Mononoke Casino

2

"And that's... Karma," said Karma, pulling Blaine's tie off of his neck again and slipping it around Fox's. He tightened it, pulling both ends down at the same time, the material forcing Fox to inch closer to Karma's face. He licked his teeth slowly and deliberately, staring at Fox's frown. "You should've known better than to gamble for your life, especially with someone like Blaine."

"Now, come on, Karma, don't be scary," Blaine stood up, knocking Karma's legs off of his lap and pulling him away with the back of his collar. "Although, I'm looking forward to having you work with me, Fox. Take today's game as your, ah, first lesson. Never accept a gamble unless you're sure of all the details.". Kanna stood up too, collecting up the cards and slipping them into her jeans. She winked at a waitress from across the table, who scurried over with her tray of drinks, just as Karma knocked Blaine's hand off of his neck and stepped backwards, away from Fox. They collided in a heap of limbs and alcohol, liquid seeping into the thick carpet, something tinted brown starting to stain Karma's shirt. A glass hit the leg of the table and smashed, shards flying in all directions, but luckily not too far. Other people stopped what they were doing to stare. Even an old man ignored that he'd just won a pile of chips to watch as Karma swore loudly and started peeling off his soaked shirt. He looked just as pale without it, and he was skinny- you could just about see his ribs on either side. There was a small tattoo on his collarbones- just a string of numbers, and he had a sizeable scar on his left hip. Fox couldn't help but stare as well, and his eyes widened when Karma took off his gloves. Instead of more pale skin as expected, he had more tattoos- on his left hand, the word 'LIAR' stood out like coal in snow, the big, black letters covering most of the back of his hand. On his right, he had the word 'CHEATER', and if liar was coal, this one was blood in snow, because the lettering was done with such careful shading that it looked like his hand was literally bleeding the word. Karma caught Fox staring and tossed his dripping shirt to him. Cracking his knuckles and seemingly unaware that everyone was still watching, he stood up and cracked his back as well. He noticed the waitress still at his feet, desperately mopping up the spilled drink with her apron, crying quietly like a wounded dog that knows not to whine. "Hey, hey, it's ok," Blaine said, stepping over the broken glass and squatting delicately so that he was eye level with her. Fox would never forget the cruel glint in his strange green eyes when he spoke. "I'm sure your next job will be much less stressful.". He said it quietly, but the silence was so blanketing, everyone in the room could hear him perfectly. The girl spluttered out a sob, unable to maintain the control over her composure, as Blaine slowly and deliberately removed the badge from her uniform. "Run along now," he purred, voice dripping with fake sympathy.

The girl didn't need to be told twice. She probably feared that she'd make things worse for herself if she tried to stay, so she walked quickly away from the wreckage, staring at her feet and furiously wiping at the tears streaming down her cheeks. Karma was still stood there shirtless, scratching his arm and following the girl's retreating back with cold eyes. A different waitress walked over and started to clear up the glasses, and Blaine turned his eyes to Fox expectantly. Fox was still in shock. Everything had happened so fast. Had that girl really just been fired on the spot? He had no time to think about what was happening, since Blaine's piercing stare was making him feel... guilty? Blushing a little, Fox pushed his bracelets up his arms and knelt carefully on the splattered carpet, and helped to clear up. People started to talk, and the noise of the casino grew once again, the sounds of cards and chips changing hands filling the room. Blaine stood up slowly, and he left with Kanna hooked around his arm again, Karma abandoning the shirt he'd tossed to Fox and following a metre behind them. He stuck his hands in his pockets though, whether to look cool or to hide his tattoos, Fox couldn't tell. They picked up the last of the glasses, including the pieces of the broken one, and balanced them all on the tray, which was sticky from the spilt drinks. The carpet had started to dry already, the stains only pale brown. "We'll have to heavy-duty clean this whole carpet later. It's not the first time someone's been fired for spilling drinks," the waitress said, her hands shaking a little from the weight of the tray as she balanced it in either hand to brush off her clothes. "Mia was always making mistakes, I'm surprised Mr Thatcher kept her around for so long.". Fox walked alongside her, carrying the broken glass, and she wove through the throng of people with ease, even while holding the tray. "Have you worked here long, um, miss?" Fox asked, walking a little faster than usual to keep up. As they reached the back wall, she used her elbow to open a golden- edged door that swung inwards into a smaller, brightly lit room with a large, industrial sized sink, rows of fridges, and a neat collection of cleaning supplies lined up along the length of a whole wall. The room was tiny and simple compared to the casino, but it was bigger than Fox's whole apartment and even the sink looked larger than his bed. "It's Kate. And yeah, I think I'm the only waitress who's been here since opening," she smiled, taking the broken glass from Fox and dumping it in one of the many dustbins. "Welcome to the team, then, Fox." She turned and started piling the glasses into the sink, slotting the tray beside them and clapping her hands together. 
"I suppose I should better get straight to it, then. There's sort of an... initiation process here. See that cupboard?" she pointed to the smallest metal door in the corner of the room, "on opening day, Mr Thatcher was in there, making out with that guy who just won your card game. Karma." She laughed at Fox's shocked face. "And they were caught by none other than me. So every time we get a new staff member, we like to challenge them. If you can get caught making out with someone in that same cupboard by the end of your first week here, then we'll properly accept you into the staff. It's a test of some sort. You gotta sneak someone in there and manage to time it so you get caught. Mr Thatcher supports it entirely, he thinks it's a good way to judge if people are good for the casino. It takes guts to work here. Gotta deal with customers. You can just not do it, of course, but just know that you won't be as respected around here." Kate leaned against the sink, drumming her fingers on the draining board. "The most impressive guy so far has been Lucas. He managed to get one of Mr Thatcher's closer friends in there- Kanna. It was poor Mia who found them, she went out of her mind. Shame she's gone now, really, she was just starting to stop jumping every time someone slammed a door too hard." She trailed off, lost in thought. "You've got a whole week to do it, don't pressure yourself. Just don't do something stupid like pay a customer to make out with you, a girl tried that last year and Mr Thatcher was furious. He did more than fire her," Kate paused, realising she may have said too much, "anyway, I'd go ask the big man himself when he wants you to start your first shift. If you're lucky it'll be tomorrow.". She smiled warmly and Fox bowed his head awkwardly. She'd said too much too fast for him to process and he needed to consider this whole 'initiation' thing. He still had Karma's shirt over his arm, dripping a little bit of alcohol every few seconds. It seemed logical to try and wring it out, so he did so over the sink, squeezing the fabric hard to try and get as much out of it as possible. Kate took it from him then and opened one of the many fridges, or what Fox has assumed to be fridges, revealing that they must all just be metal cupboards as you don't usually keep a washing machine and dryer in a refrigerator. Fox left as she was putting it in, hundreds of questions flying around his mind, and a new one popped up as soon as he stepped back into the casino. Where the hell had Blaine, Karma and Kanna gone? And more importantly...

How the hell was he going to get someone to make out with him in just one week?