Chapter Text
After a long day of classes, Mary stretched her arms and legs as far as she could then twisted her back left to right, while sitting in her chair. She didn't find her schoolwork boring or anything, she was very studious, in fact. Her philosophy has always been to put in work every day, so that there is no need to scramble before an exam. With this, Mary has consistently scored highly in her class. Her scholarship at Hyakkaou depends on the results of her work ethic - meaning her test scores.
Mary took a moment to reflect on her time at this school, thus far. When Mary came to the academy, she quickly learned that she could only rely on herself. On the other hand, she learned that making sincere friendships would only be weaponized against her and cause pain. This past year has been a trial to cover up her feelings and to forget what happened to Tsuzura. She won’t admit it to anyone, but she’s glad she’s found herself a few close friends again. Before, the people she surrounded herself with were just posers looking to gain distinction by clutching onto someone greater to them. Mary knew they were always losers and she accepted her small place in the system, taking small winnings. Reflecting on it now, it really hasn’t been that long, but her days now are radically different from before.
Letting out a sigh, with the day being over, she began packing her books and other belongings into her brown-leather briefcase bag. She stood up from her desk and pushed her chair underneath it, the screeching of the chair legs echoing throughout the now half-empty room. It was time to go home.
Lately, after school hours every day, were dedicated to this election. However, she didn’t have any particular plans set out for this evening, so she planned on taking tonight as a breather - probably the only one she would get for the next few weeks.
There still was the issue of the Vice President following her around. They agreed that she would need to gamble and win against one of the other Momobami clan members, in order to prove her worth and to make their partnership official. However, the problem stands that they still haven’t found her a suitable opponent yet. She knew things were going to start heating up soon, to the boiling point in this election. Mary collected her thoughts and swiftly made her way to the door, headed to the staircase down the corridor.
"Mary!!!" a voice rang out in the halls. Quickly approaching was the click-clacking of expensive loafer shoes against the dark hardwood floor. Mary's face contorted a bit, in reaction, and she slowly turned to face the raven-haired girl who was giddily prancing towards her. "Yumeko, wha-" she started before being intercepted by the other girl, who forcefully collided their bodies together and ensnared the blonde into a crushing hug. "Gwah!" Mary heaved out, as the air from her lungs was abruptly pushed out by the force of the collision. She lost her balance and stumbled back a step or two to regain her footing, rebalancing the weight of herself and the other girl. Mary had just been walking down the stairs and Yumeko ran down behind her, just as she was on the staircase landing about to head down the next batch of steps.
"Mary~" Yumeko cooed as she rubbed her face fervently against Mary's. It was almost like a cat purring while rubbing against their owner. "What, Yuneko?" Mary demanded, narrowing her eyes down at Yumeko, before she realized her mistake.
"Meow!! Mary please pet Yuneko some pwease!!" Yumeko beamed up at Mary, with the cutest cat-face she could evoke. Mary quickly averted her eyes away and tried to turn her head as well, but before Mary knew it, Yumeko was pulling her face closer. She shut her eyes tightly, not able to face Yumeko. Mary knows better than anyone, you give this girl an inch and she will take a mile. Yumeko was no longer a Mittens, but she could be rather cat-like at times.
Mary tried to nudge them back facing the steps, with Yumeko clinging to the front of her. "Come on Yumeko, I need to get home. You're blocking my path." She growled, with a half-menacing look. Though, try as she may, she didn't look very threatening in the end. Mary is known to overplay her annoyance when she's embarrassed. Her cheeks had grown pink, while she tried forcing a scowl.
Yumeko may have now let go of their embrace, but moved in quickly and snaked her arm through one of Mary's and grabbed the left side of Mary's face, and pulled her in towards her own. She planted a couple of quick kisses on Mary's cheek, in an over-the-top way, perhaps akin to an Auntie kissing her little nephew's cheeks at a family gathering. It was certainly an embarrassing act to be a part of, on the receiving end at least. Mary's face instantly grew a much deeper red from embarrassment. However, that blush didn't last long, as her expression quickly changed to anger. "Yumeko!!! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She yelled and began using her free hand to push back Yumeko's head, far away from her face.
"Mary, I haven't seen you hardly at all these past few days since I’ve recovered. I have missed you so much!!" She squealed in excitement. Somehow Yumeko's personality always brought Mary back down, though she was also a cause for great stress as well. The girl was very odd to say the least, and perhaps crazy. Yet, she often had a very cute side to her as well, which Mary got to experience on the regular.
Mary's face was completely flushed at this point, but she tried to play it off, with a forced annoyance. "Well, you don't need to get all handsy on me, I'm right here!!" Mary diverted her gaze to the ground while she pouted - Yumeko was always poking at her pride. She brought her hand to rest on her forehead. Her fingers were pressing, rhythmically, around her forehead’s temples to soothe the oncoming headache. She lets out a strained sigh of annoyance, wondering why Yumeko was always like this. Since the girl had transferred to Hyakkaou, she's changed Mary's life and this was her new normal. On the other hand, could she really complain though? Things certainly were more interesting around here. Moreover, if she was serious about disliking Yumeko, Mary certainly would not be her friend or entertain her ideas either. Mary wouldn't want to easily admit it, but she greatly respects Yumeko as a gambler and as a person. Something about Yumeko excites Mary deep down, so regardless of the groans and retorts, Mary wouldn't have it any other way.
Clunk-click-clunk.
The sounds rebounded off of the walls. It wasn’t a very loud sound. Actually, it wasn’t easy to hear at all. The fact that the stairwell was empty, aside from the two girls, amplified the noises’ vibrations. It sounded like someone dropped something on the floor above them near the stairwell.
Yumeko took notice of the sound, but didn’t seem too overly concerned about its origin. Mary hadn’t noticed it all. A figure quickly bending down to pick up an object, at the top of the stairs, becomes apparent to Yumeko. The figure quickly recedes behind the corner, leaving just enough out to peek down at the girls. Yumeko's eyes sharpened in the direction of the figure, one could say her eyes almost twinkled in delight. She reached her hands up along Mary's back, dragging her fingers slowly along the fabric of Mary's blazer. Since Mary’s back was facing that direction, both girls were in full view of anyone peering down.
“Geez!!” Mary whined. “You’re really taking your time with the hugs and stuff today... This is all you’re getting for a while. I hope you know that!” Mary warned. Yumeko just laughed jovially and smiled back “Aw, Mary!! Didn’t you miss me too?” The redness in Mary’s cheeks deepened immensely. “Well, maybe..” she started to admit, but it didn’t last as she switched back to her usually defiant attitude. “You know what, Yumeko? If you’re going to be like this, I will make it a point to specifically NOT gamble with you in this election.” Yumeko pouted at Mary’s ultimatum. This is one of Yumeko’s favorite traits about Mary. Yumeko couldn’t help but grin at Mary being embarrassed. “You’re so cute, Mary!” she said, tightening her grip on the blonde. Mary locked up and shouted back “Wha- I am not!!”
Yumeko turned her focus back to the stairwell. She managed to lock eyes with the other person. “Locking eyes” was a very liberal description, as all Yumeko could see was an unmoving and inanimate face staring back at her. Her move back to Mary as the figure slips away.
"Yumeko, come on already!" Mary exclaimed, while she pried herself out of Yumeko's embrace. Yumeko, now with a satisfied grin tugged at her cheeks apologized "I'm sorry Mary-san, I should be all charged up now!" She smiled and turned about-face and started walking towards the lockers. "Huhhh??" Mary breathed out, exhausted. She scratched the back of her head and dragged her feet along behind Yumeko, while their conversation turned to the normal topics.