Chapter one – The bet with the poker demon

Kanda looked at his cards. Then he looked at Allen. He was trying very hard to ignore the milling crowd that their game had drawn. He didn't know what was worse the loud chatter of the spectators or the infuriating sympathetic looks they kept sending him. It seemed like everyone was in on some big secret but him.

He glanced down at the three cards lane carefully out on the table and waited impatiently for Allen to turn the next one over.

Things were looking good for him. He needed one more card and he'd have a straight. Right on cue Allen turned over the last card and Kanda felt a sense of victory flood him.

Straight. From 2 – 6. He fanned his cards out on the table. "Straight." He announced and looked up to better see the loss on a certain beansprout's face.

He was met with shinning teeth and fevered eyes. Allen looked like a man possessed. If Kanda focused hard enough he could make out the flames flickering just behind him.

Allen laid out his cards with a flourish that was not often present in the younger boy's movements. "Royal straight flush."

Kanda's eyebrow twitched. Without a word he got up to leave. "Wait! Kanda! Where are you going? We just started!" Allen cried out after him.

Kanda turned to glare at him over his shoulder. "This is a waste of time." He just about snarled. Although Kanda would not admit it, everyone else was well aware of it by now. Yu Kanda was one of the sorest losers around.

"What about a bet?" Allen pleaded. Kanda kept walking.

"Best out of ten rounds!"

Kanda was nearly at the door.

"If you win I'll leave you alone for an entire month!"

Kanda paused, and then slowly turned around to look at Allen with suspicious eyes. Allen tilted his head to the side and gestured at the table with a gloved hand. After a moment of deliberation Kanda walked back through the silent crowd and sat down.

"But if I win..." Allen trailed off. Kanda tensed but there was no way he was missing out on an opportunity to be rid of the beansprout for an entire month.

"You have to take anger management."

It was worth the risk. Kanda was talented at poker to say the least. After a split second he gave a curt nod. Allen extended a hand. "Shake on it." He said seriously.

Kanda glared at him but after a minute of tense silent he took the offered hand and gave it a quick shake, both participants pulling back quickly as if they had touched something poisonous.

Allen dealt the cards.

By the end of the night, Kanda would be wishing he had never taken the bet.

***

"Royal straight flush!"

Kanda slammed his cards down on the table and glared at Allen. "There are only so many times you can get a royal straight flush in one game!" He snapped. Allen gave a slightly demonic laugh.

"You're cheating!"

"You have no proof!"

"That Royal straight flush over there is your ninth! That's all the proof I need!" Kanda growled, thumping his fist on the table to try and alleviate his rage. Allen sat back smugly in his chair as he scanned Kanda's scattered full house.

Kanda half turned his body to seek help from the audience but they just backed away a few inches. Nobody liked being with in a ten foot radius of one of their fights. It always ended badly.

Growling under his breath Kanda turned back to face Allen. "Deal." He demanded.

Allen complied with a smirk rather than a sharp retort which would have typically been something like don't order me around or do it yourself.

The cards that were flipped were ten of hearts, ace of hearts and a six of clubs. Kanda carefully looked at his own cards. Six of spades and ten of diamonds. There might be hope for him yet.

The next card flipped was a four of clubs. Kanda could taste the win.

Allen flipped a jack of hearts. Kanda didn't need to be the genius he was to realize the two cards Allen cradled added up to...

"Let me guess," Kanda snarled, "royal straight flush?"
"Well... You know. Some of us are just lucky that way."

"..."

"You do remember our deal, don't you?"

"..."

"You can't be planning on backing out."

"..."

"We shook on it."

"..."

"I think you have an anger management class to attend." Allen advised. Kanda threw back his chair and grabbed his sword which was leaning against the table and stormed out of the room, people cowering his wake.
He wanted to slice the beansprout to bits with his Mugen. Utterly destroy him and all traces that he ever existed. The only thing holding him back was the lingering thought that if he did kill him he was sure that he would be attacked by the many supporters that he seemed to have accumulated world wide.

He turned the corner and nearly ran straight in to Lenalee, who was balancing a sleek metallic tray with several coffee cups on it.

"Oh! Kanda!" she blinked as she took in his surly expression. He strode past her without acknowledgement.

"Wait!" she called after him but he just turned the next corner, disappearing from sight. Lenalee peered around the corner after him, slightly concerned.

While it was relatively easy to piss Kanda off, it was uncommon for that irritation to show through innless it had something to do with...

"Allen!" Lenalee called as she found a certain white haired exorcist animatedly talking with a group of finders in the kitchen while devouring a tray of food. Allen looked up in surprise as she approached.

"Do you know what's wrong with Kanda? I just saw him and he seems..." she trailed off but the inclination of statement was clear. What the hell did you do to Kanda this time?

A smile spread across Allen's face and the finders he was sitting with howled with laughter.

"He just lost a bet that's all." Allen assured her.

Lenalee turned to leave, not reassured but with a nagging feeling that she probably did not want to know what the bet was.

"Wait, Lenalee."

She peered over her shoulder at the grinning Allen.

"You wouldn't happen to know where I can find a good anger management class, would you?"

***

Have you ever had days where it just seems like everybody is against you? Kanda was having one of those kinds of days. Word seemed to have spread about his spectacular lose to Allen in what he deemed to be the rigged poker match.

Everywhere he went he received sidelong glances and heard the hushed giggles behind cupped hands. It was a serious blow to his pride and he was honestly considering massacring everybody in a 100 kilometre radius.

So it was with irritation that he found Allen waiting for him just outside of his door, dressed in his typical black vest, expression lofty.

"What do you want, beansprout?" Kanda growled, stopping a few meters away with a hand resting on his precious sword. He watched suspiciously as the white haired exorcist pushed himself off the wall and approached, a scheming smile playing along his lips and a mischievous look in his eyes made eerie by the curse mark.

"I just wanted to let you know that you have somewhere to be in a few hours."

"…"

Allen handed him a sheaf of paper and Kanda snatched it from his gloved hand. He took one look at the smudged pen on the paper and crumpled it in his hands, looking up to glare murderously at his comrade. Allen smiled.

"The first meeting is in less then two hours."

"…"

"See you there."

The astounded look on Kanda's face brought a chuckle from Allen's lips. "What? You didn't honestly think I would let you go on your own? You'd never go other whys. "

Kanda threw the crumpled ball of paper violently at Allen's feet and stalked past him to his room, slamming the door shut behind him.

He should have known from the moment that the loss that bet that there would be no way to worm his way out of it and retain his dignity.

***

"You can't be serious."

"Why? What's wrong?"

Kanda turned to glower at Allen, completely disregarding the innocent sarcasm behind the beansprout's words.

"I am not going in there."

"Oh, really? For as I remember it was you that lost." Allen smirked and strode easily into the sunshine yellow building that stood out along the cobbled and dreary streets on which they walked. After a brief pause where Kanda contemplated fleeing, he followed.

The inside of the building was as disgustingly cheerful as the outside suggested. Motivational posters were plastered along the rainbow painted walls and vases of flowers rested on every available surface. Kanda eyed the floral patterned sofa with distaste and attempted to look everywhere but Allen.

Allen strode easily up to the front reception where a cheerful looked redhead sat tapping away at a keyboard. She looked up as Allen approached, the pair of them standing out in their exorcist robes. "Can I help you?" She chirped.

Allen grinned from ear to ear and the receptionist blinked, clearly not used to seeing someone with Allen's cheerful disposition in the anger management building.

"Yes. We have a sever anger management class to attend."

Kanda glared at the receptionist and she looked away from Allen and up at him with clear relief plastered on her face. Kanda was slightly taken aback. He was not used to his surly and unresponsive attitude being preferred over Allen. He supposed the woman didn't deal with people as optimistic as Allen in her profession very often.

"Right that way please." The receptionist gestured to a bright blue door just down the hall.

"Thank you…" Allen paused to read her nametag. "Mizuki."

She gave a well practised smile and nodded at him. Allen let, trotted down the carpeted hall and waiting 'patiently' for Allen at the door.

"You ready?"

"I'm going to kill you beansprout."

Allen gave a light hearted chuckle and pushed the door open.

Kanda took one look inside. At that moment, he had never wanted to kill somebody so much in his eighteen years of life.

A/N: So this is chapter one. I appreciate your reviews, keep 'em coming. Before this story progresses I have to admit to the awful habit of extreme procrastination . I'm horrible when it comes to updating my stories but you'll have to bare with me until my next update!

Ja ne ~ Nayukuo