16"You did WHAT?!" screeched Dia furiously.
Kanan winced as she flinched away from her phone, ear now ringing with the fury of her fiance. Next to her, You and Ruby exchanged worried glances as Kanan continued. "Look, I know it sounds bad. But I mean, it's really not, and I'm sure this will be one of those funny stories we tell our kids about someday."
"Not that bad?! You're stuck in a tourist trap with no money and no way home! And you've only been there for an hour!"
The blunette struggled to come up with a saving grace. "...at least I'm not alone?"
"And you've dragged my sister into this mess as well!"
Kanan sighed and hung her head in shame. "I know, I know. I really screwed up. Can you please come help us?"
A low and long growl of annoyance was the only response for several seconds, before Dia replied properly. "Very well. Chika-san, Hanamaru-san, and I will leave as soon as we are able. But the earliest we'll be able to get there is tomorrow morning. The three of you will be on your own until then. We will meet you at the front desk of the hotel you were SUPPOSED to have gotten a room at. Good bye." The call ended abruptly with a beep.
Kanan winced. Dia didn't even say 'I love you'. That was very bad for Kanan.
Putting that in the back of her mind, she turned to her fellow companions in poverty. "Okay, the good news is help's on the way. The bad news is it's not getting here until tomorrow morning."
"What?! But it's only mid-afternoon! What are we supposed to do for eighteen hours?" asked You.
"I don't know," sighed the bride to be. "I don't know."
Ruby sniffed. "I'm sorry," she said. "If only I hadn't dropped my wallet on the bus, we wouldn't be in this mess."
"No, it's my fault," sighed You as she hung her head, "I just don't know when to quit playing with RNG, and slot machines really bring that to the forefront."
"No, no," interjected Kanan, "I'm the oldest and I'm supposed to be the most mature. I should have made sure to keep your gambling in line."
"But it's your bachelorette party!" protested You.
Beside her, Ruby nodded. "Yeah. You're here to have fun, not babysit."
The blunette frowned. "It doesn't matter," she said resolutely. "It was my idea to come here, so whatever happens to us is my responsibility. Besides, I'm the idiot who put all her money on double zero..."
For the next several minutes, the trio of friends moped around the casino floor, lamenting their poor fortune and generally feeling sorry for themselves. Eventually though, someone had to ask the dreaded question.
"If we have no cash, are they gonna kick us out?" wondered You.
"...It seems likely," replied Kanan uncertainly.
"What do we do?" panicked Ruby. "It's dangerous for three young women to be wandering the streets after dark."
"Well, if the only reason we get kicked out is because we have no money, then we just need to get money," reasoned Kanan.
You and Ruby each shot her a skeptical look. "And how are we supposed to do that?" asked the brunette.
Kanan hummed in ponderance, racking her brain for any kind of solution.
Then the solution walked up to her in the form of a richly dressed blonde with golden irises gleaming with interest.
"Why hello pretty lady~!" she cooed at the diver. "I'm Mari. Mari Ohara. What do you say about going out to an early dinner with me at the finest restaurant on the strip? It'll be you, me, a luxuriously prepared seven course meal, and maybe at the end of the night we can even share my penthouse suite." She smirked confidently and leaned in, making sure to give the blunette a good look at her cleavage. "All. Night. Long."
Kanan felt her brain short-circuit momentarily before an idea blossomed. "...Excuse us for a second," she said as she dragged You and Ruby away. When they'd covered a suitable distance, she stopped and turned to them conspiratorially. "I've got it," she whispered, "We can totally schmooze up to some high rollers and get them to pay for us until tomorrow morning!"
"What?!" hissed You. "Kanan-chan, are you out of your mind?! We are NOT that type of girl!"
"And what about our girlfriends?" asked Ruby, "What about onee-chan?"
"Yeah! You're getting married in two weeks for crying out loud!" exclaimed You quietly.
"I didn't say anything had to happen," said Kanan. "Just string 'em along until you get back to their room, then pretend to fall asleep. They'll give up and go to sleep and you can actually sleep for real." You and Ruby just gaped at her in disbelief. "Look, I know it's not the ideal solution but it's the best one we've got. Come on You-chan, Ruby-chan. Haven't you always wanted a sugar mommy?"
"No!" denied the brunette immediately. The redhead shook her head in disagreement as well.
The blunette sighed. "Look, this opportunity isn't going to last forever," she said, indicating the blonde behind them. "And it beats sleeping out on the streets, right?"
Ruby and You exchanged a glance before the latter sighed. Desperate times were desperate times. "Alright, fine. You go ahead and... somehow not cheat on your fiance. I'll make sure Ruby-chan's taken care of."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. But I'm making this my wedding present, and so is Ruby-chan."
A smile crossed Kanan's face. "Thanks You-chan! Ruby-chan! You're both the best!" Without another word, the blunette turned and sauntered back to her wealthy patron, a confident grin on her face. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mari Ohara. Please, call me Kanan. I'd love to be your company for the evening," she said smoothly as they walked off.
And then there were two.
Ruby sniffed. "You-chan..." she whimpered.
"It'll be okay, Ruby-chan," comforted the aspiring sailor. "I'll help you find someone trustworthy, and I won't leave your side until we find someone you like."
The two spent the next half an hour searching for a suitable target for the redhead before they finally found the one. Sitting all by her lonesome at one of the casino's luxuriously decorated bars was a blue-haired young woman with piercing amethyst eyes, outfitted in an elegant, midnight-black gothic dress with a pair of pseudo-angelic wings hanging off her back and a finely crafted halo hovering atop her hair.
Her wealth was evidenced by the very real diamonds woven into the hem of her dress. Her harmlessness was evidenced by the virgin appletini she was nursing, complete with one of those quaint little drinking umbrellas tumbling round her glass.
Ruby gulped as she nervously approached her target. She paused, throwing a glance behind her to see You mouthing "Ganbaruby!" and doing the redhead's signature pose in encouragement. Comforted by the gesture of solidarity, Ruby swallowed her anxiety and closed the distance.
She sat down next to the angelic woman. "H-Hello," she stuttered out.
The mystery woman slowly turned to the redhead with an adamant expression. "...Hello," she returned.
Ruby gulped. Her mind blanked as she struggled to find some kind of seductive words to throw out, anything she could use to make herself seem enticing, but those piercing purple eyes seemed to kill any attempt at flirtation before it could even begin. "Um... um..."
The blunette started to turn away, disinterested.
"Um... I really like your outfit!" blurted Ruby. "The black works as an excellent base and the violet accessories really work in tandem with these sewn in gemstones to bring out your eyes while building up an aura of darkness. The white frills are a sharp but beautiful contrast that hints at something sinister or even malevolent, which really makes me wonder about the wings and halo and what kind of story you're trying to communicate." Ruby slapped her hands over her mouth in mortification. "...I'm sorry. I just started rambling, didn't I? I... I should probably go-"
"No!" cried the woman suddenly. Ruby startled and nearly fell off her barstool. "Ah, sorry... But no, don't go, please. You're right actually. There is a story I want to tell with my outfit." Having said that, the blunette seemed to shrink behind her appletini. "...Would you like to hear it?"
Ruby smiled and chirped an affirmative.
You smiled to herself as Ruby seemed to get into the hang of things, the redhead surreptitiously shooting her a thumbs up as she and her fallen angel began walking off together. Now that the least flirtatious of them was set, the brunette began to look around for any interested parties to prop her up for the night.
After a quick scan, she found her gaze locked with a pair of golden eyes on a pale face framed by burgundy hair, eyes that longed for the brunette and carried a spark of shame for such a desire. The redhead turned away suddenly, her face going scarlet with embarrassment as her guilty eyes returned to her drink, and You knew she had found the one.
After mentally reassuring herself that she wasn't cheating on her beloved Chika, ('It's not cheating it's not cheating it's not cheating,') You moved in.
The golden-eyed girl startled as You slid beside her, a confident smirk on her face. "Hello there," she started, "I'm You, You Watanabe, and I couldn't help but notice you staring at me from across the casino floor."
"That's...! I wasn't-! I mean-!"
"Oh I don't mind," chuckled You nonchalantly. "Actually, it's quite flattering from such a beautiful woman like yourself." The redhead began blushing furiously and You knew she had her hook, line, and sinker. "May I have your name?"
"R-Riko," she stuttered out, "Riko Sakurauchi."
.
.
.
Omake: Road Trip!
Though it'd been a few hours since Kanan's call, Dia was still quite peeved as she sat in the driver's seat of her sedan, grumbling under her breath about her fiance's poor impulse control.
She really didn't need any more idiocy in her life at the moment.
With Hanamaru next to her in the passenger seat, marveling silently at the amenities that came standard in modern cars, it seemed like it would be a peaceful drive.
Then Chika started up a game of punch buggy.
"Punch buggy red!" called Chika as her fist impacted against Hanamaru's shoulder.
"Zura!" cried the brunette, more in alarm than anything else.
"Chika-san, stop this ridiculousness at once!" demanded the ravenette.
"Punch buggy blue!" retorted Chika.
"Ow! Why you-! Punch buggy yellow!" A fist slammed against Chika's shoulder.
"Ow! That's the spirit Dia-san!"
AN: Oh boy, this is something I've wanted to do for a while! I've got a decent handle on this story, I think, and it'll get wrapped up in a few chapters. Hopefully before the year is over. ...We'll see.
Also, despite the title, this story doesn't actually take place in Vegas. It's just an ambiance thing. :P
Anyways, if you're ever in this situation, this is probably NOT the course of action you want to take. Be smart, and if you gamble, only gamble what you can afford to lose. (I say this now, but if I ever write for Kakegurui that moral will go right out the window. XD)
