Open Raise the Stakes [open]

[Mienai]

Rain poured down from the sky as occasional thunder boomed in the distance. It was rare that Suna experienced rain, let alone that it would reach this part of the ruins, but still, tonight found itself dreary, dark, and damp. The neon signs of the red light district illuminated off the water that pooled on the streets, giving the area an almost ethereal glow. People roamed and shifted in the shadows of the light, with splashes echoing as quick steps hurried along side streets. People didn't venture to this part of town unless they were looking for seedier forms of entertainment, discretion, or called it home. However, in one particular corner of the red light district, one could always hear the distinctive sound of slot machines, roulette tables, drinks clattering, and raucous crowds. The sounds belonged to the ever increasingly popular casino owned by the Legends of Mythos Gang.

Inside, members of that said gang could easily be spotted making their rounds around various parts of the building. The main floor was always reserved for patrons who came to gamble away their money. It made the gang easy profits, even without having to rig the games in their favor, and it easily provided them endless bouts of entertainment in and of itself. The casino drew in all kinds of crowds. The poor, the wealthy, the corrupt, the holy. None were too proud or too invulnerable to falling susceptible to the allure that came with the thrills of betting and chance. On the main floor, one could find the game stations, the card tables, the roulette wheels, among several other things. In the back was a full bar and kitchen, adequately named "Tartarus's Kitchen" where shouting about raw meat and lamb sauce was heard quite often from the head chef to his underlings. There was also a lounge area if patrons wanted some down time or a place to discuss business. For more high end clients, one could pay to access certain VIP sections of the casino, though final say always would come back to the leader of the Gang, Medusa.

The woman in charge, a well established crime lord in her own right, would often make an appearance on the main floor, greeting those that drew out her interest. Everyone would know when she was on the floor. She always dressed to the nines, but often made her rounds in her traditional pantsuit and black fedora, her sapphire jewelry sparking among the lights and her red hair flowing freely. She rarely played, merely indulged in her own brand of fun. Sometimes she would take a guest home for the evening if she felt inclined. Tonight though, Medusa was sat at one of the poker tables, cards in her hand, smirking with confidence. "Read 'em and weep, boys. Straight Flush." Medusa laid the cards down with a satisfying snap on the table. There were some groans from the other players, some of whom finally tapped out. The red haired woman pulled the poker chips towards her, making nice stacks of her acquired earnings, but paying no mind to actually assess her winnings. In her line of business, she had plenty of wealth to spare. These types of games were more about the sport of it than anything.

Giving a quick shuffle to the cards, Medusa waited as a couple other members of the gang joined her at the table. A strong man with rippling muscles and a well styled mustache wearing black trousers and a white button up with a navy blue vest sat down on one side, the table jostling ever so slightly as his bulk took one of the seats. His cheeks had just the slightest rosy tint to them as he grinned at her. "Ah hah! Another win for the books! I think I may try my hand once more, da?" Medusa chuckled lightly at the man across from her but kept shuffling the cards almost methodically, the cards making a satisfying crackling sound as they mixed together without hesitation. "Think your account can take that kind of hit again, old man?" Midas simply laughed, a small glint in his blue eyes.

Another man approached the table quietly. He was less well dressed than the other two at the table. He wore a pair of baggy blue trousers that matched a blue vest on his chest that hung open. A raggedy brown cap sat on his head and a loose piece of red cloth was tied around his eyes. He wore no shirt or shoes, allowing people to be able to see his toned muscles. As the man took a seat, Medusa tapped the leg of his chair with her foot twice. "You too, Ares? Haven't taken us for all we're worth yet? What's up your sleeve this time, a bunch of Aces?" The man smirked, showing off one some of his pearly teeth. "Don't be a poor sport, love. It's just luck, you know that."Medusa rolled her eyes, but a soft smile tugged in the corner of her lips. "Right." Medusa started to deal out the cards, but everyone waited a moment before they actually glanced at them. Medusa felt a presence nearby as a silver tray was lowered just to her left. On the tray was a single martini glass that contained two olives. Medusa hummed thoughtfully as she took the drink, looking up the tall well dressed man that held the tray. "Thank you, Hades." The man gave a curt nod, the metal face-plate conveying no emotion. Medusa took a small sip from the martini as Hades seemed to disappear somewhere among the shadows thereafter. The woman knew he was always lingering somewhere though, likely just watching the room, and didn't pay him much mind. He would make his way back around if he wanted to be social, though it was likely he was more focused on his pet project. Sometimes he would oversee the kitchen and bar like tonight, just the help out some of the wait staff, but Medusa could tell he treated it like it was his own pet project and she didn't really mind the assistance in managing the place.

Scanning the room, the casino seemed to be in full swing tonight. Most of the seats in the casino were full and the night was still young. Medusa placed her buy in chips on the table, the standard buy in always being 20,000 yen for professionals at the casino, granted those were loosely enforced. It was more common to see people placing up more than just stacks of yen, such as property or favors and such. On one occasion, Medusa had even seen someone bet his daughters hand in marriage and lose. Granted, she didn't follow through with that, instead just taking the dowry, but it had still been entertaining to watch the man break down over his own prideful gumption. Picking up the small toothpick from her drink, Medusa ate one of the olives before placing the toothpick back into the glass and swirling the drink. Making a thoughtful noise, Medusa picked up her cards and prepared to play, wondering what other interesting events tonight would bring.

[Topic Entered with NPCs Medusa, Hades, Ares, and Midas. Link to profiles: Here]

 

[Toraono Michino]

His mission was successful, at least in that instead of assassinating the opponent he had forced them into an agreement to ceasefire. Uzu kept to himself just how much the mission had taken out of him, trying to save a bit of pride. After dropping off the two young bandits to be locked up in their most comfortable holdings, the assassin was able to just get out of their line of sight before falling over unconscious. The battle with their leader had taken a heavy toll on his flesh.

He was immediately rushed to the hospital under strict security and with only Kaen and Sousuke being given any word of his condition as per the requests on his file; Tama lead the following surgery personally. He had a number of injuries to add on to the mechanical parts inside of him that were also destroyed. After a full twenty-four hours of careful work, the mad scientist was able to temporarily realign certain organs he had blocked to make the weapon installed under Uzu’s heart work. The injuries the old assassin had suffered were most certainly serious, and anyone else probably would have died attempting to survive such injuries, but for some reason his heart just…wouldn’t stop beating. Even during the surgery when his vitals were at their lowest, the Uzumoreru’s black blood just stubbornly continued to move despite the number of times the heart actually stopped.

The Solar Ancient had seen a lot of things, and knew “unkillable” when he saw it. It was something in that spirit he had seen a number of times before. Mikaboshi, Sousuke, Katsuo, hell, even himself to some degree. There was something about their souls that just refused to give up, but unlike the rest, Toushin only had his cancerous black blood to support that stubbornness.Something about Toushin’s chakra cancer had evolved during the surgery, into it’s next stage, Tama theorized, but instead of attacking his system it appeared to be changing the assassin instead. The mad scientist was giddy with excitement at the chance to study what he believed was possibly another stage of natural human evolution. There would need to be at least three more surgeries before the old man would be back on his feet, the Hybrid thought. If nothing else, the assassin would be waiting on the Hybrid to fix the machines that made him live…but by the very next day Toushin’s body was missing from the hospital bed with only an open window to give any clues. The rain outside began pouring harder.

The first thing the assassin did when he got home was stumble to his beloved couch and faceplant right on top of his fresh surgery wounds without a flinch. He was still wearing a hospital gown, still missing an arm, and looked pale enough to be on death’s door. Yet after another full day of sleep on his couch the color miraculously returned to his flesh. The blistering pain of his abdomen blurred away into numb and, as he slowly pushed himself up with the one mechanical arm, found that the wounds were already scarred over. Alarmed the assassin stood up and stepped back on steady legs, his breath coming in and out way too easy. He ran the fake hand through his hair, brushed his skin, turned and darted towards the full body mirror in the bedroom.

Toushin looked younger. Not a lot younger, but more like a man in his early forties compared to the nearly seventy years of life he had tacked onto his fleshbag. There was a small panic of wondering if he was now part of one of Tama’s twisted experiments, if it was all an illusion, or if some god had truly just blessed his wretched soul; roaring suddenly above all that paranoia was hunger.
“What have they done to me….” Toushin whispered as he all but sprinted into the kitchen.

Another day. Twenty-four hours of eating every last bit of protein he could find and his body was fully healed. He could feel the organs that had been realigned working better than ever, his pulse which was usually jolty was smooth as butter, and he could even think clearly. Toushin was terrified though, with no idea as why this was happening to him. He had tried to contact Tama multiple times but got nothing. No one knew rightfully where his residence was, he had made sure of that for privacy, but now he wanted anyone to come and explain what was happening. He was still at least human, right?

As if to spite his mood and paranoia, it just continued to storm. A typhoon was raging around the beaches, making the weather horribly unpredictable and hard to navigate besides. Even if someone was looking for the assassin, they’d never find him right now. By the time night began to fall on the fourth day since he came home, the rain finally looked like it was letting up enough for people to enjoy life once more; and Toushin had finally decided to just roll with it.

He had shrugged on an old purple three-piece suit from his time as the Underworld King and found that it fit even better now than it did then. Something was up, something was wrong, he could feel it; but damned if he didn’t just also feel unstoppable. Shrugging on a leather trench coat and pinning the arm up to the side he slipped out into the cold wet night….
…and found himself standing right in front of the casino where he had lost it all. His right arm, once more his only arm, made a fist as he ducked under the marquee and right into the casino. A man at the front removed his coat and patted him down for weapons. Clearly unaware he was wearing a prosthetic they waved him through after sending a message up to management and getting permission to let him in. It wasn’t unusual for Toushin to experience this kind of treatment since she took over his throne, and most of the time he’d be livid; however a strange calm had taken Uzu. It was as if he no longer worried about something, a weight that was on his shoulders for so long now being alleviated, and all his anger had gone with it. Without wasting a moment he walked towards the back where he knew she would be sitting.

The table was already looking full, two of the goons he knew of and one he wasn’t used to. Sitting pretty between them was their dealer and Queen; the Medusa herself. Shrugging off his coat with one arm and not a word, the assassin carefully reached into the inner pocket of his suit coat and dropped a large stack of yen on the table. With the grace of cat he sat down and smirked at Takara,

“Deal me in, Madame.”

[MFT]

 

[Mienai]

Sharp, meticulous blue eyes shifted ever so quickly to the man entering her establishment. A flash of green accommodating a sinister smile flashed across her face, notifying the other men at the table of their madame's interests. Midas let out a quiet hearty laugh as Ares took note of the slight thickening in the air. Hades had disappeared to the shadows once again, circling the room, but noting his mistress's obvious interest in the newcomer. Shuffling her cards, Medusa tilted her head to the side, her smile remaining as the quick snap of the cards being shuffled in her hands could be heard. The man in question strolled over, as could be expected, and dropped a large satchel of yen on her table managing to shake it a bit. The man was dressed fashionably, yet subtle. Yes, this would be the most appropriate for his line of work, but it also made a statement. Medusa didn't underestimate him. Despite their...encounters in the past, the man perplexed her more than many had and he was certainly entertaining company to keep even if there was a sort of disdain held there."Well, if I had known we were expecting a VIP tonight, I would have have rolled out the red carpet. It certainly has been much to long, Icarus." The woman chuckled quietly to herself. It was a friendly, yet unsettling kind of laugh that seemed to hide another meaning beneath it.

Certainly never one to turn away those with money, Medusa dealt out a set of cards to Uzu, gesturing for the man to take a seat at her table. Taking a look at her own cards, she frowned momentarily. Garbage hand, hard to salvage, but not impossible. Better to bluff to see if things got a little interesting. She pushed a small stack of her chips forward, but seemingly paid little attention to what the other members of her gang were doing. Midas seemed perplexed about his own hand, while there was really no hope in reading Ares. The man literally gambled on luck, so his poker face was immaculate. Without some extremely skilled sleight of hand, of which she was capable, but essentially was cheating, couldn't beat him in a fair game unless the Gods were on her side. Regardless, the friendly game of cards was not going to be the most interesting topic at hand at this table. With Uzu here, Medusa's focus was on much bigger, larger prey. A chance to catch up, one might speculate. There truly were no honor among thieves, best not to pretend there was.

"How has life been treating you, Icarus? Picked up any new hobbies lately? We certainly have missed you terribly down here. Hades has been inconsolable. I mean just look at him." The flame hair colored woman gestured to Hades whom managed to circulate himself back to the bar. His glowing ice blue eyes pierced through from behind the silver plating attached to his face. As per usual, the man was unreadable. "Just absolutely miserable, the poor dear. Anyhow, what brings you in this part of town, hm? Business? Pleasure? Do tell." At this point in their friendly game of cards, Medusa realized her hand wasn't able to be saved. At best she would end up with a pair of 6's and nothing more. She politely folded, allowing for Midas and and Ares to continue in their stead. The two men were at least smart enough not to make comments when their boss spoke with that tone. It was almost dripping with a sickeningly sweet venom. She was playing with the man. The cards were merely a distraction, something to keep her hands busy while she poked and prodded another target of interest. Meanwhile, her eyes shifted to a woman in the distance seated at the slot machines. Her eyes narrowed in displeasure momentarily, her lips turning down into a grimace. Poseidon is here tonight....interesting, perhaps Apollo is not far behind. Medusa picked up her drink, quickly smoothing out the features on her expression once more, storing away the thoughts that were already flooding her brain. One person of interest at a time.
_____________________________________________

Outside of the ever growing tension of those at the poker tables, a blue haired woman that worked tirelessly in the hospital sat at one of the slot machines. Kasen anxiously looked at the spinning wheels. Cherries, Cherries, come on Cherries! Taking a deep breath, she pulled the slow machine crank, listening as the tumblers in the machine clanked and clinked. She let her breath she didn't realize she had forgone releasing and smashed one of the buttons. The first wheel came to a slow halt, making a distinctive clunk as it locked in with none other than cherries. Kasen grinned a toothy smile. Yes! She watched the second and third wheels spinning before she carefully timed herself again, slowly pressing the button in front of her this time. Her movements were meticulous, and sweat started to form on her forehead out of the sheer level of concentration she was experiencing. The second wheel lurched to an agonizingly slow stop, and clunked again, registering it's fate. Cherries again! Only one more! Kasen, holding the air in her lungs so much that she could start to feel the painful tug from her body finally pressed the third button. Her eyes, practically glued to the case of the machine, almost seemed to move rapidly with the spinning. Her grip tightened on the crank, nearly cracking the wood of the handle. Clink, clink, clink. Just as the machine started to slow down, Kasen's knuckles began to turn white as the wheel appeared to be stopping on cherries. Almost....almost...it seemed like it stopped, and just before she had the right to celebrate, the wheel spun over onto the big black BAR. Oh, come on. Kasen banged her head loudly on the machine, feeling her imminent defeat. Fishing out some more yen from her pocket, Kasen went in for another round. Who knew slots could be so fun? Unfortunate for her that she paid no dealings to the real fun happening at the game of cards. She might actually have a chance winning playing as a card shark.

 

[Toraono Michino]

Toushin reached with the one mechanical hand under his chair and with a push of his feet glided the chair across the carpet to move in on the table. His eyes quickly flicked around to catch the faces there before leaning back and actually relaxing. He could feel the rival across the table poking at him with the names she loved to give to everyone associated with the Underground. If he recalled correctly, the nickname given to him was akin to a fable about hubris, to which used to absoultely infuriate Uzu. It was an assualt to his pride and everything he once held, and the woman he stared at across the table had it written all over her face as to what she was doing; the assassin replied with a chuckle,
"Really glad you didn't, you know how much I hate theatrics. I'm a simple man with simple pleasures, and I just came down to see how many of the things I love I could still find back home. You may be Queen," he lifted his cards off the table by barely an inch to catch colors and numbers - jack/9 off-suit - and pushed forward a small raise, "...but I still know where everything is. Sadly, you've managed to capitalize the good tequila, and now you leave me no choice but to...ah, approiate some of my royal funds back. You're fault for putting all the good stuff in one place."

A flop of Jack/6/Jack hit the table followed by a 10, and then a Queen. Toushin had kept a calm face and simply followed raises until the the last card hit the table. With a simple movement of grace the assassin slipped over a large stack of chips under the guise of something-something Queen; not the three Jacks he had ready to hit anyone who called his bet. It was about then the assassin finally decided to look up and see for himself how incosolible Hades had become and the assassin met the dead stare of a man he couldn't help be feel was even more appropiatly named than he was. Without missing a beat after eye-contact, he lifted his neutral poker face to put on a smirk,
"Well, then maybe it'd cheer ol' Hades up to get me a double chilled shot of that good stuff."