Disclaimer: I do not own Tsubasa, neither do i own the characters.

Chapter 1: The Bet

A trickle of sweat rolled down his temples as the dark brows frowned in concentration. Slowly, the man pushed apart the cards to reveal another queen. The Queen of Hearts.

The man let out a quiet sigh of relief as he felt the heavy atmosphere lightened significantly, a burden suddenly lifted off. All was well. Behind him, a small crowd had gathered to watch the ongoing show.

"Sire?" The flaming hot dealer gestured, enquiring. Even though the woman was nose-bleed sexy in a blouse two size smaller, showcasing her monstrous boobs, Ashura had no eyes for her. His eyes were fixated on the opponent in front of him as he pushed the last pile of his tokens out. It was the final moment. Either he makes it, or he breaks it. His entire inheritance, his only assets was on the line.

Ashura leaned back into his chair, forcing his face to relax as he placed his finger against his cheek, putting on a small smile. That was all it usually took to hint his opponent about his promising cards. With luck, they would redraw from the game and admit loss.

A genuine smile replaced the previous one as he observed the suave raven swiftly pull open his cards. All the etiquette classes and constant reminder he had in his past twenty-eight years had trained him to twist his face to look emotionless, even smug at all times regardless of his internal emotions.

Ashura knew he must have looked cool, even hot to many, on the outside, with his expensive Armani suit and the smug flawless face. However, secretly, he was glad that nobody knew that deep down inside, he was actually shaking in fear.

"I'll follow" That was the last thing Ashura had expected or wanted to hear. He watched in horror as the rich black-haired man swept an entire stack of chips into the centre. One hundred million dollars. No more, no less. The gambling bet had mounted up to that amount in less than half an hour.

Ashura flinched a little, eyeing the mountains of chips piled in the centre of the casino table. Onlookers around them gasped in astonishment at the game's atrocity.

It seemed like an eternity for the next, also the final card to reach him. This was the card that would determine his fate. If the card turned out well, he would win this game and return with twice, no, even more of the money he came with. However, if he were to lose.. He did not even want to think about it.

With slightly trembling fingers, Ashura revealed the last card inch by inch, praying silently that it would be either a queen or a jack to complete the set. It was a queen. He did it! It was a full house he desired.

Just as Ashura thought he had won the game, his red eyed opponent pushed another deck of chips into the gambling table.

The man eyed the new input wearily as he evaluated his chance of winning. There was no way out. If he backed out now, it would mean the end of him. Moreover, the chance winning with his hand was pretty high. What was the probability of his opponent getting a king or ace full house?

"Regrettably, I have no more chips left. However, I was wondering if this would suffice.." Ashura let his words drift off as he signaled with a flick of the fingers, beckoning somebody to come forth.

As though by magic, a pathway opened in the midst of the growing crowd as a slender young woman approached the table from behind the crowd.

For a moment, Kurogane's breath was taken away. He eyed the blonde with interest, absorbing in her unqiue features which made her so alluring. The silky blonde hair, which complemented her soft blue eyes, was tied in a small ponytail at the back of her head. Dressed in a light blue suit, the pale pallid skin seemed to shine with an impossible glamour under the pale yellow light. Beside the big bust dealer, 'beauty' took on a whole new meaning. "What a gem." He could not help but thought.

Upon realising his agape mouth moments later; Kurogane recomposed himself, disgusted at his lack of composure, unwilling to allow the arrogant brat to take joy in his surprise.

"If you do not mind, I would like to follow.."

"I'm sorry Sire, but we do not take people as bets." The big bust dealer interrupted Ashura.

The long haired man raised an eyebrow, staring at the women seemingly amused.

"I don't mind." The raven grunted, casting his eyes slightly towards the female. "She can be part of the bet. The casino did state in the rules that as long as there is consent between the players, everything is negoitable." A series of murmurs swept across the gambling hall as the news of placing a person as bet travelled.

The young girl looked wearily at her master, shaking her head slightly as she pulled his sleeves in attempt to capture his attention. Ashura, on the other hand, was too absorbed in settling the deal with the dealer to notice her desperate plead.

When all procedure was done, the game continued. It was the ultimate moment. The review of cards. A heavy tension hung in the air as the audience leaned forward in anticipation for the results.

Kurogane flipped opened four of his cards to review three fours and an ace. Ashura almost laugh out loud. What is the man thinking? To bet a few millions on those cards? How could he win with a three of a kind or a full house as small as that? The man must be insane. Either that or he just got too much money to spare. Secretly, Ashura thought that was most probably the case. His opponent did give off the aura of a rich man.

A triumph smile spread across his face as he opened up all five cards at once. Three queens and two jacks. The sharp gasp that echoed across the room felt like music to his ears.

Then, a deafening silence engulfed the room. It took him some time to realised what had happened. When he did, he could barely breathe. Ashura gripped the table harshly, in a futile attempt to prevent himself from shaking. He could not believe his own eyes. A diamond four lie on the table top slightly apart from the rest burned into his eyes. What he had thought to be a three of a kind or even a full house turned out to be a four of a kind. He refused to believe it. He had lost.

As the crowd dispersed, the truth sank in as he sunk back into the chair defeated. Subconsciously, he could feel a familiar small tug at his sleeve as he vaguely felt his companion cast a mixture of uneasy, frightened and confused look at him.

"Send her to me when you're ready." Kurogane grunted before turning to leave in the other direction. He had no intention of consoling the wastrel or to go easy on him. He deserved to suffer in the plight he had brought upon himself. After winning all those money from many others, the man must had desired more to take a gamble with him knowing his wealth. The man was too greedy for his own good.

The leisure trip to Hokkaido on the cruise had not only gained him a huge sum of money but also a gorgeous lady as his own. He could not help but wonder how the man could have placed the life of another on the gambling table. Just by a little, he pitied the young girl for having the man as her master, lover or what so their relationship was.

A/N:

Sorry if this disappoints you. This story is rated M for a reason. The smut is due to come :D Please wait patiently for it! :D In the mean time, please review! :)

Am i too fast or too slow for the pace of the story? Is the length too short?

If i made any "gross" errors like SVB or wrong word, expression error, please feel free to correct me. I've officially failed my language paper. Sigh. Life sucks, but it goes on. :S So i guess you have to wait.