Zac, twirling his wand between the fingers on his right hand, waits patiently for the little girl's answer. When she gives it, pointing out of the window at a woman across the street, he pales. I...I may be good...but I'm not that good! he thinks. He was about to tell the girl that, only to feel his voice die in his throat the second he looks down at her. Just from the look in her eyes, he could tell that she thought he was some sort of all-powerful sorcerer and he didn't feel right crushing her view of him.

But...I have to think of something! he adds, his mind racing at a mile a minute. Then...it comes to him. Kneeling in front of the little girl, he glances at her father and Shizuka, as if to check if they were paying attention, then says to the girl, "I'll let you in on a secret: all magicians have to stick to a set of rules, or else we lose our powers. One of those rules is that we can't take things from people without their knowing. So, unfortunately, I can't take anything from that lady's bag."

Grinning, he then adds, "But, I'll show you one thing I can do and it'll make what I've already shown you look like nothing." Standing up, he walks over to the counter and looks around for a moment before finding what he was looking for: an empty water bottle a customer had left behind. Taking it from the counter, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out an old cell phone, one he carried around just for this kind of trick.

Returning to the table, he says, "Now, this bottle is completely normal." He then taps the phone against the side, bottom, and top of the bottle. "No way it can fit in here, right?" After the little girl nods her head, Zac then suggests, "How about we try a little magic?"

Taking the end of the phone, he taps it a couple of times against the side of the bottle once more. However, this time, on the last tap, the phone seems to slip into the bottle right through the plastic. He then presses his finger against the spot where the phone had slipped through to show that it was still sealed, saying, "Ta-dah!"

@Viciousmarrow

"I suppose I will try an espresso shot. Why not, right? She'll have water and a blueberry muffin. And an oatmeal raisin cookie..."

Suddenly, he leaned over to Shizuka's ear, cupping a hand over his mouth.

"Can you tell her that you're out of cookies? I don't like her eating a lot of sweets." he whispered to her, retracting before Lucille realized what was going on.

He hoped she didn't mind the invasion of personal space, but he didn't want his little girl to start throwing a tantrum by denying her the cookie. For a second though, he almost forgot his manners.

"Oh, and thanks! You've been very helpful!" he quipped.

Shizuka blushed slightly as Alban got uncomfortably close, though she didn't move or flinch as she was somewhat shocked. But when she heard what he said she resolved to cooperate to the best of her abilities. Though having never been a parent herself, Shizuka recognized the struggle of parenting, even if Alban's tactic was a little less than honest. Suddenly it hit Shizuka that the cafe does not, in fact, serve oatmeal raisin cookies, causing her to smile gently at the irony of the situation. Taking down Alban's order, Shizuka said, "An espresso shot and a blueberry muffin. We don't actually have oatmeal cookies." Shizuka crouched down to Lucille who was enraptured by Zac's tricks. "We don't have oatmeal cookies, so I'll make your muffin a special muffin," Shizuka said, hoping that would be enough to appease the child. Getting back up, she gave the kitchen the order, coming back a short while later with the coffee and the muffin. She placed the cup down in front of Alban and wordlessly drew his attention to the tray of creamer and sugar which he might need if the espresso was too strong. The muffin she placed down had a maraschino cherry on top of it, a special request she had placed with the kitchen.

Shizuka stepped back and also appreciated Zac's tricks, chuckling a bit when Lucille demanded the impossible of Zac, though she became a bit awestruck when Zac somehow forced the phone into the bottle. Shizuka clapped her hands at the performance.

"Ah, Tomoko. I didn't see you all the way down there."

"Short jokes? Talk about a low blow." Tomoko wasn't really sensitive about her height. She was only a bit below the national average, and being taller didn't exactly give any major edge to compete with in games, so it wasn't something she had to worry about in either case. If anything, there was advantages to being a bit smaller. Not having to bend as far down to plug things in or out, lower center of gravity, and even being able to roll along jabs at height like the one Yutaro had just thrown her way.

"So, what are you up to on the lovely day? Hey, I don't mind having a chat, but can we do it under an awning?"

"Under this one then," Tomoko answered, moving under the nearest awning and pulling the hood down off her head. "I would have been gaming today, but my usual Sunday games are down today for server problems. So instead I decided to buy some snacks and plan my day from there as I go along. And yourself?"

(Continuation of Kyle's Apartment scene by @BeastofDestiny and @lovely complex.)

Realizing her friend was in such a state of shock, Amity twirled around and brought the cake to his face, "Look what I got for youuuuuu!" Then she immediately started to ramble, "Remember five years ago when I was taking pictures of Spencer and Olivia making out in the haunted hallway and Spencer noticed me?" She sighed, and looked up toward the ceiling, reminiscing of that wonderful moment, "He looked at me with such passion! I'm not going to lie, those eyes got me pretty heated. He pushed me down, like the big, strong man he was, and I could just feel the blood lust he had for me. I couldn't tell if he was mad I caught him cheating or that hitting me just turned him on... but you came to the rescue!"

Gently pushing the cake to him, she looked at her friend lovingly, "This is for you! That day you proved your friendship. I'm forever grateful." She wiped her pointer finger on the top of the cake to take some frosting off and slipped it in her mouth. With her finger in her mouth, Amie giggled, "THIS IS REAL GOOD. Try some!"

---

She immediately began recounting that particular day with dreamy eyes and a sweet reminiscing voice; he remembered that day happening very differently. Spencer...that was the guy's name, Kyle had come around the corner caught him pinning Amity to the ground, slapping her across the face with some skanky cheerleader in the background egging him on. A well of rage had filled up and Kyle remembered specifically ripping the asshole off and smashing his face into a locker...repeatedly. Kyle internally winced, that was probably the only time he actually got suspended from school, his mom wasn't too happy about that, his dad was all for what he did.

She pushed the cake to him, taking a finger of frosting from the top of the cake, Kyle received the cake then looked at his friend, before looking at the cake, then the mess in his living room; Amity Bellerose was back in town...

"(Amie...I'm glad you're here, and its great to see you again, and I did miss you...but I think I need a few minutes to...process this.)" He walked into his kitchen space and placed the cake on the counter, "(I'm going to take a shower, you can stay here and I'll deal with that mess later.") he said waving to the living room before making his way into the bathroom and starting up the water.

---

Watching him walk away to wash the stench of alcohol on him, Amie knew what she needed to do. Turning to her phone, her goal was to call her maids and tell them to come to Kyle's apartment and clean it up, but was instead pleasantly surprised when she saw that an unknown number had called and left a message. Maybe her mom and dad were going to make it tonight? She couldn't remember the last time she saw them, in all honesty, but a girl could pray that rain would not stop her parents' visit!

Placing the phone to her ear, she listened to the voicemail with eager eyes and great anticipation. The girl she was listening to sounded so timid, so sweet, maybe even a little scared... it was extremely adorable. While Amie listened deeply, she imagined a face to match the voice and enjoyed creating a character in her head.

“Hmm… hi, this is Kashima Iruka, I believe you called this number a few minutes ago. If I’m wrong, please ignore this call. Anyway, I… hmm… want to know if you are an acquaintance of this phone’s owner, he lost it yesterday and I’m trying to return it ever since. If that’s right, please meet me at the, hmm…” Iruka paused to take a look around, noticing that the best rendezvous point around would be the Shining Kettle “… is the Shining Kettle alright? I’ll give back the phone if you really know that person, I promise.”

Kashima Iruka? Wasn't her name just on the radio? This is too good to be true. Within seconds Amie sent a text in response to the voicemail:


Her face glowed with excitement. Running into Kyle's room, Amie put her phone on speaker and called Luke, while taking off her coat and throwing it on Kyle's bed.

"Hey Lukey. Can you send some maids hereeeee? I might of stumbled..." She dived into Kyle's closet throwing clothes every which way and pulled out a nice cozy, white hoodie.

"Of course you did... Kyle surprised?"

She giggled, "Duh! Now go go, we don't have much time!" The phone line went dead as she thought to herself: Where does he keep his hats? Searching the entire room, maybe making a little bit more of a mess here and there, she found a beanie hat and black shades. Putting all these things on, she nodded to herself, "My disguise is great! I'm a genius!"

Pounding on the bathroom door, she chirped, "MR. NAKEY! We must goooo!"

---

He stripped his shirt off tossing it in the hamper and pulled off his pants, draping them on the toilet, his trousers went in the hamper and he started up the shower, letting the already heating water run down his body. He felt tired, but good, he was feeling happy with the events that happened the night before and out of nowhere his long time friend shows up. The latter was a bit more exhausting to take in, but Amity looked well, he hadn't seen her for two years, despite that she still looked and acted just as childish as ever, she always was obsessed with frills and lace.

Upon hearing her pounding against the door he sighed, "(Alright, alright, give me a minute.)"

He rinsed his hair thoroughly, and applied some body wash before rinsing off and turning off the shower. He toweled off and started to wrap the towel around him before he paused, he didn't really want to go out there in his towel with Amity around, its not that he was embarrassed to go out there in his towel, but he felt something bad was bound to happen. He looked to his jeans and contemplated for a moment... "Screw it, underwear is overrated anyway."

After clothing his lower half he exited the bathroom only to find... "(Really, Amity?)" he sighed before looking through the pile of clothing and pulling on a gray and blue long sleeve shirt, the torse area being blue with the sleeves being gray. He exited his room and folded his arms as he observed his friend wearing his clothing, "(I see you've made yourself right at home, so where do we need to go?)"

---

"Well good sir. We need to retrieve your phone." She stuck out her tongue loving the fact that her friend was showing signs of exasperation. Bouncing toward him with her arms wide open, she hugged her friend and then sniffed him, "You smell the same."

[CUT TO: INSIDE THE WHITE BMW]

"Gentlemen: Please secure yourself and prepare for the best joy ride of your life. Destination: The Shining Kettle."

Luke had already put The Shining Kettle in the GPS. Within seconds they sped off, curving every which way. The thrill was exhilarating! As she drove, she listened to Luke and Kyle catch up.

(STAY TUNED.)

@JustYui

Yutaro chuckled at Tomoko's retort as the two of them moved out of the rain so they could talk without getting drenched. He still didn't know much about the girl other than that she was pretty damn good at Mecha Saints, but it was good to see that she had a sense of humor. "I'm just running an errand to pick up some batteries," he said, gesturing to the electronics store that they were now standing next to. "But after that I was planning on being as unproductive as possible until it's time for work. The rain just kinda... yea." Apparently it also impaired his ability explain things as well. "I must have been a fire-type in a past life or something." It was actually kind of relaxing being able to make a video game reference like that without having to worry about it going over her head. Plenty of friends and acquaintances, guys and girls alike, would just roll their eyes or think he was talking about astrology; fire-type would make him an Ares or something. But, knowing that he wouldn't have to explain what he meant or combat a weird stare made the rain seem a bit further off.

"Say," he said, suddenly thinking of a better way to spend the day then an Netflix binge. "Since neither of us have anything to do, what do you say we kill some time at the arcade? Games are always more fun when someone's actually there playing with you anyway." He smiled, hoping she'd accept. It had been a while since he'd had some good irl competition. Playing online was fine, but you lost a bit of the human element of the game. Sure, you could talk with them over a microphone, but that was just an electronic approximation of their presence. When you stood beside someone at an arcade cabinet, you could see their actual expression, hear the tension in their breathing, feel the fighting spirit in their aura. Simply put, there was no substitute for something actually being there.

Arcades are great places to have fun, meet new people, or get your ass kicked. As Alexander Rolov was experiencing first hand. He came in with his posse of fellow douchebag looking boys, swearing and spitting all over the place as if they owned the arcade, making some questionable... "flirting" attempts as they pasted through. Their little reign ended once a little Japanese girl had challenged them to a game of Fight Street 2, pointing at the brightly colored arcade booths. Rolov expected it to be an easy deal, he'd just kick this chick's ass in a game that she was probably all too cocky at in her abilities. Yet one by one, his posse fell in suck quick succession to her character, he wondered what the hell was going on. Shaking a little as he sat down in the cursed chair, he attempted to succeed where his friends failed.

The screen blurred as pixel character dashed about the screen, punching and kicking each other around the digital dojo. A big, brutish muscle jocky in ripped clothes and an army buzz cut was in a pitched fight against a slim and graceful little girl with an chinese umbrella wearing an red qipao; and getting his ass kicked. The girl dazzles the crowd with a series of intricate, well-timed and executed combos: Sky Dragon Talons followed by Thunder Maw, then a strong Stormcaller Punch to the man's gut before being followed up with a flexible backflip by the girl, ending the fight with a quick dash into a Wind Spirit Vengeance.

"Ara ara, done already?" a light, feminine voice floated through the air. Such was the voice of Nishizawa Kaga, otherwise known as Nishi or Kaga, aka the trap of Shrine City, not that anyone could really tell or knew, "You were all such big talks too."
"Shut it lady!" Rolov followed up with a storm of curses seeing as that the girl in the china dress on the screen mocked him with her HP bar unscathed, "You... you are a fucking cheater! Yeah! A cheating bitch!"
"You're free to come and try to beat me on this machine if you wish. But I'm sure that will only bruise your ego even more."

Rolov clutched his sweating palms into a fist and looked like he was about to punch the trap before turning away and calling for his little gang, all of them shooting their hands into their pockets as the hunched over and left. One of them even leaving Kaga the nice gift of a swift middle finger. To which Kaga just pulled his eye lid down a little and stuck his tongue with a cheeky "Blaaah~"

Getting out of her seat and parting the crowd, Kaga danced around, circling several other machines and arcade-goers, celebrating his victory over the assholes. Today was a good day it seemed, enough of one to warrant something sweet. Kaga had his fun, got some cute clothing and had barely any cat calls or flirts today. Skipping over to the entrance, Kaga pondered what to do next. He had finished most of his work the day before (and could easily make excuses for the stuff that wasn't done) and was left with a free day. Maybe he should go to the cafe for a bite? Then again, he was feeling lucky so the casino was also open to him. Maybe he should retire to his dorm for the day, the internet was more than amusing to keep him satisfied for a day.

Collaboration between @OppositionJ and @Cirrus

---

((This is an earlier post included here for convenience.))

Guess I'm a little bit early. James gives the arcade a quick once-over. It's a little more packed than usual, but fortunately not terribly so. No red scarf in sight yet, so he checks on the Mecha Saints machine and is welcomed by a leaderboard full of only two names -- 9 entries of Stratus and 11 entries of KeroKero. Whoever they are they managed to claim the top spot again. Looks like it's theirs now. They must be on cloud nine. Nothing like a small joke to soften the sting of defeat, not that James is sore. He managed to turn a completely garbage character into stiff competition, and that's enough for him.

As James returns to the tournament he spies ASS at the bottom of the Galaxian leaderboard. This again. James spends a fair amount of time trying to keep the leaderboards clean. It's like painting over graffiti, except that normal graffiti looks nice sometimes and this stuff is nothing but tasteless. Guess I'll take care of this before the tournament picks up. James pulls some tokens from his bag and starts dishing out a proper ASS-beating, so to speak. He uses his first play to watch for enemy patterns (most of which he already knows) and otherwise remind him of the feel of the game, then plays for score during his second play. It turns out to be a pretty good run thanks to a mix of luck and skill, and near the end he passes the target score. He continues to play for a little while, but he stops just below the second-lowest score and lets the game sit.

---

James Avery... Akane's thoughts swirled about as she reminisced about her conversation with him. He was definitely not the miscreant she had expected when Shou described him in the cafe. Perhaps she could better get to knopw him at the tournament. He said he was going to be there, if otherwise, Akane would have to spend the tournament alone and nervous... Well juxtaposed to together and nervous. She had neglected to mention to her new acquaintance her decision to merely spectate in their previous short conversation.

Akane flipped her scarf around her neck as she prepped herself to exit. It seemed that she spent a bit more time making herself look nice than usual. After all, Akane almost never went to social situations. She wore a simple school uniform per usual. Akane wasn't one to wear the outgoing dresses or other such bold taboos.

Akane ambled her way there, on her phone like always. One of these days she was going to run into a sign or some random person with her eyes glued to a screen, even while walking, but of course her future nine cats could easily protect her from such hazards while they walked together. Akane ended up arriving only a few minutes late as usual for her. The tournament games had yet to begin so Akane would spend the time scoping out the players of her favorite games and perhaps playing some of her favorite machines.

By no means was Akane a top player in the arcade, but she had her select talents. She had a particular liking for the roguelike permadeath games. Akane had a skilled eye for locating and memorizing patterns and strategies to survive as long as possible and get as far as possible, though she still enjoyed the popular competitive games, she was just by no means ready for competitive play.

It wasn't long into her wandering about the arcade when she saw James. He was a bit busy shooting his way through the levels of Galaxian. He was good. Akane leaned against the machine behind him, making sure she wasn't blocking anyone. She found herself watching him for a long while, but James soon stopped and let the game draw out to the end. Her eyebrow quirked but she remained silent as James proceeded to let the game end. He got a high score without even finishing?

James entered his name for the scoreboard: NIM. Akane waited a moment for James to gather himself before speaking up. "You're quite good." She paused for a moment so James could turn and respond. "Glad you made it, James. How have you been?"

---

"You're quite good." James jumps slightly at the voice behind him. His least favorite part of the arcade is that the music coming from all of the machines makes it easy for people to sneak up on him while he's playing. Normally he notices people before they get that close so the experience is a little unnerving. James turns to confirm that whoever was speaking was speaking to him and is happy to see Akane. Odd to see someone in an academy uniform so late in the day... I think? Either way the look suits her. I suppose everything does when you have that much cute on your side.

"It was a lucky run," James replies with equal parts honesty and humility. Galaxian is one of the oldest games in the arcade so it doesn't have a whole lot of competition for its leaderboard positions, but this late in the year it's still pretty tough to get on them. Even someone who has spent an almost embarassing amount of time playing arcade ports for the pc (someone like James, that is) needs a little luck to get on the board and a lot of luck to have the luxury of quitting before the final boss.

"Glad you made it James. How have you been?"

"Good to see you as well, Akane," James says before he can think about how formal it sounds. "Someone thought it would be cute to use ASS as their tag for a leaderboard entry on this machine so I've been here for a while trying to get rid of it. That's the peak of how interesting my evening has been, though. How about you?"

---

Akane showed a smirk as her companion jumped at her voice. He must have been really into his game. That or... You know the blaring music. "Well they can't all be luck." Her eyes then directed themselves to the scoreboard of the Galaxian machine. James's tag, NIM, was on more than just Galaxian. Akane herself had gotten a few high scores before, not that she cared to keep track, but James must have had quite a bit of practice in comparison.

He could have been right about his luck, but Akane wasn't convinced. After all, all that free time spent not doing biology homework had to go somewhere, she joked in her head. "You still did well." Akane then sent him a smile. Her eyes flicked tot he scoreboard as James explained his reasoning behind playing Galaxian, but she soon redirected her gaze to meet his. That explains why he stopped I suppose. Akane gave him a short, almost giggling laugh in response. "You are a true hero, keeping the high scores clean." Akane started to wonder why James hadn't participated. She figured he could make it fairly high in the bracket if anything.

"My evening has been rather uneventful as well I suppose. Just reading and listening to music really. I guess your heroic tale of cleaning the arcade beats me." Akane's eyes flicked towards the gathering tournament goers. It seemed that the competitors were gathering to begin. "So which of the tournament games are you interested in watching? Since you aren't playing for some reason, that is."

Akane showed a rather blank yet happy expression. Social events weren't a usual experience for her, not to mention she could accompany a boy near her age. It was too bad she hadn't tried to compete. Not that she would succeed in any way, but Akane did like the competition. It was a relief that she wasn't the only person here to simply watch instead of compete. There were a few others as well, but Akane was rather distracted with her new companion to worry about them.

---

James returns Akane's smile. It's impossible not to, especially after the absolutely adorable laugh that follows. "I wouldn't call it a deed worthy of the word hero, but I suppose I'll take it." What a strange situation. Usually I use NIM for thoroughly non-heroic things like getting people to play more by pushing the bottom score off of a machine near the end of the year or making my second entry on the same leaderboard, both of which happen to apply here. This semester James was especially busy with his meddling, hoping to save up some goodwill with the owner for the next two years when he probably won't be able to do as much. Most of the nearby leaderboards had a NIM / Nimbus entry sitting at the bottom for that reason, but a few of them have already been retaken. Hopefully the rest are by year's end.

"Reading you say? For fun or for classes?" Best not to jump to conclusions for such an important distinction. As far as James is concerned anyone who reads for pleasure is worth befriending. As someone who hasn't picked up a book unrelated to classes for about two years he can hardly make the claim himself, but his stance on the matter has served him well in the past.

That sounds like a question mark disguised as a period. No harm answering, I suppose, but not without my own question-statement. "Both of us are not playing for some reason. Mine is because tournaments are where people use all of the tricks they have. I want to see as many of them as I can and I can't do that if I'm competing." James glances toward the gathering players before returning to Akane. "That and knowing where I am compared to other people isn't as important to me as where I am compared to my past self. He's the guy I want to beat." James pauses for a while to give Akane a chance to share why she isn't competing.

"As for preferences, Super Fabio Kart is one of the few series of games that has the ability to make me upset so I try to avoid it. Watching Monkey Kong doesn't really help one get any better at it so there's not much reason to spend time there. For any given Hall of Heroes match there's only two minutes of stuff worth seeing so I'm not much of a fan of spectating them. That leaves Fighting Street II, Super Crash Bros, and Super Penguin Ball 3 on my list. Competitive Super Penguin Ball 3 is a completely different game, though, so I'm mostly interested in the other two." I hope it wasn't rude to immediately rule out so many games. "What about you? Any favorites in the bunch? As long as they're not Super Fabio Kart I wouldn't mind watching. It's more fun spectating with a friend, after all." Did I just say friend? We just met this morning. Oh well, there's no taking it back now.

---

"I tend to read for fun when I have the time. That is actually one of my favorite hobbies." Akane didn't picture James as much of the reading type, but if he asked, he must be somewhat interested in literature. "Fiction mostly. Nonfiction when it is unavoidable," she added. Akane loved reading stories and tales with fantasy or sci-fi elements. Real life was so boring. "And what about you, James? Are you a literature fan?" She asked the question semi-sarcastically. Akane was still poking fun about him for her hearing about his trouble in Biology.

"Oh!" Her voice was full of intrigue as James explained why he wasn't participating. "I guess there happens to be more intelligence behind your thoughts than I had figured!" Joking... With another human being? Well this is different. She paused a moment as James continued. "That's an interesting way to look at it. I too am much better at improving myself rather than battling others, but I suppose I didn't wish to participate in the tournament simply because I do not feel I am at a competitive level in any of the games I enjoy. I feel I have the know-how to succeed, but my hands can't keep up with my mind." Akane stared forth blankly as she realized what she had just said. "Pretentious, I know."

James sure had his priorities straight. "Well it seems we share rather similar taste in games. I've never been one to play a lot of Fighting Street, but Super Crash Bros is one of my favorite games. That is usually how I entertain myself at the cafe." She glanced over at the consoles that were prepared for the Super Crash Bros players. Akane recognized a few of them. After all, she knew all there was to know about the games she played, but that didn't change that fact that she wasn't amazingly dexterous with a controller. Akane gave a quick smirk as James called her a friend. It was as if she didn't know how to respond so she remained silent.

"Shall we?" She swung her arms towards the tournament gathering and sent James a rather enthusiastic smile. It was rather obvious that Akane was excited for the event and even more excited to be accompanied by James. She hadn't tried to hide the fact either. Akane took a spot at James's side. Akane's gaze was locked with James's but as the first match began, her focus seemed to switch almost entirely, as if she was calculating every move and observing every single frame.

---

"Literature holds a special place in my heart, but it hasn't held a place in my schedule for some time." James sighs. "Maybe someday I'll find time for it again."

James can't quite determine if Akane is joking or if Matsuoka planted some sort of impression that he was a problem student (not that the professor would be unjustified in doing so). He's pretty sure it's joking, though, judging by the tone. "Looks like the bar was set low. That's fine. It's better to impress than to disappoint."

"Super Crash Bros it is." James is more than content with this arrangement. Super Crash Bros is one of his favorite games even though he doesn't play it as often as many others do. He's good at it, certainly, but he probably wouldn't be able to win the tournament (or even place for that matter). I wonder how evenly matched we are.

James feels a little bad that he isn't able to return Akane's excitement. Being calm under exciting circumstances does have its downfalls. That doesn't stop him from giving an enthusiastic nod and, in almost the same motion, picking up his bag by its only strap and slinging it over his head. "We shall." Fortunately for James Akane's focus is promptly shifted from him and his lack of hurrah to the tournament itself.

During the tournament the pair repeated the loop of watching a match and reviewing the match after it finishes. They discuss what went right, what went wrong, and what went crazy (a common occurrence in Super Crash Bros). It doesn't take long for James to realize that Akane's comment about being pretentious was purely modesty. She really does know her stuff. She must really be bad at using a controller if she doesn't think she could be competitive. Amusingly enough SCB is one of the games James prefers to play by reaction and instinct rather than by careful thought. That approach has led to a kind of unrefined chaos that only someone with lightning reflexes and input mastery could ever employ effectively. He would be better off learning how to play the game properly, but he plays too many other games to dedicate that kind of time to this one. If she and I do play it will be a very strange match of law and chaos.

The end of the tournament catches James by surprise. There's no way it's already over. James checks the simple, black digital watch on his left wrist as well as his phone just to be sure. That was easily the most I've ever enjoyed watching video games. Shame it's over now. During the tournament he had prepared a way to transition into sharing contact information. After mentally trying a few different approaches he stuck with what he knew, which was providing his reasoning for the action then proposing the action. Makes the most sense, anyway. "We should meet up again at some point and play a few matches of Super Crash Bros. Between that and those language studies we talked about earlier we should probably exchange cell numbers."

As the two leave the arcade James realizes just how late, dark, and ominous it is outside. "Would you like me to walk you home?" James offers before remembering they had barely known one another for half of a day. "Maybe not all the way home, if you're not comfortable with that. I would understand not wanting someone you just met to follow you all the way to where you live."

---

"Let's hope that you can soon. Perhaps I could give you some recommendations should we have the same tastes." Literature was a topic close to her heart. Having someone to speak about books with would definitely make Akane more social. She seemed to be doing fine now, at least to her standards, and most importantly, James didn't seem to notice her lack of social awareness.

He enjoys Super Crash Bros as well... Akane's thoughts wandered. Perhaps the two of them would play some day. This, of course, lead Akane to make her best attempt to gauge James's skill level as the two of them talked over the matches. He knew his stuff, perhaps not as much as Akane did, but she recognized that he definitely wasn't a normal player.

The matches started hastily after the two arrived. Players were eliminated quickly as if swept away into the small crowd. Each match had its own highlights and special moments which were each discussed by a group of announcer and in turn discussed among Akane and James. She and he both really did have different ways of looking at the game. It would definitely be an interesting match up. Akane contemplated asking him to play some time. Akane questioned James about his game preferences and the like in the down time between her rather intent focus on the match, giving her answers in response.

Akane gave a short applause along with the rest of the crowd as the final match ended and a winner was chosen. Time flies... It had all seemed to go by rather quickly, but Akane enjoyed herself either way. It was fun to have a companion, a friend to spend time with. Akane's smile grew into a wide smirk as James offered to play a match with her at a later date. Oh yeah, and studying. That was important too. "Yeah sure. Let's switch numbers." Akane offered her cellphone to James, allowing him to add his contact information and she would return the gesture. Well that was nice... And much easier than asking myself.

Akane pulled her scarf up over her mouth slightly as the pair stepped outside the arcade. It was dark already. Her eyes widened a bit as James offered to walk her home. Of course he's being hesitant about it. It was kind of cute how he was being sincere. Akane gives him a nod. "Oh don't worry about it. We both go to the academy we are probably going the same way. Let's go." She trained her eyes on him as she started to walk. Huh... I didn't think I would actually come to like him this much.

---

So she's in the dorms as well. I guess she's not from the city, either. "That makes it easy, then." While the two walk James keeps his eyes on Akane while either of them are speaking, except when the two come to a corner (he looks around them as he walks by), cross the street (he looks all four ways before crossing), or cross gaps in the sidewalk such as parking lot entrances (he checks both ends of them).

On the way to the academy the two discuss literature. It doesn't take long for the pair to realize that the sets of books they have read have very little overlap because they grew up in different countries. Fortunately Akane has already read a few of the books James needed to read for his Japanese courses (even though she is two years behind him and has yet to take the corresponding courses) so they have plenty of common ground to discuss until they arrive at the academy dorms. The two manage to part ways only slightly awkwardly -- a welcome surprise to the both of them.

"I'm just running an errand to pick up some batteries, but after that I was planning on being as unproductive as possible until it's time for work. The rain just kinda... yea. I must have been a fire-type in a past life or something."

"As a water-type myself, I can't imagine what that must have been like." So he was just out here to get batteries then? Talk about a simple reason. But being unproductive all day was no good. Even if it was just playing games, there was no reason to not do anything all day. By no coincidence, playing games all day was sort of Tomoko's plan from the start...but server problems. Seemed like neither she nor Yutaro had the best start to their day. She knew that when she was feeling down, a quick trip to the arcade always made her feel better after taking over another leaderboard. Just as Tomoko was about to propose the two go to that very arcade, Yutaro spoke again.

"Say, since neither of us have anything to do, what do you say we kill some time at the arcade? Games are always more fun when someone's actually there playing with you anyway."

"You took the words from my mouth," Tomoko answered. "Let's get your batteries first, though. You still need those, and there's a box of chocolate mints with my name on it in one of these stores." Gaming on an empty stomach was not a good idea. That would leave her thinking about food, and she wouldn't be able to focus on the game like she otherwise would be able to. That wasn't a disadvantage she wanted to take on, especially since she had no idea how good Yutaro may or may not have been at different games. Besides, who didn't love minty snacks?
@Takashi

While he waited for Shizuka to bring his espresso and Lucille's muffin back from the kitch, he watched his daughter's personal magician perform some neat tricks, although he was a bit worried about how she'd react when Zac told her he wouldn't be able to do what she wanted. For now, it seemed like he was rolling with the punches and trying to impress her with something else. When his waitress did return, she placed the espresso and muffin in front of him. He smiled gratefully to her and took a sip of the delicious smelling substance.

It was a bit bitter, but it wasn't bad. He didn't feel it necessitated sugar or creamer though.

"Hey, Shizuka, I feel like I've seen you somewhere else. What else do you do besides work here?" Al suddenly asked the dark haired waitress, trying to make some small talk.

His blue eyes flew up to her, full of curiosity. He was fairly sure he'd seen her at school, but he didn't want to assume. For all he knew, he might just be mistaking her for someone else.

"Also, this espresso isn't half bad. I usually drink tea though. It's what helps me relax." he inquired.

---

Meanwhile, Lucille was still engaged in Zac's performance. Her expression turned almost somber when he mentioned he couldn't perform the bag trick without the lady's permission. She was about to cry when he began to do something new. Her attention was grabbed when pulled out a mysterious device. She was immediately transfixed by it as she had never seen anything like that before. Somehow this man was able to put this device into a plastic bottle. Her mind cranked and she finally figured out with this guy really was. Her tiny legs walked up to him and she looked at him fiercely, with as much seriousness as a toddler could muster.

"I know what you are! You're a liar." she told him straight, although she thought she was speaking quieter than she really was.

"You're an alien, aren't you? That thing is a remote transpitoritor so you can fly home, isn't it?! And you've been using your alien techmolomies!"

Her expression became something between excitement and seriousness when she started pulling on his pant's leg.

"My daddy watches these weird alien shows so I know allllll about you guys! You can come stay with us and we can have tea parties until you know how to be a man!"

@Stern Algorithm @Daxam

@JustYui "Sounds like a plan," Yutaro said, smiling down at the frog girl as he proceeded along the shelter provided by the awning to the electronics store. It was then that he realized that he didn't know much about this girl besides the fact that she liked video games (and was apparently a water-type). She looked pretty young -- at least a bit younger than him -- though that could have just been an effect of the frog-eye raincoat. "So, what do you do when you're not busy making all the leader boards say 'Tomoko-sama?'" He walked into the store and made he way over to where the batteries were last time, only to find that they had been moved yet again. One thing he liked about working at the casino: the tables were always in the same place. But, he wasn't one to let something as inevitable as that irritate him. He continued with his question. "Are you a student or do you work?"

Finally he found where they had moved the batteries to, and what a weird sale they had. Four pack for 500 yen, twenty pack for 1200 yen, fifty pack for... Yutaro, it's not min-maxing if you're never going to use them. He grabbed the four pack and headed over the the checkout line. While an old lady was counting out her pennies at the register, Yutaro had plenty of time to eyeball the vast array of candies the store had on display. It was amazing how many ways humans had conceived to sell sugar. He handed the batteries to the cashier. "Will that be all sir?" she said.

"Yea that's..." Yutaro paused a moment when he spotted a box of Thin Mints on the candy rack. "Actually, I'll take these too." He held up the box of mints for the cashier to scan, and then handed them to Tomoko. "You said chocolate mints, right? I hope you like that brand."

"Uugh, my head..."
The silver haired professor awoke around noon on Sunday to a the dim lights from outside creeping in through frosted cream curtains hanging above the ceiling-to-floor windows just a metre or two by his bedside.

Having more of a start when he sat up in bed and wondered what time he slept into, and whether it was evening again, he was pleasantly surprised to find it was noon. But the weather was...ominous at best.
He stretched out his limbs, before reaching out a hand for his glasses on the bedside. Having retrieved them, another yawn left his lips before he finally rose to his feet, a little surprised to find himself still in the clothes from the night before. (Shou usually slept...well...)

Slipping into a comfortable pair of slippers, he cautiously inched his way closer to the window, pulling the curtains aside gingerly. A myriad of tiny drops detailed the pane, and gazing up at the sky left a rather sombre expression on the young man's face. It was raining.

Once upon a time, Shou Matsuoka, a young man in his 20s, loved the rain. He would go out in an umbrella and thick boots and take his dog, who adored the little water droplets to date, out on walks. He would whistle and spin around and laugh in it, and kiss his girlfriend in the rain. The way her nose went red in cold weather and her cheeks went warm...Shou was absolutely smitten.

The man swung open the large sliding door that led into the Veranda, and he stepped out.
Drip drip drip.
It fell on his head. Fresh little drops that he tilted his head back and tasted. It made him inhale sharply at the memory, frozen stiff for what could be a handful of seconds.

After all, the rain took Alex away, too.

Not enduring the kisses of the drops that fell from the sky for much longer, the man with a solemn prayer stepped back inside and made sure to seal the door extra tight. Hearing a demanding rumble from his stomach, he had decided it was too early for breakfast. He might as well have lunch instead. Having made no former precautions, he was foodless. Therefore, coffee first and food were on his agenda.

And there was nowhere else but the restaurants of busy Shine Junction, for the very best of the best. He decided to himself, stepping out of the shower and slipping on a beige trench-coat coupled with comfortable black trousers.

The very most he could do at home was go downstairs, though he was much earlier met by the two of his dogs, and make himself a strong coffee. Like Ryoki, though she didn't know it and neither did he, he was a fan of taking the roast home and surviving off it for as long as necessary. Today was one of those days. With a cup of coffee soon brewed and in a careful container, he stepped outside with his keys.

His memory, hazy as it was, clicked on two things right then.
1. Oliver was still an amazing old friend, who had driven him home and had the courtesy to bring Shou's Ford back, too!
2. ...that was a Saturday morning cooking class missed.

Sighing, he slid into the car and powered it up against the light fog of the weather. Though wet roads were dangerous, Shou was experienced a driver enough. Setting course for the Tiny Snowflake, the gentleman took a few more sips before being well on his way into the grey fog of the misty afternoon, cut into by none other than the lights of Shine Junction, bright and warm.

Collaboration between @Knight of Doom and @Verdaux

---

Earlier in the morning, Sabine had made her way inside from the back of the store with soaked shoulders. While she wouldn't have minded the weather so much in other countries, Japan had proved itself quite cold, even without the snow. The fact that it was supposed to be winter didn't help either, whatnot with the cold winds coming in from up north.

It might've come to Amaya's surprise, then, that sitting by the vent with the heater on full blast was a sleeping Sabine. Bags were under her eyes, and her dampened clothes seemed more appropriate for casual wear than for cooking. What was more odd, however, was the pair of red drips on the collar of her shirt. They were darkened now, to be sure, but it had this unmistakable color to it : blood.

She didn't look hurt, though.

Amaya went into the kitchen area of the Tiny Snowflake to give an order. There weren't many people in right now because it was a slow time. However, on arrival, the waitress only saw a form curled up on the ground. Curiously, she creeped forward. Her mind went wild with thoughts of what was going on. Was she dead? Injured? Sleeping? Taking a break? First she noticed that it was one of the bakers, Sabine. For a moment she was worried that Sabine was dead, but after a moment she noticed the rise and fall of the girl's chest.

Amaya gently touched her shoulder, seeing if she was awake and also getting a better look at the passed out girl. The blood startled her, but with no other clear sign of injury, there was no reason to assume such a thing. Deciding it was best to try and wake her up from her slumber to see what was going on.

"Um, excuse me. Can you please wake up?" She tried timidly, but then knowing it wouldn't work she spoke up a bit louder and shook her shoulder a bit forcefully. "Hey, wake up,"

With a startle, the brunette jerked herself forward and grasped wildly at Amaya's clothing. Kimono or no kimono, the nephrite-eyed girl would for a few seconds search for a shoulder, maybe an arm or loose cloth to grab at. Before too long, though, Sabine froze and leaned back with a sigh.

"Oh my god, did I fall asleep again?" she asked as she pulled her cardigan's sleeve back up, before it could drag itself and her t-shirt sleeve down her shoulder. "I'm sorry, I'll get ready quick...Amaya. Your name's Amaya, right?"

At the sudden grasping, Amaya almost unconsciously fought back, but she held up her hands in a surrendering position instead.

Once Sabine finally relaxed, the kimono clad girl let her hands come down, but she stayed kneeling.

"Yes, my name is Amaya." She confirmed, a bit surprised that the assistant chef remembered. "Is something wrong? Why did you fall asleep?" It may have been a bit much to ask, but there was genuine concern in the blond's voice. If she needed to go home, there was always someone who could take over.

The brunette scratched her head before yawning.

"Let's just say I didn't sleep well last night," was all she gave, before standing up, "since I was up clubbing. I...don't recommend doing anything harder than a few mixed drinks while you're at LUSH."

She was already slipping off the grey wool-knit cardigan before any more objections could be made, and once she had her apron on, and had her face washed, she was ready to go for a few customers.

"...but..." she said dreamily, "...I did get a number of a sweet guy. Quite a catch, even if he cares a little too much for just a one-night thing. You do anything fun yesterday?"

"Not really. A bit of Christmas shopping, and studying for finals. I'm not quite 21, so I'll have to wait a little bit until I can go to Club LUSH, even then, I'm not too sure I'd go." Amaya said standing up. She kept a close eye on Sabine, in case anything went wrong again.

The brown eyed girl moved towards the door peeking outside the window to see if she was needed out there, but the other waiter didn't seem rushed or panicked. So, she returned her gaze to her older coworker.

Sabine had, by then, tied her hair into a ponytail, the end of which she stuck down the collar of her t-shirt.

"...if you're wondering about these," she continued as she pinched the area against the dried blood, before dampening a paper napkin,"they're not the first time I've had them. Nosebleeds happen if you don't get enough water, so...yeah. I'm good."

With that, Sabine fired up the stove, and cleared some empty wares for her workstation. All around her, she could see eggs, blocks of dough, pots full of broth, and so many other items within an arm's grasp to make the perfect Japanese breakfast. She contemplated hungry kids rushing in for some soba, or maybe a quick to-go order of onigiri sprinkled with furikakke by a business lady. Perhaps a single large bowl of ramen for a couple with a low budget to share...

Unless it was natto in the morning. She had no idea what the hell was up with some people, eating food that smelled like feet. Then again, Japan was quite odd in comparison to the rest of Asia, being an island nation and all...

"Bring in the orders; I'm ready!"

"Oh, yea. The blood." Amaya muttered nervously. She didn't really want to ask because she got nauseous around blood. She'd had too many bad encounters with the crimson liquid. Then again, when was it ever a good thing?

"There are a couple of orders, but I'm actually about done with my shift. The younger girl said, heading towards the back to change out of her kimono. "See you later. I hope you feel better," She called out before slipping away.

(A Collaboration by BeastofDestiny, @lovely complex, @Dynamo Frokane)

Kyle was quickly ushered to the car and shoved into the back seat as Amity took the driver seat, Luke, her bodyguard was stationed up front in the passenger seat.

He grinned wide, "Hey Kyle, long time no see."

"Hey Luke, good to see you again," he gave Luke daps and then smirked saying, So Amie says you're sleeping with Renee now."

"Oh why don't you just go tell the whole world now huh?" As Amity sped off.

Amity laughed to herself as she scanned the buildings, "So it's true! I was just taking a gamble. HA! I was right." Using her peripheral vision, she noticed Luke blushing which wasn't a usual sight, "You're too cute Lukey."

A phone began to ring. Amity knew it wasn't hers because the ringtone was GOD AWFUL. It was her brother's new single: Amie's a Bitch. Luke picked it up and became preoccupied with conversation. She already knew who he was talking to: Liam. What a worrywart.

A light turned red as Amity proclaimed, "FIVE SECOND RULE!" and took a quick, tight left. A car stepped on it's breaks (screech filling the air) and honked very loudly at the white BMW, "WHATEVER."

Wanting to drown Luke's voice, Amity switched her music on. Gently tapping her (newest generation) Ipod on, her dance music playlist filled the car with great bass.

Waves by DJ Satomi

Not paying much attention to her surroundings, she drew close to the curb over a puddle which made a major splash. Looking through her rear view mirror, she noticed a boy had gotten wet... her icey eyes widened. Oh no. Quickly checking if there was a car coming from behind and relieved that there wasn't, she reversed with the same amount of speed and jumped out the car.

"I'm so so so sorry!" Not bothering to analyze the boy's appearance, she ran to the trunk and took out some of Luke's spare clothes from his duffel bag. Opening the backdoor, she grabbed the boy's hand pulled him closer to her. She then turned him to face the inside of the car and pushed him toward Kyle. Tossing the clothes at him, Amie smiled, "Change! I'll take you wherever." Scurrying to the front, with no idea of the backstory between the boy and her friend, Amie was ready to get to her destination...

And just like that he fell for the bait, he felt a little bad for Luke, but he had to admit even he was surprised. He watched Amity drive, he never felt safe with her behind the wheel, and with damn good reason as she sped through a red light, nearly causing another car to crash into them.

"(Christ, watch the road better will ya?)" He watched as her eyes widen, what did he upset her? Geez when did she become such a- The car suddenly stopped and reversed before Amity suddenly left the car. Curious, Kyle watched as she made her way over to someone in the street and ushered him into the seat next to Kyle. His own eyes widened as he recognized the guy, despite how drenched he was, it was the same guy he ran into last night.

"Oh, shit, its you again, you alright? Listen I'm sorry about last night again, I was late meeting someone and...and that's no excuse, really." his shoulders slumped, he felt genuinely bad about the whole ordeal, "Sorry again, uh, my name's Kyle, Kyle Parker, what's yours?"

Nick was chewing his bubblegum faster than usual, he was trying to focus on his chewing because his mind was running a million miles a minute.

Shizuka....Nori....Shizuka....Nori..

He couldn't get either out of his head at this point, and the more he was trying to not think about them the more his more thoughts gravitated towards them, he hated what was going through his head as it was so unlike him, he was supposed to be cool and carefree, but these two women on his mind had him feeling like a different person. He was so in his thoughts he didnt even hear the car speeding past him.

SCCCRRRRRRRRPPLLLASSSHHHHH

Suddenly a small tidal wave hit nick as he was walking by, he gasped, not having time to process what had happened or why he was soaking wet so he just stared at the car in disbelief. Suddenly two people, a tough looking guy and a pretty girl began apologizing profusely and began offering him clothes and a ride. It was all happening so fast, Nick was caught off guard.

I-Its fine...Im okay, its just water, I was too close to the road anyway.

But the two apologetic people had already funneled him into the car, as he slowly began to put on the shirt that was offered to him, luckily his bottom half wasnt too wet and didnt need changing. He was sitting next to a man with red hair. He could of sworn he mentioned this man on the radio at least once, but didnt speak up.

Kyle sat in his seat feeling slightly awkward at the lack of his response...maybe he was pissed at Kyle still for barreling into him last night? He would be too if someone had done that without giving so much as a single ounce of an explanation, well he'd sit back in his seat and just enjoy the ride as best he could.

Luke, sensing Kyle's distress, tried lightening the mood with a bit of conversation and so as not to be rude to their new guest kept the dialect strictly japanese, "So you know about me and Renee now, you been seeing anyone Parker?"

Though Kyle was surprised that Luke was using Japanese instead of English, he went along with it, "Actually I met someone just yesterday, completely by chance, you could say I knocked her off her feet," Kyle chuckled a little, it'd probably be funnier if it wasn't true.

"Way to go man," Luke smirked, "What does she look like?"

"In a few words, absolutely stunning, appearance wise, she's a fair bit shorter than me, thinner too and her skin is fair. She's got these long golden locks that flow and curl like a wild river and she has these amber eyes that just pierce right through me." His face heated up a little at how honest he was being, but damn it he was ok with that.

"She got any tats?" Luke asked, his tone changing to something serious.

"Yea actually, she has one right on her left cheek!"

"Good on you man, you know I've always said that you always go for the tatted ones," he got a little excited, but quickly returned to normal, "So what's her name tiger?"

He leaned back in his seat smiling, "Her name is Nori."

Nick was in a state of near delirium, he was just splashed and now shoved into a car with a bunch of strangers, a big hefty fella, a cute girl, and an unnervingly handsome young man, who were are talking as if he wasn't even there. Nick's usual charisma had drained away, he was now a quiet shy 20 year old boy. Not in control of the situation at all and allowing himself to just drift into the background. The handsome one who introduced himself as Kyle began to speak to the tough looking guy about girls. Nick couldn't care less about other people's relationships, he was still thinking about Shizuka....and....

Hang on Kyle, did you say Nori? as In DJ Nori Haywood?, works at LUSH?

Nick's shy and soft demeanor suddenly vanished, he wasnt even shivering from the cold anymore. A fire had lit inside of him, but it wasnt one of confidence and passion, it was of jealousy and angry.

You smashing it?....Are you boning Nori Haywood dude?

Nick's always friendly eyes became focused lasers and locked with Kyle's, Nick began to chew his gum faster as he was talking.

You might want to tell henchman to stop the car, bro.

"Henchman... did he just call my Lukey a henchman? or me? I'm the one driving... he couldn't possibly be calling me THAT." Repulsed at the fact that she might of been called a type of servant, Amity looked through the rear view mirror. She noticed the male she picked up and offered kindness to was glaring deeply at her friend, with eyes she knew very well.

Jealousy.

Anger.

There were a few times she could recall moments she had these emotions. Of course, this was not one of them. Wait...

In her head, she thought: "Nori...Haywood...DJ....Nori....Haywood..." . Not once did Kyle tell her he had a girl of interest. She could careless about this other kid, sad, pathetic, low-life, who thought he had a chance with a girl of Kyle's caliber, but Kyle, her friend... he didn't share this with her? Her grip on the wheel tightened. Now she had more of a reason to get the phone...

Seeing an open parking spot across from The Enchanted Florist, Amity pulled in.

She muttered, with her teeth gritted, "The outdoors is all yours. Go be fucking idiots." Keeping the shades on to hide her eyes welling up, she turned to Luke and smiled, "We both love good sportsmanship, so why don't you oversee the fight? ~"

Luke looked at her worried. Running his hand through his hair, he contemplated Amity's words. He knew she wasn't going to change her mind, she was as stubborn as a mule (unfortunately). He laid his hand out and sighed, "Alright... but you're going to have to give me the keys. We don't need a repeat of last time."

Turning the ignition off, Amity handed her bodyguard the keys, she grinned, "I would not DARE!" and exited the door, taking her umbrella with her.

The last 8 seconds turned from relaxed, to extremely tense as the guy next to him suddenly flared up, looking over the boy was staring daggers into Kyle and he could feel his body tense up. This wasn't the first time Kyle had seen a glare like that, he'd been given plenty enough before while growing up in the States; but for the reason to involve another girl, especially Nori, that was a first. His hand tentatively reached for the door handle, his eyes purely focused on the guy next to him, he looked about ready to pounce and Kyle didn't want to be taken off guard. He was about to tell Amity to stop the car before she was already parking it, "The outdoors is all yours. Go be fucking idiots." He heard her muttering, wondering what might have been wrong, that was a mistake as for the one second he took his eyes off the boy- WHAM!

Kyle got punched square in the face, he could feel his glasses smashing and piercing into his skin. He was taken so off guard that he pulled the door handle at the same time and fell out the car, a sharp pain running along his back as he collided into the asphalt below before feeling some cold and wet soaking up the back of his shirt. The boy fell on top of him, but Kyle's foot was in a good enough position that he was able to use the boy's continued forward momentum to launch him off and away from Kyle, giving him enough time to scramble to his feet and orientate himself. His vision felt hazy and there was a burning pain on the bridge of his nose, he reached up to touch it, flinching at the sudden pain spike, he lowered his hand to find crimson red dripping from it. The fucker punched him so hard his glasses had cut into his skin and now...Kyle was pissed.

"(Mother FUCK!!!)" He screamed in English, slamming his closed fist down on the trunk of the car, hard enough to leave a tiny dent. He turned around and cracked his knuckles, ignoring the pain as adrenaline and fury shot through him like a raging comet, he didn't even give a damn that they were in the middle of the street doing this, or that his glasses had vanished from his face, "Alright you skinny, fuck boy, bitch! You want a fucking fight, bring it!" His fists were raised and tucked close into his body and he lowered himself to the ground for better center of gravity, he was ready to take the pain and deal out tenfold more.

All Nick could see was the red mist, he couldnt see Kyle at all, this wasnt about Kyle. He wasnt fighting another man, he was fighting his own pain. Nick chewed bubblegum and hosts the radio because it makes him feel alive, it makes him feel important. His self esteem had never once been in question before that, he was Nick Weston, popular and talented. He had never had to consider rejection before. Shizuka's ambiguity was bad enough, but Nori ditched him, ditched him for this guy? Kyle Parker? Nick's insecurites about his massive crush Nori, had come to a boiling point. She was perfect and now there is a living breathing avatar of a man representing the fact that She chose someone else..... Nick was going to put this all to rest right now.

After tumbling out of the car landing a damn good shot, Kyle managed to springboard Nick away from him, somewhere outside a shop that Nick didnt have time to properly identify in the rain. Nick spat his bubblegum on the floor as Kyle cursed at him in fury. Nick wasted no time in advancing on the young man, ready to rock him again.

She was good right? best piece of tail in Shine city right? bet she didnt ditch YOU on YOUR FIRST DATE RIGHT?!

Nick charged and swung hard for Kyle, but he was ready for this attack and caught nick with a short but stunning uppercut to the torso and followed up with a right cross to the jaw which slammed into his face and knocked him off balance. Nick grabbed Kyle's shirt and snarled in his face. A fight was underway.

"THIS IS THE GUY NORI STOOD UP?!" When she first pinned him against that tree he expected an asshole ex-boyfriend, but instead he was dealing with an asshole reject and that was about 10x worse than the former. This wasn't about Kyle being with Nori, this was all about Nick's ego, Kyle had never had to put up with that in the past and he wasn't going to put up with it now, even if it meant he had to beat the ever living shit out of Nick to do it. Kyle might have been pissed, but he wasn't being as blind or as reckless as his opponent was, and that left him with an advantage in this fight.

"I didn't sleep with her you stupid dick!" Kyle was defending himself well and when his opponent got all up in his face, Kyle leaned his head back and brought it down hard into the man's skull, Nick staggered back and Kyle advanced, "We just met yesterday!" Kyle swung wide and Nick retaliated, knocking a clean shot in his face. Kyle faltered slightly, but caught Nick's arm as he came down for another blow, Kyle closed the gap and brought his knee up into Nick's gut for a debilitating blow. Wrapping his hands around one another, he brought his two closed fists in a swinging arc to strike Nick's chin, screaming all the while, "WE JUST HAD NACHOS!"

Luke was surprised at how fast the fight took flight but he knew the young men needed to settle their differences. He wasn't that older than them, so he understood completely the thrill of a good fight. Plus, men needed to protect their pride. He spent a good time sizing them up as they threw their punches. Neither of these boys had a killer instinct in them, but they could at least protect their lady if it ever came down to it. He knew for damn sure Kyle could fight but Luke didn't expect him to get in a fight because of a girl. Young and in love, I guess? She must be one hell of a catch. Pedestrians passed by as Luke gave them the look that everything was going to be okay. His phone rung again, "Thare he goes again. Aye worrying." his scottish slang slipped out. Keeping his eyes glued to the fight, that seemed to get closer and closer to the Enchanted Florist, he answered the call,

"Whit dae yi'll waant? YES, yes! She's--" Luke looked around and noticed Amity was missing. He sighed and lied through his teeth, getting back to his clean English, "She's fine. She's been catching up with her friend. I know, I know. She needs to rest for tonight. Can't the girl enjoy herself for a little bit?" After letting the lecture go on, Luke hung up and looked at the two boys, "I'd love to play babysitter but, I'm sure a little blood won't hurt ya. Talk to me about that nacho date some other time, Kyle." While waving, his back now facing the fight, the bodyguard walked to the car and went to look for his celebrity.

Amity came out of a clothing store with a new and improved disguise! (She left Kyle's old clothes in the dressing room... she'll buy him new things). Thinking she was an absolute genius transforming herself into a cute nerd, she was ready to meet that Iruka girl at the coffee shop! The glasses really transformed her! She didn't realize she stood out even more than before.

Holding her yellow umbrella, she followed her phone's gps to The Shining Kettle. Passing two girls chatting, not assuming one of those two was Iruka, she entered the coffee shop, closing her umbrella in the process. Smiling to herself and taking in the aroma of coffee, she twirled her way to a table beside a young, blonde-haired man, and a cute little girl, his sister? Two workers were tending to their needs. Amity could tell by the little girl's expressions, she was idol material. As she waited for this Iruka girl, Amity watched the people around her. She really did enjoy the ordinary things in life!

Nori was minding her own business, adjusting the heat lamps over the 16th Century tulip she had been babying for the past two months, when something screamed in gibberish pierced the tranquillity of the flower shop. The blonde, terrified a sledgehammer wielding monster had come to make good on his murdering promise, flinched so violently she knocked the rare blossom off the table, causing it to shatter in a spectacular display. "Shit!" Nori cursed, bending down to scoop the little flower up as gently as possible. The just budding plant had been severed completely from it's stem, making it unsalvageable. The delicate flower had already had a buyer lined up and was so rare that it was worth a little more than the price of Nori's monthly rent. And now she was going to have to pay for it. Frustrated, Nori went to the front to see what made the noise, when she heard--

"She was good right? best piece of tail in Shine city right? bet she didnt ditch YOU on YOUR FIRST DATE RIGHT?!"

'Nick?' Sure enough, there the radio host was, still as handsome as she had remembered, standing in front of her store and drenched to the bone. 'Why is he here?' she questioned internally, her stomach suddenly filled with nervous butterflies. Nori then saw that there was someone else on the side walk with the radio host, but she couldn't make out his face from where she was standing. Whoever the brunette was, he reared back and head butted the ever loving shit out of Nick and was advancing on him quickly. Nori felt a surge of protectiveness wash over her and sprinted to the door, throwing it open to intervene when she heard a very familiar voice scream, "We just met yesterday!"

"Kyle?" She breathed, dumbfounded. Nick punched the American straight in the face and Kyle answered by kneeing the radio host in the stomach and then used both hands to deliver an uppercut while shrieking, "WE JUST HAD NACHOS!"

'Oh,' she realized numbly, 'They're talking about me.'

It was like a scene straight out of a young adult romance novel, the kind where the vampires are shiny and the werewolves all have perfect six pack abs. Where the two super hunks battle it out over some sulking, mouth breathing damsel to prove that they are somehow more deserving of her love because of their willingness to extract violence on her behalf.

But Nori was no damsel and she was not amused.

Ignoring the two men completely, Nori walked to the alley and started to undo the water hose they kept hooked up to tend the outside plants. Turning on the water and kinking the end to stop the flow momentarily, she marched back over to the two idiots and sprayed them both in the face. She continued to soak them for a good twenty seconds, until she was sure she got their attention. And then she continued for another twenty, just because it was extremely gratifying.

"Do I have your attention?" She asked them both levelly, dropping the hose and crossing her arms over her chest. In her rage she had forgotten her jacket inside and now was drenched from the rain, but she was so furious that she didn't even care. "Good. Nick," she paused, turning to face the radio host completely. "I get it, I did a shitty thing. Yes, I should have called to let you know I wasn't showing up, but I didn't. I'm sorry," she forced herself to meet his gaze head on, even though the look he was giving her made her heart ache. "You are one of the most sought after bachelors of this city, and I am just some girl who never went to college and is barely scraping by with two jobs. I'm so far behind on my rent that I'm about two weeks from being evicted. I got scared. I knew if I went on that date with you that there was a chance you were going to realize I don't have all my shit together and then you wouldn't want me anymore."

"But even though I did something awful, that doesn't mean you get to beat up anybody that might like me," she scowled, jerking her hand toward Kyle. "Jesus Christ, Nick, I just met this guy yesterday! Despite the reputation I have for being a huge slut, I don't actually go around throwing my cat at any man that gives me a second glance. I didn't realize you thought so lowly of me."

"And you," Nori growled, glaring at Kyle. "This is my place of business, my only real source of income. Do you know how much the club pays me?" The tattooed girl hissed, grinding her teeth together and flexing her fingers in fury. "Forty dollars a goddamn set. I will lose everything if I lose this job. And you decide to just have a good old fashioned street brawl in front of it? If the owners find out I was involved in any part of this they will fire me."

"You're both grown men," she told them in a quieter voice, her body sagging as the fight went out of her. "If you want to fight in the street like children that's fine just...," Nori hesitated, trying and failing to swallow the lump that was forming in her throat, "...just keep it away from me."

Nori turned and shut the water off to the hose, before walking into the shop as quickly as possible. She was five seconds away from crying and she didn't want to do it in front of either of them.

@Dynamo Frokane@BeastofDestiny

Copen had slipped into the Shining Kettle, tired after his morning-afternoon shift. A coffee would be good at this time of the day. He took a seat at a table, perusing the menu for a moment. He was still dressed in his work clothes, but they were mercifully normal - black slim pants and a white smart shirt. The restaurant was pretty modern in general. He ordered a plain filter coffee, winking at the waitress before handing back his menu. She didn't end up winking back. Huh. That wasn't the usual reaction he got. Shrugging to himself, he leaned back and stretched - not realising how close the tables were together.

His interlinked fingers came into contact with hair. Oops. Copen retracted his arms, sitting up straighter and twisting around in his chair. "Sorry about that!" he chirped cheerfully, Danish accent as strong as always. He hadn't ever endeavoured to really remove it; he still got the ladies, and that was all that mattered at the moment. The girl he'd come into contact with had... pink hair? That was something. But it was usual in Japan, even if he might not be used to such things.

She was kind of cute. In a weird way. Pink hair and that whole nerdy thing going on. He didn't have a particular type of woman that he was attracted to, but she seemed to count. Copen grinned. "May I buy you a coffee?"

“Iru?” Iruka sounded confused as she cocked her head upon hearing the unusual nickname, even so, it was pretty obvious that the cool girl was talking to her. She flinched a bit, once she felt hair being disheveled playfully but that person’s touch had a strange calming effect over Iruka.

“Mmm…” A sound, not unlike the purring of a satisfied cat escaped Iruka’s throat, though the rumbling of her stomach and the following offer of breakfast made her a bit embarrassed. Actually, very flustered, to the point that Iruka let slip something she that caused her face to burn bright red with shame. “Thank you, onee-sama, I… yes, let’s go.”

“Ara…? Eh? Di... did I said? Oh God, kill me now, please!” Iruka looked like she was having a total crash once she realized what is that she said, as evidenced by the way she trembled and tried to gasp for air.

Iruka yanked herself out of Ryoki’s touch and for a moment it looked like she was about to run away in the middle of the rain, though it turned out that she gave a deep apologetic bow to the woman before her and spoke between gritted teeth, “I… I’m really sorry for that. I know it’s impolite of me, but… but I don’t know your name and… and,” Iruka paused as tears of frustration began to well in her eyes.

Iruka mustered almost as much determination as she could, before looking Ryoki in her eyes and saying "I'm just sorry, I shouldn't have done that, but you have been treating me way better than even my own family. I won't take it back, since it's how I-I feel, even if you get mad with me tho-though," between gritted teeth.

---

@Delta44

@Chicogal

Staring deeply into the menu, Amity contemplated on what she wanted. Hopefully Iruka wasn't going to make her wait forever... Amie had no idea who to look for. Her voice was soft spoken, so maybe a timid girl, conservatively dressed, with a cute disposition? Black hair...no brown...no black...maybe blonde? What if she's a fiery ginger! Hm...or what if this girl was like some kind of con-artist? Using sweetness to lure Amie in. Amity needed to keep her guard up. Who knows who would be looking for her! Bringing the menu close to her face, her eyes peering over it, she stared at the people in the cafe, and thought, "Though I'm surrounded by ordinary people, they could be lions, tigers, and bears... Oh my!"

Getting back on track and looking at her menu, she pulled out her pencil from her pocket and began chewing on the end of it. Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. What should she get this lovely morning? The "undercover" celeb knew even if she decided on something, she would spice up her drink by... a lot. She felt fingers enter her floral fragrance, curly hair (she uses Shu Uemera Essence Asolue Nourishing Fragrance) and then a harsh danish-accented, male voice said, "Sorry about that!". She had recently visited Denmark so she was certain it couldn't have been a Swedish or Norwegian accent...though they were mutually intelligible. If she was wrong, he could correct her.

"May I buy you a coffee?"

"Hvis du tilbyder, være min gæst." [[Danish Translation: If you're offering, be my guest.]]

Amity did not flinch or take her eyes off the menu. With her hand, she gestured for the man to join her table, "I'd like 100 shot, Caramel Frappuccino with soy, vanilla syrup, and Frapp chips." Not including sales tax, the drink costed: $86.55 [10186.03 yen] and contained 7,650 mg of caffeine. Closing the menu, she continued, "I know what you're thinking. How could a tiny girl drink so much?" Putting her menu down, she finally met his gaze with her frost eyes and pushed her nonprescription glasses in with her pointer finger, "I like to challenge myself. Call me Mitty. And you?"

Waiting for his response, she wondered if Luke noticed if she was gone, if Kyle knocked out Nick, or if someone intervened before it got to that point. She had to leave and come here. She needs Kyle's phone. This was protocol. In the past she would always borrow Kyle's phone and transfer all his data to her computer, or Luke's, whichever one was closer. Thanks to her bodyguard's computer wizard-ness, he taught her a lot of great things!

While she thought about all that, she took the time to look this man up and down. Tall, fit, honey-colored hair, a stereotypical handsome man. Someone she could see acting with her in a movie. Did his looks match his inside or was he a tiger prowling for his morning snack? Of course, Amity was open minded. At least he had the courage to approach a random stranger. She'll give him that.

Kyle's heart sank and shattered into a thousand pieces, the rain felt numb to him as his clothing stuck to his body like a second skin. Kyle breathed heavily still recovering from the fight, the onslaught of the hose, and verbal lashing he received from the woman he played tonsil hockey with not several hours ago. Kyle sat there slumped in the street, rain pouring down his face, battered and bruised, with a man in a similar state next to him; in essence, a dumb ass sitting next to a dumb ass. He thought his rage hadn't blinded him, but yet it obscured him from the most obvious place and it was right in front of him. He ran a hand through his hair and wiped it down his face, flinching slightly as he felt the pain in his nose again, now he realized his glasses were missing.

Looking around he found them not too far from where the car had driven off, he got up and walked over to them. Picking them up he scowled at how mangled they were, but he could fix them later, folding them and pocketing them in his wet pants. Turning around he walked over to where Nick was still sitting on the ground, "Look man...can we just agree that we were a couple of dumb asses and just leave it at that..." he reached his hand down to stand the boy up, when he didn't receive any response Kyle sighed and pulled his hand back. "Look, Nick, I'm sorry about what happened between you and Nori, but I had nothing to do with that, and it wasn't kept a secret from me," he let that sink in a bit, "We were walking to the arcade, she saw you in the park and hid herself behind a tree, afterwards she told me that she stood you up...that she felt horrible about it and had been avoiding you since because of it; I'm telling you all this, because she meant it when she told you she was sorry." Kyle wasn't sure if Nick was listening to him at this point, shaking his head he said his final piece, "If you want to wallow here in your deluded self-pity you go right ahead, but I'm going in to apologize, because frankly, we fucked up and she deserves at the very least that much."

He turned away from the boy, walking towards the shop and trying to wring out as much water as he could before he entered, looking back at Nick one last time, Kyle pressed forward and opened the door. A small bell chimed and Kyle entered the building the sudden temperature change was welcome, but he was still dripping wet, and water was pelting the floor below him. "Nori!" He called out, he wasn't sure where she had gone, but from the look on her face when she left, probably as far away as possible...maybe in the back? He walked over to the front counter and found an open door leading to the back area, inside he found the petite girl, dripping wet herself as she was huddled over, cleaning something off the ground, "Nori..." The girl finally looked up at him, his heart ached and he felt genuinely terrible, but he needed to say his piece, then if she wanted him gone... "Can we talk...please?"

Zac...was not expecting this. He was sure that the explanation he gave the kid was more than enough, but here she was, accusing him of being, of all things, an alien. He could try to tell her she was wrong, but he knew what the likelihood of her believing that was. Children were like that: when they believed something, they believed it with every fiber of their being, especially if it was something like this. This kind of steadfastness was something Zac felt should be admired. Well, he thinks, there's only one thing I can do in this situation: play along.

"Oh, you got me," he says with a defeated sigh. Crouching in front of the girl, he says in a low voice, as if it were a secret, "You're right. I'm an alien. I come from...planet...X? Yeah, Planet X! I was on my way to Planet G for vacation, but my ship broke down. I've been staying in one of your...what's the word for it? Ah, hotel! I've been staying in one of those while my ship is being fixed." While he was explaining this, he felt as if he had seen something similar in an old cartoon he had watched when he was a kid. I always knew watching those cartoons would help out at some point, he finds himself thinking.

Then, fixing the child with a serious gaze, he says, "You have to keep this secret, though. If word were to get out about me being an alien, the government will catch me and I'll never be able to go home."

Hearing the bell chime over the door, Zac then says, "Now, if I wanna keep up my disguise as a human, I have to get back to work, okay? I promise, though, if you keep my secret, the next time you come here, I'll show you even better tricks than what you've already seen. Deal?"

@ViciousMarrow

"Hey, Shizuka, I feel like I've seen you somewhere else. What else do you do besides work here?" Al suddenly asked the dark haired waitress, trying to make some small talk.

His blue eyes flew up to her, full of curiosity. He was fairly sure he'd seen her at school, but he didn't want to assume. For all he knew, he might just be mistaking her for someone else.

"Also, this espresso isn't half bad. I usually drink tea though. It's what helps me relax." he inquired.

"I'm a veterinary science student at Shine City Academy," Shizuka replied, "I'm also a teaching assistant for Dr. Matsuoka in Biology. I'm glad you're enjoying the coffee. I'm also a tea person myself; we do serve tea here, maybe you can try some next time you come." Shizuka added that last bit since part of her job is encouraging customers to return.

"Welcome to the Shining Kettle," Shizuka greeted as Amity twirled into the cafe and sat at a table near Alban's. Soon after, Copen also entered, Shizuka greeted him in the same manner, but when he ordered his coffee, winked at her, and proceeded to run his fingers into Amity's hair, Shizuka was at a slight loss for words. Then Amity ordered her extravagant drink, making Shizuka thankful that she didn't have to make the coffee. "I-I'll have your orders out soon," Shizuka said as she excused herself from Amity and Copen. After handing the order to the barista, Shizuka took a quick breather in the back near the kitchen to text Nick a reply, "I'm worried that I might have offended you in some way; after we parted last time, you seemed unhappy. I just want to clear things up." Shizuka wondered if he was alright, having no idea the situation that Nick was in.

"Hehe, business is good today," the barista behind the counter chuckled to no one in particular as he began preparing the coffees that Copen and Amity had ordered.

Shizuka soon returned to the front and brought Amity and Copen their coffees.

@Dynamo Frokane