Chapter Text
Ririka laid on the bed with eyes wide open, gazing through the ceiling that now appeared to her in the form of the universe. Her lidded eyes shifted through galaxies to galaxies, stars to stars, planet to planet. Everything looked so magnificent yet so mundane as if nothing else really matters and all would eventually be swallowed by unforeseen blackholes.
The girl turned her head around, facing a different kind of world laying just beside her. It was a different universe entirely, her universe.
Mary had asked her to stay after the storm hit the area, citing that it wouldn’t be safe for Ririka to return home with such a condition. They had just finished their dinner when heavy rain poured accompanied by loud sounds of thunder, hindering Ririka from going home. She could call Kirari to fetch her the family limousine if she wanted to, or she could simply hail a cab, and money wouldn’t be much of a problem. But none of that happened, instead, she stayed and obeyed Mary’s command.
“Mary…” Ririka mumbled softly, taking everything in with every breath that she took. Her surroundings smelled like Mary, maybe even tasted like her too. The sheet, the pillow, the light that seeped into the room through a slightly ajar window; it’s all Mary’s and no one else’s.
It's almost like she was intruding, a trespasser who somehow made her way into someone’s private space. But was it really though? Was Ririka really trespassing when Mary had invited her willingly into this humble abode of hers? She even had the honor to see the living space herself before Yumeko, Mary’s other, and truer friend.
Ririka shifted uncomfortably on the unfamiliar sheet, the sweet smell of strawberry drifted to her nostril for the umpteenth time of the day. It was certainly a pleasant thing and in no time she would smell like that too. She would smell like Mary.
“Are you awake yet?” Ririka mumbled softly as she moved closer, inspecting the other girl’s sleeping face with utmost conviction. Daylight had made her look so ethereal with a soft yellow glow illuminating her golden strands. What a sight to behold, after all, a woman’s hair is her crown and glory.
It was left unanswered and Mary simply stirred in her sleep with a peaceful expression and who were Ririka to disturbed such a creature. She brought her thumb to stroke Mary’s stranded locks and put it back where it belonged just behind her earlobes.
I don’t deserve this, Ririka thought briefly as a storm raged inside her mind. Was it guilt? Was it resentment? Was it the fact that she was powerless to make a decision for herself? She didn’t know, she wasn’t Kirari who knew everything there was to know.
Everyone always looked so vulnerable when they’re sleeping, so fragile and delicate, unaware of their surroundings. Her crystalline eyes roamed for a sign, for a gesture. It almost felt like she was a predator watching its prey, hungry and intense, ready to attack at any minute. But it wasn’t fair for Mary was it? Ririka standing with her claws against the moonlight and Mary was just there like an unsuspecting sheep.
“How long have you been awake?”
A low growl, a tired sigh. Ririka’s eyes widened as she pulled back, retreating to the comfort of Mary’s duvet. Maybe her gaze had been too intense that Mary noticed from her dream and it shook her back into reality.
“For a while now,” Ririka lied, she had been awake since when it was still stormy until it had cleared up and turned their morning into a beautiful one.
“Stop staring,” Mary commented again, voice still heavy with sleep. “It makes me uncomfortable.”
“I-I’m sorry,” Ririka quickly apologized and looked away, it was clear that Mary felt disturbed by her presence on the bed. Considering that Mary had always lived alone, it was understandable that she would think that way.
“I guess it just feels weird to have someone sleeping on the same bed as me,” Mary commented, cheeks tinted red as words escaped her lips. “I’m not used to it.”
“I should have sleep on the couch yesterday-”
“It’s fine,” Mary said quickly, preventing Ririka from sitting up. “Don’t leave yet, it’s not the time.”
Ririka glanced at the nearby clock, it’s seven in the morning and they still have at least two hours before school starts. It was probably a fairly close time window to get ready but she didn’t want to defy Mary much, not when the girl had asked her to stay.
Mary had always been a peculiar puzzle for her, an enigma she and Kirari hadn’t quite able to solve yet. She came to the academy with a scholarship in tow and refused to bow down in the face of power. Perhaps she was a knight in shining armor in flesh, destined to free housepets from Kirari’s suffocating grip.
“We could be late if we stay here too long,”
“Do you care about having perfect attendance?”
“No, not really,”
“Then it should be fine,” Mary shrugged, “I feel so sluggish right now, I don't really have the energy for school.”
“We still have to do gambling to stay on track for the election in case attending class isn’t going to motivate you.”
“Right, right,” Mary said again, “Still, I think five more minutes wouldn’t hurt too much. This place is close to the school anyway.”
Ririka simply nodded and snuggled closer, seemingly unsure of what to do. She watched as Mary reached for her phone and scrolled endlessly, eyes fixated to whatever it was she had on the screen right now. Perhaps it was Yumeko texting her, or maybe even Suzui.
Sometimes Ririka wondered about Mary’s private life, how many friends and partners she had made during her enrollment in the academy alone. Mary had forged alliances and worked both with housepets and wolves alike. She had seen what they’re capable of, Ririka thought, yet she had always refused to settle down. Mary always looked restless, unsatisfied with her current conditions.
Did she seek to improve all this?
“Mary,”
“Yes?”
“If we win this, will you feel fulfilled?”
There was a long silence that followed and Mary looked slightly bewildered by Ririka’s sudden question. Though it was not something unwelcome as it gave time for Ririka to watch Mary’s expression more intensely. It was something that she certainly would never forget, a once in a lifetime opportunity. There was nobody else Ririka would want to see in this state, no face would be suitable enough to replace what Mary had unknowingly given her.
“I don’t know,” Mary took a deep breath, contemplating her answer. “I doubt that’s what happened to the president though.”
She was right, absolutely right because that’s the exact reason why Kirari kept coming back with another ridiculous plan to shake the ecosystem of her own aquarium. Sitting on that seat would give you power but at what cost?
“Kirari is… how to put it… a little bit eccentric,”
“ Very eccentric .” Mary sighed, “I always know that it demands a sacrifice.”
“Sacrifice?”
“It’s a give and take sort of thing,” Mary continued, her eyes looked a little bit too distant to Ririka’s liking. “What would be the sacrificial lamb for our victory, I wonder. Will it be me? Will it be my friends?”
Ririka decided not to answer that, it was inappropriate coming from her after all. Everyone in the devourer family could easily point fingers without feeling a single drop of guilt and she was no exception. But Mary, she was different. She was a nobody yet filled to the brim with endless potential, almost like the fool in the major arcana.
“I don’t want to lose now,” Mary sighed, “Precisely because of my friends and those who believe in me that I have to win the election.”
“Even if that means you’re going to suffer from that?”
“As long as my friends are saved then I guess I would be content with that,” Mary turned her gaze away, her eyes glistened as the light continued to seep through the window and into the room. “But I’m not a fool or that I am without personal ambition.”
“It’s okay to be selfish sometimes,”
“If so, then I’m no better than your sister.”
Ririka nodded, that certainly wasn’t in the wrong. But there was so much more that Mary didn’t know and understand. She was just looking at the tip of the iceberg from a boat far away while Ririka had dive meters deep underneath and came to know its real size over time.
Maybe that was her true purpose, to be a bridge that would connect Mary to the world of the unknown that was the devourer family.
“Sometimes I look at you and I see Kirari,” Mary said breathlessly, her glowing eyes rested still on Ririka’s crystalline ones. “Is it you, or is it her? I can’t tell, it makes me crazy.”
“Does it bother you if I’m Kirari?”
“You idiot,” Mary sneered, “Of course it bothers me.” She brought her hands forward and squeezed Ririka’s cheeks gently.
“Maybe you’re the one who deserves an Oscar instead of that actress relative of yours,” Mary added without missing a beat, “Even Yumemite would cower if she ever saw you acting as Kirari. Wait, come to think of it… maybe she did but simply never realized it.”
“It’s part of my duty,” Ririka gripped Mary’s wrist tightly, “Perhaps I was born to do exactly that.”
“ Bullshit,” Mary scoffed, “Look, I don’t know what happens between you and Kirari behind my back but don’t you dare to stoop so low like that.”
“Why do you care?”
“Well,” Mary breathed in and slid her hands free from Ririka’s grip. “I think you deserve so much more than that.”
Because suddenly everything didn’t matter now, every order, every promise, everything that had been the driving force of Ririka’s actions; it didn’t matter. Maybe it was the time to throw Kirari’s plan under the bus, to rip apart the family name, and ditch them for good. It was time for her to be a person instead of a monster, a living, breathing, person that lived in this very moment under the warmth of daylight.
“I don’t have the necessary power to do that,” Ririka said finally, slightly trembling. She brought her hands up to Mary’s face and traced the curve of her lips ever so slightly. “No, don’t say anything.”
She could feel it with the tip of her finger, the words that Mary was about to say. Coward.
Not yet, not now, those were just excuses. She could act now, she should act now. Mary had shown her that one needed to take action if they wanted something to come true.
But not now, later.
“God, what a pain,” Mary groaned, leaning forward against all odds. She placed a gentle kiss on Ririka’s forehead and let the older girl snuggled closer on her chest. “This is the only time I’m going to comfort you like this.”
“You’re practically hugging a monster.” Ririka smiled meekly, listening to the loud thump of Mary’s heartbeat. It was Mary’s and Mary’s alone.
“So what if I am? Are you going to bite me?”
“No,” Not now.
“But you will, won’t you?”
“Well, that doesn’t matter now,” Mary sighed softly, rubbing circles on Ririka’s back. “I’ll figure out what to do with you later, I’ve decided on that.”
“Really?”
“You think you’re the only one not being able to sleep around here?” Mary pulled back and then rubbed her temple tentatively. “I gave it some thought, maybe I need more, but I’m leaning to it for now.”
“Mary-”
“So, please, for the love of god,” Mary said again, “Don’t make this even more difficult for me,”
Maybe in another universe, she would be Mary’s best friends along with Yumeko and Suzui. In a place where her family name didn’t matter much and that Ririka could be whoever she wanted to be.
“Then I humbly ask the same of you,” Ririka said softly, feeling like she was on the verge of tears. Mary had been so welcoming of her so far and even though it was the outcome that Ririka wanted, she didn’t expect it to go far to this extent. Mary was noble of heart and maybe Ririka’s meek attitude had made her forget slightly about the fact that she still was Kirari’s sister.
“Suddenly I feel like it’s so much easier to deal with Yumeko and her gambling addiction than to deal with you and everything between us,” Mary groaned a complaint, but it was a fair one when all was accounted for.
“I’m sorry,”
“It’s okay,” Mary said again, “It’s just how it is.”
“I see.”
Ririka didn’t say any more words nor that she wanted to. If it’s possible then she just wanted to lay down on Mary’s bed being surrounded by the sweet scent of strawberries. She watched as Mary set the duvet aside and got up reluctantly.
“Time’s up,” Mary groaned softly, “We should get ready now if we don’t want to be late.”
“I can call for a car to make us arrive faster.”
“No, no need for that,” Mary said again, “Will you walk with me to school?”
“I will,” Ririka answered softly, feeling her chest swell in joy. Because they’re partners, right? For now, for now they are. Tomorrow? Who knows.