Love Just Is
Chapter Ten: Let's Play A Game…
I can't believe this isn't over yet… ;; I've been meaning to end it for a while now. I WILL stop at twenty chapters if I get there! -- And that way I can continue my other story A Single Candle. Depending if I get reviews or not, this might end soon. Maybe they'll go home… I don't know. Keep reviewing and giving me ideas and I'll keep going, I suppose. Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far. You are the ones who drive me to continue this…
Let's start with a small note. Janken is a game… we know it very well. In America, it's called rock, paper, scissors. The kids chant "Jan ken pon." In some versions of the game, a second round of play is used. After one player has won the paper/scissors/stone game, another count of three is conducted with the phrase "a-chi mi-te oi!" ("hey, look over there!"). On "oi!", the player who won previously points in one of four directions (up, down, left, or right), and the player who lost previously tilts their head to look in one of those directions. If both directions are the same, the game is over, and the player pointing is declared the final winner; if the directions are not the same, the game reverts back to the original "Jan ken pon" and the original winner's win is cancelled.
A further variant makes use of the rhythmic nature of the phrases and counts of three; every time a round is played, the tempo of the game is increased slightly. If a player loses tempo, they lose. It is quite easy for a long sequence of draws, or of fails to guess correctly in the second round, to result in the game reaching breakneck speed. I got this information from http/en. because I couldn't think of anything better to do for this game… ;;
Tai grinned. "I know! Let's play Janken!" Everyone agreed. Tai quickly drew up a tournament grid that would have them all play up the ladder until one person could be claimed the Champion. He posted it on the wall. "Alright! Let's start with Matt and I. Prepare to lose, man." Tai shouted, pretty proud of himself for being a pretty good player…. 'No wonder he chose this game.' Kari thought, grinning.
Matt just shrugged. "I have a few tricks of my own…" He smiled wickedly. "JAN KEN PON!" They both shouted. However, Tai chose paper and Matt chose scissors. Matt shouted, "A-chi mi-te oi!" and pointed up. Unluckily, Tai also looked up and Matt was declared the winner. Sora and Tk went next. Tk won that round, then Kari and Courtney. Courtney advanced.
Courtney's brother, who had been silent up till then, Denis, then played Davis. Davis won and then proceeded to lose to Courtney. Tk beat Matt after a few intense rounds. Finally, it was just Tk and Courtney left. Kari and Sora cheered for Courtney and the guys all rooted for Tk.
Kari got up quickly and whispered something into Courtney's ear. Courtney blushed and nodded to Kari before she went back to sit down next to Davis, whom she continued to talk to. "JAN KEN PON!" They both shouted. This was going to be a rhythmic round. After five draws the pace began to increase nicely. "JAN KEN PON!" Finally, after it got to the seventh try, Tk broke the chain and beat Courtney, paper to rock.
Courtney sighed, defeated. "Gyaaa!" She moaned softly. Everyone cheered. The game had been quite exciting. Their game had taken a good amount of time and they all decided it was time for bed. Kari was just getting ready to go back into her bedroom when she saw Courtney take Tk outside, and she smiled.
"Davis?" She saw that he was still sitting on the floor and moved to sit next to him. For a moment, they just sat there in comfortable silence before he broke the tension.
"Kari?" Davis looked up at her and smiled. "What did you tell Courtney?" He asked, now fully interested, as he saw them walk past the window outside. Kari followed his eyes and smiled.
"I told her to tell him how she felt if she lost." Kari said. "But I think she would have told him anyway… even if she had won." She said, looking into the fire.
"Do you remember our first night here?" Kari thought back and smiled dreamily. How could she forget? They had spent the whole night playing around in the snow until they couldn't feel their legs anymore. And then, they had gone in to some hot chocolate and a nice rest by the fire, wrapped up in a blanket together.
"Of course I do…" She said, smiling. "I guess that was the first time I started to see you for who you are." She smiled. "Of course, that doesn't entirely compete with your essay." Kari thought back to the first time she heard that essay.
"Hmm… yeah." Davis chuckled. "Let's play a game…" He grinned.
"Oh? What kind of game?" Kari asked, smirking back at him. Davis shrugged.
"Do you trust me?" He asked. Kari thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. "Good. Then close your eyes." She did as she was told and waited silently. A minute seemed to have passed and still nothing. She was starting to get a little nervous, but before long, she felt him grab her hand. "Come on… and keep your eyes shut." He said softly, leading her back the hallway.
"What kind of game is this?" She asked him, thinking he had gone crazy.
"It's a guessing game…" He said, grinning. "Besides… the other two lovebirds should be coming back soon. And if their idea of a romantic first date is anything like ours, we should give them their time and some space."
"Ah, I see… So what am I guessing?" She asked, as she felt herself pushed down onto a chair. Kari was sure that she was in her room, since his was on the other side of the hall.
"Well… you see, I have a gift for you, but only if you can guess what it is." Davis said, grinning. "Want a hint?" She nodded, lost for words and having no clue what-so-ever of what he of all people might get her. She grimaced at some of the possibilities. "It's priceless, although I paid quite a bit to get it. You're eighteen, and I'm nineteen thanks to my birthday a while ago…"
"That's a clue?" She asked incredulously.
"And most importantly, it's the symbol of eternal love."
"H-huh?" Kari thought to herself… 'He didn't… he…'
"You… you want me to… I… I will." She said, tears stinging her eyes.
"You can open them now." Davis said smiling. A similar feeling of warmth spread all over. "Not now, but in the near future… I know it's soon. But what's it matter if you hold on to it for a year or two?"
"It'll only remind me how much I love you." She said, smiling. He took the small ring out of it's box and put it on her finger. At first, she didn't know what to say. It was made of small pink stones but… they were positioned to form the symbol of her crest! "I…" She didn't know what to say.
So she kissed him.
Meanwhile, Courtney and Tk came back inside all red from the snow. On the counter they saw two cups filled with the ingredients for hot cocoa. Courtney smiled and Tk laughed. 'It really is perfect…'
Umm… bleh! I had no clue what to do with the game, as you can see, I winged it. Thank god that I knew a lot about Japanese culture. The only reason I used that source was because I'm not good at giving descriptions or directions… ;;
Well, I hope you liked it anyway. Ideas are loved. Reviews are mandatory… ((well, not really, but I'd like it a LOT! ))
Thanks! Much Love, Christine Lennoire.