Divinity | MxM

Chapter 16

And so, the ranking month began. Raiden can't even believe he has been spending months of his life with a supreme at this point, but right now, he feels surprisingly indifferent about it. If you asked him that a few months ago, surely, that wouldn't have been the case. 

But Raiden doesn't even realize how much fun he's having, even though he has tattoos wrapping around his neck and wrists which has limited his freedom for months now. And that brings him back to where they are at the moment. 

They are in the biggest and most well-known casino in the country. Know for its unlimited options to waste your money in the hopes of gaining more. Even though gambling 9 out of 10 times turns out to bite you in the ass and leave you with a horrible depth, people still choose to bet their money here.

Raiden and his friends have never been into the whole gambling thing, they are only here for the rank voting. Raiden normally doesn't go along. Instead, he usually checks out some of the booths outside. Considering the ranking months are an extremely important part of their culture, a lot of money and energy gets put into making these months some of the best. So, there's no limit on the amount of activities for people to participate in. 

But now... that Raiden is an endear, of the strongest supreme even, he's suddenly a bit more... curious about the whole ranking thing. Not that he would ever say it out loud, but he doesn't mind as Misaki and Kei grab an arm each and start dragging him inside the casino. He only remembers going there once with his father when he was very young, but it still shocks him just how large and luxurious this place is.

Some parts are exclusive for people in power and supremes, but even the areas available for everyone are stunning and an experience in itself. 

"Come on, we need to get some beer," Misaki says, "I heard the bartender at Sinister has some inside knowledge about who might be the best option to vote for."

"Aren't you going to vote for Botan no matter what?" Kei deadpans.

Botan is... a handful. He's a very strong supreme and often ranks in the top three, but that has certainly also managed to flaw his already faulty personality. In smaller words, he's a jerk. But people are often too busy drooling over his good looks to notice. 

Just as they are talking about him, Raiden notices a banner hanging from the ceiling of said supreme. He's one of the only supremes in the nation who has his light-brown hair cut short, which many interpret as a tendency of his teenage rebellious phase, even though he's like... 500 years old or something. Although the supremes' hair grows extremely fast, it seems this guy will do anything in his might to be special and therefore cut his hair in an untraditional way. 

A lot of people vote for him because of this. They think he's intriguing and hot, not to mention he's strong. So, it's quite hard not to notice him. Asahi, who's in third, appears to be more of a down-to-earth type of person, according to Misaki. 

"Of course! I'm confident I'll win a lot of money this time," Misaki brings in, "I heard Botan has been taking on many extra challenges and winning a ton. He must be higher than Asahi at this point."

Raiden listens with one ear, but he's honestly too busy looking up at the huge banners. All the anticipated top 10 supremes are there. But Raiden's attention only seems to get picked up when his eyes land on the banner of Seki.

He has a very confident and almost royal look on his face, as he stands tall in his favorite pose as always. Compared to the others, Seki's banner has a golden line around it, making it stand out. 

Honestly, Raiden is surprised they even put one up for Seki, considering you can't vote for him and he's not exactly popular among the population. But again, the royals are the ones in charge of all the festivities during the ranking month. Raiden gets more and more convinced Seki is truly favored by the royal family.