AN-I just reread my chapters and BOY do they stink! But I am a pretty new author so, please don't hurt me! Sorry for the delay but yo know, break and everything, and my bro...grrrrrr. Well, HUGE thanks to Harm Marie for getting me back on track! And thank you to everyone else who wasn't lazy like me and reviewed! Makes me so happy!

Sorry for the shortness of the chapter but I got lots of test to study for. I update the next time I get to!

Gambling Dreams

Chapter Three

Tonight, Kagome was going out again. She decided to go out all black again with her hair tucked under a hood. After checking Souta , she went out from her window again and silently closed it shut. Again back down the streets where others like her walked. It was slightly colder out so she hugged her arms around herself. A fight broke out near a bar in one street. She ignored it. Another boulevard passed and she spotted a couple making out. At last she came to the same alley mouth as the time before and was able to walk in without any trouble.

Instead of finding a table right away, she decided to snoop around a bit to find out the top dogs and competitors she would face on the playing table. The music was loud and the lights dim. Smoke from cigarettes filled the air as well as heavy perfume. She came across a bar and ordered a drink while pricking her ear to the surrounding crowd. One voice caught her attention and when her drink arrived so she sipped it as she listened.

"I heard from Ghatti that this years competition is going to be bigger then last year." one man said.

"Oh? How so?" asked another.

"Rumor has it that Naraku, an underground dealer from Sinai is going to participate this year and you know his type, he's not one for losing."

"Ah, no sweat, Inu looks so fresh, I could even play him." The man said confidently.

"Don't you let him hear that," The first guy answered as he gulped down his beer, " I heard he was really pissed off tonight. Lucky for you, he's playing in the Lower Levels but his supporters could be in these crowds anywhere, spying." he looked around nervously, "he's got friends and money. LOTS of money."

The other man laughed, "Who here doesn't? Only the big boys play here!"

'And women.' Kagome added silently. She decided she heard enough. Seems like Naraku and Inu are the ones to be wary of. A couple of other names flew past her as she eased to another corner of the room and she added them to her memory. She observed players and saw their flaws. Big men with gold rings encrusted with diamonds, older women wearing furs sipping expensive champagne, and young ones like her but rarely. Kagome would have easily beaten them if she wanted to but she was looking for something. There was a stage with dancers and other entertainers to her far right. That's when she spotted it, a elevator with gold paint and a diamond push button with a down arrow. That must be the way to the Lower Levels, the hardcore action probably happens down there. Kagome waited a few more minutes planning what she would do. Kagome had fifty thousand yen on her right now. People here bet on about five hundred give or take a few. Sometimes they bet with women on the table!

The elevator chimed and opened. A youkai with a long spiked tail stepped out with an angry look on his face and pushed people out of his way as he left for the exit. Another youkai jeered at him holding his woman in his arms,

"Ha! Tatsu, did you lose all your money to the Dog Lord again?"

"Shut up!" The youkai growled turning his yellow stained eyes on him, "That boy cheats I tell you, no one could win against me without cheating, no one!"

The youkai laughed some more, "You mean he caught you cheating and so he threw you out banning you from the Lower Levels as well as taking all your winnings for tonight. And you worked so hard to get in too!" His woman laughed with him.

Tatsu bellowed and threw himself on the youkai and screams erupted. Security was called and the fight soon broke off but not without some injuries.

But the argument quickly piped up Kagome's interest. If She played with better and richer players in the Lower Levels, she would win more money, then she could get out this dump faster and save Souta! At last, here was a way out from all the stupid regulars that liked to toy around before playing their cards. But first, how to get in?

A woman drinking scotch and smoking in the darkness leaned against the wall with a bored expression on her face. She was watching a crap table but looked totally disinterested in it. Kagome approached her squeezing through the crowd and leaned against the wall next to her. The woman looked over her and pointed,

"The man in the crocodile three piece is my husband. Back off."

Kagome was amused. "I'm not a guy, I'm just here to ask you a question."

The women in turn looked at her up and down taking in her slightly baggy pants and sweater, "I can only tell by your voice. What do you want?"


She stared straight at the crap tables watching her husband slap his thighs and belly jiggle, "I want to know how do you get to the Lower Levels?"

The woman laughed, "Dressed like that? If you wanna play with the big boys you gotta dress the part."

"I'll dress the part, just tell me what to do."

The women didn't look at her but watched her husband. She saw him throw more cash on the table, winking at the female dealer and laughing loudly with his mouth thrown open.

She took a deep drag from her cigarette and sighed out smoke.

"I don't know why I'm telling you think but I am. The closest tables to the elevator are the monitoring tables. They watch how much you spend, how cocky you get, what boasts you give and your winnings. When they feel as if your an experienced enough player or whatever the requirements are, then they give you an invitation." she said this quietly.

Kagome nodded and began to leave when the woman started to speak again,

"My husband tried to get in, he betted high and lost much but always boasted he had more money. In one night he wasted half our savings bond. He left the table and now does this." she nudged her head. The crocodile three piece-suited man was now feeling up one of the players still laughing while trying to find extra money in his pockets.

Kagome wrinkled her nose in disgust. Its was incredible how desperate people can get.

"Just do me a favor and don't turn into that okay?"

Kagome turned around but the woman was gone leaving her cigarette in a nearby ashtray. She stared at it for a moment then decided to go home, she would try again tomorrow night.

Short yes but didn't I warn you? Sorry hundred times over! Please leave a review and tell me what you think. It helps much!