InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Your Move ❯ Royal Flush ( Chapter 1 )

*Disclaimer*

I do not, in any way, shape or form, own Inuyasha or any of the characters portrayed in the series known by the same name. Such rights and privileges are reserved for Rumiko Takahashi and her affiliates. I humbly ask only to borrow them for my own fun and promise to put them back very nicely when I'm done.

...or at least to try to...

 

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Your Move: Chapter 1

Royal Flush

 

The game was called poker and so far as Sesshoumaru had come to understand, he was winning. This was not all a surprise. He was after all the Lord of the West and prided himself at always winning at games, no matter the type. Oh yes, he was winning alright, that is, if the half naked hanyou currently poised to shed another article of clothing was any sort of indication.

 

Inuyasha, for his part, was furious. He had spent the better part of the last two weeks simultaneously practicing for this event and beating the pants off his little pack in the process. It didn't help his chances that they were all rather terrible at the card game. Kagome couldn't lie to save her life and Sango's fidgeting gave her away. Only Miroku had had some aptitude for the game, but a silver tongue and baby eyes don't help much when one is unconscious on the floor, a condition which seemed to occur more often than not during their little matches. Drawing, with infinite wisdom, on the conclusion that his winnings were due to his superior prowess at competitions of chance, it had not taken long for Inuyasha to hatch his half-baked plan of challenging his brother to a game. Only now was it becoming clear that he had not thought this particular cunning plan all the way through. As it regrettably turned out, Inuyasha had forgotten one, key thing where his brother was concerned; primarily his, what did Kagome call it? Ah yes, poker face.

 

The ice prince's motionless facade was to be Inuyasha's undoing. No matter how hard he tried, he could not read anything out of his brother. Throughout the entire game Sesshoumaru had sat ramrod straight with his legs folded before him, moving only to collect cards and lay down his hands. Hands that, without fail, trumped anything Inuyasha held in his hand. As it was now, the hanyou was running out of clothing to shed. It was perhaps the first time he cursed not having a more extensive wardrobe, or at least more layers on.

 

The same could not be said for Sesshoumaru. Needless to say, he had been intrigued by his little brother's bold challenge to this exceedingly simple game and when the stakes were mentioned, that interest grew tenfold. Not only did he have the chance to strip Inuyasha of his pride and dignity, but he also stood to keep the physical strippings of the impudent whelp before him.

 

It was not actually the Tessaiga that interested him in this deal. Sesshoumaru had been watching his brother for many years now, of course without the hanyou's knowledge, but watching none-the-less. During this time of observation, it had not escaped the dai-youkai's perception that the hanyou had filled out very nicely indeed. And now the perfect opportunity was presenting itself for him to see the “goods” first hands.

 

Sesshoumaru turned his attention back to the disgruntled hanyou before him. Three rounds had already stripped Inuyasha of the Tessaiga, his haori, and kosode. Now came the part that Sesshoumaru had really been looking forward too. He knew for a fact that the hanyou did not wear any undergarments, which meant Inuyasha had just lost the only garment that stood between his brother and his birthday suit.

 

The hanyou in question was stalling at this particular time, trying to think of a way to get out of the mess his game had turned into. He was not really worried, per say, about losing his last vestment, except perhaps in the permanent sense. No, what worried him was what he was going to have to bet next. With only one chance left to win back everything he had lost, he had to make it something good. Seeing as he wasn't about to offer up his life to his already bloodthirsty brother, it would have to be something off the beaten path.

 

With so much on his mind, Inuyasha completely missed his brother's albeit well concealed reaction when he dropped his hakama to the floor and stepped out of it. To say that Sesshoumaru was enjoying the view would have been a gross understatement. If not for his impeccable training, he might very well have jumped his little brother then and there, however undignified the situation. As it was, he had to shift his legs to make up for the sudden lack of extra material in his lap.

 

Inuyasha sat down once more and dealt the cards before looking down at his own hand. Nothing, absolutely nothing, not even a pair to build off of. He looked up at Sesshoumaru and announced.

 

“I take three cards.”

 

Sesshoumaru looked down at his own cards and promptly replied. “I will have one.”

 

As the cards exchanged hands, Inuyasha's face became even more stricken, a fact that did not go unnoticed by his elder brother. Sighing heavily, the hanyou laid his offer down on the line.

 

“If I win, I get all of my stuff back. If you win, I will leave the Western Lands, hell, Japan itself and never bother you again.” He locked eyes with Sesshoumaru, who merely nodded in his agreement.

 

The dread in his face intensified as Inuyasha laid his cards down. Through sheer luck he had acquired a pair of 8s in the exchange, although it would not get him very far if the previous hands were any indication of his brother's own good fortune. He looked up briefly, hoping that he would see something in that stony exterior, but Sesshoumaru's impassive features still bore no hint of what his hand might hold.

 

An inhale broke the weighted silence that had fallen over the glen and the hanyou's face and ears drooped in preparation for the worst.

 

“I fold.”

 

Inuyasha blinked a few times before the meaning of his brother's words finally sunk in. Looking up, he just managed to catch the dai-youkai's back retreating into the tree line. Bewildered and elated, Inuyasha bounded forward and into his clothing in record time. Adjusting the last ties, the hanyou bent to retrieve the abandoned deck of cards. Idly he flipped over Sesshoumaru's hand and stopped short at the sight before him. Staring back at him were several pristine faces with crisp edged clothing set between their immediate lessers and betters. A royal flush.