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"Uno." Tachibana put a plus four card down, face grinning so hard with the remaining last one on his hand while everyone else groans.
Rokuro asks, "What color?"
Feeling cocky, the platoon leader shrugs his shoulder like the question doesn't matter in his path to victory. "Any will do," he says.
Rokuro puts down two cards. "Plus four."
Yuko gasps, her hand slam the cafetaria table. "Thats cheating!"
Rokuro, with four cards remaining, stares at his senior blankly. "Are we not playing exponentially?" he asks.
They do play exponentially but Kikoru is pretty sure what Rokuro does shouldn't be allowed in the rules.
"Thats not how it works!" Yuko says.
"What is two plus two?" Rokuro says.
Yuko splutters, "T-thats ...!"
Kikoru slap a hand over her face, Tachibana laughing maniacally. A lot of the 1st Division members seems to be amused with whatever argument happens on their table.
She doesn't even know how she ends up like this. Sitting with the most peculiar people four days after her initial transfer thanks to Kaiju Number 10 and its stupid obsession in challenging someone stronger than it. She really doesn't expect her seniors to rope her in a card play and told her to stop thinking about training for once like they don't have a world threatening kaiju roaming around somewhere in Japan.
It started like this.
Kikoru knocking on Captain Narumi's door to wake him up (or drag him out of his disgusting nest) for a morning routine when Harada Yuko, a woman in her late twenties with coral colored hair and a bit of red in the locks, found her standing after 10 minutes of yelling at their Captain outside. Shinonome Rin by her side, arms crossed, looking at Kikoru with a raised brow.
"He's supposed to train me with my modified weapon." Kikoru explain then.
"Just train with us." Yuko says.
And that's how she somehow ends up in the cafetaria, nibbling at her food while playing UNO cards with three platoon leaders and three others.
She got kidnapped. She's pretty sure she was coerced and got kidnapped because there's no way she would ditch training for a silly game like UNO when the world could end anytime with Number 9 lurking. The devil mistress who kidnap her is currently trying to stab her coworker with a fork.
Miyake, the other platoon leader, laugh at them. He calmly puts down a card against Rokuro's obnoxious plus four. "Plus eight." he announces triumphantly.
It was a blank card with a written "+8" using a non permanent sharpie.
Yuko screams, "That's also cheating!"
"It's allowed." Tachibana nods.
"No it's not!"
"My cards, my rules."
Shinonome wheezes, clutching her stomach. And Ueno Setsuna, another victim who got kidnapped just like Kikoru, sobs while drawing 16 cards from the deck. There's almost 40 on her hands now. Kikoru cringes with pity.
"Four of a kind." Shinonome puts down four cards with the same number, leaving her with two.
"This is ridiculous." Yuko grumbles as she puts down a reverse card.
"Oh, fuck you." Shinonome hisses. "I don't have that color anymore."
Setsuna puts down a swap card and then reaching for Tachibana's without a word.
Tachibana blinks, "What the fuck."
Yuko cheers, "That's karma for you!"
They continue the round. People fleeting around them as they let them be. Some would stay to watch for a couple minutes, some would pat Yuko on the back when she starts raging whenever Rokuro and Miyake does something to annoys her on purpose. Kikoru struggles to finish her bread while keeping up with the fast pace of the game. She wonders how the six of them able to eat with no issues and is done much more earlier than her. Clearly this wasn't the first time they've done this.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Kikoru flinches. She whips her head quickly with her mouth full of bread only to find Narumi standing behind her, arms crossed, formal uniform clings neatly.
Tachibana waves a hand as a choruses of greetings sounded. The others doesn't seems to pay any attention to Narumi's arrival as they keep playing the stupid UNO game. The Captain taps his foot impatiently, "Well?"
"Playing." Miyake answers with a teasing lilt in his voice.
"I can see that much." Narumi snaps. "Why the hell are you playing UNO here, in the cafetaria, at this hour?"
"Like you never play games every time, Captain." Shinonome quips back. "Why are you even in your formal uniform?"
To that, everyone start looking up from their cards. It is quite unusual to see the Captain looking so fresh and neat like that after all. Especially when they can't even see their Vice-Captain around to drag him out of his cave.
"Are you courting?" Yuko asks curiously.
"Are you finally going on a date with Vice-Captain Hoshina?" Tachibana asks with a smirk.
Narumi blushes, his face angry as he stomp his foot harshly. "I have a meeting with the foreign delegation, you fools!"
Its funny to see him so flustered by the mention of the 3rd Division beloved Vice-Captain. Kikoru doesn't know that Narumi harbor any feelings to him with how he antagonize the man at every chances he got. But apparently its a well-known secret among the 1st Division members and that's the only reason for them to go along with whatever villain role play Narumi wish to do whenever the 3rd, specifically Hoshina Soushirou, pays a visit.
Everyone goes back to their game after deeming Narumi's business as uninteresting. Still, Yuko decides to ask, "With Vice-Captain Hoshina?"
Narumi smack her head and walk away while grumbling.
They should be training. They really should. What if there's an emergency? What if another daikaijuu appear? What if Number 9 attack while they're busy doing god knows whatever going on? Kikoru wants to tell them to stop goofing around and start to pick up their routines. But as a newbie, and the youngest one at that, she can't tell her seniors off.
The UNO game has come to an end with Setsuna as the winner, followed with Shinonome and then Rokuro. Unsurprisingly, its Tachibana who lost thanks to the 40 cards deck Setsuna had him swap with her. Now they're moving on to different game.
"I'm leaving with the children." Shinonome says.
Tachibana stands up abruptly, finger pointing to her face. "You can't do that!" he yells, "leave the children out of it!"
Undeterred, she leans back with arms crossed and a smug tilt of her head. "I have the custody of our children so I have the right to decides as their mother."
"You are so cruel." Tachibana whines.
"I never said I was nice." Shinonome snickers.
They're playing the Game of Life that Miyake pulled out out of nowhere. Rokuro decided to sits back for this one and just playing with his phone while leaning on Yuko's side as a backrest for the sake of annoying her.
Miyake spins the wheel on his turn.
"Oh! You need to pay taxes!" Setsuna chirps.
Miyake hands her the money.
"I'm buying a house." Yuko says.
"You're too broke for that." Rokuro says.
"I will make you fall."
Tachibana flips the bank. "Fuck capitalism!" he shouts, inviting a choruses of agreement and claps from the people who have been watching them.
"Hey!" Setsuna, voice smaller than Tachibana, screams. "My money!"
They put Tachibana behind the bars.
"Are you really still playing?"
All of them look up at the same time. Narumi is hovering over them with a raised brow and a hand on his hip, still in his formal uniform. His hair is only half up now, and Kikoru can't help but think he looks more handsome like that.
"Hello, Capt. You're back." Tachibana greets under the table where they decided whoever got thrown into the jail should stay there.
"The hell are you doing?" Narumi asks, amused.
"Committing a crime," Tachibana says, "the riches hates to hear the truth."
Narumi barks a laugh, "What gives?"
"I lost my children."
To that, Shinonome chimes in. "We got a divorce."
"Condolences." Narumi says, putting a gloved hand over his heart.
Yuko slides a piece of miniature blue dog to him, "Want to join us?"
Narumi shrugs, "Sure."
Kikoru wants to cry.
"Never have I ever try to smoke."
Narumi tsked and put his finger down.
Shinonome follows with an easy smile, "Occasionally."
Tachibana puts down a finger as well, "This is unfair, Ueno."
Silently, Miyake also put a finger down.
They look at Kikoru, whose every fingers are still up. She fidgets, "Never have I ever got eaten by a kaiju."
Three of her seniors groans.
"Accidentally slipped into the mouth of a whale-like kaiju." Yuko says.
"I jumped in because its easier." Rokuro says.
Kikoru coughs, "That's crazy."
Miyake, putting a finger down again, confess. "It was an earthworm kaiju shooting up under me."
Narumi hums. Seemingly wants to say something but decided against it and continues, "Never have I ever passed out in the middle of battlefield."
Tachibana huffs, "I feel oddly targeted."
Setsuna put a finger down and doesn't elaborate.
"You are not special!" Yuko sings cheerfully and puts a finger down.
Its Miyake's turn now. He stretches a grin as he scans the table. "Never have I ever antagonizing my crush for rejecting me."
Yuko cheers and gives him a hi-five. Tachibana rolls down with a loud laugh while Shinonome tries so hard to contain hers. Rokuro fake a cough, and Setsuna giggles.
Narumi slap his arm, "Go to hell!"
Before they could go to Shinonome's turn, someone knock on their table softly. Its a man in a lab coat and glasses sits on his face. One of his eye has lost its color to the blindness. Kikoru remembers him to be the current head of medical team, Utsusemi Yahiro.
"Don't you have trainings to do?" he asks kindly.
"We took a break," Tachibana says like they're actually taking a break from training. That liar.
"Is that so?" Yahiro doesn't sounds convinced but says nothing. He regards Narumi then, "Are you not going to change?"
With a sigh, Narumi stands up from his place. "Right," he says, "lets meet at the training ground 5."
He leaves them then while everyone grumbles like they don't want to go. Kikoru is just happy that she finally has a reason to stop with the silly games she was forced to play.
"Yuko," Yahiro calls again when everyone is about to leave the cafetaria, "report to my office."
"Sir, yes, Sir."
They part ways then. Tachibana and Miyake went back to their respective quarters first to put away their games. Setsuna says that she already promise to help her friends at another training ground. Rokuro follows Yuko. So its only her who went with Shinonome to the meeting point.
"Did you have fun, Kikorun?" she asks her when they're alone.
Kikoru is a little bit surprised. "Oh, uh, yeah ...," she says unintelligently, "didn't expect to play around like that."
Shinonome hums, "Well, we need a break sometimes after all."
Kikoru nods and they goes back to walking in silence.
It wasn't that bad, Kikoru thinks, just not used to it yet. Though it would be a lie if she said she doesn't looking forward to their next games.