[Open] Taking over the High Scores

[shiromadoushi]

Characters: Bakura Ryou & anyone else near, in, or around the arcade
Location: The arcade
Rating: ...N for nerdy?
Time: Feb 17th, afternoon & evening
Description: Uncomfortably familiar weird stuff is starting happen around Bakura in addition to the drama across the hall, so he's avoiding dealing with it by sinking far too many quarters into machines at the arcade.



It had started when he noted that something he had left in the fridge to have for the next day had been missing. He didn't pay it much mind and had just assumed that he had absentmindedly eaten it the night before. But it seemed like it kept happening... And things he was sure he had put away properly were winding up in other places entirely.

Like they had back in Tokyo.

But he wasn't losing any time this time. Sure, he still would lose track of time when he was playing his games, but realizing that it was suddenly 2am and he had finished the game was different than realizing that it was 5pm and he couldn't remember where he'd spent the last 2 hours. Or why he was in a different part of town than he'd started.

Rather than think on it, after finding the drawers in his dresser looking almost as if someone had been searching through them, he'd headed out to the arcade. What better way to avoid a problem than to play games, right?

Of course, the fact that he was still there, packing away high score after high score on his favorite games after the sun was starting to set when there a possibly serial killer lurking out there, was it's own problem, but when had he ever given things like that any consideration?

Comments

[itaidakimasu]

It was a whim, really, that steered Yako to actually enter the arcade after she left the Agency for the day. She had never spent much time in them back home, more attracted to the cafes and restaurants she had killed time in with Kanae. Still, it was a bit nostalgic, so she decided to see if, since her middle school years, she had been missing out.

As she made her way through the establishment, eying the brightly lit games and prize stations, she caught sight of a familiar, fluffy head of hair. Interested in spite of herself, she made her way over.

For a while, she just watched Bakura steadily work his way up the levels, thoughtfully waiting until it seemed he had reached a lull. "I had no idea you had a hobby like this." Though he had mentioned tabletops and the like.

[shiromadoushi]

Bakura looked up slightly, giving a warm smile and a bit of a laugh. "One of my biggest hobbies, actually!" he replied cheerfully, attention half on her and half on the game. "Games are something I love."

[itaidakimasu]

Ah, so he was back to the sweet and gentle manner she had first seen. Yako leaned against an unoccupied machine, studying him slowly and quietly for a moment. "Now aren't you glad you got that arm treated? I daresay even this much would give you trouble otherwise."

[shiromadoushi]

"Eh?" Bakura looked over, blinking in confusion. Closer look would show that his left hand was rather lax around the joystick, rather than tightly gripped as most would, but otherwise seemed fine, all things considered.

[itaidakimasu]

Yako tilted her he'd to the side, sighing. "Oh, so just because you lost the argument, you're going to play innocent? I'm sorry if it hurt your pride, but it was for your own good."

[shiromadoushi]

"Argument...?" Bakura blinked again. There was an uncomfortable sinking feeling with this conversation... That same feeling that he had come to the arcade to get away from at that...!

[itaidakimasu]

"You know," Yako rolled her eyes. "Morning training? After Resonating? I badgered you all the way to the hospital? You made threats on my life? Surely that rings some sort of bell."

[want_the_world]

Mello was aware of the serial killer, of course, but he wasn't concerned about his own safety. He had, as always, his gun at his hip, concealed under his jacket, and he thought the string of murders was someone clumsily covering their tracks, anyway.

It was a huge relief not to have to blab every damn thing that popped into his head anymore. It meant Mello wouldn't be forced to fess up that he was afraid--no, concerned that the tendency he knew he had, to retreat when things with Near got too close for comfort, would seize him again. Things had shifted, and it was closer to a fault line opening up than to a minor temblor. Mello was walking around in an attempt to work off some of the restlessness he was all too aware was likely to explode into him picking a fight just because he felt pent up.

When he spotted Bakura this time, he had the luxury of not having to say what was on his mind, but, ironically, the kid was one of the few people Mello might actually have confided in. Bakura was too good for his own good, and Mello didn't care what he thought of him.

Didn't mean it was easy to broach the topic. Mello went over and leaned against the machine Bakura was currently occupied with.

"You look like my best friend on one of his coding benders."

[shiromadoushi]

Bakura looked over for just a moment, smiling warmly before he turned back to the screen (and the boss battle on it.) "Computer coding, you mean?" he asked, almost a touch distracted as he swiftly executed another combo, fingers dancing back and forth over the buttons while his left hand managed to maneuver the joystick with the most subtle of movements, looking almost still in comparison.

[want_the_world]

"Of course. But he got that way with games, too, sometimes."

Not so much after Mello had called him, back home. There had always been too much else to do, and though Mello was sure Matt had conducted surveillance with one eye on his handheld and one on the feeds, he'd never seen him zone out over a game in person. Matt was too damn sneaky for that.

Bakura looked like he might have been able to give Matt a run for his money.

"About the other day." He could hardly claim he hadn't meant any of it. "Let's forget about it, all right?"

[shiromadoushi]

Bakura had the advantage of coming from a world where games (or at least one specific game) were far more prominent, and being a lonely nerd with a rich father gave him plenty of time and money to spend on getting and beating every game he could find.

The teen nodded with a small smile. "Of course. That sort of thing... personal things should stay personal, right?" He wasn't at his most eloquent when he was at his games, sadly.

[want_the_world]

"Exactly."

He watched Bakura's progress for a moment. Like many things other people became obsessed with so easily, video games had always seemed pointless to Mello, with all that time wasted perfecting skills that didn't translate to the real world.

"I suppose someone was afraid we'd start to get complacent if we had two whole fucking weeks without a city-wide meltdown."

[shiromadoushi]

Video games, like all games, were a desperately needed escape for Bakura. Something he could lose himself in and have at least the illusion that his actions could change his situation for the better. A simple combo of buttons and the looming figure of evil could be defeated, or at least knocked back, and where death only meant he was down a quarter.

He laughed softly at that. "Somehow I doubt it was that planned out. More likely someone decided that a holiday was a good excuse to have some fun," he countered, fingers working swiftly, knocking out combo after combo. "Who knows, maybe someone thought it'd be a good break from the more serious things going on. After all, something like that.. it's pretty harmless, compared to other things."

[topgun_textiles]

Count him as yet another stubborn individual that knows of the warnings. Despite all of that and his kidnapping back home, Kanji still needed to get his night owl wanderings in before he got any decent sleep later.

Hands in his pockets, looking as unapproachable as ever with that poker face, Kanji passed by the arcade, lingered a while as he looked up at the sign. He wondered if Minato was in just to shoot the shit a little while, but at an hour like this he was probably home asleep.

And yet, he still found himself debating on something a little more ridiculous: Checking his one high score in the arcade for a game he would never openly admit to playing... that would explain why that high score was the moniker 'MAO' as opposed to his actual name or initials. Kept things safe, you know?

[shiromadoushi]

No matter which game it was, it was likely there was a "BKR" trying to crowd it out. It wasn't that Bakura was trying to get a high score on every game. He just played every game until he started getting them, was all.

In fact, it was likely that as chance would have it, Bakura was well on his way to yet another high score on just that game, despite the time of night it was.

[topgun_textiles]

Ah, hell, it wasn't like he had anything better to do. Kanji decided to drop in, see if the owner was here for any reason. Among the beeping and lights coming from the machines, he noted that a fair number of the Jack Frost dolls he'd made were all ready won from the claw machine. In the near future, he may be asked to make more...

...But then he heard a familiar obnoxious tune, one that he knew. Kanji saw a head of white hair at a very specific station, standing before one Mechanical Unicorn Rampage. The Meister thought the unicorn was kind of cool and cute at the same time, but after playing once he'd gotten a little more into it than he expected, managed to get the high score in the twitch game.

He'd play it up like he was waiting for someone, leaning against a nearby machine while checking his communicator for notifs that weren't there, but a corner of his eye was on that screen. He shouldn't even be here, or watching for that matter, but he was almost proud of that score he got. It let him get a head-start on achieving SEES' little scavenger hunt that Souji-senpai left behind.

[shiromadoushi]

Bakura didn't seem to even notice, utterly absorbed in the game, especially considering how far he was in. Finally, he laughed, hands going lax on the controls as the end screen flashed before he began to put in his initials.

"Heeeeeeh, that's even better than last time!" he laughed again, carefully stretching his arms.

[topgun_textiles]

But not as good as mine, he noted in his mind, tapping his thumb against the screen to play up the charade a little more. Usually Minato would sneak up on him or make a remark by now, so maybe he was home, possibly asleep.

Pocketing the communicator, he figured he shouldn't just sit around and do nothing. Kanji wasn't a gamer by any stretch of the imagination, but if he was going to be here and guard his score, he had to keep an eye on this kid. ...This familiar kid. Where had he seen this boy before?

While he thought, he decided to take up a machine nearby, some strange fighting game. He popped in a couple of coins and decided to give it a go.

As the sounds of biffs, punches, groans, and battle cries rang out, he noticed he was a hell of a lot better fighting in real life than he was in this damn game. That scrawny-looking ninja guy was clobbering his ass...

"...Are you shittin' me!?" He snarled at the screen by the third round. Why wasn't button-mashing working!?

[shiromadoushi]

Bakura blinked, looking over. "Something wrong?" he asked, wandering over, curious.

[attentionwenches]

It was late afternoon when Loki passed the arcade. He was heading from the Shibusen library to the antique bookstore he'd heard about when the flashing lights and sounds from inside the building caught his eye.

What sort of machines were these?

Cautiously, Loki pushed the door open and stepped inside. While he was glancing around to be sure that it wasn't against the rules to be in here, he caught sight of a familiar figure.

"Bakura?" he called, walking further inside.

[shiromadoushi]

The teen looked up from his game before giving a warm grin. "Loki! Hello! Come to play some games?" he greeted cheerfully.

[attentionwenches]

"Is that what these are?" Loki peered around. How strange all these things looked, with their flashing lights and gleaming surfaces and whirring beeping noises!

But if they were games, he was certainly interested in learning how to play them.

[shiromadoushi]

"Un!" Bakura nodded, half focused on his game, half focused on the other teen. "Never been in an arcade before?"

[attentionwenches]

"Never even heard of one," Loki admitted. "How does one play?"

Because I always have him playing Magical Drop... :D

[shiromadoushi]

"Each one's different, but the controls are mostly the same, like with this one," Bakura shifted over slightly so that Loki could better see what he was doing. "The joystick controls where my character is, this button pulls down the bubbles, this one throws them back up," he demonstrated, the little clown like figure tossing the stack of skull and crossbones decorated bubbles up with a dramatic gesture.

"You need to get three of the same color together to make them vanish, and if you get a chain going, it makes the other player's screen fill up with more bubbles. You want to make the other player's screen fill up completely to beat the level!"