Okay people, chapter 2 is out. I know it hasn't been very long but you should all know me by now, I'm like a fanfic machine. Plus there's just so much to work with that I can't stop typing.
I don't own Bleach, Kubo Tite does.
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IchiHime's Escape from Vegas: Chapter 2
Uryu's Addiction
"What the heck are you reading Keigo?" Ichigo asked, surprised that Keigo was actually reading a book on the plane ride.
"I'm teaching myself how to count cards." Keigo answered, not even bothering to look up from his book.
On the plane, Tatsuki and Chad had taken the seats by Orihime, Tatsuki not wanting Chizuru to have a seat by Orihime. Ichigo was seating in an aisle seat, Renji in the middle, and Rukia by the window; Keigo, Mizuiro, and an annoyed Chizuru were in the middle row by Ichigo, leaving Uryu, Rangiku, and Toshiro in seats behind Ichigo. Uryu had a book in his hand, which Ichigo was expecting. Rangiku, much to everyone's expectations, had helped herself to a healthy dose of airplane alcohol, not knowing about how badly alcohol and high altitudes mix, and was now out cold. Toshiro was quietly sitting in his seat, not doing anything. Rukia had taken to drawing whatever popped into her head, Ichigo didn't want to know anything when it came to her drawings. Renji had joined Rangiku in sleeping, minus the alcohol part. Chad and Tatsuki were listening to music while Orihime kept looking out the window like a young child, amazed that such a heavy machine was flying through the air. Chizuru, as said before, was pouting for not getting a seat by Orihime while Mizuiro fooled around with the phone the airline provided, not being able to use his cell phone on the plane. That left Ichigo, who had been lazily flipping through the magazine until he noticed how Keigo had been intently reading a book, which he now saw the title was 'Make a Fortune in Las Vegas'.
"Isn't that illegal?" Ichigo asked in a tone that said of course it was.
"It's only illegal if you get caught." Keigo answered, still not looking from his book.
"It thought you said there were things to do in Las Vegas besides gamble." Ichigo's annoyance was going up.
"Yeah, but how can I go to Vegas and not gamble a little?"
"Simple, you just not do it." Ichigo reached over and plucked the book out of Keigo's grasp.
"Hey, come on Ichigo. I just wanna leave with a little money." Keigo whined.
"By partaking in such an uncouth activity?" Uryu said, no longer able to mind his own business.
"Says you Ishida." Keigo snapped at him, "You're smart enough to count cards; I bet you could leave with a ton of money."
"Most likely." Uryu replied, not looking up from his book, "But you have to know that if you win too much then the people in charge take notice, and then that means trouble. Besides, gambling is only for fools, and I am no fool."
"In other words," Ichigo then ripped Keigo's book in half, luckily it had been paperback, "you're not getting this back."
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The elevator ride down was as quiet as the room they had just left. Neither Ichigo nor Orihime really knew what to say, or even wanted too. All the evidence that pointed at what had happened last night just made it weird to be around each other, and put a lot of guilt in Ichigo. Orihime was a friend, and he wasn't the type of guy who takes advantage of friends like that; although he did consider her a really pretty friend.
'Pretty? Where the hell did that come from!' Ichigo yelled in his head. As he berated himself for that thought his mind also wandered back to that earlier moment. Him on the floor, Orihime on the bed, looking down at him with a curious and worried expression, one he considered very cute on her. 'No, no, crap! Don't think about that, don't think about that!' he started yelling again, trying to think of something, anything, else as he felt his pants start to get tighter.
As Ichigo panicked quietly Orihime was going through a similar experience on her side of the elevator. Despite what she kept telling herself, she couldn't help but think what most likely happened last night, and when she did, she really wanted to remember. Red seemed to permanently stick to her face as she also thought about that moment they had shared, and she was slightly scared Ichigo would notice how hard and fast her heart kept beating in the silent room.
Bing!
The elevator stopped 15 floors from the bottom, allowing a couple dressed for the warm weather on. The two held onto each other lovingly, obviously a newlywed couple. But instead of letting the couple stand between them, Orihime instinctively moved aside to let them in and wound up standing by Ichigo. The closeness suddenly occurred to the both of them and they froze still.
"Hello." The man of the couple greeted the two teens, holding out his hand to Ichigo with a smile.
"H-Hi." Ichigo replied nervously, Orihime's proximity getting to him more than anything.
"So what are you folks here for?" the man asked with a chuckle.
"Vacation." Ichigo answered promptly, he didn't know why but the man talking to him was really unnerving.
"Is she normally this quiet." The man's wife asked, looking at Orihime.
"Oh! N-No, I'm sorry." Orihime suddenly broke from her thoughts and started rambling, "I'm not normally quiet, and it's just that I've recently had a lot to think about. And with all the things going through my head it's just . . . " Orihime trailed off, even she didn't know what she was saying anymore.
"We just had a hell of a night." Ichigo explained and finished for her.
"Well that explains it." the woman said, and she and her husband started laughing lightly.
Though they had no idea why, the couple laughter actually calmed Ichigo and Orihime. Suddenly the tension they felt had been in the air was considerably lessened and they felt like they could think just a bit more clearly.
"So did you two sleep together, get married, or was it a combination of both?" the man asked.
Ichigo and Orihime flinched with their entire bodies. Ichigo stood straight and backed against the wall as Orihime turned to the couple with a mortified expression, both turning bright red again.
"He was just joking but it's funny to see how on the money he was." The woman laughed, as Ichigo and Orihime returned to their states from earlier, Ichigo mentally making a note to always buy baggy pants from now on, "There's no need to worry about it though. You know the saying, 'What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.' And besides, if neither of you can remember then it's like it never happened right?"
Bing!
The elevator stopped on the ground floor and the doors opened to reveal a large and luxurious lobby. While the couple walked out Ichigo and Orihime stayed frozen in their poses, still reeling from the interesting elevator ride. As the doors began to close their senses snapped back and they quickly exited. The lobby was busy, as would be expected of an obviously 5-star hotel.
"We should check out what information we were registered under." Ichigo said suddenly, "We might get some information as to what happened last night."
Orihime nodded in agreement, it made sense after all. So they found the main counter and headed over. On the wall above the counter was a symbol with the title "Mandarin Oriental' on it, obviously the name of the hotel. As they walked up the hostess at the counter flashed them a knowing smile, she'd obviously seen them before.
"Mr. Kurosaki, Mrs. Kurosaki, it's nice to see you two ready for check-out." She greeted, making them both stop in their tracks.
"M-M-M-M-M-Mrs. K-K-K-K-K-Kurosaki?" Orihime stuttered out.
"Oh, was I incorrect?" the hostess was a bit worried when she saw their expressions, "When you two checked in last night I just assumed you were a couple, you seemed so sweet and caring with each other. Not to mention all the kissing."
At that moment Ichigo and Orihime would have been perfect examples of impossible physics. They were frozen solid, their brains having pretty much shut down as they processed the last six words the hostess said, and yet they were standing up just fine. But if you tipped either one, even just a little bit, they would have fallen over and crashed into the ground. After a few minutes of just staring at the hostess in disbelief Ichigo managed to get his mind processing on the other things at hand, telling himself that she must have been mistaken.
"Uh, what do we owe you?" he asked, he didn't really want to, as expensive as the hotel looked it must have been astronomical.
"Nothing, after you two checked in a friend of yours stopped by and paid for the night."
"Could you describe this friend, did they leave a name?"
"I'm afraid not. They didn't leave a name and I only remember you two because you tended to draw attention to yourselves. But you've also been given a complimentary breakfast at our adjacent restaurant." The hostess pointed to her right showing the entrance to a restaurant where many other people were sitting down to breakfast.
"Thanks." Ichigo muttered as he left the hostess.
As he took a step towards the restaurant, his stomach now telling him to get something to eat, he noticed that Orihime was still frozen. Ichigo never thought of her as weak willed, in fact he often thought of her as being one of the most emotionally strong people he knew. But the shock of being . . . kissed . . . by him must have been enough to freeze her solid.
'Great." Ichigo moaned to himself, 'Not only did I shamefully get an eyeful this morning, but I probably stole her first kiss too. Good going Ichigo, you're such a good friend.' He sarcastically and angrily spewed the last sentence at himself.
With a sigh Ichigo reached over and took Orihime's wrist in his hand, luckily it snapped her out of her daze and he was able to lead her into the restaurant. They were led to a nice table by a window with a view and given menus to look over before the waiter came back for their orders, both putting in an order for coffee before the waiter left.
"S-So." Orihime said quietly, looking out the window, "We . . . k-kissed."
"Stop." Ichigo reached over the table and put a finger on Orihime lips to stop her from going on. Realizing what he'd done he retracted that finger like it was on fire and stuck both his hands to his side, not looking at her, although the thought of how soft her lips were crossed his mind.
'Of course they're soft.' A voice in his head said, like it knew. And much to his embarrassment he remembered the feeling of her lips on his, a memory of the body instead of a memory of the mind.
"Sorry." Orihime apologized, "It's just . . . that was . . . my first kiss." She said the last three words barely above a whisper.
"Um . . . mine too." Ichigo said, trying to make her feel better.
And it did. When he found the courage to look back at her she gave him a small smile, and he couldn't stop the one on his own face from forming. Somehow, that little confession seemed to make what had happened alright. Ichigo still felt bad about what had happened but Orihime wasn't the type of person to hold a grudge or get angry, and if she wasn't going to be angry with him then the next best thing was to just drop it and forget it, if he ever could.
As the waiter came and got their orders, bringing their coffee too, they started to try and have a conversation. Although neither one could stay on a subject for long, what was there to talk about now? Eventually they both just settled into silence as their food arrived and they dug in, both incredibly hungry. As they came close to the end of the meal Ichigo stuck his hands in his pockets, and an epiphany hit him.
"Inoue, empty your pockets." Ichigo said suddenly, grabbing and dumping everything in his out onto the table.
Orihime gave him a confused look but soon saw the reason as she saw that some of what Ichigo put on the table wasn't was someone would normally carry in their pockets. There might be clues about where their friends were and what had happened in the items in their pockets. So Orihime started digging out her own, adding it all to the small, spread-out pile on the table. Ichigo kept the letter from the room in his possession; things were bad enough without having Orihime worry about him now.
"Wow." Was all Orihime said as they both looked through the assortment of items on the table.
"Yeah." Ichigo agreed, running his hands through the mess and looking for anything that stood out.
Eventually Ichigo's hand settled on a small piece of stiff paper. He picked it up and read the front carefully, and his usual scowl deepened in thought.
"What is it Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked, noticing his expression.
"It's an entry ticket for a poker tournament. It started last night and the semi-finals are being held right now."
"Eh? So you entered a poker tournament?"
"Not me," Ichigo looked over the ticket at Orihime, "Uryu."
The two looked at each other in confusion for a little while. Why would Uryu, who was adamant against gambling, partake in a poker tournament? Regardless, it was a lead they were both willing to take. Luckily the name of the casino hosting the tournament. As they started gathering the items back into their pockets, they were surprised to also find a decent sized wad of cash, held by a money clip. After pondering over what to do with it for a few seconds Ichigo pulled out a bill to tip the waiter with and put the rest in his pocket, they were all twenties.
With said money in hand Ichigo and Orihime were able to get a cab and were at the casino in a short amount of time. As they stepped out they could see a large sign announcing the poker tournament. When they stepped inside Ichigo and Orihime were overcome by the excessive noise of slot machines and people cheering loudly as they won. Bright lights flashed everywhere, the most obvious gimmick to get unsuspecting tourists to part with their money in a mostly losing game. While Orihime was dazzled by the bright lights Ichigo was busy looking around for any indication of where the tournament was being held. Eventually his eyes landed on a small floor sign set by a set of doors that looked like they led to a conference room.
Ichigo started heading over to the doors before he noticed that Orihime wasn't following him, entranced by the lights. He let out a frustrated sigh as he walked back to get her, but was caught off guard as she turned to look at all the lights and he saw the expression on her face. It was a mix of childish wonder, excitement, and determination, the usual tourist expression when entering a casino with the intent of leaving with more money than they came with, which all combined made her look adorably cute. And Ichigo couldn't help but smile contently at seeing that face.
After a second of practically gawking at her, Ichigo shook his head fiercely and put on his scowl. He walked over and gripped Orihime's wrist firmly and started pulling her to the doorway for the tournament. Luckily she was still partially entranced by the lights and didn't fully register the contact, although Ichigo sure did after a second. When they finally reached the doors Ichigo let go of Orihime, who snapped out of her daze and started paying attention, and started to open the doors only to be stopped by a very large man in a suite.
"The tournament's currently being held and only contestants are allowed to enter." The said gruffly, his very presence making Orihime nervous.
"Uh, we're friends of someone who's probably in there, but we don't really know if he is." Ichigo explained, also a little offset by the man's size.
"The name?"
"Um, Uryu Ishida."
The guard walked back to another guard who was standing in front of a small podium. After a small exchange between the two the one behind the podium started tapping on it, apparently it was a computer set into the building. After a few seconds of searching he spoke to the first guard, who then went back to Ichigo and Orihime.
"Your friend is currently in the final round of the tournament. You can wait for him in the room reserved for friends and family of participants that also serves as the break room between rounds. This final round with be concluded shortly so there shouldn't be too much of a wait."
And with that the guard led the two to another set of doors a bit away from the tournament entrance. He opened the doors and let the two walk into a relatively large room. It looked a smaller version of the casino outside, minus the slot machines. There were several tables set about the room, with quite a few people sitting at them, a buffet was set against the far wall, and several flat screen TVs were bolted to the walls, no doubt meant to watch each match but now all showed the final round.
After looking at the screen for a bit Ichigo and Orihime saw Uryu at the table. His pile of poker chips was slightly larger than the rest, and the pot was quite large itself. All the players held no expressions on their faces, but after looking Ichigo had no idea why but Uryu's face seemed the most expressionless. It was as if no matter what happened he wouldn't let emotion show. And as the game wore on, Uryu's pile growing ever bigger, that became more and more true; regardless of whatever brilliant hands were played, how large a pot was won, or what kind of loss he sustained, Uryu's face never betrayed anything.
Finally it came to the last hand, with only Uryu and two other players left. While his pile of chips was the largest the other two still had a good sized stack themselves. After the deal of the first hand Uryu only glanced at his cards before he pushed all his chips in.
"All in." he said calmly, practically daring the other two to match.
After a few seconds of being called out the other two players pushed their piles in. Ichigo and Orihime felt the tension in the other room as they watched. When the second deal came around Uryu, to everyone's shock, gave up his hand for a completely new one. After the other two had their new cards dealt, it was revealed on the TV just what they each had. The man on Uryu's left had a straight, starting with ten and ending with an ace. Even better was the man on Uryu's right, who held a straight flush. And most surprising was Uryu's hand, which held nothing at all.
"What the hell is that guy thinking?" Ichigo grumbled, he had never played poker but he knew how it was played, and there was no way in his mind that Uryu could win.
But he kept watching as the seconds ticked by. Although they were focusing on their cards, Ichigo could see each of the other two players's eyes quickly darting to each other and Uryu, although Uryu's own eyes were closed. Eventually both their eyes darted to Uryu at the same type, and, ever so subtly, a tiny grin showed on Uryu's face. A brief expression of shock showed on both his opponents faces, sweat seemed to suddenly spout from their foreheads. After a few more second they both tossed down their hands.
"Fold." They both said.
Finally, a true smile appeared on Uryu's face as he revealed his hand. The crowd went wild and both his opponents visibly started cursing as Uryu's winnings were collected. After a few moments the doors to the next room opened up and a there was a large exchange of people between the rooms. Ichigo and Orihime waited behind and eventually Uryu made his way into the break room. Now out of the tournament room he allowed his façade to fade away. He looked physically and mentally exhausted as well as extremely tired, like he had been up all night. His clothes were still clean but where slightly dingy and, as they would discover up close, had a faint smell of the night before.
"Uryu." Ichigo greeted as the poker player down a bottle of water he had taken from the buffet.
"Kurosaki, Inoue-san." He greeted, his tired expression not lifting.
"Ishida-kun, that was amazing." Orihime started before Ichigo could say anything, "You completely fooled them and won it all. I never knew you were so good at playing cards."
"Yeah, I thought you said it was below you." Ichigo added at the end, then his eyes narrowed, "Wait a second. Where you counting cards?"
"Hmph that is not all there is to the game Kurosaki." Uryu said in an annoyed tone, "There's also the added factor of reading your opponent, keeping your tells in check, and a slight amount of luck."
"Yeah yeah." Ichigo dismissed the explanation, "Anyway, we've been looking for you." And went into an explanation of how neither he nor Orihime could remember the night before, leaving out the morning incident, what they had learned from the hotel hostess, and the letter he had found.
"Well you not remembering doesn't surprise me Kurosaki." Uryu said after listening to the story, "Halfway through our stay in the club you and Renji started a drinking contest; I lost count of who was winning." He then turned to Orihime, "But you not remembering is surprising, you have relatively little to drink."
"Well," Orihime turned slightly red and scratched the back of her head, another pose Ichigo found cute, "I don't really have a good tolerance. I was pretty out of it after the second drink."
"I . . . see." Uryu pushed up his glasses, "Well after you and Renji got into a small fight at the club we all left. Keigo had wandered off while we were in the club and it turned out he had decided to play cards at this casino. You should have let him keep the book Kurosaki; he lost a very large amount of money. And after we found him we managed to pry him away, although he was begging us to help him get his money back. No one else could play so I stepped up and eventually I found myself participating in this tournament." His gaze wandered over to a clock on the wall, "If you two would excuse me, I haven't slept at all since last night and the final tournament begins in three hours." And started walk away.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Ichigo reached out and grabbed his shoulder, "You said you didn't like playing cards on the plane ride over. And we still need to find everybody else too." Suddenly a curious look came over Ichigo's face, "How much have you won anyway?"
Uryu pulled out a piece of paper, "$750 thousand."
Ichigo and Orihime froze, the number was shocking, yet he said it like it wasn't anything important.
"The casino was nice enough to set up a bank account for me." Uryu continued, "All my winnings are deposited directly into the account." Then turned to leave again.
"Hold up." Ichigo stopped him again, "You've got plenty of money, and don't you think you should stop? We still need to find everyone else, who knows what happened to them." Ichigo looked at Uryu hard, "And I think it's best if you stop now, before you go too far."
"What are you implying Kurosaki?"
"On the plane ride over you said you didn't like playing cards, now you can't seem to stop." Ichigo firmly grabbed Uryu's shoulder and started dragging him out, "So we're leaving, and you're not going anywhere near a casino for the rest of the trip."
"Unhand me Kurosaki!"
And so Ichigo and Orihime began the process of pulling Uryu out of the casino. Despite the constant stares as he grabbed onto anything and everything to keep from leaving.
End