Poker Tricks
By Icka! M. Chif
"Go Fish!"
"We're playing poker!"
"Oh, yeah...." Conan grinned as Kuroba suppressed a shudder. "I'll take 2 cards, please."
Hattori shot him an amused look as he dealt out the requested cards. He still didn't understand the magician's aversion to the gaijin children's game, but the reactions were always amusing.
It was Boys Poker night. Ran, Sonoko and Aoko got together once a week or every two weeks and had a Girls night, starting the a now traditional poker night between Kuroba, Conan, Hiabara and Agasa. Both Agasa and Hiabara were out of town, and the teenage detectives of Osaka was in town, so the members of the game had shifted for the night.
Hattori dealt Conan the requested two cards. "Dealer bids twenty."
"I'll see your twenty, and raise it!" Kuroba was grinning like a maniac. It didn't fool either of the detectives, he'd been grinning like a maniac all night. Even when he'd had a bad hand.
"What are you in such a good mood about tonight?" Conan finally asked, tossing in his bet. "You finally kiss Aoko without getting hit?"
"Did that last week." Kuroba raised an eyebrow, the grin never fading. "You can't accept the fact that I'm happy to be here playing poker?"
"No." Both Hattori and Conan deadpanned.
"Show cards."
Kuroba shrugged gamely, setting his cards down. "Worth a shot." His voice suddenly changed, to that of a much older males. "My dear school principal asked me to do a show for the school. Complete with-"
"-An attractive female assistant!" His voice changed again to mimic Aoko, complete with complementary feminine gestures.
Conan gave him a flat-eyed look. "You're a -little- too good at that."
Kuroba grinned. The 2 detectives began to wonder about his sanity, not for the first time that night.
The small detective shook his head, reaching forward to collect the chips. "I win." The 3 of them were pretty even with chips, but this pushed him farther ahead.
"Are you sure you don't have a card up your sleeve?" Kuroba asked innocently, pushing his cards towards Heiji, who gathered them up and shuffled. Conan shot a look at the magician.
"Unlike other people, I don't cheat." Conan said loftily.
"Much." Kuroba corrected, reaching over and pulling a card out of Conan's ear. "See? An Ace in the hole."
"That's your department." The small detective gave a shark-like grin at the magician.
Something sparked in the back Hattori's head, causing gears to roll. He'd seen that look before... it was as familiar on Kudo's face as it was on his. It was the look they both got when they had when they had figured out something before anyone else. In this case, it meant that Kudo knew something that he didn't. Which was not a feeling that Hattori particularly liked.
The answering mischievous grin on Kuroba's face was irritatingly familiar as well. Something he had seen before not up close in person, but on a photograph. Of someone who's grin was his trademark almost as much as his strange retro outfit and mysterious attitude.
He paused in mid-deal, staring at Kuroba, his thoughts continuing on regardless. Of a theif who was a magician, could change voices without aid and was a master of disguise. Who was known around the world as "Kid..."
The other 2 stopped their play fighting to look at him. "Yeah?" They chorused.
Hattori shook his head, pointing at Kuroba. "Not you, Kudo. Him."
The Magician's reaction was un-expected. He quickly turned to Conan, thrusting a hand out, a wide grin threatening to crack his face. "Pay up!"
"What are you talking about?! I won the bet!" The small detective protested.
"Nah-uh." Kuroba changed his voice to sound like Conan's, adopting the boys mannerisms as he did so. "Your bet was that Hattori would figure it out in under 3 visits. I said it would take him over 3 visits to figure it out. "
"And it's the third visit!" Conan pointed out. "And I don't sound like a girl!"
"Yes you do!" Kuroba cheerfully changed over to Ran's voice. "And this is the third time he's seen me since the bet!"
"I hate it when you do that." Conan grimaced. "And him chasing you over the rooftops last week as The Kid doesn't count!"
"Sure it does! I even changed into Kudo to see if he'd get the hint!"
"What?!" Conan shook his head. "It still doesn't count!"
"Does too!"
"Does not!"
"Does too!"
"Does not! Hattori! What do you think?"
"Heh." Hattori gave them a small smirk, running a hand thru his hair. "I just discover that I've been playing poker with one of the Worlds Most Wanted Criminals and you two are arguing over WHO WON A BET?!" He ended the statement with an oversized screaming deamon head.
The other two looked at him blankly.
"You say that like it's a bad thing." Kuroba finally said with an innocent air.
Hattori deflated with a sigh.
"Kudo?"
"Yeah?"
"How long have you known?"
Conan thought about it, trying to figure out just how unstable the Osaka Detective was at the moment. "You remember when we dressed you in drag?"
"Yeah?"
"Before that."
Hattori facefaulted. "Kudo..."
"A couple of weeks." Kuroba grinned.
"And you didn't tell anyone?" Hattori glared.
Conan shrugged. "Couldn't."
"Why not?" The Osaka detective was beginning to sound highly dangerous.
"Because of the Game."
"What 'Game'?"
Conan turned to Kuroba. "Think we should tell him about the Game?"
"I think we'd better." Kuroba raised an eyebrow. "He looks about ready to eat his hat."
"He wouldn't eat that cap, it's his favourite hat."
"Kudo..." Hattori growled.
"Alright! Alright! This is a Gentlemen's game. Three rules." Conan held up a hand, the first 2 fingers and thumb extended.
"First rule, Elusive Kid vs. Edogawa only. Kudo and Kuroba aren't involved in capturing the the Kid."
Hattori smirked smugly. "Ha! Unlike the two of you, I don't have a secret I need to keep silent. Therefore that rule doesn't count."
Conan smiled back, matching Hattori's evil smirk. "Remember when we helped you get dressed in drag?"
"... yeah."
"I have copies."
"You too?" Kuroba grinned.
Hattori's grin faded into a frown. "You do realize that this is blackmail."
"Actually, I count that as one of my finer achievements." Kuroba said proudly. "It's not every day I get to dress someone else in drag."
"Thanks." Hattori growled. "Next rule?"
"Game begins when The Kid leaves his message and ends when he gets away."
"If." Conan corrected.
"Whatever."
"Third rule: We leave the girls out of it. Which includes Kazuha, of course."
"Meaning The Kid can't masquerade as Kazuha. Or Ran or Aoko." Kuroba clarified.
Conan snickered. "That was my idea."
"Let me get this straight." Hattori said, leaning forward. "In basic terms, we still do everything in our power to stop the Kaito Kid, without revealing Kuroba?"
"Bin-go!" Kuroba sang. "You're right, Edogawa. He catches on faster than I thought."
"So you agree I won the bet then?"
"No."
Conan glared at the smirking magician.
"Call it a draw." Hattori suggested, finally resuming dealing the cards.
Kuroba and Conan exchanged a look, and nodded. They'd argue over it later. "Does that mean you agree to the rules of the game?" Kuroba asked.
"Might as well." Hattori sighed. "It's not like I have much of a choice."
"Well, actually, you do." Kuroba grinned. "It's up to you to decide wither or not to have fun with it."
"Heh." Hattori gave him the faintest of smirks, tossing a card at him. "And what do you get out of this game? You've got the most to loose out of the 3 of us."
"Isn't it obvious?" Kuroba asked. "Think about it. How many people can play at our level?"
"Much less our age." Conan agreed. "Hakuba Saguru not included."
Kuroba muttered under his breath about neon green hair dye and several highly un-complementary about the teenage British detective. At the Detectives' sharp looks, he coughed slightly and spoke more legibly. "Guy's got no sense of humour."
"Ah." Hattori nodded. "And we do?"
Kuroba beamed. "Exactly."
Conan grinned, picking up his cards and looking at them. "So we're in agreement then?"
Hattori and Kuroba nodded, both looking rather pleased as they picked up their cards.
"Excellent." The small detective spoke for all of them. "Then let the games begin!"
Fin.
Notes:
Sheesh, had this done for over a month and forgot about it... ^^;; Gomen!!!
Hakuba Saguru - The English Sherlock Holmes guy, with the hawk named Watson. I'm pretty sure that's the right spelling. If not, PLEASE let me know. Really, really hate spelling the names wrong, but if that's what I find, that's what I use.
*grumbles about 'Kazuha/Kahuza' and 'Naka/Naga'*
More chapters soon! *Giggles*
By Icka! M. Chif
"Go Fish!"
"We're playing poker!"
"Oh, yeah...." Conan grinned as Kuroba suppressed a shudder. "I'll take 2 cards, please."
Hattori shot him an amused look as he dealt out the requested cards. He still didn't understand the magician's aversion to the gaijin children's game, but the reactions were always amusing.
It was Boys Poker night. Ran, Sonoko and Aoko got together once a week or every two weeks and had a Girls night, starting the a now traditional poker night between Kuroba, Conan, Hiabara and Agasa. Both Agasa and Hiabara were out of town, and the teenage detectives of Osaka was in town, so the members of the game had shifted for the night.
Hattori dealt Conan the requested two cards. "Dealer bids twenty."
"I'll see your twenty, and raise it!" Kuroba was grinning like a maniac. It didn't fool either of the detectives, he'd been grinning like a maniac all night. Even when he'd had a bad hand.
"What are you in such a good mood about tonight?" Conan finally asked, tossing in his bet. "You finally kiss Aoko without getting hit?"
"Did that last week." Kuroba raised an eyebrow, the grin never fading. "You can't accept the fact that I'm happy to be here playing poker?"
"No." Both Hattori and Conan deadpanned.
"Show cards."
Kuroba shrugged gamely, setting his cards down. "Worth a shot." His voice suddenly changed, to that of a much older males. "My dear school principal asked me to do a show for the school. Complete with-"
"-An attractive female assistant!" His voice changed again to mimic Aoko, complete with complementary feminine gestures.
Conan gave him a flat-eyed look. "You're a -little- too good at that."
Kuroba grinned. The 2 detectives began to wonder about his sanity, not for the first time that night.
The small detective shook his head, reaching forward to collect the chips. "I win." The 3 of them were pretty even with chips, but this pushed him farther ahead.
"Are you sure you don't have a card up your sleeve?" Kuroba asked innocently, pushing his cards towards Heiji, who gathered them up and shuffled. Conan shot a look at the magician.
"Unlike other people, I don't cheat." Conan said loftily.
"Much." Kuroba corrected, reaching over and pulling a card out of Conan's ear. "See? An Ace in the hole."
"That's your department." The small detective gave a shark-like grin at the magician.
Something sparked in the back Hattori's head, causing gears to roll. He'd seen that look before... it was as familiar on Kudo's face as it was on his. It was the look they both got when they had when they had figured out something before anyone else. In this case, it meant that Kudo knew something that he didn't. Which was not a feeling that Hattori particularly liked.
The answering mischievous grin on Kuroba's face was irritatingly familiar as well. Something he had seen before not up close in person, but on a photograph. Of someone who's grin was his trademark almost as much as his strange retro outfit and mysterious attitude.
He paused in mid-deal, staring at Kuroba, his thoughts continuing on regardless. Of a theif who was a magician, could change voices without aid and was a master of disguise. Who was known around the world as "Kid..."
The other 2 stopped their play fighting to look at him. "Yeah?" They chorused.
Hattori shook his head, pointing at Kuroba. "Not you, Kudo. Him."
The Magician's reaction was un-expected. He quickly turned to Conan, thrusting a hand out, a wide grin threatening to crack his face. "Pay up!"
"What are you talking about?! I won the bet!" The small detective protested.
"Nah-uh." Kuroba changed his voice to sound like Conan's, adopting the boys mannerisms as he did so. "Your bet was that Hattori would figure it out in under 3 visits. I said it would take him over 3 visits to figure it out. "
"And it's the third visit!" Conan pointed out. "And I don't sound like a girl!"
"Yes you do!" Kuroba cheerfully changed over to Ran's voice. "And this is the third time he's seen me since the bet!"
"I hate it when you do that." Conan grimaced. "And him chasing you over the rooftops last week as The Kid doesn't count!"
"Sure it does! I even changed into Kudo to see if he'd get the hint!"
"What?!" Conan shook his head. "It still doesn't count!"
"Does too!"
"Does not!"
"Does too!"
"Does not! Hattori! What do you think?"
"Heh." Hattori gave them a small smirk, running a hand thru his hair. "I just discover that I've been playing poker with one of the Worlds Most Wanted Criminals and you two are arguing over WHO WON A BET?!" He ended the statement with an oversized screaming deamon head.
The other two looked at him blankly.
"You say that like it's a bad thing." Kuroba finally said with an innocent air.
Hattori deflated with a sigh.
"Kudo?"
"Yeah?"
"How long have you known?"
Conan thought about it, trying to figure out just how unstable the Osaka Detective was at the moment. "You remember when we dressed you in drag?"
"Yeah?"
"Before that."
Hattori facefaulted. "Kudo..."
"A couple of weeks." Kuroba grinned.
"And you didn't tell anyone?" Hattori glared.
Conan shrugged. "Couldn't."
"Why not?" The Osaka detective was beginning to sound highly dangerous.
"Because of the Game."
"What 'Game'?"
Conan turned to Kuroba. "Think we should tell him about the Game?"
"I think we'd better." Kuroba raised an eyebrow. "He looks about ready to eat his hat."
"He wouldn't eat that cap, it's his favourite hat."
"Kudo..." Hattori growled.
"Alright! Alright! This is a Gentlemen's game. Three rules." Conan held up a hand, the first 2 fingers and thumb extended.
"First rule, Elusive Kid vs. Edogawa only. Kudo and Kuroba aren't involved in capturing the the Kid."
Hattori smirked smugly. "Ha! Unlike the two of you, I don't have a secret I need to keep silent. Therefore that rule doesn't count."
Conan smiled back, matching Hattori's evil smirk. "Remember when we helped you get dressed in drag?"
"... yeah."
"I have copies."
"You too?" Kuroba grinned.
Hattori's grin faded into a frown. "You do realize that this is blackmail."
"Actually, I count that as one of my finer achievements." Kuroba said proudly. "It's not every day I get to dress someone else in drag."
"Thanks." Hattori growled. "Next rule?"
"Game begins when The Kid leaves his message and ends when he gets away."
"If." Conan corrected.
"Whatever."
"Third rule: We leave the girls out of it. Which includes Kazuha, of course."
"Meaning The Kid can't masquerade as Kazuha. Or Ran or Aoko." Kuroba clarified.
Conan snickered. "That was my idea."
"Let me get this straight." Hattori said, leaning forward. "In basic terms, we still do everything in our power to stop the Kaito Kid, without revealing Kuroba?"
"Bin-go!" Kuroba sang. "You're right, Edogawa. He catches on faster than I thought."
"So you agree I won the bet then?"
"No."
Conan glared at the smirking magician.
"Call it a draw." Hattori suggested, finally resuming dealing the cards.
Kuroba and Conan exchanged a look, and nodded. They'd argue over it later. "Does that mean you agree to the rules of the game?" Kuroba asked.
"Might as well." Hattori sighed. "It's not like I have much of a choice."
"Well, actually, you do." Kuroba grinned. "It's up to you to decide wither or not to have fun with it."
"Heh." Hattori gave him the faintest of smirks, tossing a card at him. "And what do you get out of this game? You've got the most to loose out of the 3 of us."
"Isn't it obvious?" Kuroba asked. "Think about it. How many people can play at our level?"
"Much less our age." Conan agreed. "Hakuba Saguru not included."
Kuroba muttered under his breath about neon green hair dye and several highly un-complementary about the teenage British detective. At the Detectives' sharp looks, he coughed slightly and spoke more legibly. "Guy's got no sense of humour."
"Ah." Hattori nodded. "And we do?"
Kuroba beamed. "Exactly."
Conan grinned, picking up his cards and looking at them. "So we're in agreement then?"
Hattori and Kuroba nodded, both looking rather pleased as they picked up their cards.
"Excellent." The small detective spoke for all of them. "Then let the games begin!"
Fin.
Notes:
Sheesh, had this done for over a month and forgot about it... ^^;; Gomen!!!
Hakuba Saguru - The English Sherlock Holmes guy, with the hawk named Watson. I'm pretty sure that's the right spelling. If not, PLEASE let me know. Really, really hate spelling the names wrong, but if that's what I find, that's what I use.
*grumbles about 'Kazuha/Kahuza' and 'Naka/Naga'*
More chapters soon! *Giggles*