Mononoke Casino

1

He was just stood there. Barely daring to breathe, just rubbing the back of his neck nervously as he marvelled at how beautiful the casino looked to him. It wasn't actually very fair to call him nervous- absolutely petrified would be more suitable. He was around 18- any younger and he'd be barred from entry- but he looked young, with fluffy, dark red hair that framed his tanned face, matching his burgundy shirt nicely. That was just a coincidence, seeing as it was the only shirt he owned, from a wedding he'd been forced to attend a year ago. Rolling up his sleeves and exposing several bracelets, he took a shaky step forwards, steeling himself as he walked towards the golden-gilded doors. He almost felt normal by the time he was stood in front of them. You couldn't tell by looking at him, but he'd dreamt of coming to this particular casino since it was built four years ago. It had gathered a fair bit of coverage in the media, and was pretty well known- you whisper the word 'mononoke' to anyone who lives in the city and they'll point you in the right direction. It didn't seem that special until you went inside, they said. But perhaps its founder and owner, Blaine Thatcher, was more well known. No one idolised him as much as Fox. Fox, the boy who just so happened to be flashing his ID and half a smile to the uniformed man guarding the door. It swung inwards at his touch and he stepped through, into the warmth and out of the cold night air, completely unaware that his life was about to change forever.

His immediate first thought was, "I'm underdressed."

Beautiful women swanned about, seemingly floating over the plush carpet in gaudy evening gowns of all colours. The men, too, all wore suits at least or smoking jackets, in just as rich colours as their wives. Everyone seemed at least twenty years older than the messy, 19-year-old, black jeans wearing Fox. The thought of leaving flashed through his mind, but he prepared himself once again and started walking forward. He'd waited too long to come here than to give up now. Even the waiters walking around with trays of champagne flutes seemed to be in a better getup than Fox. He didn't notice the owner of the casino walking slowly towards him, in between rows of card tables, because he was too busy worrying if he should have worn a tie. It was a laugh that made him look up. Blaine- no, he should probably call him Mr Thatcher, was laughing, his green eyes sparkling in the dimly lit room. The girl on his arm waved away a waiter as Mr Thatcher kept walking, the sparkle in his eyes dying down as the smile left his lips. Fox couldn't help but stare, and that's when their eyes met. It was like an electric shock, and Fox immediately averted his gaze and stared at his shoes.  It was him. Oh, god, it was him. It was like all of Fox's dreams came true at once. He never expected him to be here. The owner at his own casino, sure, it seemed likely enough thinking about it- Fox had his train of thought cut off by a hand suddenly in his field of vision. He lifted his head to find its owner bearing a half smile not dissimilar to his own. "Blaine." he said, and his voice washed over Fox like a warm breeze, everything he could've ever wanted.

"Fox," he choked, barely able to get his words out as he took Blaine's hand. 

"What brings you to my casino? You look a little different to my usual patrons," Blaine started to walk slowly again, towards a section of poker tables, and Fox subconsciously walked with him. Was that an insult? He didn't have time to dwell on it, he'd been asked a question. "To... to... uh..." he couldn't find the right words. Blaine stopped by an empty table, resting his elbows on the back of a chair and staring intently at Fox. Words tumbled around in his mind, and it wasn't until he met Blaine's piercing gaze that he said anything. And, of course, he said the stupidest thing possible. 

"To challenge you... to a game of cards!"

Regret filled Fox's heart as soon as the words left his mouth. What in hell was he thinking? There was no way the owner would play with him. He also only had £460 in cash with him, there was no way he'd survive a game of serious betting with someone like Blaine. You don't own a casino unless you're smart with gambling, and Fox had just taken a stupid gamble that could ruin his chances of ever coming back here again. An apology started to form in his throat when Blaine burst into laughter, sitting down heavily in his chair and resting his arms on the table instead. "If you insist", he smiled, and the dealer stood up to let the girl who'd been walking with Blaine sit down. She picked up the deck and shuffled it with ease, riffling the cards through the air with expertise. "Kanna." she extended a hand to Fox, and he shook it tentatively, concerned about the sweat pooling in his palms. She didn't seem to be wearing anything elaborate, either, but the camo green lace cami and extremely tight skinny black jeans showed off her figure amazingly. Her hair was just in a messy bun, or so Fox thought, until she pulled out a pencil and her hair fell around her shoulders. Impressive. She wound her hair back around the pencil, twisting and turning until it was secured again, this time a little neater- the wispy bits framing her face were now tucked away, and she looked more serious. Fox hastily sat down, realising all the eyes had turned to him. "What game are you challenging me to, then... Fox?" Blaine leaned back in his chair, obviously dubious of Fox's name- and rightly so. He'd used that nickname since he was 12, when he first dyed his hair red. He didn't like his birth name, and tried not to tell people what it was. That aside, he needed to pick a game, and his mind was a blank. Kanna came to his rescue. "Old maid, perhaps?" she said, smiling deviously, and when Blaine nodded she turned and yelled "KARMAAAAA!", causing a tall, lanky guy with white hair to turn around and slide over. Well, his walk was so smooth it certainly seemed like he slid over. His clothes were all white, like his hair, and he was almost that pale, too. The only non-white item he wore were black fingerless gloves, which seemed a little unusual. His eyes were red, but Fox deduced that they were contacts, and he had a few chains around his neck, as well as a rather long one hanging off his jeans- jeans? At least Fox felt less underdressed now. Everyone at the table seemed to be only a couple years older than him, but they were all scarily pretty. Kanna looked stunning, but her smile made it feel like she could kill someone. This 'Karma' guy looked like a vampire, but he probably sucks dick instead of blood. And Blaine was just hot. His hair was jet black and it contrasted well with his striking green eyes. He was wearing a standard white shirt and black trousers, cut just above his ankles, but he pulled it off so well that he looked better than anyone else in the room. He slowly started to undo his tie, staring straight into Fox's eyes. He threw it to Karma, and instead of him putting it away, he just put it around is neck like a scarf and sat down. "I wasn't inviting you to play, Karma, I wanted you to get some drinks for us," Kanna huffed, picking up the cards and shuffling them again. Karma grinned, and his smile was definitely the shadiest one out of them all. "I'm playing, shut up." he said, shuffling his chair closer to Blaine and kicking up his legs, resting them on Blaine's thighs. Fox stared at Karma, mortified, expecting him to be thrown out or arrested or given the death penalty. Instead, Blaine laughed and shook his head. "Just don't get my trousers dirty," he said, winking at Karma and leaning forward in his chair once again. "Now for the fun part. What are you betting, Fox?"

Fox didn't want to blow all his money immediately, so he tentatively placed £100 on the table. He'd have to ask Kanna for some chips. "No, that's not how I think we'll do this," Blaine said, leaning even further forwards and talking softly. "I like you. You're different. You even challenged me directly," he cracked his knuckles, "bet your life on this game. If you lose, you come and work for me for free. If you win... I'll offer you a proper paid job."

Fox almost fell off his chair. This was a decent bet, if he lost he'd gain a job- although, without pay. He's still have to keep his saturday morning job of cleaning the supermarket near his house. The paycheck was small, but it was barely enough to pay rent and feed himself. Being in the casino all the time would be so much better than struggling to find entertainment in the week. And if he won, he'd get paid. There as no way he could turn this down. "Sure. Why not. I could do with a job anyway," he said, cracking his own knuckles and sitting up straighter. "What about me?" Karma said, "You can't make your best friend work for you twice.". It took Fox a second to realise that that must mean Karma was already an employee. "Yeah, I work here sometimes, but most of the time I gamble," he said, noticing Fox's expression. "I bet Blaine's tie." he grinned, pulling it from around his neck and placing it on the table.

"Alright," Blaine said, "Here's how it works. If I win, Fox works for me for free and I get my tie back. If Fox wins, he is offered a paying job and he gets my tie. If Karma wins he can keep my tie, and I'll play with Fox until one of us comes second, and then our bet stands. Everyone happy?" Karma and I nodded, Blaine grinned, and Kanna started to deal the cards. They were elegant cards. The backs were black with silver details, opposed to the usual red and white. She dealt them very gracefully, each card seemingly floating across the table and landing perfectly in front of each of us, thrown with just the right amount of force. She must have had a hell of a lot of practice. As soon as everyone had their hands, they started to discard pairs. Fox started off well, he didn't have the queen and he discarded the most. The game progressed quickly, pairs being found left and right. Pair of sixes. Pair of kings. Pair of nines. Pair of aces. The cards changed hands quickly and the game was nearing its end in only a few minutes. Karma had the least cards, and Fox had only seen the queen once, but it had been immediately taken by Karma on the next turn. Pair of fives. Another pair of aces. Karma took Fox's ten and threw down his final two cards, laughing and picking Blaine's tie back up. He slipped it back around his neck and twirled the smaller end around his fingers. "Good luck," he said, smiling dubiously at Fox. There were only a few cards left. More cards got discarded and their hands levelled out, until Blaine was left with two cards, and Fox had the three of hearts. Hand shaking, he reached out and took one of the cards. It was the queen. Trying to hide his disappointment, he shuffled his cards around, praying that Blaine took the queen back. He didn't want to lose, even if he would still get a job. Blaine ran his finger over the top of the queen card, and Fox held his breath. Blaine switched to the three and plucked it out of Fox's hand quickly, throwing his other three down in the process and winning second place. Fox stared at the cards on the table. 

Damn, it really hurt to lose.