| This is what happens to Kiris at 4 am, If you encounter a Kiri at 4
am, run. Do not try to mediate with it. Just run
Revolution "What… is that?" "Sempai, just give it a try! You know you'll be great at it!" "It's already giving me a headache." "I think I'll just sit down with Hasukawa." Shun looked frustrated. "Sempai! You guys have to try! I didn't drag you all the way here just to sit at the table!" Mitsuru was staring at the machine. "There are so many lights…" Kazuya had a blatantly annoyed expression sketched across his face. "And it's too loud." Shinobu simply folded his arms and sat. "Mitsuru-sempai, you'll at least try it with me, won't you?" Shun asked a little desperately. "Flashing… all the colors…" "Sempai!" "Huh? Oh. Oh yeah. Sure I'll play. How much?" He dug into his pocket and checked his coat, still glancing at the machine out of the corner of his eye. "I think it's two tokens each." The blond young man blinked and then looked at his neighbor. "I don't have my wallet. I must have left it in my room." Shun gave him a pitiful look. "But sempai– " "Why don't you show us how to play, Shun?" Shinobu's normal somber murmur had risen to a somber near-shout to be heard over the throbbing bass. Glee rose in the boy's eyes for a moment before he forcibly squelched. "But I wanted you all to play too…" "So shiny…" "Just go ahead and show us, Shun." "All right…" The long-haired boy hopped onto the platform, and tossed a few tokens into the slot. The machine started glowing brighter, as if the tokens had been magical food. Mitsuru's eyes got bigger as it did. "Dance Dance Revolution!" blared the machine obediently. Shun pressed a few buttons in rapid succession, looking as if he was sure of what he was doing. "It's fifth mix, and I've never played this one," he said worriedly, almost a disclaimer to his skill or lack of it. "I'm sure you'll do fine," answered Shinobu in his newly acquired smooth yell. "I'll try anyway…" A few more quick button presses, the screen flashing at random intervals, loud music switching songs about every three seconds and then – "Ooh, Dam Dariram!" Shun squealed. "I'll do it on maniac! It's only 8 feet!" Music started, and Shun started hopping. Or running on the platform. Or moving very quickly in very random ways. The other three stared. The song ended, and a little breathlessly, Shun started flipping through the songs again. "What? No Mr. Wonderful? Hnn." Mitsuru's eyes had risen to the size of plates. "Hm, Pink Dinosaur? That sounds like fun…" Another flurry of stomping, and a sweaty breathless Shun returned to the song list. He chose another song, flew through the steps, and finished proudly, returning to their small table. Mitsuru was veritably salivating to try. "Shinobu!! Lend me money!" Sighing, his roommate dug into his pockets. "I expect this back. There is a 4.57 percent interest charge if you don't pay me back by Tuesday." "Okay, okay. Just give it to me." He disappeared towards the token machine. Kazuya looked horrified. "How does he know where to step?" "Well, the arrows come from the bottom of the screen, and you step on the beat," Shun tried to explain. "But how do you know when is the right time?" The red head was panicking. "Well… it meets the other arrow up at the top." "What?" Red hair didn't look good on such a pale face. Shinobu was amused. "Of course." "I have the tokens!" Mitsuru announced triumphantly. "I'll play with you, sempai," Shun offered, and pulled a few more tokens out of his pockets. "Here, I'll put them in." "So arrows… go up the screen…" Kazuya looked positively lost. "And you step on the beat," Shinobu finished. "We'll start you on… Xanadu?" Shun was mulling over by the machine. "Yeah, we'll go with that… so maniac for me." Mitsuru was glowing. The blond boy got the hang of it very quickly, passed the song easily. The next song was a bit harder. Kazuya was still staring at the machine with distaste and confusion lacing his face. "Shall we make our escape while they are tethered to that thing?" Shinobu offered the boy. He looked up, relief flooding his face. "Yes. Now. Let's go." Shinobu smiled slightly and still a paper bill and a few more coins in Mitsuru's pocket where his roommate was sure to find it. They exited the arcade without much ado. "That ought to keep them busy for a while. Perhaps we ought to start a betting pool on how long it takes Mitsuru to get better than Shun." "About three and a half hours." "I'll put you down for that."
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