(Levi and Petra meet at a videogame tournament. Rivetra week day 8 prompt: videogame.)

Competition was a common human instinct. People made impromptu tournaments of arbitrary things: games showed this everywhere.

Once people allowed multiplayer videogames, it was only natural to spread this competition to these inventions.

This grew as people began to care more and more and videogames were a common childhood experience.

Dive-kick was a small videogame. Originally, like many games, it was an arcade fixture. It featured two commands: jump and kick. The kick move was possible if and only if the player had jumped. Jumping was arbitrary as one could jump quite high and very unrealistically (not that reality ever limited videogames). Yet, as all seemingly simple games, dive-kick was complex. Timing made the game very difficult: kicking would lead to falling and falling would increase one's potential for getting kicked. Getting kicked too much would lose the game. If nobody was kicked in time, the person closest to the centre line would win.

The timing was entirely a function of experience and the only way to succeed. Petra thought she did not have much evidence, but finding a local tournament, she decided to see for herself.

The Trost kick was the local tournament and it seemed not to be the biggest. There was a known professional player who would partake: some Levi Ackermann. Petra felt she would never face him, much less defeat him.

She partook in the first round, passing against a newbie quickly.

The second round took a little more time, the centre line being called in a few times.

The third game she pulled together after nearly losing.

She looked at the brackets and found that she placed into the semi-finals. There were only sixteen people who partook in her tournament, so she was surprised to be guaranteed second place. The game took some time as all but two of the seven rounds were determined by the lines. Those five rounds lasted their full two minutes with both sides nervously jumping and trying to avoid each other. Petra ended closer to the centre line after fooling the player into kicking at her on the ending of the seventh round, thus winning the near tie.

A blonde stood up from the other console. "Nicely done." He said offering a hand. Petra stood up to shake it. "I'm Erd."

"Petra."

"Best of luck against the pro."

"Thanks. It was a great match."

"Kind of going to hate the line rule more."

"It is annoying." Erd walked away from his console, nodding warmly.

Petra spoke briefly with one of the tournament volunteers. The professional then entered. He was shorter than Petra expected, by he was every bit rough-looking. "So you made it?"

"Yes."

"First girl."

"First to point it out." A few volunteers looked shocked at Petra's directness – they knew the professional and how unconventional Petra's confidence was around his chilling air.

"All right then, let's get to it."

The game was intense and at the end, Petra somehow pulled a win. It took the line as she never got a kick in. There were a few close calls and a round that ended with her getting a kick to her head.

"You got overconfident, right?" Petra asked.

"Crap."

"I got lucky."

"But I have to treat you to tea."

"What?"

"Friend's bet."

"Are you that asocial?"

"Are you this inquisitive?"

"I was joking."

"Well tea."

"And maybe a few answers."

"What?"

"Why did I win?"

"Because I never expected a decent player in Trost."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." Levi muttered, forced more than genuine.

"This could be nice you know, it's only your attitude."

Levi looked at the girl once more. Her hair was the orange he caught a glimpse of. Her eyes were not what he expected, they were much lighter and more energetic. She was also short. He did not fully appreciate that until this point. Her personality was alright – not too much of either annoying extreme. "Maybe." He grunted. "Let's finish it."

Petra followed wondering how such an idiot could exist. She was impressed by certain things: he looked nice with the streaky black hair and deep eyes and he did play very well. Yet he was too stupid. She almost felt compelled to change him, to make him learn how to deal with people.

So far they only signed up for tea, not that they would not sign much more in the future.

(I will be doing all the day eight prompts (that's 14 more...).

I hope you liked everything.

Have fun!)