I'm back again! I'm not sure how this chapter turned out, I've never actually been to a casino or gambled or played blackjack before, so I'm a bit worried that I've made some error. Please let me know if I have, or just review on what you think was done good and what could be improved on. Enjoy!

Sora POV

It was only at that time when I truly understood. We had always been isolated, mocked and cast away by this world but this was the first time we had ever been truly alone. Even through the moments where I would just want to curl into a ball and cry, the loneliness I felt invading my thoughts, I had the support of those who, at least pretended to care and love me.

Now, with no support, we were abandoned in this big world, a place full of unknown and fear for the two underage children.

'I think all that but to be honest I thought that this situation would at least instil some fear or worry into me,' I realised as Shiro and I parted ways with our 'parents', saying barely a word and not looking back once as they left.

"This is it, Shiro." I turned to the short, blue-white haired girl standing next to me. She looked back up with those bright, intelligent eyes of hers, merely nodding. I placed my hand upon the smooth wooden handle and turned it counter-clockwise, the slightly rusted hinges on the door creaking as I pushed it open. I stepped inside, closely followed by my little sister.

The house consisted of three rooms, one bedroom, a central living / dining room and a small kitchen. Compared to your average house it was small, and although they didn't take up much space, I felt a bit cramped in the small kitchen with a white tile floor and a bench, complete with a fridge, microwave and oven.

We entered the room that would be called ours from now on, unpacking the boxes I had packed with important things before moving here. They were surprisingly heavy, being full to the brim with electronics, handheld devices, monitors and a plethora of cables added to the heap. Immediately after which we began wiring up the various devices around the room.

Within a few hours, our room had been set, the finishing touches applied only after the room was adorned with a single poster.

"Game break?" I asked with a side glance to Shiro, her light in her eyes reflecting the thoughts in my head.

"Yeah."

—TIME PASS—

'Even for people as smart as us, how come the menial, everyday things seem to be so confusing?' I thought as Shiro and I read through online guides about paying bills, how taxes worked and in general how to the management of living expenses. Our 'parents' had provided us with ¥40,000 (330 USD) to cover food expenses for the first month.

"It's a shame this is so different from all of my city management and tycoon games." I complained.

"It's not too difficult if you had lots of money, but more-so when you are short on expenses it's hard to decide on how to manage your resources." Shiro spoke up, attempting to ease my frustration.

"Yeah I know, we should probably sort that out first." We had the winnings from the contests and tournaments we had previously entered, but that alone would only last us for a certain amount of time. We needed to find a way to gain money, but how? Neither of us can stand facing crowds or strangers for too long without freaking out, and remaining a distance away from each other for more than a few seconds could turn us both into useless fools.

"Let's look online for anything good." I said, bringing up a new tab and beginning my search.

"Look, nii." Shiro pointed to the corner of the screen, the first time either of us had spoken in a few hours. An advertisement for a casino lay beneath the area her finger covered. "We could try gambling."

I immediately thought of the risks, we could either get big, or lose everything. Although I didn't like even a 1% chance of failure, it was the only thing they had come up with.

"Hmm.. I'm not sure." I looked up at the ceiling in thought.

"We still know all those card tricks, remember?" Shiro reinforced her side of the argument. Even though could pull off cheats and tricks professionally, against the seasoned dealers, would they really work?

"Alright then, how about we flip a coin? Tails we go gambling, heads we find another way to get money."

"Alright." I picked up a stray coin from where it lay on the desk supporting the monitor. I flicked it up into the air, both mine and Shiro's eyes watching it tumble downwards, the light reflecting from the polished metal.

—TAILS—

It was decided then, "Tails it is." I confirmed, picking the coin up from the floor and absent-mindedly placing it back in it's original position on the desk. I turned to the computer screen, reopening the browser and searching for legal gambling dens and casinos..

—TIME PASS—

The light that greeted us as we took our first steps outside since we moved into this house was bright, almost blinding to us who were used to the dark, illuminated only by the screens of the games we play.

"N-nii.. it's bright out here.." Shiro complained quietly, taking a wobbly step backwards, retreating towards the protection of the house whilst tugging on my shirt.

"C'mon Shiro, we're just going out for a bit, and think about it, if we make enough money here, we won't have to come out again many times after this, right?" I consoled Shiro, attempting to persuade her to leave the shadow of the doorway.

"Y-yeah.. but.." Shiro was teetering on the edge, it would only take one more little push to convince her,

"Also, it was you who suggested we should go gambling, right? I'm not too happy about going outside either."

"Alright.. fine nii." Shiro gave in, stepping into the rays of the sun and grabbing my hand, using it as a safety tether so that she may not descend into the madness that accompanies her when she is too far away from me.

We walked along the road until we came across the bus stop, taking the plunge into society as we waited to enter entered a bus towards our destination. Shiro was clinging to my arm desperately, as if she could be taken away in the crowd at any moment.

"Ugh, look at those two, their clothes are so dirty"

"Yeah, why is her hair all white? So weird"

"Can't they stop clinging together like that in public? It's kinda creepy."

"The guy looks creepy, ew! I think he looked at me!"

The voices invaded my thoughts, the voices that condemned us as freaks, hated us and insulted us. 'Wouldn't everyone feel better if not for this oppressive society?' I thought to myself as I attempted to ignore the mutters of the two school-girls sitting across from us in the bus, frequently glancing this way.

I pulled Shiro closer towards me, following her example and closing my eyes and blocking out the noises of the passengers around me before falling into a light rest.

"Arriving at our final stop" The electronic voice sounded over the speakers, as the doors opened and I walked out with Shiro onto the slightly busy street.

"Nii.." Shiro and I held hands, trying to hold our ground against the river of normal people

"So it should be around here.." I murmured to myself, taking my eyes off the map only to glance up at the street signs. We walked across the road, eyes down, avoiding the looks given to us from the crowd, where we really that noticeably different?

I still held Shiro's hand as we rounded a corner onto a street, walking less than a minute before we stopped and turned to the building to the left.

"This is it, right?" I said as I looked from the address on the sheet of paper to the huge casino in front of us. I walked up to the grand polished wood doors, pushing them open as we stepped inside, into the air-conditioned wide hall.

As our first objective, we strode over to the table to play Blackjack. As we sat down in our seats, the dealer nodded, shuffling the deck with extreme skill in an attempt to bewilder any card counting players.

But Shiro was on another level entirely. With her skill, she almost saw the world in slow motion, the placements of every card registering in her memory. The dealer asked us to place our bets. I slid ¥5,000,000, (41,000 USD) worth of chips up to the centre of the table, around about half of our entire earnings. I looked over at Shiro to see her doing the same.

"Are you sure you are willing to bet that much?" He asked, slightly suspicious as to whether we may use some sort of trick if we placed too high a bet. I smiled lightly at the man, my expression masking my intentions.

"Yeah I'm sure" I replied, Shiro's silent gaze had told me that this was a round we could bet big on. I picked up my cards, a seven and a king. Shiro looked at her cards as well, I left it up to her to do what she thought was best.

I placed my cards back down on the table, leaning back and stretching, then picking up my cards again. As I did so, I slipped an ace out of my long sleeve, sliding the two cards together so that the original one fell onto my lap.

The whole action was completed subtly, whilst the dealer looked towards Shiro as she loudly let her hand fall on the table, only for a second, but it was enough to pull of the manoeuvre unseen.

"Would you like to pick up another card?" The dealer offered.

"No thanks, I think I'll stick with these," I replied, acting calm. When the dealer turned to Shiro, she in turn said,

"I'll be fine." We all lay our cards down on the table.

Shiro: 20, Ten and Queen

Sora: 21, King and Ace

Dealer: 19, Jack and Nine

We both had won. The dealer's mouth was agape, the odds were insanely low, but there it was, happening right in front of his eyes. He closed his mouth and solemnly pushed the winnings to us, collecting the cards and re-shuffling them into the deck.

"Another round?" He asked.

"I'm on a roll, so why not?"

We left the casino around 6:00 in the afternoon, with well over the amount we had hoped to earn.

"About ¥100,000,000 (823,500 USD), this should last us for a while." I mused, showing a smile that betrayed the happiness I felt.

"Good job, nii." Shiro flashed me a thumbs up, smiling ever so slightly, her eyes almost sparkling in the dying light of the sunset.

We travelled back home, satisfied with our endeavour. Although we were alone, we had each other, and with our combined power, nothing was impossible.