Gamble Fish 8

Chapter 08

27
Title: Fight 08 The Bond Known as Magic

28

Tomu: I'll bet 10 chips on the next game.

Mizuhara: T-Tomu's betting seriously again!!

Crowd: But he just lost a bunch of chips...
Crowd: That only leaves him with 19 chips left.
Crowd: And he hasn't won a single game yet.

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Yuka: Ha ha...a game gets boring when it's too one sided.
Yuka: Abidani-sensei, let's change the rules a little.
Abidani: Hm?

Yuka: Normally in "Black Jack", the dealer's first card is flipped over.
Yuka: This rule puts the player at a disadvantage.
Yuka: Because of this hidden information, the decision to either "hit" or "stay" becomes more difficult.

Yuka: So we'll reverse that rule.
Yuka: As the dealer, my two cards will be face up.

Yuka: And instead, Shirasagi's first card will be flipped over.

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Crowd: So...because Shirasagi can see the dealer's cards, he'll have the advantage.
Crowd: And now Tsukiyono won't be able to switch out the cards...
Crowd: These are rules that Shirasagi could only hope for.

Abidani: So you want to put a handicap on yourself? Go ahead!!
Abidani: And I'm sure Shirasagi has no objection.

Mizuhara: A jack!? Did she deal him the wrong card!?
Natsumi: The dealer has "17", so senpai wins with "18"!!

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Tomu: This is fine... I'll stay.

Yuka: Then I'll turn over your card.

Yuka: I won't actually touch the card; I'll turn it over with the deck.
Yuka: Okay?

Mizuhara: Eh!!?

Mizuhara: W-wait!! You cheated!!
Mizuhara: The card was the jack of spades!!
Yuka: Oh, my. What's with the false accusations?

32

Yuka: Can you find any proof that I was cheating!?
Yuka: If you want, you can even perform a strip search!

Mizuhara: Nfh!!
Tomu: Calm down, Mizuhara.
Tomu: She's right.
Tomu: Until we can see through her technique, we can't prove she's cheating.

Yuka: Heh heh...you think you can see through my technique?
Yuka: I'll let you see it as many times as you like.

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Mizuhara: It's the ace of spades!! With this Tomu will win with "21"!!
Mizuhara: I won't overlook her cheating this time!!

Tomu: Okay...I bet 5 chips.
Tomu: I'll stay.

Yuka: Then I'll turn over your card.
Yuka: Watch closely.

34

Crowd: Wow. She's doing it right in front of us and I can't tell at all!!
Crowd: She switched the ace of diamonds for the 2 of diamonds in an instant!!
Crowd: How can she do that without even directly touching the card!?

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Tomu: It's like a miracle.
Tomu: I'm amazed that magic can be this useful...

Yuka: It's not a miracle; it's practice!!
Yuka: Magic is made by working at it every single day...by doing it tens of thousands of times!!

Yuka: And more than anything...magic is...
Yuka: a precious memory of my brother...

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Brother: Did you see it, Yuka? I'll show you again.
Brother: This time I'll put an "X" on the back of the card.
Brother: This'll make it easier to see, right?

Yuka: Do it slowly!! Really slowly!!
Brother: Pay closer attention to the deck in my left hand than to my right hand.

Brother: I'll turn over the 2 of hearts with the mark on the back.

Brother: You gently slide the deck under the card while pushing the deck's top card over...

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Brother: The moment you start rotating your hand to flip over the card is key.
Brother: That's when you use your thumb to quickly switch out the flipped over card and the top card.

Brother: And then you let the top card fall...
Brother: See.
Brother: The 2 of hearts with the mark is now in my left hand.

Yuka: Woooow!! You're a genius!!
Brother: It's all about practice. If you practice everyday, you'll be able to do it, too, Yuka.

Dad: It looks like you've gotten better again.
Yuka: Papa!!

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Dad: Impressive.
Dad: It won't be long before you're ready to get up on the stage with me.
Brother: I've...still got a ways to go.
Yuka: I wanna be a magician, too.

Yuka: Our mother had an early death.
Yuka: My father was still unknown, but he raised us by himself.

Yuka: Our dream was for all three of us to have a magician show in a first-class hotel.
Yuka: Our home was always filled with laughter.

Yuka: I thought that...
Yuka: those happy days would go on forever...

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Yuka: Until that winter day...

Yuka: My father's talent had finally been recognized.
Yuka: It was the day of his first performance at a first-class hotel.

Yuka: Ah.

Yuka: Oh, no.
Brother: You idiot!! It's red!

Yuka: But these are the flowers to give to dad...

Brother: Yuka!!!

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Yuka: On that day...the laughter disappeared from our home.

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Yuka: I started staying inside most of the time.
Yuka: And I became obsessed with practicing magic.

Yuka: The Pull Through, the Zarrow Shuffle, palming the card, and the Black Jack Change...
Yuka: I felt like I could get some kind of atonement out of doing it...

Yuka: Eventually, my father started doing tour shows in America.
Yuka: He said he didn't want to, but that, if he got popular within a year, he might never return to Japan.

Dad: I'm worried about leaving you here, but this is a big chance for me.
Dad: Luckily, I found a good school for you. It's called Shishidou Academy...

Yuka: ...You're abandoning me?

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Dad: Yuka? D-don't be ridiculous...
Yuka: Then take me with you!! Didn't we want to all have a show together!?
Yuka: I've gotten good!! I'm as good as my brother was...

Dad: ...Yukio was a genius.
Dad: He was on a different level than you...

Yuka: You hate me...

Yuka: I know!! You've always hated me!!
Yuka: Because I caused his death...You wish I'd died instead!!

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Dad: ...I'm sorry.
Dad: I've...always been chasing after the shadow of him I see in you...

Dad: And in doing so, I've hurt you and cornered you...
Dad: The one at fault...is your coward of a father who can't get back on his feet.

Dad: You can just be yourself...
Dad: You don't have to be a replacement for your brother.
Dad: I want you...to attain true happiness.

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Yuka: It was hard being on my own.
Yuka: My father was also fighting with the grief inside of him.

Yuka: I didn't quit magic...
Yuka: but it was now just one part of my life.

Yuka: It was the one precious bond...
Yuka: that connected me with my brother.

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Yuka: And that's why I can't forgive him!!

Yuka: He treats my brother's and my precious magic...

Yuka: as a tool for gambling!!
Yuka: And he uses childish tricks that can't even rightly be called magic.

Yuka: I won't forgive him!!

Tomu: ...Looks like it's about time.

46

Mizuhara: He just bet his last 10 chips!!
Natsumi: Senpai's gone in for the final game!!

Tomu: The final game? No...
Tomu: This is the beginning of the miracle.

Yuka: Shirasagi Tomu...I'll use my magic...
Yuka: to send you to hell!!!