Please don't run into Shingo. Please don't run into Shingo. Please don't run into Shingo…! Kiki silently prayed as she walked her way back to Iori's apartment from the convenience store. The sun just barely peeked over the horizon, prompting the girl to shade her eyes from its rays with her free hand. She munched on her warm pork bun as she whipped her head around in every direction. Though there was still no sign of him, the thought of Shingo interrupting the girl's breakfast run annoyed the hell out of her. She picked up her pace and took another large bite of the bun, still scanning the area for the tiniest glimpse of a bright blue school uniform.

As the apartment complex came into view, Kiki let out a sigh of relief, thankful her morning ritual went without a hitch this time. With a relaxed gait, Kiki walked towards the complex, finishing the last of her meal as she did so. Before she made it to the front entrance, Kiki could have sworn she could hear rapid footfalls ahead of her. …And they're getting closer?

"Cruuuuuuuuuuuuz!"

SHIT.

Kiki ran towards the entrance at top speed, but Shingo was too fast. The boy scooped her up and carried her over his shoulder without slowing down for a second.

Kiki yelped in surprise, "Shingo?! What the hell?!" She paused. "We're not gonna fight?"

Shingo replied back, still running across the pavement, "Not today! I'm on an urgent mission for Mr. Kusanagi!"

"What does this gotta do with me?!"

"No clue! All Mr. Kusanagi said was that he wanted to see you."

Kiki sighed, resigned herself to her fate, and thought, Why do I have a feeling literally picking me up off the street wasn't part of the plan?

Kyo stared blankly at Shingo, "... Did you literally pick her up off the street?"

Shingo cocked his head, "Was I not supposed to?"

Kyo groaned and facepalmed, "Put her down already."

Shingo lifted Kiki off his shoulder and gently set her feet down onto the wooden dojo floor. "Anything else, Mr. Kusanagi?" he asked.

He shook his head, "Nah." Gesturing Shingo to leave, he added, "Now get outta here, will ya?"

With a nod, Shingo left the room, leaving Kiki and Kyo by themselves. Kyo shook his head, "Shingo's such a dumbass." He looked to Kiki, "You're not hurt, are you?"

She blinked in surprise, "Huh? No, not at all. Just a bit confused, really." Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "So, what did you want to see me for, Mr. Kusanagi?"

"First off," Kyo responded, putting up a finger, "cut the 'Mr. Kusanagi' shit. It's weird. Secondly," he averted his gaze and mumbled, "… do you wanna hang out?"

Kiki just stood, dumbfounded and speechless.

"W-Well?" His face reddened slightly with his gaze still avoiding Kiki, "Yes or no?"

She stumbled over her words as she tried to process Kyo's sudden proposal, "Huh? Uh, y-yeah, sure! I'd love to! Sorry, I just didn't expect that." Digging her phone out of her backpack, she continued, "Let me just call Mr. Yagami real quick. I don't want him wondering where I've gone."

"Whatever," Kyo said with a shrug and a sigh of relief.

She dialed the number and waited. After a few rings, the call went to the answering machine. With a sigh, Kiki left her message, "Hey, Mr. Yagami? It's Kiki. I'm gonna be out for a while today. Kyo-" Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Kyo shaking his head wildly and making wide sweeping gestures with his arms. She stopped herself and faked a cough, "Ahem! Sorry, uh, as I was saying, I'm gonna be out. I'll call you back when I'm heading back to your place. See you later." She hung up and laughed to herself, "Do you think he noticed?"

"I hope not," Kyo groaned. "Anyway," He stood tall and walked towards the exit. With a nod, he asked, "Ready?"

Kyo led the way from the train station all the way to their destination. When they arrived, he announced, "Here we are! The arcade." Beyond the glass windows of the building's front side, rows upon rows of arcade cabinets were lined up. Kids and adults sat in front of some of them, frantically wiggling joysticks and mashing buttons.

Kiki's eyes widened in excitement, "Wow! I haven't been to an arcade since I was in America."

Kyo smirked, "Heh, I had a feeling this was gonna be a good idea." He marched forward and beckoned Kiki to follow, "What are you waiting for? Let's go!" The girl grinned and followed right behind him.

Bright, colorful lights from the machines illuminated the dim building. Electronic chimes and tunes from various games filled the air along with the cheerful cries and laughter from children. Kiki gazed at her surroundings in awe.

"Say," Kyo flashed a confident smile at her, "any good at Street Fighter?"

Kiki smiled back, "I'm decent at it. Played a bit with some friends some months back."

"Perfect! Let's play a round or two." Kyo began heading further into the arcade with Kiki following close behind him. When Kyo found an open pair of cabinets, he plopped onto the seat in front of one of them. Kiki sat at the other cabinet, excitement swelling inside her.

The pair loaded their respective machines with coins, pressed their start buttons, and with that, the game began.

Kiki chose Ken while Kyo chose Ryu. "Interesting choice," mused Kyo. "Ryu VS Ken" flashed on the screen then transitioned to the two fighters in their stances. As soon as the word "FIGHT" popped up, the pair began to make their moves.

Kiki threw a Hadouken, which Kyo immediately blocked. She backed away and tried again, but Kyo jumped over it, closing the gap between them. Kiki held her joystick firmly to the right, desperate to block an upcoming attack from Kyo. He assaulted her with multiple punches and kicks, and she continued to block each attack. Thinking quickly, Kiki crouched and sent out a low kick. Kyo recoiled from the hit, leaving him open. Kiki let out a small "Yes!" as she fought back with a string of punches and kicks of her own, knocking him to the ground. She chased after him and prepared to go on the offensive again, but Kyo immediately executed a Shoryuken, knocking Kiki to the ground.

"Gotcha!" Kyo shouted. As soon as Kiki got back up, he went in for another combo and succeeded in getting the first hit in. With another punch, kick, and Shoryuken, Kiki was down for the count.

She let out a groan. "I'll get you this next round!"

Kyo laughed, "Bring it on!"

Kiki jiggled her joystick and mashed buttons desperately, hoping to get one last hit in. Both her and Kyo's health bars were down to a sliver. But with a well-timed Hadouken from Kyo, Kiki had lost. Her shoulders slumped and she let out a huge exhale.

"That was fun!" Kiki smiled widely despite her loss.

Kyo rose from his seat and approached Kiki, "So, any games you wanna play?"

Without hesitation, Kiki replied, "Pac-Man! I played it a lot as a kid. Hopefully, I haven't lost my touch."

"Pac-Man, huh?" Kyo nodded and headed over to another section of the arcade.
"Alright, should be over this way." Kiki walked beside him as he showed her the way to the cabinet.

Kiki's eyes shone as the Pac-Man cabinet came into view. The familiar sight of the colorful ghosts and the circular protagonist made her nostalgic. She ran to the stool, parked her ass down, and loaded a coin into the slot. Kyo managed to catch up to the girl as the game started up and showed the large maze on the screen.

The electronic beeps of the game's theme jingled and the characters popped to life. Kiki swiftly jerked the joystick to the left, nabbing as many pellets as she could before the ghosts could give chase. Kyo watched closely as Kiki emptied the bottom-left corner of the maze, leaving just a Power Pellet by itself. "For an emergency." she said. As she attempted to clear the bottom-right corner of the maze, two ghosts gained on her, threatening to go in for a pincer attack.

"Watch out!" Kyo cried.

Kiki merely smirked as she turned a corner and made for a beeline for the tunnel on the right side which transported her to the left. Kyo let out a sigh of relief as she began to clear out the top-right of the board. The rest of the run went smoothly with Kiki picking up fruit, grabbing pellets, and narrowly escaping ghosts. With that, the first maze was completed.

"Nice one!" Kyo cheered.

Kiki laughed and smugly smirked, "See that? That's how an expert does it." As the game continued into the second maze, Kiki piped up, "Have I ever told you I used to live in Japan?"

Kyo raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Do tell."

"Mm-hm," she replied without taking her eyes off the screen. "I used to go to a local arcade every day after school and just play Pac-Man." She laughed to herself, "Not exciting at all, I know."

"Still, it must have been fun if you played it every day," Kyo pointed out.

"Hm, maybe," Kiki thought for a moment. "I'd say I kept coming back for a different reason, though."

Kyo perked up, "Yeah? What might that be?"

She smiled softly at the thought, "There was a boy." Kyo looked at her intently as she continued. "I think he was from the local elementary school since he was a bit younger than me, but he was there whenever I was."

"Uh-huh? And what was this kid like?" mused Kyo.

"He was a pretty cute kid, not gonna lie," answered Kiki. She chuckled to herself as memories came back to her, "We'd take turns at playing Pac-Man, switching off between each board." As she grabbed the last pellet in the maze, Kiki sighed, "It was fun." Her heart felt heavy for a moment, "I wonder what he's up to now. He's gotta be in high school or maybe even graduated by now."

"Uh… Yeah…" Kyo cleared his throat and ruffled Kiki's hair, "I'm sure the kid's fine. He probably misses you a lot."

Kiki smiled to herself and continued to play as Kyo stayed beside her. If Kiki were not so focused on the game, she could have caught Kyo stealing glances at her.

"Want me to walk you the rest of the way?" Kyo asked as he and Kiki departed the train station.

"Nah, I got it from here." Kiki bowed to him and smiled, "Thanks for inviting me! I had a lot of fun today. We should do this again sometime."

Kyo nodded, "Don't mention it." He chuckled to himself, "With Shingo being Shingo and Yagami being Yagami, I figured we could both use a break."

Kiki laughed, "Anyway, I'll get going, then." She turned around and skipped away, not before waving at Kyo, "Bye!"

Kyo gave her a small wave and went on his way. He kept his eyes forward as he left the station, but for a brief moment let himself look back. Kiki walked away, continuing onward without stopping. Her figure gradually shrunk as it headed towards the horizon. Kyo stood still, stuck in a mess of thoughts that raced through his head. He frowned as one particular thought weighed down on him.

Sorry, Yuki. Part of me still….

A/N: :')