[Action, Open]

[xlvii]

Who: 47 and OPEN
Where: Some arcade somewhere in Genessia
When: Wednesday Evening
What: 47 takes advantage of the relative anonymity his costume gives him to have some fun.
Warnings: I can't think of any? Will add them if they come up.



In an arcade somewhere in Genessia, a ~mysterious ninja~ is absolutely shredding it on the DDR machine. Even more unusual than this sight, though, is that other than the sounds of his feet hitting the pad, the ninja is completely silent. No panting (despite the fast-paced exercise), no grunting, nothing. When the song ends, he signs his high score as "AFS", and turns to step away from the platform -- coming face to face with the small crowd that gathered around the machine to watch his skill.

For one who was so confident mere moments ago, embarrassment sets in quickly, as he ducks his head down, shielding the only exposed part of his body -- his eyes -- from view while he navigates past them and toward the area where the arcade serves food and drink. How does he eat and drink through his mask? Ninja tricks.

Comments

[alihacka]

[She's attempting to get out more and what better than an arcade? She's a bit anxious yet with so many people around, but at least she seems more at ease in a place like this. It's hard not to notice the crowd of people watching someone play DDR, but she kept her distance for the time being. Once the area had cleared out a bit more, she finally approached him.]

Not bad. I can't say I'm that good, but I'm not too bad myself.

[xlvii]

In an arcade it's a bit hard to tell if someone is walking toward him or just walking in his direction in general, so by the time he realizes she's headed for him, it's too late to avoid socializing. In response to her compliment, he hesitates before giving a bow -- deep enough, hopefully, to make his sentiment of thanks clear, but not so deep as to seem overly formal or pompous. And still, the ninja is as silent as ever.

[alihacka]

"Ahh, keeping to the outfit huh?" she'll just comment on but then, "Do you normally play games like this? I like games, but I've never been terribly great at ones that require movement like this." Converse... Try not to be awkard, Futaba.

[xlvii]

That's not exactly it, but it's as good a excuse as any. He thinks for a moment on how to respond without talking, before holding up one hand and bringing his thumb and first finger close together. You don't get that good without 'a little' practice.

Perhaps he picks up on her nervousness, because he waves a hand at a nearby seat. Would she like to sit down? (He's just as shy, but between his natural stoicism and the mask covering most of his face, it's harder to tell.)

[alihacka]

Was he unable to talk then? Well, she's not exactly sure what he's trying to say, but she can get the gist of what he means. Well, he's beckoning her over, so maybe he's picking up on her anxiety? Who is she kidding? She's pretty sure everyone would be able to pick up on that. She should really try to make more friends or at least acquaintances. So she'll awkwardly take a seat.

"I tend to like open world games myself," she's trying okay?

[xlvii]

That's not quite the case, but he's going to do his best not to talk while he's here. He takes a seat nearby -- not right next to her, there's at least one seat between them. He just nods along while she speaks, before giving a helpless shrug himself. Sorry, he doesn't really know much about video games -- he just plays DDR. And maybe first-person shooters with light guns. He holds up one hand with a gun shooting motion to indicate the latter.

[alihacka]

At least she seems to pick up on what he was saying, "Oh! I see. I've played a little bit of FPS games myself. There's one called Guns About in my world that's pretty popular lately." Although she doesn't particularly play it too much herself.

[xlvii]

He nods, trying to use his body language as much as possible to let her know he's still interested in what she's saying, even if he can't reply. This would be a lot easier if he could talk... but there's no way he's going to give anyone the chance to recognize his voice elsewhere.

[alihacka]

She'd probably understand if she heard his reasoning. Alas, he has his reasons and while she's just a little awkward, she'll try to keep the conversation going. This is how you make friends... right?

"Do you play many games in general?" she asked.

[xlvii]

He shakes his head; he's not really much of a gamer. He doesn't even own any consoles.

[gamerrep]

Chiaki always spent her time here. Sometimes she was ever asked to play here to draw people in, but today Chiaki wasn't here for work-related stuff. She was instead here to simply have fun on some of the game.

She had seen the people gather as she made a mental note to avoid that place for the moment, making her way to the food court area, meeting the other. Pausing for a moment she was wondering if maybe she should say something.

"A ninja in an arcade... If you were meant to be hiding, I don't think you've done it well."

[xlvii]

He's aware of being approached without looking directly at her, but when she speaks he finally looks up from his food. He gently shakes his head at her words; he's not hiding anything but his identity.

[gamerrep]

"Okay, I just think it's a bit strange your wearing a ninja outfit. I guess it's a costume for some reason and you might enjoy that type of thing. But if you didn't want to stand out, you really have." She gestured over to the people who had been watching him game before. he had really stood out in her mind, she just didn't know if that was what he had wanted or not.

[xlvii]

His eyes narrow in disapproval and he crosses his arms, shaking his head again. He's sure he's not the only one in a costume here, given the circumstances, and the people who were watching him before have moved on; either watching someone else play a game, or playing something themselves. Anyway, in the end, he doesn't care how much attention he attracts, as long as no one knows it's him.

[gamerrep]

"I mean I only really see costumes at parties." Which was true for the most part, she had not seen people wearing them that much outside that or maybe the occasional person standing outside to advertise. She didn't really know much about the Fayren archway and what it was doing.

"It's a nice costume though."

[xlvii]

He gives a helpless shrug, hesitates, and gives a small nod. Thanks, but he didn't pick it out, Fayren did.

[gamerrep]

"You going to try another game?" She turned around, looking at the various games. She honestly had her eye on one, in particular, she just didn't know what he might like.

[xlvii]

He waves his hands at his food. He's hungry and tired. Maybe later?

[solar_flare]

"Hold it."

Before he could duck away from his small crowd of admirers, one voice snapped out clear and commanding, heralding a young blonde in sunglasses who pushed her way forward. The tips of her fingers on the right hand, poking through her black gloves, appeared to have been fashioned out of metal rather than flesh, though the leather jacket she wore made it hard to tell just how far up that metal went.

She drew the shades from her face with her left hand (which appeared normal) as she fixed the ninja with a fierce purple-eyed stare.

"You're pretty good. But how do you fare against a little competition?" She slid her sunglasses into an inside pocket of her brown leather coat, unfastening the sash that held it closed. "Up for a little challenge?"

[xlvii]

He meets her gaze, icy blue eyes unblinking, while he considers her offer. He is a bit tired, and he'd rather not like even more attention... but he's also competitive. One more song couldn't hurt.

After a moment, he turns and hops back up on the machine, and waves a hand at the area for the second player. Go right ahead.

[solar_flare]

"Good answer." She moved toward the second hand, shrugging her jacket off of her shoulders. She wore an orange t-shirt underneath, a thick white bandage just peeking out from underneath the right sleeve. The metal of her arm ran up past her elbow, ending just an inch before that bandage.

Bundling up the jacket, she tossed it onto the console just to the side of the screen, and dug some tokens out of her jeans pocket to set them down.

She thumbed a few coins into the slot until a chime went off, announcing that a second player had joined. Then she stepped back, both feet firmly planted in the center plate.

"First song. Your pick," she said, brow furrowed, frowning at the screen as if it had spit in her breakfast cereal.

[xlvii]

He shrugs and scrolls through the choices to a song he played earlier (but not the last one); an instrumental with a lot of piano. This small advantage, of playing a song he played earlier, should make up for the disadvantage of being tired.

As the preliminaries for the song start up, he stands in the middle of his pad, arms and hips (which are... kind of wide for a dude, not gonna lie) waggling to the beat of the brief preview of the song.

Enjoy those shock arrows, Yang.

[solar_flare]

Yang bobbed on the balls of her feet, getting her body accustomed to the rhythm that matched the pulsing light of the arrows on the top row. She was so ready for this.

The arrows were light at first. Forward. Back. Double jump to the side, front, and side again. Her long mane of wild blonde hair seemed like it should be getting in the way as it swished back and forth with her movements, but she was used to having it just the way it is.

Then the beat dropped, and the arrows rolled upward in a thick flashing sea.

Yang hunkered forward, light on her feet as she stomped out the arrows as they flashed into frame. Her arms were loose at her sides, coming up only to keep her balanced and moving smoothly as her sneakers pounded on the panels. She was intensely focused on the screen, not sparing so much as a glance at her mysterious opponent.

[xlvii]

He allows his conscious mind to entirely focus on the arrows scrolling through the screen, trusting his subconscious to warn him of any danger. His feet unite with the arrows beneath him, perfectly synchronized with those on the screen, though perhaps he doesn't use as much as force as Yang; by now, he's learned exactly how much force it takes for the machine to register his steps. Like her, though, his unwavering gaze is entirely on the screen in front of him.

[solar_flare]

It was like fire and ice, side by side -- Yang with her drive and passion fueling her rhythm, 47 with his perfect serenity to guide his focus. He had the advantage, for Yang was netting far fewer 'perfect' steps and more 'greats', and that would impact her score.

But she had no problems with the triple steps and the jumps, nailing those with forceful precision. She used her feet in combat to maintain her balance and deliver some crushing blows that people didn't expect from a gal who primarily fought with her fists, so she knew exactly where her feet were landing.

Was her hair...flickering...? Surely it was a trick of the light, but it sure looked like her blonde mane was starting to burn like a torch.

[xlvii]

In his peripheral vision, he can see the light flickering and reflecting off the machine as if someone just lit a candle, or maybe something a bit bigger than a candle. Yet he doesn't register it as dangerous, and he's too focused on his current task to feel curiosity at the moment, so it simply joins the background of flashing lights and sounds of the arcade -- for all he knows, it could just be from another arcade machine that someone started playing nearby.

He'll just keep on moving his feet, the only thing on his mind being the arrows in front of him; nothing he doesn't see as a threat will keep him from finishing it.