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Kami-damned kid had been lurking at the edge of the alley all night. He was maybe eight? Ten? He was tall and lanky, all gangly limbs and awkward angles, and had shaggy black hair that hung low into his eyes.
He had been watching the games with interest, observing the cards as they flipped, the winners and losers that had approached his table. Most of his attention, however, had been focused on the kid Oka had picked to run the game today. That kid – Chao or whatever – had a disconcerting face even with the black eye, making a rigged game even easier to pull off.
The kid approached the table. He offered a crooked smile and a handful of stained coins.
“Is this enough to play?” he asked innocently. Chao glanced at Oka, who nodded. Let the kid lose his pocket money, what did it matter.
Chao flipped the cards, shuffled them, asked in a flat voice if the kid understood the rules. The kid nodded and leaned slightly on the table, his eyes fixed on the cards as Chao placed and mixed them, revealed the joker, mixed them again. The kid hesitated, then laid his hands flat on the table and looked Oka directly in the eye.
“If I win, what do I get?”
“Money. That’s how these games usually work.”
The kid glanced down at Chao, who was staring at the cards with blank eyes.
“If I win I want him.” Chao swung his head up as Oka scoffed.
“Him? Why?” The kid shrugged. Chao fidgeted and avoided Oka’s stare. What did it matter? The game was rigged anyway. “Okay fine. You win, you get Chao.”
“The joker is under the table,” the kid said confidently. “Stuck on the left. These three cards are the two of diamonds, the five of clubs and an ace, either of spades or clubs.” He pointed to each as he named them, and Chao (bastard child) obediently flipped them over as he did. He was right on all of them.
Oka glowered, but the kid reached out, snagged Chao’s hand, and pulled him away faster than Oka could catch up. Screw it, he’d find a new weirdo to run the game.
A few blocks away the kid ducked into an alley, pulling Chiaotzu with him, and grinned. “You okay?”
Chiaotzu didn’t answer at first, keeping his eyes down and fiddling with the hem of his ragged shirt. Then eventually he found the strength to say, “Why did you help me?”
“Because you looked scared, even under the blank look.” The kid emulated it, widening his eyes and flattening his mouth. “I’ve been there before. I’m Tien, by the way.”
“I’m Chiaotzu.” He was surprised when Tien grabbed his hand and shook it, grinning. “How did you know where the card was?”
Tien’s smile slanted, became sly. “Nothing gets past my eyes,” he said, and lifted his fringe to reveal a third eye that winked at Chiaotzu, surprising a giggle out of him.