Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from The Prince of Tennis or Gundam Seed Destiny
Chapter Two: Games and Groceries
"Yay! They have the newest shooting game that I wanted to play!" exclaimed Auel as soon as he stepped into the game centre.
Sakuno followed him tentatively. She had never been inside a game centre and she looked around curiously.
It was a bright and colorful place with lots of shining and sparkling machines. It was also a very noisy place, full of teenagers, both boys and girls.
Some were sitting at the machines, playing different kinds of games.
Some were at the soft-toy pick-up machines.
Others were scattered around playing other games.
Auel pulled her to change tokens with the money he got earlier.
Sakuno did not notice that he had said he did not have foreign exchange. She was too busy looking around.
After Auel had gotten a small pile of tokens; it appeared that he had amassed a small fortune from those punks, he went to one of machines that he had been ohhing and ahhing about.
He was still pulling Sakuno after him. He was holding onto her like he was holding a favorite toy but neither of them noticed.
There was already another guy playing the game that Auel wanted to play and he pouted.
He wanted to play immediately but he had to be good and wait his turn. That was what his kaasan had told him and he did not like it.
He still was not quite sure what a good boy meant and he thought that as long as he did not kill or maim someone, that was probably alright.
Still, he wanted to be sure and he turned to ask Sakuno, "Oi, if I punch this guy, does that mean that I am being a bad boy?"
Sakuno was shocked, "Hitting people is not good, Auel-kun!"
Auel sighed, "I guess… but I want to play"
Sakuno looked at his disappointed face and tried to cheer him up, "Ano ne, Auel-kun, maybe we can play something else first. What is there in this place?"
Auel looked at her, "Oh yeah! You haven't been in a game centre before! I suppose I will have to show you around."
Even though he sounded exasperated, he looked somewhat pleased with himself.
He liked showing off and since he was forbidden to show off his fighting skills, he supposed that showing off his knowledge of game centers would do just as well for the time being.
Sakuno thought that he was such a sweet boy. She wondered if this was what having a little brother would be like.
She had always wanted a little brother or sister for her to mother and take care of. She liked being indulgent.
Though, she did think that some of things that Auel said were somewhat a bit odd, she did like him. He was so full of life and so happy and easy to please. Also, he was so eager to do things.
It was so different from her usual attitude to things. She usually waited for other people to make decisions for her while he just did and said what he wanted. It was so refreshing!
Sakuno smiled, "Arigatou, Auel-kun!"
Auel looked at her strangely. He did not understand why she was thanking him. If she was thankful for him showing her around, then she must be easily pleased.
Auel thought, "Are all normal girls this weird? Of maybe the ones I know are normal and this one is the strange one."
Since it was not in his nature to think too much, he shrugged off the question and went around the game centre grandly, pointing to this and that.
He told her of having played this game and that game and how he beat Sting at this and how Sting won that. He said that shooting games were almost as fun as the real thing.
Sakuno did not understand what he might mean by that but she let it go because Auel was so animated in his talk that she did not want to disturb him with questions.
He laughed when he saw the punching game.
He pointed to it and said, "Ne, Neo and Kaasan once took Stellar, Shinn, Mayu, Sting and I to a really big game centre and there was this really cool punching game.
Shinn, Sting and I all tried it of course and Stellar saw us playing and wanted to try too. In the end, she hit it so hard that the whole thing broke down!"
Sakuno gasped, "Really? What did you do?"
Auel grinned, "Well, we ran of course. We all heard the thing broke and Neo went, 'Run!'. It was so funny!
Stellar had no idea why we had to run and kept wanting to play again. Neo said that he's never taking us into any game centre again."
Sakuno said, "You must be unhappy over that, Auel-kun. You like the game centre a lot, don't you?"
Auel grinned, "Hehe, Neo didn't really mean it. He likes to go to game centers too. The very next day, he took Sting and me to another game centre in town. We didn't take Stellar though."
Sakuno giggled. Auel was also strange and different from everyone she knew. She thought that perhaps it was because he was from overseas. After all, Ryoma-kun was from overseas and he was a bit strange too, sometimes.
She wondered about these people he had talked about. They seemed to be very interesting and different as well.
Maybe they were his brothers and sisters?
He mentioned 'kaasan' but what about 'tousan'? However, she did not want to ask because it might be a painful question.
Auel stopped beside a soft-toy pick-up machine and said, "Hey, let me pick a toy for you! Shinn always does that for Stellar and Mayu always went after Sting to go for her. I guess girls like these things."
Sakuno giggled and nodded, "En, a lot of girls like it, especially when the person who is doing it is someone they really like."
Auel said, "What do you mean? Someone they really like? You mean like Shinn and Stellar? Or Neo and Kaasan?"
Sakuno answered, "I don't know your friends but em… someone you really like is eh… someone you want to be with all the time."
Auel still looked somewhat clueless so Sakuno tried again, "Em… it is someone very special to you and the thought of leaving that person makes your heart feel as if it is breaking in two."
She was remembering the time when she liked Ryoma-kun and her eyes grew distant. She did not have time to really think a lot though because Auel was already speaking again.
Auel pondered as much as he was able to ponder, "En… I don't really get it but I guess it's like Shinn and Stellar then because Stellar never wants Shinn to go home after he comes to visit us.
She would look really sad and Shinn would have to say a lot of nice things and promises before she would let go of him."
Sakuno smiled, "I guess that is it."
It was strange being so open with this strange boy she had just met. She was usually rather shy around strangers and yet she was speaking to him normally.
Probably it was because he was so forceful and direct that she had no time to be shy. Also, it was because he looked so innocent. She again thought if it was what having a younger brother would be like.
Auel broke into her thoughts again, "Anyway, let me get a toy for you! I've never played this before! Oh, yeah, I can also get one for Kaasan! Do you think she'd be happy?"
Sakuno nodded, "En, I think she'd be very happy that you thought of her. A lot of people wouldn't do that now. Get a toy just for their mother."
Really, Auel was more like a child than a teenager but she remembered Miyu had said that all boys were more like children.
She was much impressed with Miyu's wisdom about the world. She would never have known such things.
Auel beamed and he excitedly peered into the machine to check out the toys.
Sakuno watched his happy face and wondered about the kaasan he so lovingly mentioned. It was not in his tone or anything but it was in his attitude. It was a free and open attitude that she had not encountered before.
She did not know anyone boy who would be so open and affectionate when they talked about their mothers. She liked it that Auel did not mind showing the world that he loved his mother and was willing to do little things for her.
She suddenly hoped that someday her child would be like that. She hoped that her child would be like Auel and still had a certain innocence around him when her child was his age.
She thought that Auel's mother must be a very happy woman with a son like Auel. He was now thinking aloud about what his kaasan might like. It was somewhat charming and Sakuno thought maybe it was the reason for her feeling so comfortable with him, he was like a child and she had always liked children.
Auel slipped a coin into the slot and went to work with the controls.
Sakuno was very much impressed when he successfully picked up a toy and quickly dropped it into the tray where it would slide towards the opening where they could get it.
She remembered him saying that he had not played this type of machine before.
Auel picked the toy out and grinned at her, "Hora, this is easy. Here, you take it!"
Sakuno accepted the toy and smiled, "Thanks, Auel-kun. This is really cute." It was a sweet little bear with a small bow around its neck.
Auel grinned and turned to the machine again, "The next one's for Kaasan!" He was certainly very good and he very quickly had another toy in his hands.
However, by that time, he had found this machine to be too easy and was bored again. He looked to see if the game he wanted to play with free and when he saw the guy still at it, he frowned.
Then suddenly he looked as if he remembered something Sting and Neo had once done when they had gotten tired of waiting their turn.
He grinned and unceremoniously took Sakuno's hand and dragged her across the game centre. Sakuno was actually getting used to being pulled around by this strange boy and she thought that maybe she ought to protest.
Then she thought of his happy face and thought, "Oh well, never mind."
They stopped at that shooting game as before and suddenly, the guy who had been playing the game collapsed.
Auel exclaimed, "Oh no, he's fainted!"
Then while the people in the game centre had taken him off to the hospital or whatever place it might be, Auel hopped before the machine and slipped in some coins and started playing.
Sakuno was baffled. She had the feeling that something had happened but she did not know what it had been.
Then her attention was caught by Auel who was playing the game remarkably well. He had not missed any target at all.
People started to notice and soon there was a small crowd around them.
Auel was not affected by them at all and Sakuno watched with awe as he passed level after level. It was his first time too!
She did not play these games and would not know if he was amazingly good or if this was normal. Still she saw Auel's face and it was wickedly joyful, as if he was in the game itself and shooting real people.
Sakuno felt a bit uneasy at the thought and she pushed it to the back of her mind. How could she think like that about such a sweet boy? She shook her head to clear her mind a bit.
The people around them were watching in awe as Auel got to the last level.
He did not seem to notice anything apart from hitting all the targets on the screen in front of him. Soon, he fired one last time and there was noisy music as the game was cleared and the credits started to roll.
Auel put down the 'gun' and pouted, "Che, it is too easy! And the magazine made it out to be so amazing too! I'm going to tell Sting not to bother, it's way too simple. All the targets were out in plain sight and they moved so slowly too!"
Sakuno chuckled when she heard him complain. Auel looked at her, "What now?"
She answered him, "I was thinking that you played so well but still you're not pleased. It reminded me of some of my friends from school. They play tennis very well but always they are looking for higher goals."
Auel said, "Tennis? Is that fun?"
Sakuno was about to answer when some of the people who had been watching Auel play the game shouldered her aside and exclaim excitedly to Auel, "Wow, that was amazing! Where'd you learn to play like that? Can you teach us? You are so cool!"
Sakuno rubbed her shoulder. She was used to being ignored like this, partly because she was shy and partly because she was so short.
Auel did not like what he saw though.
It reminded him of days when he was much smaller and people could still knock him around. It also reminded him of Stellar who rarely noticed where she was heading and people just walked by and shouldered her aside.
He ignored what the people were saying and pushed past them to Sakuno.
He caught hold of her wrist again, "Mou, you're so slow! Come on, let's go somewhere else. This place is boring. If Sting's here, I can play against him but since he's not, let's go."
He started to pull Sakuno towards the entrance but the people who had been watching him play did not like being ignored.
One of them stepped forward and put a heavy hand on Auel's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.
He said, "Hey, we were talking to you, gaki! How dare you put on airs just because you play one game well! You probably cheated too!"
Auel was angry now. He turned his head slowly, let go of Sakuno and clamped his hand around the guy's wrist. He said slowly, "Don't touch me, you filthy piece of rubbish!"
He hated people touching him and ordering him around like that. Who did they think they were?
If they were smart, they would back off immediately but evidently they were idiots.
The guy wanted to shake Auel's hand off but he could not. He did not know that he was dealing with a kid who used to kill for a living. He grunted with pain.
Sakuno looked back and forth between the guy and Auel worriedly.
She said, "Auel-kun, let's go, ne? I want to go now, Auel-kun?"
Auel heard her and reluctantly clamped down hard on the guy's wrist one last time.
He would have liked to break the damned thing but he remembered that he had promised to be a good boy and a good boy did not break people's bones.
He let go and the guy fell back with a whine, nursing his wrist. The other people did not know what had happened but they felt uneasy and did not stop Auel and Sakuno again as they left the game centre.
When they were out in the street again, Auel said, "Sakuno, what else is there to do? I'm bored"
Sakuno thought and suddenly exclaimed, "Oh dear! I almost forgot that I have to go grocery shopping today! I need to get some supplies to make curry for tonight's dinner!"
Auel said, "Huh? You need to go shopping?"
Sakuno smiled sheepishly at him and nodded. Auel whined, "But I hate shopping"
Sakuno thought so, she might not have spent a lot of time with boys but she could imagine that such an active boy such as Auel would not be happy at the prospect of tagging after her when she was doing grocery shopping.
The image brought to mind was one of a little boy with a mother in the supermarket with the little boy asking every few minutes, "Can we go? Can we go?"
She almost chuckled but managed to stop. She did not want to upset Auel.
She said, "Maybe you want to go back to your family now? I really need to get some groceries, Auel-kun."
Auel pouted, "Huh But I don't want to go back now"
Sakuno said, "Well, you can always come along with me if you want."
Auel's face fell, "Oh alright I'll come along, but don't take too long! I still want to go and do something fun!"
Sakuno said, "Okay but I'll have to take the groceries home first."
Auel's face lit up immediately, "Yay! I want to see where you live!"
Sakuno shook her head, "I can't let you come into the house with me, Auel-kun. I'm staying with some friends and they are not at home today. It would be very bad of me if I let someone they don't know into their house without them being there."
Auel looked annoyed and Sakuno continued, "But you can wait outside for me, ne? After that we can go and think of something fun to do."
Auel had to be content with that because he could tell that Sakuno was firm about not letting him into the house.
Without them noticing, Sakuno was actually treating him like a little boy now and had unknowingly used a firmer tone of voice than the one she usually used with her peers.
That was the main reason why Auel did not press because he somehow responded to that firm tone.
It was not an ordering tone or he would have gotten annoyed immediately even without knowing why.
It was also not a patronizing tone because Sakuno probably would not know how to patronize if it meant her life.
It was a tone that simply stated that she was firm about what she was saying.
Thus, the two of them set off to the supermarket.
This time, it was Sakuno who was in the lead though, not that they would have noticed, the two of them being them as it was.