Cirrus — Roleplayer Guild

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.
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