Nice Odds [Private]

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

A single silver tael slide across the bar, picking up whatever sticky remains of alcohol once rested on its counter. It’s owner rolled another simple coin across their knuckle, awaiting the attention of the barkeep. Their dusky golden eyes scanned out the layout of the room within seconds, taking note of the tables running hot and the solitary players who sulked at every corner. The air was thick and stale, with very distinctive notes of tobacco and alcohol choking out any decent air fresheners or cleaners that used to cover the area. The gray haze of smog wafted under the harsh fluorescent bulbs hanging over each table. For the most part, the patrons within were gruff men of older age. This wasn’t the place Masaoko would frequent to pick up that night’s plaything, but she had just come upon her monthly allowance. What better way to waste it then a night of gambling?

She turned back to the bar, crossing her arms and leaning forward on the counter. She was lean, and her angles and curves displayed more so than usual in the clothes for today. High waisted pale pink pants hugging every lovable part of her and a crop top. She felt more at home in her feminine side today, plus it was just economical. Men that frequented the gambling dens of Cloud were the type of men to underestimate a woman. The more innocent she looked, the deadlier she was.

She flashed a friendly smile to the barkeep as he finally came to lay down her drink and raking the tael off the counter gave her a firm nod. Now, where to begin? She scanned once more, wincing as she downed the awful bottom shelf shit they tried to pull off as quality alcohol. Her eyes caught the singular table of blackjack that wasn’t full. Two men of burly nature played in silence, stewing over their current losses, while a man on the opposite end of the table twitched. Most likely he believed he was on the verge of winning. Blackjack seemed like a nice enough warm up, but she didn’t like the idea of playing with snoresville.

The usually quiet area suddenly roared with life as a crowd cheered from the Craps table. A man and his rowdy entourage huddled around. Masaoko smirked. Craps, Best odds in the the den. Significant money loss/win ratio. Perfect. So, with a small case in hand, she strutted to the table.

She waited for a moment, rallying behind the dice roller, gradually making friends with the entourage with small talk and high energetic cheers mirroring his companions. It was important to work a crowd. Winning was nice, but winning with a crowd of strangers rallying behind you was even better. So, when it was finally her time to shoot, she laid her bet. A bet that made a flashy entrance. The kind that quiets a roaring and rowdy crowd. 8,000,000-en kind of flashy. Happy fucking birthday Setsuna, Masaoko gleefully gloated. The sudden jam of sound ended as her new friends roared with even more energy.

“Drinks for every one of my new friends!” She shouted towards a stationary waitress, stammering at the sheer amount of chips at the table. The group clapped and cheered. Masaoko scooped the dice within her hands, holding it out for a brief moment forsomeone of the table to blow for good luck.​

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Pocketing her winnings (somehow without causing lines in her tight dress) from the high-rollers table in the back behind locked doors, Kitsune headed out to the lower limit tables, both to see how the lower-class citizens were holding up, and to get her chips cashed out. Fortunately for her, Lady Luck had smiled upon her, and thus her winnings had contained cash, deeds for buildings in Kumogakure, chips and various bits and pieces of tech from far away places. It wasn’t immediately obvious to the everyday person, but Kitsune herself was amongst the higher echelons of society and she enjoyed showing off, whether it was in an underground gambling den, or practicing the violin or piano. (Both of which she favored over other kinds of instruments)

Looking around the dimly lit den, Kitsunes eyes caught the craps table, as things certainly seemed to be rather heated over there. Not heated in a bad way, but heated as in excited. It seemed that whomever it was at one end of the table had just taken home a rather large win all while a single girl was making her way through the crowd, taking the time to engage with practically all of them, from the edge of the crowd itself all the way to the craps table.

Kitsune smirked to herself before heading towards the table, as this chain of events seemed to be interesting. Well, not just interesting, but also like the first stage of a skilled con-artist’s handiwork. As the girl held out the dice as if waiting for someone to blow on them, Kitsune took the opportunity as it presented itself and blew on the dice and winked at the girl. ”Best of luck~” she said in a chipper tone before looking at the table itself to see the results of what had just been done.

[MFT; WC: 307]

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

When she had laid the bet, Masaoko of course tackled the most brutal of odds. What was the fun in being safe? Her entourage seemed to keep mirroring her energy, despite placing down a 35:1 odds on a pair of snake eyes. And as she held out her pair of dice, she was blessed by a woman who seemingly materialized by Lady Luck herself. Masaoko smirked, winking back at the woman before tossing her dice out into the air.

You see, this small moment was perhaps Masaoko’s favorite. The moment when time slows. The split second before a player comes out victorious or loses everything. The dice sailing through the air, communing with luck to decipher a reward or punishment. Everything else didn’t matter to her in that moment. It was just her and those dice. The subtle, yet roaring, clatter as they skittered across the table surface. Then…

“Snake eyes!” The moment of silence broke as incredulous cheers massacred the peace of the gambling den. Masaoko fist pumped the air, posturing in cocky triumph as the stickman raked her winning pair of dice back across the table and handed out Masaoko’s winnings. She packed the money away, handing a nice tip to the stickman and slipping a couple chips to the waitress who passed out her new friends’ drinks.

She turned to her mysterious angel of luck, leaning in smoothly with her half-cocked grin. “How about you and I go to the bar, and enjoy my winnings, My Lady Luck.” She ushered towards two lone stools while closing the lock on her case.​

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune raised an eyebrow at the risky bet, but grinned as she had sneakily applied a little something to the dice to make them actually roll whatever Masaoko had willed them towards. It’d just come off as being incredibly lucky, and who was she to deny luck, right? Instead she grinned as the dice ended up rolling exactly what they were supposed to, and people went absolutely nuts over it. Ah, to be a commoner and cheering for small winnings like this. Of course, to any regular person this was enormously huge, and might even be several times their yearly salary, but for Kitsune it was chump change.

Then, when Masaoko leaned close with that cocky grin of hers and suggested they go to the bar, Kitsune winked and led the way . ”It seems like a good idea~” she said and adjusted her dress a bit as it had come loose at the top. As for how, don’t ask, it was practically painted onto Kitsunes body with how tightly it wrapped around her. Regardless as they reached the bar, Kitsune sat down and ordered the Kaminarian equivalent to a Long Island Iced Tea, and looked to the cute girl for what she wanted to drink.

”I don’t think I’ve introduced myself yet.” Kitsune said once the drinks had been ordered and Masaoko had planted her posterior on the chair next to Kitsune, ”I’m Kitsune. Shinrya Kitsune. And you are~?” she inquired, wondering who the mystery girl next to her actually was. Perhaps she’d even have heard of Kitsune in advance, and perhaps not. Even if she had, hopefully the first impression she had made would be sufficient to ward off any rumors there might, or might not, be, about her.

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

It seems she just got richer, as if that actually mattered because the fact was this bet was just a portion of her weekly allowance. Allowance, like she was some dumb teenager that needed to be supervised. This was all entirely Setsuna’s doing. It wasn’t like she was gonna blow her entire earnings on bets- oh, wait…

Masaoko shook her tangled braids apart a bit, the bangles interwoven gave a small little chime, as with every nod and shake of her head. She gave a nonchalant wave to the bartender to bring her a top shelf double of whiskey. Shinrya Kitsune, the name brought a chuckle from Masaoko. She shook her head, looking into the amber glow of her drink for a moment. So, Saeko knows of her then.

“You can call me Masao.” She introduced herself with a smile. Her arm rested against the counter as she leaned towards Kitsune. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you round here before, but I’d be lying if I said I haven’t heard of you. Although, probably not in the way you’d think.” She laughed, taking a swig of her drink. “So, who are you really, Miss Lady Luck?” Perhaps she really was a vagrant actress, as Saeko had teased. It would explain the ostentatious outfit. But Masaoko knew better to believe her deranged custodian.​

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

”I tend to stick to the high-roller area.” she said with a smirk and took a sip from her drink before continuing, ”Heh. I once knew a Masao. He sadly passed away protecting so many people…” Kitsune stopped in her tracks, so to speak, and looked at Masaoko ”Wait. What do you mean you’ve heard of me not in the way I’d think?” she inquired with a raised eyebrow. Had she heard something unsavory? Had she bumped into a stereotypical heckler that was jealous of nobility? Or was it just that she’d bumped into Saeko and had been affected by her crazy antics like many others had?

She smiled. ”I am who I said I am. Shinrya Kitsune, Duchess of Liancourt-Tsushima, Baroness of Raimei no Seika, Chief Mednin, and proprietor of oh so many businesses in town. Including a few new ones as of today.” she added at the end and grinned before withdrawing a few papers from, well, somewhere. Don’t ask where. ”Gambling is quite lucrative.” she commented with a grin ”So tell me Masao-chan, who’s been filling your ears with tall tales about me?” Kitsune was genuinely curious about this, and about whether or not it turned out to be someone she knew or not.

Regardless of all this, Kitsune wasn’t about to let it impact her mood, nor her friendly conversation with the girl next to her. It wasn’t every day she ended up hanging out at a bar, well to be fair, it was a once in a blue moon occurrence, and Airisuke usually admonished her for it afterwards, not to mention Ai-chan that was waiting at the mansion. But at this moment in time Kitsune was still riding the high of winning a bunch of stuff from the adjacent room and such thoughts didn’t occur to her in the slightest.

[MFT; WC: 305]

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

She smirked, taking another go at her drink. So it was another brush with nobility today, huh? Masaoko couldn’t escape the reminders of the other day, no matter how hard she tried. She was nobility too, but she didn’t want to be. That seemed to be the difference between her and the woman for now. Then there was the connection with Masao. Not a very common name. Her “uncle”, a former partner of Sanageyama Haseo, was named Masao. There was no way in hell it was the same one though. Masao had been brave, sure, but he certainly was no hero.

“Oh, just some woman… Her name is Saeko.” She felt a bitter taste in her mouth. It wasn’t Saeko’s fault all this happened. Lord knows she didn’t want the situation to fall in her lap either, but Masaoko explicitly connected her awful revelations with the woman. “She’s my… Well, I don’t really know how to describe her connection with me. I guess you could say.. She’s my baby-sitter.” She grumbled sourly. When would she be old enough not to be chided by someone above her. Probably never, seeing as how she was a shinobi of the village.

“She actually told me she was Shinrya Kitsune, when I first met her.” Masaoko chuckled slightly, alleviating the sour mood that had been casted over her. “Said she was a struggling actress. Of course, I didn’t believe her. It’s hard to believe anything she says..”

“Although I might believe that actress bit, if it had actually been you. You’ve got quite the star power about you.” The young woman flashed a cheeky grin, hoping to flatter her new companion. “That was quite the lucky roll too. At this point, I’d believe it if you told me you were some sorta Divine.”

There was a part of Masaoko that didn’t know when to quit. Often times, it was in the face of beautiful women. Often when she ought to behave with decorum, but elected to turn on her electric charm. This situation was exactly that moment. It was getting late after all...​

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune burst out in laughter before stopping herself, ”So that’s the connection. I actually know Saeko. Daughter of Takaki Masao.” she said, explaining that she knew exactly who Saeko was, ”She’s an odd one, that’s for sure. And you say she’s your babysitter, huh? That has to suck on so many levels.” The redhead gave Masaoko a pat on the back to show sympathy with her situation. ”No wonder you’ve turned to gambling and drinking. Way more fun than having to deal with crazy people.” she said with a teasing wink and a sly grin.

When Masaoko told her about what Saeko had done when they first met, Kitsune made a mental note to give Saeko a spanking at a later time. Or a brushing. Or both. Both is good. ”Well, I wouldn’t know about star power~” she said and grinned ”But I do know that I’m lucky as all hell. Or I might just be skilled with observation and analysis. Your roll on the other hand, well… Yeah. I’d call that being crazy lucky.” A very light shade of blushing flashed across Kitsunes face at being called a Divine. She could honestly say that it was the very first time that had happened to her.

”Heh, you’re quite the charmer, aren’t you~?” Kitsune asked the cheeky young woman next to her before taking a gulp of that tasty drink she had ordered before ”So tell me… Does Saeko being your babysitter mean that you’re forced to be staying with her?”

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

Yeah, definitely no connection there. It was hard to imagine Saeko the child of a war hero, of course it was hard to imagine Masaoko was the child of the governor of a whole frickin’ island. Seemed this village was full of surprises. Saeko never gave any indication, but in a way, Masaoko was stuck in the same boat as her. A legacy loomed over their heads. However, her babysitter managed to escape it for the most part, while she had yet to grasp how to control the situation.

But back to the matter at hand… She had a very beautiful woman sitting in front of her. One that just made her only slightly richer for the week. Either Masaoko was delusional, or Kitsune was giving off vibes that she was flirting back. Masaoko grin back at the woman.

“Nah.” She took another slam from her drink. The buzz started in. A nice comfortable feeling as of late. It made her forget about the mess in her life. “I’m actually a clansman of the Ishikawa, so I’ve never had the unfortunate luck of living with Saeko. Fortunately though, I have an apartment not far from here.” She finished up her drink.

“What’s say we get lucky again and blow this place?”​

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune chuckled at Masaokos reaction ”Oh good, I can’t imagine her being a good roommate at all. She’s fun to bump into at have a short chat with, but eventually it just degenerates to weird references, politics, something she calls shitposting, and guns.” Kitsune said and shook her head ”It’s so strange. Despite my years of studying medicine, I don’t think I’ve come across a technique or drug that could fix that” she shrugged ever so slightly and emptied the remainder of her drink in one go. They were about to leave, so might as well finish up, right? Would’ve been a shame to let it go to waste, even if Kitsune didn’t get the tingly feeling from being buzzed.

She handed Masaoko a semi translucent blue die and smiled ”Why don’t you give it a roll and see where your luck takes us~?” she said with a smirk. If she was to be Masaokos’ Lady Luck, she might as well take the role all the way. Hm. Did Kitsune have any gambling puns in her repertoire? Ah, too late to worry about that now, it was late, Kitsune had already won more than even a full month of her salary from the medical branch would’ve provided.

Amongst Kitsunes winnings were an upscale nightclub called Lux, located in the more expensive end of the Susukino district compared to where they currently were. Ironically for a nightclub, the name meant ‘light’ in an ancient language. If Masaoko rolled low on the die, she’d suggest they could go there instead, if not, well, then she’d rightfully won the roll and they’d be going to her apartment.

[MFT; WC: 274]