A few quick notes: Anything looking like this: text in any way, shape, or form, means it's in Japanese. This way, I don't have to show what an otaku I am by showing the dozen or so words I've picked up from hours of subtitled anime! :P Oh, and the story can pretend to make sense! ^_^U Also, I have never been to Japan (however much I'd love to visit), so I honestly have no idea if any of these places even exist.
Akaber: I think Tokyo exists...
~_~ *nails akaber on back of his head* You're not helping.
ANYWAY! As I said, I have no idea what's anywhere near Shinjuku station, or where that even is (too many Digimon eppies). Also, Megagamers is, as far as I know, copyright to Fred Gallagher of Megatokyo.com To the best of my knowledge, there is no Megagamers Print Shop (oddly enough, a three-day MegaTokyo marathon and two-day suger-induced web search for Largo's "cool thing" was not the precurser to using that name in my story). And to finish things off, I know neither if there *is* an Osaka Convention Center, and if so, where exactly it is! :P
____________________________________________________________________________________________
"So Kay, you done playing with those graphics of yours yet?"
The brown haired teen didn't bother to look up from her laptop as she responded.
"The graphics are yours James, the animation and effects are mine."
With a resigned sigh, the boy with dirty blond hair just shook his head at his friend.
"Alright smart ass, how's the project shaping up?"
Hitting a few keys, the girl grinned and leaned back as she closed the laptop.
"Done!"
"Done? As in done done, or just done?"
"Just done. I still have to render the final animation, and then you can transfer it over to the videos for the presentation. Oh, and I need a laser printer, so I can put our two main monsters on these trading card prototypes the boss sent along."
"Great! Hey, why don't you put the file onto CD, then I can take it straight to the studios, while you head off to the printers. That way, you can just download the images into the mainframe, and use their computer to adjust it."
"Kill two birds with one stone, eh? James, you're a genius!"
"Miss, could you please stow your laptop away? We're preparing to land."
Startled, the two graphics designers looked up at the steward. Glancing out the window, they saw the first vestiges of civilization as the Japanese shoreline appeared over the horizon. As Kay stood up to pack away the laptop, the pilot came on over the speakers.
"Thank you for flying with Japan Air. We are now approaching the airport, and will be landing in half an hour. The local time is 11.30, and it's a warm and sunny morning, calm winds gusting in from the east at..."
Kay tuned out the rest of the chatter as she took her seat and gazed out the window, staring off into space as she thought back to the day that had started her on this path. She had gone home for Christmas holidays, fully intent on spending her time catching up with old friends and family. She ended up leaving with more then just news of the old gang, for during her visit, she ran into an old classmate from her computer graphics class, one that she had teamed up with for many a project.
The boy, who was two years her junior, had been hired by an internationally acclaimed gaming company who had seen some of the duo's old high school term projects just one month prior to Kay's home coming. The CEO of the company had been so impressed by the quality and originality of the work that he had wanted to hire both as head designers for the company. The girl was ecstatic, and threw herself whole heartedly into the job. They were quickly put to work designing the main characters for a new game that was being developed. Now, they were on their way to Tokyo to take part in an international game designer's convention, where they would show off their latest monsters, and announce the launch of their company's newest game.
Clearing customs, James and Kay split up, hopping onto different trains. Finding a seat, Kay starting putting the finishing details on the monster card layout. Soon, she got completely absorbed in her work, totally forgetting about her surroundings.
"Last stop, Shinjuku station. All passengers please disembark. Again, this is the last stop, Shinjuku station."
Looking up with a start, Kay quickly closed her laptop and prepared to get off the train, praying that she could find the printers in time. Leaving the station, she pulled out the directions she'd been given before leaving Vancouver.
"Five blocks up, turn left. Three blocks, left. Seven blocks, right. First building on the right."
Stopping, Kay stared at the plaza in front of her. Game store to her right, coffee shop to her left, bike rental across the street. Thoroughly confused, Kay checked where she was, checked the paper, checked the plaza, jumped at the sight of a Celtic Guardian attacking some blond kid... Hold on a sec... Awed, Kay moved closer to watch two kids having a Duel Monsters battle. But not the old, boring, throw the cards down on a mat type battle that she was used to back home. This was a full-blown holographic battle, with force feed back no less! Soon, the spike-haired boy fighting the blond boy was left with no monsters on the field, and the blond had just summoned a Thousand Dragon. Both had only 100 Life Points. Blond attacked, Spike saved his Life Points with Kuriboh's effect. Spike's turn, played Monster Reborn, brought out a Dark Magician. He destroys the Thousand Dragon, ending the duel. The force feed back from the blast sent out a wave of wind, blasting Kay's cloak back, almost knocking her over. Seeing the cloak, the two boys and their friends headed over, curious.
"What's with this freak? I thought Merrik'd gotten rid of all the rare hunters!" Blond glared suspiciously at Kay.
"Joey, be nice. I doubt she's a rare hunter. Though she does look odd."
"Sorry about them. We're just not used to people dressed as you are." Spike motioned towards Kay's cloak.
Looking around, Kay stared blankly as they jabbered away, not understanding a word being said. A pause, and the kids looked at each other, then back to Kay.
"Are you alright?" Spike looked concerned.
"Yeah dude, you ignoring us or something? What's your problem, anyway?" Blond stepped forward.
"Ermm... I don't suppose anyone here speaks English, eh? I can't understand a word anyone's saying."
The kids looked at each other again, probably trying to figure out what she'd said. Suddenly, the strange, inverted pyramid-shaped necklace around Spike's neck glowed, and he seemed younger, smaller, almost as though he was a different person.
"Errr... I know a little English. My name is Yugi."
"Pleased to meet you, Yugi! I'm Kay. Ah, I don't suppose you could direct me to the Megagamers Print Shop."
"Megagamers? Don't think I've heard of them..."
"Hey Yug, what's she saying?" Blond asked.
"She's looking for a place called the Megagamers Print Shop."
"Megagamers? They're on the other side of the city, about 45 minutes by train." A boy with dice-shaped earrings piped up.
"Ooh... Duke says Megagamers is on the other side of the city. It's about 45 minutes by the train." Yugi turned back to Kay.
"Other... 45... OY VAY! Man, I knew I should'a gone to the hotel first."
Duke tapped Yugi on the shoulder and asked him something.
"Uh... Duke asks why you need a print shop?"
"Huh? Oh, right. I've got a couple of monsters to put on these trading cards. They're part of our new game coming out."
"New game? Can you tell us about it? May we see the monsters?"
"Errr... Well, I'm not allowed to talk about the game until the conference at the convention, but..."
Plunking down on a bench, Kay opened up her laptop and pulled up the pictures of the monsters. Yugi and his friends gathered around as Kay explained the monsters, while Yugi translated for the others. Soon, eager to see the finished cards, Duke and Yugi ushered Kay and the rest of the group back to the train station. Two hours later, they were waiting by the final machine as the press slowly finished printing out the two cards. Carefully slipping them into their display cases, Kay stood back and admired them.
"Well, despite me having a hand in them, they actually turned out pretty good, eh?"
"Awesome!"
"Incredible!"
"Dude, I have got to get me that game!"
"Forget the game, I want her to do a signing at my shop."
"Duke has a shop?" Kay looked puzzled as Yugi translated the comments.
"Hai. He created a game called Dungeon Dice Monsters. He has a huge game store."
"Sweet! Well, tell you what. If the boss agrees, and all goes well, I'll drag James over, and we can do a promo game at your shop. Assuming you've got the equipment, that is."
"Alright! Don't worry about gear, if I don't have it, I can get it. But uh, who's James?"
"Huh? Oh, James is my partner. He's the one that created the graphics and effects in the game. I just did the animations and put things together."
"So who came up with the idea for the monsters?"
"Oh, that was me. We were just throwing around some thoughts. I never imagined that they'd actually be used, let alone turn out so well!"
"So, where's this convention of yours?"
"Eh? Ah, Osaka Convention Center, third floor. James and I are making the big announcement at 10am. I th..."
RRIIIIIIIIINNG!!! Kay jumped, then quickly grabbed her cell before it rang again.
" 'Ello? Heya James! Yup! Yup, I just put 'em in the display. Heh. Dude, you totally out did yourself this time. Yup. Yup, they are perfect. Uh huh? Uh huh. Oh good. I was a little worried about how that one arm would render, in the desert fight? Yeah, that one. Oh good. Eh? Heheh. Yeah. Yeah. No prob dude. Yeah. Yup. See you at the hotel! Yup. Later!'
"Good news? Bad, ugly?" Yugi quizzed.
"Excellent!" Kay beamed. "The video turned out great. James is at the hotel now, he's going over the notes and stuff for tomorrow."
"Alright! Looks like things are really falling into place!"
"Yup! Heh, I just hope that's the only thing that falls!"
Grinning, Yugi, Duke, and Kay exchanged cell numbers, and the group split up, eagerly awaiting tomorrow's big event.
Akaber: I think Tokyo exists...
~_~ *nails akaber on back of his head* You're not helping.
ANYWAY! As I said, I have no idea what's anywhere near Shinjuku station, or where that even is (too many Digimon eppies). Also, Megagamers is, as far as I know, copyright to Fred Gallagher of Megatokyo.com To the best of my knowledge, there is no Megagamers Print Shop (oddly enough, a three-day MegaTokyo marathon and two-day suger-induced web search for Largo's "cool thing" was not the precurser to using that name in my story). And to finish things off, I know neither if there *is* an Osaka Convention Center, and if so, where exactly it is! :P
____________________________________________________________________________________________
"So Kay, you done playing with those graphics of yours yet?"
The brown haired teen didn't bother to look up from her laptop as she responded.
"The graphics are yours James, the animation and effects are mine."
With a resigned sigh, the boy with dirty blond hair just shook his head at his friend.
"Alright smart ass, how's the project shaping up?"
Hitting a few keys, the girl grinned and leaned back as she closed the laptop.
"Done!"
"Done? As in done done, or just done?"
"Just done. I still have to render the final animation, and then you can transfer it over to the videos for the presentation. Oh, and I need a laser printer, so I can put our two main monsters on these trading card prototypes the boss sent along."
"Great! Hey, why don't you put the file onto CD, then I can take it straight to the studios, while you head off to the printers. That way, you can just download the images into the mainframe, and use their computer to adjust it."
"Kill two birds with one stone, eh? James, you're a genius!"
"Miss, could you please stow your laptop away? We're preparing to land."
Startled, the two graphics designers looked up at the steward. Glancing out the window, they saw the first vestiges of civilization as the Japanese shoreline appeared over the horizon. As Kay stood up to pack away the laptop, the pilot came on over the speakers.
"Thank you for flying with Japan Air. We are now approaching the airport, and will be landing in half an hour. The local time is 11.30, and it's a warm and sunny morning, calm winds gusting in from the east at..."
Kay tuned out the rest of the chatter as she took her seat and gazed out the window, staring off into space as she thought back to the day that had started her on this path. She had gone home for Christmas holidays, fully intent on spending her time catching up with old friends and family. She ended up leaving with more then just news of the old gang, for during her visit, she ran into an old classmate from her computer graphics class, one that she had teamed up with for many a project.
The boy, who was two years her junior, had been hired by an internationally acclaimed gaming company who had seen some of the duo's old high school term projects just one month prior to Kay's home coming. The CEO of the company had been so impressed by the quality and originality of the work that he had wanted to hire both as head designers for the company. The girl was ecstatic, and threw herself whole heartedly into the job. They were quickly put to work designing the main characters for a new game that was being developed. Now, they were on their way to Tokyo to take part in an international game designer's convention, where they would show off their latest monsters, and announce the launch of their company's newest game.
Clearing customs, James and Kay split up, hopping onto different trains. Finding a seat, Kay starting putting the finishing details on the monster card layout. Soon, she got completely absorbed in her work, totally forgetting about her surroundings.
"Last stop, Shinjuku station. All passengers please disembark. Again, this is the last stop, Shinjuku station."
Looking up with a start, Kay quickly closed her laptop and prepared to get off the train, praying that she could find the printers in time. Leaving the station, she pulled out the directions she'd been given before leaving Vancouver.
"Five blocks up, turn left. Three blocks, left. Seven blocks, right. First building on the right."
Stopping, Kay stared at the plaza in front of her. Game store to her right, coffee shop to her left, bike rental across the street. Thoroughly confused, Kay checked where she was, checked the paper, checked the plaza, jumped at the sight of a Celtic Guardian attacking some blond kid... Hold on a sec... Awed, Kay moved closer to watch two kids having a Duel Monsters battle. But not the old, boring, throw the cards down on a mat type battle that she was used to back home. This was a full-blown holographic battle, with force feed back no less! Soon, the spike-haired boy fighting the blond boy was left with no monsters on the field, and the blond had just summoned a Thousand Dragon. Both had only 100 Life Points. Blond attacked, Spike saved his Life Points with Kuriboh's effect. Spike's turn, played Monster Reborn, brought out a Dark Magician. He destroys the Thousand Dragon, ending the duel. The force feed back from the blast sent out a wave of wind, blasting Kay's cloak back, almost knocking her over. Seeing the cloak, the two boys and their friends headed over, curious.
"What's with this freak? I thought Merrik'd gotten rid of all the rare hunters!" Blond glared suspiciously at Kay.
"Joey, be nice. I doubt she's a rare hunter. Though she does look odd."
"Sorry about them. We're just not used to people dressed as you are." Spike motioned towards Kay's cloak.
Looking around, Kay stared blankly as they jabbered away, not understanding a word being said. A pause, and the kids looked at each other, then back to Kay.
"Are you alright?" Spike looked concerned.
"Yeah dude, you ignoring us or something? What's your problem, anyway?" Blond stepped forward.
"Ermm... I don't suppose anyone here speaks English, eh? I can't understand a word anyone's saying."
The kids looked at each other again, probably trying to figure out what she'd said. Suddenly, the strange, inverted pyramid-shaped necklace around Spike's neck glowed, and he seemed younger, smaller, almost as though he was a different person.
"Errr... I know a little English. My name is Yugi."
"Pleased to meet you, Yugi! I'm Kay. Ah, I don't suppose you could direct me to the Megagamers Print Shop."
"Megagamers? Don't think I've heard of them..."
"Hey Yug, what's she saying?" Blond asked.
"She's looking for a place called the Megagamers Print Shop."
"Megagamers? They're on the other side of the city, about 45 minutes by train." A boy with dice-shaped earrings piped up.
"Ooh... Duke says Megagamers is on the other side of the city. It's about 45 minutes by the train." Yugi turned back to Kay.
"Other... 45... OY VAY! Man, I knew I should'a gone to the hotel first."
Duke tapped Yugi on the shoulder and asked him something.
"Uh... Duke asks why you need a print shop?"
"Huh? Oh, right. I've got a couple of monsters to put on these trading cards. They're part of our new game coming out."
"New game? Can you tell us about it? May we see the monsters?"
"Errr... Well, I'm not allowed to talk about the game until the conference at the convention, but..."
Plunking down on a bench, Kay opened up her laptop and pulled up the pictures of the monsters. Yugi and his friends gathered around as Kay explained the monsters, while Yugi translated for the others. Soon, eager to see the finished cards, Duke and Yugi ushered Kay and the rest of the group back to the train station. Two hours later, they were waiting by the final machine as the press slowly finished printing out the two cards. Carefully slipping them into their display cases, Kay stood back and admired them.
"Well, despite me having a hand in them, they actually turned out pretty good, eh?"
"Awesome!"
"Incredible!"
"Dude, I have got to get me that game!"
"Forget the game, I want her to do a signing at my shop."
"Duke has a shop?" Kay looked puzzled as Yugi translated the comments.
"Hai. He created a game called Dungeon Dice Monsters. He has a huge game store."
"Sweet! Well, tell you what. If the boss agrees, and all goes well, I'll drag James over, and we can do a promo game at your shop. Assuming you've got the equipment, that is."
"Alright! Don't worry about gear, if I don't have it, I can get it. But uh, who's James?"
"Huh? Oh, James is my partner. He's the one that created the graphics and effects in the game. I just did the animations and put things together."
"So who came up with the idea for the monsters?"
"Oh, that was me. We were just throwing around some thoughts. I never imagined that they'd actually be used, let alone turn out so well!"
"So, where's this convention of yours?"
"Eh? Ah, Osaka Convention Center, third floor. James and I are making the big announcement at 10am. I th..."
RRIIIIIIIIINNG!!! Kay jumped, then quickly grabbed her cell before it rang again.
" 'Ello? Heya James! Yup! Yup, I just put 'em in the display. Heh. Dude, you totally out did yourself this time. Yup. Yup, they are perfect. Uh huh? Uh huh. Oh good. I was a little worried about how that one arm would render, in the desert fight? Yeah, that one. Oh good. Eh? Heheh. Yeah. Yeah. No prob dude. Yeah. Yup. See you at the hotel! Yup. Later!'
"Good news? Bad, ugly?" Yugi quizzed.
"Excellent!" Kay beamed. "The video turned out great. James is at the hotel now, he's going over the notes and stuff for tomorrow."
"Alright! Looks like things are really falling into place!"
"Yup! Heh, I just hope that's the only thing that falls!"
Grinning, Yugi, Duke, and Kay exchanged cell numbers, and the group split up, eagerly awaiting tomorrow's big event.