Updates ... See at the bottom.

PyroDragon2006 ... As always, I'm totally thrilled to see you're hanging in with me and Sugoroku! He is growing, isn't he? there's still some more to go though and its funny you should mention about 'his parents not recognizing him'. You've either been snooping about in my Sugoroku's file on my computer...or you're reading my mind! But that is for later.

Scarab Dynasty ... You like my stories...and I like your reviews! Lol. You marvel at how I make the links and I marvel at how you see them all. Truthfully, you've even made a few that I missed. I'm just trying to make Sugoroku/Solomon as well rounded as I possible can. Were he any less, he wouldn't be the character Takahashi makes him out to be. I think there will actually be a time or two (or more) where his experiences will be more just for the sake of the adventure than the cultivating of his final persona. There's gotta' be some fun in there after all. But first, a few less than wonderful experiences to set him on a run you might not first expect. : )

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 2: America

27. Last Lessons…

Some lessons in life are learned from books and some are garnered through the verbal retellings of stories. For some, knowledge of a truly important fact of life can be learned by the example through another person's life. For many, the oft times greatest of lessons are learned not by the second hand, but by personal experience.

By April 11th 1946, the Pemberton and her crew, including one lone Japanese boy, were but a scant two days away from San Diego and as he sat at the mess table absently picking at his sliding tray of food, Sugoroku found himself almost a little unhappy about this adventure's imminent ending.

Though there had been a few mishaps, not to mention more than a couple of bruises and a terribly sore nose, when he considered the whole of the trip, there had been far to many amazing things discovered for the overall joy to ever be lost to a mere handful of difficult moments. But the idea that it was ending, this part of it at any rate, meant that once more he would be saying goodbye.

"Hey! Sugoroku! Watch your food buddy!"

Sugoroku looked quickly from his somber musings to see that his tray had moved down the table by almost 5 feet when his attention to it had been lost completely and the rolling waves of a restless sea took it for a short trip into someone else's space.

"Sorry," he apologized as he retrieved the still full tray and moved it back to his spot. He followed this up by taking his slice of white bread and placing it onto the table directly with the tray on top. The consistency of the bread was just such that it kept the metal tray from going on any further adventures while Sugoroku's attention was diverted.

He smiled to himself. It was just one of the many odd tricks he had learned while on board the Pemberton and while he couldn't say that he would ever have cause to use it again once his time on the ocean was up, he knew he would never forget the simple move.

But even with the funny memories, half an hour of sitting at the table with the jovial voices of the men around him did nothing to improve his mood and so he returned a less than half empty tray of food to the galley for cleaning, much to the chagrin of the head cook who normally found Sugoroku to be a good eater.

He left the mess and meandered about the ship aimlessly with only curt little nods and shrugs to those that greeted him or asked how he was. He was really in no frame of mind to spend time with others at the moment and soon enough found himself on the lower outside deck, leaning against a secluded bulwark of the ship.

This was a spot he had been told early on was virtually invisible from all other areas of the ship except from directly before it or the right side. From above, there was a small tier that jutted out over his alcove and if one were to lean over to look down from it, they would see only a small portion of the side of the ship and then the sea itself. To the left there sat a side gunner's turret that was blind on it's right side due to the range of another turret further down that covered that area. Directly to the front with perhaps only 6 to 7 feet clearance was the side rail at the edge which as was already mentioned as being covered over from above. This leaves the right side which was effectively the only clear view on the ship into the little recess.

It was here that Sugoroku stood pressed into the cool shade and it was here that he was found…by Richter.

Richter had been for some time looking for a way to pay back Sugoroku for his humiliation almost three weeks ago, but had been having no luck devising a sure way of getting Sugoroku involved without the rest of the ship knowing. He'd come up with more than one idea, but with no cronies left to do the needed dirty work, the plans were unachievable. But it seemed that fate had set him on the right course when he had ambled out onto the rolling topside for a breath of air, getting to the open air by way of a door that brought him out less then ten feet from Sugoroku's position.

The sullen man's eyes grew three sizes with disbelief at catching the boy completely alone and before approaching him, he looked about just to be sure that there was no other near by.

"Well, well! Look what I caught."

Sugoroku looked up at the voice to see a grinning Richter.

The boy didn't even bother to cast about for help. He knew where he was, knew that many men preferred to stay inside when the seas rolled so heavily and by the look on Richter's face understood that the man knew it too.

"What do you want?" he asked as neutrally as he could.

"Why, don't you know?"

"Another game?"

"Payback."

"I already gave the cigarettes away."

"I don't care about a stupid bunch of smokes, kid. I want my reputation back."

"As a cheater?"

"As a winner."

"I won't play you again. I told you. I refuse."

"No you won't. You'll play me and you'll lose. And you'll do it in front of every single crew member plus the captain."

"I won't," insisted Sugoroku with a growing disdain. He would not let this man, a loser and a cheater, bully him in to going back on his word. He had made his decision, knew it was the right one and would not let anyone tell him otherwise. He'd made that decision back in Hawaii and it was time to prove it.

"You will not make me."

"We'll see about that," replied Richter with a gleam in his eye.

Before he could do anything to initially avoid it, Richter's right hand slipped out and grabbed onto Sugoroku's throat tightly. Truthfully, Sugoroku had had the idea that it might be coming. After his eventful and painful evening in the warehouse back in Hawaii he would have definitely expected it had it been any other ordinary man. But Richter, for all his faults, was still a US Naval officer. He should have been at least one step above going for the first hit. Even Leo had waited to take his punches until after one had been committed falsely first.

But Richter had not. He'd even disproved Sugoroku's hope that military men were above taking the first shot. He'd moved in offense seeking to intimidate through force and this had the unfortunate side effect of breaking a thinly held opinion that a military man was just a cut above. Sugoroku now knew he could lump them all together in one class. Men were men and training or acceptance into select regiments was no guarantee that they could not be forced into taking the first violent actions if the incentive was great enough.

Richter for a brief moment, a delicately thin fraction of a second, thought he had the advantage. He had caught Sugoroku unprepared and undefended, but he had not counted on Sugoroku's response. He knew the boy had been getting some help in self defense, it was in fact common knowledge. What he didn't know was how well Sugoroku had been doing in the lessons. He had not thought that a boy who barely stood 4' 4" would have had any chance against him in fair combat or otherwise and consequently did not think that what happened in the next few moments could ever possibly have.

Sugoroku's throat was pinched tight enough to be painful and make it difficult for him to breath, but it was clear that at the moment Richter had no true intention in finishing him off. It was once again, just a move to get the boy to give in. Realizing the man did not intend to kill him, he smiled slightly and ignoring the instinctive desire to grab at Richter's wrist as if to pry it off he instead steeled his right arm as best as he could and swung his fist high…right into Richter's nose.

Sugoroku's first hand experience with a punch to the nose had left him with a clear picture of how useful a hit like that could be for him and so he'd taken his chance and gone for it. But he was under no illusions. He understood that right from the start, the only reason why the hit had made it as planned was only because Richter had held him against the ship's side without an extended and locked arm. He had leaned close, too close, because of his desire to intimidate, and that was his mistake.

Richter gave a loud mixed cry of astonishment and pain as he let go of Sugoroku to cover his nose as he backed up several steps. Sugoroku lacked the strength of position to break a nose fully, but he had managed to make Richter's bleed slightly and the man was incensed by the idea that the boy had done so. So much so, that in his haste to get back at Sugoroku for doing what he had, he lost all caution and threw himself at the boy.

Sugoroku saw the charge coming and still backed into his corner did the only thing left to him. He braced himself against the wall and just as Richter came in to him, Sugoroku lifted his feet to kick the man solidly in the stomach. This sent Richter rolling back and into the rail.

On any other ordinary day this would have been fine. Indeed, just enough. Richter would have hit the rail, doubled over in pain, and Sugoroku would have been able to move off for better positioning and space in case Richter had been willing to continue. But today had been a rolling day of waves with the occasional one crashing over the bow. The Pemberton had been shifting constantly front to back, left to right and sometimes in a seemingly circular fashion. This oddity had persisted even during the altercation in which Sugoroku could be found and it happened that when Sugoroku kicked Richter back and away and into the rail, the ship had dipped down the long side of a wave, causing the rail against which Richter was shoved to dip lower than usual. Richter, being off balance, hit the rail and before he could even attempt to stop himself, his back was bent across the rail and with a wild flail of his arms he disappeared over the side.

Without hesitation Sugoroku moved to the edge of the rail in time to see a white foamy splash of water. For a moment he watched for Richter to reappear. But the man did not come bobbing back up to the surface. A second passed, then two, then three…and there was then the sudden realization that Richter was not going to come back up.

Sugoroku made a decision then. It was rash, it was not thought out in any particular way for there really was no time to think, and never in his life would he ever understand why he had done what he did. But in seconds he made a choice, and after moving off from the rail quickly to rip a medium sized canvas covered ring from the wall, Sugoroku opted to place a foot on the railing and launched himself over the side of the ship as he screamed out, "Man overboard!".

It was not the dive of an Olympic swimmer, nor was it the dive of a man simply out to partake of a little refreshing coolness at the local swimming hole. It was a dive to save another's life.

The instant the cool waters touched his head, Sugoroku let go of the safety ring and down he continued in to the sea until the weightlessness of the water caught him and leveled out gravity's pull. Here he opened his eyes, and forcing them to stay open despite the sting of the salt water, he quickly glanced from side to side and then slightly down until a misshapen shape caught his attention. It was not much more than a guess, but Sugoroku took the chance and swam his way towards the shape. As he closed in on it, he was certain. It was Richter.

He was making no effort to save himself, but instead just floated eight feet beneath the surface of the water as if in suspended in nothingness. Swimming in close Sugoroku noted that the man's eyes were closed and surmised that the man had hit the water the wrong way and had momentarily blacked out. This was further evidenced by the obvious fact that Richter had not had time enough to even think of taking a breath and so without lungs full of air had not immediately come back up. Without thinking further on it, Sugoroku grabbed the collar of the man's shirt and started to pull him up, but even with the buoyancy granted by the water it was a task and a half for someone so much smaller.

Sugoroku's lungs began to burn from the need for air as his strenuous movements quickly used up the oxygen he had managed to grab before descending into the sea, but he refused to let go. He pulled and kicked as hard as he could and after intense seconds of fighting he finally managed to break the water's surface with a loud gasp of air. He paused for a moment as he pulled Richter's head up out of the water before looking about for the white life preserver. Only a few feet away, it looked more like a ray of hope than a simple canvas covered tube of sawdust.

The smaller man battled with his heavy load to the life preserver and throwing his arm around it he pulled it close to him to stabilize himself before pulling Richter closer as well. The older man gave a cough, than another and his eyes flew open as several more exploded out of him to the accompaniment of labored draws of air past the water that he had inhaled when under. He flailed his arms madly for a moment in disorientation, very nearly dunking Sugoroku.

"Stop!" yelled Sugoroku. "Or you'll kill us both!"

Richter's panic began to pass and as he floated beside Sugoroku he was also finally able to draw a reasonable breath.

"What…hap…happened?" he asked still in some shock.

"You went over,"replied Sugoroku as he looked from Richter to the Pemberton already 100 yards away. A moment of fear passed where Sugoroku thought that the ship would keep on going. Indeed it looked as though it might, but a remarkable stroke of luck were their's that day.

Richter had not been the only one looking to grab a little air by going out and onto the decks. Vic had also left the relatively dry confines of the 'sardine can' and had been walking along the aft decks when he had heard Sugoroku's cry of 'Man overboard'. When such a cry is issued, it is usually immediately taken up by any and all men within hearing range and Vic had of course done so. What he also had done was not immediately go running in the direction of the call. He instead ran to the nearest ship wide communication phone and yelled the call into the bridge. His voice carried across the communications speakers and was immediately relayed from the bridge officer of the watch to the others including the captain who immediately called the order to 'all stop.'

This does take some time do with a ship running well on, but as it took place, Vic had received confirmation that the bridge had received his call and dropping the phone as an alarm rang through the ship, he quickly ran to the side from where he had heard the call originate and looked out at the water.

Already some distance behind them, he spotted the white life preserver only moments before he then saw Sugoroku come up with Richter in tow. Above Vic, another man caught the sight through a pair of binoculars as well and having established where the victims were, the ship shortly began its return for the rescue of the two people.

Ten minutes later, Sugoroku and Richter had been hauled back aboard. They sat on the deck in blankets and were just about to be escorted below when Captain Faraday stepped before the two men.

Richter attempted to salute but it was a weak gesture at best. He was still too unsettled.

"How in the hell did this happen?" the captain asked severely looking from Sugoroku to Richter and back again.

Richter looked at Sugoroku and Sugoroku to him.

"He…lost his balance," said Sugoroku after a long moment.

Richter blinked at him.

"Lost his balance?" repeated Faraday in skepticism.

"Yes. The ship dipped down and he went over. I threw the life preserver in but leaned too far out and the waves caused me to fall over too."

Faraday glared at the two.

"You both fell in…accidentally?"

"Yes sir," answered Sugoroku.

The captain studied the two carefully.

"Is there something I should know about?" he asked with a low whisper and a decidedly unhappy stare at Sugoroku.

There was a long silence as the Richter looked at Sugoroku.

"Well?" asked the captain a stern look across his features.

Sugoroku looked at Richter and then back at the captain.

"No sir. Nothing going on at all. We're fine."

The captain gave a disbelieving look at the two before giving the watchers an admonishing gaze.

"Shove it off boys. Get back to work and clear the decks now."

With that, everyone started to move away leaving Sugoroku and Richter to linger.

When there was no one left within ear shot, Richter looked at Sugoroku.

"You didn't have to do that," he said in a gruff but soft voice.

Sugoroku shrugged.

"I know."

"Then why?"

Again the shrug as the younger fellow looked out to sea. Why indeed?

"Why not?"

"Revenge. Getting even. Squaring the scoreboard."

"You keep score with your life?"

"When its all you got, what else is there?"

"Maybe you should be happy you have that. Too many others do not."

"It still doesn't explain why you didn't fink me out. I came at you. You could have let me drown out there, but you didn't. You could have called someone else to come get me, but you didn't. You could have told the captain it was all my fault, but you didn't. I just want to know why."

Sugoroku considered it for a moment.

"What would I have gained by letting you drown? A guilty conscience, a new nightmare…I've seen too much death as it is. Why wait to let someone else rescue you when I was already there? I could have let someone else do it and you might have been alright, but it could also have been too late. I made my choice and I don't regret it. What would I have gained by telling everyone what doesn't involve them?"

Richter leaned over the railing thoughtfully as he joined Sugoroku's gaze.

"Its nobody's business but our own, huh?"

Richter caught Sugoroku's nod out of the corner of his eye.

"Unless you feel the need to tell."

"Do you know what that would mean if I did?"

Sugoroku nodded. He'd heard enough stories to have a pretty fair idea of the repercussions involved.

"Then don't. I give you my word that I will not."

Richter looked at Sugoroku for a long moment in contemplation and Sugoroku returned it unwaveringly. For a moment, he had the distinct impression that he was being measured under a new standard, but he would have been wrong. Sugoroku was not the one Richter was measuring. It was Richter himself.

Richter was measuring himself against his past beliefs and his past actions, and to no one's greater astonishment than his own, he was using Sugoroku as the model. He was questioning everything he had thought and done against the kid and he found himself severely lacking in every department he looked at. The question was then if he could believe the kid. But with so much personal self doubt, believing in someone else just then was almost the easiest thing in the world.

"You know something kid, I believe you. Not sure why just yet…Hell! Its the craziest thing I think I've ever wanted to do, but I believe you."

Silence reigned for a short moment.

"So now what?"

Sugoroku gave a small smile with a half shrug.

"Start over?"

"That's a tall, hard order kid. I've been like this a long time."

"Change is never easy, but it can be worth it, even if for no one else but yourself."

Richter gave a wry smirk.

"Heh. I guess you'd know too. You're changing more than even me by leavin' everything you know behind."

"Maybe, but it's something I want. I know for me it's the right thing and even though I don't know what's going to happen once I'm there, I'm still going to do it."

Richter nodded.

"You scared?"

"A little."

"Good. At least now I know I'm not the only one."

Sugoroku smiled.

It was amazing how truly universal fear was between all ages.

In the end Richter never technically said 'Thank you' to Sugoroku. Some might have been offended or even angry, but Sugoroku was neither. He didn't need to hear the words to know that it was what Richter thought. It was in his eyes, it was in his voice and it was in his actions. Richter was changing because of him, and that was all he needed to know.

Both had learned something important that day.

Richter had been taught the lessons of humility, atonement and the need for a deeper understanding of who he himself was through the actions a sixteen year old boy.

Sugoroku had learned the lessons of forgiveness and mercy in a split second decision that had dramatically altered another's life.

Marks were once again made upon people's lives and in this instance, Sugoroku was both a receiver and a giver.

But which lesson was the greater? Who came away with the values that would do more in the long run of their lives?

Who among us is truly qualified to gauge it?

In a life like Sugoroku's, where living had only barely begun, the effects of the happening might not be seen for years to come, so how could one attribute this singular event to the as yet unknown?

In a life like Richter's, where so much had already been passed by, the effect on his soul would be a like drastic and sudden overhaul, but would it be in time to do anyone else any good?

Both questions, both people, were conundrums unanswerable by anyone save but by the highest of authorities above, and when the ship was gently guided into the San Diego Navy Pier slip number 1328 on April 13th and the two shook hands solemnly before Sugoroku was whisked off by a guarded escort, both looked content with what they had learned from each other in those last lessons aboard the Pemberton, and each conceded in their own minds that the results were best left for time to sort. Neither held illusions that they could discern the final reasons for all that had transpired, but both did understand clearly that the destiny of the years to come was being shaped by the moments of today.

I have some unfortunate news for you dear readers. On Monday night, the 18th, my husband tried to take his life. He is currently receiving treatment for his depression, but there is more to be changed than just the addition of medication and psychiatric visits. I have to make changes in the home life as well and because of this, my time to write will be for some time drastically shortened until such time as my husband is well enough again to allow me more time to follow my interests completely.

Now, this doesn't mean that I'm giving up on Sugoroku. That will never happen. I've become far too attached to this to ever do that. I will, however, need to take a leave of absence from updating this for a bit. It's an intensive piece with the amount of research that goes into it and right now my family and husband need my time more. I do have more already typed up, but those chapters aren't refined or done being researched. I cannot in good conscience put up something that isn't clean. I feel it would degrade your sense of enjoyment and intelligence.

At this point I'll say that I totally appreciate all the wonderful reviews and support you all have shown me during this fic and I look forward to being able to give you more of Sugoroku's life and adventures in the hopefully very near future.

For those of you that see me update my FOP fic, it is only because I not only have about 15 chapters already done but it is a mindlessly easy thing to write and I can slam out a chapter in about an hour and a half. The average Sugoroku chapter can take anywhere from 1-3 weeks to completely finish and research.

I look forward to putting up more of Sugoroku as soon as a I possibly can.

Take care all.

Trixie21

R and R's gratefully appreciated.