208/The Games We Play

The Games We Play
Date of Scene:	06 August 2023
Location:	Juuban Ward
Synopsis:	Three girls enter a game shop, but only one can come out on top... of the scoreboard, anyway. Hinoiri, Niji, and Usagi meet for the first time in the field of digital battle (and the real world).
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Hinoiri Kirara, Niji Dasshu

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Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The mall in Yumegahama Ward was usually the best place to go shopping - the best place to see the newest, brightest stores, with the newest, hottest trends, plus plenty of restaurants and stalls to grab a snack in. Usually, on a summer day like this, that mall would be packed!

But the mall was still under repair, after an explosion had rocked the upper floor, and while much of the area was open to the public, a significant portion was closed.

Usagi Tsukino, who, as Sailor Moon, had fought the cause of that explosion, and seen firsthand the damage the mall and the people in it had suffered, was not exactly eager to go back. Not any time soon, anyway, and definitely not while it was under repair.

Luckily, she didn't have too. Her home war, Juuban, had plenty of places to shop, small local stores and larger chains, and it was a beautiful day - the perfect to get out and about on, and meander about for some shopping. Today's target? Video games, of course! What else was a girl to shop for in summer? Arcades were all well and good, but true decadence was laying in your very own bed, playing your very own video games that didn't cost tokens per turn!

And more of that decadence is exactly what Usagi is after - Stardew Valley just doesn't have anything more to offer her, now that she's romanced every possible option, completed her farm to the max, and plumbed the depths of every level of combat there was. And with a third playthrough under her belt, the latest Pokemon game didn't have anything else to offer her... and neither did any of her favorite otome games, not when she's completely every route!

No, the only thing there is to do is explore new games. The greatest challenge in a young girl's life, really: figuring out what game was worth your precious allowance! Standing outside the second game store she's visited, Usagi presses her hands together and prays, "Please let me find something great!!"

And without further ado, she walked into the store. It was a small game store, specializing in the sell and resale of older games, systems, and accessories. Sure, there were brand new games at full price too, but the treasure trove was the huge number of used and older games, at lower prices to entice new players! All around the store were consoles set up so customers could be tempted to buy a new (old) system they wouldn't find in gaming stores that focused on the latest content, along with case after case of games, posters, and even figurines. At the back of the store, the proprieter called out a greeting, and Usagi waved back, calling out, "Hello! I can't wait to look around!"

Well, at least everyone in the store knows there's a new customer inside now!

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara had come from an entirely different world, a world of magic, of mystery. It took a lot to impress her. Why, one would say it was almost impossible. Spells? Common. Teleportation? she could do it three different ways. Closed time loops? Please, she'd seen those spells done before. UNCLOSED time loops? ... Okay, that'd do it. But really, she was not easy to impress.

However, video games? THOSE were something her world didn't have. And when she'd come into this strange building, this game store, she had expected little. She'd seen it as nothing more than a fancible waste of time. For the weak minded, the simple. Bah. As if she, the great Hinoiri, would ever do such a thing.

She was on stage 7 of Dragon Hop Crasher, a strange little hack and slash game that they had a demo setup for. She was, as they said, in the zone. And the poor low wage employee who had tried to get her to stop, well... she'd turned on him and uhhhh, threatened some... unkind things. Quickly deciding that her usage of the demo machine for so long wasn't really that big a problem, she'd been sufficiently ignored since. Now her eyes locked on the stage. Slay the gummies. Catch the birds. BE the dragon hopper. Achieve ultimate power.

She would not be denied. The other controllers remained untouched by the console, the words 'player 2-4 press start to join' flashing, tantalizingly, at the top of the screen... Waiting for their next victim.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    "Oh?" comes a noise from within the store. She pokes her head around the corner of an aisle, which means her rainbow-hair comes into view first. The the rest of Niji's head. "I thought I recognized that voice." She says, walking out from behind the shelves. She looks down at the game in her hands and RAPIDLY shoves it back on the shell. Some sort of adventure game? "Tsukino-san!" She says, moving quickly as though she was perhaps trying to distract from where she'd just been. Honestly, she didn't process yet if she was embarassed or not, she just knew she didn't want to be if that was a risk. "What brings you here?" she asks. This also makes her turn towards Hinoiri and quirk an eyebrow. "She's still going at it?" She asks nobody in particular. Because Hinori was there when she entered the store and Niji feels like that was... quite some time ago?

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Niji-chan!" Well this is a pleasant surprise, really! Usagi hadn't really expected running into any friends today, and running into one is enough to bring smile to her face. "Shopping of course! If I keep playing my favorite games over and over, I'm going to die of boredom, so I thought I'd get a new one! Or two! Maybe even three, if my allowance stretches."

She is so, so curious about the game Niji-chan had shoved away, but she can't think of a subtle way to get it, and Niji-chan looks, maybe, a little embarrassed? A little awkward? Well, however she looked, no one who wanted to talk about a game just shoved it out of the way. "What kind of games are you looking for?"

Niji looking towards the demo is enough to draw Usagi's eyes there, and she blinks at the girl with the bright, bright red and yellow hair, focused so intently on the demo game. "Has she been playing awhile? Did you want to play?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a sharp intake of breath. Her knight managed to leap over one of the pidgeons, then avoid a ball of fire. Alas, she overshot one of the spikes and bam, right into the pit. She respawned a moment later, her eyes narrowed. One more hit and she was out.

She would not lose. She was Hinoiri, the greatest, most powerful force in this world. And would be the greatest force in another, one day. She REFUSED to be defeated by such a-- A POWER UP! She managed to avoid another monster assault, jumping onto the power up and... FIRE BREATH! She started giving low, ominous, evil laughter. Yesssss. All would fall before her flames. Cower. Kneel. BREAK! BREAK LITTLE TINY LOW RESOLUTION BIRDS!

She uhhhh... had a... very... weird... way of holding the controller... with it on the table. And tapping on the buttons with her hands... like it was an arcade stick. It uhhh... was.... probably amazing she could even play like that at all.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    Niji shook her head. "Not specifically, I'm just surprised she's still there. A lot of places will run you out if you stay in a demo too long but these guys must be pretty chill." she says. "I don't even know what she's playing. Honestly, I was surprised how neat some of these old games are." she admits. "A lot of really strange ideas, instead of just Shoot Stuff 2023." she says. "Some of em' are pretty cool, others are just pretty weird."

    The laughter drew Niji's attention and she interlocked her fingers together behind her head, looking for all the world like she was lounging a bit as she lazily walked over."Is everything okay over here?" she asked, curiously. Then she saw how Hinoiri was holding the controller. "What... what are you doin'?" She asked. "You know you can like. Put that. In your hands?" she said, picking up one of the extra controllers. "Like so?" she demonstrated, but also that had the effect of joining her into the game. "Oh. Whoops. Well. uh. Guess I'm here now. How does this work?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"That is kind of surprising," Usagi glances at the other girl again, noting her intense gaze, the strange way she held the controller, and also that her character seemed like maybe?They were going to die? "Maybe they figured they would just let her finish out the demo?"

Which really was pretty nice of them. Maybe she would browse the demo games! "I really like old games; my papa has a bunch of them, and he used to play with me and Shingo, my little brother a lot. New games are fun too, but the older ones are sometimes really neat, because they didn't have all the freedom to do everything they wanted. They had to be really creative about it."

Some of the old sidescrollers she's played are really interesting like that; sure, there wasn't always a ton of story, but the games were just - different. And sometimes really hard.

The sound of victorious... joyous... honestly kind of evil? laughter is hard to miss. And when Niji walks over to the demo stall, Usagi follows along after her, avoiding Niji's fate of ending up in the game only by virtue of seeing her mistake happen in real time.

"Niji-chan, if she holds the controller in a weird way like that, she probably has a good reason. Maybe it's how she's been able to play so long?" She glances at the other girl, as if expecting her to honestly confirm. "...it does look kind of fun though."
Maybe she should pick up a controller after all... her hands inch towards the third player controller.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara turned a murderous gaze towards Niji. How DARE she! Others weren't supposed to correct HER! Who did this monkey think-- wait, no! The murderous look vanished and she sighed. "It's... my first time playing," she admitted. "It just seemed the natural way to play. It--" And then she cut herself off as she tapped wildly on the controller. NO NO NO! WHO WAS THIS OTHER KNIGHT?! WERE THEY AN ENEMY, AN ALLY?! Wait. OH!

Her eyes glanced to the controller in Niji's hand. Oh ho. So the girl thought she could challenge HER? It. Was. On.

... "You try to get to the end and hop on the dragon's head. A bit silly, honestly. It would take a lot more kinetic force to burst a dragon's scales enough to leave a bump like that on their skull. Even if the 'knight' is in heavy armor."

Now that some of the monsters around her had vacated, she glanced towards Niji's hands... and picked up the controlled. Ughhhh that felt weird. But... it... did force her to use her fingers in new ways. USeful. It could help her finger coordination.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    "Hop on the dragon's head?" She tilted her own head. "Okay. Well, it makes as much sense as some of the other things I've seen here anyways." she admits. And then she sees Hinoiri changing her grip. "See? Better this way. Just like with sports, technique matters." she says. And grins back to Usagi. "Oh, look. There's a score up there. Are you good at games, Tsukino-san? We could have a little friendly competiton with..." and she paused.

    "Oh, I'm doing it again. Gomen gomen. I'm Niji Dasshu. What's your name?" she asks the girl in the firey hair next to her. And as she does so she's slowly getting used to the play of the game here.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi listens carefully, eyeing the game with a not too small bit of longing. It looked like a hack and slash, like the Sailor V game at the arcade, but with the sort of weird mechanics that older games loved throwing out. Who cared about logic? This is VIDEO GAMES!

The very second Niji invites her, or implies an invitation, she's got the controller in her hands, and a third knight spawns in.

"I'm great at games," she says cheerfully, "But I've never played this one. Let's see if we can get as good as our Knight-senpai, here."

Because her score is pretty impressive, honestly! How long has she been playing, anyway?

"Oh, good call, Niji-chan! I'm Usagi Tsukino. Thanks for telling us about the game."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded. "Yeah, when you throw out reality and logic, all that's left is ridiculousness, I suppose," she muttered. Was pretty rich,that coming from a fairy unicorn of all things. Not that they'd know.

"Sports, huh. Yeah. Technique is important. Precision. Control. Measurements. Memorizing the correct formulas in order to execute the correct angle to apply force to destroy your opposition," she muttered.

And then there was the third one. She glanced towards her. Bah. Then again, she said she was great at games. So long as she didn't hold her back, who cared?

"Hinoiri Kirara," she said before glancing back at the other girl again.

Then pausing. And staring at both of them. "Have... we... met? I feel I've... seen... that hair... before..." she muttered.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    "Well. I guess not so much destroy anything. Mostly it's about getting a ball from one side of a field to another one. I don't really do much in the way of... combat sports. I like team games more." she says with a smile. "But sometimes it is fun to compete against somebody else's best. Push yourself." she admits.

    "Kirara-san. Neat name." says the girl who's last name is Dasshu. "I don't think you've met me before directly but the hair is kinda supposed to leave an impression." Niji admits. And then she smirks juuust a bit as she uses the time Hinoiri is staring at them to snipe a powerup out from under her and go on her merry hack-and-slash way.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Mmm, I don't know about sports, but in video games at least, destroying your enemies is the right idea," Usagi says, humming a little to herself as she proceeds to hack and slash her way through a few of said enemies. It had taken a second to get used to the controls, but now she was getting into the groove, and thanking Papa for all the time they'd played sidescrolling games like this.

It would just be embarrassing to lose first, after all.

"Nice to meet you Hinoiri-san," she chirps, her usual informality and casual intimacy taking hold. She shakes her head a little as Niji manages to snatch a power-up, and directs her character to hop atop Niji's head to get up to the next stage.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded. "Uh... huh." Then her attention turned back towards the screen.

AND THAT LITTLE RAINBOW HAIRED LOUT! She saw red for a moment and barely resisted the urge to snap the controller in half... or drive Niji's face into, and through, the television. Low. Profile. Besides, she was supposed to be *nice.* Learn more about *humans*.

Besides, the other one hopped on her head. "Ah, I see. Destroying your opposition was more of a... metaphor, anyway. You're... quite... good at this, you two. Have you played long?" Yesssss. Compliment their OBVIOUSLY inferior capabilities.

Okay, they were, admittedly, both better than her. But that wasn't her fault. THEY had hands their whole lives! This was her first time playing these games. It--

Wait, did that twin tailed blonde air head just call her HINOIRI-SAN?! She might have missed it... if not for Niji calling her Kirara-san. Did she think they were FRIENDS?! "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but isn't it considered rude to call someone by their given name after just meeting them, Tsukino-san? My apologies, I'm still new to this city."

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    Niji takes a point of damage and she loses the very powerup she stole - karmic revenge, she figures. She just grins at Usagi the same way she grinned at Hinoiri - she's not mad, she knows the score.

    But Hinoiri seems to take it a little harder - Niji can hear those buttons being pushed harder, can hear the force. She sighs and rolls with it, too. She doesn't actually go out of her way to antagonize this new girl any harder.

    "So you said you thought you recognized me. Could it have been from school? I'm new here too, I just transferred to the Academy from Aomori." she admits. "Did you recently transfer too?" she asks, assuming that's where she saw Niji's distinctive hair.

    "I don't think she means anything rude by it. Some people just get friendly fast. I think Tsukino-san is one of those. Really, I feel like I should be calling her Usagi-san back already!" she admits. "Just some people are so warm and friendly." she says to Usagi. Before paying her back by using her character's head as a springboard back. And still smiling.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"This is my first time, but I've played games like this before! The Sailor V game at Crown Arcade has some hack and slash elements like this, but it's a one player game, so you can't get other players to come along with you." It's the one and only flaw of her very favorite game, one she admits with a hint of shame.

Just a hint!

And then! She's called out! Oh!

She actually misses a beat, and takes damage for a second as she withdraws her hand, rubbing at the back of her head.

"I guess if you really don't like it, I'll call you Kirara-san, but Niji-chan is right, I'm just really friendly like that. I never saw the point of all that distance, especially if you want to be friends with someone! Niji-chan, you can definitely call me Usagi-san. Or Usagi-chan! Or whatever, I don't really mind, as long as you're comfortable!"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara shook her head. "No. I'm transferring to Radiant Heart Academy soon, but I'm still in the midst of getting all the paperwork sorted." She's still trying to figure out how to 'human' before she decides such things. The last thing she wants is to try and open a door with her magic on instinct and then slam face first into it. That'd be humiliating.

"Maybe someone at my last school had that hair. I can't help but notice how distinct... both of your styles are." Pfft. She doubted it though. While the rainbow hair made sense, the twin tails... surely she'd remember someone with hair like that. Probably a pegasus, anyway. Or maybe a gryphon. Yeah. This 'Usagi' looked like a gryphon.

"Oh? So you're new too? And no, it's fine, Usagi-chan," she said in a sweet as punch tone. "I just wanted to be clear on the social implications. I'd positively love to be *your* friend. Being new to this region, I've actually found it *quite* difficult to make connections at this point." It didn't help that while she definitely... had the language down, her accent was a bit... strange.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    Niji blinks. "Well, I guess it's possible somewhere in Japan is another school that will let students get away with this hair." She says. And on some level it's like it bothers her. Like she was annoyed that she wasn't the only one in the whole country doing this. Get a grip, girl.

    "Yeah, it's nice. I'm glad I met Usagi-chan - it's been hard for me too. I like to do a lot of things but a lot of people here seem to focus. Or at least, focus a lot more than I do!" she admits.

    "I think you generally have the social energy right, yeah." she continues. "Usagi-san here just glows bright enough to get away with it I think. Everytime I see her she's always surrounded by people - in fact I think the three of us is the most quiet it's ever been. When she just had a random picnic I think like eight people showed up."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Oh, nice! I transferred a little before Niji-chan - I'm grade 9, by the way! - so we transfers will have to stick together!"

Even if there are an awful lot of transfers, honestly. She can understand. Most people probably didn't want to send their little kids all the way to boarding school, but once they were in middle school... off they could go! Parents could be so cruel.

"Your style is really unique too," Usagi compliments, because she definitely didn't perceive it as an insult. She's doing pretty good at the game, even with the conversation, having recovered from the hit she'd taken to dive right back into the battle. "Being friends is great; especially when you're starting a new school, it's good to know you have friends. I don't know what I'd have done without Naru-chan; and now, I'm making all kinds of friends."

She's blushing a little about Niji's story, remembering that frantic picnic - it had been fun, and it had been essential, but she really hadn't expected to meet so many new and wonderful people. "Even I'm alone sometimes, but, it's really nice to have friends around. It's like, why be alone when I could be with friends?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod. "Possibly. Maybe it was just someone on the street," she said softly. Either way, she'd definitely make the next rainbow-haired person she saw while Sunbreaker suffer. Because this one took her power up. Yes. She was, in fact, that petty.

"I'm afraid you'll find I'm very focused. In fact, my mentor used to say I was too focused at times," she said. She was getting the hand of the controller, at least. Her movements were getting smoother. The game was good at that.

However, the comment to 'why be alone' made her pause. Why be alone? Why deal with other people? They just got in your way. Held you back. Took your power ups when you could use them more effectively. Bounced on your head. Other people... were a distraction. And they offered *nothing* of value. Nothing except trouble.

Other people refused to see how amazing you were and thought they were your *equal* when they were anything but.

And she couldn't stand them. "Oh, you're quite right, Usagi-chan. Friends truly are wonderful. They help you through so many--" and then she stopped and Niji got to see just how focused she was. Why? Because the boss spawned.

Up to that point she'd been playing rather conservatively. While they were having fun, she'd been careful, not taken much damage, recovered, healed... But now? Oh, now they got to see just how cut throat she could be. Sending enemies flying at them and the boss. Hopping on their heads. Using every single tool at her disposal in order to not just defeat the boss... But cross *all* who might stand in her way. There was no mercy. No hesitation. No compassion. It was the equivalent of playing go-karts with someone who was mid of the lane... then jsut unleashed blue shell after blue shell until all others were down. And didn't just stop there, driving players they lapped literally off the road.

She was Hinoiri and she would *not* lose. After a little bit, the score system came up, the boss defeated... and she was in first place. She didn't even care who was in second or third. Because it didn't matter. All that mattered was that she, in the end, excelled. She didn't just win. She won by such a margin that *nobody* could question her capabilities.

"You know, that *was* a lot of fun. Playing with new friends really is the best, isn't it?" she asked, smiling at them. As if she hadn't just... done... that. And she sounded so sincere. She... she had to know what she'd just done... didn't she?

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    "Yeah. I don't really like being alone. Or... eating alone, even. Whenever I go to the Korma Chameleon I always look to see people I know because it's like, super awkward eating there alone." she notes. "But the food is so yummy..." she sighs. "Great. Now I want to go get curry."

    Niji's not as good at video games as Usagi, nor is she as... focused... on the need to win as Hinoiri, so she's probably the one furthest behind, in all honesty. But she's having a lot of fun, actually. Just in the competition -existing-.

    And she was actually... pretty impressed by it. While she didn't do individual combat sports much, she knew a little bit about them. "Ohhh. You're like the fighter who holds back for a bit and then just gives it all in the last moment to just blow past everybody. Neat." She said. "You were holding onto that stuff for a while. She's... not at all upset about being 3rd. Well. Only a little annoyed. But video games aren't her thing, not like sports. She'd be okay in a sport as long as she wasn't last, but being lowest would bug her.

    "I mean it looks like you had fun." She said, smiling and tilting her head a bit. It might have almost sounded like that was a dig, a bit? And maybe it was, just a little bit. Hinoiri did seem to value winning slightly over hanging out with others. But maybe that's why Usagi called her Niji-san and Hinoiri... had she ever even used Dasshu-san?

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Ahhh, Korma Chameleon is sooo good," Usagi has to agree. She's been back a few times since the study date turned attempt at making a date, and it's aslways been good! "If you haven't had lunch, you should! I'll get lunch with you, since you don't like going alone."

Truly, such a great sacrifice on her part, going to get amazing food.

Usagi is honestly in awe of the gameplay Hinoiri shows in that final battle. It's a ruthless display of near perfection - the relentless moves of someone who's worked to memorize the mechanics, movesets, and abilities involved in the final battle. She really must have been playing for a while, to get this good! It honestly reminds her of her day at the arcade, and the games she and Minako had introduced each other too, showing off their expertise to each other. When it's over, and Hinoiri is the undisputed victor, Usagi the distant second, and Niji the-not-as-distant third, Usagi puts her controller down to clap - not loudly, but with genuine enthusiasm.

"That was amazing! You're really good at this game, Hinoiri-san!"

There's a bite to Hinoiri's words; Usagi isn't stupid, she can catch the edge, even if she doesn't know if it's for her, or just for the sake of victory. There's no point in acknowledging it, right? The point is - friends do make games better. After all -

"Winnings not the same, if you don't have someone to play against, right? Do you think you'll buy a copy?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara grinned at the praise. Ahhhh. She liked the twin tailed girl. She, at least, recognized greatness. "Yes, yes, I am pretty amazing, aren't I?" she asked. "But I couldn't have done it without my new friends, right?" she said. Oh, she was certain she could have. But well... she was trying to be friendly.

Even if she was really bad at it. And then... well... Usagi asked an important question. She gave a huh. She picked up the controller again and... stared... at it? Mentally, she was calculating the impact the controller had on her hand eye coordination. It HAD been more mentally invigorating than anything else she'd done. "You know what? I think I will. You!" she said, turning towards the cashier. Who yelped and jumped back.

"Y-yes?" he asked nervously, mentally remembering her earlier threat to... well, it didn't bear repeating.

"I'll take it."

"It?" he asked."

"This. The... thing. The game. The... thing to play it on? Controllers? All of it."

"Uhhhhh... that... would come to..."

... The weird thing, though... was that... she had the money for it. Why a teenager like her was carrying money like that around... To just... buy a console... and games... Then again, maybe she'd gotten the cash specifically TO get those today. "I should probably get more than just the one, huh?" she asked, before glancing to them. "Do you two have any recommendations?" she asked. "And what's curry, anyway?"

... And now they had a *second* thing to be shocked by.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    Niji nodded along with Usagi. Things were more fun with friends. Even acquaintances. Even people who took it a little bit too seriously. And then she blinked when she just bought all of the things. Just... casually picked everything up like it didn't cost anything. Niji went quiet but she was at least happy that she was asking their opinions on what games to get. And then she paused.

    Because Hinoiri said she didn't know what curry was. Which had to be something like. Illegal. Foreign. Wrong. Was she from a whole other world, or something?!

    "Wait, no way. You did NOT just... have you never had curry? How have you lived in Japan and not know what curry is. It's like one of the most popular things." She pauses. And leans in. "Do you... live around here? Since you haven't transferred into the Academy yet..." she's actually leaning a little bit closer. Just a little. Suspicious?

    It's about when Hinoiri starts to panic or worry (if she does, at all) that Niji suddenly leans away from her and looks at Usagi. "You know what this means?" beat pause. "We get to take her to get Curry for the FIRST TIME. How crazy is THAT?! Okay Kirara-san, we have to take you to the Khorma Chameleon sometime SOON. Like. Best. Curry. EVER. At least twenty percent more awesome than any other curry I've ever had."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Oh, she's the haughty type... that explains the attitude! Sure, seeing this outside of a video game is a little surprising, because people weren't usually so much - like this, in real life people weren't usually so... oh well, it doesn't matter, right? Because Usagi can tell she's trying, and it's good to make new friends - especially when they like video games too.

Besides, Hinoiri-san could just be nervous because of the new school.

And then. Well. As someone who's weekly allowance gets eaten up by things all the time, Usagi is absolutely flabbergasted by the sight of a kid her age, who has clearly saved up enough allowance to just. Buy all the game stuff she wants. Wow. But she tries to get her wits together, to answer the question, even as her eyes bulge out at the second question. First question first!

"Do you want more games like that one? Hack and slash? Or do you want to try a variety?"

There are two things in life that are most important. Okay, three: food, video games, and romance. Sometimes romance was in the middle of those. Today, romance is irrelevant, but still - point being? Video games. Food. Both important. And -

"Since you've never had curry, you've got to come to Korma with us! It's um - " how did you describe curry? "It's a hot food, with a sauce made from spices and butter and sometimes tomatoes, I think? With potatos and other vegetables, and some have meat and some don't, and it's served with rice and it's always good! Korma Chameleon sells Japanese style curry and a bunch of Indian style curries too, and they're all good!"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times and then slowly the color drained from her face. "W-what? I mean, err, y-yes, of course I..." Then just sighed and gave up. Yeah, no, there was no recovering from this. "You know what? Not even going to fake it. Nope. Never had it. My... mentor had a very strict diet, growing up. I recently got out from under her wing, err, as it were, and I've been experiencing a whole lot of new things," she said dismissively. "... Not just food, admittedly." she then glanced towards the game system. "And... I live near here now, but I didn't before. If that's what you're asking. I lived... away. Quite a bit away."

Ah, that might explain some of the... strange behavior she had. It didn't. But it COULD.

"Uhhhhh... hack... and... slash? What... does... that... mean?" she asked. "How... would you even do that? Does the controller have a like... blade... in it?" she asked. And she was serious. Actually picking up the controller and trying to find out where the blade popped out from.

"Yeah, curry, korma curry. Sounds... fun. I like things hot." And it didn't sound half bad. Potatoes, vegetables, tomatoes, butter, and--

Then she dropped the controller and shuddered, shaking her head. "I... I don't... do... meat. At... all," she said, giving another shudder. "The... it... it's kind of... I'm a vegetarian," she said. That actually wasn't it entirely, but close. "If... if there's just... meat... I'll need to... urgh... not," she said, a hand over her mouth. Because now she was imagining the meat, cooked in butter, in sauce, and marinated and... urgh.

They'd had meat at her school, some of the other students ate it. Gryphons, dragons, a few other magical creatures. But oh. Her? That was something she'd *never* been able to get over. She actually looked just the slightest bit... green... And like she was really, really imagining it now. "R-right. So, hack and slash, yes? How do you do the... slashing, in the game?" she asked, trying to divert her mind away from that unpleasant thought.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    Not eating curry is one thing. But not eating meat sounds absolutely miserable to Niji. Where will the poor girl get her protien and build muscle and... she's about to say something. Except... Hinoiri is clearly, clearly not doing well at the thought of meat. And so she doesn't. Instead she just winces internally. "It's okay. We can all get some vegetarian curry when we go together, if that would make you feel better. There's totally options without meat. Tofu! Tofu is just bean curds. You can get tofu instead of meat and I can do that too if just being around it would make you feel bad or something."

    She doesn't -get- it but she -respects- it in that sense. And then Hinoiri is trying to redirect, and Niji gets that and nods. "Well, it's not something you do with the controller. I mean it is but like. in the game. Like how you were pushing the button to have the knight swing the sword. That's the hack and slash part." she tries to explain.

    "But there's all sorts of games for that system. Like racing. Racing games are fun. Not as much my thing, but. We could try some together, if you like?" she looks at Usagi. "Or I'm sure there's other stuff that Usagi-san can show you." Niji almost is pleading for help. But hey, she's Usagi-san now, not Tsukino-san. That's almost Usagi-chan, right?

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Oh, she's sheltered! That actually does make a lot make sense, or at least, she thinks so. "Like homeschool?" Usagi asks. "No wonder, but if this is your first time playing, that's really amazing! You were so good!"

It's taken her years and years to build up her video game skills and awareness; Hinoiri being this good on essentially her first day of playing is beyond impressive.

She's never actually met anyone who was homeschooled, but there are dramas about that kind of thing, and it's always sounded kind of lonely. If Hinoiri is out on her own for the first time - well, she can't be on her own, on her own. She's a kid, like Usagi. But she's not where she was before - no wonder she's got a little bite.

That's alright.

"Like Niji-chan said, hack and slash means it's a game where you use swords and axes and knives and things like that to fight, sometimes bows too. Instead of like, guns or blasters, or magic," she explains easily, catching that pleading look. "There are all kinds of games! There are ones like this, where you fight through the dungeon and defeat a boss, and ones where you solve puzzles, and romance games where you - well, romance characters, and mysteries, and fighting games where it's a one on one fight, or a one against a thousand fight, there's games about almost anything!"

She spreads her arms out, trying to demonstrate the wiiiiiiide breadth of games out there.

She really, really doesn't understand not liking meat at all; but it's obvious Hinoiri is really, really sick at the very thought and - her hands flutter, wanting to reach out and hug Hinoiri and very sure it would be the wrong move. "Lots of curry has no meat in it at all," she says quickly, "There's the tofu kind, yeah, and potatos curry, and chickpea curry, and all kinds without any meat. And at Korma, you could try samosas, those are like - peas and potatos seasoned and then wrapped in dough and fried!" Take the topic away from meat all together! There doesn't have to be any meat involved!

And hey, she's Usagi-san now. That's nice. Like a step in the friendship direction!

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded. Right. Tofu. Yes. She'd had tofu. "Yeah, tofu is good. I've never minded beans," she said. Tofu. That ,at least, made her feel less quisy. Though, something Niji said made her look a little bewildered. What, just because she didn't like meat, the other girl wouldn't eat it? That sounded... so stupid.

But then, what else could she expect? And hey, if the other girl would defer to her superior dietary habits, maybe she'd be a tolerable minion in the long run.

It seemed Usagi had a lot of explanations and... a lot of answers. "Yes. Homeschooled would be a good way to put it," Hinoiri mumbled. "Very strict. Very regulated. Very, very, very controlled. My mentor made sure I would be absolutely *nothing* but the best," she said through gritted teeth. And there was... definitely... something else there. With the way she said that. The way she grit her teeth. Ironically, her mentor likely would have been overjoyed to see her playing games and 'hanging out' with other 'kids'... but not for the reasons Hinoiri was doing it.

She nodded along with the directions offered by Usagi. "I... see. There seems to be quite a wide breadth to master then... very well," she said, standing up a little straighter. "Usagi-chan, Niji-chan, you seem to be the experts. Please, choose a proper curriculum of these games for me to master. Hack and slash, dungeons, puzzles, it seems there's quite a bit for me to still learn. But it'll be no matter."

She uhhhh... seemed to be... a little intense.

"Then, once I have mastered them I will reward myse... we can... reward... ourselves... with these... samy-saucas."

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    Every once in a while, as she's talking, Niji looks over at Usagi, like she's looking for confirmation that the things Hinoiri is saying are as wild to Usagi as they are to Niji.

    "That sounds like a real drag." Niji said, quietly. "It's good to be the best, and it's good to work for it when you want to, but to be forced sounds pretty miserable." she continues.

    "Oh, there's this game over here, Dungeon Hero 3. It's better than Dungeon Hero 2 or 4. 3 is the best one." she says, and then pauses. Oh no now she sounds like some sort of nerd. But she's also supposed to be helping Hinoiri, right? And... Usagi doesn't look like the type to judge her negatively for it. But still, she looks to Usagi to make sure she's... giving that bright smile, and not something... else.

    "Wait, what's a samy-sauca?" she asks, distracted from her own self consciousness in the moment.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi is catching Niji's eye every so often, because oh yeah, this is very wild. Sure, not as strange as actual magic and monsters, but! In the world she was familiar with, kids just didn't get to be this sheltered. It's a little baffling. A little concerning. In fact, Usagi is frowning more than a little, when Hinoiri grits her teeth. "They sound like a jerk. Being the best is good if you want to be, but what about fun? And friends? And freedom, you know? What about taking a nap or goofing off or just putting off your homework until later because you don't want to right now?"

The more she thinks about it, the more upset she is on Hinoiri's behalf, because what the heck! That all sounded so awful. How could anyone have a life like that?!

"We will definitely help you find all kinds of games to play! You can consider it a little rebellion," she offers with a cheeky little smile. When Niji starts making suggestions, her grin broadens to a bright, delighted smile. "Dungeon Hero 3 is great!! Niji-chan is so right about that, the second one was too much like the first one without changing anything, and the fourth one changed so many things it was practically a different game altogether! But Dungeon Hero 3 is the peak of that series, it's a great dungeon crawler - that means it's a game where you enter the 'dungeon', the the main exploring area of the game, and you defeat enemies and solve puzzles and stuff. And you can try Stardew Valley, that's a great farming and life simulator, and Turf Fighter VII is a great one on one fighting game..."

Oh yes, she has recommendations for each genre of game. She has. Such recommendations. Hinoiri, you might have found a monster. Made one, even!

"...I think you mean samosa? And yeah! We can definitely get them when we're all done buying games."

She is a girl on a mission, now. Hinoiri-chan (in her heart, anyway) will not be leaving this store without enough games to make her freedom-hating, strict mentor want to choke!

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a shrug, a little bewildered by that. "Hardly. At least I knew where I stood. Or at least... I thought I did..." she muttered, the bitterness in her voice flashing through again. "I didn't mind the... lack of friends, or fun, or even freedom. I didn't really want to goof off or put off my homework. The sooner I finished it, the sooner I could practice my-- apply some of what I learned. Being the best was all that mattered," she muttered, narrowly avoiding saying magic.

Then, the bitterness shifted just a little. From anger... to hurt. "Until even *that* wasn't good enough for her. Then she just... cast me aside." For a few moments she was silent.

Then shook her head. Ugh. What in tartarus? Why was she telling THEM this? "Hmph. Her loss, anyway. I'm incredible. And one day she'll see that I was worth so much more than just being her student. Starting with mastering all these games. Dungeon hero 3, stardew valley, turf fighter seven," she said, grabbing them, one by one, and putting them on the counter. She moved with purpose, fury, rage...

Then, when it was done, she slammed the money down on the counter so hard it shook. Didn't even take her change... albeit like. It was a few hundred yen. Not much in comparison.

The bags, however... Of course, no sooner did that happen that... her phone rang. She paused, pulling it out and then giving a few hushed whispers into it. She sounded... annoyed. Before sighing. "Fine. Fine. I'll be there," she said before turning it off. Then glanced at the bags. Oh, hauling this all... she was definitely going to do it as Sunbreaker. The dusk zone, it called.

"I'll... need to take a cloud check on those sammy... those... whatever they're called. The peas and potato things. How about... tomorrow, okay? I need to get all this home, anyway..."

Oh, yes, definitely the dusk zone. That or she could threaten Ted and make him carry it all.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    Niji agrees whole-heartedly with Usagi here. "Yeah, anybody who would try to tie you down like that is just a big jerk." she says. She doesn't realize in that moment how much she's agreeing with what's in Hinoiri's heart. Or at least, how much her WORDS do. "Look, you're out from under them now, and that's good. You should feel free to live your life, have fun. And also make friends." she says.

    As Usagi fills the rest of the 'curriculum' up quite well, Niji just watches. Yep, Usagi is the master on this. But she made a good choice. She helped. Niji feels reasonably good about that.

    "Look, don't let whatever your 'mentor' filled your mind with take over though. There's more to life than just winning. If that's all you focus on, you'll miss out on a lot of happiness." she adds. "The idea that games are only fun when you win - it's just not true, whether that's a game you play on TV screen or on a field." she continues. She's about to say more, but then Hinoiri's phone rings. Then... quick like that, Hinoiri's off.

    "That poor girl." Niji says to Usagi. "If we see her again she needs like, a triple-dose of fun stuff. Pronto."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"You're not kidding," Usagi sighs, watching Hinoiri run off. "When she gets to our school, we'll have to try and get her to join clubs for fun, not just winning. That would be a good place to start, I think."

But honestly, after all that... she still didn't pick out her own games!!!

Still... "Want to get lunch with me? I didn't find a game I want, but this was still fun, and talking about curry made me sooo hungry."

And Hinoiri had said they could raincheck, but - she didn't give them her number. So they'll have to hope they run into each other again... and in the meantime, lunch should still happen today, right?

She'll just have to hope that when she runs into Hinoiri again, they have time for more than just winning and losing.