Requested by rikoscanniing I hope you like it ^.^ ~~~~ It wasn't necessarily the best night to go to an arcade. Friday nights were the nights everyone decides to head out and have fun, and that's exactly what the red head and brown haired duo had in mind. Actually, the idea of coming to the arcade belonged to the brunette while the idea of heading out together belonged to the red head. The two opened the doors and entered the arcade, where the sound of kids yelling, video games, and the roar of machines that ran the bigger activities greeted their ears. Their eyes widened as they looked over the densely populated area. "This is what you said in mind for our evening together, Aida-san?" Akashi asked, moving his eyes to look at her. "I expected it to be crowded, but not this crowded." she said, meeting his eyes. Akashi only blinked. Riko looked back to the colorful and brightly lit area in front of her. "I'm sure we can still have fun while we're at it. Let's go." Riko smiled, grabbing Akashi's hand and pulling him into the ocean of kids and video games. The average age of the kids here was around 13, possibly 14. Although Riko and Akashi were older than these kids by a few years, their height allowed them to blend in with the crowd, or actually, helped Riko blend in. Akashi's red hair stood out like a sore thumb. After the two visited the coin exchanged machines, Riko walked over to a video game, where a game was just completed by two younger kids. The two kids moved from this video game to the next, so Riko seized this oppurtunity and placed her hand on joy stick that was in the center of the board. Akashi followed. "Let's do two players, we'll see who's the best." Riko smirked. "How foolish of you to challenge me, Aida-san. You should already know that I will win." Akashi said, a small smile appearing on his face. "We'll see about that." the brunette said, inserting the coins in the coin slot and pressing the start button, followed by the 2 player button. After selecting their characters, the two digital figures appeared on either side of the screen. The words "fight!" appeared in a bright green, and a time began to countdown three minutes. Riko began to move the joystick and pressed between two buttons to her right. Akashi did the same, except his movements were more fluid, pressing the buttons more gently and accordingly to his figure's movements unlike Riko, who pressed buttons and moved around widely in order to cause Akashi's character some damage. Akashi's character continued to beat Riko's, which made Riko angry and pressed the buttons more furiously. In the end, Akashi KO-ed Riko. "Another round!" Riko stammered, slamming her fist on one of the buttons. "If you insist, but remembers, our previous match will only repeat itself." Akashi said softly. With more coins inserted and a new game beginning, Riko ended up losing to the red head again, except this time, she actually managed to hit his character a few times. "Your joystick wasn't sticky like mine, it gave you an advantage over me." Riko pouted as the two of them walked away from their game and onto another location. "If that's what you believe." "It's true." "If you say so." "Akashi!" Riko exclaimed out of tone. The sudden jump from being angry to excitment made Akashi jump a little. What caused her to change so dramatically in so little time? "Let's play that one!" she pointed a rigorous finger at one game that was surprisngly alone in a corner. It had two platforms with colorful arrows facing all directions on it, and a large screen with digital characters dancing inside it. The legendary game of "Dance Dance." "I am not in the mood for moving my feet all over a colorful platform." Akashi said, looking away. "O-oh? Is this Akashi backing out on a challenge?" Akashi eyed her. "I am not backing out of anything." "Then play me on this game before someone else gets there first." Riko said, already making her way towards the machine. Akashi sighed softly. She was very stubborn and always fought for her side. Never did she let anyone get away with something she didn't like. Perhaps it is these characteristics of her personality that attracted him to her. With a closing and opening of his eyes, his legs began to move and before he knew it, he was standing on top of the platform, waiting for Riko to pick a song. "Prepare yourself, Akashi-kun. I've never lost a game of 'Dance Dance'." "We shall see if that statment is still true after this." Akashi smiled. Riko selected a song and set the difficulty on the hardest it could be. Akashi didn't object to any of the choices she's made. He stood in the center of his platform, waiting for the music to start. And so it began. The song came on fast, with arrows pointing in different directions quickly sliding across the screen. Riko stepped on the flashing arrows on the platform with ease. She never missed a step. Next to her, Akashi struggled to keep up with the fast pace of the song. He'll admit Riko was good, but he won't say he's finding this difficult. He looked at the screen, trying to figure out a pattern that would be repeated throughout the song, so he'll know where to place his foot next before the arrows even appeared on the screen. Riko couldn't help but notice how silly Akashi looked trying to keep up with the dance. She wouldn't let this bring her down. Her focus was entirely on the screen, placing her feet on whichever arrow came next. The song reached the second chorus and Riko was leading in points by a mile. Akashi grew less uneasy, figuring out the pattern of the arrows as the song came to a close. Akashi figured out that when the pitch of the voice was high, he would step on the right and left arrows, when the pitch was low, the up and down arrows. When it harmonized with the backup chorus singers, the arrows would mix, and he'd have to step on two at a time. However, the song eventually came to an end. It surprised Riko that Akashi dramatically rose in points shortly after, but she smiled, knowing she beat him still. Riko looked at Akashi, waiting for him to say something. "This game. . . is rather odd." Riko laughed. "Just admit that I'm better than you and we can move on." she scoffed, stepping off the platform and following Akashi. "Just this once. You have beaten me in this irrelevent game of dancing," Akashi said. "Close enough." the girl said, looking aside. Riko had to cherish this victory, for the rest of the games that she's challenged Akashi to resulted in her utter defeat. She's replayed him many times to assure herself that she could beat him, but only ended up losing by more points than the first time. Akashi only smiled at her many attempts to beat him. The arcade was reaching its closing time, and the two decided to head out early, knowing that Riko's father would go crazy if she showed up too late. "I'll beat you next time Akashi-kun, I swear it." Riko said to him as they walked together. "I'll admit you tried your hardest, but it was obvious I would win." "You just wait. You'll see what I can do, I'll beat you for sure. Next time, I'll win, and I'll be the one receiving all the prizes." "Well, there is already one prize you've won, and you should be happy you have." "What's that?" Riko asked, her brow arching. Akashi stopped and took a hold of both her hands, looking right into her eyes. "Me."
