"I know the controls can be complicated at first, but you should at least give it a try. It's actually a fun game once you get the hang of it."

Tomoko turned her head toward the source of the voice. A young man, probably not too much older than herself though. Oh shit. Somebody had witnessed Tomoko's horrific failure. This single arcade run was getting worse and worse by the second.

"You see, when he jumps in like that, you can hold down and push punch and you'll do an uppercut, knock him right out of the air. Go ahead and try, you can probably beat this guy with that alone."

"I just chose the wrong character," Tomoko explained, watching the timer on the second round tick closer and closer to zero so that she could be relieved from this run of misery and actually work on getting a respectable score in the next one. Pulling a pair of tokens from her pocket in advance, the girl watched the timer hit zero. The screen displayed the losing screen, followed by the timeless staple in all arcade games: The countdown from ten in big numbers, accompanied by the ever-important question, "Continue?" At that part, Tomoko started mashing buttons to hasten the countdown hitting zero, before being brought back to the title screen.

Nodding toward the young man that had given her some advice, Tomoko said "That's solid advice. Now it's my turn to give you some." before putting the tokens in the machine once more, making sure to choose the proper character this time. Highest skillcap in the game due to an unorthodox moveset, low hitstun, and virtually no ranged attacks, but a top-tier character in the right hands thanks to spacing power, difficult reads, and a metric ton of combo potential. Just her style. At the loading screen, Tomoko opened her mouth and let a veritable hell of mechanical skill pour forth.

"This guy's gap-closer can be blocked, but he'll close the distance anyway and land a hit when he does if your opponent isn't blocking. What most players don't pay attention to is that he can stop while closing the gap; you can use that on most players to stop as soon as you're in range and use a sweep to knock them down and combo. Against pros, you force them to play a guessing game; will I go for the sweep, or will I close the gap all the way? The sweep is safer since you won't be as easily punished if they block it, but if you go all the way and they blocked low for the sweep, you'll hit them. Once that happens, it's time to combo like there's no tomorrow."

Once the fight started, Tomoko immediately closed the distance needed to demonstrate what she'd just explained. Since this was a very weak AI, it wouldn't predict the sweep; it never did. She used this opportunity to put into action what she'd just put into words, stopping mid-gap-close and using the sweep as soon as she was in range. The AI was swept off its feet, and with some quick inputs and sufficient jiggling of the joystick, Tomoko was now 30 hits into a combo and growing, with an airborne opponent taking more and more hits for every moment Tomoko's character of choice was near it.

"Easy, right?"
@Takashi

After being given the Bluebird Nemesia, Amaya looked over at where the bright girl had pointed out the fertilizer, and grabbed a smaller bag. After quickly purchasing her gift the blond made sure to thank the younger girl for her help. Then she whipped out her phone to check the time. Geez, was it that time already? Maybe it was about time to eat. However, another thought invaded her mind. She wasn't really all that hungry was she? Amaya had such a good workout this morning that she didn't want to ruin it with overindulging in food. Besides she needed to study for finals. She had already spent too much time shopping for gifts. So, with that thought in mind, Amaya stopped by her dorm to drop off her gifts (making sure to find a good hiding spot from Rachel), and grab her backpack and laptop before heading to the library for a long study session.

---

Time Skip

Amaya's eyes wandered from the pages of her notebook to the massive amount of students in the library. She had been studying for who knows how long, hours most likely. The quiet girl had managed to make a lot of progress since that morning. Her bio essay was 75% done, she studied for her massive math final, and she had even finished her presentation for speech class.

However, boredom was starting to settle in. Amaya's eye were looking around the room, making educated guesses about what everyone was doing. For example, there were a group of guys studying at a table together. It didn't take a genius to know that they were on the football team. It looked like they were hardcore studying to keep their grades up to stay on the team. At another table a girl and a guy sat staring into each other's eyes more than staring at their study material. A small twinge of sadness filled the single female. Being alone sucked, but it was better than being with her ex, Damien. That bast... he wasn't a great guy.

Snapping out of her trance, Amaya realized she wasn't going to get much more done, so she packed up her things before heading back to her dorm. She either had the option of fooling around on the internet, or do something more productive with her life. Especially since she didn't have work tonight, she felt like doing something adventurous. So she decided to see what Shine City had to offer tonight.

The biting winter cold nipped at her uncovered ears and nose. Amaya had dressed up warmly, but not everything could be covered. The park was pretty much empty. Not many people were out for walks in the freezing cold on a Saturday night. But, still, Amaya kept on walking. Even if nothing exciting came up, at least she had gotten some more exercise in that day.

Nori put on the version of 'Truffle Butter' she had remixed before her shift that extended the song's three minute runtime to ten and stepped back from the sound booth. The tattooed DJ had been saving her break so she could take it with Kyle, but it was 9:20 now and if she waited any longer Mr. Beauregard wouldn't let her take one at all. Nori grabbed a towel from under the mixing desk and patted at her brow, trying not to think about the American boy she had met earlier in the day or how disappointed she was that he hadn't shown up.

'It's karma,' she thought, grabbing her water bottle and chugging the last of it. 'This is what I get for being such a jerk to Nick.'

"Nori."

Cringing, Nori did her best to mentally prepare herself for an interaction with her scumbag of a boss before whirling around to face him. "Mr. Beauregard," the blonde replied curtly, putting a hand on her hip. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

The balding man shook his head. "Just stopped by to tell you it's a little late to be taking your break. Don't make a habit of it," he scolded.

"I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't," Mr. Beauregard grunted in response, pausing for a moment to take in her appearance. "It's good to see that you're finally taking our dress code more seriously though. This is a big improvement over last Saturday," the gruff man commented, reaching out his big, sweaty meat-hand to grab the crystal pendant that was suspended just above Nori's belly button via an intricate system of body chains. The yellow eyed girl was wearing a black crop top, so the action caused his calloused fingers to brush over her bare stomach.

Nori's left eye began to twitch.

"The pants need improving," he decided, dropping the bit of jewelry and glaring at her pants as if they were physically making him ill.

"Are you kidding me?" Nori asked, pinching the bridge of her nose. "These pants are so tight that if I bent over you could see my ovaries!"

"No one wants to see your ovaries, Haywood," drawled Cash Daindrich, AKA DJ Dangermouse as he slithered his way onto the DJ booth.

Nori's other eye begins to twitch.

"Enough," Mr. Beauregard says, but from the smirk on his face Nori can tell he thinks this entire situation is highly amusing. "Get off the stage Dangermouse, before she has a conniption fit. You're not on for another thirty minutes anyways. And you," their boss points a finger at Nori, "Lose the pants next time and go with a skirt. The more skin the better."

"Yes, sir," both DJs answer in unison, much to the blonde's chagrin, and Cash flashes her that stupid grin that makes her want to rip all his hair out, one ridiculous dreadlock at a time.

"Get off my stage," the short girl ordered, before putting her headphones back on and stepping back up to the mixing table to finish her set.

---

Yutaro was confused at first at Tomoko's response. So she picked the wrong character... even so, why was she just sitting there instead of playing the game? However, the deluge of information that the girl released during the loading screen followed by the flawless execution of her theory proved that he had misjudged her. In fact, she seemed to know even more about the game than he did. He let out a whistle, impressed with her skills at the game, but couldn't help but comment on her strategy. "You need more tools than a 50-50 mixup, though, especially when playing as such a commonly used character. A mixup is only a guess when one's reaction time is slower than the character's animation; true pros know all of the characters' options and animations, and have the reaction time to deal with a tactic like that rather easily. People who win fighting game tournaments have two things: strong fundamentals, and a strong metagame."

Yutaro stopped himself there before he delved into a long lecture about strategic analysis, baiting, and yomi ("mind-reading"). In his high-school days, before he had a job to eat up all of his free time, he had won quite a few local tournaments in games like these, though he never responded to the invitations to regional tournaments. His reaction time was still superb, but he didn't have the time anymore to learn every matchup for every game, binge-watching videos of pro players and analyzing why they lost. No, if he challenged this girl now, he would most definitely lose, but Sun Tzu himself advised that one must know when to fight. Besides, it looked like the girl was getting "in the zone" with her high score run, and it would be bad manners to interrupt it.

"Anyway, my name's Yutaro," he said; he would have offered her his hand, but she wasn't likely to take her hands off the machine. "I'm sure we'll run into each other around here, so feel free to chat or challenge me; I'd have to be in a pretty bad mood to say no to either." With that, he gave her a wave that he was sure she wouldn't see, and headed over to Galaxian so he could try to take ASS off of the high score board.

TIME SKIP

It was a busy night at the casino. Nobody had to get up in the morning, and tons of patrons seemed to be in the grip of the holiday blues, which sucked for them but was good for business. Few people gambled as frequently as depressed single folks; they had the mindset that they had nothing to lose, and nobody to stop them. Fortunately, they had Yutaro to cheer them up, and his specialty was making people feel good even as they lost their money. "Hey look at it this way," he said to some surly middle-aged man who was ranting about how his ex-wife left him for some nerdy programmer. "At least you're appreciated here." Yutaro timed the consolation to arrive just as the man's "free" drink was delivered for maximum impact. Funny how people thought the drinks were free; he had lost sixty dollars in the time it took that drink to arrive.

He finished out the deck without any noteworthy incidents, and then it was time for the dealers to switch. Yutaro stretched as he walked over to the next table, and checked his phone. One message? He quickly opened it up, only to find that his mom had just sent him a picture of her dog in a Santa hat... though Yutaro wasn't exactly sure why he found that disappointing. The holiday blues could certainly create some unreasonable expectations.

?:??pm

"I...lost my phone..." Kyle's hand sat frozen in his pocket where his phone normally would be, at the end of an extremely long line going into the club. "Fuck...My....Life..." Kyle brought his hand up to his brow and pinched it, frustrated, but thinking. "I must of lost it when I bumped into that guy earlier, damn I don't know if I go back if he'll even be there...damn, what the hell am I going to tell Nori?"

"Oh hey Nori, so after our arcade adventure I went home, got high, fell asleep, woke up an hour before you finished and by the time I got to the club I couldn't even get in. You still want to go out with me?" Yea, Kyle would be damn lucky to get out of that without a slap across the face. He wanted to punch something, anything, he was damn well pissed at himself for screwing this up and what would she even think of him now...well...he was still determined to see her. Kyle may not be getting into the club tonight, but damn it all if he wasn't going to see her and at the very least explain himself he didn't want her to think he'd just...stood her up. This time he actually did smack himself in the face, "Now she's probably thinking that I'm pulling the same stunt like she did that one guy."

Feeling all the worse, he committed himself to staying, but he wanted to know the time at least, tapping on the shoulder of someone ahead of him, they turned their head to face Kyle, a real nasty look on their face, Kyle remained cautious.

"Sorry, do you know what time it is?"

"Time for you to get a watch, asshole."

The patron then turned their head around, leaving Kyle more or less just sort of...done. "Guess I'll just...wait for her to come on out then." He felt a little sick in his stomach, it was gonna be a long wait...

The afternoon had passed fairly swiftly, though it was not without surprise. As Shou went to meet one James Avery after all, he was dumbstruck at the file pushed into his hands, which the boy claimed contained each and every assignment he had missed. Naturally, Shou was skeptical; there were so many bits and pieces that the boy had neglected over the year. However, surprisingly, the file weighed a decent amount and Shou would give him the benefit of the doubt, later in his quarters poring over the majority of the sheets and finding out the boy with the red hair had told the truth after all.
The meeting was kept brief, and he did introduce Akane and James, if only extremely briefly, before bidding them both farewell. He did have other places to be, after all.

@Cirrus
@OppositionJ

---
Saturday Evening

...like satisfying his itching gambling habit at Shine City's infamous casino. He slunk into the bright and bustling building wordlessly, just like some of the patrons but equally contrasting with the attitudes of others, hands shoved into his pockets and the short remnant of a cigarette he had been smoking between thin lips bitten by the cold. He licked over them time and again; it was a tell of his when he was nervous, he would bite or fervently lick over his lips. Though with lips that soft...

He was greeted by the familiar sounds of jeering and drunken laughter, and he wrapped his royal blue scarf a little tighter around his neck. Shou did not particularly enjoy gambling at this point. No, that was a lie. He could not stay away. Though he realised it was a problem. And a problem he could not resolve, so succumbed to it, a shell of a man.

He slid into a stool at a Blackjack table, though he had been eyeing the roulette tables as well. Letting the brief thought of how lucky he might be to win the Russian variant of roulette, and end up the (un)fortunate victim of the bullet in the chamber, he looked up at the dealer through tired brown eyes, spectacles that caught the gaudy gold casino lights and a tired smile that would almost evoke pity.

Shou never stayed this way, though. There were always drinks to be had to ease into things and forget. Sending a pretty woman waiting on him with an order of Sex on the Beach, he propped his glasses further up his nose before speaking to the dealer, a man with jet black hair and a natural charm about him, coupled with an air of both smooth omniscience and a warm, inviting sort of smile.

"Saturday nights. Pretty packed, are they not?"

Maybe he would let his luck dictate whether he would return the call to the lovely printed digits on the napkin at the Mochavine earlier that day. Good games meant he'd give them a call. Bad games meant he'd put it off till tomorrow.

@Takashi
@Dynamo Frokane

@BeastofDestiny

Sabine would've never thought herself as a club-goer again. She had, largely during the past eight years, seen just about every scene there was to see in seaside hometown (which was, in fact, a city).

The hypnotic beats; the strobes and sweeps of lasers; the hot, sultry pants of other clubbers and their collective heat...that in itself was an exhilarating experience, given some moderation. A weekend party, or perhaps a holiday celebration with a group of closely-knit friends made for safe partying. Someone always watched the other, for one reason or another.

As if she'd ever done that.

She was dumber, then. Now? Well, she heard that Shine City was pretty safe overall. Safe enough from what, one might ask?

The brunette sniffled as she swiped her index finger through her cellphone, calculating budgets and cutting expenses for what might've been a very exciting night, or not. That depended on the DJ and the people.

Right then and there, someone popped up the question :

"Sorry, do you know what time it is?"

To which the answer was a very sarcastic :

"Time for you to get a watch, asshole."

...ouch.

Well, she did have to factor in time too. Whoever popped the question was just unlucky to not have phone or watch, a habit she only killed just recently.

And what a "whoever" was he. Tall, slim, but certainly not too gaunt...not bad at all...

On her tippy-toes, Sabine leaned forward and raised her hand...

...poked the guy on his shoulder...

...don't fall...don't...nopenopenopenope......

Sabine didn't even realize she had squeezed her eyes shut, so it was much to her surprise that once she opened them again, her nose had barely missed the man's back. Quickly, she corrected her stance and glanced at her phone again.

Crisis averted.

"Excuse me? It's...21:19...or 9:19 PM...I think. Yeah...it should be...

The lights of Shrine Junction flew by as Oliver sped down the highway, a lit cigarette in his mouth, the smoke trailing from his lips and catching freedom through the cracked window of his car. He glanced to his side, eyeing the empty coffee cup in the holder next to him. He had to admit, Mochavine made some damn good coffee. It had been some time since he had left the shop, heading back to his apartment/office feeling quite energized. Yet, the quiet was boring. Perhaps there was something decent on the radio?

He pressed the on button.

The radio came alive, the quality of the sound crisp and clear. As expected, after all. This was a fucking expensive car.

Hi Shine city, Nick here. Um it's 9:15 Saturday night, I'm sure a lot of you have dates....and well check out Club LUSH, good music...Good DJs, really good DJs.....oh Ryyva is back, she's real pretty, check out her guitar skills. I also heard we have an ex-detective or something, his name is uh, one second....Oliver J Holland charming handsome type, and mysterious as well, watch out ladies....

A standard broadcast, he reckoned. But something perturbed him. How the hell did this guy know who he was and what he did? He didn't exactly keep himself high profile, nor did he advertise his services. He helped the Japanese Government mostly, with the occasional monotonous case that the Police Department didn't feel like handling.

This "Nick" individual was going to have to answer some questions. The first thing Oliver had to do to accomplish that was to find him.

He knew just where to look.

With a quick screech of the tires and a spin of the wheel, he had made a full U-Turn and was heading back down the freeway towards the City's most lucrative nightclub.

....Arrival.

The place looked busy enough, evident by the long line out front with the occasional drunk passerby staggering past.

Luckily, he found a parking space, parallel parking right out near the front. He stepped out into the chilly December air and looked at his watch.

9:19 PM.

Strolling up to the entrance, he disregarded the line completely, ignoring the boos and jeers tossed his way as he skipped ahead to the front. No matter, official business trumped pleasure any day.

It was a good thing Oliver looked the part. Black raincoat, gloves, fedora, nice suit...the usual.

"Time for you to get a watch asshole."

Hmph, people these days.

On his way there, he passed by some kid in glasses, followed by some brunette dame who poked his back.

"Lady's right. It's 9:19." He stated flatly, tossing his cigarette to the side before lighting another one.

Such a bad habit. But so good.

"Waiting in line sucks, right? Wish you could just go to the front? He asked, motioning towards the front entrance. "Well, who knows. Maybe some day."

He went ahead to the front entrance, letting the bouncer size him up before reaching into his coat pocket. He flashed a badge, showing him to be an assistant with the Shrine City Police Department.
"I'm on assignment, and I'd appreciate if I had your cooperation. Mind if I go in?"

@MyCatGinger It wasn't long before a silver-haired man with glasses took a seat at Yutaro's table. Yutaro gave him a welcoming smile, all the while sizing him up. There was an air of intelligence about the man, and if he didn't know any better he'd say he had seen him somewhere before... probably right here at the casino. They tended to get enough regulars that it was hard to remember all of their faces. At the same time, though, the man looked tired. They weren't the eyes of a broken heart, like so many they got around this time of year, but they seemed to exude a strange sadness. That wouldn't do; happy people bet more!

"It can get a bit hectic," Yutaro replied warmly, "but it's all part of the fun." He wasted no time shuffling the cards and setting them in the shoe. He dealt the first hand swiftly and elegantly, the cards seeming to slide into their appropriate places as he released them from his dexterous grip. It was immediately clear that he was one of the faster dealers, even among those who were staffed on the crazy weekend hours. It wasn't customary for the dealer to talk with the players, as many of them were a fussy lot who hated being distracted, but this gentleman seemed a bit more willing to invite conversation. Perhaps a little small talk wouldn't hurt.

"So," he said as he dealt Shou a pair of aces, an excellent opportunity if they player knew what to do with them. "What is it you do for a living? Clearly something that lets you have a good time on the weekend if you're just getting started at this hour." Yutaro's tone was friendly and conversational. It was an inviting tone that promised not to pass judgement whether the man was a renowned scholar or an ex-con fresh out of prison. It also didn't seem like the dealer would take offense if the man just wanted to shut up and play the game, but Yutaro welcomed a chat whenever he could get it. Has he spoke, he revealed that his own card was a six; it seemed that luck was on Shou's side... at least for the time being.

Kyle, dreading what could potentially happen when he saw Nori again, felt a light tap on his shoulder. Slightly surprised he turned his head around to find...nothing? Looking more he realized there was a person, a bit close to him, she almost looked like she was going to fall into him...huh. Having run into two separate people head on in the same day, he wouldn't have been too surprised if karma came to bite him back for it...well better than this girl being his third victim of the day. Turning his whole body around she began to speak up.

"Excuse me? It's...21:19...or 9:19 PM...I think. Yeah...it should be...

Military time? Interesting, but helpful none the less, he was about to thank her as he heard the line booing and jeering? Wondering what the exact fuss about, Kyle looked to see a man in a trench coat and fedora (wait people seriously still wear those?) was strolling ahead through the line like it was nobody's business. "Lady's right, it's 9:19." The man stopped to toss away his cigarette before pulling out a new one and lighting it, he then said to Kyle, "Waiting in line sucks, right? Wish you could just go to the front?" He asked, motioning towards the front entrance. Kyle perked an eyebrow up, wondering where he was going with the question. "Well, who knows. Maybe some day." And away he went.

"...R...really? Seriously? Is it just international 'be an unnecessary asshole day'? Did I miss a memo somewhere?" Kyle found himself pinching the bridge of his nose again, his eyes squeezed tight as he thought about all this and breathed to calm down. Opening his eyes, he turned back to the young girl who gave him the time, "Thank you," He tried to smile at her, but it was coming off weak and he knew it, his heart just wasn't in it right now. He was already feeling pretty horrible being THIS LATE, but it seemed like the universe wanted to torment him a little bit before receiving final judgement. Blinking, he realized he must of had this blank look on his face just staring off into..whatever? Kyle curled his lip upward a little sheepishly, "Sorry, didn't mean to space out on you there, just have a lot on my mind right now. I'm Kyle, what's your name?"

He wasn't really in the mood to talk with anyone except for Nori at the moment, but he didn't want to be rude either, or be labeled as 'Another unnecessary asshole' for an unnecessary holiday.

@Verdaux

He was finished for the day! Copen just about skipped out of the restaurant. Ah, he was free once more, and the city was wide open before him. It was a cold night, but he was used to that - it was commonplace in Denmark. It would do nothing to dampen his spirits. The blonde turned around to look into the glass doors of the restaurant, carefully fixing his hair. Yeah, he looked fine to go out. He'd made sure to bring a black blazer to put over his button-down shirt and dark jeans, and he looked sharp enough. Smiling at his reflection for a moment, he nodded at his appearance and then continued walking on. He had a craving for coffee; may as well stop at the cafe and grab a take-away one. Soon enough, he was striding purposefully down the streets with a cup in hand, drinking eagerly.

Struck by the urge to have a wander in one of the city's most beautiful places, Copen meandered down the path. His phone buzzed as he went and he opened it up. Junk text message. Wrinkling his nose at the screen in the dark, he didn't see the figure walking his way. And bumped straight into it, sending coffee flying over both of them.

"Ahh! I am so sorry!" he yelped loudly, tucking his phone into his blazer pocket before it got wet. Damn, at least he was wearing a dark grey shirt, but it still didn't look good with coffee on it. But he was more concerned about her. The coffee hadn't been scalding, but it still had been pretty hot. He looked at her with concerned blue eyes in the dusky light, trying to make out just how much she'd been splashed. "Are you okay?" His Danish accent had gotten even stronger with worry.

@Knight of Doom

@BeastofDestiny

"Sabine," she replied, before swiping through her phone a bit more. For a few moments, it seemed as though she had lost all interest in Kyle, but before he could turn back with a worse feeling in his gut, she showed something on her screen :

"I bet you're in a hurry to get in. I know I'd be if a bunch of things were going on...so...how about it?"

Two QR codes sat next to each other, shining on their own as if there was not a care in the world that were going to be scanned either very, very soon...or never, depending on the young man who stood in front of her.

"And besides...it's can't be validated unless I go with a male, for the sake of gender-balance and safety. I mean, if you don't want to hang out while we're in the club, that's totally your thing, too. Just treat this as an offer two strangers are taking advantage of. That, and...well, you'd owe me one. I don't mind having a few favors here and there."

Oh, so they were VIP tickets, huh? Registering as a what...a pairing? Kinda risky, and the way she even got those was quite dubious, but then again, she did say that the pairing part was optional, as soon as the two lost themselves in the crowd. That, and if he did get VIP access, there would be plenty of reasons as to why he'd be hanging with the DJ.

Thankfully, Sabine wasn't too pushy for anything more than a few favors. Good for Kyle, bad for Sabine. Not that she knew about anything.

Shit, was that too pushy?
Sabine, you're being a little too nonchalant about everything!

Shit, what if he has a date inside?!

Or what if the date's not coming?

...wait a second, you did say...
...ooooooooh, right. GDI Sabine, you left him an out! Stupid stupid stupid...

@Chicogal

Lost in her own mind, Amaya started staring off into outer space. Her mind wandered from finals to Christmas to a sudden idea to add into her novel. It wasn't anything serious or made for publishing, simply a creative outlet. A grin graced her face as the idea developed further in her mind. The blond's steps were soon changed into bounces as she grew giddy with excitement. After so much studying, her brain wanted to relax and create more than absorb info. She spun around when everything finally came together in her mind. Her cold hands flew up to her mouth. She just HAD to write this down before she lost the idea. Amaya whipped out her phone and started to type away. Her fingers flew and her steps slowed.

However, just as she was making sure that she had written everything down, she bumped into someone. Instantly, her eyes tore away from her phone. A warm feeling spread over various parts of her body. After blinking and taking in all that had occurred, the shorter girl noticed that coffee had splashed onto her. "I'm sorry!" She blurted out. Only realizing a second later, that the male had apologized before she did. "Are you okay?" The tall blond male asked. Was...that? An accent? Oh, no. A blush crawled up the Amaya's neck. She wasn't sure what kind it was, but it was probably some kind of European accent. "Oh, I'm fine. Well, ah, except for the coffee." She laughed nervously after collecting herself. "It's fine, though. I'll just go back to my dorm and change. It's not like I have a hot date or anything," She reassured the attractive boy. Oh man. She was digging herself a big hole. "I'm Amaya, by the way," She smiled, raising her hand up.

"You need more tools than a 50-50 mixup, though, especially when playing as such a commonly used character. A mixup is only a guess when one's reaction time is slower than the character's animation; true pros know all of the characters' options and animations, and have the reaction time to deal with a tactic like that rather easily. People who win fighting game tournaments have two things: strong fundamentals, and a strong metagame."

"Naturally," Tomoko smiled. "This is just a simple trick; this guy's full of tricks and mind games, so you can just switch from one game to the next." That was part of his high skillcap, depending on who you asked. You win through mind games, so knowing your enemy is just as important as knowing your own character.

"Anyway, my name's Yutaro. I'm sure we'll run into each other around here, so feel free to chat or challenge me; I'd have to be in a pretty bad mood to say no to either."

"Tomoko," she replied, not diverting her eyes from the arcade screen before her. Flawless victory. Easy stuff. But just easy stuff wasn't going to cut it now. This was competition. This was something Tomoko had to win; she had to be the best, and that meant more than just "easy stuff". It meant mechanical perfection. It meant knowing the openings in every character, and how to exploit them. It meant knowing the person (or in this case, the AI) she was playing against. It meant beating Stratus's score, even if it was only by one point. And most importantly, it meant being willing and able to put the time into the game necessary to accomplish all of that. She wasn't leaving this arcade until she beat Stratus's score.

---

TIMESKIP

She'd earned this, Tomoko assured herself with a smile on her face. It took her a bit longer than she would've liked, but she'd beaten Stratus's score and reclaimed the #1 spot for Mecha Saints. Tomorrow she'd need to check for any other top scores she may have lost and then reclaim one of those. For tonight, however, she'd earned herself a quiet night of relaxation after an admittedly difficult climb back to the #1 spot. And for her, that meant catching up on any homework she had then returning to her own room for some single-player gaming. The best atmosphere for the former was the park at night. No machines to distract her, and no competition to prove herself in. Just a girl, some paper, a pen, and a cold starlit night.

Tomoko was dressed heavily for the freezing cold of the night. The only thing she left exposed to the elements was her eyes; she expected to be out here for some time, but covering her eyes just seemed stupid if she had to do homework. Laid out around her were various things; a trio of green thermoses, a few textbooks, and a bright green frog backpack with several papers - her homework - sticking out of it. Tomoko was saving the easiest subject - math - for last, and she was nearly done with that too. Soon she'd be able to call her work for tonight done, then go back to her dorm and game it up. It was then that the wind picked up ever so briefly. It sent her a good chill, but more importantly, it blew a sheet of paper out of her backpack. Crap! Stuffing her math homework in its near-complete state into the backpack and zipping it shut, Tomoko went into pursuit mode after the paper.

It wasn't far before she caught the paper. Talk about a close call! It had almost flown over the street, at which point she would have just given up her chase, not wanting to stray too far from her spot for fear that someone could steal her things. As she turned around, she saw a pair of people nearby. Seemed like they bumped into one another or something, and one of them had spilled coffee judging by the empty cup sitting near them. Well that sucked.

"You two okay?" Tomoko called out. "It's not coffee, but I can replace the drink if you want."
@Chicogal@Knight of Doom

"Sabine," She replied, her attention immediately drawn to her phone, apparently she was finished conversing, only meaning to answer his question. Considering the way his night was already going, he wasn't too terribly surprised, but she was quite a bit nicer than the other two unfriendly interactions. Sighing internally he began to turn around before turning her phone to his attention, a pair of qr codes side by side.

"I bet you're in a hurry to get in."(DESPERATELY! Go on...)" I know I'd be if a bunch of things were going on...so...how about it?"

Inspecting the screen closer he realized that these were...tickets into the club? Some kind of VIP acccess? He was extremely skeptical about these kinds of promotions, usually just assuming them to be spam and deleting them, but this looked...seriously legit.

"And besides...it's can't be validated unless I go with a male, for the sake of gender-balance and safety. I mean, if you don't want to hang out while we're in the club, that's totally your thing, too. Just treat this as an offer two strangers are taking advantage of. That, and...well, you'd owe me one. I don't mind having a few favors here and there."

So that was the stipulation then huh? I scratch your back, you scratch mine kind of deal, exactly how many favors were a few was to be...determined. However, he was up shit creek with a paddle, he was late, Nori was probably pissed (ok, maybe not but...), its not like any of these jerks ahead of him were going to be of any help, especially not from 'Dick' Grayson up ahead flashing some badge to get into the club. What other options did he have? Besides, if her offer was these tickets to do...what, odd jobs? It wasn't exactly like an unfair deal. He hadn't answered for a while and there was a look on her face like she was getting flustered, he made a decision.

"An offer for two strangers to take advantage of huh? Alright, I'll accompany you inside," he crinkled his brow slight about the safety bit though, "Since they're mentioning its for safety reasons, if its alright with you, I'll stick by your side for a while." He smiled at her, a genuine smile this time, "I'll be honest though, I am planning on meeting with someone so it won't be for the whole night, but I'd feel bad for just abandoning the person who just got me a ticket inside. Plus I'm sure you'll want my contact info if you're going to be asking me for favors." he grinned a little here, raising an eyebrow to match, "Also how about I buy you a drink and we can cross one of those favors off?"

@Verdaux

@BeastofDestiny

"An offer for two strangers to take advantage of huh? Alright, I'll accompany you inside. Since they're mentioning its for safety reasons, if its alright with you, I'll stick by your side for a while. I'll be honest though, I am planning on meeting with someone so it won't be for the whole night, but I'd feel bad for just abandoning the person who just got me a ticket inside. Plus I'm sure you'll want my contact info if you're going to be asking me for favors. Also how about I buy you a drink and we can cross one of those favors off?"

"Um...I don't drink, at least, not anymore," she replied with an impish smile. "I mean, I'm not an alcoholic or anything, but it's just a personal thing I have with sobriety...and stuff."

But it was true; it had only been a couple of months since she last had anything with alcohol in it, but she was feeling more awake than ever.

Still...she should've known that he was already taken. It wasn't too surprising, considering his looks, and she couldn't take anything personally from a guy she just met, even if she wanted to. No harm, no foul.

"Tell you what, though. I'll cross off the time-telling favor as soon as you hand me your contact info, alright? I might need your help outside the club limits sooner or later, since my work involves heavy lifting on occasion.

That, and if it's a certain somebody in the club, I don't want to be the reason why you're inside later than sooner. I think it'll be safer once people have a chance to unwind inside."

Without even bothering to pause, she took the taller man by his wrist and wove her way out of the line, before walking on ahead to the front of the line. Right before the two could talk to the bouncer, she released her grip, and swiped through her phone a bit more.

"I'll have that number, and I'll slash one off, alright?"

"Um...I don't drink, at least, not anymore," she replied with an impish smile. "I mean, I'm not an alcoholic or anything, but it's just a personal thing I have with sobriety...and stuff."

Sure he intended that to be an alcoholic beverage option, but he was fine with getting her something non-alcoholic. Still he wondered if maybe he offended her? No, with an adorable smile like that he doubted it.

"Tell you what, though. I'll cross off the time-telling favor as soon as you hand me your contact info, alright? I might need your help outside the club limits sooner or later, since my work involves heavy lifting on occasion.

That, and if it's a certain somebody in the club, I don't want to be the reason why you're inside later than sooner. I think it'll be safer once people have a chance to unwind inside."

He could definitely take that offer from her, but what really caught his attention was the 'certain somebody' bit. He felt his face heating up thinking of Nori as a certain somebody, a somebody special or whatever. He couldn't help but scratch his head sheepishly before he felt her take his wrist and pull him towards the front of the line, the line again jeering at the couple making their way ahead of everybody. He almost wanted to give the bird to the one guy who was in front of him in the line, but he thought better. Just before they reached the bouncer she stopped and started swiping through her phone.

"I'll have that number, and I'll slash one off, alright?"

He nodded and took the phone from her, entering his contact info. He entered his personal cell phone number, but he also took the time to put in his work number as well. "I gave you my cell number, but you might not be able to reach it for a few days, I actually lost it before coming to the club, I got into a bit of an accident on the way here" he briefly recollected about how he had run into that guy earlier, his phone probably having dropped when Kyle hit the ground, "I tossed in my work number though, I work at the glasses shop, 'An Eye For Fashion' most weekdays until about 6:00 or 7:00, so you can always reach me there if you need me after work. If you don't mind though, I'm gonna insist sticking by you, I've got time until I meet my friend and if I'm going to be doing the odd job or two for you, I'd like to know my 'employer' a little better."

She agreed and handed her phone to the bouncer who swiped them into the club and granted them passage indoors. Finally being able to enter the club area, Kyle could immediately hear the sound of the base in the coat check area, "Nori must be on right now." He handed off his jacket to the coat check girl, opting to store his glasses safely inside one of his bigger jacket pockets before handing it off to her. The two of them then entered the club floor, the sound of the music pounding against Kyles ears, the base a deafening thump, the music was loud now, but he'd eventually get used to it. Looking up towards the stage area, he saw her there, Nori and she looked... she looked... "Holy crap I'm gonna have a nosebleed... Even from across the room Kyle could see the little clothing Nori was wearing, her midriff exposed to the elements, he could only wonder what she was wearing for pants... "Focus Parker!"

Kyle turned to face towards Sabine, "It's my first time here," he raised his own volume to try and outmatch the noise in the club, "I don't suppose you know any good spots here?" He figured if she had some fancy VIP passes she had to have been at the club before.

@Verdaux

Zac sighs and leans against the wall of Club LUSH. After leaving the Shining Kettle earlier that day, he had taken to wandering around, as he usually does. It didn't take him long to get lost, either. About an hour and a half later, he heard a loud bass and followed it to the club. Deciding he had nothing better to do, he took his place at the end of the line. An hour and a half later, he was nearing the front of the line when he saw a guy and girl skip the line completely and head inside, much to the chagrin of the rest of the line. Zac, himself, didn't care too much. I'll get in regardless, he thinks, finding it somewhat amusing that the rest of the people in line were getting so upset.

A few minutes later, the bouncer nods and lets the young magician in. Zac smiles and nods at the bouncer as he walks past and into the club. Stepping inside, Zac is immediately greeted by the pounding music and the sound of the patrons speaking over the music. Giving the interior a cursory glance, Zac manages to pick out the bar, dance floor, and an eating area, complete with tables, stools, and booths.

Looking around, Zac spots the guy and girl from earlier, the ones who walked past the line and right into the club. After looking for a few moments, nothing really catches his interest, so he shrugs and strides over to the pair. Grinning amiably, he calls out to them, "Hey! I'm not interrupting you two or anything, am I? It's my first time here and I was just wondering if you could show me around this place."

@Verdaux@BeastofDestiny

Nori saw Kyle by the door with a very pretty girl and instantly became nervous, until she also noticed a man with his hair in a ponytail join them. 'I guess he decided to bring friends?' the DJ thought to herself as she tried to maintain her focus on the song. Maybe he had to wait in line since Nori had only left Kyle's name with the bouncer and that's why he was late?

As relieved as the blonde was that she hadn't been stood up, something about the situation didn't sit quite right with her. Nori knew the lines were long, but they didn't typically take more than an hour and a half to get through, and even if it did take him three hours or something, why hadn't he texted her? As much as she liked Kyle (and she did like him, quite a lot), he was displaying some unreliable behavior. Nori hadn't thought he was the type to play games, but then again she'd only known him for a day, so she could have misread him completely. Maybe this wasn't a good id--

Nori's train of thought was completely derailed as some on threw a drink on her while screaming, "WET T-SHIRT CONTEST!!!"

'Vodka,' Nori thought miserably as her tongue darted out to taste the liquid that was splattered all over her face. The diminutive blonde tried to see whoever it was that had thrown the drink, but security was already dragging the rowdy party goer out before she got the chance.

"You look like a drowned rat," Cash deadpanned as he came up next her. "Get yourself fixed up, I'll cover the rest of your shift. You only had thirty minutes left anyways."

"Thanks," Nori replied begrudgingly, to which the other DJ answered with a grunt before peeling off his shirt and handing it to her to towel off with. Some girls in front of the booth started to ,"Awww" causing Cash to turn and waggle his eyebrows suggestively at her.

"Gross," Nori said, scrunching up her nose in distaste as she tried to towel dry her hair. Cash laughed before turning and taking over the sound booth.

@BeastofDestiny @Narcotic Dollie @Daxam

Right then and there, her eyes were assaulted relentlessly by the sights of what any club would offer : a horde of writhing bodies, some sultry, others outright promiscuous. Tables were crammed full of buzzed patrons, grouped in the usual chick flocks, business mixers, and...surprisingly, no sleazy men tatted up like a monochromatic art gallery outfitted with a case for dubious purposes.

It was at this moment Sabine knew that Shine City had not let her down. She couldn't have believed it without seeing this for herself, but at the very least, things like criminal activity and narcotics weren't a rampant problem. And yet still, with her inhibitions ebbing and her old cravings returning, she just had to make sure.

That's why she had tickets earned through one of those semi-phony surveys. Maybe VIP access would reveal more to her than the average joe's, but first things first...she had to split. Her first impressions on him would definitely get ruined if she said her main reason for the VIP access was for the crystal, if there was any.

"It's my first time here. I don't suppose you know any good spots around here?"

"I...u-um..it's my first time here too! I just came since I heard a lot about it, so..."

Who would want to sound like an addict or a narco? Neither made any good impression on the average person, and average was what Sabine wanted for once in her life. Average...like Kyle! Yeah, Kyle...

Speaking of Kyle...

...why did his jaw go slack again? And his eyes...laser-focused?



Her eyes followed his all the way up to the platform, where the DJ was, and lo and behold : instant lady boner. Blonde hair like a golden mane of a lion, eyes as radiant as sunset rays piercing through amber drops, all pulsing to the beat of her own music. A literal goddess of the floor; the entire life of the club was sustained on whatever she dished out. It didn't help at all that within the first five seconds of seeing her, she was suddenly showered in somebody's cocktail, soaking her body in sparkling droplets of some clear liquid. As if the gold chain wasn't enough to make her sparkle.

Right then and there, though, a veritable deity, though not as prominent as the goddess, took over for the ambushed lady and stripped off his top.

Okay, okay...less gawking, more talking.

Once she released her hands from the hem of her plain-white T (her wool-knit cardigan was also deposited alongside Kyle's coat), she turned towards him.

Him, as in Zac.

"Hey! I'm not interrupting you two or anything, am I? It's my first time here and I was just wondering if you could show me around this place."

She had to blink for a moment and take in the sight of this man. Younger, definitely. Kinda...cute, in the kiddy way, and...by the look of his face, maybe...lost?

How the hell does one get lost in Shine City? There was no way he could be-

"Oh, sorry! It's his and my first time ourselves, so I...actually have no idea what's what around here. I was just gonna split with my friend here, so if...well, I'm planning in getting lost here once we go, so...wanna come with?

With the word "split", Sabine nudged her elbow hard against Kyle's side, and after she finished her sentence, she cupped her hands around his ear before loudly hissing (but certainly unable to beat the volume of the music) :

"Hey, get her! If it's the DJ you were talking about, you've got the VIP bracelet! Nothing's stopping you now!

With a hard push, Sabine shoved Kyle ahead towards the booth, before taking Zac's wrist to tug him into the thick crowds. By the time they stopped, Sabine had woven all the way to the center of the floor, where personal space was a concept all too alien for any clubber. With her body pressed tightly against Zac's, she looked up at the younger man and shot him the same smile she gave to Kyle not a few minutes ago : impish mischief...and lust. Sure, she wasn't on anything right now, but it's not like she needed to be to get a little dirty.

"Dance with me, will you?" were the last words she spoke to Zac as the music blared up.