A Girl Named Mary Saotome (Chapter)

## A Girl Named Mary Saotome

* Cover
* Page 1
* Page 3

**A Girl Named Mary Saotome** is the first chapter of the first volume of *Kakegurui Twin* written by Homura Kawamoto and illustrated by Saiki Kei.

## Plot

Humans are not born equal," that's the sentence at the beginning. Mary Saotome is in front of Hyakkaou Private Academy as a new student; she noticed in her mind how huge the place was. Confident as she was, she called herself a "princess," aiming to graduate there and be at the side of the "winners." However, Mary's good humor is spoiled when one of her high school classmates, Tsuzura Hanatemari, recognizes and greets her. She listened uncomfortably to her compliments about being smart and getting into Hyakkaou on a scholarship.

Realizing what her other classmates were doing, Mary asked Tsuzura what they were doing and she explained the school's gambling tradition and advised her to be careful since transfer students were a frequent target of veterans. Mary just said that she wasn't interested in betting, however, Kokoro Aiura interrupted her and introduced herself.

Thinking first impressions first impressions were everything, Mary tried to be friendly. Kokoro realized she was talking to Tsuzura and explained how the rating system worked, then demonstrated that pets like her had no right to go against humans by dousing her with water to Mary's surprise, who asked why she had it. done that. Kokoro said that everything was fine and that Tsuzura would not resist, which she agreed.

Asking if she had money, she even advised her that she would need a good amount to not end up like Tsuzura, but she could win by betting. Kokoro offered to teach her about it and Mary accepted; the first caused Tsuzura to leave. They both sit down and Kokoro explains the Speed President rules and suggests ten thousand yen for the first game. Of course, it was a high value for someone like Mary, but she accepts.

They start playing, Mary getting used to how the game works. When her chance comes, she plays her joker, sure she would win, but she didn't expect Kokoro to have a three in hand, making her win the round. As Kokoro encouraged her to play more, she declined, but agreed to play when she claimed she would lend her some money. They started to play more and time passed until Kokoro regretted that she had two hundred thousand yen in debt.

Mary is humiliated by Kokoro and the people who were with her; she made her fall out of her chair and ordered her to lick her shoes, claiming it would make her her personal pet, which theoretically would be better than being tormented by all the students. Annoyed, Mary got up and left to the laughter of Kokoro and the others, going to the bathroom, regretting having been deceived all this time. Tsuzura arrives at the place and apologizes to her, to the irritation of the other, who, soon after, was surprised that she was crying.

Mary thought about how she hated that girl in elementary school and knew that her parents, the "losers," supported her getting involved with the "winners." Turning to Tsuzura, she gives her a cloth to wipe her tears and starts thinking about how to pay off her debt to Kokoro, finding no way but to gamble.

When Tsuzura returned her cloth, Mary was surprised to find that there was money in her hand. She claim her cloth wasn't worth that much and asked, if she had all that money in the first place, why didn't she pay off her debt, but Tsuzura just said she wanted her to invest and the two could share what she earned later; even if she paid off her debt, she would just turn into an animal again.

Mary yelled at Tsuzura, telling her to stop making that expression and stop putting strange expectations on her, pulling away from her. She claimed that she didn't want to hear complaints if she lost the money, which the other agreed, making sure in her mind that it would be okay since she always looked out for her.

Back in the living room, Tsuzura asked if she would bet and Mary agreed, but since she was a novice, she would need a good plan. She went to Kokoro's table and put the money there and she looked at her, wondering if she had come back to pay her debt and wondering how she got that money. Mary said she just wanted to ask for one favor: play the game from before again. Kokoro started laughing along with the others, claimed to love idiots like her and agreed to play again.

They sat together at the table and Kokoro warned her that she would not bet with her anymore, but would help her if she became her personal pet. Receiving no response, she just started shuffling the cards but Mary asked her to shuffle herself. Once each took their cards, Kokoro suggested twenty thousand yen, but the other preferred ten thousand.

Kokoro won the first game, then they played the second, again her victory, they played several games and Kokoro won them all and provoked Mary. The latter, however, angrily said that she was cheating by using some mark on the cards; against this accusation, Kokoro only laughed and encouraged her to look at the cards to confirm her theory. She teased her again and urged her to play again.

In fact, Kokoro was, in fact, cheating by using marks on cards that can be seen by a cell phone camera; with the help of her colleagues, she can know all of Mary's cards and have an advantage against her. Playing again, the two exchange cards and Kokoro notices the wild card and the other good cards she had in her hand, confident that she could finish it all at once.

Mary calls Tsuzura and entrusts her with her "trump card." Someone quickly looks at the cards Mary and Tsuzura were holding and Kokoro immediately thought she was planning to make her use her joker and then defeat her with the three in Tsuzura's hand and malefically thought it would crush her last strands of hope. She asked how much they would bet and was even more certain when Mary replied that it would be three hundred thousand yen.

Warning her that, if she lost that game, she would become a pet, and when they were both ready, they started to play. While she was already certain of her victory, she thought about how she would use Mary, until she said something about it being a dangerous bet; Kokoro asked her to stop talking nonsense and play. She agreed, showing that she was hiding a card, a joker, and claiming that she had won the bet, much to Kokoro's surprise.

Mary won that round, but Kokoro asked about three and she called her stupid, explaining that three was just a card from the discarded pile, meaning it had already been used. Still, she had won with those three, so somehow it really was her "trump card." When Kokoro claimed it was cheating, Mary said it wasn't cheating to hold a used card, it wouldn't affect the game unless someone was reading her cards, revealing that she knew of Kokoro's trick to always win.

She explained her strategy and Kokoro yelled that she could have lost with such a small chance of her plan working that she shouldn't have been so convinced that she was just lucky. Mary, however, teased her by saying that bets were precisely based on luck, rushing her so she could pay it at once, getting two hundred thousand yen for the difference.

Kokoro said she would make sure a girl like her, who is happy with a mere two hundred thousand yen, becomes a pet. Mary teased her by saying that she would never again lose to an idiot like her. Ignoring her protests, she called for Tsuzura so they could leave and split half for her, being happy with a hundred thousand yen on her part.

Tsuzura timidly called her and asked her to be her friend, much to her confusion. She explained that she was slow and as she had been a mutt all along, she didn't have any friends and would be very happy if Mary would accept; before she could actually respond, she thought she would refuse, so her asked her to forget what was said.

Annoyed, Mary asked why she was giving up and agreed to be her friend, but on the condition that she stopped being a pet, not wanting her friends to be called pets. The other agreed, but she said that was not all: she said that they would be above the rest, they would not be deceived again; if they had to bet for that to happen, then they would bet; they would defeat all the rich students at that school and be victorious. Under those conditions, Tsuzura began to cry with emotion, almost to the irritation of her now friend.

In her thoughts, Tsuzura claims that Mary is amazing and that she herself never thought of being a winner ever; she wasn't a lady, but she made a brave entrance by defeating Kokoro on her first day. She took her hand and said she'd do her best to stop being a "pooch," Mary nodding, wondering at her spontaneity. Tsuzura considered her her prince.

## Quick references

### Character appearances

* Mary Saotome
* Tsuzura Hanatemari (*first appearance*)
* Kokoro Aiura (*first appearance*)

### Chapter Notes

* This is the first chapter of Kakegurui Twin.
* This chapter shows Mary's first day.
* Mary entered Hyakkaou on a scholarship and her family is not wealthy.
* Mary and Tsuzura have known each other since elementary school.
* Tsuzura has been in Hyakkaou since elementary school.
* Mary participates in her first bets on Hyakkaou.
* Despite having almost become a pet, Mary was able to come back on top and win a big bet.
* Mary and Tsuzura officially become friends.

## Trivia

* This chapter is made available for free on the official Japanese Kakegurui Twin manga website as a preview for anyone considering buying the full volume. It can be read [1].