536/Miss the Road

Miss the Road
Date of Scene:	01 October 2023
Location:	Game Crown Arcade
Synopsis:	Coco and Hinoiri meet at the arcade, shade a quick chat and then decide to play a game or two. Nothing like motorcycle games to bring people together, right?
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Coco Kiumi

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Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was... stir crazy. Slightly. Broken hand was getting to her. The wound was almost healed, she was maybe one, two good drains from finally getting it fixed. But well... she could only do that soooo often.

But during this time, she couldn't actually DRIVE. Since coming to this world, off roading and the motorcycle had been her like... one proper escape. The one thing that truly made her feel ALIVE. Made her feel WHOLE. Well. Not whole. But made her feel like this world actually had something... good going about it.

Like this world wasn't actually entirely miserable.

And so she lost that when Hematite rose'd her. But you know what Arcades had? Motorcycle games. She wanted to buy one for herself but she had nowhere near THAT kind of money. So instead, she'd settled for getting a bunch of quarters and riding one of the stupid motorcycle games on their tracks. Going as fast as she could while not moving in the slightest. It was dumb, stupid, but fun. She could almost pretend it was real. Even with only one hand.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
The talk she had with Amy at the Arcade had admittedly instilled a curiosity in the mermaid over how the kind of games her friend enjoyed would be like, so Coco had been back at the Arcade for about an hour, spending quarter after quarter trying out several different types from the same genre, in case there was a lightly different dynamic she found to her liking. The result was she couldn't get herself to enjoy combat games like Amy (or probably like Hannah too, she thinks, her mind making a detour towards the redhead's girlfriend.

She is going to stick to skeeball and Dance Dance Revolution. Unfortunately this arcade didn't seem to have exploration games like the ones she had come to enjoy on her brand new pc. The mermaid has been going at skeeball for a while now, so she decides to change things around and go for Dance Dance Revolution now. Moving her way towards the dance machine she spots a familiar figure engrossed in a racing game.

"Hello, Hinoiri" Coco shouts at the racing girl, putting herself to the side of the screen and looking at Hinoiri in the face with a smile. "How is it going?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara jumped slightly. Who the... what? "Heyyyyy... you?" she said, blinking a few times, trying to not go off the road. She was in first place, but the distraction almost put her in second. Stupid rubber banding. She focused on the screen, struggling to remember who the girl was. "I'm sorry, but... I'm not really able to put a name to the face. Have we-- oh! The zoo! You were at the zoo, I think. Huh, that was a while-- shit!"

Overcompensated on a turn. "Hold that thought."

Yes, she did, in fact, value winning in the race over talking to a person. It only took a few minutes, though... then... <Winner!>

She sighed and sat up, turning back to Coco. "Right. You were... at the zoo. I think. Right? Uhhhh... there were... things. Right before school started. Man, it has been a while, hasn't it? Surprised you even remember me. You were... hold on, I got this. just... Loco-chan?" she asked. "Uhhhh... Cresent...? Uhhhhh... I wanna... say... Chocolate?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco waits patiently as Hinoiri finishes her race, a bit self-conscious over having almost interrupted the gaming session of the girl with red and yellow hair, turning her attention towards the screen next to her. The race is interlaced with a few of her comments ("they are still close", "beware of the turn", "nice maneuver", etc...), of course ending with a compliment over Hinoiri's victory. "Congratulations, Hinoiri, you did perfectly! How many races have you won here?"

She notices the cast on her right hand once she moves her gaze to the propitious controller. "What happened to your hand?", she asks, her thoughts now mainly consisting of worry. "Are you alright? How do you feel? Do you need to change the cast?" She starts throwing questions at Hinoiri at light speed, her apprehension making it give her a lookover.

The mermaid nods at Hinoiri recalling her presence at the zoo, while her face is divided between surprise and hilarity over tries so out of left field over trying to remember her name. "That's right, I was there! I remember you had an interest in birds, back then. I am Coco, nice to meet you again. How is it going?" she smiles at Hinoiri.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a light chuckle. "Wellll... most of them." She didn't remember how many she'd won. All that mattered was that she won the one she was in. Past victories didn't really mean anything unless you continued to win. Second place was really just the first loser, in the end. That was how she saw it. "Just miss riding my bike, that's all."

She then glanced towards the hand and sighed. "Someone's stupid guard dog. They let it off its leash and it bit me. I managed to get out of there before it did too much damage, but it really messed up my hand. And... no? I don't need to change it. I don't think they even do that. Not good for it to heal if they keep having to take it on and off. Jostles the hand too much. It's why I'm here riding a fake motorcycle, cause not reallllly a lot of games you can do one handed. Especially without my dominant hand."

The confirmation of the zoo and name made her at least grin. "Ahhhhh. Coco. Right. Coco... what?" she asked. "I'm... Hinoiri Kirara, remember? Ohhhh. Right, you're from out of country too, huh? Still not used to the whole 'family name' thing after all this time?" she asked in a light, teasing tone. "And other than the hand, not too bad."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"What is riding a bike like?" Coco asks, her interest piqued by this method of unwinding. "Obviously you must be very fond of it if you miss it, but you would be the first one I met with this hobby." She sits down on the tv's platform now Hinoiri isn't playing anymore, front-facing to Hinoiri. 'Probably something to do with feeling the wind as you go fast', she wagers mentally, comparing it to her fast swimming sessions underwater. Thinking about it makes her actually miss then too, even though the last one was too long ago yet.

Coco grimaces at how Hinoiri recounts the events that led to her injury. "That must have hurt a lot. I hope you feel much better now, and that the dog didn't have to be put down for the carelessness of their owner." She thinks, shivering at the though. "How long do you have until you are allowed to take it off?"

"Coco Campus, nice to meet you", Coco repeats her introduction, amending her previous statement with her fake surname. "I have actually been for a short time, so yeah, I didn't really get used to the whole family name matter." Nevermind the fact that she would have to pay attention to family names first, since they don't have them at all underwater.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small shrug. "I don't know. Just... feels fun. The wind through your hair, low to the ground. That feeling of control, of authority. Like... you've got so much control, power, that if things go wrong, it's in your hands. You decide, not someone else. Just... it feels good. Like you're making every decision. Just... total control." Looks like Coco had it, though. That wind.

She glanced down at the cast. "Not sure. I reported it and haven't been near there since. I don't think the dog's going to be put down, though. Just put on a tighter leash," she grumbled. Obviously still kind of bitter about the whole thing.

Hinoiri blinked, though, at that last name. "Oof. Campus? That's... gotta get some looks. Err, no offense. But I see why you don't mention it. Coco Campus, huh? That's... a heck of a name. Still, not like a name is something you can choose, huh? What brings you here?"

Then... she glanced at the bike and a grin formed on her lips. "You know... you asked what riding a bike is like. When I get my hand up, I'll take you for a ride. But, in the meantime?" She tapped the bike she was leaning on, then pointed to the 'player 2' bike. "Wanna race?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Not really what she figured, the mermaid ponders internally, only really relating to the wind at the start, but then again, Coco didn't have a "vehicle" separate from herself when engaging in similar activities.

"That's probably the best possible result, besides the dog's owner learning their lesson though, which I hope they do", nods the mermaid along as Hinoiri specifies how everything turned out.

Coco agrees way too much with Hinoiri's observation over her surname. "Yes, honestly, I don't really like it either. If only I actually chose it." Not like she can go back and actually give it a thought before blurting it out." She shrugs over her thought process, before addressing Hinoiri's question. "I am actually here to look for a friend. She lost her way, and I am trying to find her again", she comments with a tinge of sadness.

The mermaid grins at Hinoiri's offer. "That sounds legitimately awesome. I will take you up on it when your hand is healed up." For now, racing alongside Hinoiri is plenty good as an alternative, so she doesn't hesitate on taking the player two position and racing together with her. It's probably gonna be a while before the two put an end to it.