Joker's Game - 1st Prologue
Authors: cherry_chan24, sakura_chan24
Pairings: Akame, JunDa
Disclaimer: We own nothing but the story.
Summary: “They say there is a place in this world, a place where wishes come true. But be warned: Only the most desperate souls, who lost all hope, enter JOKER’S PALACE. For those who get caught in Joker’s net won’t get free again and every wish comes with a price.”
Kazuya and Jin see themselves confronted with several mysterious criminal cases where a red Joker card is found. In their attempt to catch the culprit, they soon must learn that their opponent is much more powerful than they think and that they are all part of a game they just barely understand.
Then Kazuya enters JOKER’S PALACE and now Jin has to do all he can to save his friend.
A/N: We came up with the idea and the title for the story some time ago already and the prologue was also written before Kame’s new movie was announced. So the story is in no way related to the movie. Honestly speaking, we were quite surprised about how similar the titles are.
1st Prologue: The First Mistake
Seven years and nine month ago…
It was a sultry summer day. The thermometer showed thirty degrees in the shade. It was lunch time and the fast-food restaurant was crowded and loud. The Game Master sat on a table in a corner and chewed on the straw of his Coke, bored, while the sweat was running down his forehead. His thin damp T-shirt was sticking to his back. In fact, he found it very uncomfortable inside the restaurant, but he couldn’t bring himself to get up and leave. For that he would had to move!
A pack of cards was strewn on the table in front of him and some of the other guests threw oblique glances at him but that didn’t concern him. He was just sick of this! Lately nothing interesting had happened. Even the Joker had left him very few opportunities to get angry about the very wide ranged interpretations of his wish-fulfillment. Boooring! He almost missed their regular arguments which they had had until recently - well, at least a bit. Because than he would had at least something to do, instead of sitting here and waiting that sooner or later something would happen.
When a young couple and its daughter entered the restaurant, he turned over three of the cards without much hope: seven of hearts, three of diamonds and five of diamonds. He couldn’t even sigh about the outcome. In frustration he laid his head on the table. The wait-ress, who was wiping the table next to him, leaned over with a worried look in her eyes. “Daijobu desu ka?”
“Do I look like I’m fine?”
Uncertain, she scrutinized him. “Are you feeling off-color? Do you want me to call an am-bulance?”
“It’s not that bad,” the Game Master admitted and sat up again. The card that was clinging to his face lost its hold through the movement and fell back on the table where it stayed put with the front side facing upwards: ace of diamonds. The Game Master raised an eyebrow and threw a glimpse at the waitress. “You don’t know how lucky you can count yourself,” he murmured.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing.” The Game Master turned the ace over again. With a last worried look the girl turned back to her task. The Game Master watched her awhile and wondered if it would be worth keeping an eye on her. The Joker would definitely be interested in her. Maybe she would get an invitation…
After the girl had left, two young men sat down at the neighboring table. The bigger one was tall and slim with medium-length brown hair. His eyes sparkled adventurously. The other one was slim, too, but a little shorter than his companion with short black hair - at least as far as it could be seen under his hood . In contrast to the other man the expression on his face appeared reserved and cold.
The Game Master scrutinized them. He couldn’t remember when they had entered the res-taurant but he hadn’t paid attention to the entrance for some time now. Out of habit he turned two cards on the table… and sat up with a jerk, causing the newcomers to flinch. The shorter one threw an irritated glance at him but the Game Master didn’t pay attention to him. Instead, he took a look around the room. There should be…
“And? Do you know which movie you want to see, yet?” the taller one at the neighboring table asked. His companion frowned annoyed. “None at all. I’ve told you before. I don’t have money for things like that.”
“And I told you that I’ll invite you. Come on.”
“Stop paying everything for me!” the shorter one growled irritated, “It already feels like I’m taking advantage of you.”
“But that’s not true,” the taller one protested, “It’s not as if you would ask me for it or something like that.”
The other one sighed. “All right. But I really don’t feel like it.”
The brown-haired looked at him skeptically. “If you think so.” He looked a bit disappointed and for a short moment it seemed like he wanted to add something but he didn’t. Instead he took a chicken nugget out of his box. “Here.” Once again with a carefree smile he held it in front of the others mouth.
The black-haired evaded him and pulled the hood deeper into his face. “Not here.” He felt obviously embarrassed by his friend’s behavior.
“No one will pay attention,” his friend answered lightly and waved the nugget invitingly. The other one rolled his eyes but took a bite of the nugget. He chewed it with an embarrassed smile, holding the rest in one hand. “Thanks,” he mumbled. With a grin his friend leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek next to his lips. “If you want, you can be really cute sometimes, Tat-chan .”
“Urusai.”
The Game Master, who had watched them with growing amazement, was frozen in the movement. They were a couple! Unbelievingly he looked down on the cards which were still lying on the table in front of him. Then he turned them abruptly, shuffled them and drew two cards again. It was the same as before. He repeated the process for a third time but again the outcome was the same: jack of hearts for the bigger one and a queen of hearts for his friend. Impossible! The Game Master stared at the men on the next table, dumbfounded. This was against so many rules that he didn’t even bother to count them. He had to end it! Here, now and immediately! It couldn’t go on like this! It was wrong, so wrong! His only hope was that the Joker wasn’t aware of it yet. That would have been just what he had been waiting for! And what the hell was wrong with the Game that it allowed something like this? Why did he himself hadn’t noticed something before? It was a catastrophe! What was happening here at this moment could get the whole gameplay in a total mess. He didn’t even want to think about the possible consequences. Without further ado he stood up and turned towards the couple.
But then he paused. A thoughtful look appeared in his eyes. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as he was thinking right now. Maybe it was just the kind of distraction he had been waiting for - an end to this boredom.
When the two men finally got up and turned to leave, the Game Master followed them. He had made his decision: He would do nothing - at least not now. He would observe the jack of hearts and his queen for the time being to see what would develop from it. And he urgently had to find the king of hearts. Perhaps the missing card held the answer to why this im-possible couple did exist.
With a light smile on his lips and a spring in his steps he left the restaurant. The two men had stopped on the street and it seemed like they were still discussing about what to do next. Passing them the Game Master nodded at them kindly which earned him surprised looks from both of them. Humming he strolled along the street. Finally the Game had become interesting again!
Next Chapter...
Pairings: Akame, JunDa
Disclaimer: We own nothing but the story.
Summary: “They say there is a place in this world, a place where wishes come true. But be warned: Only the most desperate souls, who lost all hope, enter JOKER’S PALACE. For those who get caught in Joker’s net won’t get free again and every wish comes with a price.”
Kazuya and Jin see themselves confronted with several mysterious criminal cases where a red Joker card is found. In their attempt to catch the culprit, they soon must learn that their opponent is much more powerful than they think and that they are all part of a game they just barely understand.
Then Kazuya enters JOKER’S PALACE and now Jin has to do all he can to save his friend.
A/N: We came up with the idea and the title for the story some time ago already and the prologue was also written before Kame’s new movie was announced. So the story is in no way related to the movie. Honestly speaking, we were quite surprised about how similar the titles are.
1st Prologue: The First Mistake
Seven years and nine month ago…
It was a sultry summer day. The thermometer showed thirty degrees in the shade. It was lunch time and the fast-food restaurant was crowded and loud. The Game Master sat on a table in a corner and chewed on the straw of his Coke, bored, while the sweat was running down his forehead. His thin damp T-shirt was sticking to his back. In fact, he found it very uncomfortable inside the restaurant, but he couldn’t bring himself to get up and leave. For that he would had to move!
A pack of cards was strewn on the table in front of him and some of the other guests threw oblique glances at him but that didn’t concern him. He was just sick of this! Lately nothing interesting had happened. Even the Joker had left him very few opportunities to get angry about the very wide ranged interpretations of his wish-fulfillment. Boooring! He almost missed their regular arguments which they had had until recently - well, at least a bit. Because than he would had at least something to do, instead of sitting here and waiting that sooner or later something would happen.
When a young couple and its daughter entered the restaurant, he turned over three of the cards without much hope: seven of hearts, three of diamonds and five of diamonds. He couldn’t even sigh about the outcome. In frustration he laid his head on the table. The wait-ress, who was wiping the table next to him, leaned over with a worried look in her eyes. “Daijobu desu ka?”
“Do I look like I’m fine?”
Uncertain, she scrutinized him. “Are you feeling off-color? Do you want me to call an am-bulance?”
“It’s not that bad,” the Game Master admitted and sat up again. The card that was clinging to his face lost its hold through the movement and fell back on the table where it stayed put with the front side facing upwards: ace of diamonds. The Game Master raised an eyebrow and threw a glimpse at the waitress. “You don’t know how lucky you can count yourself,” he murmured.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing.” The Game Master turned the ace over again. With a last worried look the girl turned back to her task. The Game Master watched her awhile and wondered if it would be worth keeping an eye on her. The Joker would definitely be interested in her. Maybe she would get an invitation…
After the girl had left, two young men sat down at the neighboring table. The bigger one was tall and slim with medium-length brown hair. His eyes sparkled adventurously. The other one was slim, too, but a little shorter than his companion with short black hair - at least as far as it could be seen under his hood . In contrast to the other man the expression on his face appeared reserved and cold.
The Game Master scrutinized them. He couldn’t remember when they had entered the res-taurant but he hadn’t paid attention to the entrance for some time now. Out of habit he turned two cards on the table… and sat up with a jerk, causing the newcomers to flinch. The shorter one threw an irritated glance at him but the Game Master didn’t pay attention to him. Instead, he took a look around the room. There should be…
“And? Do you know which movie you want to see, yet?” the taller one at the neighboring table asked. His companion frowned annoyed. “None at all. I’ve told you before. I don’t have money for things like that.”
“And I told you that I’ll invite you. Come on.”
“Stop paying everything for me!” the shorter one growled irritated, “It already feels like I’m taking advantage of you.”
“But that’s not true,” the taller one protested, “It’s not as if you would ask me for it or something like that.”
The other one sighed. “All right. But I really don’t feel like it.”
The brown-haired looked at him skeptically. “If you think so.” He looked a bit disappointed and for a short moment it seemed like he wanted to add something but he didn’t. Instead he took a chicken nugget out of his box. “Here.” Once again with a carefree smile he held it in front of the others mouth.
The black-haired evaded him and pulled the hood deeper into his face. “Not here.” He felt obviously embarrassed by his friend’s behavior.
“No one will pay attention,” his friend answered lightly and waved the nugget invitingly. The other one rolled his eyes but took a bite of the nugget. He chewed it with an embarrassed smile, holding the rest in one hand. “Thanks,” he mumbled. With a grin his friend leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek next to his lips. “If you want, you can be really cute sometimes, Tat-chan .”
“Urusai.”
The Game Master, who had watched them with growing amazement, was frozen in the movement. They were a couple! Unbelievingly he looked down on the cards which were still lying on the table in front of him. Then he turned them abruptly, shuffled them and drew two cards again. It was the same as before. He repeated the process for a third time but again the outcome was the same: jack of hearts for the bigger one and a queen of hearts for his friend. Impossible! The Game Master stared at the men on the next table, dumbfounded. This was against so many rules that he didn’t even bother to count them. He had to end it! Here, now and immediately! It couldn’t go on like this! It was wrong, so wrong! His only hope was that the Joker wasn’t aware of it yet. That would have been just what he had been waiting for! And what the hell was wrong with the Game that it allowed something like this? Why did he himself hadn’t noticed something before? It was a catastrophe! What was happening here at this moment could get the whole gameplay in a total mess. He didn’t even want to think about the possible consequences. Without further ado he stood up and turned towards the couple.
But then he paused. A thoughtful look appeared in his eyes. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as he was thinking right now. Maybe it was just the kind of distraction he had been waiting for - an end to this boredom.
When the two men finally got up and turned to leave, the Game Master followed them. He had made his decision: He would do nothing - at least not now. He would observe the jack of hearts and his queen for the time being to see what would develop from it. And he urgently had to find the king of hearts. Perhaps the missing card held the answer to why this im-possible couple did exist.
With a light smile on his lips and a spring in his steps he left the restaurant. The two men had stopped on the street and it seemed like they were still discussing about what to do next. Passing them the Game Master nodded at them kindly which earned him surprised looks from both of them. Humming he strolled along the street. Finally the Game had become interesting again!
Next Chapter...