FIRST PUNISHMENT [ voice ]

[keichan]

[ The young man who speaks sounds a little nervous at first, and really, who could blame him? Saying he's out of his element would be a gross understatement. It's much easier to get to know people after moving to a tiny village than it is light years away from home. ]

So, um... for those of you I haven't met already, my name's Maebara Keiichi. I got brought here a few weeks ago, and I'm still settling in... but I'm trying to get to know some new people, too. Back home, I usually just played games with my friends... things like card games, board games, or whatever our club president came up with, really. And today would be her birthday, so she'd probably come up with something even more exciting than usual.

[ One can almost hear the gentle smile in his voice as he continues. ] Things would get pretty crazy. The winners would usually get to pick out a penalty for the losers, and sometimes...

[ His voice trails off, followed by a brief, awkward pause. But then, he quickly forces some enthusiasm. ]

But that's beside the point! If anybody's interested, I've still got a deck of cards from home, so I'll take on anyone who thinks they can beat me at anything! You name it... Old Maid, Old Geezer, Go Fish, Blackjack... Gahahaha! Bring it on!

[ Then, realizing he's getting carried away, he clears his throat. ] Um... anyway, thanks for listening! Later!

Comments

[foolishjustice]

Are you familiar with chess?

[keichan]

I haven't played it much lately, but I know the rules. Do you have a chess set here?

[ontune]

I would be interested, but you may need to teach me. I am afraid that I have never heard of those games.

Does she even know any sort of games??? Who knows.

[keichan]

An interested newcomer, huh? In that case, I'd be glad to teach you! Most people haven't heard of Old Geezer, but the rest of them are pretty standard games where I'm from.

[ Even if his friends never really play them in a standard way... ]

[ontune]

Thank you! I, unfortunately, never had the chance to play a game with people before. My sisters included.

[ So this is a new exciting experience for her!! ]

[keichan]

Well, I never had any siblings. Back home, my friends were the ones who taught me how to play most of the games that we tried, and they didn't exactly take it easy on me.

[ Oh, the stories he could tell. ]

But I'll be a little more merciful than they were!

[ontune]

There are many benefits to siblings and disadvantages of them. [ Like the suffering of losing them cccc: ]

Thank you! I promise that I am a quick learner so I will not be a poor student for you.

[keichan]

Before I start teaching you, what should I call you? You can just call me Keiichi... I'm not really big on formalities.

[ontune]

Keiichi -- That is a nice name. You may call me One which is ... an odd name, I know.

[keichan]

One, huh? [ He chuckles warmly. ]

Well, my name has the Japanese word for "one" right in it, so that's probably a good sign! In any case, I think it's just fine as a name!

[ontune]

It is an amusing one, no less. [ One that can make her smile. ]

So, where should we meet to play our first game?

[keichan]

There's a spot near Lunatia Square that I like. If we get hungry, we can even go check out one of the street vendors.

[ His voice gets a little more serious... or, more accurately it sounds like he's trying to be more serious. But he's a little too excited to contain it all. ]

I'll even bring a deck of cards... I think Blackjack would be a nice, simple first game for you to learn.

voice

[trivialization]

Offering up your own life just like that, kid?

[ No no let's get carried away. ]

[keichan]

My life? I don't think even our club plays with those kinds of stakes...

[ He's definitely lost his dignity a few times, though. ]

uhhh soz

[trivialization]

You said the winner gets to pick whatever they like, right? Any humiliation, any servitude... when your life is in another's hands, you've lost it.

no worries!

[keichan]

W-Well... it definitely feels that way when some of my friends win, but...

[ He clears his throat, cutting himself off. The less said about some of the punishments he's endured, the better. ]

That just makes it even more satisfying when you win. Imagine getting to pay back that humiliation tenfold... no, a thousandfold! It's one of the most satisfying experiences I've ever had.

[trivialization]

Vengeance, huh? A thousandfold torment...

[ She chuckles ominously, as though this is the minimum ante to attract her interest. ]

And you've had that experience, have you? Who brought you to a knee, you've crushed into the stinking mud of their own frailty, the emptiness of all their hopes?

[keichan]

Well... I've had a few crucial moments of triumph. But I'm still planning my magnus opum...

[ His voice suddenly takes on a dark, almost sinister tone, but it gets livelier with each word. ]

It'll be a spectacle the likes of which nobody has ever seen. Every humiliation, every underhanded tactic they've used to steal victory... every last one of them will seem completely trivial when I'm through with them. It won't be their lives that I hold in my hands, but their very souls instead!

[ Translation: he's still working on it. ]

[trivialization]

How droll. You talk the talk pretty well. I might deign to have a match with you.

Though asking you to put yourself at my mercy in a game of mere chance, subject to all the whims of fate, would be a little too evil. Better to punish the meritless alone. What's your best game of skill?

[ Translation: she's trying to trick him into playing chess or something so she can eat his lunch. ]

[keichan]

[ This woman sounds quite haughty and sure of herself, yet not completely and utterly self-absorbed... that actually piques his interest. But it's what she says about fate that catches his attention in particular. ]

Even games that might seem like they're based completely on chance require some skill. But if you'd prefer a completely even playing field, then I know exactly what we can play. I saw it at a store here, and I think it's the perfect test of skill.

[ His video feed clicks on for only a moment, just long enough to give her a glimpse of his weapon of choice. ]

[treefrogs]

That's how you challenge yourselves. I've played some card games, but not to that extreme.

[She's kinda considering this, and yet... she's getting a bad feeling about this.]

[keichan]

It's all about doing your best to win. The punishments are just a way to make sure everyone's motivated.

[ And definitely not just an excuse for him to see cute girls in cute outfits. Or for those same girls to see him in one instead. ]

[treefrogs]

Mind giving me some examples of those punishments?

[Just to push those dark thoughts out of her head. Listen, she has to deal with at least two perverts in class.]

[keichan]

Well, let's see... sometimes, the loser has to run errands or do chores for the winner. It can even be something simple, like carrying someone's books home from school for them.

[ Keiichi might be a pervert, but he is absolutely nowhere near a Mineta-level pervert. Or even a Kaminari-level pervert. To him, it would be completely dishonorable to peep on a girl without her permission or anything like that. ]

...But sometimes, it gets pretty out of hand. I don't even remember who won, but we all wore a different outfit home one day.

[treefrogs]

[If he was close to Mineta's leve, Tsu wouldn't hesitate the flick of the tongue.]

That's all.

[No harm.]

It sounds fun, even if you don't remember who won. Ribbit.

[keichan]

[ If anything, Keiichi's usually the one who has to worry about his skirt getting flipped up. ]

That's right. Any of the club members back home could make even the most mundane activity exciting.

[ He sounds happy just thinking about it. ]

And in the end, no matter who the winners or losers are, we all had fun.

text;

[swungdown]

do you know how to play mahjong? hanafuda?

text;

[keichan]

believe it or not, i don't think we've ever played hanafuda, but i've always wanted to try... but i'm pretty good at mahjong.

[swungdown]

been thinking about getting a set of mahjong tiles since we got here and the casino had em. but how have you avoided hanafuda?

[keichan]

that sounds like a lot of fun! let me know if you get those tiles.

as for hanafuda: our club president would suggest western games most of the time. i think she liked to show off her collection, and sometimes we couldn't understand the rules, so we'd just end up making them up as we went along.

[ And, though he doesn't mention as such, he doesn't really have any experience with having friends to play games with prior to joining a club in the first place. ]