'For the last time, Sherlock, the victim can't have murdered himself!' John shouted, exasperated. 'For the last time, John, there is NO OTHER POSSIBLE EXPLANATION!' Sherlock bellowed. He buried his face in his hands and muttered, so quietly that John could barely hear him, 'Another game.' 'Really?' John asked, 'Another game? We've already played five times, and all it's doing is frustrating you.' Secretly, John was pleased. They had been playing for almost three hours and Sherlock had yet to win a single game. John had won two, and the other three had been cut short by Sherlock's absurd conclusions. Apparently he had never played before, or even heard of the game, which John could hardly believe considering his interest in mysteries. 'I have to beat it,' Sherlock said quietly, 'It's a stupid child's game, I'm better than this.' John sighed and began to shuffle the cards. When he was finished, he set them down and started to reset the board, moving all the player and weapon pieces off to the side. 'Let me put the cards in the envelope this time,' Sherlock said. 'No,' John said, 'You'll look at them, and that's cheating.' 'This whole game is cheating!' Sherlock shouted, then added in a much softer voice, 'There's no other explanation, the game is rigged, it has to be. How else could you have managed to beat me?' 'Maybe I'm just better at it than you are,' John said, smirking a little. 'That can't be it, you're an idiot.' John sighed. If Sherlock was going to treat him like this, he didn't want know if he wanted anything to do with the man. 'Fine then, Sherlock,' he said, 'If you can't even admit that I beat you, I don't want to play anymore.' 'But I always beat everyone at everything,' Sherlock whined, 'It doesn't make sense, I'm always the best.' 'Well, clearly, you're not the best at this.' 'Come on, John, one more game.' 'Fine. But only one, and if you lose, you have to admit, out loud, that I beat you.' 'Fine.' 'Alright then,' John finished setting up the game, and began marking off the cards in his hand. Sherlock studied his own hand intently, clearly determined not to lose. Forty minutes later, John was almost ready to make his accusation. Just one final check and he'd be done. Sherlock rolled the dice, and moved his piece straight to the center of the board. 'It was Professor Plum, in the Observatory, with the Poison,' he said in a monotone. 'Good luck,' John said, expecting Sherlock to have the wrong answer, again. Sherlock flashed him a grin and picked up the envelope that concealed the answers. He opened it and glanced at the cards, then smiled again. 'I was right,' he said. 'What?' John asked, 'No you weren't, you're lying!' 'See for yourself,' Sherlock said, passing him the envelope. John opened it, and sure enough, it contained the cards for Professor Plum, the Observatory, and the Poison. 'How-' he gasped, 'But you were rubbish at this game!' 'I told you, I'm always the best and I always solve the mystery.' 'You smug bastard,' John said, still surprised, 'How did you learn it so quickly? And you'd better not have cheated.' By way of answer, Sherlock just grinned again and jumped out of his chair. 'Booooooreeeed!' he groaned, 'I need a case, John!' John thought for a minute. He had an idea, and if Sherlock could figure it out it might clear up a lot of things and, if he was lucky, his life might become just a tad simpler. He just wasn't sure whether he wanted to draw attention to it… 'Sherlock?' John asked, 'I… might have a case for you.' 'Oh please tell me you don't want me to spy on your sister's drinking habits or something equally petty, John. I can't waste my time with such trivia.' 'Actually, Sherlock, it was about something we talked about last night.' 'The man the killer was working for? Moriarty? John, if I had any leads on Moriarty I would not have spent the morning playing that ridiculous children's game.' 'Sherlock, you lost almost every game… Oh never mind. But no, I'm not talking about Moriarty. I'm meant the… other... thing.' 'What other thing?' Exasperated, John pushed up his sleeve, revealing Sherlock's name. 'This other thing,' he said, 'Sherlock, you said it yourself, nothing like this has ever happened before. You're brilliant, if anyone could figure it out it'd be you.' 'The soulmate tattoos are a frivolous pseudoscience at best, and there's no reputable data on how they work. It would be pointless to try.' 'Sherlock, I have to know why this happened to me.' Sherlock considered, then said, 'Fine then. I've nothing better to do at the moment. But the second I get a real case, I'm dropping this.'
John nodded, hoping that maybe Sherlock could help him get some answers.