The Colors Universe
This Means War! by Twiggy
Characters: Akai-san, Mikan-tanWord Count: 1,261 words
Theme: a game of cards
Author Notes: popcorn.gif lmfao this is awful and it's 2:30 AM what am I doing
The slight whoosh of the cards hitting each other as they were being shuffled was comforting to Akai-san. As he let them hit the table again, he rocked to the sweet rhythm of the flutter and smack.
“Are you gonna deal or not?” Mikan sat across from her brother at the kitchen table they shared. On hand was propping up her chin, a thoroughly bored expression on her face. Her eyelids flitted lazily, pouting. Her other hand was swirling around in a bowl of chips, scarily close to the edge of the table.
“Okay, okay.” Akai-san laughed, Mikan-tan rolling her eyes. “What game would you like to play?”
“War.” She said, bluntly.
“Alright then.” Slipping the cards from his hands into two piles; a smile crossed his lips. This decision made him quite happy. See, no matter what game they usually played, Mikan won.
Rummy? 400 to 220, Mikan-tan the victor. Double sol? All the cards in Akai’s pile. Poker? If they actually used money in the games, he’d be very much in debt. And every time she won, she beamed at him and cattily took her winnings.
BUT! This game was pure chance. Winner pre-determined if you just flipped the cards over and examined them. No skill, just simply turning cards over, seeing whose number was highest. The one with all the cards in the end won!
As he piled up the cards, he tried to force a sixth sense to work. Which stack of cards to pick? Getting no vibe off of either, he let out a small sigh. He had no real reason to be so obsessive. It was just frustrating! It wasn’t like Mikan-tan tried to win! When he was younger, he would always let his baby sis win anyway. But as they both aged, he learned maybe she would have just won anyway. A larger sigh escaped him. He grabbed a finally completed sack of 26 cards and ran a ringed hand through his hair.
Mikan grabbed her cards lazy with the salty, greased hand she had been rummaging in the snacks with. Like a cat, she spread her upper body out on the table quickly in a stretch then curled back up onto a hand and elbow. Flipping the first card, she had gotten the 3 of Spades.
Now it was Akai’s turn to grin smugly. The odds were in his favor! So many cards could beat that 3 of Spades, as he just so happened to draw…
The 2 of Hearts. His face, which was once filled with triumphant youth, was now down-trodden and sullen. Mikan-tan, who was once quiet, was now dying of laughter and wildly active.
“Every time we play, you think you can beat me!? BUT YOU CAAAAN’T~ YOU CAN’T YOU CAN’T, JUST GIVE UP, NIIIII-TAAAAAN~” she taunted, wagging her fingers at him. “The gods have bestowed a special power within me, the power to draw well.” She shouted to the ceiling, kicking her legs back and forth underneath the table. She let out a victory whoop and flung herself back from the table; off to get more chips to rummage in.
Head in his hands, Akai-san wondered if indeed that was true. Maybe some power beyond his understanding had indeed given his sister the title of Goddess of the Cards. The Poker Prophet. The Queen of Hearts. Wonderspade. What was HIS talent? Taking it like a man? Apparently.
Until a wonderfully wicked idea wiggled into his mind. Akai-san glanced up from his hands to see his sister away from the table, her back to him. She hummed a tune as she reached up into the cabinet for her chips.
Dare he?
He dared.
Quick on the draw, he silently and stealthily grabbed both sets of cards and switched them, paranoia sinking in as his glance never left Mikan-tan’s back. Sweat rolled down his forehead as she turned around. The table looked exactly as it had when she had gotten up. Except Akai-san wasn’t hiding his nerves very well.
“Gotta fever, Nii? Lady cramps?” She pulled out her chair, chip bowl balanced on her hip.
“V-Very funny.” He smirked, leaning back in his chair a little; his various chains and metallic accessories clanked, making him jump. Mikan cocked her head.
“Right.” She drew another card. It was the 2 of Diamonds. Akai-san restrained himself, trying not to jump out of his chair. He was guaranteed to win this time! He exuberantly flipped over his next card; the proud father of…
A 2 of Spades. A. Two. Of. Spades. He was in despair. Again.
Mikan grinned again, and flicked back a strand of her orange hair. “You know what THIS means, Nii-tan! WAR!” She quickly flipped over the next three cards from the deck, hand on top of the fourth to ready the verdict of their battle.
Akai-san regained his confidence as he scooted the three top cards from his deck. A King, a 7, a 10. High cards he needed to keep in his numerical arsenal. His finger tips lay to rest on his fourth and final card.
“I might be your older brother, Mikan. But I’ll show you no. Mercy.” He remarked, showing a little teeth to show he meant business.
“Bring it, bro.” She scoffed, leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs. She looked like the cat who caught the canary; bright smile and narrowed eyes, satisfied with the state of her prey.
He flipped over his card. She, hers.
Mikan reigned in with a total of 10 cards, beating Akai-san’s 10 of Hearts out with a Queen of Spades.
Akai had no words.
They continued their game in silence. Akai-san didn’t even win one hand.
All the cards then stacked on Mikan’s side of the, she chewed loudly on the stale chips in her bowl. Smiling like the true champion, she rocked her heels back and forth on the floor.
“How.” Akai-san was again with head in hands, doomed to spend the rest of his days losing to his little sister.
“I told you, Nii-tan! I’ve been chosen by the Gods. Get used to it.”
“But I switched decks!” He raised his head up, uncharacteristically desperate. Admitting he cheat his own sister, he flushed and looked down. Ashamed. Defeated.
“It’s okay, Nii-tan.” She smiled at him. “I know. I figured. I’d get tired of me winning all the time. But…it just can’t be helped!” She laughed some more. “So what do I win?”
Akai-san raised his head up fully. He stared at his sister. Long and hard. “What do you win?”
Mikan was now a little shaken, seeing a somewhat crazed look in her normally calm and obedient brother’s eyes. He stood up at the same time she did, both slowly making their way to the adjacent living area. Mikan-tan backing up slowly. Akai-san advancing forward faster. Mikan finally turned around to run upstairs to her room when BAM! Akai-san jumped on her, sending them both to the couch to the left of them. His hands went over her sides, wriggling and tickling.
Mikan howled with laughter as her brother yelled “TICKLE WAR!” They rolled onto the floor, tumbling around, bumping into furniture. Mikan went from a rosy shade to almost a pale blue colour. Her sides sore, she couldn’t escape Akai-san’s tickle grip of death.
Akai-san could never beat his sister at cards. But as she rolled around, still giggling, on the floor as he climbed the stairs, he turned around to glance at her. There WAS one war he knew he could always win.
