Dice

by Neko-chan -Silvered Tongue

[For rayemars] Albert Einstein once said that God does not play dice with the Universe. And yet... sometimes even geniuses can be wrong. (Ryuuji Otogi centered one-shot.)

Dice

By: Neko-chan

Dedication: This story is dedicated to rayemars.  I wanted to let her know just how important her critical reviews have become to me—I value her opinion very much and I always love hearing what she has to say about the things that I write.  She knows how much writing means to me; she also knows just how much I want to be an author and how important her critical reviews have become.  Thank you so much, rayemars—for everything.  3

DISCLAIMER:  If I was the owner of Yuugiou, do you honestly think that I would have knocked off Yami no Malik?  (This coming from the Yami no Malik Fangirl.)

*   *   *

The odd thing about our universe is the many opinions about it.  There are so many theories on how things work—and why.  No one ever really knows and I don't think that anyone ever will know.  Questions are asked and some are answered.  The majority of questions, however, are left unanswered.

Human beings search and search and search, though the end result of never finding the response to your question looms ever eternally over their heads.  But… I guess that's the risk that they are willing to take.  On a more general perspective, I guess that's the risk that we're all willing to take.

It's… strange, I guess.  I created this universe many, many years ago.  I watch my creations as they grow, evolve, live, and die.  The strong ones live and adapt to the different seasons that I decide to throw at them.  The weak ones?  Well… the weak ones are the ones that paleontologists usually find, buried deep beneath the earth after millennia of sleeping.

But that's life, I guess.

C'est la vie.

And yet… it's interesting… to watch the very beings that I created grow up, discover new things that begin a new stream of question and non-answer, then die without ever having their questions replied.  A friend of mine once made a comment to me, mentioning that it was strange how much I enjoy games—both games that can be defined as such and games that I can play with others, using people as the chess pieces.

Do you know what an exceptionally wise man once said?  "God does not play dice with the Universe."  Well, God not only plays dice with the Universe, but he enjoys his game as well.

Trust me on this.

I should know.

-   -   -

"Hey, Yuugi—wanna play a quick game before school starts?"

"Sure, Otogi.  What game were you planning on?"

"Dice, of course."

My story begins as any other story.  There are the main characters—the protagonist, the foil of the protagonist, and the antagonist—who shall be shown to you all later on in the story.  Now, this story isn't like every other story.  There's a point to it, though I'll get to that later.

First of all, I have to introduce the main characters.

See that guy over there?  The one with long black hair and bright green eyes?  Yeah, that's me.  The short boy next to me—who looks young enough to barely be out of his training pants—that's Yuugi Mutou.  He's an acquaintance of mine, a friend if you wish to use a kinder word.  However, I have no true friends and thus, I shall use the word 'acquaintance.'

Yuugi is different from anyone else I know.  He's kind and caring; he's utterly selfless to the point that he would willingly sacrifice himself to save his friends.  I should know; I am one of those 'friends' that he would willingly give up his life for.  (Not that mou hitori no Yuugi would allow it, of course.)  I never asked for Yuugi to give me that gift of self, nor did I want it.  And yet it was still freely given—how could I ever possibly give it back… and how could I possibly ever want to?

And there, look—that there is Honda and his new girlfriend, Jyounouchi's little sister.  Her name is Shizuka.  She's sweet and kind and reminds me a little bit of her older brother.  But they're acquaintances, too.  Not my friends because people like me don't have any friends.  There's Jyounouchi, Shizuka's brother.  He's an idiot (why else would Kaiba and I call him make inu, hmmm?), but he's Yuugi's best friend.  They care for each other in a way that I'll never possibly understand.  And why is that? you may ask.  Well, it's because I was never meant to understand it.  Observe it, yes.  (Always, always observe.  That is my life.)  But understand it?  Never. 

See that tall brunette over there, the one that's eyeing Yuugi with a 'cat-that-got-the-canary' expression?  That's Kaiba.  He's the CEO of Kaiba Corporation and Yuugi's self-proclaimed rival.  Personally, I think that Kaiba is lonely and has always wanted friends—though he'd be the first to deny this admission.  I've always thought that he sees something in Yuugi that he can relate to.  Thus: Rivals, yes—but closely knit friends, as well.

Finally, that girl over there?  The one with the short brown hair and aquamarine eyes?  That's Anzu.  She's in love with Yuugi, though she thinks that it's mou hitori no Yuugi that she cares for.  But she's still young, she'll soon discover her mistake and rectify it if given enough time.  And you know what else?  I know that she and Yuugi will make each other happy—because that's the type of people that they are.

Before I go much further, do you remember how I told you that this is a story—and that all stories have antagonists and protagonists?  As you can probably already tell, I'm the protagonist in this story.  My antagonist?  Well… that's my secret.  For now, anyway.  (And don't you all just love secrets?)

Yuugi tosses the dice onto the table, gnawing his lip in concentration as he does so.  It's funny to watch him.  Just as with everything else, Yuugi gives his whole self to the game.  It's certainly an experience to watch him play—his mother didn't name him Yuugi for nothing.

The pair roll across the wooden surface of the table.  The first one spins on one of its corners—spin, spin, spin—then finally drops down, the number 'two' proudly displayed for all to see on its top.  The second die is still clattering upon the table.  'Clatter, clatter, clatter,' it goes—will it ever stop?  The noise seems to last for an eternity (trust me, I would know), then finally comes to a complete stop.  The number?  Five.

"Well, it seems that I've rolled a seven, Otogi.  Your turn now."  I take the dice from his pale fingers.  I toss them—once, twice, three times—up into the air, relaxed by the soft clicking sound that they make.  My wrist finally arches and my fist opens— "Otogi?  What are we wagering on?"

"The Universe, of course.  What else is there to wager on, Yuugi?"

--and the dice roll across the table, shifting this way and that, before they both stop suddenly, one teetering on the edge of the table.  The numbers?  Six and six—twelve is my total.  I win.

-   -   -

Far away in another part of the Milky Way, a lone star goes supernova.  After a while, it will turn itself into a black hole.

But no human on Earth knows this yet, except for one person.  And he isn't very human, now is he?

-   -   -

"It's my game," I whisper softly before quickly pocketing the dice in my school jacket.

Yuugi smiles brightly up at me, his violet eyes sparkling with good humor.  "Congratulations, Otogi.  I think that that was the very first time that I've ever lost to you."  He laughs softly and then continues: "Maybe I should ask you for your secret—you're certainly an amazing dice thrower."

I gave Yuugi a noncommittal murmur and my best soft smile.  (Did you know that, behind every smile, someone is crying?)  He smiled back—and, for the very first time, I think I began to understand Yuugi Mutou.

But it was too late for that.

After all, a nomad journeys continuously, never stopping.  Their road is their home—and I was returning home soon enough.  …  Leaving?  Yes, I was leaving the very next day.  And no, I never planned to return to Domino City.

-   -   -

A wise man once stated that God never plays dice with the Universe.  I would have to disagree with that, though.  Not only does God play dice with the Universe, but he also wagers the Universe every single time he plays.

After all, what else is there?

…

So.  Do you want to play a game?

~Owari~

::End::

A/N:  Yes, this piece is supposed to be symbolic.  Yes, Otogi is supposed to be God in this story.  Yes, Bakura (both Ryou and Yami no Bakura) were omitted.  A cookie to the first person to tell me why~ I did it.  *blinks innocently* And yes, I am probably going to get yelled at for this story—but it now belongs to rayemars, so: P.