616/Getting Good (at Sailor V)

Getting Good (at Sailor V)
Date of Scene:	20 October 2023
Location:	Game Crown Arcade
Synopsis:	A group of teens play video games.
Cast of Characters:	Hikaru Amanaka, Norie Okana, Mie Kitamura, Kaori Jira

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Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
It's a quiet evening at the Game Center Crown, no sign of any pesky evildoers and not a lot of kids hanging around for some reason. One of the unlikely inhabitants is the boyish person sitting at the popular Sailor V cabinet. Hair mussed and dressed in the uniform of the nearby Radiant Heart, it's obvious that this is one of the many students who stop by when they're finally out of school. It's a little later than merely after school--kids who've finished clubs and cram school would be the main attendees and the student at the cabinet must be one of those. There's a soft sound of a muttered curse and Hikaru slaps a hand onto the top cabinet as her attempt to beat an early boss is met with defeat.

"Ugh," Hikaru slumps forward, half-talking to herself. "Dunno why I keep wasting my money on this thing..."

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
It's a quiet evening at the Game Center Crown, no sign of any pesky evildoers and not a lot of kids hanging around for some reason. One of the unlikely inhabitants is the boyish person sitting at the popular Sailor V cabinet. Hair mussed and dressed in the boys' uniform of the nearby Radiant Heart, it's obvious that this is one of the many students who stop by when they're finally out of school. It's a little later than merely after school--kids who've finished clubs and cram school would be the main attendees and the student at the cabinet must be one of those. There's a soft sound of a muttered curse and Hikaru slaps a hand onto the top cabinet as her attempt to beat an early boss is met with defeat.

"Ugh," Hikaru slumps forward, half-talking to herself. "Dunno why I keep wasting my money on this thing..."

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana didn't go to clubs anymore. So she's been hanging out at the local arcade. Minorly, she's tracking her next meal. She's mostly decided on this one girl who keeps wandering away from her friends every so often to talk on the phone. She's going to be leaving shortly. She can sense it. She'll be leaving alone and she'll be easily followed out and drained and --- oh.

Oh that slap to the top of a cabinet causes her to jump out of her vampirey, stalky reverie to look over to the person in a boy's RHA uniform and narrowing her eyes, before looking back to the person she was tracking and---she's already gone. She curses something under her breath.

She mutters and speaks up, rather than be a shrinking violet about things today. "St..stop smacking the machines, you'll break something." she angrily says. She isn't upset about the machine, persay, she's upset the distraction made her loose track of her dinner.

But she isn't saying that part out loud. "It isn't the machine's fault you're bad at the game!"

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
Hikaru winces when someone seems to notice her outburst and speaks up to her about it. She glances over at Norie when she speaks up, a flush of embarrassment tinging her cheeks. Attention is the last thing she wants in the moment and it feels mortifying to get it. Maybe she should just slink off to her dorm? She ducks her head apologetically.

"Sorry. I--" Watashi. "I mean--" Boku. "I wasn't thinking. I just got frustrated." She pauses. "I don't think I can hit them hard enough to break them, though. The machines are pretty sturdy."

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana isn't about to admit the real reason she was upset. 'you made me miss my snack. z.z'. So instead she makes this someone else's problem. Because she doesn't know who else to blame. It isn't her fault, after all!

"Well just because you might not break it doesn't mean you will." she says. "Where did you even die. I bet it was at the first boss." she says. Coyly, like she's correct and she knows it.

"Have you even seen the second stage, ever?" she asks.

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
Hikaru frowns as someone /younger/ than her starts giving her guff about her skill with the Sailor V cabinet. She rolls her eyes, then reaches into the pocket of her blazer to fumble for another coin. She doesn't need to take this! She's a 3rd-year middle school student!

"I've gotten to the second stage before. I just don't have time to sit here and play the game all day like some people," as if that makes dying to the first boss a little less embarrassing.

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    This is the first time Mie has ever been to an arcade. She had overheard several of her fellow students talk about the delicious milkshakes that the Fruits Parlor Crown make and, always one for delicious food, has decided to check it out. What she didn't expect is a cavernous room, filled with noise and blinking lights.     She stands paralyzed at the entrance, dazzled by it all, her brain shorting out from sensory overload.

    "Hey, get out of the way!" calls a rather nasty looking older boy, who all but shoves Mie to the side.

    This seems to break the spell and she whirls on the boy, all teeth and red eyes. "If you dare touch me again, I will eat your still beating heart once I rip it from your chest," she growls.

    "Hey, chill!" the boy says, raising his hands up in defense. There's something about Mie that makes him think that she might actually do that if he were to touch her again. "It's all good!" He carefully edges around the girl to make way to the change machine.

    Mie snorts in satisfaction. She certainly told him. Now, to investigate this place.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana has played the Sailor V game before. She used to play it a lot. Even when she turned into... this thing she still played it, but not as much. That stopped when 'literal Sailor V gave her a warning' about feeding and she hasn't been back to the game since.

She mutters. "I doubt it." with a little scoff when Hikaru says she's made it to the second stage.

When Mie arrives... she hears her voice-and threat- she waves the other girl over. "Mie-chan." she says. "Hello." she says. She motions her over. She stops short of actually making a ruder invite of 'come watch this person suck at Sailor V'.

But it's inferred with the beckoning over.

Kaori Jira has posed:
Last time she was here, Kaori nearly demolished a claw game. It had only been the intervention of others that had prevented demolition of half the building.

Closer she walks, her form wrapped in the slim leather jacket and jeans, she might look like the wild delinquent that she'd admittedly been close to being, yet she walks her way into the neon space.

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
Hikaru is frowning as she jams a coin into the cabinet she's sitting it and doing her best to ignore the fact that she may be potentially getting bullied by a 5th grader. The game starts up again and she begins to maneuver Sailor V through the first maze of monsters and bad guys with sharp movements of the stick and stiff-fingered jabs at the buttons. Starting off, she seems to be doing well--for now. She's nowhere near the end of the stage yet, so there's plenty of time for her to fuck up.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana has made it tonight's mission to make Hikaru's evening as miserable as possible, thanks to her missing out on an easy energy drain. So she watches her play, over her side as she narrows her eyes as she seems to be doing well. She tries to change this quickly.

"Ugh go right here! and left and then rightleft!" she sputters out.
Norie Okanaone of her directions make sense for the situation and in some cases the directions don't even exist from that point. Waste the yen coin. Waste it, she thinks, in the back of her head.

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    Mie's attention is grabbed from staring daggers at the boy who shoved her over to Norie as she's beckoned by her. "Ah!" She says, moving over to joining her friend. "It's good to see you. I have not been here before." She glances around the place before concluding. "It's bright. And loud."

    She pauses to watch Hikaru play the cabinet, eyes narrowing as she tries to figure out what's happening. "What is the point of this?" she asks, frowning. "I don't think I understand."

Kaori Jira has posed:
"What kind warrior does battle in a skirt and heels?" A taller figure, a suprisingly quiet step having brought her close enough to lean down over Hikaru. If only she knew...

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
Hikaru is /trying/ to focus on her game, thank you! Even though that annoying kid seems to be doing her best to distract her, Hikaru blocks her out--mostly. In fact, she's managing to keep herself going without too much trouble with some smug satisfaction when an entirely new voice joins in. She glances away for just a moment to look up--oh. Older girl. Older, pretty girl? There's a stumble in her movements and one of the enemy's laser blasts hits her, taking out a precious life.

"S-Sailor V does," Hikaru replies, totally not blushing from embarrassment. "She's a cool hero who fights evil in a skirt and heels." So does Hikaru once in a while, but she can't say that.

Norie Okana has posed:
Hahahah, you suck, Norie thinks, as Huikaru loses a life.

"Yes, Sailor V does." she says softly. She knows. She's seen her. She doesn't say this out loud. Instead.

She staring at a new potential food stop, a girl being left alone by the rest of her group in the corner and she's keeping a closer eye on this one as she side eyes away from her and looks towards Hikaru.

Wait. why is the person blushing now? She stares a little at this and looks between Hikaru and Kaori a bit.

"What's wrong with fighting in heels and a skirt?" she asks.

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    "Interesting," Mie says, leaning closer to the machine. "I begin to see how this machine works. You control that-" she says pointing her finger at the Sailor V sprite, "with that" pointing at the joystick. "And the buttons cause it to punch and kick. I see, I see."

    As for her opinion on fighting in heels and a skirt, "It seems impractical. The skirt hampers your movement, and unless you're wearing shorts underneath, there's always the chance that somebody would get a glimpse of your panties." She stands up and folds her arms, "but the heels can be used to impale your foes. Not an ideal placement, I would think."

Kaori Jira has posed:
Someone whom finds this as strange as her? That was refreshing. Still, she'd say more, but she listens only to sideways at Mie and then down at Hikaru's blushing expression and a tilt of her head. "There is no armor, no claws or weapons...and those shoes must be akward to move in. She doesn't even have a tail to counter-balance..."

Because that was totally normal.

Impaling heels? Kaori looks up from Hikaru and Nori back to Mie. "Oh...perhaps they do serve a purpose."

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
Hikaru's renewed effort at the level begins as the three girls converse around her, discussing the utility of Sailor V's clothing and outfit and how one could possibly fight like that. There's an annoyed exhale--partially at the distraction, partially because she likes her outfit, thank you! She ducks and weaves through the enemies, approaching the boss at the end of the first stage with increasing speed. She glances over her shoulder to look at Kaori again.

"But they look good, and give a lot of freedom of movement..." And when you're magic, you don't have to worry about busting an ankle in heels.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana scoffs. "That's why bicycle shorts exist. I suggest them for. uh. re-reasons." she says bluntly. She looks back to the back corner. Her target is still there. That's good. But she's calling over other people. That's bad. That means she isn't a good target anymore. Her eyes start peeking around for lonely stragglers. She sees nobody. Everyone is being ugh social.

She looks back to Hikaru as she frowns, but then agrees with her at Kaori.

"They look pretty and -- you move easier in a dress sometimes." she says. She isn't wearing a dress right now. So she can't comment on manner of dress of others.

"So I agree with. uh."

"I am Norie Okana. Who are you?" she asks to Hikaru.

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    Mie gets a little excited as Kaori explains her point of view. "Yes! Exactly! No scales to turn away swords and bullets! No fire breath to melt the armor of your foes! And no tail! I don't know how people can keep their balance without a tail." All perfectly normal things.

    She seems to suddenly realize that these might not, in fact, be perfectly normal things, so she clears her throat and quickly changes subject. "Yes! Introductions! I am Mie Kitamura."

Kaori Jira has posed:
Practical. She'd agree with it completely. Perhaps she was going to have to invest in these bicycle shorts...although did that mean she'd actually have to learn how to ride one of those bicycles? They looked...odd. Thoughts distracted, they do come back towards Hikari's comment. Sure, they were cetainly something to make one more attractive. Maybe. As far as humans went...

She trails off as Mie agrees with her. A sensible human who understood it?!

"Kaori Jira," she offers.

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
It takes a moment for Hikaru to realize that the conversation is ongoing--she's in the middle of fighting the first boss after all! Then the ingrained politeness that's been taught to her since she was small kicks in as names start being given out. She doesn't look away from the screen, but does offer her name to the kid who'd been trying to mess her up just a few minutes earlier--and to the others of course.

"Hikaru. Hikaru Amanaka." Come on, come on--yes! She beat him! There's a smug little grin as the pixelated Sailor V presents a victory pose to the screen at the level score is tallied up. "Yes!"

'Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana used to like magical girls, or sparkleskirts as she calls them, now, but...

Now...

She's staring at another person who's been left alone and she's considering stalking them now, but then there's a little win tone and Hikaru makes it to the next level.

"Beginner's luck." she says bluntly.

She then mutters. "But... people don't.. normally.." she trails off as she considers tails. and wings, before she shakes this off.

By the time she's done the person is leaving and she looks upset again. UGH! That's three she's missed. >,<

"I'm...I'm going." she splutters as she chases after the person, maybe she can catch up before they meet with someone else, get her energy for the evening...

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    Mie watches Norie go off to stalk her lunch with a frown, not even beginning to guess at what might cause her to leave in such a hurry. With a shrug she says, "It's been a pleasure to meet you both, but I am here for milkshakes."     With a nod she makes her way up to the second floor to get just that.

Kaori Jira has posed:
A milkshake? Something new to try perhaps? She'd have to consider it later, once she'd finished watching this battle of the skirted and heeled blonde girl in the red mask and impractical garb. "Is this meant to entertain, teach combat? Why are you playing this one?"

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
"It's just for fun," Hikaru says, glancing towards the exit as Norie makes her exit. Ugh. It wasn't beginner's luck--oh dang it. She's run into a blast directly from an enemy! Poor Sailor V has been defeated. Hikaru wrinkles her nose.

"...I guess that's it for me," she sighs. "I gotta get back to the dorms." That said, she begins to stand up from the GAME OVER screen, reaches down to pick up her school bag.