Quest for the Eighty-Eight Keys

Chapter Twenty-Three: Russian Roulette

WARNING: GAMBLING AND GUN USE! BRIEF MENTIONS OF DEATH AND PREVIOUS PANIC ATTACK!

DISCLAIMER: YOU SHOULD NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES PLAY RUSSIAN ROULETTE! IT IS A HIGHLY DANGEROUS AND VERY STUPID GAME! I DO NOT CONDONE PLAYING THIS GAME!

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Rufus stepped out of the bedroom that he was sharing with Midnight, dressed and intending to wait for the other three to rouse themselves and get ready for either more gambling or to leave la Cour de Velours. He walked over to the couch and sat on it, quickly spying a communication lacrima on the coffee table. He reached for it and held it in his hands, deciding to give his friends a call.

It didn't take long for Sting to pick up. Rufus could see that his Guild Master was at Fairy Tail, the sound of the destructive guild has difficult to miss. Sting greeted him, "hey, what's up man? How's the mission going?"

Rufus answered, "we've collected a fair amount of keys, but we have many more to go. If I remember correctly, there are eighty-eight keys in all. Lucy currently has," he counted up the keys that Lucy had by now in his head, "thirty-four keys."

Sting exclaimed, "nice! So, you've got fifty-four left to go!"

Rufus nodded. He was about to ask how the others were doing when Sting was pushed away and Natsu appeared and questioned, "hey, Rufus, how's Luce? She hasn't gotten hurt has she?" He stared at the blonde man with a critical eye.

Rufus, unfazed, answered, "she's doing fine."

"Where is she? I wanna talk to her!"

"I'm sorry, but she is still asleep. I'll tell her that you wanted to talk to her so that she can call you when she has the time."

"Fine!"

It was at that moment that Sting took the communication lacrima back. He grinned at his friend, inquiring, "so, have you made a move yet?"

"Pardon?"

"You know what I mean! Have you made a move on Blondie yet?"

Rufus stared at him with widened eyes, his cheeks heating up in a blush. The question reminded him of Lucy's visit to Sabertooth, about a month ago even though it felt like it was years ago. He remembered having "made a move" by flirting with her and then was about to propose a date when she had been dragged away. He diverted his green eyes as he answered, "I...No, no, I haven't."

"What?! Well, you better get on that because nearly every member of our guild has a lot of money riding on you getting with Blondie!"

Rufus looked right back at him, thoughts of dating Lucy gone from his head. "What do you mean?"

Sting chuckled before he revealed, "we've been betting on who will get with Blondie first. All of Fairy Tail is betting on Freed, Crime Sorciere is betting on Midnight, and Minerva is the only member of Sabertooth who isn't betting on you. She says that she doesn't want to bet at all, but Orga and I are sure that we've almost gotten her convinced to bet on you."

Rufus sighed before the dragon slayer's words sunk into his brain. He gave Sting a sharp and serious stare as he questioned, "what do you mean that Freed and Midnight are being betted on?"

"Huh? Well, it's obvious that they've got a thing for Blondie, just like you."

"What?!"

Rufus had suspected such, but to have it confirmed was different. He tightened his grip on the communication lacrima as he demanded, "do you know anything about Freed's and Midnight's intentions?"