Title: Riding the Roller Coaster (Part XIII)
Author: ficeler37
Note: Don't own Mai-Hime. I'll let Sunrise take the credit.
Rating: PG
Word count: 1285

Summary: At the video game arcade.

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"So … does Natsuki want to go on another ride?" Kyoto-ben flows into the ears of the blue haired girl like a light breeze on a summer day.

Shizuru's stomach didn't seem to be doing too well back there. Even though the older girl didn't say much about it, Natsuki saw that she had her hand on her stomach while walking to the bathroom. You will do anything to please me, won't you, Shizuru? "Maybe not now. Hey, how about we go hit the video games arcade? I have been meaning to beat Time Crisis 3 for some time now."

As a side note, Natsuki does not actually own Time Crisis 3 because the guns do not work on LCD TVs. Ultimately, the video game addict opts for getting a flat screen TV that performs superbly with nice graphics games rather than forsaking it for a single shooting game. Shizuru, however, loaded as usual, owns multiple TVs in her apartment, and therefore has the benefit of playing the game on her older TV.

Right in front of the arcade entrance stands a crane machine filled with cute stuffed toys. "Ne, Shizuru. Do you see any stuffed toys you like in there? I'm really good at this game, so if there is something you want, I'll get it for you." The blue haired girl pulls her elegant friend towards the glass that separates them from the squishy prizes.

In a matter of seconds, the chestnut haired beauty's attention is quickly captured by a coiled purple snake stuffed toy. "I like that one." She points at her target that is being partially hidden underneath a couple other stuffed toys. It kinda looks like the one from the water gun game.

Natsuki eyes the purple snake and frowns a little on the inside. Oh no, I forgot to tell her to pick one that is lying on top. Seeing the sparkles in those crimson eyes, the blue haired girl cannot bring herself to deny the simple request. "A piece of cake. Hey, would you mind getting me a can of coke from the vending machine? I'm kinda thirsty." This is going to take me a while. She doesn't need to be here to see how much money I'm going to spend.

"Sure. Anything for my Natsuki." Shizuru lets her fingers linger on the blue haired girl's new tattoo teasingly, which elicits a sharp intake of breath from the younger girl. Ara, Natsuki is so sensitive on the waist. "I'll be back before you notice I'm gone." With a lighthearted chuckle, the chestnut haired girl disengages from her crush's body and begins to walk towards the vending machine.

"Take your time, ok? You can think about what you want to name your snake on the way." Still slightly flushed from the sudden intimate contact, Natsuki waves at the departing figure who turns around briefly to give her a dazzling smile.

As soon as the green eyes make sure that they are no longer in the view of the crimson ones, Natsuki begins to frantically check the amount of money in her wallet. Ok, let's say it takes me three tries on average to clamp one stuffed toy. By the look of things, I'll probably need to remove three other stuffed toys in order to get to the purple snake. It's a hundred yen for each try, which means … 1200 yen! Natsuki looks at the lone thousand yen bill and the five 100 yen coins in her wallet for the third time. Oh well, guess I'm skipping dinner tonight.

Exactly 1200 yen later, Natsuki successfully gets her hand on the purple snake. Now what am I going to do with the three extra stuffed toys? Just as the blue haired girl is scratching her head, she spots a little girl with similar blue hair who is accompanied by an elderly couple. I guess I can just give them to the little girl before Shizuru comes back.

As Natsuki walks towards the trio with stuffed toys in hand, the little girl recognizes the onee-san at once, and exclaims, "I know you! Grandma kicked your butt earlier."

Confused by the speech coming out of the tiny body, Natsuki nevertheless hands the three stuffed toys to the elderly couple and explains the situation as the old people apologize for the 'innocent' outburst. As the trio starts walking away, that is when the blue haired girl notices a familiar looking purple stuffed toy being held by the little girl.

Wait a minute, that means …A GRANNY BEAT ME AT A SHOOTING GAME? My god, there goes my reputation …The realization hits the ex-hime like a meteorite crashing down on Earth. The slender figure stands motionless, lamenting the end of her legacy.

By the time Shizuru gets back to the arcade, that is exactly the state that she finds her stuffed toy champion to be in. "Natsuki, what happened? Are you ok?" The Kyoto beauty gently waves her hand in front of the younger girl's face.

With a glazed look, the blue haired girl hands Shizuru the promised purple snake stuffed toy. "Yea, I think I'm ok. Here's your stuffed toy."

Determined to break Natsuki out of her trance, the immodest chestnut haired girl grabs her purple snake and leans towards the younger girl quickly just to give her a small peck on the cheek. "That's payment for Kiyohime." She whispered before blowing out a small puff of warm air at the blue haired girl's ears.

And that is what Natsuki exactly needs to make her forget about her shameful defeat. Turning red from head to toe faster than the speed of light, she takes her chestnut haired friend's hand and leads her towards the Time Crisis 3 machine right away, eager to get away from the scandalous ambiance between them.

The layout of the machines is a bit different from the usual set up where they are placed side by side. In this arcade, the machines are positioned back to back, making it difficult to see who one is playing against at times. Having never seen Shizuru play any sort of video games in the past, Natsuki automatically assumes that the Kyoto woman is just going to watch her play. On the other hand, seeing how the blue haired girl has no intention of asking her to play, Shizuru is more than happy to just stand at the back and admire the shapely behind of the younger girl. Natsuki, has anyone ever told you what a nice butt you have?

After a few minutes, as the video game addict happily shoots down her enemies, a sudden message pops up on the screen in front of her. A second player has joined in the game? That is so annoying. I wanted to beat the game on my own.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar face appears in front of the girls. "Hi, gorgeous. My friend wants me to come over to let you know that he wants to make a little bet with you. Would the two of you like to go have a drink with us once my friend beats you?"

The arrogant tone of the tall guy immediately makes Natsuki want to puke. Yea, like that's gonna happen. "Whoever gets a higher score at the end of the game wins. If your friend loses, you two owe me fifty bucks. Deal?" The blue haired girl replied without taking her attention off the screen even once.

"Deal." The guy smiles politely. This is a men's world. How well can a cute girl do in a shooting game?

While the heated exchange is happening, nobody notices the stealthy steps of the beautiful girl in the summer dress, slowly moving towards the machine on the other side …

TBC.