Spitting out a gross cloud of exhaust, the bus rolled out from the distant, lonely corner of the city. "Hem hem...ooh," the lone, disembarking passenger coughed as she was left alone. Waving her hands and realigning the brownish-orange locks of her medium length hair, Kanzaki Nao tried to walk, but nearly stumbled in her heeled shoes on the uneven pavement, grass and weeds growing in between the cracks. Regaining her footing, she patted down her white one piece dress and light beige coat before letting out a sigh: hopefully this wasn't a sign of things to come.

Briefly tightening her fists and taking a breath, Nao pepped herself up a bit before glancing down at the black card she held in her hand: the invitation for the next Consolation Match. She'd lost the Fourth Round so it was only a matter of time, but who knew if she was going to bump into any of the others she was becoming more familiar with. Since Nao still had a 200 million yen debt, she had no choice but to participate. Her lawyer hadn't even bothered to contact her this time (not that she minded...).

Feet pattering about as she wandered, trying to figure out where her invitation was trying to take her, she was coming up blank. This area was rather abandoned: the buildings were sad and old looking while the gutters were making friends with a bunch of garbage. Part of her was feeling bad about the people who probably used to work here, but as she thought about being late to the game her anxiety grew. When her sense of direction failed her, she tried to find someone else, but the street was...

Finally, someone caught her eye. Nao broke into a run, arms waving at her side as she cried, "Akiyama-saaaaaan!" The man stopped as she approached, his posture casual like his state of dress in his plain jeans and white short-sleeved shirt over a black long-sleeved one. His light brown bangs parted between and around his sharp baggy eyes had come to be something of a relief to her these past few weeks...unless they seemed to be aimed at her with a hint of...was that irritation? Nao's stride slowed as she came to a stop.

Restarting his walk, Akiyama Shinichi grumbled lightly, "I want to ask what you're doing here, but I'm sure the answer wouldn't surprise me."

Meekly, Nao followed along like a lost puppy, admitting, "I couldn't find out where we're supposed to go..."

"Never mind," Akiyama replied.

Taking a breath of relief now that Akiyama was here, she let her mind go off as he led the way before something popped into her brain. Remembering the Pandemic Game, Nao wondered, "Akiyama-san, did Yokoya's checks bounce? They'd have covered your debt, wouldn't they?"

Akiyama let out a brief sniff of amusement before commenting, "Yokoya having financial troubles would be worth almost as much as the checks. Don't you worry about it though." Pointing a finger at one multi-storied office building, he noted, "That's where we're going." Nao felt silly as she looked to the doorway: though the glass double-doors weren't exactly spotless, she could easily spot someone standing alone on the inside, even from here.

As the pair approached, the doors came open, the Liar Game host greeted them with open arms, his suit fancy, his white mask marked with mildly curved lines around the eyes and cheeks that made him seem a bit older, though the gray, thinning hair and chunky figure didn't help. "Bonjour!" he said as he held the doors wide.

"B-bonjour," Nao replied awkwardly. Akiyama gave her a sideways glance, making Nao feel a bit self conscious.

"And bonjour again!" he continued, stepping aside, gesturing for them to enter as he held the door. Akiyama entered first, trailed by Nao. As the host followed, Nao winced a bit as she caught a mildewy scent in the recently swept building, though it wasn't as if these abandoned places should really be strange to her these days.

"My name is Urquhart. I will be your lead host today. I apologize that we are lacking the usual formalities in regards to transportation: the number of games taking place today all around the country is quite high, stretching us thin. You'll understand in just a moment." As he explained, Urquhart began to lead them up a staircase, passing the elevator without a glance. While he led them through the halls of the building, Nao saw so many things left behind by the previous workers. She hoped they were now working good jobs...

Passing through a long hall with yucky windows on one side (sun from outside making the dust visible), and half open office doors at the other, Nao guessed they were on the top floor before Urquhart opened the door to the office at the very end of the final hall. Scent of candles brushing her nose, she expected heat but got a draft of cool air instead. As she looked in, the plush red carpet was quite clean and fluffy, and the black curtains over the windows had been thrown open, the window quite spotless on both sides. As she entered, the hum of an air condition caught her ears, but something caught her eyes and didn't let go easily.

At the round, green topped table seated for four, a teenage girl sat casually, one of her stocking clad legs crossed over the other. Her skin was pale, her eyes closed as she sipped a cup of tea from a white china cup. While her amazingly large, black, hair drills were noticeable alongside her lacy white headpiece, she wore a similarly cute lacy black, gothic dress with a red necktie and heels. She seemed so natural among the flower scented, red candles and fold out tea table that Nao was the one feeling out of place and underdressed.

Lowering her cup, the girl opened one of her red eyes, letting out a light giggle, amused at the attention she was getting. Akiyama seemed less than interested though, slipping in to one of the seats without pause.

As Nao became aware of another featureless Liar Game associate, standing off to the side in his plain white mask, Urquhart noted, "It seems we're down one: I shall return when our last contestant arrives." Without further word, he closed the door behind him as he left.

Patting down the hem of her dress, Nao took the seat across from the other girl, who began, "Delighted to meet you, Miss..."

"A-ah, I'm Kanzaki Nao. And this is Akiyama-san."

"Celestia Ludenburg. It's quite the pleasure." Nao smiled, but for a moment, she almost wanted to laugh, then she felt guilty. She didn't know Celes was foreign! Lowering her head, Nao nearly started to cry. She couldn't imagine getting tangled up in the Liar Game while on a visit to another country...

"Would you like some tea?" Celes offered.

Akiyama didn't move while Nao, not wanting Celes to feel bad, quickly replied, "Sure!"

Placing down her own cup, Celes gingerly grabbed another cup and saucer, placing them on the table before delicately grasping the teapot, elegantly pouring it without a wasted movement before sliding the steaming cup down. Once Nao was able to reach it, she pulled it to her. As she caught the scent, she felt her muscles loosen. It no longer felt like the Liar Game here.

As she waited for her cup to cool, she was bopped back to her senses when the door opened a few minutes later, an unfamiliar boy stepping through. He was on the young side, perhaps only a year from graduation. Once again, Nao was concerned: was the Liar Game interfering with his studies? He didn't seem too anxious though, and his clothing was casual too: he wore a red baseball cap advertising one of the more famous teams over his short, brown hair, and a dark gray coat open over a sleeveless white shirt. Green eyes half lidded, he seemed aimless as he walked over to the last free chair, slumping down in the seat across from Akiyama. Celes only gave a quick smile in greeting, before turning back to her tea.

Closing the door Urquhart seemed to beam. "Now that the players are all assembled, we are almost ready to begin!"

Nao grabbed her cup as the other employee in the corner came over, standing between Celes and the boy in the cap. The man in the blank mask said nothing as he pulled up a briefcase Nao hadn't seen behind the table, plopping it down. As he cracked it open, Urquhart began, "Now, the 100 million yen you will using today takes the form of these chips." The dealer began to pass out stacks of maroon poker chips, otherwise plain. "You will also competing for the right to take part in the next round of the Liar Game, so take care not to lose them."

"Kukuku, or perhaps I should rescind that?" Urquhart added, tone of his voice becoming a bit sharper. "You see, your hold on these chips might need to loosen in this game, as the name of the game today is Tribute Poker."

Some terms you had better be familiar with for the coming chapters! I had to look them up to write this, so I hope it helps you:

Check: If no player has made a bet, then calling Check effectively allows them to pass for the time being, though they can bet again later as long as they do not Fold. Betting goes clockwise starting from the position of the dealer.

Call: If a bet has been made, than a player who Calls is matching that bet. If they instead choose to Raise (or Re-raise) then the other players have a chance to Call or Fold again. If there is a full rotation and no player Raises, then the betting is over and players reveal their hands.

Hands: If two Poker hands are the same (such as two Full Houses) then the highest card wins. From Highest to Lowest: Ace-King-Queen-Jack-10 through 2. From Best to Worst Hands:

Royal Flush/Straight Flush - A sequence of 5 cards in the same suit (Six of Hearts through Two of Hearts, Jack of Clubs through Seven of Clubs). Ace through Ten is the highest possible, thus the Royal Flush.

Four of a Kind - All four of one card in each suit

Full House - A Triplet of one card and a Pair of another

Flush - Five cards in the same suit

Straight - A sequence of five cards in differing suits

Three of a Kind

2 Pair

1 Pair

High Card - No previous hand is met, so only the highest remaining card is counted