melodiesoflife | Who Puts a Bomb In a Dating Game?!

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Who Puts a Bomb In a Dating Game?!

WHO: Chiaki Nanami, Rukia Kuchiki
WHAT: Two roommates spend some downtime playing video games together and talking about frustrating issues.
WHEN: December 29th, 2015
WHERE: House B-03

It surprised Rukia just how quickly she'd been able to settle back into her assigned house. No one made a big deal out of her mistake, and she was grateful for that. How embarrassing to make all of those heartfelt farewells... And yet, here she was, falling back into the same routines. It was comfortable, and familiar.

And yet, she wondered if that was really a good thing? There was so much to be done in this world, so many places that needed to be explored, so many people in need... Could she truly allow herself to grow comfortable here, without feeling guilty about it? To say nothing of the dangers of growing to attached to a place she would eventually have to leave, as well as the people she'd come to care about. Part of her knew it would be wiser, and safer, to remain detached at least to some degree to prevent any pain inflicted on herself and others for that inevitable day when she had to say goodbye. This conflicted with the importance of knowing her allies and working together with them to achieve a goal she knew she couldn't achieve on her own.

But a good warrior also had to know when to take breaks and pace one's self to prevent mental and physical exhaustion. Working in Santa's Village hadn't been extremely taxing, but it had been hard work just the same. She did need a break.

Which was why she sat with a controller in her hand in Chiaki's room, staring helplessly at the television screen. Would that she'd known of the existence of dating simulations before she'd gone on her dates, perhaps she might have been better prepared.

Gregory Feelgood smiled handsomely on the screen, his oval spectacles framing his unnaturally violet eyes with his blue-tinted bangs swept to one side. Patiently he waited for Rukia to select a 'gift' to give him. But what should it be? A hula hoop? A crowbar? A bag of goldfish?

THAT WAS IT.

Rukia maneuvered the cursor to the goldfish and selected it. "He likes fish. I remember this." It had been listed as his favorite food, so surely...

Wait, why did his glasses just go opaque? What was that cross-hatch on his forehead?

You must be joking.

Rukia's eyes went wide, and she shot an alarmed glance at Chiaki. "What?! He looks angry. Why did he not approve of the gift?"

One of the hard-earned hearts on the meter broke, then vanished.

"NO!"

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[Chiaki isn't privy to any of Rukia's inner thoughts and concerns, and likely won't be until she voices them aloud. She's never been all that good at reading people, which is exactly why she's just as awful as Rukia at the game they're trying to play right now.]

I still don't understand this game.

[Chiaki seems similarly irritated, puffing her cheeks out in annoyance. She thought maybe the two of them would able to conquer the dreaded scourge of the dating sim genre together, but it seems that two wrongs don't make a right after all.]

[Hopefully Chiaki isn't too terrible at it, because Rukia just doesn't talk about what's bothering her. Not when the matter is a personal one, anyway.]

I don't either.

[The screen takes on a dark blue hue, just before the stenciled word 'DUMPED' is stamped across. 'Game Over' flickers into view beneath that. Rukia slumps, the controller dropping from her hands.]

All because he didn't like the gift...surely people are not this fickle in reality.

I could never get very far with that guy. I don't think he actually likes anything.

[Chiaki frowns at the screen for a moment before looking at Rukia.]

I'm not sure. Val liked me right away, and I didn't even have to do anything. Maybe it's different with girls.

Perhaps so...

[She honestly wouldn't know anything about that. She's never felt attracted to women before. She's still not even sure what attraction feels like, or else she'd recognize the symptoms she's starting to register around a couple of people she'd simply considered to be dear friends.]

[But Rukia isn't going to give up. She picks up the controller again, mashing the button quickly to sail through the introduction they've already read a hundred times before.]

When were you made aware that you harbored romantic feelings?

You can save the game after all the intro stuff so it won't take as long to restart.

[Chiaki leans over, pressing a few buttons to show her how.]

I... don't know. I'm still not even sure what that feels like. Maybe... warm? It feels warm when Val is hugging me.

[She tilts her head to the side thoughtfully before looking back at Rukia.]

What about you, Rukia? Did anyone ever make your heart go doki-doki like the girl in this game?

...I am unsure.

[That's the honest truth. She knows of a few occasions where her heart beat a little faster than usual.]

Nor am I sure if the warmth I felt could be attributed to the other person, or the circumstances we found ourselves in.

[The Crystal of Fire was warm, and sharing blankets was naturally warm as well. Here comes Greg again, asking about the weather. Rukia picks 'It seems like the perfect day for a walk!' His response is a series of periods, before his glasses go opaque again. 'I hate girls who never speak their mind.' DUMPED.]

[Rukia glowers at him. Can she just skip this guy? She's not really sure she wants to date someone so rude and prickly.]

[Chiaki nods in commiseration with that sentiment.]

I always hope playing these games will help me understand it more.

[Pausing in her thoughts for a moment, she glances back at the screen.]

...It never really helps.

[For the moment, she decides it's best to take a break from the game, leaning over to shut the console off.]

Maybe clearing our minds and doing something else for a while will help. Sometimes you have to give yourself the time and distance to see a problem from a different angle.

[Nail art? She picks up the bottle and holds it forward, tilting her head.]

[Take that, Greg. Feel the wrath of the 'off' switch! Rukia heaves a sharp sigh, and unplugs the controller to neatly wind up the wire and put it away.]

[She looks at Chiaki, then the bottle of polish, and relaxes her shoulders with a little smile. She'd almost forgotten.]

Perhaps you're right.

[Rukia folds her arms over her knees, turning the matter over in her head. She's never been good at expressing her problems, but it's a little nice to talk like this.]

Why did you decide to be in a relationship? What made up your mind?

I didn't really decide anything. Val just hugged me a lot and I sort of got used to it.

[Chiaki opens up the bottle of polish, setting it aside next to her box of toothpicks she uses for this.]

I'm not even sure what she thinks we are. But it's nice to have someone who cares like that, I think.

[And next, she reaches out to roll down Rukia's socks and slip them off.]

...I'll try not to tickle.

[So far, everyone she's done this for has had ticklish toes, so she expects that is a universal constant.]

Don't worry. My feet aren't that sensitive.

[She weathered the salon pedicure just fine. But that does bring up a good point. Her feelings and concerns may be one-sided, in which case, she's fretting over absolutely nothing. That would be just like her, wouldn't it? Rukia heaves a small sigh, and surrenders her socks.]

But...you are right. It's nice to know that others care. It's just strange to think of someone caring to that kind of degree.

[About her, anyway. She's not exactly the paragon of womanly beauty, after all, and she's also really dead. Why would anyone want to waste their years wooing a soul reaper, when there were far more choices who were actually alive?]

Okay. Good. Mine are really bad.

[Chiaki smiles a little, thinking back to when she did this for Yuffie for the first time. The first time she discovered that about herself. It's an insignificant detail, but to Chiaki, that's what makes it important.]

I guess so. But it's not a bad thing... probably.

[Her own feelings on the matter are, at once, both very simplistic and incredibly complicated. But she doesn't mind talking about it. Dipping the toothpick into the polish, she gets started on Rukia's big toe, carefully arranging the first few dots of color.]

'Probably?' How so?

[Rukia doesn't intend to just dump her worries about the temporal nature of any romance in this place on Chiaki, since it might cast doubts on her current relationship. But if she harbors the same worries, then that might be all right.]

[She looks down at her feet, curious to watch Chiaki work, and holds herself very still.]

I'm just not used to it. I didn't have much experience with that kind of stuff before coming here.

[Chiaki doesn't really talk a lot about her circumstances before coming to Crystallis in general.]

Your toes are even smaller than mine. I'll do my best, though.

[It's coming together, slowly but surely. She leans over to gently blow on Rukia's toe before switching colors.]

Ah...yes, I do seem to be much shorter than most of the others here.

[As Yuri is so fond of reminding her, she thinks as a sour look crosses her face. He's responsible for some of her problems too, and she may or may not have been skirting around that issue for a while now.]

You don't need to put art on the other toes. I can't imagine it would be a big enough space to create anything.

[She's definitely enjoying the way the colors slowly assemble into an image.]

It's new to me too. I never really had time for these kinds of matters, and I know little about the culture.

I don't think I really could. Nothing like the lagomorph, anyway. But you'll still have cute little bunnies on your big toes.

[Chiaki looks up for a moment to smile reassuringly at Rukia. She knows how much she likes rabbits. Plus, there was that momentary sour look, so she wants to reassure her even though she doesn't know where it came from.]

It's the same for me. I was too busy for anything like that, most of the time.

[Her smile turns ever so slightly wistful at that qualifier.]

[Rukia smiles at that, and resists the urge to wiggle her toes in delighted anticipation. It's rather nice, that her friends have accepted her vast/weird love of rabbits, and indulge her rather than mock her.]

Thank you. I'm looking forward to the results. It seems complicated!

[She rests her chin on her crossed arms, feeling a little more relaxed and comfortable.]

You must have been a very diligent student.

[It's obvious to her just how smart Chiaki is, especially to invent all of these video games in a place that doesn't have nearly the same level of technology as Chiaki's world did.]

[Soon, Rukia, soon. Chiaki just has to finish up the last few colors, and then there can be all the excited toe-wiggling.]

16-bit sprites are always more detailed. I think it will turn out well, though.

[She's making sure to take her time with it, wanting to make sure Rukia's happy with it.]

Student?

[There's a pause there for a moment as she blinks in confusion.]

Well. Sort of. I was just pretending most of the time, though.

Pretending? To be a student, or to be diligent?

[If it's the former, then there definitely has to be a story in there somewhere. Of course, Rukia pretended to be a student as well while she was stuck in the gigai, so perhaps Chiaki had been in a similar situation.]

To be a student.

[Chiaki switches colors again, once again blowing on Rukia's toes to get things to dry a bit before starting in again.]

...I wasn't human before coming here, either.

Oh?

[This is the first Rukia's heard of it. And they've been roommates for how long now?]

Then, what were you, if you don't mind me asking?

[Does that make Jack the only true human living in their house? ~~NOPE.]~~

An artificial intelligence. A computer program, existing inside a digital simulated reality.

[Chiaki tends to wait a while before she talks about this, considering all the complicated history and baggage that comes along with it.]

Is that so? I wouldn't have guessed.

[Maybe that's because Rukia's just as clueless about societal norms as Chiaki is, if not moreso. In any case, it does nothing to change their friendship. But it is nice to know more about her.]

Is that why you like making video games? I suppose it might be the equivalent of creating your own world.

Most people are more surprised when I tell them that.

[She doesn't sound disappointed or even surprised, really. Just making an observation.]

No, it's not that. I actually like playing them more. But programming them myself makes me feel closer to my father. He was a very gifted programmer.

[Obviously, to have created something like her.]

Really? I suppose it's because I'm a shinigami myself. Very few people seem to react at all when I tell them this. Honestly, it's a little refreshing.

[This is nice, getting to learn more and more about each other. She finds that she enjoys conversations like these far more than discussing battle plans, as she's normally prone to do.]

I see... What was he like? Did you begin life as an infant, or did you start just as you are now?

I guess it wouldn't seem that strange to you, then. But I've always been like this. More or less.

[Chiaki likes it too - it just takes her a little while to warm up to people to this degree. The number of people who know this about her can still be counted on one hand.]

I was never able to meet him. He died before my program was created. I was actually finished by his first artificial intelligence, Alter Ego, which was based on his own personality. I guess you could call that one my brother.

[Chihiro created the original program that enabled Chiaki's eventual existence, so she still considers him her father.]

Do you want to see a picture of him? His doppelganger lives in Trano Golsaucia.

[Dot, dot, dot... and she pulls her hand back from Rukia's toe.]

There, it's done. I can show you the picture before I do the other one.

Edited 2016-01-25 03:22 (UTC)

I should like that very much.

[But before Chiaki goes to fetch the picture, Rukia leans over her knee to peer at her toe...]

[And immediately goes to pieces.]

C-cute...

[Seriously she loves bunnies so much. If she could keep this toenail art forever, she absolutely would.]

It turned out really well. And the other one will match. Maybe I'll make it face the other way so it'll be like they're looking at each other when your feet are flat on the floor. Like they're friends.

[Seriously. So cute.

Chiaki comes back a moment later with a Triple Triad card depicting one Chihiro Fujisaki. She did say 'father' before, right?]

Would that be difficult?

[Because she really really wants that. She smiles happily as Chihiro gets up, and when she comes back, Rukia examines the picture with a puzzled expression. ...Huh.]

His doppelganger seems to favor women's clothing. Is he like that in your world too?

Yup. That's the way he dressed.

[She doesn't seem to question it.]

Apparently he was pretty manly when he was focusing on his work, though.

[To each their own, Rukia supposes. Chiaki clearly doesn't seem to mind. These doppelgangers are certainly interesting; it makes her wonder if she'll see another version of herself one of these days. She hands back the picture.]

Did you talk to him?

His doppelganger? Yeah. I visit every so often to play Triple Triad with him.

[Chiaki smiles as she takes the card back, glancing at it wistfully for a moment before putting it away again.]

I talked to him briefly once before, too. Last year, some of us had a dream where we experienced some of what happened in the previous cycle through the eyes of the last generation of Heroes of Light. My father was here then. The link wasn't very strong, but I could sense his thoughts, and send some of my own. It's probably the closest I'll ever come to really getting to talk to him.

[Rukia's expression softens into a gentle smile.]

That sounds nice. I'm glad you can maintain a connection with him.

[It makes her wonder if she'll meet any of her friends here as doppelgangers. Or maybe even her sister...]

...But I never could get the hang of Triple Triad. It's a little too complex for me.

It's not much, but it's all I have.

[Chiaki treasures that card. It's the only one she never plays with.]

I can teach you sometime if you want. There's a pretty steep learning curve, but it gets easier with practice.

[And time to start on the first bunny's little pixel friend. Settling in again, Chiaki gets to work with her toothpick.]

[Rukia chuckles and shakes her head.]

It's fine. Besides, I'd rather cheer you on from the sidelines. I can't very well do that if I'm competing as well.

[Her plate is already quite full with all of the things she's scrambling to do. She knows she can't do everything, as tempting as it might be.]

That's fine too.

[Chiaki's got a lot of friends who do that for her. It's actually really touching.]

...These are going to be really cute.

I'm already quite pleased! Would that the weather allowed me to wear sandals, I could show them off with pride.

[She might show them off anyway, if people come to visit. Maybe she'll even show Raven... Actually that might be weird. She'll wait.]

Perhaps we can do this again in the summer.

Sure. I'll paint them on you anytime you want.

[Chiaki's just happy she's found something like this that she can do to make her friends smile.]

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Who Puts a Bomb In a Dating Game?!

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DW rudely did not send me a notif for this

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