The Heart of Cards

The girl gritted her teeth as she watched the damage piled on her Jigglypuff, slowly whittling its health. Her hands itched to use the potion in her hand. Her Jigglypuff was tough; it'd last until her next turn. But her opponent didn't stop attacking; the Jigglypuff let go of its last holds on life, and knocking it out of the arena. Her opponent smirked as she gathered the Pokemon and laid it with its fallen comrades. She glared at him.

"You think you're so clever, huh?"

The boy shrugged. "You know it takes more than just little, cute Pokemon to win this game."

She narrowed her eyes. "Oh, my Pokemon are more than just cute." And she quickly drew out Jigglypuff's replacement.

"Besides, just because it's pink doesn't mean it's cute..."

It was a beautiful summer's day; the girl and the boy wanted to enjoy it as together much as possible. The last days of school were just around the corner and classes were short but time stretched bitter sweetly long. They decided to fill the hours by playing, talking, and basically doing nothing, something which they loved.

They whiled time away in the wooden shed beside the playground. It was old, and it was kind of small. It's where the parents waited for the kids while they were in school or were playing by the bars or abusing the slides. It was empty now, school having just finished a few hours before and all the kids and adults have left. Except for two: the boy with dark hair and ever present smirk, those typical bad boy who you'd know would be up to no good, more fit to be bullying small boys than obsessing over pocket monsters, and the girl, a the picture of young lady who was more comfortable to be one of the boys than the demure young lady the school wanted her to be. They were in still in their uniform, the smell of sweat mingling with the more usual heavy afternoon smell.

They couldn't admit that they liked each other, or were beginning to in any case, they were that age yet. But they felt unusually close and decided with no words that they were somehow special to one another. They couldn't decide on how they were special but settled because they were the only ones in school still into Pokemon.

The boy flashed his new rare find, procured after bugging his parents. She tried to be unimpressed but she couldn't suppress the gasp.

"A Charizard? How in the world did you get one?" The amazement turned into suspicion. "You can't control possibly be good enough to really use it."

"I wasn't using--I just showed it to you. But tell you what, I'm not really using Rizard here so I'm gonna battle you for it. You win, you get it."

Lira, shocked, couldn't refuse opportunity. Charizard were really rare and yet... "What's the catch?"

Florin grinned. Oh, Lira, so young yet so suspicious! He tapped the mole on his left cheek and decided the conditions.

"You lose, you give up every one of your cute little monsters to me." When she protested, he held up a hand and said, "Hey, it's a true blue—or should I say, red— Charizards we're talking about here. You better be glad I'm even doin' this, you know."

True, if it was Florin… Lira would've done the same thing for him. Though, she thought grimly, maybe she'd just bypass the whole gamble thing and just gave him the card? Whatever. Everybody knows that boys have to have stupid gambles. Such a stupid gamble, but if there was someone she'd give her all collection it would be him.

Last days, last days, the words gust in her head. The last days we'll spend together. Whether she won it or not, it still won't change a thing.

"Hey? Lira, something a matter?" He had stopped tapping and reached for her hand. He was so cute, she thought as she snatched her hand away, so infuriating.

It's all going to be gone soon.

So she agreed. She ran off the field, towards where the battles are fought, towards the secret place where so many others have gone before but belonged to them now. They ran to the field and set up prepared themselves. They sat down on the benches, the afternoon air swirling heavily around them, the smell of the earth after the rain. They relished it and got lost in the battle, rejoicing when winning, cursing mildly when losing. Soon they were in thick of it; they both just needed one more victory to win.

Lira was more of a collector but she knew how to battle.

"Nidorino uses Double Kick."

Wrong move, Florin's smile was close to saying. "Is that all? I use SUPER POTION."
Lira groaned. She was so close to knocking him out! "Nidorino return! I choose you, Raichu!"

"Crap, Lira, act your age. Quit acting like those Pokemon are real things."
The cards on her hand flew to the ground. "What did you just say?"
His eyes stayed on hers even as he picked up to cards. He flapped them to get rid of the dirt. "Quit acting like you're such a baby. It annoys me." He held out the cards and she snatched them. She was angry, not just because Florin had just insulted but it was likely that he saw all the cards in her hand. She was close to throwing a fit but that irritating smile on Florin's face challenged her to go ahead. She would win, even if Florin knew what was in her hand!

"At least I have imagination to play out my role!" She punctuated each word with a particular move: flipping the coin, checking the attack, shuffling her deck and ending her turn.

"This isn't Magic: the Gathering, Lira. And if it were, it's not exactly one of those Role Playing games either. You enter a dark dungeon. Choose a path. Roll a twenty. Nope, not those kind. This is the kind of game where I go and kick your ass." She frowned. Even if she mostly hanged around with guys, okay, just Florin, she didn't like the use of such crass words. And Florin knew it. "Now hurry up, you're wasting your turn."

Lira huffed and thought it over. She finally decided to switch Nidorino with Raichu as her active Pokemon. Then she used Gigashock, which dealt damage the Florin's benched Pokemon as well as his active Pokemon, legendary Zapdos. Unfortunately, she didn't notice, Raichu's attack power wasn't enough that she was still just 10 hp short to knocking him out.

"No. Way. Why didn't I see that before?" Lira murmured as he drew a card. She saw him pretend to think it over, hiding a smile behind his drawn hand. "Oh, shut up. We know what you are going to do. You're going use Thunderbolt. Which will make you discard of all your energy but what does matter? It'll kill my Raichu so you pick your last prize, win the game and take everything in MY collection. Go ahead and gloat!" She breathed in and crossed her arms, pouting magnificently. "Go on!"

The boy flipped a coin and it landed tails. Florin smiled and laid down his hand. He gathered the discard pile and shuffled it with his deck. He took all the benched Pokemon as well. Lira was right, the match was over.

"I used Thunder," Florin said. "You win."

He took the Charizard card from his pocket and tucked it into Lira's crossed arms. He began to walk back to waiting shed.

Lira would not believe it. She held the card in her hand, staring at it. She fixed her deck hastily and overtook him. She blocked his path him and asked, "Why did you give this to me?"

"You're such a bad loser, Lira. I figured why not, if it'll keep you from killing me." He smiled, gently. "Anyway, I've got more Pokemon cards than you. Just keep Rizard for me."

"I'm sorry if I acted such a baby," she continued, and hurried as he was about to speak again. "But you've got no business losing on purpose! It doesn't feel right."
She held out the Charizard card. Florin looked at it, turned his head away, put his hands in his pockets and walked around her. "Add it to your collection."

"No." She ran after him and stayed in front of him, holding out the card. "Take it back."

"Lira..."

The silent battle continued until they reached the waiting shed. Lira stopped and held the laminated card to Florin's face. The boy had dropped the smile, and instead coolly stared back at the Charizard's eternally roar.

"Just take it, okay." He was almost angry as he weaved around her. "I don't want to be pissed off if I leave like this. You being mad at me, okay?"

Lira grabbed his arm. At her touch, he didn't resist as Lira curled his hand around the card. Her touch was careful and firm, and it stayed there as she looked him and the eye and speak in a soft voice.

"I'm not mad. I'll just be really unhappy if I take it. I didn't win this card. You did. Don't make me take this."

Florin broke away from the touch, shoving the card in his pocket. "Fine. But I'm not taking your cards. Keep the damn things." And there was a twinge in his heart. Lira was a girl and a friend, his first and his last for this school. If she didn't want the damn card, then really, it was her loss.

"I just thought...you'd want..."

A remembrance from me? Don't want something to remember me by? "I just
thought you'd want the Charizard card."

She felt discomfort descend around him. She shuffled, keeping her hands close to her body. She didn't want things to end like this. "I'm sorry. But I can't take it."

"It's fine. I don't really care anymore."

"Florin..."

"No, really, forget about it." He held up his hands and smiled again, the dimples coming out. "I'm fine. Just thought that you'd want the card."

She smiled, feeling things were getting back to normal. Even if she felt that Florin was still a little hurt. Though it was against norm, she slipped her hand in his. " The Charizard's rare but it's not what I want. There's only one card I really, really want."

"What's that?"

"It's getting late, let's go home." She had his hand again and he didn't pull away. They walked to the jeepney stop together, hand in hand, and the little squabble and the question forgotten.

"One booster pack, please." He gave the money and got one from the bunch at random. Summer was boring and he bought most of the new expansion with money he had saved. He ripped it open and inspected the cards. Energy, energy, energy, common, common… He got some more money, began reaching for another when a card dropped. He picked it up, surprised to find it holographic.

" Huh. I don't have its basic form." He considered giving it away. Maybe sticking in on his notebook as decoration. Still he slipped it in his pocket. Kept it through the years. For it'll be the last card he'll ever get keep. And it'll be the only card he lost to Lira.

Next and last chapter:
"I don't have anything left except for this card."

"Why is it... that you'd refuse the Charizard card but keep some common Machop card instead?"

"It's not the card that mattered, but the person who gave it." She shielded in its protective cover. "But I don't think you'll ever understand that."

He looked at her, his mouth set in a thin line. "It's you I'll never understand."