133/DDR, Maimai, and Pocky

DDR, Maimai, and Pocky
Date of Scene:	04 July 2015
Location:	Uminari City - Game Center Crown
Synopsis:	Featuring Kyouko Sakura on DDR and Shiori Sato on Maimai. Talking and pocky-sharing occurs.
Cast of Characters:	Shiori Sato, Kyouko Sakura

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Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko is still new in Tokyo. She came here because Kyubey told her there was 'great opportunity' for a Puella Magi of her skill.. which definitely seems to be true. However, he didn't mention that the place is literally lousy with other Magical Peoples, and some of them are quite powerful. Kyouko is used to being the Big Dog- in Kazamino there wasn't anybody left who would dare cross her. That certainly isn't the case here, and while she can still hold her own, she's not used to having to deal with actual possible threats.
    So, still unsure of what to do about the situation, she has defaulted to one thing that will always give her peace of mind- the arcade. Currently, she is dominating the DDR machine, booted feet moving nimbly over the arrow pads, beating high scores left and right on the machine. A stick of pocky hangs out of the corner of her mouth, the box tucked into the pocket of her hoodie. Even as she nails perfect after perfect, it's clear she's barely paying attention, her mind occupied elsewhere.

Shiori Sato has posed:
    For those that aren't as athletic as Kyouko, there's another option. There's another rhythm game called 'Maimai'. Instead of stepping on directional buttons under the feet, one uses their hands to press the buttons in rhythm. What it does have in common with DDR is that these button presses grow increasingly frenetic as one ups the difficulty.

    Now, Shiori can't be supernaturally good at DDR. In fact, he can't really be supernaturally good at anything, because he's only normal. But that doesn't mean he can't be really good at Maimai. to that end, there is probably the blandest looking boy in the city, wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, standing at a Maimai machine. He's... actually really good too, playing the song he's playing on at its highest difficulty level. He's not perfect, no. But he's good.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko isn't supernaturally good at DDR! She's not in her magical form right now, which means she's just a normal girl- well, without a soul, but not even she is aware of that fact. But she is very good at DDR, and obviously in very good shape. Despite her constant snacking, to say her lifestyle is active is an understatement. Still, even she eventually needs a break from DDR, although as the song ends and she turns to step off of the machine, she hasn't even broken a sweat.
    Munching down the remains of the pocky in her mouth, her eyes happen to land on the kid playing Maimai. While it's not her game of choice, she can appreciate arcade skill when she sees it, so she pauses just behind him to absentmindedly watch, the tall (for her age) redheaded girl munching down another stick of pocky as she does.

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Kyouko isn't the only one watching, either. A handful of younger kids also can recognize arcade skill when they see it, and have paused in their perusal of the arcade's games to watch the nondescript glasses-wearing boy play his game. Part of it's memorization, that much is clear-- he's anticipating where the notes will appear and which buttons on the large ring around the circular screen he'll have to press, or when he'll have to sweep his fingers across the screen. It's also worth noting that he's apparently wearing gloves for this.

    When he's done it's not a perfect score, but it's pretty close. He seems pretty pleased with himself either way. He takes a breath, exhales, and then turns around. He's just might run into Kyouko if she's not quick on the draw! Or in this case, quick on the dodge.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko is pretty quick on the dodge actually, but the thing is, she doesn't like giving way to people. It's a psychological thing- makes her feel like she's surrendering, and she doesn't like that. So instead, when it becomes clear that the kid is going to walk into her if she doesn't do something, she simply holds up her free hand and gives Shiori a light push on the shoulder, not enough to push him back or anything, just enough to stop his forward motion before he actually runs into her.
    "Whoa there, sparky." She says, pocky dangling from the side of her mouth like an older person might have a cigarette. "Careful. That was pretty fine work though." She can compliment skill when she sees it.

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori stops as the hand makes contact with his shoulder. "Oop!" He takes a step back. "S-sorry about that," he offers sheepishly. "Wasn't paying attention." At the compliment, though, he smiles. "Thanks. I still need to get better though." He pauses, turning at look at that still-not-perfect score. And at the high score roll, 'SHIORI' is in third place. He points at the scroll. "That top score is gonna be mine."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko admires that sort of can-do spirit. She grins, showing off her one fang, and pulls the mostly-full box of pocky from her pocket. She offers it to him. "Want one? That's the spirit, you just gotta keep going for it and one day you'll be at the top." She nods her head, red ponytail bobbing. "That's my philosophy anyway. And don't worry about it.. it's crowded in here." That does seem to be true, the arcade bustling with kids and teenagers in the aftermath of school letting out for the day.

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori smiles, and accepts a pocky from the box. "Thank you," he replies, munching on the offered pocky. He nods to the words of one day being at the top. "And it's something to reach for too. Though at my age I should probably be thinking about what I want to do with my life when I get out of school, shouldn't I?" Sheepish look.

    As for the place being crowded? "Yeah... it usually is this soon after school," he agrees. "Come here when it's raining though, and there's like nobody here. That's when I practice, mostly. Not so many people, so I don't trip over my own feet getting around." A smirk.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko looks just the tad bit uncomfortable when he talks about 'thinking about what to do with life'- for multiple reasons. She's a Puella Magi for one, which means she probably doesn't have much future to begin with, but on top of that she also doesn't go to school, and hasn't for several years, which sort of limits her career opportunities even if she wasn't. She tries to turn this around though, and responds with somewhat forced joviality. "Eh, live for the moment, that's what I say! You never know what's gonna happen tomorrow so you gotta make the most of every day like it's your last."

Shiori Sato has posed:
    If Shiori notices her discomfiture with the mention of doing things with the rest of life, he doesn't comment. Maybe he figures every kid her age is going to be uncomfortable about it. Or maybe he just doesn't notice. He nods. "That's true, too. I won't ever be this age again. I guess I need to make the most of it."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Well, if Kyouko is good at anything, its ignoring her problems. She puts it out of her mind for the moment. "What's your name anyway, kid? You seem nice enough." She asks. "I'm Kyouko Sakura. I'm kinda.. new in town." It's funny, but Kyouko is actually often more at ease around guys than she is around other girls, simply because in her mind, the only ones who are really a threat to her are other Puella Magi, and guys can't be Puella Magi.

Shiori Sato has posed:
    It might be a little odd, since a lot of Japanese boys tend to be nervous around girls. And under normal circumstances, so would Shiori. But Kyouko-- as he discovers her name is-- really doesn't act all that much like a typical Japanese girl. So it puts him a little more at ease. He doesn't have to worry so much about saying the wrong thing and making her mad.

    "Shiori Sato. Good to meet you," he offers in returns. "You're new? How long have you been in town?" he asks curiously.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    It's true that the shrinking violet type is not what Kyouko is. If anything, her brash, confident attitude is more easygoing, especially when she's in a decent mood, which she is at the moment despite her continual lack of decision on what exactly she should be doing now that she's in Tokyo. "A couple days." Is the response to his question, the redhead shrugging her shoulders as she fetches another pocky from the box for herself. "I um.. came to visit some relatives." Making up a convenient excuse is easier than trying to explain that she's here on her own, living in a burnt-out church.

Shiori Sato has posed:
    The easygoing attitude seems to be just the thing to bring similar out of Shiori. The smile he gives is a pleasant one, and he looks for all the world like just enough teenage boy Which he... actually is. Nothing weird coming off him, no dark energy, no power at all, really. And he doesn't smell, either.

    Her response to his question gets a nod. "Good reason. I hope everybody's doing okay?" There's no way he can know about it, and the easy was he asks the question proves it. "Planning to stay long? If you're staying a while I could show you around sometime."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    A brief shadow passes over Kyouko's face, just the slightest dampening of that easy-going facade, at the question after her family's health. She brought it on herself however, and she knows this, when she choes to use 'relatives' as the excuse, so she doesn't let it phase her for long. "Oh yeah, fine." She says, dismissing the question in a way that hopefully will move past the topic without dwelling. She, being a rather attractive teenage girl, would under normal circumstances not be lacking for people trying to show her around the city, but the fact that she doesn't actually go to school limits her social interaction. "Might be fun." She agrees, allowing the possibility without committing to it.

Shiori Sato has posed:
    And again, if Shiori notes the shadow passing over Kyouko's face at the mention of her relatives being okay, he doesn't mention it. thankfully he seems willing to let that one go without pursuing it. The mention of showing Kyouko around possibly being fun gets a smile. "I can give you my cell number and you can call me whenever you feel like looking around the city," he offers. Though he doesn't make to offer the number yet, because that might not be suitable. Maybe she has another means of contact. Or maybe she just thinks he's weird and is trying to wave him off gently.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "I don't really have a cell phone." Kyouko says, off-handedly, as if its no big deal, although what teenager in this day and age doesn't have a cell phone? Apparently Kyouko. It's hard to get a plan with no permanent address and no income. "But I hang around here a lot when I'm not.. busy. So sometime when I run into you again, right?" She crunches down on a pocky, still with that easy-going attitude as if its no big deal, even though it's becoming somewhat obvious her situation isn't exactly normal (although HOW abnormal it is is still far from apparent).

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori does find that she doesn't have a cell phone is a little odd, and blinks when she says this. But he doesn't ask about it. That wouldn't be polite. Her alternative to the cell phone, to meet him again here, gets a nod. "I come here pretty often too, so I'm sure I'll run into you again," he agrees. Yeah, he's starting to see there's a little bit that's 'off' about Kyouko, but he doesn't ask. He doesn't know her well enough to ask her about personal things.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko nods, relieved it seems that he doesn't ask any further into why exactly she doesn't have a cell phone, or other things like that. "Cool. It's good to meet a friendly face." She says, and means it for the most part. "It's tough bein' the new girl in a big city. I'm just a small town girl." She smiles again, showing off her mischievous single fang, the statement obviously facetious although he has no way of knowing that.

Shiori Sato has posed:
    And that right there is another reason Shiori is glad he didn't ask immediately. By now he's twigged that there's indeed something up. But if she IS in need of help, asking her about it is just going to run her off. She has to offer the information herself before he can do anything about it. Otherwise it's weird.

    But he nods to the statement. "I can imagine," he replies. He further offers, "Everybody can feel overwhelmed by new situations, especially if they change without warning. But don't let it get you down too much. As much as things can change for the worse, they can always change for the better too."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "Yeah... well that's the hope ain't it?" Kyouko says, with a brief shrug of her shoulders. If she didn't think that she wouldn't have been here. "Listen, I gotta get going. I got stuff to do." She says, glancing out the door of the arcade at the sun edging towards the horizon. "I'll see ya round though, huh?" She offers a last, lopsided smile then turns and starts to make her way towards the exit onto the street.

Shiori Sato has posed:
    Shiori nods at the mention of hope. "Don't leave it ALL up to hope. But you're right." He chuckles. The words of her needing to go gets a nods as well. "Ah, it is getting late, isn't it?" he notices. "I better start for home too. Was good to meet you, Sakura-san," he offers, waving to the departing girl. He isn't too far behind her in going out either, being sure to call his parents on the way home. He has to let them know that no, he has indeed NOT been eaten by a land shark, he just got wrapped up talking to someone at the arcade.