Author's note: Yes, this is a self-insert, but you know what? I need to keep my fanfic-writing spirit alive, so I'm doing it. I'm working on 100%ing Rhythm Heaven Megamix for the second time, and when I Perfected all the games, I noticed that Paprika said something like "That's a great feat for one who's never kept a gate." And so, the idea spawned. I'll try to update this every Sunday, for I've always kept a weekly schedule when it comes to fanfictions. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read!
Paprika seemed to know what he was talking about in general. I mean, he'd been one of only three backbones for this entire operation. The Challenge Trains, the Perfect Campaign, the museum, the shop… all kept track of by three guys related by blood. No dumbass could even help pull that off.
Paprika had just punched a hole in the final unpunched box on my card, the card one held as they went through the Perfect Campaign and used to keep track of what games they'd done… well, perfectly. I'd now done them all.
He hole-punched it so surely, then… it almost seemed like he realized what he'd done, and the gravity of what it signified, and was left in a state of awe. He just… stared down at it for a few seconds, then looked up at me with the same expression.
In shock, he congratulated me.
But what caught my ear was how he said something along the line of "That's a huge feat for one who's never kept a gate."
All that stuff about Paprika being competent goes to show how I knew he was being serious.
"'One who's never kept a gate'..." I repeated. "Is it a long process?"
"My brothers and I have been at it since we were little," said Paprika. "A lot more thought and endurance goes into it than you may think."
"And… does it improve rhythm?" I asked.
"It's tough to say," Paprika answered. "You watch people play our games for so many years, and your mind starts to pick up on the skill of rhythm. Saffron's the worst out of all three of us, though, and he's been doing this the longest."
"His eye's always on the coin," I replied.
"Yeah, that's it," Paprika nodded.
"...How does one get into the gatekeeping business?" I asked.
"You could do what we did and guard your house's front door, then randomly get told by some agent that they could hire you to guard more important gates," Paprika shrugged. "To be real honest, I couldn't tell you."
"I'll ponder it, though," I said.
I took the Challenge Train card out of my pocket. I only had one more track to go: Copycats, in Paprika World. I then got my wallet out, dug into it, and placed five coins on the counter.
"I'll have another go at Copycats before I leave," I told him.
"Hold on for a moment," Paprika asked of me.
He then reached down under the counter for something. I heard a zipper, some rustling, and another zipper before he held up his New 3DS XL, whose Streetpass light was a bright green.
"Could this be you?" he asked. "I'd been wondering since you got here today."
"It… could be," I replied, getting out my own New 3DS and finding that its light was also green.
"It's lonely here," said Paprika. "And I don't believe you and I have faced off at Figure Fighter VS yet."
"That, we haven't," I said with a smile.
"In that case," Paprika smiled back. "Before you go, let's do this."