"Sometimes the brothers that you need in life are fosters."
Cold, sadistic, and a hint of crazy describes the pyromaniac perfectly. Never choosing to settle down and only taking risky and high paying guild requests and a passion for gambling to surv...
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"What am I witnessing?"
"The beginning of something greater, Captain."
When Ophelia heard that Taiyo and Mia were bringing someone new to poker night, she didn't expect much. She had even expected less when she saw that it was an eleven year old girl who had never played poker before.
Her doubts were revitalised when that child had played poorly for the first half hour, only to start slowly earning back the money and then start stealing the money from everyone else within the next. However, the greedy smiles of Taiyo and Mia clued her in that something was remiss, especially since they were the ones that had lost the most money.
That was because they were the masterminds behind everything that was happening.
They taught me the basics of poker the night prior and told me about the others' tells I had to look out for. Tells that I had further imprinted in my mind that I used in tandem with card counting, using my memory to reinforce the advantage card counting gave.
In exchange for the money I get, they earn a portion. 40% my way, and 60% evenly split between the two.
The only thing standing between us at this point and the 1,000,000 Jewel on the table in front of them is their favourite Vice-Captain, Akihiko, who was brought in by the other seven Vice-Captains and Lieutenants.
The stone-faced martial artist was stumping me so far, and I was struggling to find even a crack in his expression, any signs of either victory or defeat in the hands he held, and every time the deck was reshuffled I had to count the cards over again.
In my hands were Three of a Kind, and he could easily have one himself. Or, he could be holding a High Card, which would mean I could win. But there's a Royal and Straight Flush still sitting in the deck somewhere, too, meaning I could just fuck myself with this last hand.
"Remember, kid. This is all or nothing. That hand of yours better be good otherwise they get all their money back."
The cards had been dealt only minutes ago, but those words were all the pressure I could take as I lay down the set of threes, a king of clubs, and seven of spades. The hopes I had of attaining the money I desperately needed were dashed, though, as Aki revealed his cards.
All were hearts, the highest being a jack and descending to a seven. A Straight Flush.
Cheers erupted from the victims of the night's planned hustle while Mia and Taiyo broke down in anguish as easy money was just taken out of their hands by one of their friends.
"Dammit!"
"No! I was going to buy a new purse!"
The cheers stopped as they all looked at Taiyo in slight shock.
