Dokeshi March: Chapter 21 (Patreon)

Chapter 21

Grant was awakened by a stream of light coming through a crack in the rafters hitting him in the eyes.  How did the sunlight always find a way to get you, no matter how perfectly you tried to hide?  He sat up with a groan of pain, his sore muscles complaining.  His left arm still wasn’t perfectly healed yet, and the training last night hadn’t helped.  Neither did the ten percent boost in his pain sensations.  At least it was less stiff.

“I let you sleep in, considering we don’t have to travel far today.”  Suki was preparing something with the fresh fruit from Grant’s pack.  “We should probably practice our story, and work on a plan for some of the games that are sure to be there.”  She hadn’t met his eyes the whole time she spoke.  Grant guessed she was still mad at him.

“We should also work on not being mad at one another.”  Grant got to his feet and immediately started strapping on his armor.  Just in case.  “Being at odds over a murdering clown just doesn’t make sense to me.”

“See, that’s the problem.”  Suki slammed the knife down on the table.  “The murdering clown is exactly the kind of thing we should be at odds over.”  She finally looked up at Grant.  “You walk a slippery slope, one that ends as you filling the role of leader as a tyrant your citizens will fear, and not a benevolent ruler people respect.”

“What?”  Grant couldn’t see how killing a monster like Tatters ended with him as a tyrant.  “How does me killing a murderer like him turn me into a bad king?  We don’t even know if I will become the next Calendar King anyway!”

“It’s the mindset you have.”  Suki picked the knife back up and got back to chopping the fruit into smaller pieces.  “Yesterday, you cut the head off a proclaimed murderer.  Today, you kill a Vassal who stands in your way.  A year from now, you order the deaths of hundreds that challenge your rule.”  When she looked up into his eyes, they were red around the edges, as if she was fighting back tears.  “Don’t you see how this ends?  The other Wielders responsible for the safety of their people would stand up and put you down, as is their role.  You can’t become the kind of person who I need to hunt down and stop.”

“Hey, calm down.”  Grant walked over and leaned over the table to place his hand on her shoulder.  “I have you to help make sure I never get to that point, remember?”

<Did you just tell an upset woman to calm down?>  Sarge sounded like he was choking back laughter.  <Well, it was nice knowing you.  We had a good run, kid.>

“Is that how you see me?  As the person to keep you from moving from hero to villain?”  Suki took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  “Okay.  I can deal with that.”

<How did that work?>  Sarge seemed baffled for some reason.  <That literally never works.>

“So, what is it you wanted to practice?”  Grant was trying not to look down at the now finely-diced food Suki had been preparing.  It looked more like a mashed mess than anything, but he was hungry enough to give it a try.  “I’m all ears.”  It was the perfect time for his stomach to growl like an angry tiger.

“Sure, all ears, huh?  More like all stomach.”  Suki let out a chuckle and looked down at the mess she had made.  “Why don’t we eat this… stuff, and then try going over some things.”

The two of them ate quickly, and got down to the business of gambling.  Suki laid out a homemade deck of cards, running Grant through the different types of games he could expect to see.  It didn’t take long for him to realize he was in trouble.

“How do you keep all these rules straight in your head?”  He pointed at the game they were practicing at the moment.  “I am supposed to slap the Jacks and Jokers, but not the others?  And the one where I have to guess to count to twenty one I don’t slap, I hit?  What am I supposed to hit again?  The dealer?”

“No no, don’t hit the dealer.”  Suki ran her hands over her face.  “You say the word ‘hit’ when you want another card.”

“But in this game, I actually do hit.”  Grant pointed at the pile of cards in front of him.  “Do I get to hit the dealer in this game, then?”

“No!  No hitting!”  Suki picked up the cards and shuffled them.  “Let’s stop worrying about the games where you might get us kicked out, and focus on just one.  The most important game to learn is poker.”

“Do I poke them with a sword?”  Grant placed his hand on the hilt of his Uchigatana and leaned forward in excitement.  “I can probably win that game with my Iaijutsu skill!”

“Oh, may the fates preserve me…”  Suki sighed and put the cards down.  “You don’t poke someone with your sword in poker.  You don’t poke them with your finger, or a fork, or spoon, or anything!”  She hadn’t mean to raise her voice at the end, but she was starting to get very frustrated.  “The game is called poker, but there isn’t any actual poking at all.”

“Well, why call it ‘poker’ then?  It seems silly to name something ‘poker’ and then not actually poke anyone.”  Grant folded his arms in front of his chest, grumbling under his breath.  “Who is in charge of naming these things, anyway?”

“Don’t worry about the name!”  Suki took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.  Again.  “It is a game about trying to get the best hand.”

“This sounds gruesome.  Now I have to cut people’s hands off?”  Grant was confused as to why Suki’s eye was starting to twitch, but he felt like it was a fair question.  “Who decides what makes the best hand?  Is there a hand judge of some kind?  Or do we bet on which player has the best hands, and then fight to cut them off?”

“Are you actually trying to make me punch you in the face?”  Suki’s gauntlets flickered into existence.  “Because right now I would love to punch you in the face.”

<Maybe you should just listen, and stop talking.>  Once again, Sarge was having a hard time speaking his thoughts because he was laughing too hard.  <Or don’t.  This can only get better - for me, that is - from here.>

“Okay, how about you just explain the rules, and I will be quiet until you are done telling me which person gets their hands cut off.”  Grant leaned back, just in case Suki was actually going to punch him again.

“May the Sword Saints guide me to a better life…”  Suki picked up the cards again after allowing her gauntlets to fade away.  “Let’s start over.  This game is called poker, which doesn’t involve any poking whatsoever, and the person who wins has the best hand, which is most definitely not a literal hand.”

<I’m beginning to think Suki really should have woken you up early.>  Sarge sounded like he was fighting back another bout of laughter.  <At this rate, you won’t be walking into that casino until dark!>