Digital Fluff:
A/N: So I always wondered at the Free Time events other characters would have with each other. Then the idea that Chiaki would get Peko into animal games to help sate her desire for fluff... it started to evolve. I imagine the game would be kind of like nintendogs.
Also LOTS of backstory references
"I... ah, s-students?"
The pink and white rabbit flinched at the varying versions of 'shut up' and her ears drooped in response. She stared at the table of sixteen students in the restaurant, all of them glued to their screens. "I, um, appreciate all of your commitment to developing friendships with each other through a relatable topic, but you're neglecting your chores!" Usami twitched as they continued to ignore her.
"Ne, Peko-chan, your household is already full?" The silver haired swordswoman nodded, showing her screen to the Ultimate Gamer. Chiaki gave a gasp of surprise. "You've already got a platinum level outfit set?" She cooed softly and watched the pixel kitten roll around in its rare accessories. Chiaki had been the one to get Peko hooked onto the game, and as by butterfly effect, the rest of the class. Peko had been playing day and night, only sleeping once her pets were worn out and she had nothing to do until the calendar ticked over. She had a range of animals, from a woolly sheep, to a small fluffy dog, to a Persian kitten and a singing blue bird.
"Hmf," came from across the pair, "your desire to robe your overlords in specially limited garb is admirable, but futile!" Gundam snarled, posing for effect. The four Devas of Destruction chattered and stared at the screen, seeming to enjoy watching the virtual hamsters. Ironically, Gundam had failed horribly at the game despite being the Ultimate Animal Breeder and was asking constantly, in his usual roundabout way, for help and resources from Peko and Chiaki. Everyone had expected him to get every animal possible, but had only managed to get a pair of hamsters and due to his less than adequate gaming knowledge he teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. He refused to do competitions to earn money, saying it 'exploited' his digital Overlords.
Hinata snorted and leant back in his chair. "You only say that because you suck at this game – you haven't even gotten past the first competition or got a full bronze outfit set." The brunette's stylus flipped across the screen, probably throwing an item to his indistinct breed of dog. As was expected, Hinata had opted for only a muddy coloured mutt and had played the most typical and uncreative way yet. Only owning a black leather collar and earning trophies at a slow and steady rate, there was nothing distinctive about Hinata and his dog. He hadn't even bothered to get another animal, claiming to be fine with just the wiry hound.
"Wowa!" Ibuki chattered excitedly, waving her console above her head precariously. "Mahiru-chan's got the cutest screenshots for her album!" she flopped her chest and elbows onto the table, jarring some of the condiments. "Your styling of the bird cage is so cute and happy!" She flicked through the Ultimate Photographer's profile gallery. It was filled with serene and gentle images of her collection of birds posing, preening and chirping. Ibuki gave a gentle coo at the picture of the robin in the golden enclosure and premium quality items and toys.
The red head in question waved a hand in modest dismissal, playing with Ibuki's neon coloured tortoise and Hiyoko's elegantly dressed chickens* in the shared multiplayer arena. "It's nothing; the game does most of the work for me." She poked her tongue out as she angled the in-game camera to take a snapshot of the rocker tortoise. Ibuki had gotten a tortoise (for irony or not they weren't sure) and had decorated the slow moving reptile in paints, spikes and a fake Mohawk .
Hiyoko was oddly silent, staring at her chickens lovingly, stroking the neck of one chicken and trying on different accessory combinations. Out of all of them, she had taken the most delight in dressing up her pets and had filled her household up with nothing but poultry. When asked why, she would merely say "because they're cuter and more useful than a mutt like yourself."
"Mmm!" Akane grunted in response, chewing numbly on something as her eyes were glued to the screen. "Modern technology is cool." The gymnast was oddly engrossed in the game, surprising for someone so fidgety and active. She had taken to adopting a multitude of dogs, ranging from a cream Chihuahua to a booming Great Dane, all free of accessories and plump from over-eating. It would've been expected that Akane's dogs would be in top-notch condition and she would be in competitions all the time, but she instead found a real affinity of merely taking the dogs for a leisurely stroll through the linear game streets, stopping at the park to play and pat with them gently.
Nekomaru on the over hand, had been the complete opposite. "Of course, it's good; and it keeps getting better." He had taken a much more diverse route in filling up his household, though it was highly-geared towards competitions. He had everything from an obedient Alsatian dog to a muscular Thoroughbred horse, all equipped in the priciest gear to give them boosts in competitions. His home had been decked out in training furniture and the likes and the shelves were coated in shining gold trophies – though that was to be expected from the Ultimate Coach.
"Ah-hah~! I can't wait to see how much better it's gotten already! I bet something awesome has been released while we were here." Souda gushed as he fed his overly-priced mechanimal some even more ridiculously-priced oil. It was at absolute no surprise that the Ultimate Mechanic had gone out of his way to get the mechanimals – even if they were the same as the original animals just with computer edited noises and a different skin pack, for absurd prices. His whole house reflected the ideal, with the top-level home and scattered space-themed furniture. He's only goal in the game was to collect as many mechanical and space themed items as possible. He grinned sharkily at his astronaut dressed dog snoozing in a spaceship styled bed.
"In Novoselic we have many imported games but we're always a little behind in the trends." Sonia lamented but her lips curved into a pretty smile as she stroked one of the noses of her many horses. They had been expecting her of course to obtain the many luxurious breeds of horses the games had to offer; but they didn't expect her to deck her entire home and horses' outfits in occult and other horrifying motifs. Well, Hinata and Gundam had expected since they had been the first to find out her interests. Sonia had done exceptionally well in-game, loudly cheering on her horses in their respective competitions and was extremely attentive to her gorgeous herd.
"T-though, we shouldn't p-play too much... we'll need to get sunlight and stretch our mus-scles a bit." Mikan stuttered weakly as she fervently tried to bandage her injured rabbit's leg. "We-we also have to stop an hour or so before b-bed." She supplied, receiving a non-committal hum in response. Mikan tittered sadly and went back to the clumsy care of her animals. Despite being the Ultimate Nurse, her animals got hurt at an alarmingly fast rate due to her nervousness during dangerous moments, leading to sprained limbs and broken bones. So the class had gifted her health-boost items to try and support her, much to her trembling delight. She fluffed at the wool of a bandage wrapped sheep and crooned gently at it.
"Though," Komaeda sighed gently as he stroked the head of a fluffy white dog, plain with no skills and no accessories, "this game is quite addicting." To the confusion to all except Hinata and himself, he'd only bought a single animal, lived in a simple home and did not strive for anything more. He was content with just caring for the dog, often taking it for walks with Akane's pack. He never looked so peaceful as he did when he played the game, taking the light effects of his luck easily when presented to him.
Fuyuhiko grunted, not seeming to be aware that he was agreeing with Komaeda. His in-game home had been completely filled in traditional Japanese style and his large, strapping pets had been likewise garbed in the same theme. He had taken a strong liking to entering his pets in competitions, especially the multiplayer ones, and had beefed up his animals to complete powerhouses to rival Nekomaru's. Keeping in line with his yakuza background, all his acquisitions were aggressive-looking creatures such as mastiffs and even a monkey – but then reflecting their master, they had generated the 'gentle' personality; which of course lead to Fuyuhiko spoiling them rotten.
"Nyohoho, Chiaki-chan, would you like some beef jerky for your cat?" Teruteru giggled almost girlishly. Everyone's eyes quickly swivelled up to assess if he was going to turn it into a dirty joke. Teruteru had, of course, become their best producer of resources and he was very generous in handing the items out. He had become quite profitable from doing these trades and had bought himself a premium quality farm for his array of top tier farm animals. He didn't seem too invested in the actual animal component of the game, and more on the part of where he got to socialise a lot with his classmates through it.
"Mm-mm," Chiaki hummed, a tiny smile gracing her doll-like features, "that would be great!" Chiaki, to no one's surprise, had become the best player. Everything she owned was of premium level, she had won all the trophies and all her animals were in the highest possible condition. This lead her to spend most of her time just playing with her arrange of animals, stroking their noses and smiling, now that everything had been completed. What had come as a bit of a surprise though, was that she had named all her animals after each of her friends, from Sonia the palomino mare to Hajime the brown beagle.
Usami sighed, indecisive in how to proceed. Everyone had technically broken the rules of the trip but there was no proper way for her to enforce them since it did not go against the rule code. They made sure to keep everything clean and there wasn't any penalty against not completing the goals. Usami checked the stats of her students and was still in disbelief that everyone had managed to collect all the Hope Fragments in a short amount of time. She rubbed her ears and exhaled.
Oh well, what's the harm in letting them?
A/N: * This is a joke on Hiyoko's name. It means chick so what better pet to have than a chicken?
So, I'm planning on two more one-shot chapters so far, that'll probably be updated as we go through the anime because aah, I love my lil 77th class of babies.
EDIT: OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT TO ADD TWOGAMI OH MY GOD I'M SO ASHAMED OH MYSELF but I'm too lazy to add im in, expect him in the later chapters...