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YOUR NAME: Gwen
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CHARACTER: CANON SECTION
NAME: Yumeko Jabami
AGE: 16
CANON: Kakegurui
NAME: Yumeko Jabami
AGE: 16
CANON: Kakegurui
CANON HISTORY:
The canon of Kakegurui revolves around the private high school Hyakkaou Academy. A prestigious school for the children of the richest, most influential, and most powerful. It is meant to be a place of networking where the students can make connections with others of influence, expanding each other's reach and reputation. In this school, skill at sports or academic brilliance are not quite so highly valued. Instead, social standing is determined by one's skill at gambling. The most powerful, the most popular are the most highly skilled gamblers, or at least the ones who are the best at cheating without getting caught. All of this school gambling is overseen by the student council and apparently condoned by the faculty and staff. Under the student council's orders, Hyakkaou Academy has embraced a social caste system of humans and "house pets." Those who fall too deeply into debt, who lose too much money gambling to possibly be able to pay it all back, they are made "house pets" to the humans. Their bully, subjugation, and chastising is not only accepted but also encouraged. The only way to break free is to somehow manage to raise enough money to pay back all your debts, a feat considered near to impossible, or to win a special match, the last privilege reserved to house pets. It's a challenge to anyone in the entire school to stakes of the house pet's choosing. Their one and only get out of jail play. In such a school as this, a student with the ability to pick apart her opponents' strategies, who can read their tells almost instantaneously, who cares not about the rewards of gambling but instead for merely the sheer thrill of risking everything in a matter of seconds, such a student would be Hyakkakou Academy's ultimate antithesis. Enter the transfer student, Yumeko Jabami.
While very little is none about Yumeko's canon background from before entering Hyakkaou Academy, there are a few details which have been hinted at. The first thing we know about her family is that they are seemingly very well off, as she is not only able to attend Hyakkaou Academy in the first place but also able to lay down big, big money at the gambling table even on her very first day. It is later revealed that her family is part of the larger Momobami clan, "The Hundred Devouring Families" as they are called. The very family clan which Kirari Momobami, the student council president, sits at the head of. Still, even as part of such a large, prestigious clan, Yumeko's own particular family branch is apparently considered rather distant from the other branches, meaning she does not have strong relations with the children of the other families. It's inferred that her family is apparently not considered as important as the "main branches," and thus is not as wealthy or influential in comparison. However, being simply being a member of the "Hundred Devouring Families" is enough to give her credence in regards to family wealth. Even fewer details are available about Yumeko's immediate family members. We have an off-hand rumor from the student council president that Yumeko has a younger sister who is apparently habitually hospitalized with some sort of illness, and that her parents are essentially out of the picture. This paints a bigger mystery as to where exactly Yumeko's seemingly vast wealth comes from. Is it purely inheritance? In which case, how is it that her family's name is not more well-known? It's these illusive details around Yumeko which further compound her threat to the school's status quo. The student council cannot have such an unknown nobody demonstrating to the student masses that their order means nothing.
Yumeko begins making waves at Hyakkaou Academy even on her very first day of classes. Despite a warning from her classmate, Ryouta Suzui, about the nature of the school's social structure, Yumeko agrees to a game against Mary Saotome. In fact, even though Ryouta cautions Yumeko about how dangerous it can be gambling at their school, Yumeko seems more excited by the prospects rather than worried or intimidated. During her match with Mary -- a special game of rock, paper and scissors, Yumeko quickly seems to find herself on the back foot, losing about 1.2 million yen in a matter of only a few rounds. Putting on an act of naive innocence, Yumeko is able to entice Mary into one last round, a round of 10 million yen stakes. While Mary is reluctant to play for such a large amount of money in a single turn, Yumeko provokes her, turning her own chiding against Mary and getting her riled up. It's an act which demonstrates Yumeko's impeccable ability to read her opponents, as she picks up on what Mary's exact buttons are and pressing them to trick her into playing. Once she's agreed to the game, Yumeko proceeds to pick apart Mary's entire cheating strategy, using a number of their fellow classmates who she has under her thumb to skew the odds of getting certain cards in her favor. A frustrated and shocked Mary asks if Yumeko is attempting to back out of their game, which Yumeko gleefully denies and instead states that "the real fun starts now." Still believing the odds are in her favor, Mary continues with her strategy of playing paper, expecting to beat a rock from Yumeko, and she is instead dumbfounded when Yumeko plays scissors, a card which she had the lowest possible odds of receiving. In a single hand, Yumeko buries Mary in 8.8 million yen debt. A result that turns Mary instantly into a house pet and dethrones her as the veritable queen of their classroom. After the match, Yumeko explains to an awestruck Ryouta how she was able to figure out Mary's strategy and able to play around her. Still, Ryouta cannot figure out how she was able to pull a scissors, thinking she utilized some special technique to draw the trump card. Yumeko replies simply "I got lucky." A statement which leaves Ryouta both completely impressed and baffled as to how she must see these games of chance. As an act of penance, Ryouta apologies for his role in Mary's attempted cheating and states that he is going to drop out of the school and that he just does not have what it takes to stay there. Out of nowhere, Yumeko suddenly gives him 500,000 yen, enough to pay off his debts and return him to human status. Although Ryouta protests that he cannot possibly pay her back for this money, Yumeko still gives it freely, saying it's a thank you to him for making her game with Mary that much more fun. As she leaves school for the day, Ryouta watches her walk away, realizing that she is being completely sincere in her gratitude to him for skewing the odds against her, for making the game more interesting her eyes. It's then that Ryouta remarks on Yumeko's true nature as a gambling addict, a "Kakegurui."
Completely undaunted by her high stakes game in her very first day, Yumeko accepts a match the very next day from an underclassman and student council member, Itsuki Sumeragi. A game of memory and matching cards from two different, seemingly standard decks. In a similar pattern to her games yesterday, Yumeko loses the first round and puts herself in a debt of 20 million yen. Instead of backing down, Yumeko instead requests another round, a chance to erase her debt, to which Itsuki agrees as long as Yumeko puts up her fingernails as collateral. It seems the kouhai has created a dark reputation around herself as a collector of her opponents' fingernails when she finds them particularly beautiful. Agreeing to these terms, Yumeko in a single turn uncovers a majority of matching cards, winning the game on her very first play. All the while, Yumeko picks apart Itsuki's strategy of using marked card backs to know which cards match. A feat which implies that in a single round of play, Yumeko not only picked up on the tiny invisible, fading ink marks on the backs of the cards, but also memorized which marks correspond to which matching pair of cards. An achievement next to impossible, and yet done with complete ease. Her play leaves Itsuki in a stunned silence as she tries to compute what she's just witnessed, but that doesn't stop Yumeko. She's not satisfied with simply clearing her debt, and instead she wishes to raise their stakes once again. This time, she wants the both of them to play for their fingernails, and she completely overpowers Itsuki with her monstrous aura as she seems completely overcome with a lust for higher and higher antes. Itsuki is terrified by Yumeko to the point of tears and sputtered apologies. It takes Ryouta stepping in to get Yumeko to relent, leaving a look of utter disappointment upon her face.
And this would not be the only council member Yumeko would play against, in fact, they become her only targets. Perhaps it is because she believes them to be the only students at their school capable of playing at the extreme levels of risk Yumeko delights in, or perhaps she has some other motive for wanting to take them all on. Either way, her next match pits her against Yuriko Nishinotouin, president of the school's culture club. Again, following the pattern of her two previous matches, Yumeko's opponent seems to have her beat to the point where any normal individual would want to give up, but yet again Yumeko proceeds to uncover the culture club president's cheat of using magnets to drop game pieces into their desired slots. And again, Yumeko manages to entrap them in games of astronomical bets, putting Nishinotouin in a position where she risks losing 2 billion, 170 million yen. Stakes which utterly terrify the council member but excite Yumeko, stating simply that she wishes for them to feel the same pain of possibly losing so much money. This time, however, it seems luck is not on Yumeko's side, as her big play backfires and costs her the game. Although Yumeko figures out that there was a second cheat utilized by the student council president herself, outside of Nishinotouin's awareness as well, the damage has already been done. Yumeko is put into so much debt that she becomes a "house pet." A prospect which would have broken any other student, but instead only seemed to excite Yumeko because now she has her one game challenge which she use on any other student in the school. Her sights now locked on the student council president herself, as playing against her Yumeko decides would be the most fun of all.
Yumeko's next match comes in the form of the debt resettlement games, a chance for all house pet students to win back their freedom and human status by gambling against one another with their individual debts as the chips. Yumeko finds herself at a table of four -- herself, Mary Saotome, Jun Kiwatari, and Nanami Tsubomi. The game is Two Card Indian Poker for a total of ten rounds. Despite their earlier contest against each other on Yumeko's first day, Mary and Yumeko form a partnership for the upcoming game. Mary is shrewd enough to predict that Kiwatari and Tsubomi are likely going to try and pull something on them, as Kiwatari himself is not a house pet and has quite the reputation of bullying his classmate, Tsubomi, who is a pet like Yumeko and Mary. Managing to work out a system, Yumeko and Mary head into their game with the mindset that it will be a two-on-two match. The duo quickly figure out the strategy Tsubomi and Kiwatari have figured out, signaling to each other with the way they place their cards on the table. The girls' mutual skill at bluffing and reading their opponents further aids them in turning the game to their advantage which only infuriates Kiwatari more. Sensing an opportunity to help out the beaten down Tsubomi break free from under Kiwatari's thumb, Yumeko provokes her by suggesting that she is no better than a caged animal who refuses to leave even when the cage door is left open. She even goes so far as to call her a "permanent house pet," someone who prefers to be used and abused for the rest of their life. Tsubomi's anger surges and she's able to rise above Kiwatari in the game's rankings, further shattering what little chance Kiwatari had left of making it out of the debt resettlement game still as a human. The two have one final trick to play on the bully Kiwatari. They reveal that this whole game they've been playing with each other's debt declaration boards, meaning that the amount each of their chips were worth had been switched the whole time. A move that single-handedly shakes up the final tallies of the game and secures one of them a first place victory. Ultimately, Yumeko assists Mary in coming out on top, Tsubomi in second, herself in third, and punishing Kiwatari with fourth place and mountains of debt. Mary's first place finish guarantees her return to being a human, but Yumeko's third place means that she will remain a house pet for now. Something that does not seem to bother her in the least. In fact, she instead seems more pleased by the fact that she's managed to befriend Mary. Someone who had been more or less her enemy on day one, rebuked her on day two, but was now someone who actually seemed to respect and enjoy Yumeko's company. It soon becomes clear that Yumeko's interest in Mary may go beyond simply being friends, too.
After the debt resettlement game, Yumeko goes on to play more matches against student council members. First, she is forced into playing against Midari Ikishima, president of the school's beautification committee. It's a game of life or death involving a version of Russian Roulette and matching cards through ESP. It's the type of game which Yumeko would normally take a great amount of pleasure in; however, it soon becomes clear to her that Ikishima is attempting to rig the game so that Yumeko will absolutely win, even though that means Ikishima herself will die. It seems that for all her sadomasochistic tendencies in gambling, there are still those who are even more extreme in their masochism. Because dying to Ikishima means winning, something Yumeko not only figures out but manages to thwart by deliberately choosing not to win and end the game in a tie. In Yumeko's own words, she hates playing games where she knows she'll absolutely win or lose. Ikishima's game is not gambling, it's simply a ploy to get Yumeko to hurt her, even kill her. In short, she's the type of woman Yumeko hates the most, the type of person who genuinely pisses her off. Yumeko then goes on to play against the high school idol Yumemi Yumemite, the ambitious and egotistical treasurer Kaede Manyuda, and then finally the president's right hand Sayaka Igarashi. Each time, she plays for incredible risks -- her future, her own entire wealth and the entire wealth of a friend, and even her own life (the right to gamble ever again at Hyakkaou Academy -- the loss of which would be akin to death for Yumeko), respectively. The games are enough to win Yumeko back her "human" status, and they're also enough to entice the president into making a dramatic decision. She calls for a special type of election. One in which her seat will be up for grabs, and by extension control over perhaps the most influential institution in the world, to any student who manages to earn enough votes. And since everything in Hyakkaou Academy revolves around gambling, it's only natural that games of chance have their part in determining who wins the election. For it is only by winning games against other students can one secure votes, and the student who manages to bank enough votes at the end will be the winner and the new student council president. In addition, Kirari Momobami invites the children of the "Hundred Devouring Families" to participate as well, forcing their hand by offering control of the school and of their own clan. Currently, Yumeko is engaged in these election games, hoping to play against each participating child of the "Hundred Devouring Families" and eventually Kirari herself.
CANON PERSONALITY:
Yumeko's canon personality can best be described as "erratic." One moment, she can be very sweet, innocent, and demure, and then the very next she can be sly, menacing, and manipulative. In fact, she can at times even be described as sadomasochistic, and it all stems from her absolute love for gambling.
Yumeko is demonstrated that she can be a very loyal and sweet friend. Upon winning her match against Mary Saotome in episode one, Yumeko proceeds to give Ryouta Suzui $500,000, enough for him to completely pay off his debt and cease being a "house pet." This is even in spite of the fact that Ryouta confesses to and apologizes for helping Mary cheat in her game against Yumeko. While Yumeko explains that it's a gift, a thank you for giving her an exciting game, she never does ask that he pay her back someday. In fact, Ryouta even offers to do so, to find some way to pay her back. To which, Yumeko promptly rejects his offer. Instead waving off the $500,000 as a gift and that he should not feel obligated at all to pay her back. Yumeko's genuine kindness is also demonstrated in her interactions with Mary post beating her at their game of cards. Despite clearly looking satisfied with having brought Mary low at the end of their game, Yumeko later shows genuine concern for her rival upon seeing how quickly the class turns upon Mary after her defeat. All of them immediately bullying her and treating her like a "house pet" by vandalizing her desk and making ugly comments to her face. Even though Mary rebukes Yumeko's concern, it doesn't stop Yumeko from still reaching out to her classmate. When she walks in on Mary losing her match against Nishinotouin, she is clearly sympathizing with Mary's anger and sorrow at having lost and descended further into debt. Yumeko's interest and kindness towards Mary is again demonstrated before their debt resettlement game, Yumeko is genuinely happy to see Mary in the auditorium, and even happier when finding out that they will be playing in the same game together. Not only that, but Yumeko also agrees to assist her former rival in their debt resettlement game, using their combined gambling talents to overcome the cheating Kiwatari. Yumeko further demonstrates her compassion in reacting to Kiwatari's treatment of Tsubomi during the debt resettlement game. Although Yumeko choses to provoke Tsubomi into rebelling against Kiwatari, she does so with a desire to help the beaten down girl rediscover her pride. At the end of the match, Yumeko shows no bitterness in placing third to Tsubomi. She even congratulates the smaller girl on her higher placement. Yumeko consistently continues to show compassion to her opponents at strange times. She would later be joined by Itsuki Sumeragi, the girl she defeated and utterly terrified in a game of memory. While she does test her new friend's faith in her in a later gambling match, Yumeko does genuinely show a desire to help Itsuki Sumeragi overcome Manyuda's hold over her. As a final example of Yumeko's sometimes perplexing compassion, she clearly seems worried about Sayaka Igarashi when she sees how distraught the girl is over her beloved council president, Kirari Momobami, paying more attention to Yumeko than her. It can often seem like Yumeko's kindness is a mask or perhaps an act to catch people off guard, and while that is certainly sometimes the case, where she is able to get her opponents to underestimate her by feigning or exaggerating a naive innocence, it also seems to come from a genuine place of sympathy and care.
Additionally, it's clear that Yumeko cares very deeply for her friends. She may have a funny way of showing it at first, but she does demonstrate a concern for their well-being and a love for their company. She reaches out to Mary after their debt resettlement game, asking her permission to refer to her as Mary-san. A sign of their friendship going beyond simple rivals. In Ryouta's case, Yumeko never shows him any ill-will despite his conspiring against her in her first ever game at Hyakkaou Academy. She denies his requests to return the money she gives him, and later insists that she's glad he made her game so much more interesting. Later on, she again demonstrates her gratitude to him after their match against Midari Ikishima the first time. Put in a life or death situation, Yumeko manages to once again turn the tables on her opponent thanks to Ryouta's help. While they could not communicate with each other during the ESP matching game, their unspoken connection was enough for Yumeko to secure victory. What's more, when she asks Ryouta why he played his cards the way he did, she shows genuine appreciation for their friendship and his faith in her by treating him to a sweets buffet visit. It seems that those who are willing to put their trust and faith in her are in turn rewarded with her loyalty and sincere affection.
Yumeko's kindness stands in direct contrast to her behavior while gambling. In her gambling matches, Yumeko has demeaned, belittled, and manipulated her opponents over the course of multiple matches. She takes delight in bringing her opponents into her "addiction." As Yumeko herself puts it, she prefers games where she knows she can absolutely win or lose. It's all about the gamble to her, and she derives great pleasure from getting people to embrace the true essence of gambling -- the risk of possibly losing everything. Yumeko is not satisfied with simple, mundane stakes, and instead vastly prefers matches in which the ante is raised to astronomical heights. This can mean gambling for insane sums of money to even risking bodily harm. She's very shrewd in her matches, able to read her opponent's tells and even able to pick apart intricate strategies in a matter of seconds. She uses these abilities in conjunction with her taunts to enrage and entrap her opponents. Putting them out of their right minds, and instead essentially provoking them into joining in on her madness. In her match against the council member Nishinotouin, Yumeko proceeds to call her senpai a variety of names and slurs in order to enrage the otherwise serene woman. She then finds the one way to turn the council member's semi-rigged again against her, causing her to risk losing billions and billions of dollars. In an earlier match between Yumeko and Itsuki, Yumeko agrees to a gamble over her fingernails; meaning that, if she lost, she would have her fingernails ripped out as compensation for her debt. However, not only does Yumeko manage to turn the tables by figuring out Itsuki's marked playing cards trick after only a round, but she then proceeds to terrify the younger girl into a gibbering, crying mess. Her desire to keep raising the stakes, her monstrous appetite for greater risks scaring Itsuki into a pile of tears only capable of apologizing for even playing with Yumeko in the first place. Yumeko is perhaps at her most cruel after her games with councilmember and school idol Yumemi Yumemite. She secretly records the other girl's tantrum about her own fans, and then uses that to raise the stakes of their gamble. Her desire is to force Yumemi to gamble for her everything, and, even after beating her, Yumeko does not relent. Instead, she insists that the recording be played, refusing to be bought off instead by Yumemi's manager. It's a rather self-serving gesture from Yumeko, as her true goal is not necessarily to humiliate Yumemi but more so to lure out another councilmember, Kaede Manyuda, into gambling with her next. Yumeko further demonstrates her seemingly true selfishness in her duel with Manyuda by pushing Itsuki to continue to back her with higher and higher bets. An act with Manyuda reads as Yumeko merely being a selfish demon trying to drag them all down into the pits of gambling with her. For that truly is Yumeko's deepest pleasure, pulling her opponents down from their pedestals and ensnaring them into games of extreme risk.
There seem to be very few individuals whom Yumeko genuinely despises. While she clearly demonstrates little concern for her opponents during their games of chance, she has certainly showed that she is capable of it before and after her matches. However, Yumeko is clearly capable of despising someone as seen by her interactions with Midari Ikishima, another council member and severe masochist. As she tells Ryouta on day one, she dislikes games where she knows she'll absolutely win or lose, and Ikishima not once but twice plays games with Yumeko which put her in a position of knowing she'll win. Yumeko's distaste for Ikishima is strongest after their second match, a three person game of chance involving the cutting of strings potentially tied to a guillotine poised to lop off their fingers. At only two strings left, rather than play out the 50-50 chance, which to Yumeko would have been the height of bliss, Ikishima instead takes away the pleasure by cutting the final two strings in one move -- something that was technically against the rules of play as well. Yumeko's utter disgust with Ikishima for taking such an action is something unseen from her up until this moment. It's a side of her that rarely comes out, but when it does, it is perhaps even more terrifying than her usual gambling obsessed behavior.
In summation, Yumeko can often seems like two different people cohabiting one body. The kind, sweet high school girl, and the devilish, conniving Kakegurui. At her core, however, Yumeko is a fairly easy person to understand. Her life is gambling. Her pleasure comes from risking everything, and the more people she gets to partake as well then the greater her delight. She befriends those she finds interesting; those who she can gamble with again and again. Basically, Yumeko's life is gambling.
SKILLS/ABILITIES:
Intelligence: Yumeko is very intelligent, able to calculate complex statistics and sums of money very quickly. Not only that, but she has an exceptional memory.
Quick Thinking: Yumeko is able to read through their opponents strategies after playing only a few turns with them. No matter how complex the game by itself is, not only does Yumeko demonstrate an ability to quickly master the game, but she also is able to decipher her opponent's strategies and then a way to play around them.
Analysis: Yumeko is extremely talented at reading her opponents; she can not only easily figure out their tells, but she's also capable of picking up on what is the best way to push their buttons. She can deftly goad them into playing against her when they might otherwise have refused.
Luck: While skill in reading her opponents and knowledge of game strategy partially explain Yumeko's supreme gambling abilities, they don't completely account for how she is able to win as much as she does. Put simply, she is incredibly, unbelievably lucky. Picking apart Mary's cheating strategy in their first game is one thing, but then successfully drawing the card she had the lowest possible percentage of getting is quite another. Even when she loses Nishinotouin, it's explained that the game was rigged in such a way that she very likely would have won had the president not intervened as she did.
The canon of Kakegurui revolves around the private high school Hyakkaou Academy. A prestigious school for the children of the richest, most influential, and most powerful. It is meant to be a place of networking where the students can make connections with others of influence, expanding each other's reach and reputation. In this school, skill at sports or academic brilliance are not quite so highly valued. Instead, social standing is determined by one's skill at gambling. The most powerful, the most popular are the most highly skilled gamblers, or at least the ones who are the best at cheating without getting caught. All of this school gambling is overseen by the student council and apparently condoned by the faculty and staff. Under the student council's orders, Hyakkaou Academy has embraced a social caste system of humans and "house pets." Those who fall too deeply into debt, who lose too much money gambling to possibly be able to pay it all back, they are made "house pets" to the humans. Their bully, subjugation, and chastising is not only accepted but also encouraged. The only way to break free is to somehow manage to raise enough money to pay back all your debts, a feat considered near to impossible, or to win a special match, the last privilege reserved to house pets. It's a challenge to anyone in the entire school to stakes of the house pet's choosing. Their one and only get out of jail play. In such a school as this, a student with the ability to pick apart her opponents' strategies, who can read their tells almost instantaneously, who cares not about the rewards of gambling but instead for merely the sheer thrill of risking everything in a matter of seconds, such a student would be Hyakkakou Academy's ultimate antithesis. Enter the transfer student, Yumeko Jabami.
While very little is none about Yumeko's canon background from before entering Hyakkaou Academy, there are a few details which have been hinted at. The first thing we know about her family is that they are seemingly very well off, as she is not only able to attend Hyakkaou Academy in the first place but also able to lay down big, big money at the gambling table even on her very first day. It is later revealed that her family is part of the larger Momobami clan, "The Hundred Devouring Families" as they are called. The very family clan which Kirari Momobami, the student council president, sits at the head of. Still, even as part of such a large, prestigious clan, Yumeko's own particular family branch is apparently considered rather distant from the other branches, meaning she does not have strong relations with the children of the other families. It's inferred that her family is apparently not considered as important as the "main branches," and thus is not as wealthy or influential in comparison. However, being simply being a member of the "Hundred Devouring Families" is enough to give her credence in regards to family wealth. Even fewer details are available about Yumeko's immediate family members. We have an off-hand rumor from the student council president that Yumeko has a younger sister who is apparently habitually hospitalized with some sort of illness, and that her parents are essentially out of the picture. This paints a bigger mystery as to where exactly Yumeko's seemingly vast wealth comes from. Is it purely inheritance? In which case, how is it that her family's name is not more well-known? It's these illusive details around Yumeko which further compound her threat to the school's status quo. The student council cannot have such an unknown nobody demonstrating to the student masses that their order means nothing.
Yumeko begins making waves at Hyakkaou Academy even on her very first day of classes. Despite a warning from her classmate, Ryouta Suzui, about the nature of the school's social structure, Yumeko agrees to a game against Mary Saotome. In fact, even though Ryouta cautions Yumeko about how dangerous it can be gambling at their school, Yumeko seems more excited by the prospects rather than worried or intimidated. During her match with Mary -- a special game of rock, paper and scissors, Yumeko quickly seems to find herself on the back foot, losing about 1.2 million yen in a matter of only a few rounds. Putting on an act of naive innocence, Yumeko is able to entice Mary into one last round, a round of 10 million yen stakes. While Mary is reluctant to play for such a large amount of money in a single turn, Yumeko provokes her, turning her own chiding against Mary and getting her riled up. It's an act which demonstrates Yumeko's impeccable ability to read her opponents, as she picks up on what Mary's exact buttons are and pressing them to trick her into playing. Once she's agreed to the game, Yumeko proceeds to pick apart Mary's entire cheating strategy, using a number of their fellow classmates who she has under her thumb to skew the odds of getting certain cards in her favor. A frustrated and shocked Mary asks if Yumeko is attempting to back out of their game, which Yumeko gleefully denies and instead states that "the real fun starts now." Still believing the odds are in her favor, Mary continues with her strategy of playing paper, expecting to beat a rock from Yumeko, and she is instead dumbfounded when Yumeko plays scissors, a card which she had the lowest possible odds of receiving. In a single hand, Yumeko buries Mary in 8.8 million yen debt. A result that turns Mary instantly into a house pet and dethrones her as the veritable queen of their classroom. After the match, Yumeko explains to an awestruck Ryouta how she was able to figure out Mary's strategy and able to play around her. Still, Ryouta cannot figure out how she was able to pull a scissors, thinking she utilized some special technique to draw the trump card. Yumeko replies simply "I got lucky." A statement which leaves Ryouta both completely impressed and baffled as to how she must see these games of chance. As an act of penance, Ryouta apologies for his role in Mary's attempted cheating and states that he is going to drop out of the school and that he just does not have what it takes to stay there. Out of nowhere, Yumeko suddenly gives him 500,000 yen, enough to pay off his debts and return him to human status. Although Ryouta protests that he cannot possibly pay her back for this money, Yumeko still gives it freely, saying it's a thank you to him for making her game with Mary that much more fun. As she leaves school for the day, Ryouta watches her walk away, realizing that she is being completely sincere in her gratitude to him for skewing the odds against her, for making the game more interesting her eyes. It's then that Ryouta remarks on Yumeko's true nature as a gambling addict, a "Kakegurui."
Completely undaunted by her high stakes game in her very first day, Yumeko accepts a match the very next day from an underclassman and student council member, Itsuki Sumeragi. A game of memory and matching cards from two different, seemingly standard decks. In a similar pattern to her games yesterday, Yumeko loses the first round and puts herself in a debt of 20 million yen. Instead of backing down, Yumeko instead requests another round, a chance to erase her debt, to which Itsuki agrees as long as Yumeko puts up her fingernails as collateral. It seems the kouhai has created a dark reputation around herself as a collector of her opponents' fingernails when she finds them particularly beautiful. Agreeing to these terms, Yumeko in a single turn uncovers a majority of matching cards, winning the game on her very first play. All the while, Yumeko picks apart Itsuki's strategy of using marked card backs to know which cards match. A feat which implies that in a single round of play, Yumeko not only picked up on the tiny invisible, fading ink marks on the backs of the cards, but also memorized which marks correspond to which matching pair of cards. An achievement next to impossible, and yet done with complete ease. Her play leaves Itsuki in a stunned silence as she tries to compute what she's just witnessed, but that doesn't stop Yumeko. She's not satisfied with simply clearing her debt, and instead she wishes to raise their stakes once again. This time, she wants the both of them to play for their fingernails, and she completely overpowers Itsuki with her monstrous aura as she seems completely overcome with a lust for higher and higher antes. Itsuki is terrified by Yumeko to the point of tears and sputtered apologies. It takes Ryouta stepping in to get Yumeko to relent, leaving a look of utter disappointment upon her face.
And this would not be the only council member Yumeko would play against, in fact, they become her only targets. Perhaps it is because she believes them to be the only students at their school capable of playing at the extreme levels of risk Yumeko delights in, or perhaps she has some other motive for wanting to take them all on. Either way, her next match pits her against Yuriko Nishinotouin, president of the school's culture club. Again, following the pattern of her two previous matches, Yumeko's opponent seems to have her beat to the point where any normal individual would want to give up, but yet again Yumeko proceeds to uncover the culture club president's cheat of using magnets to drop game pieces into their desired slots. And again, Yumeko manages to entrap them in games of astronomical bets, putting Nishinotouin in a position where she risks losing 2 billion, 170 million yen. Stakes which utterly terrify the council member but excite Yumeko, stating simply that she wishes for them to feel the same pain of possibly losing so much money. This time, however, it seems luck is not on Yumeko's side, as her big play backfires and costs her the game. Although Yumeko figures out that there was a second cheat utilized by the student council president herself, outside of Nishinotouin's awareness as well, the damage has already been done. Yumeko is put into so much debt that she becomes a "house pet." A prospect which would have broken any other student, but instead only seemed to excite Yumeko because now she has her one game challenge which she use on any other student in the school. Her sights now locked on the student council president herself, as playing against her Yumeko decides would be the most fun of all.
Yumeko's next match comes in the form of the debt resettlement games, a chance for all house pet students to win back their freedom and human status by gambling against one another with their individual debts as the chips. Yumeko finds herself at a table of four -- herself, Mary Saotome, Jun Kiwatari, and Nanami Tsubomi. The game is Two Card Indian Poker for a total of ten rounds. Despite their earlier contest against each other on Yumeko's first day, Mary and Yumeko form a partnership for the upcoming game. Mary is shrewd enough to predict that Kiwatari and Tsubomi are likely going to try and pull something on them, as Kiwatari himself is not a house pet and has quite the reputation of bullying his classmate, Tsubomi, who is a pet like Yumeko and Mary. Managing to work out a system, Yumeko and Mary head into their game with the mindset that it will be a two-on-two match. The duo quickly figure out the strategy Tsubomi and Kiwatari have figured out, signaling to each other with the way they place their cards on the table. The girls' mutual skill at bluffing and reading their opponents further aids them in turning the game to their advantage which only infuriates Kiwatari more. Sensing an opportunity to help out the beaten down Tsubomi break free from under Kiwatari's thumb, Yumeko provokes her by suggesting that she is no better than a caged animal who refuses to leave even when the cage door is left open. She even goes so far as to call her a "permanent house pet," someone who prefers to be used and abused for the rest of their life. Tsubomi's anger surges and she's able to rise above Kiwatari in the game's rankings, further shattering what little chance Kiwatari had left of making it out of the debt resettlement game still as a human. The two have one final trick to play on the bully Kiwatari. They reveal that this whole game they've been playing with each other's debt declaration boards, meaning that the amount each of their chips were worth had been switched the whole time. A move that single-handedly shakes up the final tallies of the game and secures one of them a first place victory. Ultimately, Yumeko assists Mary in coming out on top, Tsubomi in second, herself in third, and punishing Kiwatari with fourth place and mountains of debt. Mary's first place finish guarantees her return to being a human, but Yumeko's third place means that she will remain a house pet for now. Something that does not seem to bother her in the least. In fact, she instead seems more pleased by the fact that she's managed to befriend Mary. Someone who had been more or less her enemy on day one, rebuked her on day two, but was now someone who actually seemed to respect and enjoy Yumeko's company. It soon becomes clear that Yumeko's interest in Mary may go beyond simply being friends, too.
After the debt resettlement game, Yumeko goes on to play more matches against student council members. First, she is forced into playing against Midari Ikishima, president of the school's beautification committee. It's a game of life or death involving a version of Russian Roulette and matching cards through ESP. It's the type of game which Yumeko would normally take a great amount of pleasure in; however, it soon becomes clear to her that Ikishima is attempting to rig the game so that Yumeko will absolutely win, even though that means Ikishima herself will die. It seems that for all her sadomasochistic tendencies in gambling, there are still those who are even more extreme in their masochism. Because dying to Ikishima means winning, something Yumeko not only figures out but manages to thwart by deliberately choosing not to win and end the game in a tie. In Yumeko's own words, she hates playing games where she knows she'll absolutely win or lose. Ikishima's game is not gambling, it's simply a ploy to get Yumeko to hurt her, even kill her. In short, she's the type of woman Yumeko hates the most, the type of person who genuinely pisses her off. Yumeko then goes on to play against the high school idol Yumemi Yumemite, the ambitious and egotistical treasurer Kaede Manyuda, and then finally the president's right hand Sayaka Igarashi. Each time, she plays for incredible risks -- her future, her own entire wealth and the entire wealth of a friend, and even her own life (the right to gamble ever again at Hyakkaou Academy -- the loss of which would be akin to death for Yumeko), respectively. The games are enough to win Yumeko back her "human" status, and they're also enough to entice the president into making a dramatic decision. She calls for a special type of election. One in which her seat will be up for grabs, and by extension control over perhaps the most influential institution in the world, to any student who manages to earn enough votes. And since everything in Hyakkaou Academy revolves around gambling, it's only natural that games of chance have their part in determining who wins the election. For it is only by winning games against other students can one secure votes, and the student who manages to bank enough votes at the end will be the winner and the new student council president. In addition, Kirari Momobami invites the children of the "Hundred Devouring Families" to participate as well, forcing their hand by offering control of the school and of their own clan. Currently, Yumeko is engaged in these election games, hoping to play against each participating child of the "Hundred Devouring Families" and eventually Kirari herself.
CANON PERSONALITY:
Yumeko's canon personality can best be described as "erratic." One moment, she can be very sweet, innocent, and demure, and then the very next she can be sly, menacing, and manipulative. In fact, she can at times even be described as sadomasochistic, and it all stems from her absolute love for gambling.
Yumeko is demonstrated that she can be a very loyal and sweet friend. Upon winning her match against Mary Saotome in episode one, Yumeko proceeds to give Ryouta Suzui $500,000, enough for him to completely pay off his debt and cease being a "house pet." This is even in spite of the fact that Ryouta confesses to and apologizes for helping Mary cheat in her game against Yumeko. While Yumeko explains that it's a gift, a thank you for giving her an exciting game, she never does ask that he pay her back someday. In fact, Ryouta even offers to do so, to find some way to pay her back. To which, Yumeko promptly rejects his offer. Instead waving off the $500,000 as a gift and that he should not feel obligated at all to pay her back. Yumeko's genuine kindness is also demonstrated in her interactions with Mary post beating her at their game of cards. Despite clearly looking satisfied with having brought Mary low at the end of their game, Yumeko later shows genuine concern for her rival upon seeing how quickly the class turns upon Mary after her defeat. All of them immediately bullying her and treating her like a "house pet" by vandalizing her desk and making ugly comments to her face. Even though Mary rebukes Yumeko's concern, it doesn't stop Yumeko from still reaching out to her classmate. When she walks in on Mary losing her match against Nishinotouin, she is clearly sympathizing with Mary's anger and sorrow at having lost and descended further into debt. Yumeko's interest and kindness towards Mary is again demonstrated before their debt resettlement game, Yumeko is genuinely happy to see Mary in the auditorium, and even happier when finding out that they will be playing in the same game together. Not only that, but Yumeko also agrees to assist her former rival in their debt resettlement game, using their combined gambling talents to overcome the cheating Kiwatari. Yumeko further demonstrates her compassion in reacting to Kiwatari's treatment of Tsubomi during the debt resettlement game. Although Yumeko choses to provoke Tsubomi into rebelling against Kiwatari, she does so with a desire to help the beaten down girl rediscover her pride. At the end of the match, Yumeko shows no bitterness in placing third to Tsubomi. She even congratulates the smaller girl on her higher placement. Yumeko consistently continues to show compassion to her opponents at strange times. She would later be joined by Itsuki Sumeragi, the girl she defeated and utterly terrified in a game of memory. While she does test her new friend's faith in her in a later gambling match, Yumeko does genuinely show a desire to help Itsuki Sumeragi overcome Manyuda's hold over her. As a final example of Yumeko's sometimes perplexing compassion, she clearly seems worried about Sayaka Igarashi when she sees how distraught the girl is over her beloved council president, Kirari Momobami, paying more attention to Yumeko than her. It can often seem like Yumeko's kindness is a mask or perhaps an act to catch people off guard, and while that is certainly sometimes the case, where she is able to get her opponents to underestimate her by feigning or exaggerating a naive innocence, it also seems to come from a genuine place of sympathy and care.
Additionally, it's clear that Yumeko cares very deeply for her friends. She may have a funny way of showing it at first, but she does demonstrate a concern for their well-being and a love for their company. She reaches out to Mary after their debt resettlement game, asking her permission to refer to her as Mary-san. A sign of their friendship going beyond simple rivals. In Ryouta's case, Yumeko never shows him any ill-will despite his conspiring against her in her first ever game at Hyakkaou Academy. She denies his requests to return the money she gives him, and later insists that she's glad he made her game so much more interesting. Later on, she again demonstrates her gratitude to him after their match against Midari Ikishima the first time. Put in a life or death situation, Yumeko manages to once again turn the tables on her opponent thanks to Ryouta's help. While they could not communicate with each other during the ESP matching game, their unspoken connection was enough for Yumeko to secure victory. What's more, when she asks Ryouta why he played his cards the way he did, she shows genuine appreciation for their friendship and his faith in her by treating him to a sweets buffet visit. It seems that those who are willing to put their trust and faith in her are in turn rewarded with her loyalty and sincere affection.
Yumeko's kindness stands in direct contrast to her behavior while gambling. In her gambling matches, Yumeko has demeaned, belittled, and manipulated her opponents over the course of multiple matches. She takes delight in bringing her opponents into her "addiction." As Yumeko herself puts it, she prefers games where she knows she can absolutely win or lose. It's all about the gamble to her, and she derives great pleasure from getting people to embrace the true essence of gambling -- the risk of possibly losing everything. Yumeko is not satisfied with simple, mundane stakes, and instead vastly prefers matches in which the ante is raised to astronomical heights. This can mean gambling for insane sums of money to even risking bodily harm. She's very shrewd in her matches, able to read her opponent's tells and even able to pick apart intricate strategies in a matter of seconds. She uses these abilities in conjunction with her taunts to enrage and entrap her opponents. Putting them out of their right minds, and instead essentially provoking them into joining in on her madness. In her match against the council member Nishinotouin, Yumeko proceeds to call her senpai a variety of names and slurs in order to enrage the otherwise serene woman. She then finds the one way to turn the council member's semi-rigged again against her, causing her to risk losing billions and billions of dollars. In an earlier match between Yumeko and Itsuki, Yumeko agrees to a gamble over her fingernails; meaning that, if she lost, she would have her fingernails ripped out as compensation for her debt. However, not only does Yumeko manage to turn the tables by figuring out Itsuki's marked playing cards trick after only a round, but she then proceeds to terrify the younger girl into a gibbering, crying mess. Her desire to keep raising the stakes, her monstrous appetite for greater risks scaring Itsuki into a pile of tears only capable of apologizing for even playing with Yumeko in the first place. Yumeko is perhaps at her most cruel after her games with councilmember and school idol Yumemi Yumemite. She secretly records the other girl's tantrum about her own fans, and then uses that to raise the stakes of their gamble. Her desire is to force Yumemi to gamble for her everything, and, even after beating her, Yumeko does not relent. Instead, she insists that the recording be played, refusing to be bought off instead by Yumemi's manager. It's a rather self-serving gesture from Yumeko, as her true goal is not necessarily to humiliate Yumemi but more so to lure out another councilmember, Kaede Manyuda, into gambling with her next. Yumeko further demonstrates her seemingly true selfishness in her duel with Manyuda by pushing Itsuki to continue to back her with higher and higher bets. An act with Manyuda reads as Yumeko merely being a selfish demon trying to drag them all down into the pits of gambling with her. For that truly is Yumeko's deepest pleasure, pulling her opponents down from their pedestals and ensnaring them into games of extreme risk.
There seem to be very few individuals whom Yumeko genuinely despises. While she clearly demonstrates little concern for her opponents during their games of chance, she has certainly showed that she is capable of it before and after her matches. However, Yumeko is clearly capable of despising someone as seen by her interactions with Midari Ikishima, another council member and severe masochist. As she tells Ryouta on day one, she dislikes games where she knows she'll absolutely win or lose, and Ikishima not once but twice plays games with Yumeko which put her in a position of knowing she'll win. Yumeko's distaste for Ikishima is strongest after their second match, a three person game of chance involving the cutting of strings potentially tied to a guillotine poised to lop off their fingers. At only two strings left, rather than play out the 50-50 chance, which to Yumeko would have been the height of bliss, Ikishima instead takes away the pleasure by cutting the final two strings in one move -- something that was technically against the rules of play as well. Yumeko's utter disgust with Ikishima for taking such an action is something unseen from her up until this moment. It's a side of her that rarely comes out, but when it does, it is perhaps even more terrifying than her usual gambling obsessed behavior.
In summation, Yumeko can often seems like two different people cohabiting one body. The kind, sweet high school girl, and the devilish, conniving Kakegurui. At her core, however, Yumeko is a fairly easy person to understand. Her life is gambling. Her pleasure comes from risking everything, and the more people she gets to partake as well then the greater her delight. She befriends those she finds interesting; those who she can gamble with again and again. Basically, Yumeko's life is gambling.
SKILLS/ABILITIES:
Intelligence: Yumeko is very intelligent, able to calculate complex statistics and sums of money very quickly. Not only that, but she has an exceptional memory.
Quick Thinking: Yumeko is able to read through their opponents strategies after playing only a few turns with them. No matter how complex the game by itself is, not only does Yumeko demonstrate an ability to quickly master the game, but she also is able to decipher her opponent's strategies and then a way to play around them.
Analysis: Yumeko is extremely talented at reading her opponents; she can not only easily figure out their tells, but she's also capable of picking up on what is the best way to push their buttons. She can deftly goad them into playing against her when they might otherwise have refused.
Luck: While skill in reading her opponents and knowledge of game strategy partially explain Yumeko's supreme gambling abilities, they don't completely account for how she is able to win as much as she does. Put simply, she is incredibly, unbelievably lucky. Picking apart Mary's cheating strategy in their first game is one thing, but then successfully drawing the card she had the lowest possible percentage of getting is quite another. Even when she loses Nishinotouin, it's explained that the game was rigged in such a way that she very likely would have won had the president not intervened as she did.
CHARACTER: AU SECTION
AU NAME: Yumeko Jabami
AU AGE: 19
PHYSICAL DIFFERENCES: Her eyes will not turn red when she gambles. Otherwise, she's more or less the same physically to her canon self.
AU NAME: Yumeko Jabami
AU AGE: 19
PHYSICAL DIFFERENCES: Her eyes will not turn red when she gambles. Otherwise, she's more or less the same physically to her canon self.
AU HISTORY:
- Yumeko was born and raised in Japan
- She comes from a rather well-off family, and is the oldest of two children; she is the eldest by three years
- She had the kind of early childhood one would expect for a kid from a wealthy family; private schools and the occasional family trips abroad
- Early on in her school days, Yumeko witnessed the cruelty kids could show towards one another on the grounds of coming from a "better" family; she stepped in on a few occassions to stop kids from bullying, only to often find herself their next target
- As a result, Yumeko learned to deprive bullies of their satisfaction -- not letting them see that they may have gotten to her by hiding behind a sweet, innocent face
- Her life changed dramatically at the age of 14, when she lost both of her parents in a tragic car accident
- She and her younger sister were taken in by their grandparents until Yumeko turned 18 and became able to inherit her parents' wealth and family estate
- She had their family house sold to further supply her and her sister with money, seeing little need of it when they staying with their grandparents
- After her parents' passing, Yumeko picked up card games and tricks from her grandfather; she immersed herself in the world of gambling and sleight of hands as a coping mechanism -- something to take her mind of her loss
- Yumeko and her grandfather would often play various games of chance after dinner or in their free time with one another; they would bet really small amounts of money or sometimes chocolates or even chores around the house
- Despite attending private schools when she was younger, Yumeko's grandparents enrolled her in a public high school
- Still dealing with her parents' deaths, she retreated inward for a year or two before she slowly started regaining social confidence; she found that she actually enjoyed and fit in more at public school than she ever did at private schools
- Yumeko's younger sister has always been rather sickly, but, after the accident, her condition only seemed to worsen; it has now gotten to the point where she needs constant medical attention
- Her younger sister now stays at a hospital within easy travel distance from Recolle U whom she goes to visit fairly regularly
- Yumeko does not really like to talk about her family much with her classmates; if she opens up to someone about them, it's a sign that she really trusts them by allowing them to see a very vulnerable side of her
- While Yumeko started her higher education a different institution, she has apparently decided to transfer to Recolle U for unknown reasons; rumor is that she was asked to transfer to a different university following some sort of gambling incident
- Yumeko will transfer into Recolle U as a second year, studying economics and mathematics
- She'll be staying in a single apartment nearby the University's campus
- While she did earn a scholarship or two, there is still a portion of her Recolle U tuition that she is personally responsible for
- With the additional costs of her living expenses and her sister's hospital bills, it's likely a wonder to many how she is able to afford it all; perhaps even more so considering she feels little need to pick up a job, other than perhaps for part-time amusement
- She is an avid gambler and is quite skilled in the art of bluffing and reading people; however, she is not as talented at picking apart her opponents when they're cheating -- she's perceptive but not to that high of a degree
- She carries around a pack of standard playing cards; whenever she has free time by herself, she can be spotted practicing card tricks and sleight of hand
- Very fond of books; she'll read anything from poker strategy to Tolstoy
- She's a secret fan of idol music and often walks to classes listening to her favorite groups on her phone; her bedroom totally has an idol poster in it
- Yumeko is very gay and totally comfortable with it; it's something she's known about herself for a long time, but seldom felt reason or need to bring it up
AU PERSONALITY:
- Unlike her canon self, Yumeko is not nearly as obsessed with gambling to the point where she'll willing take extreme risks to play more, nor does she derive the same level of pleasure out of playing for huge ante's. Her love for gambling comes from the joy it brought her as a kid, learning something new and interesting that took her mind off of her otherwise tragic circumstances. She played games for fun with her grandfather, and thus she views them as something meant to be fun and a way to get to know people better. She's still capable of being a bit of a shark, as she sometimes does not wish to lose if it means taking someone deservedly off their high horse. However, Yumeko does not actively go out of her way to try and break people down through gambling. To her, gambling is a very fun hobby and past-time. She may even be a bit of a nag about asking people to play with her, but she certainly would never risk her life or entire wealth on a single game of poker.
- Yumeko's childhood taught her the importance of compassion, of being there for others in need and not to look down on someone just because they grew up differently from yourself. She often goes out of her way to try and help those who seem distraught, even if she does not necessarily know them very well. She may even often do them a good deed with no expectation of thanks or the return of a favor. To a more condescending sort, she'd best be described as "a bleeding heart" type.
- Yumeko tends to be rather secretive of her family life and background. She is not so much ashamed of it, as she just doesn't like people judging her for it one way or another. She doesn't like feeling that she's being pitied by strangers simply because her parents passed away or her sister is in the hospital. To her, it feels more genuine and more real when it comes from someone she's actually built up a solid relationship and friendship with. Someone she's gotten to trust and can believe they really feel how they say they do. Additionally, she doesn't like feeling people are sucking up, because of her family's wealth. She will give out a handout sometimes to those she believes most deserve and have need of them, but she doesn't go about flaunting her money. She'd much rather talk about poker strategies than she would what it was like growing up around as much wealth as she did.
- Yumeko is naturally sweet and kind to everyone she meets. This comes from both a sincere desire to befriend people, but also as a defense mechanism she developed from being bullied at a young age. Thus, it can sometimes seem like her sweet innocence is a mask hiding how she really is thinking or feeling. That said, Yumeko often really does want to make friends with other people. It means more people she can ask to gamble with her after all!
- If her friends demonstrate a certain level of trust and affection though, Yumeko may be willing to open up more to them. Letting them see her more vulnerable self, the side which still hurts over the loss of her father and mother and stings from the bullying she received as a little girl. It can be hard for Yumeko to grow close to people in this way, because she is scared of losing those she loves. While she's come to terms by now with her parents' accident, it doesn't mean she's willing to go through that pain again any time soon. These close friends in turn earn a staunch ally in Yumeko, someone who will stick up for them and come to their rescue when she can. Someone bullied a friend of hers and stole their lunch money? Well, Yumeko might then trick the bully into agreeing to a game of chance with her. One that she'll not only win, but end up taking them for more than they'd stolen from her friend.
- Yumeko has a serious side to herself when her friends are threatened or otherwise upset. She naturally wants to help them, cheer them up, and make them feel better. If someone is responsible for making her friends this way, then Yumeko will want to confront them about it -- wishing to teach the offending party some kind of a lesson. By extension, Yumeko has a seldom seen angry side which comes out whenever someone really messes with her friends' lives. You do not want to get on the wrong side of Yumeko in these instances, as this is when she becomes most like her canon self -- more likely to throw caution to the wind and take inordinately large risks if it means bringing those responsible for hurting her friends to justice.
- Yumeko was born and raised in Japan
- She comes from a rather well-off family, and is the oldest of two children; she is the eldest by three years
- She had the kind of early childhood one would expect for a kid from a wealthy family; private schools and the occasional family trips abroad
- Early on in her school days, Yumeko witnessed the cruelty kids could show towards one another on the grounds of coming from a "better" family; she stepped in on a few occassions to stop kids from bullying, only to often find herself their next target
- As a result, Yumeko learned to deprive bullies of their satisfaction -- not letting them see that they may have gotten to her by hiding behind a sweet, innocent face
- Her life changed dramatically at the age of 14, when she lost both of her parents in a tragic car accident
- She and her younger sister were taken in by their grandparents until Yumeko turned 18 and became able to inherit her parents' wealth and family estate
- She had their family house sold to further supply her and her sister with money, seeing little need of it when they staying with their grandparents
- After her parents' passing, Yumeko picked up card games and tricks from her grandfather; she immersed herself in the world of gambling and sleight of hands as a coping mechanism -- something to take her mind of her loss
- Yumeko and her grandfather would often play various games of chance after dinner or in their free time with one another; they would bet really small amounts of money or sometimes chocolates or even chores around the house
- Despite attending private schools when she was younger, Yumeko's grandparents enrolled her in a public high school
- Still dealing with her parents' deaths, she retreated inward for a year or two before she slowly started regaining social confidence; she found that she actually enjoyed and fit in more at public school than she ever did at private schools
- Yumeko's younger sister has always been rather sickly, but, after the accident, her condition only seemed to worsen; it has now gotten to the point where she needs constant medical attention
- Her younger sister now stays at a hospital within easy travel distance from Recolle U whom she goes to visit fairly regularly
- Yumeko does not really like to talk about her family much with her classmates; if she opens up to someone about them, it's a sign that she really trusts them by allowing them to see a very vulnerable side of her
- While Yumeko started her higher education a different institution, she has apparently decided to transfer to Recolle U for unknown reasons; rumor is that she was asked to transfer to a different university following some sort of gambling incident
- Yumeko will transfer into Recolle U as a second year, studying economics and mathematics
- She'll be staying in a single apartment nearby the University's campus
- While she did earn a scholarship or two, there is still a portion of her Recolle U tuition that she is personally responsible for
- With the additional costs of her living expenses and her sister's hospital bills, it's likely a wonder to many how she is able to afford it all; perhaps even more so considering she feels little need to pick up a job, other than perhaps for part-time amusement
- She is an avid gambler and is quite skilled in the art of bluffing and reading people; however, she is not as talented at picking apart her opponents when they're cheating -- she's perceptive but not to that high of a degree
- She carries around a pack of standard playing cards; whenever she has free time by herself, she can be spotted practicing card tricks and sleight of hand
- Very fond of books; she'll read anything from poker strategy to Tolstoy
- She's a secret fan of idol music and often walks to classes listening to her favorite groups on her phone; her bedroom totally has an idol poster in it
- Yumeko is very gay and totally comfortable with it; it's something she's known about herself for a long time, but seldom felt reason or need to bring it up
AU PERSONALITY:
- Unlike her canon self, Yumeko is not nearly as obsessed with gambling to the point where she'll willing take extreme risks to play more, nor does she derive the same level of pleasure out of playing for huge ante's. Her love for gambling comes from the joy it brought her as a kid, learning something new and interesting that took her mind off of her otherwise tragic circumstances. She played games for fun with her grandfather, and thus she views them as something meant to be fun and a way to get to know people better. She's still capable of being a bit of a shark, as she sometimes does not wish to lose if it means taking someone deservedly off their high horse. However, Yumeko does not actively go out of her way to try and break people down through gambling. To her, gambling is a very fun hobby and past-time. She may even be a bit of a nag about asking people to play with her, but she certainly would never risk her life or entire wealth on a single game of poker.
- Yumeko's childhood taught her the importance of compassion, of being there for others in need and not to look down on someone just because they grew up differently from yourself. She often goes out of her way to try and help those who seem distraught, even if she does not necessarily know them very well. She may even often do them a good deed with no expectation of thanks or the return of a favor. To a more condescending sort, she'd best be described as "a bleeding heart" type.
- Yumeko tends to be rather secretive of her family life and background. She is not so much ashamed of it, as she just doesn't like people judging her for it one way or another. She doesn't like feeling that she's being pitied by strangers simply because her parents passed away or her sister is in the hospital. To her, it feels more genuine and more real when it comes from someone she's actually built up a solid relationship and friendship with. Someone she's gotten to trust and can believe they really feel how they say they do. Additionally, she doesn't like feeling people are sucking up, because of her family's wealth. She will give out a handout sometimes to those she believes most deserve and have need of them, but she doesn't go about flaunting her money. She'd much rather talk about poker strategies than she would what it was like growing up around as much wealth as she did.
- Yumeko is naturally sweet and kind to everyone she meets. This comes from both a sincere desire to befriend people, but also as a defense mechanism she developed from being bullied at a young age. Thus, it can sometimes seem like her sweet innocence is a mask hiding how she really is thinking or feeling. That said, Yumeko often really does want to make friends with other people. It means more people she can ask to gamble with her after all!
- If her friends demonstrate a certain level of trust and affection though, Yumeko may be willing to open up more to them. Letting them see her more vulnerable self, the side which still hurts over the loss of her father and mother and stings from the bullying she received as a little girl. It can be hard for Yumeko to grow close to people in this way, because she is scared of losing those she loves. While she's come to terms by now with her parents' accident, it doesn't mean she's willing to go through that pain again any time soon. These close friends in turn earn a staunch ally in Yumeko, someone who will stick up for them and come to their rescue when she can. Someone bullied a friend of hers and stole their lunch money? Well, Yumeko might then trick the bully into agreeing to a game of chance with her. One that she'll not only win, but end up taking them for more than they'd stolen from her friend.
- Yumeko has a serious side to herself when her friends are threatened or otherwise upset. She naturally wants to help them, cheer them up, and make them feel better. If someone is responsible for making her friends this way, then Yumeko will want to confront them about it -- wishing to teach the offending party some kind of a lesson. By extension, Yumeko has a seldom seen angry side which comes out whenever someone really messes with her friends' lives. You do not want to get on the wrong side of Yumeko in these instances, as this is when she becomes most like her canon self -- more likely to throw caution to the wind and take inordinately large risks if it means bringing those responsible for hurting her friends to justice.
