[Closed]

[silvershamurai]

Characters: silvershamurai and novelvision
Location: The Clinic
Rating: PG-13 for swears and violence.
Time: Late December 31st.
Description: Who knew Uno was such a violent game?

Comments

[novelvision]

[In the other bed, Katsura shifted and groaned, not particularly wanting to wake up for once. His head felt like it had been run over by a trolley once and then again when it backtracked (Don’t ask), his body felt like it had been trampled by a pride of lions (Again, don’t ask) and the less said about his memory recall, the better

[silvershamurai]

[The momentary locking of gazes was enough to turn Gintoki's expression into one of distaste and he turned away to look towards the opposite side of the room. Seeing Katsura's face was enough to trigger one final word in his mind, the final word necessary to unlocking the mysteries of what had happened earlier.

Cheater.

He snorted.]

Not like I'd have needed to cheat against you.

[novelvision]

[Cheat? The memories were getting clearer now. Katsura could almost visualize himself putting down the Draw Two card, only to be countered by a Draw Four, which he had then countered with his own Draw Four triumphantly only to have it blow up in his face with another Draw Four.

Ah, that was right. Weren’t there only four Draw Fours in the entire deck? Katsura had a glare ready for Gintoki for whenever he chose to look back.]

But that’s what you did anyway, which makes you worse than the people who cheat because they needed to. What do you have to say to that, ah? [And then:]

Cheater.

[silvershamurai]

[Despite the immediate objections his body conveyed, Gintoki sat up, whirling around to face his idiot of a friend.]

What was that, bastard? It was a test! If you can't even win a game or two of Uno, how the hell are you supposed to change a country?! You're supposed to be sharp enough to realize your opponents got some tricks [Or cards, really.] up his sleeve! Get a clue, already!!

[Gintoki couldn't deny seeing the defeated expression on Katsura's face made him about as happy as a 13 year old with his first dirty magazine. Doubly so when Katsura had failed to notice the flick of Gintoki's wrist as he drew a Draw Four card from within his sleeve. How many he had stored inside and how he had managed to perfect the act would remain a mystery however; a magician never reveals his secrets, after all. It was moments like those that having a moron for a friend was almost worth it.]

[novelvision]

[Go die, Katsura’s glare said at that moment when Gintoki had turned to look at him. At least, that was how the man intended it to be but the dull throb of his head at that moment made him wonder if he was the one dying here.

What a sad way to die, not knowing what had happened to him and arguing to his last breath about the rules of Uno.]

That was as much a test as soba is an American invention! You know as well as I do that you’re just making that up to pretend that you care about the nation while you-

[A flashback? Ah, it was coming back to him now. Fragments of the past, telling him more about the story.

Katsura with half a deck of cards in his hand still as Gintoki put down his last.

Katsura frantically arranging his cards in numbers while Gintoki whistled and said “Guess you shouldn’t have counted on your trump card, huh? Rump card’s more like it” with that annoying face of his.

Katsura yelling in frustration after the tenth loss of the hour, kicking something and then-]-while you were busy keeping in all of your trump

[silvershamurai]

Doesn't matter, still won. [And that's all it came down to, didn't it? Winning against this guy. It was glorious, really, the way his frustration kept building after every match. And he was none the wiser.

And then Katsura kicked over the stupid lamp and in Gintoki's haste to grab it before it rolled too far away, several Uno cards, namely of the Draw Four - Wild variety spilled from inside his sleeve.

'Fuck' was the word of the hour at that point, with 'my' and 'life' coming in at second and third respectively.]

[novelvision]

That's what a kid says after he's lost all of his friends because he cheated them in a stupid card game. [How could he not have figured it out sooner? Did playing against Elizabeth make him too accustomed to losing, despite claims to the contrary?

It had been frustrating to lose so many times in the row, but that expression of Gintoki's was what had pushed him over the edge. And then there was the matter of the cards, then the accusations, the name calling, the hair pulling and goodness knows what else.

Come to think of it, who brought them there?]

Just how long have we been out, anyway? It looks dark outside.

[silvershamurai]

And that's what a kid says to justify himself losing to the better, smarter, stronger, better looking kid even though he was so obviously cheating. How the hell did you not notice the six Draw Fours I laid down in the course of one game?

[Gintoki couldn't quite recall who had brought them to the clinic. Then again, he didn't really recall much after they had rolled over the edge of the roof. Ah, perhaps that's why his head hurt, aside from the ache present from constant hair pulling.]

Beats the hell out of me.

[Surveying the room, Gintoki spots a clock mounted on the wall in the darkness. 11:37. Yeah, they were out for a while, it seemed.]

Damnit, his isn't how I was supposed to spend my New Year.

[novelvision]

So besides cheating, you had to break even the most fundamental rule of card games? I overlooked that because I thought I could trust you to just draw four Draw Fours! [Which clearly shows Katsura wasn't paying attention. More like, he was too busy staring to notice.]

At least we're in agreement there. Are any of your limbs still working, or have they all become soft and wiry as your perm?

[silvershamurai]

[You don't trust full grown men who still play Uno, Katsura. That's what he wanted to point out, until the unnecessary perm insults came into the picture.]

You can find out how well my limbs are still working when they're softening up your skull against the foot of the bed. You wanna go again, or something, bastard? Ah?

1/2

[novelvision]

[You know how you tend to forget your pain when you're feeling something strongly? This is Katsura attempting to prove that point, getting up like he's miraculously recovered.]

Who wants to find out about that!? But now that you've mentioned it, let's have another round right now-

2/2

[novelvision]

[Someone should tell Katsura not to stand up on the bed and make punching motions next time, because down he goes now with a dismayed wail as his face and everything gets acquainted with the relative of the floor he was just making friends with about two hours ago. It's funny how you never notice who your friends really are until they hurt you, somehow.]

- ! Ahh...Is this what it's like to die? I can't see anything, Gintoki. It's like I've gone into the T*ili*ht Zone! [Except not, it's just that he's being stupid as always, and if stupidity had any relation to the Dark Ages Katsura would be its prime scholar.]

[silvershamurai]

[At the rather pathetic display, Gintoki sits up to laugh, loudly and unabashed, at his friend on the floor. But then he winces too, and his ribs and head begin hurting all over again.

Whatever, totally worth it.]

Except you'll never be the Twilight Princess. [A different sort of Twilight Zone, but relevant, nonetheless. When his laughter stops, and his pain recedes, Gintoki lets the silence sink in for a moment.]

Happy New Year, you stupid wig.

[novelvision]

[By this time, Katsura has managed to pull himself off the floor and get up again. It ends like this every year it seems, them fighting over some trivial matter or one getting the other back at the last moment before making resolutions to not do that next year (And break it the next day).

Maybe it's the painkillers that's making Katsura laugh over Gintoki's lame reference that would usually have him protesting or scowling, but there's no denying the chuckle or the slight "Ow"s right across where Gintoki is. They might be celebrating New Year's Day half-dead (Again) and they may be alone (Again) and stink of medicine (Yet again), but what matters is that they pulled through again, isn't it?]

And a happy new year to you too, you stupid perm. Let's try to not do this next year, shall we? At any rate, I don't feel like playing Uno for the next few months.

[silvershamurai]

[With a snort and a satisfied smile, Gintoki lies down again. No matter how you look at it, the two could not have been friends in the slightest, but if you thought on it some more, the two could only be friends. The kind that wouldn't hesitate to kick the other in the face if they so much as went out of line for even a second. The kind that would watch the other's back... only to slap a 'kick me' sign onto it. That's the kind of bond they have. For all of the hair Gintoki constantly pulls out over his friend's idiocy, all the tables he's flipped, in his mind or otherwise, he's thankful.]

Hah, that's assuming we're even around this place until next year.

[And if they are, there's always the Game of Life.]

[novelvision]

Stranger things have happened before, haven't they? [Like them being friends after all of these years when they could have been the poster children of oil and water. And no, that oil wasn't dripping from his hair.]

But you know, Gintoki...I'm starting to think that it isn't so bad, being here. [Here Katsura falls a little silent, almost contemplative.] Is that bad? [Wrong of him, to not be protesting at being dragged here to fight while putting all of his plans on hold? Bad of him to be happy, having all of his friends here? Idiotic of him to suddenly talk about this?]