Updates ... I tried to upload this last night, but the site was mondo busy and the servers were overloaded. So sorry for the one day delay. Anyway, I don't know why, but this has to be my least interesting chapter so far...at least for me. But this is the way it came out, so here it is...

Snow Weaver ... Pride can be a bit of a stopper can't it? Thank goodness for understanding mothers!

PyroDragon2006 ... For some reason, no matter what I tried, that second link to the translations would not some up. So here it is again for you. Just take out the spaces. : ) http / yugioh / manga /279. html Motherhood is a mysterious thing. I know people who never wanted children, or have anything to do with them, and after having one or two themselves, they're a totally different person. Some say its instinct, some say its taught...personally, I think its both nature and nurture. So you took a look at those Manga pages of young Sugoroku? Was he an interesting character or what?

beginner150 ... Oh I'll be rockin' for some time on this one! LOL.

Ciardra ... Whether they want to admit it or not, men are competitive. Some on lesser levels than others, but they are. It even extends to fathers to their sons and vice versa. Throughout history, the arguments, the battles, the competition between a father and his son, have shaped and changed the landscape of the world. For Osamu and Sugoroku, that competition will be just as important to the future of this story and, in my opinion, play strongly into Yugi's story as well. A father should always love his son, but they don't always have to agree.

BabyGatomon ... Glad you liked chapter 12. We all have moments where we don't necessarily see eye to eye with our parents and with Sugoroku's strong independent nature, it only stands to reason that he and his father might have their moments of conflict.

And now that that's all done... read on!

Trixie21

Okay, you all know the drill. I have to take up valuable space and time to say that I do not own any part that is the coolness of the Yu-Gi-Oh universe. That honor goes completely to Kazuki Takahashi. Authoress as she bows subserviently before her shrine of great creators... "We're not worthy! We're not worthy! We're not worthy!"

This Old Man: Sugoroku's Story

Part 1: Japan

13. The Trying And Learning Of New Things …

The next morning found Sugoroku up and at the table, drinking a cup of tea before his father had even gotten out of bed. It was still a bit early, however, and the boy sat waiting. He was going to try his mother's advice and give his father more of a chance.

When the older Mutou had finally appeared, Sugoroku favored him with a long look as he greeted him. Osamu glanced at his son briefly, greeting him in a distant fashion, and sat down to his breakfast with nothing more to say. Sayuri looked over at her son and nodded and he, in return, gave a silent sigh.

"I'm starting my job with the Americans today," he said casually.

Osamu said nothing.

Sugoroku rolled the inside of his lower lip between his teeth.

It was clear the older man was going to make this difficult.

"I will be showing them where their food drops throughout the city are located, so they can have an easier time getting food to the people that are still without."

Osamu continued to chew his food before taking a quick sip tea.

Sugoroku looked at his mother helplessly. How was he going to learn from his father if the man wouldn't even speak?

The woman nodded encouragingly at her son as if to say 'keep trying'.

So Sugoroku did.

"I am sure I will learn many new American words today."

Osamu stood, and after finishing his tea in one gulp, he turned and headed for the door.

Sugoroku turned to look over at his mother quickly in confusion. What was he supposed to do now? He could not believe the man was actually going to leave and not remark about a single thing.

But he was wrong. Just before he had stepped through the door to leave, Osamu paused, and without looking back he said, "English."

Sugoroku blinked.

"The language they speak is called English."

And with that, he left.

The boy's eyebrow arched up, and he and his mother looked at each other, both at a loss for words.

Well, Sugoroku could at least say he did try, and his mother could also say that he had learned something from the man that day. Of course, he was more positive about that after he asked Thomas, just a little later, if what his father had said was the truth.

"Yes. That is true," concurred his friend.

"Why would they call it English then if they call themselves Americans?"

"Because many of the early settlers were people who left their native England to find political and religious freedom. Though there were many immigrants from other countries as well, the main bulk were of English birth, many having came over under the hand of the English king of those times. Over those early years, it became clear that England was the dominating force behind the taming of the new American colonies, so even those of different heritages began to learn English in order to conduct much needed trade and commerce with those that were more populous."

"So their language hails of their own beginnings then. Much like my own."

"To some degree yes. In the case of your native tongue, however, many of your present words, both written and spoken, have changed considerably over the years. Some characters you draw now are based not on the item they originally represented in Chinese, but on the sound they elicited. Many characters you draw now have also been dramatically modified from the original as well. Within the English language, there were influences from many more than just one or two surrounding cultures that date back thousands of years. But once the base of it was established, it primarily went unchanged. The only exceptions to note is that within some areas of the States, there are certain words that may mean totally different things to others because of the individual cultural influences. It was not uncommon for Germans to settle in the same areas as other Germans, Italians with other Italians and so on."

"So when one speaks English in America, one may find themselves saying words that are German, Italian or something else all in one sentence?"

"It's a possibility depending on where you are at."

Sugoroku pondered that for a moment.

"Is it…difficult to learn it?" he asked.

"I have grown up with it, so it is not difficult to me. But I have heard some teachers of languages say that it is relatively easy to learn compared to some others. What is usually most difficult for the newcomer of the language, is the difference between speaking it as they speak it, and writing it in a grammatically correct form."

"You mean to say, that they write it differently than the way they say it?"

"Partially, yes. Newcomers will often learn to speak the language in a grammar style class, which emphasizes correct structural use of the words. However, the average American will not normally talk that way. They usually speak in a much more relaxed fashion. When a foreigner has learned it as a second language, through correct grammar in a class, it often sounds rather odd to the Americans when that person attempts to talk to them. It is stiff and stilted."

"Ah! Almost like you!"

Thomas looked at Sugoroku curiously and the boy quickly explained.

"You speak Japanese not as your life, but as an addition to it. It sounds odd to many people here because it is so soft."

"I hadn't thought of it like that. But it does make sense. My mother learned Japanese first from her parents who came over from Japan, but when she started school she had to know English. Because it was so needed, she actually taught me more English first with Japanese mixed in. From playing with my friends, I learned English as they spoke it around me, and I used Japanese with family. Our emphasis on it has softened over the years, so I was not schooled in sounding like a perfectly normal Japanese native."

The boy nodded.

"So, it would be better to learn the language from the people as they speak it, not as they teach it."

"For practical purposes I would agree with you," replied Thomas.

"Then I shall ask you and Mark to teach it to me in that manner."

"As you like. I would be most happy to help you."

Sugoroku's eyes were round with eagerness.

"Now! I want to start now! I want to speak it as well as you do."

Thomas smiled with a laugh.

"No time like the present, yes? Well then my friend, listen closely. There can be no better way to learn it, than through life with it. I will speak as much of it as I can to you from this point on so that you become used to it. We will begin with the objects around us today, since you will need those words to do your duty as a guide more effectively."

Sugoroku nodded.

And his American English lessons began.

They started with the simple objects, such as 'ship, truck, crate, rice, water, dock', as it was these things that he was observing at that very moment, what with the men loading shipments of food from the ships onto the waiting trucks. But once they were on the road, Sugoroku could hardly keep up with the words that Thomas and Mark called out to him. A 'sign' was labeled as such barely before they sped past it, and 'men, women, children and people' were called to him just when a throng of the mentioned existents had come upon them. For the briefest of moments, the poor boy could not be sure who was actually what just then. Without the patience of Thomas and Mark, it might have been too easy for him to later mistakenly call a 'man', a 'child' and a 'woman', a 'man'. But they led his eye with waves of their hands to the correct representatives, and it was in short order that he knew and understood the terms given.

Truthfully speaking, it was in short order that he quickly learned any object word spoken to him even that first day. With an eye for subtlety and an ear for all new information, Sugoroku proved to be a most keen and quick student to the language and, in only weeks, could reasonably convey and understand the basics of what had to be done, or was needed in relation to his job.

So quickly was he learning it, that after only the first two weeks of his added help, Thomas was no longer accompanying them on the food runs anymore, as he was needed more often elsewhere. Sugoroku was told to which prefecture each delivery was to be made in the morning, and from there he led them as directly as he could with few, if any, mistakes. His help had even added to the spare free time the men he ran with were allotted, and this was a bonus to him as they usually ended up playing chess by the end of the day.

An even bigger bonus was the money he made during these games.

Just as he had done with his childhood friends, he and his friends from the USS Pemberton quickly found that the new ships, coming and going on an almost daily basis, always seemed chock full of willing challengers. Eager to pass a little time in a match with the boy; usually at the expense a few dollars, yen, or even other items of worthwhile value, cigarettes being a common favorite; these men came and they went...losers every time.

In most instances, a little lighter in their purses and possessions, and even a few, a little enlightened as well as to the true innocence of a certain short, 15 year old, Japanese boy with wild black hair.

Sugoroku could not help but fall in love with this arrangement completely. He was working with people whose company he enjoyed, he was quickly learning a new language, he was playing a game with new people everyday, winning every time, and always given a large share of the winnings his friends made off of his talent. His friends made such a big deal of him every time, that he quickly became a friend to very nearly every enlisted man on board the Pemberton. It was to the point that men he knew would greet him cheerfully as they passed by him, even when in moving trucks. Often times, he was the only one some of these men would greet, even when he was surrounded by ten others!

He was the celebrity and main attraction every afternoon, and the men were glad enough to pass along the information to him of when a new ship would be pulling in. New ships meant new challengers, and all he had to do was sit there and wait.

They always came to him.

Next Chapter: The Setting of Stage One…

R and R's gratefully appreciated: )