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Hey, remember when I said that Ogami'd be dueling against the lone horseman of the apocalypse?


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Yeah, I meant Kohran, not Iris. Kohran is pestilence, mindless destruction war, famine, and death rolled up into one twisted little bundle. Besides, Iris is already an Elder God, and I think her schedule's too booked for her to sub for two positions at once.

[Ogami]

K, Kohran... you look incredibly confident...


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[Kohran]

An' why wouldn't I be? I taught everyone in th' theater this here card game, after all.


[Ogami]

... er, Kohran--


[Kohran]

Rules, strategies, tricks... I know 'em all! Ah've been playin' this game since before half of you were born! I--


[Ogami]

Kohran, you're younger than, like, half of us.


[Kohran]

-- since before Iris was born! An' I haven't even STARTED teachin' all y'all th' more advanced concepts an' tricks!! This game's as good as mine!


[Ogami]

Yeah, about that... I don't think you actually ever taught me how to PLAY this game.


[Kohran]

Oh. Shit, really?


[Ogami]

Yeah. I've just been kind of muddling along through luck and pattern memorization.


[Kohran]

And... y'all managed t' beat the everlovin' christ outta everyone else in th' Flower Division? Without actually knowin' how t' play?


[Ogami]

Yup.


[Kohran]

... so, uh, how many of th' girls did ya bang to--


[Ogami]

None of them.


[Kohran]

But there's no way that y'all could've defeated 'em through normal--


[Ogami]

Look, what you're suggesting is horrible, stupid, suicidal, AND ill-advised! What the hell kind of person do you think I am!?


[Kohran]

Horribly stupid, suicidal, and ill-advised?


[Ogami]

N-not when it really counts!!

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[Kohran]

Don't tell me that ya think that you're no match for me and pull out or somethin', eh?




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[Ogami]

Like right now, for instance!!

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[Ogami]

Right, let's do this, Kohran! Laugh or cry, this is the final battle!!


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VIDEO LINK!
The Final Koi Koi Tournament Battle.

Google Version!
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[Ogami]

WHAT calculations? Isn't this just a game of luck?


[Kohran]

What're ya talkin' about? Look, Koi Koi is anythin' BUT a game of luck. The rules change constantly dependin' on certain environmental factors during play, f'r instance since th' humidity's approximately point-zero-five points above th' normal absolute terror line an' th' equinox of July is fifteen hectorates sideways below the non-linear derivative of f over x due to th' natural tiltin' of th' Earth, and since your spiritual energy's 'bout three centimeters above th' sailor uniform that you gotta jes' take it...


[Kohran]

... I win by default.


[Ogami]

I hate to break it to you, Kohran, but I'm not falling for that kind of bullshit.


[Kohran]

Really? That's a pity, it worked when I played 'gainst Sumire.


[Ogami]

What?


[Kohran]

Well, in her defense, she was piss-drunk at th' time.


[Ogami]

... Kohran, you KNOW that spiking peoples' drinks isn't a good th--


[Kohran]

Naw, naw, it wasn't anythin' THAT underhanded. I jes' wiped th' tables clean beforehand, an' she suddenly slumped over, gigglin'!


[Ogami]

Wiped the tables using...?




[Ogami]

...


[Ogami]

Kohran, you're an asshole.


[Kohran]

I assure you, it was jes' a coincidence! It's not like I KNEW that th' vapors'd cause Sumire to keel over!

----



Regardless, the first round goes... really, REALLY damn slowly.


----


Then, a scattered number of random cards was just enough to score a TAN.


----


One point in Ogami's favor!



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[Kohran]

I can turn this kinda thing 'round on its head faster than you can even REACT, I say! I ain't goin' easier on ya anymore!

----

(... ten minutes later.)



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[Ogami]

Y... you were saying?


[Kohran]

Hush up an' gimme a few more seconds. I'll pull somethin' so strong, so powerful, an' so unbelievably potent that it'll--

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[Kohran]

BAM! Three Lights!

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[Kohran]

A six-point combo, Ogami-han! This game's as good as mine! None of your flippin' lil' one-point things! IN YOUR FACE!!


[Ogami]

But... but Kohran, I scored that combo.


[Kohran]

IN YOUR-- what?


[Ogami]

I scored that combo. You lose those six points.


[Kohran]

Tsk.

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[Kohran]

That last trick caught everyone but Maria-han, y'know.


[Ogami]

That was on purpose?


[Kohran]

Of course! Ya jes' gotta catch th' opponent off-guard, an' fast enough that they don't know what's goin' on. An' then by the time they DO figure it out, you've already deducted th' points from their total.


[Ogami]

... aren't any of your tricks NOT below the belt?


[Kohran]

Tsk tsk tsk. Bullshittin' is th' basics of card game playin', Ogami-han! You'll know better some day, when you're playin' Mahjong 'gainst th' President of th' United States or tryin' to win a gigantic card game tournament that'll decide th' fate of th' world.


[Ogami]

First of all, I don't think I'll ever step foot in another country, and secondly... demons play card games?


[Kohran]

Of course! Emperors, pharaohs, ghosts, zombie clowns... you name it, they play cards.


[Ogami]

... huh. The more you know, I suppose.

----



And as the final round rolls by...



... right off the bat, Kohran scores a pretty powerful combo.



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[Ogami]

(Shit shit shit poo poo shit-- three points is a hefty chunk out of my score. I might be sunk if she keeps going, since she'll probably score bigger combos if I can't stop her in time. And since Kohran is ALREADY falling behind, she's got nothing to lose if she keeps going--)

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----
[Ogami]

(... or... or she could stop the game right there.)

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----


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[Kohran]

... but I got ya jes' where I want you. With this, I got a decent chance at springin' back next round! Th' point difference is only FOUR now, so if I can score bigger an' bigger combos--


[Ogami]

Kohran, that was the last round.


[Kohran]

What?


[Ogami]

There are no more rounds. That was the last round. This is, in fact, the end of 'round' as it applies to this tournament.


[Kohran]

....

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----
[Kohran]

But no matter. Ogami-han, you've fallen right into my trap! Eight is, in fact--


[Ogami]

-- NOT greater than twelve, Kohran.


[Kohran]

Tsk. I even managed t' catch MARIA with THAT one.


[Ogami]

... HOW?


[Kohran]

It'd take too long if I started NOW. In a nutshell, I jes' had t' convince th' opponent that reality is such that it could be POSSIBLE for eight to become greater than twelve-- and in fact, this is precisely th' case if ya--


[Ogami]

Don't wanna hear it, Kohran.


[Kohran]

Damn. You ARE sharp.

----

[Ogami]

Right... I managed to win.




[Kohran]

Even though I'd been goin' with straight wins, I was finally brought back down t' earth, huh.


----
[Ogami]

That's because I managed to see through all your tricks, Kohran. Lessee... I should probably let Yoneda know that I won this r--

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----
[Ogami]

-- GENTLY FUCKIN' CARESS WHERE DID YOU COME FROM!?


[Yoneda]

I'm everywhere ya don't want me to be, Ogami. I thought you knew that already!

----

[Yoneda]

A'right, let's get everyone gathered an' do the awards ceremony, shall we?


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[Ogami]

Can't it wait until tomorrow? I mean, it's getting late, and it'll take a while to get everyo--


[Everyone]

You called?

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[Ogami]

I... I really should've seen that com--


[Ogami]

... I-Iris, did you just show up twice?


[Iris]

Don't worry about it, Oniichan, that was just a temporal anomaly. Iris forgot to obey the laws of reality again~!


[Ogami]

Iris--


[Maria]

I have already lectured you about exercising your powers and trying to attain godhood, haven't I, Iris? What was it that I told you?


[Iris]

"If you're going to horribly rape the special theory of relativity and shatter it into a trillion pieces simply by virtue of your existence, please remember to put it back together again when you're finished with it."


[Maria]

Good. As long as you understand, it's alright.


[Iris]

Yaaaaay!


[Ogami]

... maybe if you stopped her from doing so in the first place?


[Maria]

I'm sure she'll grow out of it, Captain.


[Ogami]

What, the phase, or the universe itself?


[Maria]

Both.


[Ogami]

That's not very reassuring, Maria.

----



[Yoneda]

Lessee, the winner is...




[Yoneda]

Now, Ogami, you get this gold medal as your commemoration of victory. Take good care of it.



----


And then,



everyone's



trust



levels



go up



a lot.



[Yoneda]

If everyone managed to grasp even one thing via this tournament, then it can be called a success!


[Ogami]

(T... that's plausible, but what in the world can you gain through Koi Koi...?)




[Ogami]

N, no... it's nothing.




----
[Ogami]

What about the silver and the bronze medals?


[Yoneda]

What, you actually thought that I could be assed to buy more than one medal?


[Ogami]

Well, yeah, I mean--


[Ogami]

Manager, the medal's gold is scraping off.


[Yoneda]

'Course! It's gold foil, after all.


[Ogami]

... Manager, this isn't the kind of toy that you find in cereal boxes, is it?


[Yoneda]

Ha ha! Not after Kohran was done with it, it--


[Yoneda]

-- er, forget I said anythin'. Alright, everyone, let's go.


[Ogami]

But--


[Yoneda]

Chop chop! Time's a wastin'! The night ain't gettin' any younger!


[Ogami]

Wha-- why are you all running? Kohran, what did you DO to this medal!?

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NEXT TIME: Nightly rounds, and a return to a semi-standard updating schedule!


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