3. Casino
Rating: K+
"Ne ne, Nami," Luffy said, flapping the poster in Nami's general direction. "What does this mean?"
"That says "Blackjack, slots, table games, loosest house in the New World," Nami said, slightly annoyed. "I know you can read. Or did Rayleigh's training beat it out of you?"
"No, I mean what are those things? Blackjack, table games? How can a house be loose?"
"That's an ad for a casino, boss," Franky cut in.
"Casino?" Luffy said.
"Ah, I played at a few casinos on my rise to the top," Brook added. "They were quite exciting!"
"You've been to a casino before, Luffy," Usopp explained.
"He has?" Chopper said, sounding a little jealous as his eyes lit up.
"No, you have too," Sanji added. "Rain Base, remember? Crocodile's headquarters in Alabasta?"
"Don't give him ideas!" Nami shouted. "He's not gonna lose all my money at some casino!"
"Your money?" Zoro queried. "He's not a child, and it's not your money."
The conversation rapidly devolved into a roaring argument as Sanji quickly rushed to Nami's aid, while Franky and Usopp sided with Zoro. Normally when Alabasta came up as a topic of conversation, Robin excused herself, still somewhat ashamed of the role that she had played in those events, though her nakama fully understood that that was all behind her. Robin did not leave, however, as she quickly found herself lost in thought.
Her overlarge, fuzzy-trimmed overcoat swishes behind her as she steps onto the green-carpeted casino floor. With a confident, swaying stride, the woman approaches the table. Three others are gathered there, including one woman with a strangely mole-like complexion, a famous rookie pirate, and a prominent Alabasta nobleman, as well as a dealer. A slight smirk almost breaks onto the dealer's face, but he has been trained to not show emotion, though the dealer knows he's about to see the show: the Desert Shark of Rain Base.
The Desert Shark. Robin had many nicknames. In the shadow-world that this casino concealed, she was Miss All Sunday. Outside she was the Devil Child, or the Demon of Ohara. To herself, she was merely Nico Robin, but on this floor, amid these tables, she was another woman entire.
The woman places a small stack of bills on the table.
"Change 2 million, ma'am?" The dealer asks, suppressing his earlier excitement. The woman tips up the brim of her pure white cowboy hat, revealing cobalt-blue eyes, raven hair, and a severely straight nose. Her face inclines just slightly in assent.
"Little lady, you know what you're gettin' into here?" the nobleman says, "this here's the Sabaody Hold 'Em High Rollers' table. 2 million will barely get ya past the big blind."
The woman simply turns her head towards the man and smiles. The dealer hands her a stack of chips, significantly smaller than the stacks held by the other players. Mole-woman's eyes narrow as she looks at the other woman, but the nobleman and the pirate smile broadly, thinking they have an easy 2 million added to the pot. Not much, but every little is a gain.
"I'll see that bet," the woman says. Five cards are revealed, and the dealer's hand stands poised over the sixth.
"That's everything you have," the pirate says coolly. "Are you sure you want to risk it on the first hand?"
"Are you willing to go all-in?" asked the dealer. The woman inclines her head again.
"Player goes all-in," the dealer declares. The mole-woman and the nobleman are already eliminated, so the woman stands alone with the pirate. The dealer flips the final card.
"Two pair," the pirate says, flipping his cards over.
"Three of a kind," the woman replies. "I believe that's to me."
"The lady wins it!" the dealer declares, a larger smile breaking onto his features. He knew the show was only just beginning.
About an hour later, the woman sits, much of her body concealed behind many stacks of chips. Mole-woman and the pirate sit there with their mouths agape, both long since eliminated. The nobleman sits, looking at his dwindling stack of chips almost protectively. He is sweating profusely, and has become increasingly belligerent. "Best back out now, little girly," he says brazenly. "I got ya this time!" The woman simply makes eye contact with him, her cobalt eyes instilling more fear in him than anything she could have said or did.
The fifth card is flipped, and the nobleman suppresses a cringe before putting on a painfully transparent smile. "All-in," he declares.
"I'll stand," the woman says. The dealer reaches for the last card, when the pit boss comes by. He leans next to the woman and whispers something in her ear. "I apologize," the woman says, standing. "I would enjoy finishing this game, but I need to leave. May I still cash out at this juncture?"
"Certainly ma'am. Cash out 240 million."
Orders had come in. Miss All Sunday was to be sent out to deal with a ruckus back at Whiskey Peak, and by the time she returned to Alabasta, the plan was too far in motion for her to have a chance at Rain Base again. It was her only piece of unfinished business from her old life in Baroque Works, and now it had returned.
The argument continued raucously when Robin raised her hand. "Excuse me, Luffy-san?"
"Yessss, Robin-chwan!" Sanji said smartly, despite the fact that he had not been addressed.
"I agree with you. Can we please go to the casino?"
"Yosh, let's go!" Luffy said. "Off to the loose house!"
Robin wondered if she still had her lucky cowboy hat.
Author's Note: I'm experimenting with some different stuff here. First chapter is pure allegory, the second is a normal narrative like I've done in the past, while this one uses the present tense. I put three of them together for the first batch, but updates will keep coming as more come along. I also tossed a few references to Chapter 598 in this one. Isn't it awesome!