"Nnngh...!"

The blue-haired boy groaned as he lay against the wall, the shadows of the two monsters bearing over him. On one side stood the minotaur-esque Red Horn. On the other, the ogre-like Blue Fang. He should've known better. The Golding family didn't become some of the richest people in the world by being shoddy with their money. Of course there'd be one final trial for whoever wanted access to the fortune. And of course he'd encounter it after leaving his guards behind...

"Cash!"

He was dimly aware of his sister calling his name. He wanted to respond but he didn't even have the strength to lift his head. He heard her saying something, but it was like his head was full of cotton wool. He heard the footsteps of the two beasts drawing closer. He tried to stand, but pain ran through his body. A weak whimper escaped his lips.

"CASH! LOOK OUT!"

There came a loud crash as something slammed into the wall beside him. He finally found the strength to open his eyes and found his adopted sibling lying on the ground. She wasn't moving.

"Carrie!?" he asked, forcing each word out despite the stabbing pains in his chest. "What are you doing here?"

He glanced up at the two menacing shadows once again. Just as he braced himself to be gored on Red Horn's namesake, the four travellers his sister had hired came to their rescue. They fought viciously with the pair of guardians, the sounds of battle filling the hall.

But Cash didn't care about that. He forced himself to his feet, once again ignoring his own injuries and staggered over to Carrie's side. He gripped her by her shoulders and gently shook her, trying to rouse her, but she didn't even make a sound. She couldn't be...

Soon the battle was over, the red and blue brutes finally slain. But that just didn't seem to matter anymore. The four travellers approached the siblings, faces awash with concern.

"Oh, sis!" Cash cried out, taking his sister's hand in his own. "How could this happen!?" He shook his head as he felt his eyes well up with tears. He didn't want to admit it, but...

"But I won't forget your sacrifice, Carrie! Not for as long as I live!" He craned his neck to look upwards, knowing that their father was no doubt watching from above. "Don't you worry. I'll take over Dad's place and make you proud. I know you and Dad will be watching over me from heaven!"

He looked down at his sister, cradled in his arms. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful, so...

...awake.

Cash didn't even have time to react before Carrie yanked her hand from his and punched him hard in the face.

"Sorry, Cash, but I'm not dead yet!" She yelled indignantly, pulling herself to her feet.

"Ow!? Hey!" Cash snapped back, rubbing where she had punched him. There was going to be a bruise there tomorrow, he just knew it. "So you're okay?" He asked, sitting up. "I should have known better than to worry about you."

"You big, fat cheater!" Carrie folded her arms, glaring at her brother. "I cannot BELIEVE you mixed sleeping powder in our food! You just threw the contest, as far as I'm concerned!"

A twinge of guilt ran through Cash as he pulled himself to his feet.

"And look what happened!" his sister continued. "You nearly got yourself killed! You're lucky I found you in time!"

Cash let out a sigh.

"Look, I'm sorry." He lowered his gaze, unwilling to look his sister in the eye. "I just really wanted to win. To finally make you respect me as an older brother. But you know what? I don't care anymore. You risked your life to save me. You deserve to become the sole heir."

He looked back up at Carrie's face. Her expression was one of surprise and confusion.

"Huh!? Like... what are you saying?"

"I'm saying the fortune's yours," Cash said. "And let's make that the end of this stupid rivalry between us!"

Carrie was stunned at her brother's sudden show of humility. Cash shook his head and turned to the adventurers still watching them.

"Anyway, we're almost at the Doors of Judgement. Bodyguards! We're still counting you."

And so it was the trial ended. Though Cash had seceded from the contest and given his sister the win, the two of the ultimately decided to complete the trial together. They heard the message from their father's ancestor, received the mark of the Golding family on their hands, and returned to Baccarat to open the casino as brother and sister. The duo insisted that the four travellers stay at the mansion for the night, and they would receive their compensation in the morning. Exhausted, the two heirs got washed and changed for bed.

"Aren't you ready yet, Carrie?" Cash asked with a yawn, laying on his bed in just his pyjama pants. "It's been twenty minutes, do you HAVE to do this every night?"

"Of course, Cash!" Carrie shouted back. "Gawd, it's like you don't get girls at all!"

Cash sighed and reclined, placing his hands behind his head. "No, I guess I don't." He was silent for a bit as his sister re-entered the room, wearing her nightie. "...you know I meant what I said earlier."

"Hm?" Carrie flipped her hair slightly as she nestled under the covers.

"About you deserving to be sole heir. You really saved me today. I... I owe you one, okay?"

"Urgh..." Carrie rolled her eyes. "It's nothing, Cash. Just forget it."

"No, I won't!" Cash frowned. "I've been a pretty terrible brother, and you still saved me. So if there's anything I can do to make it up to you, anything at all, tell me!"

Carrie pressed her lips together in irritation. Great, she probably wouldn't hear the end of this for months. She opened her mouth to protest again... when a thought entered her head.

"...anything, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah, anything," Cash answered.

"Well..." She leaned over, resting her elbows on the bed. "Do you remember what you said yesterday just before we hired those four travellers? What was it... 'as far as I know, you might actually be a boy'?"

Cash gulped. "Uh... yeah? Wh-what about it?"

Carrie giggled to herself and switched the light out. "I'll tell you tomorrow. Goodnight, Cash."

Angelo let out a loud, annoyed groan as the wheels on the machine stopped turning, once again showing a set of non-matching symbols. He'd been at the newly opened casino for an hour now, and the one-armed bandit was living up to its name. He'd already blown a third of the tokens Cash and Carrie gave them as a reward for their work. Not as if he had much choice of course. He didn't have enough tokens to risk at roulette, and bingo had never been his forte, so this was the only option. If only this casino had a poker table or something like that...

Slamming his hand against the slot machine, the holy man fought the urge to curse as he stood up and headed to the token exchange counter. He still had some money of his own stashed away, maybe he could exchange that for more tokens and...

...and that could wait, he thought to himself as he spotted the unmistakable cotton tail of one of the casino's bunny girls.

She seemed to be serving one of the other patrons, having her back to him, but he could see enough of her well enough. She stood on a pair of gold-coloured heeled pumps, her slim legs clad in black pantyhose, leading up to the deep red leotard she wore. The back was like a thong, emphasising her butt cheeks with the little white bunny tail calling attention to it. Around each wrist was a simple white shirt-cuff, matching the white shirt collar around her neck. No doubt there was a cute bow-tie on the front. On top of her head, extending from her short blue hair was a pair of white rabbit ears.

Angelo grinned and straightened his outfit. Time to turn on the charm. He walked over, carefully timing his steps as she turned around so that they would walk right into one another. The bunny stumbled on her heels but Angelo was quick to grab her shoulders, steadying her.

"Oh, pardon me, my dear, I didn't..."

He stopped as he got a look at the bunny girl's face. The blushing, humiliated, yet expertly made-up face of Cash Golding. The young boy's grimacing lips were covered in lipstick, the same red shade as his leotard, while his eyelids were dusted in a blue that matched his hair. His long black lashes, clearly fake, were coated in thick black mascara. Angelo made out just a bit of blush on his cheeks, but it was hardly visible from how red the bunny boy's face was.

"...expect you to be into this sort of thing."

Cash gulped as he regained his balance, using the tray he was carrying to hide his crotch. The leotard was so tight, it left very little to the imagination.

"I-It's not what you think..." Cash protested, but Angelo simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh no, don't worry on my account. You do you, man," the swordsman said with a playful smirk.

"It's not like that!" Cash blushed brighter, his face almost matching his leotard and lipstick. "It's for Carrie, I-"

"Oh Miss Cash~!" said sister's voice sang out as she approached the two boys. Cash was already cringing. "The two gentleman over by the roulette table are still waiting on their drinks."

"O-of course, Carrie... I mean, Miss Carrie..." Cash said rapidly, bowing to his sister. "I-I'll get to that right away."

He turned away from her, towards the bar, but he failed to notice a devilish twinkle in his sister's eyes. As he turned, she thrust her hips against his rear, "accidentally" bumping into him and making him stumble forward. He collided against Angelo, the two of them falling to the floor, and to Carrie's absolute delight... their lips were pressed together. Both boys eyes shot open and their cheeks burned red before Cash quickly jumped up and hurried off, his footsteps clicking on the tiled floor.

Carrie dissolved into giggles as Angelo grumbled and stood up, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand and frowning at the long red stain that formed on his glove. "So..." he said, looking at his former ward. "I take it that you are indeed responsible for your brother's appearance?"

"You know it!" Carrie said with a wink. "Serves him right! Talking down to me all these years, spiking our food, cheating on the trial... I think working at our casino for a while should teach him some manners!"

Angelo watched the casino's newest waitress serving drinks, struggling in his high heels and tight outfit. He found himself shaking his head.

"Well... if you say so. It's none of my business, really. We've done our part. Though I must ask, how long do you intend to keep him like that?"

"Hmmm..." Carrie tapped her finger on her chin. "I dunno... I think he'll get the message after a month or two though."

Angelo closed his eyes and shook his head again, sighing. "Well... as you wish. If you'll excuse me..." He turned on his heel and made his way back to the door. Maybe he'd just stick to the casino in Pickham.