[ P - Pre-Teen ]

AN/Disclaimer: I don't own them. I think I'd be too tempted to huggle Nagi, wreak chaos with Schuldich, plan with Crawford and go on a killing spree with Farfie. You can't really deny that there's a time when you want to destroy everything. It's called exams (...Or midlife crisis, but I'm not there yet.)

Also, there are some numbers throughout the story, you don't need to skim to the bottom to read them in order to understand the story. They're just notes I didn't want to break up the story with.

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"Schuldich, if you don't stop trying to read my mind I will hang you from the ceiling fan by your nose." This ultimatum was calmly given, and the teen who spoke didn't even look up from his hand of cards.

The red haired man mock pouted, "Chibi! How could you accuse me of doing something as heinously wrong as cheating?"

Nagi hid a sigh. Crawford had stated that they weren't allowed to use their powers to get a look at the others' hands. On the flip side, there was no way to successfully mediate, so Crawford didn't even try. How do you prove a Telepath was reading your mind anyway? Aloud he just said, "Gee, I wonder."

Schuldich was saved from having to answer by Crawford, who stood up and announced, "I'm going to the bathroom, the first person to touch my cards will lose that which is most dear to them." His monotone voice made Nagi seem like a happy-go-lucky kid at the park. Nagi quickly looked at his computer and Schuldich grabbed for his cigarettes.[1] The light glinted off his glasses in that eerie way all bespectacled bad guys learn. His lackeys shuddered. Realising that they were sufficiently cowed he nodded sharply once and left the room.

Schuldich recovered first having known him the longest (and therefore having the longest time to get used to him. It's really amazing what you can learn to put up with when you spend time with somebody 24/7 for years). "Get more pop while you're up!" He grumbled to himself for a moment; Crawford had ruled out on beer because Nagi was still a minor.[2] Come on! He can kill, hack, and play hooky, but he can't have a little alcohol? Sheesh, no wonder the kid's depressed.

The German's mood lifted abruptly and Nagi backed away as subtly as possible. Schuldich's lightning quick mood changes were well known in Schwarz. They also knew that the 'cat-got-the-cream' look was the right time to head for the hills. Through his maniacal grin he cajoled Nagi. "Come on, flip over his cards!" The boy just glanced at him coolly, his poker face firmly in place. Not that it ever leaves, Schuldich mused.

"And why would I do that?"

"Because then we'll have one up on him!" Obviously.

"And what if he Sees?" He said this as if to a small child, though with Schuldich there was no telling. Nagi had seen children act less like a child then his team mate.

"Oh, come on, Nagi! If Crawford foresaw us looking at his cards he wouldn't have left. Besides," The grin on his face was smug, "he said touch. Using your Telekinesis is different!" Nagi was too smart to fall for that one.

He sighed dramatically. "Fine, I'll give you ¥ 1,628 [3] and take full responsibility if he finds out." Bingo!

The blue-eyed boy sighed huffily, but concentrated on the cards all the same. They began to rise slowly, then flip.

While the others were busy Nagi used a tendril of his power to pull his opponents' cards forwards a little bit. He was sitting at one end of the table with Schuldich to his right and Crawford at the other end. It was too perfect not to take advantage of.

When they heard the toilet flush the boy let go of all the cards and sat back grinning on the inside. He didn't want hid poker face to slip after all.

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Crawford washed hid hands and looked in the mirror. He was a bit startled to see that he was smirking. It was a sinister smirk to be sure, but he still had an emotionless faç to uphold. He wiped the smirk off his face with some difficulty.

Nagi had been smart to reveal his opponents' cards like that. He'd Seen everything from a vantage point just above the boy's shoulder. If it hadn't been for that stroke of luck Crawford might have punished him. He decided that winning all of their money would be punishment enough for all of them.

He grabbed more pop and chips from the kitchen and took his seat. The game resumed with everyone making their move.

"All right, show your cards." Crawford never asked; it was always a command.

Schuldich had already folded with a hand full of nothing. Crawford had four of a kind and Nagi three of a kind.

Farferello beat them all with a royal flush.

…It's really the quiet ones you have to look out for...

He chuckled at their expressions. "Gambling hurts God. Go fish!"

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I wanted to make Schu reach for something else he holds dear, for stereotypical reasons, but I want this to be fairly clean. Use your imaginations. I don't know what the drinking age is in Japan, and I don't want to look it up. I am fairly sure that Nagi's under age. I went to an online money exchange. According to it, the amount above is approximately $20 cdn. as of March 26, 2004.

I came up with this idea while doing the dishes and bounced it off my brother a few times. I've never really played poker, that's why I never went into detail in the story.

This story is supposed to be complete humour, nothing more, nothing less. It really pokes fun at the stereotypes of Schwarz, I think.