Dokeshi March ~ 2!

Grant and Suki stumbled through the alley and into a kaleidoscope of colorful lights that dazzled and amazed them. What Grant had thought were inns turned out to be some kind of game store emblazoned with signs declaring that ‘patrons won’t be disappointed if they try their luck’. People seemed happy, their laughter echoing about the town square and from nearly every building. As Grant followed his nose and approached the nearest food stall, he noticed a gaunt man wearing the white uniform of a professional chef standing behind a grill.

The smell of cooking beef made him dizzy, and he couldn’t hold in his drool; a thin stream escaped the corner of his mouth. As the two approached, Grant managed to get a better look at the man behind the counter. He didn’t look like any cook Grant had seen before. In January, any chef under three hundred pounds would be laughed out of business, but this man was somehow even skinnier than the people of February! The hems of his cook whites were slightly frayed, and more than one faded stain was still visible on the front of the thin jacket.

“Step right up, folks! Come try the fancy fare at Fancy Frank’s Fantastic Foodstuffs!” His sunken cheeks didn’t diminish the smile he cast at the sight of potential customers, and he waved his spatula about like a true showman. “This sustenance station is certainly suitable for special souls such as yourselves!”

Grant still had a few misgivings, but he was already here, and the two steaks sizzling on the grill made his stomach growl like an angry puma. “How much for the steaks… Frank?”

“Frank's my name; frankly, frying’s my favorite game!” Grant stared in confusion at the grill. There definitely wasn’t any kind of frying equipment or pans in sight.

“Okay…? Frank, how much Time for the steaks?” He dug out the coin pouch hidden in his waistband and jingled it in front of the odd man to accentuate his point.

“Oh, such a silly side to show simple servers!” The cook plopped down a wheel in front of Grant. “Donate a duo of Days to drive the disk! Let Lady Luck locate the luncheon you lick!”

“What? What’s happening right now?” Grant glared at the man, confused and starting to feel slightly angry. “I don’t want to spin a wheel. I want to buy those steaks!”

<I’d laugh at your mental cultivation again, but this is something else entirely. Still…> A bright orange rock that only Grant could see came out of nowhere and smacked him in the head. <The man is saying you need to pay to spin the wheel before you can buy the food.>

<How am I supposed to know that?> Grant mentally retorted, not wanting to be seen muttering into the air. He had been told it made him look crazy. He rubbed his forehead where the rock had struck him, which the others mistook for irritation. <Since when can you throw rocks at me?>

<Grant, if I can throw a spider the size of a horse at you, I can certainly pelt you with rocks.> Sarge snorted a new threat just as Grant opened his mouth to speak again, <I’m looking forward to this new iron maiden module I’ve been tossing around for a while->

Grant’s face paled. The cook was starting to lose his smile, so Suki elbowed Grant in the ribs and hissed, “You’re making a scene. Just pay the man, and let’s get out of here.”

Begrudgingly handing over two Days, Grant grimaced as the cook’s smile returned to its former glory.

“Delectable decision, my dangerous disputant.” It was obvious that Grant’s patience was nearing its end, so the man scooted the wheel closer to him. “Spin, sir, and see such succulent and savory-”

He was cut off by Grant spinning the wheel hard enough that it almost tipped off the counter and onto the flames of the grill. It rocked back to safety, but the motion threw off the rotation of the wheel. The circle was marked with four equal colors, red, yellow, green, and blue. The vendor had nearly lunged for it, but let out a slow sigh of relief as it stabilized and slowly rotated until the pointer at the base landed on green.

“Ah, green! What a fun game this was.” Grant deadpanned as he held out his hands, ready to finally get the beef his body so strongly desired. “Now that I played with the wheel, can I please get the steaks? You don’t even have to put mine on a plate. I can probably finish it in three bites.”

“The color callous chance chose for cook’s customers means I can’t cook the choice cuts of cattle claimed by the client.” Frank plopped down two plates of wilted salad; Grant was pretty sure he saw a bug in one of them. The vendor gave them a wink and made a shooing motion, telling them to go. “Better luck next time!”

“What just happened.” Grant’s deadpan growl made the phrase a statement instead of a question. Suki eyed the white-knuckled grip he had on his sword and placed her hand on top of his hand, forcing him to stop before he could kill the food vendor.

“Just take the food and go,” she stated through a forced smile, nodding toward a pair of men wearing the orange tabards of House Tuesday. “We don’t want to make a scene in front of the Peacekeepers.”

Grant grabbed the plates off the counter, secretly plotting the demise of the man that had just charged him a ridiculous sum for more rabbit food. “I’m going to kill him.”

He whispered the words to Suki like a mantra as they walked over to a table and chairs on the opposite side of the square. She awkwardly patted his hand, hoping that they could get out of sight. “I have never wanted to fight someone so much in my entire life. Is getting a steak really too much to ask?”

<Just eat the salad with the bug in it. Free protein! Didn't’ get that in February unless you worked your butt off the whole day long!> Sarge laughed at the entire situation, pleased that Grant was being forced to eat healthy even in this District. <Lean meat, good fiber->

Grant seriously contemplated throwing his one-of-a-kind uchigatana into the trash. He wasn’t going to eat a bug while surrounded by real food! Sarge caught an inkling of what was going through Grant’s mind, so he dropped the humor and gave an order. <I know it’s hard for you to learn, but stop this thought process and take a look around. Really look this time, and tell me what you see.>

Grant understood that it wasn’t a request, so he sat down and glanced around the square, taking the time to pay close attention to the details that had slipped through. The vendors standing behind the stalls all wore shining smiles as people walked by, but those without potential customers seemed… scared. Hungry. Suddenly, the laughter of the patrons didn’t sound carefree and joyous. It had an edge to it, like they were all on the cusp of madness. The hair on the back of Grant’s neck started standing on end, and it dawned on him that this wasn’t a happy place. It was a desperate place.

A woman holding her child’s hand was rolling some dice in front of a baker, a huge loaf of bread on the counter up for grabs if she won. As the cubes tumbled to a stop, a tear fell from her cheek, and the man behind the counter handed over a moldy heel of bread. She passed it to her daughter, who immediately scarfed it down like she hadn’t eaten in a week. It finally clicked for him. “These people… are they all starving?”

<Now you see it. I don’t know why, yet, since there is plenty of food on display, but everyone in this town is on the edge. All it would take is one spark, and this place would go up like it was soaked in lamp oil.> Sarge’s words painted a grim picture that Grant had no choice but to acknowledge.

“We need to get out of here.” Suki’s subvocalization brought Grant's focus back to what was in front of him. “Hurry up and finish. We really need to get out of here.”

The look on her face meant she had noticed it, too. Something was wrong here, and they didn’t yet know enough about society in March to figure it out. Grant pointed to a man sitting a few tables down from them. “Maybe we should ask someone what is going on? I’ll see if that guy knows anything.”

Suki hesitated visibly, but she reluctantly allowed Grant to do as he wished. “Fine, but be careful. We don’t want to stand out too much, and the wrong question could bring the kind of attention we don’t need right now.”

Grant stood, and strolled over to speak to the other diner with an exploratory smile on his face.

“Seat’s taken, kid.” The name tag over the man said he was ‘Lucky Luca’. Grant ignored him and took the seat anyway. “Heh, seein’ as how ya don’ know when a man wants to be left alone, why don’ ya just get to it? Tell Lucky Luca what it is ya want, yeah?”

Grant gave the man a once-over, taking in his ragged clothing and unwashed features. The obvious bulge in his coin pouch hinted that the man had plenty of Time, but he wasn’t using it to better himself very much. Grant leaned forward, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “I was hoping I could ask you some questions. I’m new here, and there are some things going on that I don’t understand.”

“Ah, it’s information ya want.” Luca pulled out a deck of cards and started shuffling them. “If ya can pick out the high card, I’ll tell ya what ya wanna know, see?”

Three cards were quickly laid out on the table. “If I win, ya pay me Time for my time, an’ I tell ya what I wanna tell ya. Get me?”

“You’ll tell me what I want to know,” Grant firmly stated. He was having problems with the man’s accent; it wasn’t anything like he had heard before. “If I need to play your game to make that happen, let's do it.”

“If ya win, sure. If I win, we do things my way. Either way… ya gotta pick ya card then, see.” Luca gestured to the three cards. “I’ll let ya go first, ta make sure things is on the up and up, see.”

Grant reached forward, awkwardly choosing the middle card. He flipped it over to see a ten with a large red diamond under it. The other man flipped the card on Grant’s right, somehow making the third card disappear in the same motion. His card bore the figure of a scepter, with a ‘J’ in the corners.

“Looks like I won that one.” Lucky Luca held out his hand. “How’s about ya hand over an Hour, and I’ll tell ya some things I think ya should know?”

Grant still had no idea what was going on, but he passed over an Hour coin. “First thing ya gotta know is ya gotta win everything, see? Chance rules this place, so ya betta find ya’self a way to tilt things ya direction.”

“What?” Grant was more confused by the information than enlightened. “How does that make any sense? Is that why I couldn’t just buy a steak?”

“Nah, see. Ya probably couldn’t buy a steak ‘cause of the food shortage.” He pointed to his own plate. “Somethin’ messed up the food comin’ from the border, so now we all gotta go hungry, see.”

“But he was grilling the steaks right in front of me!” If Grant hadn’t been wearing his helmet, he would have pulled out his hair in frustration. “Why wouldn’t he just charge me for them?”

“Ya ever heard of advertisin’?” Lucky Luka chortled and took a bite of his food. “Look, kid, ya seem like an alright sort, so I got a piece of advice for ya.”

He shuffled the deck of cards that seemed to appear in his hands, as if by magic. “Go back ta wherever ya came from, ‘cause I don’t think ya got what it takes ta make it in a place like this. When ya gamble for everythin’, ya gotta be willin’ ta take chances, see. I don’t think ya are the sort ta like that kinda thing. You have an unlucky face.”

“You cheated!” Before Grant could say another word, their discussion was interrupted by an angry shout from across the square. “I saw you tilt the table! Gimme my money back!”

“I’m no cheater! You lost fair and square!” The bread vendor’s face was livid, and he quickly scooped up a small cudgel from behind his stall. “Take it back!”

“Oh, that’s gonna be real bad, see. We gotta get outta here before the carrots start wavin’ their sticks.” Lucky Luca quickly stood, knocking over his chair in the process. He tipped his hat in Grant’s direction before disappearing between two buildings in an instant.

<He might be right. Grab your girlfriend, and let’s get out of here. You should be training, not getting mixed up in that kind of trouble.> Sarge was talking about the mob of people that had sprung up out of nowhere, surrounding the two men shouting at one another.

Grant took a closer look at the man who had accused the bread maker of cheating. He was almost skeletally thin, his hollow cheeks and shrunken eyes feverish with the beginnings of starvation. It was hard to tell, but it looked like the mob was angrier at the accusation of the food vendor being a cheat than the close-to-death man standing in front of them.

“He’s skin and bones. The man just needs food.” Grant weighed the options of leaving the man to the mercies of the mob or stepping in to attempt to break it up. Then, Grant looked over at Suki. “Sarge, what would she think if the new Lord February just watched a starving man get beaten, or worse, killed? I can’t just walk away.”

<You should absolutely-> Grant got to his feet, ready to head over and stop the fight. As he prepared to draw his uchigatana, Sarge chuckled in his mind. <You know what? Fine. I told you it would take less than an hour for you to find trouble.>

“In a place like this, you should have bet on it.” Grant approached the mob with powerful strides, his hand on the hilt of February Twenty Nine.