounced towards the bed, cozying up to Mary's shoulder. Hooking an arm around Mary's, she continued, "It's wonderful that you've finally gotten rid of your house pet status."
Mary gritted her teeth. She really didn't want to linger on the subject now that she was finally free. "Yes," she bit out, "it's truly wonderful. You know, you could be free too if you just used the money we won to give to the student council." From the sound of their conversation on the stairwell earlier today with Suzui, Yumeko was definitely planning something big for reaping the benefits of a house pet.
Oblivious to her tone or choosing not to acknowledge it (Mary never knew with her), Yumeko carried on, "Well, we'll see about that," she moved to place her hand on the bed behind Mary and leaned in close to whisper suggestively, "I don't think I'm ready to give up being Mittens, yet."
Mary stared straight ahead to where her notes and textbooks were strewn across her desk, refusing to look into the girl's eyes. She didn't need to look at Yumeko to know that her eyes were dark and swirling—lustful and full of wanton need. It was almost a familiar sight. Mary had seen her eyes transform that way hundreds of times—when she gambled and when she ordered Yumeko to run frivolous errands for her. The girl would return to her with the task completed, dutifully, but with that same crazed look plastered on her face. Mary knew if she looked at her now, she might give into something she might end up regretting.
"Saotome-sama," Yumeko sing-songed, pulling Mary's chin towards her, "why are you so tense?" Under the girl's fingers, Mary clenched her jaw. She was so close…she felt more than heard her words whispering into her ears.
Mary broke from her hold, standing and taking long strides to physically separate herself from the girl. Crossing her arms, she glares into Yumeko's intoxicating eyes and wills herself to stay strong. "What's the deal with you calling me Saotome-sama all of a sudden? You just asked if you could call me Mary-san the other day!" Deflection always was her strong suit.
All she gets is a giggle hidden behind Yumeko's slender hand. "What?" Mary snaps.
"Weren't you listening, Saotome-sama?" Mary watches with cautious eyes as Yumeko slides from the edge of her bed onto the cold, hard floor in front of her, "I don't want to give up being a house pet—just yet." She punctuates her words by planting her knees apart and leaning up to clasp one of Mary's hands.
With little resistance, she lets the girl pull her forward.
"I'm not ready for you to let go of your hold on me."
Mary's eyes snap into focus. The sleeping girl was beginning to stir, throwing Mary into a panic.
She slams her eyes shut, steadies her breath, and ignores the throbbing pain in her arm. With only her ears and sense of touch to depend on, she waits for Yumeko to fully awaken.
First, there's the sound of rustling sheets. She can feel the blanket on top of them slide over her arm. Distantly, she can still feel the warmth of the sun shining through her window and settling on her skin.
Then, the bed shifts slightly beneath them. Mary struggles to keep breathing normally—waiting for Yumeko's next move. Her eyes are closed, but she can imagine the golden glow surrounding Yumeko's form.
She feels the braid that's draped over her shoulder move as Yumeko trails her fingers down the loose plait. It sends tingles up her spine.
In that moment, Mary wishes more than anything that she was brave enough to open her eyes; more afraid of what she won't see in Yumeko's gaze than what she will.
Her fingers lift from her hair and suddenly she feels fingers brushing across her cheekbone, up along the side of her face, then across her forehead—skimming through her bangs. The golden glow against her eyelids—already bright—shines brighter. She fights the urge to smile.
There's barely any space between each other in her small bed, but she still has to strain to hear the words escaping from her lips, "What have I done?"
Mary's stomach falls.
The words were spoken softly, but the tone rang loud and clear—Regret.
She was infinitely glad she kept her eyes closed. She wouldn't have been able to mask the way her eyes would fall had they been open.
Then, the blanket was lifting up off of their bodies. Frigid air rushed to replace the warm cocoon in its place. The small frame of the bed groaned under Yumeko's shifting weight as she crawled over Mary's side-lying form, trying to avoid disturbing her sleep, presumably.
None of that mattered because Mary was numb to all of it.
Her eyes didn't need to be open to know that the girl behind her was dressing up hastily—removing every trace of her presence from the tidy room. Mary forced herself to retract into the shell she had created long ago; protecting herself and herself, only.
With her back to Yumeko, she let herself wince at the pain still in her left arm. To her dismay, the pain was intensifying even now that the pressure had been lifted from her limb. Ironically, it seemed fitting.
The hushed commotion behind her suddenly stopped and she listened to hear the soft padding of Yumeko's feet as they walked towards her bedroom door. With each step, Mary pulled the edges of her figurative shell closer to herself, preparing to shield herself from the inevitable blow.
The steps paused.
Mary held her breath.
Silence.
The sound of the door creaking open sent a chill up her spine—but the clicking of the door shutting closed sent the final blow straight to Mary's back. She let go of the breath she was holding and closed her mind off from the eerie stillness in the room.
In her determination to withdraw into her safe space, she missed the conversation taking place right outside of her door.
"Oh, sorry! I didn't see you there," Yumeko chirped, startled at the sight of the girl standing in the hallway.
"It's no problem, Jabami-san," Sayaka replied politely, "Good morning."