Life Is But A Game

Author's Notes: Firstly, I do not own any of the characters in this fanfiction. They belong to Konami's Genso Suikoden 2. Everything in this fanfic belongs to the game. I just elaborate on it...

Here's a fic on how hard it is to be a Suikoden 2 hero. This shows the different scenarios in the hero's journey and he had to deal with it. There may be some Out-Of-Characterness. Btw, the Hero's name here is Riou.

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Finally, they reached the castle. Everyone was exhausted after the war and they excused themselves. Shu went back to his room, no one knew to rest or come up with another plan. The knights retreated to their rooms after a formal goodnight and many headed for Leona's bar. Viktor and Flik stayed and asked if Riou wanted to freshen up with a hot bath. That sounded like the greatest idea out of a genius' mind at that time. Riou agreed and as he went out to get the towels, he heard Nina's voice,

"Flik honey! Where are you? You must be tired after the war. Let me soothe your muscles dear!... Viktor! Have you seen Flik?"

Raising his eyebrows, Riou understood why Flik was called Blue Lightning. There was not a trace left of Flik in that room as Viktor lied to Nina. Laughing softly, Riou made his way to the laundry.

Yoshino was washing tons of laundry again. Sometimes Riou wondered if she was the real hero behind it all. All bed sheets, tablecloths, curtains, clothes and other fabric was under her charge. Occasionally Riou noticed a few of the women lending a hand, but most of the time, Yoshino would be handling everything herself. Noticing someone coming, Yoshino looked up and beamed,

"Why, isn't it Lord Riou! How may I help you?"

Yoshino was always so sweet. Riou asked for some clean towels and Yoshino smiled,

"There are some spotless towels on the dry now. Could you please wait a while for them to dry up?"

Riou nodded in gratitude and wandered towards the ledge. There was a soldier by the ledge, looking down as though he intended to commit suicide. The moment he saw Riou a huge grin appeared on his face,

"Lord Riou! Our great leader is here! Come, my lord, would you like to play a climbing competition?"

There is a mini-game here? Thought Riou as he moved closer to the ledge. The land below was full of trees and he noticed three ropes hanging down from the ledge.

"All you need to do is climb up the ledge as fast as you can and beat your opponents! Great prizes await you here!"

That sounded easy enough and so Riou agreed. Before he could ask to get down there the soldier gave a nice kick and off went Riou over the ledge.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Thrush Crash Thud! Apparently the ground below was soft, or at least they made it that way. Riou cursed the soldier for not letting him prepare himself. In fact, Riou noticed his tonfa and money pouch were gone! He was still their leader, how could they treat him like this?

"Are you ready, Lord Riou??"

The soldier seemed like a speck on the ledge and it seemed Riou had no choice. He did not want to stay down there any longer and the sooner he got up, the sooner he could get to the bath. Before Riou could wonder who his opponents were, two soldiers appeared, wearing the exact same costume as he did, only in a different color. In fact, they even had the same hair.

"Do you guys have to impersonate the contestant every time?"

The soldiers shook their heads in unison. One spoke up,

"No sir, as this is the first time someone is willing to play this game."

Ok, I must be the only idiot who agreed to participate...Riou got prepared to climb up his rope before he was given a yellow piece of cloth. He looked at the guard questioningly.

"This is for marking, sir."

With that the soldiers took their position, looking as though they had prepared for the worst. A beep was heard and Riou tried to climb. However, he couldn't move. He couldn't even get off the rope. He looked up and saw a huge dice rolling in mid-air. What the...

"Sir, this game is controlled by the dice. The higher the score is, the further you go."

The soldier sounded as though he was forced into this job. Riou was staring in disbelief, not knowing there was something else waiting for him. The dice showed 6, and so Riou's limbs automatically pulled him up six times. Now Riou was stuck to the rope until he reached the top. Well, at least all I have to do now is wait for the dice to roll. He no longer cared for the prize. He just wanted to get out of there. Nothing else could happen...right?

The first soldier got 4 and the second 6. Riou moved up two times in the second round, the guy next to him three. The third soldier, who had gotten 6 in the first round, tied his yellow cloth around the part of rope he was holding. Not understanding what 'marking' was, Riou waited for the dice to roll. The dice never rolled. A bird came out of nowhere and hit him on the head, sending him sliding down to the end of the rope. Stars circling his head, Riou looked up and saw he was way behind. The soldier with the yellow cloth looked down and said,

"Sir, you should have put a mark before you proceed. By doing so, you would fall only to the last spot you have marked."

Sure enough, the soldier next to him placed a mark, making him in the lead. Riou was loathing this game by the minute. Who on earth thought up of such a NOT-fun game? He decided to cheat. He had a Lucky Ring in his pocket. He could use it as it could both raise Defense and boost Luck. Searching for his ring, Riou realized he had nothing on him. No Medicine, no special attire, just him, plain old him. Stressed, Riou decided to play this game to the end. By the time they reached the top, Riou had managed to get second place, though he could tell that one of the soldiers gave in. His competitors retreated into the castle, glad of a rest. The soldier who tricked him into the game smiled widely and said,

"You Lose!"

Riou felt like strangling him, but he felt exhausted. Though his limbs moved against his will, his muscles were used for the climb. He wished to have nothing to do with this soldier ever again. Miraculously, he got all his items back, but he could feel his money pouch lighter than it should be. He didn't say I had to pay for the game! Knowing he had been beaten by this ungrateful soldier, he moved towards Yoshino, determined to get to his bath.

"Lord Riou! Here is your consolation prize!"

Consolation prize? Riou didn't want it. It was probably a bookmark or something. However, the soldier insisted. He handed Riou a rectangular, wooden box. It seemed to contain some things inside.

"You got a Boulder Set!"

A what? The soldier greeted him farewell as Riou dragged his prize towards Yoshino. Three towels stacked neatly in her arms, Yoshino smiled sympathetically when she saw Riou.

"I apologize for not warning you, Lord Riou, but rest assured, your prize is not found in any other place in the world."

She knew? She knew of that psycho and did not tell me? Perhaps I'll just double her load... Retribution in his mind, Riou took the towels with a curt 'thanks'. He would just sell this thing to Han or Alex. At least he could get some money back. Yoshino felt sorry and said,

"Your prize may not be worth much to sell, nor is it useful in battle, but if you bring it with you to a bath, you'll see its use, Lord Riou."

Riou did not know to laugh or cry. It sounded silly to create this thing just for a bath. He would try it though, as there was nothing else he could do with it. Besides, he wanted to know what was inside. It seemed like a year when he reached the bath. Tetsu was sitting there chewing a straw.

"Lord Riou! I was wondering where you have gone! Flik and Viktor are already inside waiting for you."

Riou went in and found Flik and Viktor enjoying a nice marble bath, and surprisingly, Luc was at the corner silently enjoying his space, his face a little pink though. The walls were empty as all the nice paintings went to the girls' bath, but Riou was grateful they were not using the drum cans. At a corner was Karen's statue and the other was a Peeing Boy. Viktor insisted that Riou buy a Peeing Boy and said it could be sold at a higher price later. Riou should have guessed that Viktor wanted it all to himself. In fact, Viktor was relaxing at the spot where the Peeing Boy's pee poured on him. Sick... Viktor spotted him and grinned,

"Hullo Riou! What took you so long? You look more beaten than the last time I saw you. What happened?"

"Don't ask..."

Both Flik and Viktor looked at each other and shrugged. If the leader doesn't want to talk, he doesn't talk. Taking off the clothes stained with mud and fresh dirt with a couple of leaves sticking out, Riou took a towel and wrapped it around his waist. He rinsed himself before plunging into the pool and it was bliss. The warm soothing water seemed to chase away all his aches and cuts. Once they had guessed if Tetsu's bath wonders were generated by a Water Rune. Riou could feel his HP rising and he could just sleep away had not Viktor's voice rang out,

"Gosh, I knew the girl is a little blur, but I didn't think things could get so bad...at least for her."

Riou opened his eyes to see what the conversation was about. He spotted Luc moving slightly at the corner, scowling as his face had turned bright red. Flik saw Riou looking at them questioningly and so he said,

"Good thing you weren't here, Riou. Viki made a wrong turn and landed in here, the pool. It was quite a show. A bright light flashed and out dropped Viki. The poor girl's face turned-"

"Into a tomato I tell ya!"

Viktor interrupted before he laughed heartily. That explained Luc's embarrassment, and all the wet footprints along the way out. Viktor was telling about how she apologized profusely with her eyes closed and tripped on the way out. Flik noticed something Riou had left on the stool next to the pool and asked,

"What's in that box, Riou?"

That was the last thing he wanted to remember. Sighing deeply, Riou stretched out his arm and took his prize. He had brought it into the bath, but nothing was happening. He shook and turned and knocked, but it did not open. He told them about the climbing game and warned them never to go near it. Flik took the box and fiddled with it, its contents rattling. Luc had heard everything and though he was as interested as the rest of them were, he remained unmoved. Viktor leaned forward, curious,

"Not found in any other place in the world eh? Then why is it given as a prize in a game? And as a consolation prize at that... Hmm...Maybe it could turn into a rubber ducky!"

Viktor guffawed loudly. Viktor was a down-to-earth man. He spoke whatever was on his mind and Riou admired him for that. Flik, on the other hand, was always a romantic,

"Perhaps it requires magic to work. There might be a rare treasure inside, treasure only to the eyes of the beholder."

Viktor laughed out again. Riou couldn't help but chuckled. Flik was like an older brother to him, but sometimes Flik believes in the strangest things. Requires magic to work? That sounded so unlikely. Wait...if it could only be useful in a bath, which means... Riou took the box from Flik's inquisitive hands and shoved it into the water.

"Riou, what-"

Before Viktor could finish his sentence, bubbles spewed and the box came up in a show if splashes. Everyone was still as they saw what had surfaced. Floating happily on warm water, the box had opened, revealing its contents for all to see.

"A Boulder Set..." was all Riou could mutter.

There was a cup, a small rectangular plate and a tiny bowl placed neatly on the box, which in turn acts as a tray. These items amazingly stood on the tray, not showing any signs of spilling its content due to the waves. The three men were most astonished at the display of mini food on the tray. Hot tea filled the air and a fried fish filled the plate. The bowl held warm rice and in between all this was the most compact chopsticks ever made. These could elongate.

As the three stared blankly at the 'treasure' they discovered, Luc could no longer hold himself and his laughter rang throughout the bath. Never has he seen anything more entertaining. Viktor joined in the laugh, followed by a rather embarrassed Flik. Riou did not move as he gazed at the floating delicacy in front of him. Who came up with this? Deciding not to mourn the loss of his money, he picked up the chopsticks and took a bite. Before he could admit to himself it tasted good, everyone exploded. Luc, calming down after a chain of outbursts, stood to leave before his stomach burst, creating waves in the pool. No one could ever figure out how the food managed to save itself when it swayed unevenly. Viktor, laughing so hard one could not hear his words properly, patted Riou in the back,

"Well, R-Riou, I mu-ha-st say, you've gotten yerself a real treasure he-here!"

Riou thought so himself. Now he could take his meal in his bath, instead of having to try Nanami's experimental dishes.

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