BATAN! BATAN! BATAN!

(The rumbling upstairs has me worried, but I'm sure Crystal can handle things.)

Using my subtone, I keep myself in the air, allowing for me to fly swiftly into the arena. I head up into the announcer room and take out my emergency deck of cards. Before any of my pursuers make it into the room, I am already on the opposite side of the arena from where they enter.

"There's no escape, Katsumi Ordinance!" one of the thugs announces.

"So, you know my full name." I say as I jump into the arena, shuffling my deck. "Flattering. Though in my line of work, such knowledge would get you killed. Did Jonathan tell you?"

"Wait...you actually plan to fight?" another enemy, a more gruff looking man, asks with a laugh. "What happened to your cowardice reputation?"

"Why bet on a game you're bound to lose more from in the long run?"

"Let's make this quick." a woman behind the gruff man states. "Fire Drive: Lava Wave!"

She jumps into the air, and from her mouth spews large quantities of lava that spins clockwise in a vortex, then blows more lava when she lands behind it to create a giant wave.

I take two cards from my deck, slide them under my feet, and have them lift me up to barely avoid the lava.

"Fire Drive: Pyroportation!"

Someone on the far end of the arena converts themselves into pure fire. Said fire quickly flies past me at electric tone speed. Within seconds, the fire subtone reverts back to their human form and performs a roundhouse kick in the air.

BATAN!

And they hit a wall of my cards.

My steel plated deck of 54 poker cards. Two of them jokers, of course.

The fire teleporting enemy continues to transform between flames and his human form, kicking around me in rapid succession. Seeing his human attacks don't work, he charges towards me in his fire form.

And I protect myself with a shield of all 54 cards.

As he passes around me, I send 10 cards after the flames and make them rapidly spin like a fan. This ignites his flames more but simultaneously pushes him away, forcing him to take human form to prevent himself from getting pushed too far. He lands in the arena, and I choose to descend to the ground myself. The deck returns to my hand, and I calmly shuffle the deck again.

"Fire Drive: Fire Mimicry!"

Another woman charges towards me, but this time her human shaped form is made solely of flames. She attempts hand-to-hand combat, but I use my subtone on my own body to float and glide around all her attacks.

"Stop moving!" the woman yells as she deactivates her subtone, turning the flames to flesh. Guess she can't maintain it for long.

"Fire Drive: Fire Storm - Tornado!"

A thinner man on the far end of the arena begins to conjure up tornadoes of fire around him. By the time three tornadoes are created, he performs a pushing gesture, and the tornadoes head my way. The other fire tones jump out of the way.

Using 30 of my cards, I send them down inside the tornadoes and create a larger tornado at the interception point among them, making a larger stationary pillar of flame.

"Fire Drive: Fire Rain!"

Another fire tone, whom I couldn't see, fires a large fireball into the air.

DO!

The fireball explodes into many smaller balls of flame that rain down on the arena not covered by the tornado. I float among all the small fireballs, dodging the majority of them. Though...some of my clothes get singed.

(Damn it! This suit was expensive!)

I scatter my remaining 24 cards towards the tornado. They create a fan and blow the tornado towards my opponents. Before they are hit, the firestorm user deactivates the flames...

Resulting in all of them getting stuck in an ordinary tornado.

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Rather than keeping them trapped for long, I stop my cards from spinning and have them scatter across the arena. Some on the ground, some floating in the air. All the cards have their steel backs to the surrounded intruders.

"It has been some time since I've been this angry." I announce. "Seems the part of my reputation regarding my fighting skills has been forgotten. Kids these days, I swear."

The surrounded thugs look around at the cards.

"Still, I'm a gentleman." I continue. "So why don't we make this fair."

"You really think you can beat us with a few cards?" one woman asks.

"Wanna bet?" I respond.

"Damn straight! Fire Drive: Fire Mimicry!"

Turning her body to flames, she charges at me...

Just to get trapped in a tornado from a few of my cards. And to show off, I create eight more mini tornadoes around my high roller opponents. Should they try to create any form of flames, be it as tornadoes or lava, they will just trap themselves in their own attacks. Fire tones have resistances to flames, but they aren't immune. They only risk hurting themselves.

I'm not a fighter who is dependent on raw power. Trickery and sabotage are part of my system.

I stop my tornadoes.

"Care to tap out?" I ask. "Or do you want to gamble against the house?"

"Don't mock us, you...!" one thug starts to say before being stopped by one of their partners, who puts their hands on the speaker's shoulders and nods. "Grrr... Fine!"

"Wonderful!" I say, clapping. "Now, the rules. I'll keep them simple enough for you underdogs to follow. One of you will point to a card. If it's a face card, then I will let you attack me from where you are for three seconds. Pick a numbered card..."

I send a card by one of the yakuza members on the outside of the group.

Biri!

I cut through one of the sleeves. The card also nicks their arm, making them bleed.

"And that happens." I say calmly. "Two more rules, as I won't play the waiting game. Pick the wild cards, and the game ends. As for the last rule."

I take out a remote...

"You have until the end of this song before I take the full offensive."

And press one of the buttons.

Kata.

The speakers in the arena start playing the song.

Taku Iwasaki "Stay away from blood money!", with vocal by Lotus Juice. It isn't acid jazz, but I don't need the boost.

A.N.T.E. UP

A K.I.N.G'S R.A.N.S.O.M.

BUT STAY AWAY FROM BLOOD MONEY

Panicking at the sudden start of the song, one points to a card.

4.

(Too bad.)

Piri!

The cards spin around them at unfollowable speeds. I have to shuffle, or else it will end up a process of elimination.

A.N.T.E. UP

A K.I.N.G'S R.A.N.S.O.M.

Another card picked.

7.

Piri!

Shuffled.

BUT STAY AWAY FROM BLOOD MONEY

A.N.T.E. UP

9.

Shuffled.

A K.I.N.G'S

Promise never it's meant to be broken.

Some start to point to different cards at once. I choose to humor them.

10 and Jack.

Piri!

The one that picks the Jack charges up for a fireball.

But three seconds are up by the time the fireball gets close.

Still, I humor them...

Piri!

And let it graze my shoulder.

Shuffle.

Staying clever it's most important.

Focus the market watch for bogus.

1. 9. 3. 4.

Piri! Piri! Piri! Piri!

Shuffle.

When you are on this game keep your head straight and robust.

Players love to give you that blah blah.

Don't you let them eat that crap crap.

King. Queen. 7.

Piri!

This time, they took too long. I glide over to the side, dodging their attacks.

Creating the rules don't rely on manuals.

Live with heart of steel prep for anything unusual.

Money flow is the star of attention.

But shining too much is the cause of tension.

Watch what you mention.

Watch what you mention.

They continue to pick cards frantically, resulting in them getting attacked almost constantly. And with every choice, there is a following shufffle. By this time, they're simply picking cards at random even while they're spinning.

More attacks against them, though I still take a few hits.

8. 10. King. 1. 4. 7. 9. Queen. 5. 5. Jack. King. 1. 1. 2. 9. 7. 5. 10. King. 3. Jack. 5. 7. 10. 10. King. Jack. 4. Queen. 3. 3. 5. 1. 8. 6. 6. Jack. 7. Queen.

Haters search mistakes with malintention.

Don't let some info screw your thoughts.

Look for mentors scribble down notes in your soul.

(I don't mind gambling this time. After all, I have the advantage, 42 to 12.)

Or rather...40 to 12. I don't want them to get a Joker. Prolonging this improves my chances when I go all out.

Nobody said the house plays fair, no?

Rather have slices instead of a whole pie.

Cuz greed ain't discreet.

Don't let them drive you nuts.

"TO HELL WITH THIS!!" one of the more frequently injured enemies shouts. "GET HIM!!!"

They all nod and all charge towards me.

(Seems they tapped out earlier than I expected.)

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!

I surround them in a tornado of wind. Unlike before, many of the cards that aren't making the tornado are mixed in, slicing them to pieces.

A.N.T.E. UP

A K.I.N.G'S R.A.N.S.O.M.

BUT STAY...

Kata.

Since the wind is overpowering the song, I press the button again and turn it off.

I stop creating the tornado with my cards and simply send them directly at my targets.

Kirikirikirikirikirikirikirikiri!!!

I bring the face cards and Jokers over to me. I stop my cards from attacking my opponents.

BATAN!

They fall to the ground, covered in cuts.

"D...Damn you!" one yells. "You must have rigged that!"

"Technically," I start, "the odds were against you from the beginning. But I didn't rig the game beyond preventing you from getting the Jokers. I gave you a chance. You're just unlucky."

"Stop messing with us! Fire Drive: Pyroportation!"

The living flames fly towards me.

Preparing for this...

I bring out my trump cards.

The Queen of Hearts begins to glow green with my rhime...

And creates a First Age Chinese dragon of wind that collides with the flames.

DDDDDDDDDDDDDOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"What the Hell!?!?!?" shouts one of the women.

I make Jack of Diamonds glow...

A bull of wind charges towards the group. They all roll out of the way just in time, making the bull run past them into the arena wall.

BBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!

I call back the King of Spades. My enemies look at me in confusion.

"Surely you didn't expect me not to have an ace in the hole, did you?"

I take the card out of the steel casing.

And show them the "extra card" behind the King.

!!!!!!!

"That's a...!!!!"

"Indeed." I cheerfully state. "A Second Age Talisman. These were expensive to get, but they have their uses. Still, it doesn't matter..."

I raise my right hand.

"You've already lost."

Pan.

At the snap of my finger, my cards begin their assault.

Tornadoes. Direct attacks with my cards. Steel against flesh. Wind spirits of a dragon, a bird like the phoenix, a tiger, and a turtle whenever they try to attack me. Talismans based on the four symbols of the First Age Chinese constellations.

Piri!Piri!Batan!Piri!Batan!Batan!Batan!Piri!Piri!Piri!Batan!Piri!Piri!Batan!Piri!Batan!Piri!

"Sorry to disappoint the lot of you." I tell them. "I must say you aren't very lucky."

I charge the card with the dragon talisman up with more wind rhime than before.

"But no matter how well you play the game..."

GGGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A dragon half the size of the arena charges at the targets...

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And explodes on contact.

When the debris clears, my enemies are all on the ground. Conscious, but defeated.

I bring one card to my hand and show it to them.

One of the Jokers.

"Keep gambling, and the house always wins."

...

"Fufufufufufu..." one of the women weakly laughs.

"Hm?" I say, looking to her.

"You really think...you've won?"

?

"We have...our orders. We weren't meant...to defeat you. We only were ordered...to buy time...and prevent reinforcements."

(Reinforcements? For wh...!!!)

I remember what Saiya tells me.

They're in danger. It's a trap.

"Oh no!"