427/Not all games are equal

Not all games are equal
Date of Scene:	15 September 2023
Location:	Radiant Heart Academy
Synopsis:	Hinoiri is playing a new phone game and... does not enjoy it. She turns to Minako and eventually Naru for help. It turns out, the game just sucks.
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Minako Aino, Naru Osaka

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Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was... keeping her head down, metaphorically speaking. After all, having half the magical girls WANTING said head was... probably not the best time to be trying to make your next move. She was, of course, scheming as to her next move. She was being cautious, not smart. Always have a plan to defeat everyone you meet, or something like that.

But, in the end, that took time, planning getting ready. She wasn't a fool, if she wanted to achieve her rightful place she knew she couldn't jsut bluster blindly forward. She had to be ready. Prove her strength, one by one, until she finally ascended to the throne she deserved.

For now, that meant clearing her mind. So she was outside the school in the early morning, before classes, sitting with her back against the wall, leather jacket on over her school uniform with one foot back against the wall. Classic 'cool girl' stance (she had, in fact, looked it up. It felt weird, but it apparently looked cool so she couldn't NOT do it). Her phone held in both hands as she navigated the internet. She'd definitely need to bring it back to Kirakirafantastica.

She was, i nfact... too cool for school. Or, at least, she was trying to give off that impression. The reality? She was still having trouble with fingers and after Takashi's recent text issues... was trying to figure out HOW they worked. So she'd downloaded a phone game. Sailor V's Bubble Bash! ... ...... She was not doing well.

"What do you want from me?" she snapped at the phone angrily. "Tell me what you neeeeeed..." The instructions in said game were NOT well explained.

Minako Aino has posed:
All things considered, things have been going well for Minako Aino...not that they'd been terrible, after all she -was- technically famous, loved, a genuine idol...kinda. Sailor V was anyway. Still however? She was no longer alone: she finally had been able to reveal herself to the other Senshi...it was more than enough to have her smiling.

At least, as long as she didn't think about all the study she'd been neglecting while doing her patrols and 'superhero-ing'. Now she was here early, hoping to get a little head start. No leather jacket, no 'cool girl' look, the blonde had her ribbon in her hair and a spring in her step.

She was actually -happy- to be going to class.

Even so, that sudden snap had been enough for her to blink, turning around at the question. "Are you...talking to me?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara glanced up at the other girl and was... bit down the urge to be snide. While she had, for the most part... begun to accept the fact that she was a bit too awkward to be anything approaching really 'cool'. Or, well, at least ruling the school like her original intent...

She still didn't want to be seen, yet, as the girl everyone wanted to punch in the face. That could come later! "Actually, I..." then trailed off before finally sighing and showing the screen. "I don't suppose you understand how this game works?" she asked, showing the little puzzle game. It wasn't THAT complex. Get three in a row of one color, then arrange them so you get four in a row of a different color, then five in a row, then once you've hit all five your gun is charge and you can destroy one color on the screen, then you...

...

Okay, it was kiiiiind of complex if you had never played these kinds of games before AND the game had terrible instructions. Which it did. 'Hit the colors! Shoot the gun!' did not instructions make. "I swear Sailor V herself couldn't do this stupid thing even if she were real..."

Minako Aino has posed:
Snide avoided apparently, Minako instead blinks a little and then steps forwards, biting her bottom lip as she peers at the puzzle. "-This- is a Sailor V game?" Minako exclaims, shaking her head. "At least the arcade one was kinda neat looking. This is..." she trails off, realising she was almost ready to rant about something way too eagerly.

"I mean, you're probably right. Fighting bad monsters and stuff probably doesn't leave you time for mobile games...I'm a dancing and karaoke game fan myself."

Naru Osaka has posed:
When you are hiding from people and hope you can just get through the day without meeting any humans you know.. that's when you run into everyone you know.

Naru also turns the corner, a cardigan over her uniform against the slight chill of the morning, and with what is clearly a new satchel holding her school things. Another student who wants to get caught up on her homework, although her why of being behind is completely different than Minako's.

It might be sitting on the ground trying to figure out a phone game, or something.

Naru smiles as she spots the pair. "Hi Hinoiri. Hi.. person I don't think I've met yet." She's got a coffee in one hand, steam lightly rising from the hole in the top of the travel mug.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod. "Apparently. It looks like her at least and has the name." Possibly an off-brand copy, though. Gotta love companies that had no shame. "Dancing and singing games? Huh, sounds fun. Not exactly what I'm working on, though." That, at least, the magic helped with. Which was nice, because if she started a song and dance number then started singing off key? That'd suck.

She glanced up to see Naru and froze for a moment. "Heeeeey. Naru-chan," Hinoiri said with a small grin. "Usagi-chan was freaking out about you earlier. You should let her know next time you decide to go on a trip like that, girl is a liiiiiiiittle clingy," she said in a teasing, playful tone. Not that she felt bad or anything. Or had tried to cheer her up. Or felt the stab of guilt at knowing she was the cause of all that upset and crying tears. Nope. She didn't feel bad. Not at all. You felt bad. Not her. Never her.

Okay she felt really, really bad.

"You any good at figuring these things out? Oh, right. I'm Hinoiri Kirara, grade 9. Nice to meet you."

Minako Aino has posed:
This was the problem with the masked hero thing, claiming royalties didn't really happen if you wanted to keep yourself unknown. Still, while Minako might be left to ponder that, the sudden arrival of Naru and the introductions brings a little lift of her hand. "Naru-chan, right? Usagi's roommate? We met once at a soda cart, I suggested you get her number after how much blushing was..." she trails off, wrestling talk back from her natural shipping reflexes only to shake her head with a little laugh. "Uh, never mind. Maybe I'm remembering wrong."

Mention of Usagi from Hinonori made Minako glance up, but she didn't comment, instead smiling to the introductions. "Minako Aino, grade 9 as well. I transferred in a month or so ago."

Naru Osaka has posed:
There's a pause as Naru considers Minako and then recognition dawns. "Oh my goodness, yes! I remember the soda cart. Those sodas were really good, I should go back and get more. Sorry about that, it's been a long week." She doens't elaborate on quite why it's been a long week.

There's a soft giggle though, at Hinoiri's teasing. "Yeah, Usagi and I are pretty close." Which basically doesn't even describe the half of it.

Naru leans in a little to see what game Hinoiri is trying to play. "Is that one of the bubble games? I find those /so/ frustrating. I'm terrible at aiming the stupid little guns."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded. "Yeah, supposed to help with hand eye coordination or something," she muttered. "The goal isn't... clear. I kind of stumbled through the first few stages, but I don't know what I even did to get it to work. Feels like I'm just blindly walking into a wall at this point and the stupid game won't tell me what I'm supposed to do." She looked just a bit like she was preparing to shatter her phone in half.

Definitely focusing on that and not the girl she recently kidnapped and felt that small pit of guilt in her stomach.

"Welcome to the school, Minako-chan," she said. What? Usagi did it to everyone, why couldn't she? "I think I'm supposed to connect things? But sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Then don't even get me started on the stupid blaster thing of hers. How does that even WORK? The arcade game was *much* better. At least it made sense. Jump, shoot, use lil beam thingy."

She then glanced over to Naru again. "So, couldn't sleep? That why you're here so early?" One advantage of dorm rooms. Living ON campus!

Minako Aino has posed:
Well, if it wasn't that memorable then perhaps love didn't bloom for Naru over cool beverages. Go figure, but not everyone had the same tastes! Still, Minako lets topic shift back to the game and crosses her arms under her bust leaning in to watch and see if she could get her head around how it worked.

The comment about the arcade game earns a nod, a little laugh from the blonde. "Yeah, Usagi showed me how to play it, she's -really- good at it." Too good, the other girl had been unbelievably excited to realise she was better than the actual Sailor V at the Sailor V game!

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'm pretty sure the whole 'games help with hand eye coordination' is a PR plot by game designers to make boring games." Naru plunks herself down on the ground next to Hinoiri to be able to lean in better. "I think you're supposed to aim that little gun there.. at the same colour bubbles and they pop? Unless this is a totally different game. It might be a counting one." She wrinkles her nose. "I deleted all the bubble ones from my phone and went back to candy crush."

"I've homework to catch up on after being.." Naru pauses just a breath to find the right phrase. "Away unexpectedly." She gives a little shrug. "I'm often up early though, best time to get a run in."

No romance over a soda cart for Naru. She does smile up at Minako. "Usagi has played it enough! She really is good at it though."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
"She seems the type. We actually met playing these kinds of things. Not... phone games. But the ones at the store. Err. Consoles," Hinoiri said, flubbing over her words. "I'd never played them before so she helped me pick out a curriculum to start with," she said. Odd choice of words, but Naru was at least likely used to it.

Then her eyes narrowed. "Wait, so the hand-eye coordination thing is just a lie?" she asked. Well, in her case it wasn't. She WAS getting better thanks to the gaming. Practice and all. "And... I think I have to charge the gun first? By moving these bobbles? but I'm really not sure how I charge it to begin with," she muttered. She then flipped the gamer off with a sigh. "Maybe I'll just download something better later, you said you're here to do your homework? Wanna copy mine?" Just... gonna offer like that? Wow... okay so maybe she still felt a LITTLE guilty over being the cause of the homework loss, but that totally wasn't it. Much. Maybe. She'd not say.

"Though if you've got to go, I won't stop you. Wouldn't want you to be lowering your grade on my account." She then glanced to Minako and smirked. "Were you away too? Fall behind?"

Minako Aino has posed:
"I...might need to do a little catching up, you know?" Minako offers with a little nervous chuckle, uncrossing her arms as one hand idly rubbed the back of her head. "Busy leading a social life -and- coming over from the other side of the world doesn't lead to good organization. Maybe?" That was her excuse and she was sticking with it anyway, at least for now.

The offer of copying homework does earn a blink, but temptation did lose out after crossing her mind and-...and that wasn't an offer to her. Oh.

"It'll be okay though Naru-chan, there are plenty of people who can help you catch up. Trust me!"

Naru Osaka has posed:
The odd word choices don't seem to phase Naru even a little. "I let Usagi suggest games I might like at the arcade too. I'd rather let her play and sit and sketch by and large, though."

Naru shakes her head at the homework offer. "I'm good, but thank you. It's not too much to catch up on, it was only a few days. I appreciate the offer though." She looks up at Minako. "If you're catching up too, we can work together though." She considers Minako a moment. Exchange students. They have a reputation in Naru's brain.

"And honestly, Hinoiri, there are SO MANY phone games, just delete that one and find one you enjoy. Clearly that one is just dumb, no matter how cool the branding is." Naru gives a shrug. "I usually want something super chill when I'm goofing off on my phone. I'm not there for /more/ stress."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a light chuckle at that. "Well, you really shouldn't fall behind. We had a lot of people like that at my last school, they never--" Then she stopped herself. She got banished. They didn't. So maybe she shouldn't comment on that. She stepped aside, though, motioning them in. "But, in that case? I think I'm just distracting you two from your work. You should go. The early pega--" Then stops herself.

How does the saying go? "Early... bird... gets... the worm? I guess in this case you'd eat your... books? Okay, I still don't get that one. But you two should get to it," she said before... opening the little phone app store. There had to be SOMETHING on here that could improve her typing. She knew if she didn't, Takashi wouild and could keep giving her shit. And she didn't like having to deal with ANYONE being able to mock her for, well... anything.

Minako Aino has posed:
Early what now? Maybe she'd spent too much time in London speaking English, clearly Minako was getting her Japanese muddled! Whatever the thought, she does slip her hands down to fold before her and tilt her head. "You sketch?" she questions, blinking a little. "How neat and creative! Maybe I'll get to see some of your things sometime, or..."

She trails off as her own phone gives a little beep, earning a sigh before she stepped back.

"Ahh, give me a minute."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"We dont have to actually eat our books. It's a silly expression to say that early risers have success." Naru giggles softly, clearly already back to a pretty chill existance. Dark energy and kidnappings aside.

"Catch up another time, Minako!" Naru waves after Sailor V as she steps away to deal with a phone call and that prompts Naru to get to her feet as well.

"I probably should get to my homework. Take care, Hinoiri. Good luck finding a good phone game. Text me if you want suggestions."