Bōryokudan
Chapter 1 - A Game of Cards

A/N: It returns, and sooner than expected. A little more Bo for ya, but only a little... This one comes in short installments, I'm afraid. Later chapters will get longer as I introduce some other characters into the plot.

This time it was just the man and the bartender, a deck of cards shifting position endlessly in Bakura's hands.

"I've introduced myself. You could do the same, sir." 'Janus' grinned, offering him a well-shuffled deck. "And I'll allow you to check the deck so as to be sure I have properly removed the face cards, and that the set is completely prepared."
The bartender flicked through the deck, finding it in perfect issue, and gave it a small shuffle of his own. "Kanzaki Yutaro. Your game, sir, and the wager?"
The silver-haired man laughed. "Isn't it obvious, Kanzaki-san?" He tapped the table a bit. "Oicho-kabu. Aces are ones, of course."
Kanzaki nodded. "Of course." A few seconds later, each of the two had a pair of cards. "And your wager, Janus?"
"All of this," the man offered, tossing an envelope down. The envelope itself was a curiousity, marked with the image of another rather well-known playing card, the "Change of Heart" card, as a seal, the picture too careful done to have simply been removed from the card. "My winnings from the last couple of weeks. Well over two thousand dollars, as you are aware. For such an out-of-the-way bar, you have exceptional clientele."
Kanzaki nodded toward the envelope. "And in return, you wish for me to wager the rake as payment for your protection, no?"
Janus offered up another laugh, seemingly surprised. "Some of us DO catch on quick! Most impressive. Yes. That is the wager."
"Naturally, in respect of your position, I accept. Though you seem odd as a member of the bōryokudan. Not the figure for it. Althought certainly the attitude."
"Please, call us yakuza. It defers so much more respect." Janus smirked. "I think I'll have a third card." The third card came into Janus's hands, and he grinned as he looked at his hand. "And now for yourself, Kanzaki-san?"
Kanzaki nodded and took a third card, looking at his hand, then the look on 'Janus's face. "I'm in, then."
"Daring." Janus replied simply. "So sure of yourself, Kanzaki-san? You of all people should know the kind of gambler I am."
Kanzaki looked at his hand. A knave, an eight, and a five. 23. Not a strong hand at all. "Do I gain anything if I fold?"
"I'll only take one of your three percent," Janus answered simply. His wager was made.
"Then I am out of the game, Janus." Kanzaki set down his hand, revealing it. "I would rather have some money than none at all."
"As would I." Janus revealed his hand. An eight... a nine... and a three. "Ya, ku, sa." 20. As in, zero. Kanzaki looked at his opponent. "You're a madman."
"I'm a businessman, sir. You'll still make a respectable living, far outside of what you should be making, and no one who shouldn't will know of your... back tables. I hope this is the beginning of a wonderful business relationship between the two of us." And with that, Janus held out a hand. He recieved the barest of handshakes, and smiled, putting his envelope back and stretching a bit as he walked out to the front. "It was a lovely chat."
"I'm sure." Kanzaki set to his work again, setting up glasses for the people who seemed to flow in now that Bakura Ryou, or Janus, whoever he was, had left. "He leaves, and business picks up... that boy is a bad omen." He smiled a bit, uneasily, as he got ready for the night.

Far and away from the bar, with his winnings in his pocket, (more like 500 dollars than 2000, but bluff was half the game, wasn't it?), Bakura Ryou was feeling self-satisfied. Well, the millenia-old spirit in him was, anyway. Ryou himself was groaning in agony.
/We got a good take on this one, Ryou. And I like the guy. He plays the game well./
\But... you just won the game.\
/Not that game, aihou. The game you just lost. Again. This one feels different. I might actually stay here./
\That's a bad idea.\
/I know. But doesn't it sound like fun/