Summary: Lavi and Allen are assigned a mission by Komui to find the accomodators of innocence that has mysteriously turned up in Norway. The finders The Black Order has sent out return without the very clothes upon their back! Turns out, these accomodators are con-artist! Worse yet, one happens to be the bastard child of General Cross! Can Lavi and Allen retrieve the accomodators in one piece? Will Allen finally have another to throw Cross's debts upon or will that plan totally backfire? Read and find out!

"Strike!" Allen arched an eyebrow, studying his companion Lavi. Something, er, somebody certainly had him riled up. Judging from the way he was reacting, it didn't take a genius of The Black Order's science department to realize Lavi was fawning over a girl. Again.

"Oh, man, did you see that girl, huh?" Jumping from his seat, Lavi plucked Allen from his own and proceeded to drag him towards another section of the train. Typical of Lavi to get distracted by a member of the opposite sex while they were on a mission. Several days ago, Komui had chosen the two Exorcist to find the accommodaters of innocence somewhere in Norway. Apparently, whomever accommodated these innocence wasn't making it easy for The Black Order. Finders sent to investigate the innocence always returned empty-handed and missing the very clothes upon their backs. So, naturally, Komui would send Lavi and Allen...

"Lavi, people are staring..."

"Only cause they're jealous. Man, that red-head was totally my type!"

"Strike!" Lavi cried again, throwing open the doors of the mysterious red-head's cabin. Inside, the red-head wasn't alone. In fact, there was another girl sitting across from her. They both eyed the pair with a look somewhere between confusion and amusement. The first girl, Lavi's type, was stretched out across her seat, one leg crossed over the other, and her boots propped up against the window. She had a white, frilly, blouse and a gray pair of high-waisted slacks adorned with suspenders. When she brought herself to an upright position, her cross choker jingled with the movement. Strangely enough, there was something about her long, flaming red hair, and the gleam in those blue eyes that just scared the shit out of Allen. Only, he couldn't place why they did...

The other girl wasn't as frightening as her companion. Her hair was short and brown, streaked with neon green. It was unusual, but much more welcoming than her friend. Of course, it was all hidden underneath a black messenger's cap. Between her black turtleneck, slacks, and boots, she seemed the more reserved of the two. A violin case rested in her lap, and judging from the book held loosely between her fingers, she'd been reading before Lavi had rudely interrupted.

After a brief and very awkward pause, Lavi gathered his composure and grinned. "Hey, ladies," he said smoothly, "how'd you like some company from my buddy and I, huh?" Yeah, like that would work. If they had any sympathy in their hearts, they'd take pity on him and let him down easy. Their eyes met briefly and something passed between them because before Allen could comprehend what was going on, the red-head nodded and said, "Sure, have a seat." Allen shivered. Jeez, just the sound of her voice gave him goosebumps.

While Lavi wasted no time making himself comfortable, Allen tried to think up an escape plan. He couldn't just leave him partner...they had a mission to complete. "Lavi," he said enthusiastically, "and my buddy Allen." The red-head nodded, gesturing towards her companion. "That's Lotti," she replied, "and I'm Annalise." Whatever, his loss. As they introduced themselves, Allen began backing out of the cabin. He had to get away while he could...

"I'd love to stay, but I can't. You enjoy yourself though Lavi..." Lavi blinked. "Oh, come on, buddy. You gotta learn to relax once in awhile. Life doesn't have to revolve around Akuma and fighting The Millennium Earl twenty-four seven, you know." At the mention of such things, Annalise and Lotti exchanged another look. Of course, the greatcoats the two wore, along with their Exorcist badges, it had been an obvious giveaway as to what their occupations were.

"Yeah, hang around for a bit, kid," Annalise replied, "we could play a game." Her lips curled into a smirk. The way she said game made it sound so dirty and suggestive. No wonder Lavi thought she was so attractive. Not that she wasn't, but Allen was too frightened by her to find her overtly appealing.

"A card game." Lotti added, bringing Allen from his reverie as she pulled a deck of cards from her slacks. She'd been quiet up until this point and maybe Allen had given her too much credit. The mischievous gleam in her own green eyes reflected the same mischief of her partner. "Unless you're afraid of losing..."

Lose? They had no idea who they were messing with. Allen paused momentarily to slip off his greatcoat and roll up his sleeves. Seating himself beside Lotti, he took the deck and began shuffling the cards, cackling darkly. "When it comes to cards, especially gambling, I never lose..." he continued to chuckle. "Winning is everything..."

"Jeez Allen, that darkness again..." Lavi said, drawing back from him in mock horror. The last time he'd watched Allen gamble was when he'd won back everything Kro-chan had lost in an unfair poker game. He cheated like a bastard and Lavi had been fortunate to avoid playing against him. Until now anyways. Oh, man, he'd better get to second base with Anna at the very least, he hoped silently!

Now, Lavi didn't know much about poker, so he knew he was at a huge disadvantage, especially after the girls had announced that it was to be individual, no-holds, poker. Meaning no partners and no help. So there went his advantage of having Allen. Allen, of course, had absolutely no problem with this. He wouldn't have to watch out for Lavi. In fact, he could make Lavi suffer. It served him right too, after dragging him half-way down the train. Besides, there were no friends in the game of poker and no buddies in the subtle art of gambling.

"Royal Straight Flush..." Lotti smirked.

These girls...they're not just any pair of ordinary chicks. Hell no, how else could they have stripped him down to his underwear in only ten minutes? That had to be a new record. They were demons! The red-haired hottie, Annalise, kept getting high enough numbers to stay safe, while Lotti would pull in the pot. It was like they had absolute control over the game...but that wasn't possible, was it? He looked over at Allen, whose eyes were wide with shock.

"Whats wrong Allen?"

Allen didn't answer; he couldn't, it wasn't possible...how, he had cheated...

"Read them and weep boys," Lotti cackled, "four of a kind!"

No way, Allen thought, he couldn't accept this. He knew they were cheating, but nobody could cheat better then Allen himself. It felt almost disorienting to realize he'd lost a round.

"Come on," Annalise said innocently, "your other team-mate didn't have any problems taking his clothes off for us." She looked at Lavi and winked. He returned her suggestive stare with an equally lecherous one of his own. Allen shook his head and grimaced, but handed over his Exorcist's jacket. Komui was going to kill both of them if he found out. Hell, Kanda would kill them both! He recalled the mission when he'd used his jacket as a pillow for Kanda. Yeah, that had blown up in his face... Not to mention those things were expensive to make, the buttons made of silver, the most durable of fabrics, and Lavi and Allen had just lost both of theirs. Well Lavi had lost a little more than that, but.

Lavi's mouth fell open. That small sliver of hope he had of ever getting his clothes back was lost. He knew they were cheating, but Allen was cheating too, but to out cheat a cheater like Allen? There was no way. If that could happen...Lavi looked down at his last article of clothing: his underwear.

"I quit," he stated bluntly, "I'm out!" He hastily discarded his hand. No chancin' the undies. Bookman were observers, which Lavi was perfectly content doing for the remainder of the game.

"Pity," Annalise frowned, sounding truly disappointed, "that's to bad." She smirked. Oh, but to disappoint her... No! Lavi thought, knocking himself in the forehead, no!

"Yeah," her companion chimed in, "we would have at least let you go to the bathroom to take 'em off. " Her green eyes glowed with undiluted evil. Allen gulped, the more innocent one his ass. She'd looked so promising at first. It was obvious that he couldn't trust either one of them.

"As long as you gave 'em a good scrubbing first," Annalise drawled out, "I ain't accepting no dirty drawers. That may be your thing, Lotti, but I'll pass on that one..."

Lotti rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, pervert."

Finally! Allen chuckled when he saw his next hand. "Straight Flush," he exclaimed, slapping down his hand. Oh, victory tasted so sweet, especially at the expense of others. The frightening red head looked surprised and shared another look with Lotti, whom just shrugged. Allen looked over at Lavi who was fist pumping the air. It looked more pathetic than anything, really...

"Strike! Yeah, way to go Allen! It's about time." He looked at Annalise expectantly, "off." Annalise pursed her lips and shrugged. "Okay." Her fingers snaked across her stomach, tracing a single black button. Oh, man, hottie was being a real tease. Yes! One suspender slid from her shoulder, the other following suit. Smirking, she tossed them into the growing pile of clothing.

"What!" Lavi's mouth fell open, "tha-" Annalise leaned forward and wiped a spot of drool from Lavi's lip. "Should've kept playing." Allen stifled a laugh. He swore he could see Lavi's soul leaving his body. If that boy got a nosebleed, he'd be cleaning it up himself.

Allen shook his head, but at least he was back in control of the game. He had started to get worried there, but it was like Mana had said, keep walking...

"Straight Flush, " Lotti looked at Allen expectantly. Allen's hand began to shake.

"Come on," Annalise mocked, "or do I need to get Lotti over there to take it off for you? I mean, unless you'd rather I do it..." Allen jerked away in horror, quickly removing his neck tie, but handing it over, despite Annalise's teasing, was so difficult. He sighed, tears blurring his vision. All those years of practice with master... no! He couldn't let this happen to him. He would win, even if he was forced to resort to that.

"Four of a Kind." Allen took the cards discretely from the inside of his sleeve, chuckling darkly. Lotti's smile disappeared for a second, but she handed over her hat. Allen could see now that the green in her hair was only in he bangs, but it certainly had an interesting effect.

"Nice one Allen!" Lavi exclaimed, "I always knew you had it in you."

Yeah right, Allen thought, that's why you were giving me the stink eye when I lost my tie. Allen pulled another hand from his sleeve. Annalise sighed and brought her perfectly manicured fingernails to the first button of her blouse, carefully unbuttoning the top...

Strike! Second base here I come, Lavi congratulated himself. This is what I'm talking about! And then, Annalise unfastened her choker. Her smile made Allen fight back a tremor of trepidation. She arched an eyebrow at Lotti, an unspoken question passing between the two. Lotti sighed and then nodded.

"I fold," Annaliese laid down her hand, the disappointment returning. It was now between Allen and Lotti, he could do this. Come on, Allen. Lavi watched expectantly as Allen laid down another flush. Lotti reached for the bottom of her turtleneck. Well, she wasn't exactly his type, but hey, this could definitely be worth all this embarrassment. Lavi groaned out loud as he saw the tank top on underneath the sweater.

Allen laughed. "Lavi, you gotta stop getting your hopes up..."

"Hey, you guys want something to drink?"

When no one answered, Annalise took out four bottles from a bag Lavi hadn't realized was there. Lavi accepted the bottle, tossing the other one to Allen. He looked grateful, it was getting pretty warm on the train. Distantly he wondered how long until they reached Norway. Not too much longer, hopefully. Lavi chugged his down. It was pretty good, better than good, actually. It had a kind of lemony aftertaste.

"Did you guys add lemon to this?" Allen asked.

Annalise laughed, "Yeah, you could say that." Something about her tone alerted Allen.

"Wait, what?" He looked over just as Lavi slumped forward in his seat. "You laced the drink...with..." Allen felt his head tilt forward, he eyelids growing heavy. Not a ounce of control over his motor functions. It was the strangest feeling, as if he body was a separate being.

"I guess they forfeit." Annalise grinned. Lotti nodded and tossed her cards aside. "Guess so," she sighed. "Say, Allen, whenever you wake up, we should play again. Had fun." They both laughed and before Allen truly fell into unconsciousness, they last thought he had was, why does that laugh seem so familiar...

Author's Note: Couldn't have wrote this without my friend, Alexis! Hope you guys enjoy it, feedback would be wonderful!