A Refreshing Draught of lucky liquid

Rin sat at the ground floor bar of St.Valentine's Casino, a glass of top shelf scotch nestled in her hand as she stared deep into the liquid, pondering what to do next. It had been a long time since she had drunk to any significant degree, and yet here in this place she felt the overwhelming urge to drown her sorrows. She had been cautiously optimistic when she had offered her service to the ruler of tanbogakure, she had seen a chance to rid the world of the accursed shadow that loomed over it in secret, she had aspired to so much and yet now only a few months later the reality of the situation had set in. Emi was well intentioned, she wanted what was the best for her village, but she was also overworked, reluctant to take the necessary steps to take control, the merchants that led the villages trading company ran circles around her, using bureaucracy and paperwork to prevent her from getting anything of import done all the while exploiting that same bureaucracy to strengthen their own positions and line their own pockets. Under other circumstances she would have the woman replaces, or leave to pursue her own ambitions, but she had given her word, both in practice and in spirit. She was bound now to this plan and betraying the woman would be a betrayal of herself, something that her already scared and fractured spirit would likely not survive.



Sighing again she took a deep draught of the amber liquid within her glass before raising her hand to the bartender, calling for another
wc:268

As a glass filled with another draught of that pungent amber liquid slid across the counter, a brief and ignored nodd from the bartender the only other indication he had even noticed the woman; Rin sat there mulling over her choice of beverage and the decisions that had brough her to this point she found herself interrupted by a strangely familiar voice one that... Rin groaned as she realized where it was she remembered the voice from. "Ugh, Saturn why is it i seem to keep encountering you in the strangest of places." She said downing the glass of paint thinner in another swift gulp. "I Hope your at least wearing pants this time." She said; pointedly not glancing across at the man so as to avoid any further... unpleasant views.

"You seem distraught, I don't see your twins around. Are you the only one with a gambling problem?" The man slurred and Rin couldn't help but stifle another groan, of course the man would be drunk on top of everything else. "If you must know, codex is off schmoozing those with political clout in my stead whilst Vis is busy tracking down some sort of crime ring; I didn't bother to handle the details, it's more than capable of handling itself and frankly I needed a break... though when they told me i could have a holiday this isn't exactly what i expected" She said gesturing behind herself to the bustling casino filled with late night gamblers, and high profile emissaries of the various villages as she let out a harsh chuckle. "But enough about me, why pray tell do you seem to keep showing up surrounded by illicit or at least morally questionable people?" She said; recalling the encounter with the 'reverse santa clause' the pair had aprehended shortly after the mans... fashion mishap.


WC: 306

"Didn't your mother tell you, that birds of a flock get laid together?" Saturn slurred, stirring his glass as the bartender poured him another round he could not afford. "Interesting. So they're like permanent shadow clones that do your bidding, while you're out on vacation..." Saturn placed his finger on his chin as he pondered on the idea. Jun was growing up fast and he could use a couple of minions. "Will you lease them to me? Or bet them in a game of poker?" He sounded dead serious as he set his plan in motion. He had to convince her to play with him at the table so he could earn back what the house had taken from him. The options were endless. He could possess a fly, or open a third eye on the wall to read her cards if she agreed, but he caught an ethical error in his approach.

"Uhh don't get me the wrong way. I meant, to do missions and stuff. I'm not weird I promise." He gestured, before clearing his throat and continuing with his proposition. "I'll bet some items you might be interested in, too." He grinned slyly, recalling his possessions on the fly. "I've got... Shark Fin, you can use it to breathe underwater. And... a full set of pirate gear, with a cool little eye patch I got from some thugs in Mikadzuki Beach. What else do I have... Forged Papers. You can write your name on the blank and get some extra credit in your village." He counted his items on his fingers, and then got up on his feet.

"What do you think? Do you not trust your poker face? Don't be a party pooper."


If Rin obliged, Saturn would join her at the poker table, and beckon the dealer to come on over. Sitting across from the table, he would peak at his two cards, and then push his Forged Papers deeper into the table to place his first bet before seeing any card on the pre-flop. "For this, an equal bet would be either Vis or Codex for one month or until they do ten missions while using Transformation Technique to look like me."

"Bartender, pour her a round. It's on me. I got this."

---

WC: 363

"Didn't your mother tell you, that birds of a flock get laid together?" Saturn slurred and Rin had to resist the urge to slap the man, seriously it wasn't that hard to hold your liquor was it? She thought to herself even as she wondered why she consistently put up with this fool's antics, certainly sometimes entertaining fools paid off and didn't really cost anything, but even she had her limits didn't she? As if to answer the rhetorical question Rin was met by one of the most preposterous questions from the young madman. "Will you lease them to me?" He asked as if those two fragments of her personality known as vis and codex were things to be sold... it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility to hire their services out to someone... but the way in which the man asked was... distasteful to say the least... she generally didn't cheat at cards, it took the fun out of it and frankly she enjoyed the practice at reading people more than winning itself... but perhaps she should make an exception here if only to teach the man a lesson...

Perhaps she didn't hide the reaction on her face as well as she though, or perhaps enough of the alcohol in the mans system had worn off that he realized just what he had said... though she was not generous enough to give the man that benefit of the doubt at this point, yet for whatever reason he clarified "I meant, to do missions and stuff. I'm not weird I promise." He clarified before clearing his throat and 'sweetening' the proposal so to speak. She had already been planning on accepting just to teach the man a lesson, but she let him keep digging himself deeper as he began to ramble on, listing off an assortment of what could be considered junk, though two of the items he mentioned in amongst all that junk did catch her eye, pun not intended. She still needed an eyepatch to cover the gaping wound the butcher of sunagakure left on her, and false papers were always handy, even if she didn't use them herself it would come in handy when she needed to have others infiltrate the target of her ire.

"Fine, fine, if your so insistent then we can play a few rounds of cards, but don't blame me if you loose." She said, standing and striding over the the table before pausing, allowing her tone to darken and her aura to leak out even as she stood with her back to the man. "Oh and saturn..." she said pausing ominously. "Mistake or not, never treat my fragments as objects again" she said allowing the words to sink in for just a moment before retracting her aura and taking a seat at the table, a placid expression on her face as she waited for the man to join her, watching as the man slid a set of papers into the middle of the table before the cards were even dealt, explaining the equivilent value of her fragment's time as he did so. It was steep, but then she had no intention of loosing so she simply nodded. "Agreed. 1 month of vis's time" she said, nodding to the dealer to begin. A pair of cards were provided to the pair of them; Rin glancing down at the cards with a brief fold of the card stock before releasing the material, allowing it to snap back into contact with the table, giving no reaction or indication of the pair of aces she had been dealt, Instead she simply smiled "I'll raise you a month of codex's time to match" she said her placid gaze not giving away anything as she gazed at the man.


WC: 633

"Lose? Never!" Saturn retorted confidently, and raised his eyebrow as he sensed Rin's dark aura emanating from her body as she warned him. "Fragments? My fault, I didn't know you were sensitive like that." He softened his tone and raspy voice and then placed his metallic right hand on his heart, "Me personally, my heart is the only thing in fragments, ever since my Buddhist horse forsake me for her retreat."

Saturn knew his two cards to be a pair of Aces, one of spade the other of clubs. Luck, he believed, was on his side. On the flop, the dealer revealed a string of cards ordered and likened by coincidence. Two, three, and four of hearts were revealed. The fortuneteller was unfazed. He didn't feel the urgency to peek at his competition's cards. Instead, he pushed forward his pirate's eye patch apprehensively - offering her an item with which to conceal her wound while trying not to rub it in her face. He also pushed forwards the rest of his pirate armor set - Pirate Hat, Pirate Jacket, Pirate Boots, and even threw in the Pirate Cutlass.

He peered over the table at Rin trying to read her poker face. Then pushed forward a final item - a Shark Fin. He was all in.

"For these, a month of Vis' time to match."

If Rin called his bet, the dealer would reveal the turn and the river - a six of hearts, and a king of diamond.

WC: 250

Rin mentally raised an eyebrow at the man's words when he mentioned a horse forsaking him, she had no idea what he was talking about of course, and yet somehow she felt that his words were significant; as if something of what he was talking about had affected her in some strange way, perhaps in a past life, or a parallel universe. That vauge sense lasted only a moment before passing however and she simply added it to the growing list of vageries, oddities and bizzare occurences that seemed to follow the man around. 

Allowing the game to play our Rin confidently continued to play, watching the cards unfold on the river with mild interest, when the third card of the river came up as what could indeed be a flush she feined an entirely placid expression, deliberately making it seem like she was keeping her expression unreactive, something that in truth she was doing, though not for the reasons you might expect when looking at the cards on the table. Watching the man push across his wager before nodding her head in agreement if you claim them to be worth a month of my fragments time then i'll raise you, a month of both vis and codex. If your really so confident in your hand then theres really no harm in wagering more right? she asked, allowing a small smirk to touch at the edge of her lips as she met the man's eye, allowing a small sliver of her aura to leak out once again

The gambit had worked of course, not that there was ever any doubt, nodding in thanks to the dealer she swept her winnings up off of the table and into one of the many small pocket dimensions she maintained for such things; the various items disappearing into the void. She was just about to stand and leave when the man; now bereft of all but the clothes on his back; and indeed he had already wagered some of them to boot, asked for another game. Letting out a soft chuckle she had just begun asking exactly what he would have left to wager when he did something rather strange. The words caught in her throat as he pulled out that strange eldritch companion he had briefly showcased in their adventure in the winter wonderland, placing the creature, mimas if she remembered its name correctly, upon the table. A tempting offer, and one she considered for longer than she likely should have, but the man was desperate that was clear, he had lost any pretence of negotiating for her fragments assistance and instead resorted to simply putting a price on the creature... And an exorbitant price at that. Still she had won a hand against the man and he had learnt his lesson, not disrespecting her soul aspects again so after some brief consideration she decided that she would play fairly this time. "Very well, one more game" she said sitting down and placing the ryo upon the table.

Saturn peeked at his cards; the seven of spades and the two of diamonds. It was by far the worst hand he had drawn, but he had nothing left to lose. He pushed his octopus and the jar of dirt further into the middle of the table before any cards were drawn. "All. In." He restated confidently, his face not showing any signs of a bad hand or a good one. 

If Rin matched his bet with the full amount, the dealer would go on to reveal the flop, the turn and the river; seven of hearts, seven of clubs, two of hearts, and then seven of spade.

WC: 108