Poker Night
By Gene

Once again, Alucard was pacing the halls. He was miserable, bored and getting anxious for something to do. Seras to was walking a different hall humming a funny tune basically carefree. She tended to have a little more patience than her master.

"I wish he would stop pacing!" Integral was losing what little patience she had left. "I told him that due to Incognito being dead things would slow down!" she said glancing up, realizing that Walter was not there, she went back to work ignoring the whole incident all together. She wrote the reports and drank her tea remembering how much better it was when Walter made it for her.

"Are you ok?" Seras asked watching Alucard pace back and forth.

"I'm just bored" He growled.
"Well you're driving Sir Integral mad." she pointed in to where Integral let out yet another long sigh.

"Well there has to be some kind of freak out there that needs to be destroyed." he muttered to himself, now ringing his hands in agitation.

"Not much going on since we found the boss himself." Seras told him getting dizzy as he was now pacing faster.

"Alucard, go find something to do!" Integral had finally had enough.

"Isn't there at least one thing to do, a freak, some other vampire?" he asked.

"Alucard!!" She screamed his name and he finally slinked off to another part of the organization.

"Well, you can't really blame her." Seras told him as she had followed her master.

"I know, but she forgets that I tend to get bored easy" he complained.

"Alucard she is stressed out, she doesn't have time to entertain you!" Seras said told him bravely. He seemed a little impressed that she stood up to him.

"For the past three months there have been absolutely no missions whatsoever!" He said losing his own patience.

"Nothing makes you happy or satisfied master." Seras said under her breath. He continued his pacing.

"Excuse, me Sir. Integral." Seras asked popping her head through the door.

"If this is about Alucard I could care less." Integral made this perfectly clear.

"Well, It sort of is." Seras said innocently.

"What is it then?" She asked rubbing her temples.

"Well it's just that he has come to the point where some of the troops want to use him for target practice." Seras said with a small smile.

"Alucard!" Integral yelled.

"Yes master?" He asked coming through the wall.

"Ok first off do not bother the troops." She said taking a sip of tea.

"Point taken." he replied

"Shut-up, and second off I have seen days that you have refrained yourself from being bored and driving people insane!" She told him flat out.

"Yes but not for three months on end, one does tend to lose self control." He said with a fanged smile.

"Alucard do not go there with me." She said in a dangerous tone.

"Alright." He replied.

"Hey I have a great idea!" Seras piped up trying to get them from fighting.

"What is it police girl?" Alucard asked a glimmer of hope in his crimson eyes.

"Well, I was thinking since you are bored, and no doubt does Sir. Integral want a break from all that paperwork…" She was thinking.
"Go on Victoria." Integral told her after she stood in silence.

"Of course, I was thinking maybe we could all play a game of some sort." She smiled broadly.

"A game?" Integral asked a little taken aback.

"Does this involve the use of my guns?" Alucard asked smirking.

"Not really, I was hoping we could play a card game or something." She said cheerfully.

"A card game?" Integral seemed confused, playing a card game with an overly cheerful vampire with her insanely bored master sounded anything but fun.

"I can recall a time Walter and I played Poker once." Alucard told them reminiscing.

"You and Walter played cards?" Integral looked a little shocked.

"Well when he was a lot younger." Alucard added.

"So we can play that!" Seras was practically bouncing up and down.

"Alright." Alucard agreed.

"Do we even have a deck of cards lying around?" Integral asked herself.

"I do!" Seras dashed to her chambers.

"This should be interesting." Integral said under her breath.

"Oh does master not know how to play?" Alucard asked half mocking her.

"Actually I do, I challenged Father Enrico some time back." There was a look of victory Alucard knew only to well.

"I can tell you won" He said smiling. She quickly changed her expression.

"Ok I am back" Seras was holding a deck of cards that looked like they had seen better days.

"Well there is one more thing." Alucard told her.

"What's that?" She asked with a confused look.

"We need tokens or chips." He replied.

"For what?" Seras asked.

"You've never played have you Victoria?" Integral questioned her.

"Huh, oh no I haven't but I learn fast." She looked around Alucard grinning.

"You use the tokens to make bets." Alucard answered her.

"Bet's?" she asked.

"Yes you bet on the hand that you have and whoever wins takes the prize." Integral explained.

"Ok, I think I got that." She answered.

"Ok so where do we want to set up?" Alucard asked them.

"I guess in the kitchen." Integral thought out loud.

"What about the chips or whatever?" Seras asked. "Huh, what can we use?"

Alucard looked around.

"Will these do?" Integral held up a token that was green and perfectly round.

"How many do you have?" Alucard asked.

"Whole box full, all different colors." She answered.

"That'll work." Alucard took the box form her and they all headed to the kitchens.

"Ok, let's see here..." Alucard began stacking chips.

"You may shuffle the cards police girl." He looked at her as she watched him stacking chips.

"Oh ok, do we need the jokers?" She asked pulling them out of the deck.

"Yes they are wild cards." Alucard explained.

"Oh ok." She shuffled over and over waiting for him to finish whatever he was doing.

"Alright, these will be the fives." Alucard pushed a tower of red tokens to both women.

"These the tens." they each got a blue tower.

"And finally the green will be the hundreds." they all had identical towers of tokens in green, blue, and red.

"So we bet with these right." Seras asked

"Yes." Alucard told her. "Ok now what we do is, well first give me the cards." He reached for them and Seras gave them away.

"Alright we each get five cards ok?" He asked to make sure that Seras understood.

"Ok."

"Now we look at our cards and if we want to get rid of anything you tell the dealer and get more cards." he explained.

"I guess you're the dealer, you have the cards." She said smiling.

"Correct, I'll be right back, forgot something." he told them getting up and going through a wall.

"This is going to be fun." Seras was already too cheerful for Integral to stand.

"Ok here." He handed Seras a piece of paper.

"What is this?" She asked looking it over.

"It's a chart of the hands to look for, since you are beginning I will let you use it." He then dealt five cards o everyone.

"Alright now look at your hand and choose the cards you don't want."

"I'll take two" Integral placed two cards on the table and received two more from Alucard.

"Oh I see how this works, one please." She handed Alucard the unwanted card.

"I'll take three." Alucard said switching cards into his hand.

"Ok your bet master." Alucard looked at her. "I bet five." She placed a red token on the table.

"Ok, I put your five and raise it ten." he smirked.

"Wait you raised it." Seras told him.

"Yes and now you either put ten to call or raise it yourself." He explained.

"Ok I put in your ten and raise a green one." She said happily.

"You raise a hundred?" Integral asked trying to hide the surprise in her voice.

"I know." She smiled back.

"Ok, Well then, I put in your hundred and raise you ten more." Integral now smiled as well.

"Alright, I put in your ten, and raise it two hundred more." Alucard boasted.

"I put your two hundred and put three hundred." She looked at Integral.

"I put in the three hundred and put in twenty more." She looked at Alucard.

"I place in the twenty and call."

"Chicken" Integral teased.

"No I know where my luck stands" He replied.

"Now what?" Seras looked confused again.

"We show our cards and whoever wins gets the chips." He told her looking at Integral.

"I have a full house." She grinned showing the three kings and two sevens.

"Your sorely beat." Alucard revealed a strait. "Man, I didn't win." Seras looked disappointed.

"Well what do you have?" Integral asked her.

"Just two pair." She sighed.

"Let me see." Alucard took her hand from her and became wide eyed.

"Umm, actually you win." He sighed pushing the stack of chips to her.

"What?" She asked not sure what he meant.

"Look you have three aces and a joker, that's four of a kind the highest hand, you win." He told her as she scooped up her chips and began stacking them.

"By the way without the joker that would have been three of a kind" Integral explained.

"Alright now your turn to deal." Alucard handed her the cards.

"Me, cool!" She shuffled and handed them five cards each.

"Ok now I give you more cards for what you don't want right?" She asked making sure.

"Right and I will take two." Integral told her. She passed two cards to her.

"I'll take three." They switched cards.

"And I want two." Seras replied laughing.

"I bet ten." Integral said placing a blue chip in the would be pile.

"I put your ten raise it twenty." Alucard eyed Seras to see what she would do next.

"I put in your twenty, and raise it thirty." She laughed every time she bet.

"I put in your thirty and raise it a hundred." Integral was good at betting.

"I put your one hundred and raise it to three hundred." He put in two green chips.

"I am going to call." Seras blushed.

"Wise move." Integral commented.

"I have a strait." Integral laid her cards down showing them.

"Beats me." Alucard set his three queens showing.

"Umm, I think this is something?" She showed her hand to Alucard.

"Ok this is two pair." He told her looking at the two sevens and two jacks.

"Yay, Integral wins!" Seras applauded her.

"Thank you Seras pass the deck." She told her.

"Not Sir. Integral is the dealer!" Seras seemed to be coaching the whole game.

"We are going to play a little different this time ok." She looked at Alucard and Seras.

"Alright." Alucard grinned.

"Ok." Seras replied a little quietly.

"So what we are going to do now is we have seven cards…"

"Seven!" Seras interrupted her.

"Yes seven, Victoria." She said a little agitated.

"Two of which will be face up." She explained.

"Umm, ok then." Seras said sounding not so sure.

"This should be fun." Alucard agreed with Integral. She began dealing cards placing two of the cards face up to everyone.

"You have the joker!" Seras told Integral as she set the deck down. "Indeed I do." She grinned somewhat evilly.

"I need two cards" Alucard interrupted Integrals daydream. "So needy." She teased him again, He just smiled.

"Three please." Seras asked politely.

"Certainly." Integral handed her three new cards.

"How come you're nice to her?" Alucard asked. "She's polite." Integral simply replied. Seras couldn't help but laugh.

"Humph" Alucard pretended to pout only making Seras laugh more.

"I bet twenty" Integral put in two blue chips.

"I put in your twenty, raise it thirty." Alucard showed his fangs.

"I put in thirty raise you forty." Seras looked at Integral who was studying her cards.

"I put your forty, and raise you fifty." Integral said tossing in the chips.

"I put your fifty and raise you a hundred." Alucard slapped the green chip into the pile.

"I feel like I'm at an auction." Seras said laughing.

"I call on this one." she placed a single green chip.

"I have full house." Alucard grinned.

"Beats me another two pair." She then looked at Integral who had a grimaced look on her face.

"You win vampire" She placed the cards back in the deck.

"Master wins!" Seras shouted. Alucard stood up and bowed dramatically. Integral merely rolled her eyes.

"Jealous?" He asked winking at Integral.

"I like this game." Seras smiled watching Alucard shuffle the cards.

"I agree." Integral finally agreed.

"Ok then lets try one Walter was good at." Alucard added with a huge grin.

"Ok." Seras was practically glowing with excitement. Integral saw how much joy they really possessed. She couldn't even remember the last time she had even laughed let alone feel completely at ease.

"Alright we are going to bet on each card." He gave them both a card.

"Now we bet based on what we have till we have all five cards." he placed the deck down "your turn." He looked to Seras.

"Umm, I bet five." She put in her red chip.

"I call." Integral looked to Alucard. "I as well." He then gave them the second card.

"I bet ten." Seras smiling put in a blue chip.

"I call you." Integral followed suit as well as Alucard. The third card.

"Twenty." Seras was smiling broader. Alucard and Integral called again. The fourth card.

"I bet thirty." Seras was really enjoying being the leader of bets.

"I think I will raise your twenty to fifty." Integral said with a somewhat shady look.

"I will call." Alucard sounded unimpressed. Last card.

"I bet one hundred." Seras placed her blue chip into the growing pile.

"I put your hundred and raise you by three." Alucard looked nervous.

"Umm, call." He bit his lip looking regretful.

"I have full house, kings and jacks!" Seras said gleefully.

"I have yet another strait." Integral boasted.

"What do you have master?" Seras asked.

"All three aces, and I lost." He frowned. "Sir Integral master of poker." Seras rang out.

They spent the next five hours playing various forms of poker, at one point Integral caught Alucard trying to cheat by reading minds she quickly cured him of that by setting herself as a one track mind. Seras began to become confused when her master would suddenly begin blushing. Seras continued to referee the game. Integral never lost her luck making Alucard straining for patience. The night was filled with laughter and singing with whom Seras could not carry a tune in a bucket. The break of daylight was met with groans and yawns as the two vampires made their way to their crypts and Integral to her bedroom where she welcomed her soft bed with delight.

That night was normal for Integral who was trying to catch up on the paper work she had let pile up due to last nights games. She looked irritated as she wrote signatures and corrected things. She nearly lost her self control as she saw the familiar red coat belonging to a very annoying vampire sweep past.

"Alucard I am not going to put up with you tonight." She said quietly.

"Want to play poker?" He asked.

"Alucard!!"

He sulked away. "Nothing lasts with her." He rolled his eyes as Seras walked by.

"She'll miss out on the fun." Seras held up the deck of cards.

"Great!" He followed Seras as Integral watched the two head to the kitchens thankful he had found something to do at last. She nearly died laughing when she heard Seras scream his name in disbelief no doubt he had thought up a 'new game.'


The end

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