Updates ... I have to be honest. I've been suffering from writers block the last few weeks. Not for ideas mind you, I've got a seven page outline with all the basics and extras I'd like to eventually work in...but as for bringing them about to word? Its been a real pain. My stock of chapters done in advance is slowly dwindling down and I've been trying to clear my head by doing mindless writings with the characters from the Fairly Odd Parents. It seems to be working actually. Last night was the first time in a week I could even look at T.O.M: SS without zoning just by the title. Don't worry. I haven't given up on it. This will be coming for a long time yet. Sometimes you just need a short break!
Scarab Dynasty ... Yes, even with Leo's early lessons, Sugoroku's honest and innocent side ruled the day in that instance. I should warn you though, that it certainly will NOT always be the case. He still has a lot of years to go through and he has his moments, I can well assure you. Gender specific roles within my timeline wasn't really a huge consideration when I first began the story, but you've definitely given me a thought about making it a bit more noticeable. I did a little cultural referencing for his mother way back when this began, but women have not been a major deal...yet. But there will be instances coming soon where I will need to do some looking in to it. Thanks for bringing up a great point to delve into. As usual I'm thrilled you continue to find my writing pleasantly enjoyable and I can't thank you enough for another awesome review.
PyroDragon2006 ... Lucky in life, not in love...not yet at least.;-) Don't worry. He gets his chances soon enough! I actually based that scene on a personal experience. I was 14 getting my first kiss when my dad caught us and scared the living heck out of the kid. I think my dad did it more for the fun of torturing him than actually scaring him away. Of course with a father who's nickname growing up was 'King of Sick', what else could one expect!
Ciardra ... Some dads are just over protective like that and during that time, no dad wanted their teenage daughters to think anything about romance until they were at least like...20! Could you imagine that today? Your dad was a lucky man to be stationed in such a beautiful place. I'd love to get there myself someday and the first place I'm hitting is Pearl Harbor so I can see the memorials.
Lady Althea ... The ending was funny wasn't it? I loved writing it. Glad you enjoyed it.
Moonjava ... Welcome aboard the Sugoroku train Moonjava! Its always good to see a new reviewer stopping in to say hello. I am very pleased you like the story so far. I do aim to please! ;-) And as a couple of side notes... I see you have the soundtrack for PTO down as a favorite. You even specified the 1986 cast. My personal opinion? There is no other cast beyond the 1986 cast! LOL. I've seen PTO five times (once in London) and nothing compares with the original. I still love it and will go see it every chance I get, but there's just something about Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman and Steve Barton that will stick with me till the end of time! Labyrinth isa wicked awesome movie ('You remind of the babe.' 'What babe?' 'The babe with the power.' 'What power?' 'The power of Voodoo' 'Who do?' 'You do.'...sorry, couldn't resist!) and it is proudly held in the front row of my DVD collection. Did you know that when they were filming the 'Magic Dance' scene, the baby they used for that scene wouldn't make any noise when Jareth looks at the baby and says 'And baby said...', so Bowie did the baby sounds himself. It's funny. I'm not a huge fan of his, but in Labyrinth...OH YEAH! So here's a heads up! I'll be reading your PTO and Laby fics very soon!
Anyways, on with the show!
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 2: America
23. New Sides Seen…
Sugoroku sat on the little chair and leaned back in it, his feet propped up on the rail of the deck. His eyes closed, his face tilted up towards the warm sun, he smiled serenely as he hummed to himself. Still stuck on replaying the previous evening, he had to admit that to some extent, Leo had definitely been hinting towards something he'd never expected to find so stimulating.
Surprisingly though, Sugoroku felt no compulsion to go back and see Loni, at least not in any personal way. Her father had certainly not scared that out of him. He just felt no more towards it. Honestly speaking, he'd gotten more from the thrill of being chased and possibly caught over the kiss, than the kiss itself, even though he admittedly enjoyed the kiss very much.
He did in passing wonder if Loni would be upset if he didn't come back, but after considering her nature, he didn't think that she would be. She was too upbeat to let it bother her for long even if it did, and he'd been very clear stating that he was definitely going to America. There was obviously no possibility that he was sticking around, so it didn't seem logical to him that she would be too settled on it.
Besides, it seemed the better thing right now to stay close to the Pemberton, rather than risk running into the possibly irate and over protective father.
So the end result of Sugoroku's first kiss was that he found it very much to his liking, but the high from possibly being caught and punished for it, had packed the bigger rush and he found it to be quite an engaging idea.
He had to wonder than if playing a card game could ever be so risky.
"I don't know Mark. Looks like a cat that's caught a canary if you ask me."
Sugoroku pulled his feet down and turned in the chair to look at Leo and Mark with a grin.
Leo grinned back.
"Ya know pal, when I suggested you go find something to do for a while, I didn't expect you to take off for the whole day. Where'd you disappear to?"
Sugoroku shrugged.
"Just getting a guided tour of the western half of the island."
Mike nodded once with a skeptical look.
"Uh huh. It wouldn't have happened to be with a sergeant's daughter would it?"
"Sergeant's daughter?"
Leo couldn't hide his grin.
"Yeah. Big angry looking guy, stands about here, lives in Housing. He was roaming the docks all morning looking for some little Japanese kid he caught kissing his daughter outside his front door last night."
Sugoroku gave a smirking half innocent look.
"Do you think he will catch him?"
"Not on board our ship," came Mark's cynical reply, then with a knowing half smile added "Can't vouch for off ship though…"
Sugoroku nodded. He'd planned on staying close by anyway. It was good to know his instincts were right on the mark…as usual.
Mark walked away then shaking his head, the smile still on his lips while Leo continued to grin. He waited until Mark was out of hearing, then ducked in low beside Sugoroku's chair.
"So what happened?" he asked excitedly.
"Nothing really. She started talking to me, seemed nice, and we just got along. She offered to show me around a little of the island. We went to a waterfall and saw some men diving into a pool at the bottom, we went to a beach on the west side, checked out a volcano and then came back. It just took most of the day."
"Not that pal. The kiss. You really kissed her?"
Sugoroku's face turned a slight shade of pink at the memory.
"It just felt like the right thing to do."
Leo laughed.
"I'll tell you what Sugoroku, when you get a lesson, you really learn it. The fact that you got some girl's dad hopping mad over it even the next morning, definitely says she certainly didn't have a problem with it."
"How do you know that?"
"Because my friend, when a man's daughter walks into a kiss with a guy willingly and tries to argue for the guy's sake, the dad gets a little scared that she's going to fall in with the wrong guy and go running off."
"So the fact that he came looking for me, means she probably tried to talk him out of wanting to kill me and it just made him want to kill me that much more?"
"Sounding like a true American, pal. Listen, I got a game for you tonight. Its in Honolulu. I pulled a few strings and got free from watch tonight. It should be a good one from what I'm hearing and they were willing to let you in after the other three games you stole out from under their locals the other day."
Loni now completely forgotten, Sugoroku was tense with interest.
"What about the last game though. The one I left?"
"No big deal. I told them you weren't feeling well and got a little sick from something you ate."
"So what time do we go?"
"Out of here by 18:30 pal. Meet me by the gang and we'll head on out."
Sugoroku nodded and as Leo walked away, the young man pulled out a deck of cards and began shuffling.
xxxxxxxxx
Though first glance might have had one considering otherwise, 1946 Honolulu was not a little town. There were homes and businesses, store fronts and commercial docks, and even an elaborate Catholic church. Though it had all the seeming of a regular city in the process of becoming a metropolis, it still somehow maintained its historical heritage with its floral and natural exotic motifs and numerous vendors of fruits and flowers. The locals and visitors walking about before the brick and concrete buildings at that 6 o'clock hour, were even rather colorfully dressed with skirts and shirts printed with large flowery patterns and bold, bright colors. In all, it had that modern sense of growth, but at the same time, still evoked the images of what tropical Hawaii truly was.
The only feature that Sugoroku could not immediately see the use for, was how some of the largest and tallest of the buildings were painted in a tri color of paint which included two shades of green and one of brown. This was an early trial of camouflage implemented shortly after the raids of 1941. Designed not to just hide but to mislead, the prime purpose was to confuse any further enemy fighter pilots from so easily pin pointing their positions during the heat of battle, and making it harder for them to find their way to particular targets or from getting away easily. Particular among these was Aloha Tower, the power station and the docks.
Once Leo had explained its use, it made very clear sense, and Sugoroku was most intrigued as he considered how truly ingenious something so simple could be. It only served to further raise his estimation at the American ability to design and successfully use new techniques that could better benefit them.
It was along the camouflaged waterfront that they came to a stop by a little warehouse numbered 15 in small numbers on the side door. Leo knocked twice and a moment later, the door was opened to reveal a rather dark interior. Wooden crates stacked 5 high and 4 deep, lined the walls and upon the lower sets of these boxes sat a large number of men, both American military and civilian, along with a reasonable portion of Hawaiians. In the cleared center of the building there sat four chairs, a table and a deck of cards.
Sugoroku grinned as his eyes sparkled. He couldn't wait to sit down and begin!
But he did have to wait. This was not just a game between four people and left at that. It turned out to be an elimination game. The elimination rounds had set pots, play times and each player needed fifty American dollars to be allowed in, but these new rules hardly mattered to the young man. A poker game was a poker game as far as he was concerned.
There were three games played before Sugoroku was even able to have his first round chance, and with little more than a bored glance around, he'd won the game with what hardly seemed like any effort at all.
His opponents had been dull and weak. Their sharpest glances looking like water beneath his even and cool countenance. They played their set bets, and from their expressions and body language it was clear to Sugoroku, that if the men could have bet less against him, they would have. It was only in a matter of fifteen minutes that each game was done, but when Sugoroku had to wait through another 12 games he was nearly itching to get back into the chair.
Leo tried to occupy the younger man, but it was absolutely no use. Sugoroku was so keyed up to play he paced when he couldn't sit still, tapped when he couldn't find relief from the pacing, and huffed repeatedly while doing either.
"You gotta' calm down pal," Leo said halfway through after taking Sugoroku outside for some air, "You can't keep doing this. You're going to drive yourself nuts. Just try to watch how they play so you'll know how to deal with them when its your turn again."
"I can deal with them just fine no matter what. Its this waiting! I want to play, not sit on the side and watch!"
"I know, but you need to ease it up somehow. You're gonna' be exhausted by your next turn. Either that or they'll kick you out for being annoying."
Sugoroku sighed distractedly as he looked back at the warehouse.
"What can I do?"
"I don't know. Try to think of something else, maybe chess moves or something. Just stop the jittering around."
"Do you ever feel like this?"
"What?"
"Excited, in a hurry…it feels like there are knots tied inside me, I just want to sit down and play again!"
Leo shook his head in exasperation. It looked like Sugoroku's edge was starting to get to him.
"Everybody does sometimes, but you've got to control it or it'll take you right over."
"What do you do then?"
"Me? Aw hell, I don't know, I…"
He paused then, and looked at his hand. In the midst of his trying to think up something to say, his hand had automatically reached into his top shirt pocket and pulled out a half pack of cigarettes. He blinked once and then looked at Sugoroku. It was worth a shot. It did work for him after all.
"Here," he said as he handed one to Sugoroku and followed by putting one between his lips. "Usually when I get worked up, I grab a smoke."
Sugoroku looked at the cigarette curiously.
"And that works for you?"
"Works for a lot of people pal. That's one reason why they're so popular."
Though not a thorough answer, it at least started to explain some of the mystery of why it seemed like every American he had met so far ended up with one sooner or later.
Leo lit Sugoroku's first and then his own, and then took a deep drag, holding it for a moment before exhaling, blowing the smoke up and out.
"See? Nothing to it. Though I should warn you, the first time or two can be…"
Sugoroku suddenly coughed loudly as his eyes widened. He had most definitely not been expecting this. The feeling of something foreign sitting in his lungs and smothering him had been a total surprise, and as he leaned over, trying to draw a clear breath, he could only think that perhaps he had done something wrong. He had been around enough second hand smoke from the other men on board the ship and breathed in his far share of it, but this was nothing like that.
Leo grinned as he thumped Sugoroku's back a few times as if the young man were choking on food rather than smoke.
"Tried to warn you. The first time or two can be a little rough till you get used to it. 'Course it probably would have been helpful if you hadn't tried to suck the whole thing down in one shot."
Finally catching a clean breath of air, Sugoroku gave Leo a skeptical look and tried to speak between a few loose coughs.
"If its this bad at first, why do you do it?"
Leo shrugged.
"My dad smoked, my friends smoke, even my mother grabbed one once in a while. I just got used to it after a little bit."
"And this really calms you?"
"For me, yeah. I don't smoke all the time. Just when I'm feeling a little stressed."
When Sugoroku was finally able to stand straight and breath again freely, he looked at the still burning cigarette in his hand, then at Leo.
If Leo had gotten over it, then he would too. It might take a few times but he was sure he would get it.
The young man put the cigarette to his lips again, and after taking a far smaller inhale than before, he held it in his mouth for a moment before daring it and letting it fall all the way in. As before, there was that strange feeling of constriction in his lungs, but it passed after a moment, and when the smoke came back out with an exhale, Sugoroku looked at Leo as he suppressed a minor tickle that urged him to cough again.
Leo nodded.
"That's the way. Just take your time and don't go over board. You don't want to be playing cards just to get cigarettes the rest of your life."
Sugoroku smirked as he thought back to his games against Richter. No, he didn't want to end up like that. He just wanted to get past that insane need for action when he had to wait so long.
Surprisingly, that one cigarette had helped at least pass a few minutes of time, and since he'd been stuck initially thinking about how strange it had felt, his impatient annoying behaviors had gone away long enough for him to get through the last few games before the next round began.
Sitting in on the first round of finals, Sugoroku was paired with three other men who gave him a far more fair run for his money. He'd had to watch a great deal more closely to each face, and each hand, to know how he should be handling the play of each turn. It went a bit tougher than the first round, but Sugoroku was very happy to have the challenge. It wasn't an easy win, but for him, that was the best kind.
Three more elimination games later, and they were finally down to the final four players. Four people out of a starting count of 72. These last four included, one hot tempered American, 2 native, rather sullen, Hawaiians, and of course, Sugoroku.
For this last game, the rules were changed to allow for no time limits, no betting limits and with the men taking turns being dealer, it was reasonably assured that it would be a fair game…in theory anyway. Sugoroku caught more than one suspicious looking play, and after refusing to place a bet or play any hand in which the player dealing had been a little shifty, they quickly realized that fair was the only way he would play.
The looks that were given around the table were cold and steely, glares almost guaranteed to peel paint, and Sugoroku felt a heated edge rise from all around him. The men at the table with him were intensely competitive and for each hand lost to Sugoroku, the three seemed to become more fierce and disagreeable.
There was a brief moment where Sugoroku wondered what kind of game Leo had gotten him into. The way everyone watched with such hungry eyes, like a group of wild dogs watching for the kill, he felt less like a card player and more like a wolf vying with three others for a leader's supremacy over a pack. It was eerie and yet there was again that odd stimulating feel to it all. Yes, a part of him questioned the motives of the men around him, but just the same, he would never have wished it away. It was as if the charge in the air made him completely assured that this was a true challenge.
The first to go was the older of the two Hawaiians. He had lost by trying to convince Sugoroku and the others that he was better than he was with some seriously aggressive bets and plays that had not panned out as he had hoped.
The younger Hawaiian was next, but unlike his native counterpart, he had not left the table in any sort of grace. He had growled and shoved against the table as he stood, pushing it just shy of hitting Sugoroku in the ribs. He cursed several times in his native language and Sugoroku rolled his eyes at the poor sportsmanship. There was really no need for it in his book. It didn't get you anywhere and didn't help you win, so what point was there in acting badly?
This left the American, but unlike any American Sugoroku had thus met, this man was not only not military, he harbored no patience or leniency, win or lose. A foul tempered person, this man had a violent past and was in Hawaii simply because the United States no longer afforded him a place to hide in true safety. Sugoroku of course had no clue, and when he, as dealer, beat the man in a decisive last hand, he had no idea of the danger he was about to step into when his own youthful, self assured, American fed cockiness flashed forward. It came about only moments after the game had ended.
Sugoroku had won his first, what one could call major stakes, with a total win of $3,600. Certainly not a tiny sum for that era. Enough in fact to keep a man on the run well fed and housed, not to mention anonymous, for some time.
The American was not a happy man over the lose of the money he needed, and for a long moment was absolutely silent as Sugoroku gathered up his winnings and standing, moved away from the table a few feet to join Leo who stood with a grin.
Leo was just in the act of patting Sugoroku on the back over his win, when the beaten opponent moved up behind Sugoroku and said, "That wasn't a fair game. You cheated."
Sugoroku turned and stared up at the man with a cross look.
"I don't cheat," he said simply, "and I refuse to play others who do."
"Hold on one minute," interrupted the warehouse owner who had organized the games, "How do you think he cheated?"
"The cards, when he was shuffling. He did something with them. He arranged them."
Sugoroku creased his brows as he dipped his head in challenge. He couldn't believe he had been accused of something that he, unlike any of the others, did not do at anytime during the game.
"I don't need to cheat," he said softly with an edge.
The man stepped closer.
"And I say you did."
"Okay," again interrupted the warehouse owner, "Did anyone see the boy doing anything wrong?"
The men around could not say that they had and while this pleased Sugoroku, it did not appease the other man the least little bit.
Sugoroku smirked.
"There. You see. No one else saw anything."
"I saw it."
Sugoroku pulled out his own deck of cards from his pocket and held them before the man briefly.
"This," he began as he shuffled the deck casually, "is how I shuffled during the game. If I had been cheating, I would have shuffled like this."
At that, Sugoroku changed his shuffling to produce a combination of over obvious shifts and card holds that the American himself had tried early on when Sugoroku refused to bet or play.
The man's face turned purple, knowing exactly what the younger man was calling attention too, and without another word he swung at Sugoroku, catching him across the left side of his face and nose.
Sugoroku could not even begin to conceive of either such brute force or the pain it elicited. Other than when he had shouldered the man that had shoved his father, Sugoroku had never before raised a hand to anyone. He certainly had not come from a place or society where this was the standard, and he'd been caught so off guard, he could do nothing except fall back as sharp pain slammed through his head. As he hit the floor, he heard a shout above him, and there was suddenly the strange sound of something solid hitting something just a bit softer, but even more odd, was the fact that the sounds seemed to be coming not just from above him, but all around him.
Holding his bleeding nose tenderly, he slowly tried to shift and opened one eye to peer out. What he saw was a complete and utter melee. The powder keg of animosity between the players, and even some of the observers, had finally exploded, and very nearly every man present had someone to occupy their fists.
Sugoroku watched in shocked awe at the display. Even with his own pain and bloodied shirt, he was fascinated by the route these men took, opting for such meaningless violence, even after being proven wrong. He could not imagine falling into such a state of illogical behavior.
But perhaps that was the whole point. That it wasn't logical. These men were not in any way like him. They didn't organize their world. They didn't seek the most satisfying trails to follow. They went with the easiest. They didn't challenge themselves or try to expand their minds and abilities. They only did what they needed to and were content to ride it out in a permanent state of limbo. When they were pushed beyond what they saw as their chosen path, they didn't even attempt to understand it. They lashed out at it and here was proof that it was in violence and anger. His earlier feeling, that he was surrounded by animals rather than men, had been remarkably well analogized, and as he looked about in contempt at the confusion, he knew then the answer to his question from the previous day…'Was he a kid…or a man.'
His answer?
He was only himself.
To him, boyhood was living the life of another, following rules and set expectations. He refused to go back to that. Looking at manhood, he found he did not want to be one of them if it meant falling to this level of chaos.
Sugoroku watched as a fierce eyed, wickedly smiling, Leo sent the American who had hit him flying into a crate.
He could still consider Leo his friend, but he knew that there would be a difference.
There would always be a difference.
Beneath the exterior of that which was called man, there was a volatile creature ready to jump at the chance, ready to assume supremacy through fists rather then seek alternatives. This primitive calling to mastery through physical domination was not within Sugoroku's nature and he refused to allow it to be. He saw nothing in it for him but a detraction of his mental capabilities. He was keen and intelligent, thoughtful and logical. That was who he was and who he would be.
He would be who he wanted to be. He would make his own decisions. He would follow his own thoughts and instincts. No one would tell him who he should be and how he should act any longer, nor would he ever let societal expectations dictate his being.
Sugoroku was unlike anyone he had ever known and no amount of traveling and culture emulation would change that. But it didn't frighten him to think it in the least. Rather, he embraced the idea, and found the weight of his earlier questions lifted off his shoulders, a new freeness from his previous misplaced standing filling him.
What did it matter if he was a kid or a man?
He was himself, and that was all he would ever need to be.
Next Chapter: The Principles of Self Defense…
R and R's gratefully appreciated: )