Deranged Love - Hanma Shuji

Chapter 16

It was to be expected, after all luck had been avoiding us the entire evening. And maybe Shiho had expected it too from how unfazed she seemed to be when the marble stopped on 18 red. None of the stakes she had placed on the table covered that, she had lost all of it, and yet, she wasn't looking away from the man we had been challenging this entire time. "Whatever you won isn't gonna compensate for all that you've lost so far, you know." She said off-handedly, barely glancing at the croupier when he gathered the chips from the mat and distributed the winnings to those who had earned some. "You haven't won jack shit since you joined this table, keep your comments to yourself, and your dog too." He said, this time raising his chin towards me, dismissively pointing instead of addressing me properly.

Frowning, I stepped closer to him to intimidate him and have his tone change when addressing me. It wasn't that I was higher ranked than anyone, or that my place in Bonten made me act as such, no, of course not. It was more a need for basic respect that I was asking for, something I'll later understand I had lost the moment I had kicked him, but at this very moment I did not care. "Say that again without holding your little thinker, then I'll listen." I spat, looking back at the table where Shiho had bet some more and was still pointing at some numbers for the croupier to place her bets. While she did so, the man next to me sighed loudly and turned me towards him by grabbing my shoulder roughly, "It's my balls—you know, from when you kicked me because you're a crazy bitch?"

"Yeah, that's the joke I made, it's your dick, that's why it's your brain." With a roll of my eyes, I gripped his hand to get it off of me and if the action was done confidently, I was shaking inside in fear he'd get mad and throw back the hit I had given. With a grip as tight as I could make it, I dug my nails in his hand and met his gaze, "Are you betting again or are you leaving?" "Ignore him, he's probably penniless—I mean, look at his outfit. Poor guy can't bet more than he's already done." Shiho said, setting her own bets. She asked me to join her back, her hand on my lower back as she placed her head against my arm, hugging me from the side. It seems he was already worked up because all it took was those words from Shiho for him to dig his hand in the pocket of his suit to pull out a pouch filled with cash that he slammed on the table, "All in on black." He said in a hurry, pushing his chips to the black part on the table, the croupier adding the chips equal to the amount of money put on the table then placed a marker on it.

Once everyone was ready, he turned the roulette and the stress was back, the anticipation was building inside all of those who had high stakes in this game—Shiho. When I looked around, it looked like more people had joined in, but only to watch because they did not have the guts to participate. Perhaps they knew they did not have the guts to stop or they were not here for such entertainment. They were here for bigger business, probably deals with Bonten or even other people that were into shady businesses like Bonten was. But all of them had that one thing in common, they all acted higher than they were, whispering to their partners, catering their drinks and only taking the smallest sips, considering how expensive it had been to get them.

They weren't part of this world, not really. They believed they were, but if they did not have money to throw and feared any sort of thrills, then they could sit back and relax—never would they be a part of this.

"30 red." The croupier called, effectively getting my attention back on the game. I was caught off guard when Shiho suddenly stood up, her hands slamming on the table in excitement, "There we fucking go!" She turned around and lowered her tone to ask me to stand aside before she stood up and got up close with the man that had been annoying, "You can't play, you're betting too much, blah blah blah—look who lost all their money! Not me, not fucking me." She said, tapping the tip of her index finger aggressively on his chest, her nose almost touching his from how close she was to him. He looked at her with pure ire; fearing for her safety, I wrapped an arm around her stomach and pulled her back to her seat. "Get your gains, let's get to another table—" "All or nothing!" He said, his disgusting hand holding her arm as she gathered the chips. Without hesitation, I elbowed his arm down, earning a pained cry but even through the pain, he gripped my arm and pulled me close to him, his stinking breath reaching my nose quickly. I had to hold my breath.