Chapter 1

Snake Eyes

Taking her hand, he lead her through the fire. His back was to her and she could only see the silhouette of his firm frame. He looked so sure of himself. Wild, yet controlled. Edgy, yet so very gentle.

"Fuu!"

As if having a seizure, the girl jolted up. Her eyes were wide and fiery, hinting with confusion.

'Ehh... Just a dream...'

"Fuu, you're not supposed to go to sleep on your break. I said five minutes; meaning get a drink and come back."

A stern woman stood infront of the girl's waking body, a scowl played at the corners of her perfectly glossed lips. Fuu tilted her head upwards and squinted at the light that torchered her eyes, making her want to put her head back in the crook of her arm and go to sleep, but she didn't. She gave a slight yawn, covering her mouth and stood from her position on the cushion.

"Now, go to your quarters, freshen up, and get back out there!"

"Oh..." Fuu left the woman without as much as another glance back, after exiting the kitchenette she wound her way to a short hall. She found a particularly decorated door on the right at the end of the hall; Fuu slid it open. Stepping inside, she closed the door behind her and stalked across the room to go through another doorway. There were a number of vanitys lined against the wall and two women sat at their own. This was where the women got ready for their jobs.

It was two years after the trio had seperated, and Fuu had found herself kidnapped again, but this time there was no Jin or Mugen to the rescue. Though, Fuu didn't feel she needed rescuing this time. She had finally found some sort of life to live; some place to settle. Grant it, she wasn't living it good in some lord's home, nor was she even living in her own home, but she had found something that she could do. Something that paid and fed and sheltered her. She was the dice roller. Her customers consisted of rich bachelors, perverts, drunks, and druggies. She lived in the provided living quarters, she ate her meals in the dining hall, and she worked in the gambling room. Everything she needed in life was here. And that was what she told herself every time she had doubts, and every time a memory tried to rise from the back of her mind. She needed nothing more than what she had. No regrets.

But, didn't that mean she did not regret the adventure she had two years ago? Didn't that mean she did not regret travelling with those two? And didn't that mean she did not regret leaving them behind in the end?

'I need nothing more than what I have now,' that same thought repeated itself in her mind the whole time she 'freshened up'. She kept thinking it over and over unconsciously, until finally she was ready and left her vanity.

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"Sake." The loud voice was muffled by the other sounds in the building. The voice came from a man at the bar of a gambling house. He wore a maroon haori and cut off hakama. His hair was untamed and his eyes, even in the dim light, had a certain glint to them. After a moment he payed the man and took up the sake, swallowing almost half the bottle in a single gulp. He glanced around the room, keeping the drink near his lips, until his eyes rested on a certain table. He sat the bottle down after finishing it off and stalked off to the table that had gathered a large crowd. A man cursed him when he found his spot taken by the young pirate, but soon found himself with a fierce glare and decided it best not to push his luck with the young man.

Noticing in a single glance that the table was surrounded solely with males, his interest was stoked. But obviously the dealer was late, for restlessness settled through the mass. His guess was that the dealer had stacked the deck or that the dealer was a hot wench. Either one would work fine with him. He then turned his gaze at the table.

'Dice. Guess the idea of a stacked deck is out. Whatever, I wouldn't mind seein'a sexy dice girl.'

He smirked inwardly and noticed that the crowd was breaking toward where the dealer would stand. He craned his neck but couldn't see around the fat-headed pervs in his way. Patience wasn't his game, so thankfully for the men she made it to the table soon enough. The young woman's attire surprised him. Her hair was up in decorated chopsticks and she wore a purple gambler's kimono, with half of her chest bindings revealed; this was a natural uniform for the dice roller, but there was something else. He quickly stole a glance at other tables, every other girl wore something near the same. The thought confused him--why did this one seem different?, but then he turned back and noticed the girl's face for the first time. His fierce gaze turned weak and his jaw slackened, but he caught himself before anyone noticed and stole a nearby straw hat that covered his face almost entirely. The girl stated the rules, then pulled out a small bag and dumped it's containments on the table; two pure white die with little black dots, save the 'one's that were red. Not all of the men decided to play; only four including the young man. The woman waved the onlookers back so she could have an easier go at the ones actually playing. She dropped the dice in a cup and placed her hand over the opening. Giving a single wild shake to the container, she then released the dice haphazardly and they bounced across the table, one hitting off of a nearby structural beam before it actually landed onto the table. The young pirate watched as a strange feeling seemed to tug at his gut.

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Before the dice had stopped rolling, she covered them with her cup and looked at the men with eager eyes. She then asked the four to place their bets and set their coins. The younger man hadn't had much money to spend so he only put down three ryu and quietly stated," Even." The other men gave a chuckle at his wager of only three, but quickly silented and guessed their own--being odd for all three of them, pushing out their wagers. She picked up the cup and looked up suddenly, her eyes rested on the young pirate before her, "It is uh... even. You didn't bet much but you do get somewhat of a pay-off since the others said odd." She didn't mention how rare it was that someone actually got snake eyes when they betted on even. She smiled inwardly and pushed the other coins toward him. It was obvious that she didn't have a clue who he was, as if she could really see with the hat covering his face. She watched as he nodded and took the coins offered to him by the girl. She watched as he raked his winnings into a bag. She watched as he left the table without even a glance back. She watched him but she didn't notice him. To her, he was just another rich bachelor, perv, drunk, or druggie.

The day had been long with slightly less perverts than usual and she sighed to herself as her last two customers left her table. Fuu replaced her die into one bag and the money into another, then put both bags into her kimono as she weakly stepped away from her job site. She found the hallway again and the large door. Trekking through the womens' quarters Fuu went to the room that she shared with two other girls, and opened the small dresser by her bedroll. She quietly pulled out a towel and a white linen robe and left the living area before she woke anyone up. With a yawn, the young woman opened the door to the bath house. With the hour being so late, no one else vacated the dim, steaming room. Fuu dropped her towel and linen robe nearby the edge; she then withdrew her gambler's robe and, folding it neatly with her concealed tanto and bindings, stepped lightly into the water. A myriad if tingles swept over her body as she relaxed against the rocks. This was the only bath in town that had natural rocks surrounding the spring; others were just round bamboo baths. It reminded her of the springs she used to bathe in on the journey she had taken three years prior. Her senses dulled and she submereged herself a little more, Fuu dropped her guard and allowed the memories to over take her. The two young men who were with her for half a year of her life gave her the most memories of her life and she honestly ne. She found herself wondering what would have come of them if they had stayed together. What if she could have been with him longer; the one in her dreams. She knew it was one of the two; but which one was it? They were both a part of her and they were both very close to her heart.

It was almost twelve by the time she snuggled under the futon in her bed. "Another dull day... Except for that rarity with the snake eyes. Wait..." Her mind began whirring and she sat up in her bed; the covers fell to reveal her white chest wrappings. 'That man who won. Why does he seem so familiar to me now?' She rested her head back against the pillow and closed her eyes.

5s)

Five Sided Dice