I Guess Even Monsters Have Poker Night

Hasumi was struggling with living in a strange tunnel underneath the ruins of Tengakure, but she was doing her best to survive until help arrived. She tried occasionally to wander through the tunnels to try and find an exit but whenever the monster men found her she would quickly get captured and taken back farther into the base of these freaks. Hasumi felt like she was at her wit's end as she tried to formulate a plan to escape, but with how weak and slow her body was she wasn't sure she could manage it.

Hasumi started to exercise a bit when she managed to have light or found a routine that could be done in relative darkness. Her creator had made her brother and her poorly, the two of them had been quite feeble when they had first stepped out of the portal the masked man had drawn them from. At first, Hasumi had just assumed it was a permanent affliction, but through her telepathy with her brother, she had learned that he had managed to train up his speed and strength by being active. And apparently, his increases had been quick. Hoping to emulate him Hasumi would practice running and tossing tiny pieces of rubble as a way to both pass the time and try and get into shape for her escape. She felt that she'd be caught if she simply tried to run.

One day while she was training she heard the sound of movement within the tunnel. Hasumi was so used to the fumbling about that often came from the mole men as they traveled around her, but this felt distinct from their noise. She quickly got to her feet and tried her best to look in the direction of the noise, straining her bright blue eyes to try and make out any moving shapes in the darkness. The young girl soon found herself staring up at a few looming figures, chimera men who had been mixed with predatory animals that seemed to be much larger and more comfortable in their bodies than the mole men.

"Do your eyes work? We need one more for our card game but none of these stupid fools can see anything." The voice was low and booming.

Hasumi stood in shocked silence for a moment, trying to process what the monster had said. She had thought she was to be taken up to see the Kurogane figure, but they just wanted to play a game. Hasumi was reluctant at first but soon began to follow the large figures as they slowly led her out of the tunnel and into the ruins of the village. The girl did her best to try and memorize the route as she traveled through it, making sure to telepathically send the directions to her creator and brother as well so that they could try and memorize it too.

It was nighttime when they walked out of the tunnel, heading towards the remains of a skyscraper that still had a couple of stories remaining. Hasumi gingerly followed the large monsters as they brought her up to a table that was on what was now considered the roof, but had once been one of the lower floors.

Hasumi didn't know the game that well but thankfully her brother had played it himself just recently. With his assistance, she was able to play half decently as she was dealt her first couple of hands.

Seeing as she had no money the man who had invited her to play offered to give her a small amount to start with. She tried to appear gracious and thankful as she interacted with the men and played the game but on the inside, she was completely terrified. As she started to get the hang of the game and even begin to win she would anxiously gather her chips each time, looking between the other players and hoping she hadn't upset them. Every once in a while one of the other players would have a sudden burst of outrage but the others would quickly turn on them, telling them to relax or everyone else would tear them apart.

Hasumi ended up losing a couple of hands because she was afraid to speak up when others got a rule wrong or cheated, but as the games continued she found that a couple of the other plays would vouch for her when foul play was suspected. She was surprised to find herself smiling at an alligator man after he helped convince another player that a Royal Flush was a real thing and that it beat the hand that he had gotten. She found herself opening up a bit as the night went on, not joining in the banter much but starting to laugh along if someone told a particularly funny joke.

By the end of the night, Hasu found that she had won a decent amount of money. She went to give it back to the man who had paid for her chips but he simply thanked her for joining the game and told her to keep the winnings for herself. He wasn't sure if she would get much use out of them but if there was ever a shop opened in the ruins he said he would personally escort her to it so that she could make use of her newly acquired funds. She thanked him for the offer, but inwardly hoped that she'd be able to escape this place now that she knew how to navigate the tunnels.

TWC: 925

Mechanics
-20 for Telepathy
580/600 AP

[Exit]