Poker Face

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

I open my eyes and leap out of the bed I was laying on.

I take a look around the unfamiliar room, my senses on high alert.

I relax when I sense Nikkou’s chakra someplace else in the building.

The events of the past few days come flooding back to me as I open the door and walk down the carpeted hallway.

I hear yelling and go to investigate.

I follow the source of the yelling to a large room that looks like a hang out room.

Nikkou and Leo are still yelling about who won their game of cards. In his anger Leo flings his cards in the air.

I dodge the cards just in case they are set to explode.

Thankfully they don’t.

I plop down on the couch beside Kagem. Everyone turns as I sit down noisily.

“Utau! You’re up!” I nod.

“I guess we should introduce everybody!” Nikkou sings happily.

“That’s poison.” He points to the other man who had been on my rescue mission.

I raise an eyebrow at him.

His face remains blank.

“It is actually Veleno.” He says, his words heavily accented. “It means poison in Italian. I was born in Italy.” He explains.

I nod then turn back to Nikkou.

“So is almost everybody foreign?” I ask. He laughs.

“Yeah I guess. Leo is from America, Isabel is Russian, Mai is Chinese, and Veleno was raised in Italy, I am still not convinced he is human though.” He points at his black skin and purple hair.

My lips quirk in a smile.

“I guess I should introduce you to everybody else.” Nikkou gestures to follow.

I follow him across the room to where a young woman is reading quietly.

“This is Mai.” I nod in acknowledgment.

“Hi! You must be Utau!” She smiles warmly and puts her book down.

She has short black hair that is stuck into a Chinese bun with chopsticks holding it up. She is wearing a short kimono the same color as her shocking blue eyes.

Nikkou grabs my wrist and pulls me across the room once more.

“This is Tsukiko and Mika.” He points at the twins that are standing in the corner chatting with themselves.

Tsukiko is the male of the two. He looks like his sister with his dark brown hair and brown eyes. He is also the taller of the two, coming close to 6 ½ feet. Mika isn’t too far behind him.

They smile and wave as we pass them.

“And this is Yoi.” He leads me to a young man with midnight black hair and twinkling dark eyes.

He smiles and shakes my hand.

“Utau.”

 We all turn at the sound of Isabel’s voice.

“Come with me.” She turns and exits the room without another word.

“Sit.” She says once we are in the main office. The leader is looking out the window and does not acknowledge my presence.

She takes a seat and glares at me.

“You should have told us that you and the Snow Rose are the same person.” She hisses.