The Bar
Mary removed her helmet and ran her fingers through her hair to untangle them. Placing the helmet at the back of her bike, she bent over to look at her reflection in the rear view mirror, fixing her hair.
Okay, looking good.
She fixed her collar and then pulled her black leather jacket to straighten the creases.
It’s just a casual Friday night out with Sayaka. And Ririka. BUT BUT but... Sayaka is going to be there. So why am I so nervous. Because it’s a friday night? Yes. Friday night. I’m just high. That’s it.
She spotted the familiar side ponytail from a distance and received a wave. She could also recognise that the person beside her was Ririka. Afterall, she is the only person they know that wears a mask.
Come to think of it, I have never seen her without it…
Moving closer, she rolled her eyes as she noticed someone else standing beside Sayaka.
“Why the fuck is she here?” Mary pointed accusingly at the offending figure.
“My little birdie asked me to. Why? Are you disappointed that you won’t be alone with Ririka?”
“What? No! It’s not like we are the ones going only! Sayaka is here, isn’t she! And she can vouch for me!” Mary looked at Sayaka, her eyes screaming for help.
“She has been yapping about the Vice-President for the past few weeks though…”. Sayaka tapped the pen on her chin.
“Are you sure that you're not just using me as an excuse to get her to come along.”. Sayaka raised her eyebrow jokingly, questioning Mary’s intention for asking Ririka to go out with them.
Sure, it was interesting to argue with Mary with the reactions she’ll get but hearing Sayaka’s comment, Kirari moved in front of Ririka, shielding her.
“She’ll have to get through me first. I’m not letting some mutt think she has a chance.”
Mary gritted her teeth, clenching her hand tightly. She was insulted once again by Kirari. She would have donesomething. But shuddered at the thought when Sayaka hit her and decided to bite down her lips. She took a peek at Ririka, hoping that she didn’t get the wrong idea.
Instead, Ririka walked into the bar without saying anything. Kirari gave another glare then followed behind her and of course Sayaka followed suit.
Fuck. She must have misunderstood me.
Mary dropped her head, walking behind Sayaka. Thinking about how she should explain herself. She was about to cross the door when an arm smacked across the entrance suddenly.
“Woah. Dogs are prohibited.” The bouncer said intimidatingly, pointing backwards with her thumb to the “No animals allowed” sign.
“Ha ha.” Mary said sarcastically. She took another step forward but the bouncer placed her hand on her chest to stop her from moving further.
“No ‘ANIMALS’ allowed.” The bouncer emphasised on the word.
“Tch, says the one who has her hand on my breast.” Mary arched her eyebrows, looking down at the bouncer’s hand then up at her.
“Are we going to do this all day, Ha-”
“Is there a problem?” Ririka gripped tightly onto the bouncer’s hand.
“Momobami-san! No no no! We are just good friends.” The bouncer gave a laugh and quickly removed her hands.
“....”
“Forgive me for making you to wait for her. In you go, pomeranian.” She smacked Mary’s butt to get her moving in.
“HARUKI!” Mary rubbed her butt and walked with Ririka.
“I know you’re good with the ladies here but you better not prowl on our boss, Mary. I’m watching you.” Haruki pointed 2 fingers to her eyes then to Mary, gesturing that she’s watching.
Mary returned the favor with two middle fingers waving in front of her. Realising that Ririka had walked further, she flashed a smile at Haruki and quickly followed behind her.
Did she come back for me? But why is she walking so fast. Wait, was it because of Haruki’s stupid remarks!
“Ririka!” Mary tapped on her shoulder. She wanted to be given a chance to explain. Usually she wouldn’t care but a part of her wanted to make sure that Ririka did not misunderstood her.
“I’m not tha-”
“EH Mary!” A bob cut lady sitting at a nearby table waved her arms in the air and shot Mary with her finger gun.
“Oh. Rei!” Mary shot back with her finger gun.
Great, I got distracted.
“Sorry, abo-”
“Mary!” A lady sling her arms onto her shoulder.
“Nanao!” She pushed away the arm on her shoulder poliely.
Wait, where did she go?
“Rir-“ Mary called out, seeing that Ririka started walking.
“Maryyyyyy!” Another female rushed over and gave Mary a hug.
“Hey Aki!”
Mary returned the hug reluctantly. Ririka was getting further and further. With the amount of people swarming her, she was going to lose the sight of her. She doesn't want that. She pushed Aki away and reached forward to grab the silvered haired girl’s wrist.
“Wait!”
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Ririka may have been walking too fast but she didn’t understand why herself. She was slightly annoyed that Mary kept stopping on every other step they took. She was the one who noticed Mary was missing and offered to go back to look for her. Might as well let them both have the time together.
But seeing that Mary was actually fine by herself, she wanted to go back to her sister as soon as possible. She was feeling uncomfortable.
“Wait”
She stopped moving, thinking that she heard Mary's voice. She turned her back, her eyes searched for the blonde. It wouldn’t have exactly been hard to search for blonde hair in the streets but with the dim lights and occasional flashing of colored lights here, everyone looks like parrots dancing around.
This is futile.
She reasoned with herself that she had probably heard wrongly. The band’s music was blasting and with people having the need to shout, it made sense that she had heard it wrongly.
“Wait!”
A hand held onto her wrist, preventing her from moving further and pulled her to the bar table. Her heart skipped a beat.
So I didn't hear it wrongly...
Her mood changed 180, seeing that it was a stranger who's calling out to her.
“Hey, you come here alone?”
Oh…A drunkard...
Ririka swung away the hand that was holding onto her. She attempted to walk away but was blocked by 2 other males with their arms stretched out, blocking the way.
The man grabbed both her wrist and pulled her back forcefully. He restrained both of her hands behind her back as he stood in front of her.
“Not interested.”
He was taken aback by the robotic voice but never released his hold.
“Kinky but hey, no judgement. We can work with that.” He snickered with his boys.
“But I don’t like the mysterious getup. How else can we tell you’re enjoying it?” He ripped off Ririka’s mask, throwing it over his shoulders to his friends as they hollered. On natural instinct, Ririka tried to hide her face. She wasn’t used to having her mask off her face in public, out in the public.
He gripped her face with his hand to turn her head to face him.
“Would you look at that, boys, we got a pretty and shy one.”
Her eyes darted around, hoping someone would notice the situation she was in. But she was in fact at a disadvantage. With her petite size, the man had easily covered her with his body. His two 'bodyguards' were also blocking the side view. No one would notice without walking over. Even if she could scream, the band music and the noise in this place would cover hers. The bartender is probably too occupied at the other end to even realise something is happening over here. It is a friday afterall, short staff and overcrowding of people in this place.
“Look at me!” He shook her face with his hand.
“I yelled. I know. I’m sorry. Just relax and enjoy. It will be better if you scream though, it turns me on even more. Like the couple of girls before.” He moved his hand to caress her hair.
“I suggest you let go of me.” She jerked her head to avoid his touch.
“I suggest you let me have my fun and then my boys too.”
Ririka remained silent and calculated her moves. This wasn’t her first rodeo. She has been in similar situations before and all ends the same. Men are so predictable. It’s so easy to read their actions and cripple them and by cripple, she meant it literally.
I have wasted enough time. Kirari would be worried.
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“Do I know you?” The lady asked Mary.
“Oh! I’m sorry! I thought you were my friend!” Mary immediately removed her hand upon realisation. Her hair looked like it was silver in color under the flashing lights.
“Typical.”
“Huh?” Mary did not understand her.
“It’s a typical pick up line but since you’re cute, here’s my number.” She slid a handwritten note into Mary’s breast pocket and walked away.
What the...
Mary was confused and pulled out the note, tossing it on the bartender’s table. She leaned backwards to the table, scanning the floor.
Where the heck is she. Surely, she did not leave without me…
“Lucky us. We scored a silver haired beauty! Do you think it would be great for...?” A male with a cap rubbed his hands, licking his lips disgustingly.
Silvered haired? For what?
“Shut up and keep watch. You'll have your turn later. We wouldn’t want anyone to know.”
Mary leaned backwards over the bar table top and saw a silver haired lady who seemed to be struggling.
“What about the mask?”
Mask?
Mary cracked her knuckles and placed her hand on the man with a cap shoulder. She had her doubts but would like to make sure first. Nevertheless, whether it was Ririka or not, the girl seemed like she was forced and cornered there.
“Hey, that mask looks cool. Can I see it?”
“Huh? Yea, sure.”
“Don’t talk to her, you idiot! Our boss is busy with his girlfriend. Shoo.”
Mary held onto the mask. It was unmistakably the one that Ririka’s have.
Fuck. This is Ririka's!
“I suggest you let go of me.”
It was soft but she could recognise the voice even though she had only heard it once.
“I suggest you let me have my fun and then my boys too.”
“DON’T TOUCH MY GIRL!”
Mary snapped. She was furious knowing what they were planning to do to her.
She threw a straight punch into the first man’s stomach. Seeing an opportunity when he was crouched over, she used her elbow to slam down on his back and delivered a final blow of slamming her knee into his nose. Mary grabbed his cap as he fell onto the ground and instantly threw it to the other man’s face.
“You little shit!” The other man pulled out a flick knife and charged at her. Using his momentum, she grabbed his outstretched hand and flipped him over her shoulder, successfully slamming him into the ground with his other friend. Seeing that they won’t be moving for a while, she turned quickly, wanting to save Ririka.
“RIRI-”
Ririka was staring at the man on the ground. Her eyes were glowing accompanied by the same smirk that Kirari has. She stepped over the man and walked towards Mary.
“ka?”
Mary stood still, staring at her. Trying to piece together what happened.
“You… seemed fine.”
Ririka nodded her head. Mary wasn't sure what she was supposed to do next. Books and movies did not teach her what’s the next step when the damsel in ‘distress’ saves herself.
The commotion caused a few onlookers but soon reverted back to their own activities since it is common for fights to break out occasionally in a bar. However, this of course caught the attention of the bouncer who rushed over immediately.
“Momobami-sama!”
“Inform Haruki for the clean up, now!” Her voice rang with authority. She took a cloth to wipe her hands and toss it over the bar top table.
“We should go, my sister would be worried that we have been gone for long.” Her voice softened as she spoke to Mary.
Mary nodded her head. She was actually preoccupied with studying Ririka’s features. This was the first time that she had seen her without the mask and the feelings gushed over her body and mind. Just like the first time they had met at the zoo. However, this time, it felt different. There was a faint hint of familiarity that she couldn't put her tongue on it.
“Mary?” Ririka looked to the side, embarrassment was creeping up to her face from being stared at too long.
“Yeah, sorry.” She snapped out of her thoughts.
Mary removed her jacket and hung it over Ririka’s shoulder. Ririka held onto the jacket and looked at Mary, confused.
“I’m… just afraid that you’re feeling cold?” Mary rubbed her neck. She didn't want to tell her that she was afraid of losing her in the crowd again. Plus, having her jacket on her would serve as a sign that she was “taken”. She was trying to protect her and this seemed like the best option at hand.
“Are you sure you're not just being territorial?” She giggled at Mary. She knows that whatever Mary had said was a lie and wanted to see how she will explain herself.
Surprising, Mary stayed silent. She was right but Mary will not admit it. For if she were to admit, that would mean she....
“Why are you stan- What happened!” Sayaka rushed over to Mary.
“Sayaka?”
They were gone for too long or rather Kirari was bored sitting there waiting for them to come. Sayaka had offered to search for them but Kirari wanted to tag along. As they were about to reach the entrance, they spotted the other bouncer with Haruki. Judging from the smile on Haruki’s face, Kirari knew that something interesting must have happened and dragged Sayaka to follow her.
Sayaka grabbed a bunch of tissues from a nearby table and wiped the blood off her face.
“You’re bleeding!”
“It’s probably a graze.”
Must have been the moment where I flipped him over. Weird, I did not feel it.
“Tch, I said that I’m fine. OUCH. LIGHTEN A LITTLE WITCH.” Mary winced in pain as Sayaka dabbed harder on her face in an attempt to stop the blood from flowing.
“What stupid things have you done now?”
“I got into a fight... HEY, IT’S NOT STUPID.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Sayaka sighed. Mary was always getting into trouble. She couldn’t remember the amount of times she needed to bail her out since high school. The times that she had to plead for her to continue schooling, and not to be expelled, to the Dean. Thankfully her grades as the one of the top 7 were convincing enough to allow her to continue staying in school. She was a hell of a troublemaker. Always starting fights and Sayaka was the one cleaning up after her.
“I’ll take care of it.” Sayaka threw the tissues at Mary.
She was angry but she knew that Mary had her reason for doing it. Her brain had already came up with a number of excuses and other suitable compensation for the victim to get them to keep their mouth zipped. But looking at how Mary was injured, her brain scrape the 'nice guy' idea. Why waste the time and money when she could use ‘threatening’. They were carrying a knife, illegal possession of weapon and she fought back as self defence.
“I will make sure that they will be taken care of.” Haruki suddenly appeared beside them, bowing to both Kirari and Ririka. She waved to Mary who was leaning at the bar table, pressing tissues onto the side of her head, giving her the middle finger.
“mMmm.” Kirari wasn’t happy at all hearing the entire situation. While she was glad that Ririka was capable of getting out of such a situation herself, the place should have been more alert. Especially when a Momobami is in.
“Sayaka, I want a report of this whole building. The shareholders, the owners, everything. Send it to me tonight. Let’s go.” Kirari grabbed her hand and walked to the exit.
“But President, we just reached? President!” Sayaka grumbled on their way out.
“Seems like we are not having the drink tonight.” Mary ruffled her hair in frustration. She wasn’t able to get her drink. with Ririka. She was hoping to get a drink. with Ririka.
She sighed and turned her head with disappointment. But there Ririka was, standing beside her. Her eyes showing genuine concern for Mary’s injury.
“Thank you and I’m sorry for that.”
“This? This is fine! As long as you’re fine. Everything is fine...”
Ririka smiled endearing at Mary and couldn’t resist herself. She moved closer to Mary and leaned forward, giving her a peck on her cheek. Blood rose to her head and her speech became incoherent.
“Shall we go, my girl ?” Ririka teased and held her hand, pulling her along to where Kirari and Sayaka were waiting.
I can’t believe she heard that.
Mary touched her cheeks where she was kissed, blushing profusely.
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“I’m glad to know that you’re fine.” Kirari lay down her head on Ririka’s shoulder and Ririka rested her head on hers.
Ririka had offered to give Sayaka a ride home but Mary, being a blockhead, insisted on driving her home since she has always driven her home. She pulled Sayaka away before Ririka could hint her further. For someone that knew how to read emotions and behaviours, is actually pretty useless in reading romance ones. Ririka was unsure whether Mary was oblivious or maybe just like what Sayaka had said - stupid(ly cute) .
“This isn’t yours. The golden mutt’s?” Kirari questioned Ririka sensing a different material that she was lying on.
“Mary.” Ririka corrected her.
Kirari hummed and dropped the next question, fully aware that Ririka will not answer.
“And how long more are you going to play pretend, my dearest sister?”
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Mary was in a good mood today. She took her time to greet her fans, willingly took photos with them and even answer some of their questions. She even swept the enclosure with gusto, diligently finishing her work quickly. She sat down with Aoi, patiently waiting for Ririka to come.
*Clink*
The metal gate was opened. Mary felt the heat rising again and quickly fan herself. She was not going to look like some love stuck idiot.
Play it cool. Last night was probably a friendly gesture. Don't think so much
Suddenly, Aoi ran back into the bamboo house.
“Aoi?” Mary walked over to sit beside the house.
She stretched her hand in and pulled her by the leg out gently. She carried her in her arms and rocked her.
A shadow grew towering over them and Aoi quickly rolled off her arms, back into the house.
“Sorry, Ririka! I’m not sure why she’s so shy today.” Mary poked her head into the entrance, looking at Aoi sticking close to the corner.
“Hello Mary.”
Mary froze. She hasn't heard this voice in a very long while.
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Ririka held onto the black leather jacket, intended to return to Mary but backed away when she saw that someone else was in the enclosure with her.
“Tsuzura…?” she heard Mary say.