ジョーカー
Joker
A while after we had finished our meager evening meal, before long the sounds of falling rain had ceased, the insects in the yard resuming their song.
You can sometimes hear them in my neighborhood, too, but unsurprisingly, it's nothing compared to the carpet of nesting ground surrounding this mansion.
Sakuya: So boring......
Tsudzura: Indeed it is˜
Spacing out and sprawled on the tatami, the two drawl with uninspired voices. Even Obana-chan is balled up underneath the table.
Let's just ignore Tsudzura-chan's 大-shaped posture for a moment------ she's wearing shorts for one, and she's a child.
As Sakuya-san lies on her side, never mind her using her arm as a pillow, but why does she have one knee pointed up like that?
Kei: You shouldn't lay like that wearing a yukata, you know.
Sakuya: This way the air flows better, and it's cool. Besides, who cares? There're only women here, anyway.
Tsudzura: Obana is a boy, though.
Sakuya: ......Oh me, oh my. I was just about to ruin my marriage prospects for life, there.
Of course she isn't serious, but Sakuya-san gleefully rearranges her collar and hem.
Sakuya: All the same, it's so boring. When you're bored, who can help waxing a little slovenly?
Giving her head a thick turn, she approaches the window.
Sakuya: The rain's blown over, anyone wanna sally around town in my car?
Kei: Are there any places where you think we can have fun?
Sakuya: When people gather, there's bound to be a taproom somewhere.
Kei: By "taproom" you mean......
Sakuya-san makes a brisk gesture of tilting a sake cup to her mouth.
Tsudzura: I shall abstain. I am a child, after all.
Kei: I can't go either...... besides, Sakuya-san, car?
Sakuya: Acha˜
If you're driving, then you can't drink, so all that's left is by foot or taxi, and I'll take it those are rejected.
Kei: Why don't you buy some and drink it here?
Sakuya: Well, I could do that, but don't you think it's boring to drink by yourself?
Kei: Is that how it is?
Sakuya: That's how it is, all right.
Kei: Mmm, I see. So we're all bored, right?
Sakuya: Yeah.
Tsudzura: That we are˜
To those who decried their affirmative without pause, I decisively turn my back, and begin to fish through my luggage.
Kei: In that case, what would you say to this?
What I display before them is a plastic box the size of my hand.
As I open it, it produces fifty-four cards with rounded corners.
Tsudzura: Playing cards, are they?
Kei: That they are indeed.
Sakuya: Fine, though it's the ones with floral designs that light me on fire, you know.
Tsudzura: I'm not very knowledgeable about the variety of games.
Kei: You know about Old Maid, right?
Tsudzura: I have never played it before, but in that case, I believe I can manage......
Sakuya: Tsudzura, what are the ones you know?
Tsudzura: Of the ones I have played, there are only Black Jack, Baccarat, and Poker.
Kei: ......What's Baccarat?
Tsudzura: The rules themselves differ little from Black Jack, but the one difference, or characteristic feature, is that there is no decisive contest between players.
Kei: ...Umm?
Tsudzura: By those rules, it is a simple game where either the contesting player or banker wins, or it ends in a draw. A mere one-in-three chance.
Kei: Is that...... fun?
Sakuya: But in Chou and Han, the only one throwing the dice is the one with the vase, right? (TN: A dice game where two six-sided die are thrown into a pot and the players guess whether the result is even or odd.)
Kei: Even if you put it that way, I don't really understand what's fun about that one, either.
Sakuya: How about horse races, then? Aside from buying tickets and raising a ruckus, there's nothing to do but watch.
Kei: Eh? Aren't there a lot of people who go just to root for the horse or the jockey?
Sakuya: ............
Kei: ............
Tsudzura: Come, come, you two, one's stake here is decided by their personality, and carrying the conversation beyond this point is only likely to lengthen a flat line, you know.
Tsudzura: For a person like Sakuya-san who enjoys the prospect of victory, or rather, privilege awarded the winner, it is easy to find enjoyment in Baccarat or Chou and Han.
Sakuya: Hey you...... you aren't trying to put yourself on the pedestal and declare me the greedy outlaw, are you?
Tsudzura: I merely said that I played them. I made no mention as to whether I like them or not.
Sakuya: Now this is a surprise. Are you saying you hate them?
Tsudzura: I don't like them. Such contests do nothing more than entangle people in disputes of avarice.
Kei: But, it's just a game, right?
Tsudzura: When one person targets another, anything can become a game. It is no different from the exhibitions of Ancient Rome.
Kei: Tsudzura-chan, that's going a little far......
Tsudzura: I suppose it is. Or at least, one cannot group it all into one category, can they? I was being a mite childish just now.
Kei: Childish... but you are a child......
Tsudzura: Very well. Shall we now let the games begin, then?
Tsudzura: Such contests must be done with no shred of mercy, chasing down the weak and devouring them to win, with enough momentum to whip their corpse! This is the tradition by which I was raised.
I think that dangerous glint I saw in Tsudzura-chan's eyes a second ago was just my imagination, but Sakuya-san must have seen it, too.
Sakuya: You might talk high and mighty, but only blood'll tell the real story, eh? Looks like you're raring to go.
And rather than backing down, she's looking even more eager than before.
Sakuya: Though I wonder, what could a little girl who's not lived more than ten years know about a contest, huh?
Tsudzura: Just as there are those who learn in the heat of the moment, there are also losers who run from reality after waging everything. Newborn stars differ greatly in size, you know.
Sakuya: Too bad the moon is even bigger. Don't you think you need an eye for the greater chance when you want to win?
Tsudzura: It must be awful to have no talent. If one cannot shine by their own power, then all they have left is to leave it to luck, after all.
Yet again Sakuya-san takes a bite at her, to which Tsudzura-chan casually responds.
Tsudzura: Natural forces may appear dependent on luck, but in the end, it all depends upon how you gather information and take prior precautions, does it not?
She shrugs, and lets leak a smile ill befitting her age.
Tsudzura: If you board the windows in the wrong season, however long you wait, the typhoon is not coming, you know.
One stare of ridicule, or maybe even pity.
It is more than possibly needed to make a fissure in Sakuya-san's store of patience.
Sakuya: Fufufu! Amusing... how amusing. You know it was a certain bunch of people who made me realize that disasters come, even if you don't choose a time or place, just like a storm......
Though her mouth retains the shape of a smile, the way it's curving at the edges is unnatural.
Still bundled in her yukata, she lunges one standing knee toward Tsudzura-chan, with enough force to make me worry she might just stomp through the floor.
Sakuya: ......How about I show you, right here and now, what it means to be caught in a match where you can't use your dirty little tactics!?
Tsudzura: Like I have told you, it is individual strength that helps you, not luck. When the heavens and earth are evenly matched, the only ones who can decide the contest are people.
As Sakuya-san takes on the air of some "Ane-san" from a yakuza movie, just being able to stand against her makes Tsudzura-chan look equally intimidating. (TN: Ane-san - picture a woman in a kimono with tattoos covering her back, and a number of bowing and scraping male underlings, and you'll have the general idea.)
Tsudzura: If you are prepared, then I accept. For you, I can remove any constricting moral factors with no complaint.
Sakuya: Hah! There's no fun to be had in facing a youngster, but I'll show you that you've much yet to learn.
Tsudzura: I regret to inform you that my mongolian spot disappeared about three years ago.
Just as I am pressured by the air of this explosive situation to take a step back, the two of them simultaneously turn to face me.
Sakuya: Kei, it's time to deal.
Tsudzura: Onee-san, if you please.
Kei: Eh? Eh? Umm...... dealing is nice and good and all but, I don't know how many cards to pass out......
Sakuya: That's right. We still haven't decided how we'll settle this, have we?
Tsudzura: I do not mind if you make the choice. I would rather not listen to complaints when it is over.
Sakuya: Who's going to complain? You have a thousand-year handicap. It's only natural for you to choose.
Tsudzura: In that case, Onee-san, would you choose for us?
Kei: Then how about...
Sakuya & Tsudzura: How about...?
Kei: ......Old Maid.
*caw caw* (TN: In case you haven't yet seen this note, crows - interchangeable with ravens in the Japanese word "karasu" - are known to be deviously cunning birds who ridicule humanity every time their vocal cords produce sound. By the way, did you know that they can use tools and count to seven?)
Old Maid with three people apparently had some room for desire, and as we continued trying numerous games, we went long into the evening.
Seeing as Tsudzura-chan had been sleeping early until just yesterday, we decided to bring it to a close at a decent hour.
Incidentally, Tsudzura-chan and Sakuya-san's records were basically even par.
As the lone loser in the group, it is truly fortunate that I never bet anything.
By the way, it should be noted that gambling activities are illegal, for the course.