Author's Notes: I know I should be working on "Obvious," but I just had to write this one-shot. I hope you enjoy it!


The Claw Crane Game

"I hate those things," Takeru said to his girlfriend of seven months. They were standing outside of the arcade, waiting for Daisuke and others to show up.

Hikari looked at him with puzzled expression. "What do you hate?"

"Those claw crane games," the blond said while pointing to one inside the arcade. "It's impossible to win one of the prizes because they're rigged."

"They're rigged?" Hikari asked her boyfriend.

The sixteen-year-old boy nodded his head. "Yup, a guy on YouTube did a video on them. He said the machines are programed to win a certain number of times."

"I also heard about that from my Onii-chan. He tried to win a prize for Sora that last time they were at the arcade, but he ran out of money." She put a strand of hair behind her ear. "Have you ever won a prize from those games, Keru?

"Nope," Takeru said casually. He intertwined his hand with hers and began to swing it slightly.

Hikari crooked her head to the side. "Do you want a prize from the claw crane game?" she asked sweetly.

Takeru chuckled, lifted their entwined hands, and kissed her knuckles. "Yeah, but I kind of gave up on winning a prize from that game. I just waste money."

Hikari smirked. "Come with me!" She began dragging him inside the arcade. Takeru was caught off guard and slightly stumbled before he regained his steps.

"Where are we going?" he asked in an amused tone.

"To the claw crane."

Takeru furrowed his eyebrows. "Why?"

"Because I am going to win you a prize," the brunette said while guiding them towards the claw crane.

"You don't have to win me a prize, Hika."

"I want to, and you always win prizes for me whenever we go to festivals. It's my turn now," Hikari said sweetly.

Takeru chuckled happily; she was always full of surprises. "Okay, whatever you say, Hika."

Once they arrived at the game, Takeru noticed that there were a lot of stuffed toys in the machine. "Are you sure you want to play? There are a lot of stuffed toys still in the machine, and that's usually a sign that not a lot have people won."

Hikari nodded her head. "I'm sure. Pick the one you want, Keru," she urged him.

The blond searched through the transparent plastic glass for the prize he wanted. He saw many stuff animals ranging from bears to tigers. He also saw a couple of Pokémon like Pikachu and Squirtle. He didn't think there would be a prize he wanted until he saw the stuffed regal blue tang fish. His eyes immediately lit up. "I want that blue regal tang fish! It looks likes Dory!" Takeru exclaimed. "It even has freckles!"

Hikari giggled at her boyfriend. She knew Finding Nemo was one of his favorite movies. In fact, he called all clown fish "Nemo" and all blue regal tang fish "Dory." She still remembered how he spoke "whale" for an entire week.

"Okay, I'll win that for you," the brunette said with a smile.

Takeru thought she would insert money into the machine and start playing, but instead Hikari walked around the sides of the game. "What are you doing, Hika?" he asked with a puzzled look.

"I'm observing the stuffed toy's angles so I know where to position the claw."

The blond scratched the back of his head. "I never thought about that. Maybe that's why I always lose. I only looked straight ahead."

Hikari continued to look at the stuffed toy's angles. "Well, I think I have a good chance getting Dory for you. Dory is not wedged between the other stuffed toys, so the claw will have a good grip." Takeru chuckled to himself when Hikari also called the stuff blue regal tang fish "Dory."

"That's good to hear."

She stopped walking around the machine and approached the controller. "Let's see. It costs 50 yen a game," she said while reading the instructions. "I am going to insert 100 yen, so that'll give me two chances to win Dory for you."

She opened her purse and reached for her wallet. Hikari got out a 100-yen bill. Before she could insert the money into the machine, Takeru hugged her from behind and kissed her cheek. "Good luck."

Hikari giggled and kissed him back. "Thanks." She inserted the 100-yen bill and waited for the game to respond.

Cheesy dance music started playing from the game. "You have twenty seconds to get a prize," the computerized voice said. Hikari cracked her knuckles and gripped the controller. "Ready? Three, two, one, go!"

The brunette started to maneuver the claw toward the stuffed regal blue tang fish. All Takeru could do was watch and bite his nails; he was nervous. When the claw was above the plush, Hikari pushed the button and lowered the claw. Takeru let out a small cheer when it grabbed onto the stuffed toy. His excitement soon disappeared when the stuffed toy slipped from the claw's grip as the claw was pulling back up. The claw then repositioned itself to its original position.

Takeru let out a defeated sigh. "See? This is why I hate these games! They're rigged!"

"Don't worry, Keru. I have another chance to win for you," Hikari said optimistically.

The blond looked at his girlfriend and smiled. "You can do it Hika!"

The timer restarted and the computerized voice spoke again, "Ready? Three, two, one, go!"

Hikari again moved the claw towards the stuffed blue regal tang fish. Once the claw was directly above the stuffed toy, the brunette pushed the button to lower the it. The claw opened up and grasped the plush. This time, the stuffed toy didn't slip from the claw's grip. Takeru's eyes widened when the claw started to move towards the chute, and he anticipated on what was going to happen next. Once it was above the chute, the claw let go and dropped the stuffed blue regal tang fish into the drop box.

Celebratory music played from the machine. "Congratulations! You've won!" the computerized voice exclaimed.

Takeru let out joyful cheer. He hugged Hikari and twirled her around. "You did it, Hika!" The brunette laughed at her boyfriend's excitement. He sounded like a little kid who just won a prize at a festival. He put Hikari down and smiled lovingly at her. "Thank you, Hika." He then kissed her softly on the lips and Hikari softly kissed him back.

"You're welcome, Keru," Hikari said after they broke apart. She then retrieved his stuffed regal blue fish from the drop box and handed him the toy. "Here's your stuffed "Dory."

Takeru took "Dory" from her hands and admired it. He would cherish this stuffed toy forever because Hikari won it for him. He treasured anything his Hika gave him.

"That's so cute!" Takeru and Hikari turned their heads to the direction of the squeal and saw Daisuke, Miyako, Ken, and Iori approaching them. "Did you win that for Hikari, Takeru?" Miyako asked.

"Nope." Miyako gave him a confused look. Takeru put his arm around Hikari's shoulders and kissed her on the forehead. "She won it for me."

The End


Author's Notes: Well, I hope you all enjoyed it. Originally, I was planning it for Takeru to win a stuffed animal for Hikari. I then thought about all the other stories where Takeru is always the one who wins prizes for Hikari, so I decided to flip the roles. Anyways, aren't Takeru and Hikari adorable?

I am currently working on the fourth chapter of "Obvious," and if you haven't read it yet, please check it out! My summer vacation officially ends this week, so I might not be able to update "Obvious" often. I will aim to do monthly updates though.

I was also thinking of writing the story of how Taichi tried to win a stuffed animal for Sora at the claw crane game. What do you all think? Will you all be interested in that?

Thank you for reading this one-shot! Please let me know what you think!