"Oh, when I look back now,
that summer seemed to last forever,
and if I had the choice,
yeah, I'd always wanna be there,
those were the best days of my life."
-Bryan Adams
The venture over to the arcade was a short one, but for the entire duration of the three block journey, Davina felt as if she were walking on air. It was proving difficult to school her face—the urge to smile twitched urgently at the corners of her lips, no doubt inspired by the exchange that had occurred between her and Shuichi only moments before. Now that there had been mention of an official date for the future, she felt almost giddy. Luckily for her, he was currently bringing up the rear of their group, walking just shy of a step or so behind her as she trailed after Shizuru. Kazuma led the progression, Yukina alongside him, with those who remained amassed in between. Davina could feel the unmistakable pressure of his eyes digging into her posterior, and couldn't help but slightly exaggerate the sway of her hips as she continued onward, knowing that even such a subtle gesture wouldn't go unnoticed.
Upon their arrival to their destination, which was appropriately named GameSpot, Davina admittedly was quite impressed—the arcade was massive, far larger than she ever would have anticipated, and teeming with a wide variety of games. As her eyes took in the new surroundings, she couldn't help but feel another brush of nostalgia—her brothers were both avid gamers, and had been ever since they were children. She too shared this appreciation, although her penchant for the hobby was far from their level of dedication. Between the three MacKenna siblings, many a birthday party had occurred at their local arcade as they grew—of course, the last of these instances had been a number of years prior, but regardless, Davina found herself smiling at the thought. Vaguely, she found herself wondering if GameSpot hosted her favorite arcade game—Area 51. It was an Atari classic from the mid-1990's, a light gun game in which the player was pitted with the task of killing aliens and zombies within a secret government facility.
While far from a unique concept, Davina had been obsessed with that particular game when she was a kid, and neither of her brothers, despite their skill, was ever able to top her at it. Unfortunately, the machine that lived at their nearest arcade back in Denver had experienced electrical issues and had been removed for repair shortly after her tenth birthday, only to never again return. She had been quite disappointed when she had discovered the fate of her favorite game, but had soon turned to Mortal Kombat to drown her sorrows—that had been Murphy's favorite game, and together, they had spent hours locked in virtual warfare, mashing buttons and slamming joysticks in an attempt to best one another.
Given the massive collective of coin-op games present within the enormous space, there was a fairly decent chance that Area 51 was out there somewhere, and as silly as it was, Davina was excited to look for it. The group visited the cluster of machines near the prize counter to each acquire tokens, chatting amongst themselves about what games they were planning on playing. Once they had exchanged currency, they ventured off to their allotted destinations—Kazuma claimed Yukina, as anticipated, and led her over to the line of Dance Dance Revolution machines that sat at the opposing end of the prize exchange, boasting loudly about his skills. Yusuke took off without much of a word to anybody, and swiftly disappeared among the throng of people and machines, clutching a small collective of bronze tokens in his hand. Botan and Keiko decided to head to the area that hosted the skee-ball machines, and Shizuru was eying one of the vacant pool tables with obvious intent.
"You guys down for a round of pool?" she asked curiously, gesturing towards the unoccupied table with a thumb. "One on one, winner plays watcher?"
"Sounds fine to me," Shuichi replied with a small smile, glancing over at Davina with a curious eye as he awaited her response.
"I'm actually terrible at pool," she admitted sheepishly, an embarrassed chuckle escaping her lips. It was the truth—Davina had little prowess when it came to billiards. She much preferred foosball or table top hockey, both of which she was far better at.
"I will assist you, if you'd like," he offered without hesitation, and she found herself unable to refuse the proposition, nodding her head in agreement. The trio made their way over to the unpopulated table and claimed it for themselves, with Shizuru feeding the machine several tokens to free up the equipment they required to play. Upon the successful deposit of coin, the resin balls escaped their confinement, clattering as they fell into the channel—within seconds, they had gathered near the yawning tunnel at the table's head. The elder Kuwabara sibling deftly scooped them up, carefully arranging them within the perimeter of a plastic triangle—once satisfied with their position, she withdrew the implement moved along to the wall to select a suitable stick. Davina followed suit, handling several of the cue sticks before settling on one she believed to be a good match for her.
Upon their return to the pool table, Shizuru took the lead, positioning herself to take the break shot and officially begin their game. Her motion was fluid and subtly powerful, tapping the cue ball with enough force to successfully separate the congregation of colorful spheres and sending them flying in all directions. Perchance, one of the striped balls slipped quickly into a corner pocket, prompting Shizuru to smirk with satisfaction.
"Stripes," she quickly announced, then relocated her pose to line up her secondary shot. While spot on, she did not manage to sink any balls this time around, and took a big step back as Davina approached the table to make her play. Despite taking her time and lining up what she believed would be a triumphant shot, she hit the cue ball at an odd angle, sending it off in an aimless direction. It slammed into a small gathering of striped balls, bouncing off of them with a harsh clack before racing right into a center pocket. A loud sigh of defeat escaped Davina as she watched it disappear into the dark channel.
"Fuck," she growled beneath her breath, shaking her head as she stepped away from the space and once again approached Shuichi's side. It was obvious that he was attempting to disguise his mild amusement, but his efforts were meager at best.
"Go ahead and laugh," Davina announced, forcing back the childish urge to playfully smack his arm in protest. "I warned you that I was bad at this…"
"I'm sure you'll do better with a little coaching," he replied with a smile that was meant to encourage, despite the hilarity present in those vivid green eyes. "It certainly won't hurt…"
"Thank you so much for your support, it means the world," she retorted, her tone saccharine and heavy with sarcasm. A soft chuckle escaped him then, and Davina couldn't help but join in briefly. Now that it was once again the elder Kuwabara sibling's go, Shizuru managed another perfect hit, landing yet another of her striped spheres into a central pocket. Her follow-up shot was almost as good, except for the unfortunate descent of the white cue ball as it fell in behind the red ringed number eleven ball.
"Damn it," Shizuru grumbled, sucking her teeth in disapproval. "I knew I was gonna scratch it…your turn, Davi. Just a friendly hint, aim for number six. Don't make this too easy on me now." It was a good natured rib, one with a small smile that followed suit—Davina returned to the table, this time with Shuichi in tow. After liberating the white cue ball, she placed it in what she believed would be an ideal location, only for Shuichi to politely interrupt her by gently clearing his throat.
"If I might make a suggestion, perhaps you should consider placing the ball here," he offered quietly, pointing at a spot along the green woolen fabric of the billiard table that seemed an odd choice for the shot she was attempting to sink. She raised a brow at him quizzically, only for him to nod his head in a reassuring manner. "The angle you will get from this position will be easier for you to land the hit," he explained, tracing out an invisible trail with a single finger to help her visualize the intention.
He was correct—the location he had selected was a much better option. Confident that she would have success this time around, Davina moved to position herself, only to gasp with surprise at the unanticipated presence of Shuichi's lithe form pressing casually against her own. With deft hands, he guided her into a striking pose, painstakingly positioning her elbow and arms with gentle movements. This sudden closeness sent a rush of warmth to swell all throughout Davina's body, only made more profound by the heat that poured forth from his skin and the delightfully masculine aroma of his cologne as it temptingly flooded the short space between them.
"There—now, try to relax the tension in your shoulders," he counseled softly, his voice hardly above a whisper as it slipped gently into her ear. The heat of his breath caused a sudden tingle to race down the length of her spine, resulting in an involuntary shudder. "Perfect—take a short breath, and tap the cue as your exhale…" Swiftly, Shuichi removed himself from alongside her, taking a calculated step back to provide her with enough space to fulfill her play.
Somehow, Davina managed the task at hand without faltering, despite the multitude of welcomed distractions that surrounded her. As predicted, the hit was a winning one—the cue slapped against the green ball, providing the ideal amount of force to send it rolling directly into the center left pocket. It disappeared with a flourish, and a victorious cry of excitement escaped Davina before she could think to compose herself.
"Yes! Got one!" she announced elatedly, turning around to fix Shuichi with a wide, triumphant grin. He nodded in satisfaction, making no effort to hide the delight encouraged by her candor.
"Nice shot, Davi," Shizuru offered with an approving nod from where she stood, a tiny but knowing smirk resting casually across her lips. Davina acknowledged her accolades with a smile before returning her attention to her mentor.
"Thanks for the assist," she said softly, still riding the mild high of her achievement.
"You're quite welcome—now, try it once more…the number two ball, left corner pocket," he advised, pointing towards the lone blue ball that hung in close sight of the cue. Davina did as he suggested, and mimicked her efforts from the previous interaction—once more, she managed to sink the ball, but this time around, hit the cue with a bit too much force, scratching out.
"Damn it," she hissed, watching the white ball tumble into the pocket with mild disappointment.
"Still a decent hit," Shuichi encouraged as she stepped away from the pool table so that Shizuru could make her play. The remainder of the game continued on in this manner—with Shuichi's help, Davina played what amounted to being her most successful game of billiards ever within the history of her existence. For a good stretch of time, it was a close competition— but in the end, she lost to the elder Kuwabara sibling, who had hit her stride and managed to sink all of her remaining stripes, completing her streak by burying the eight ball in the right corner pocket. Davina conceded with grace, returning her stick to its home as Shuichi prepared the table for the next game.
"I'm going to wander around for a bit while you guys play," Davina announced as they made ready to begin. Both nodded their heads, although for the briefest second, she could have sworn that she witnessed mild disappointment flash across Shuichi's face at her proclamation of departure. "I'll be back shortly," she assured, not wishing to cause any discontentment, but eager to explore the arcade for herself. "Good luck with the game!" Davina took her leave then, heading towards the back area of the massive building. If Area 51 did exist within the confines of GameSpot, she was going to find it and willfully indulge her nostalgia. With an excited spring in her step, she took off towards the posterior of the vast arcade, intent on working her way forward.
. . .
Shuichi watched with a mildly curious eye as Davina ventured off, her petite form eventually disappearing into the distance. It was the sound of his name being called that brought him back into reality, managing to free him of the mental trance he had failed to realize himself a captive of.
"Earth to Shuichi—you alive over there?" Shizuru questioned, her tone more amused than annoyed at his lack of attentiveness.
"Yes, sorry about that," he replied, meeting her gaze and fixing her with an apologetic smile. "Did you wish to break again, or shall I?"
"I'll do it, you seem...distracted," she replied, albeit in a playful manner. She moved into position and began the game, but failed to manage any successful hits straight out of the gate this time around.
"My apologies," he responded quickly, suddenly feeling sheepish. Shizuru was correct, however—he was unfocused, and it was proving somewhat difficult for him to regain his will. The appetizing aroma of Davina's perfume lingered within his nostrils, and the tactile memory of her body pressed flush against his kept prompting little bursts of heat to pulsate deep within his flesh. The voice of the mental entity that dwelled within himself, despite having been fairly quiet since the discovery of her desire towards him, growled softly, desiring more of that physical connection.
Shizuru chuckled and shook her head at his reply. "Relax, I'm just giving you a hard time," she explained, which eased the tension in his shoulders a bit upon the realization that she wasn't genuinely irritated with his lapse of attention. "You like her, I get it. It's pretty obvious that she likes you, too."
A soft sigh escaped Shuichi at her observation, and, following a brief pause, his nodded his head in agreement. "I am rather fond of her…"
"Well, then maybe you should do something about it," the elder Kuwabara suggested bluntly, pointing towards the pool table in a nonverbal invitation for him to take his turn. Shuichi moved forward to position himself, and managed to net one of the solid balls into a middle pocket with ease.
"I intend to," he replied firmly, relocating to a different spot to line up a second shot. He sunk yet another ball, nearly scratching out in the process, but somehow managing to narrowly avoid the mistake. "I'm simply waiting for the right moment." His third turn was glaringly unsuccessful, missing all targets and bouncing off of a felted edge before coming to rest alongside a small cluster of striped balls.
"The right moment, huh? Does that clichéd Prince-Charming-style approach still work?" she asked with a smirk, quirking an eyebrow over at him.
"Hasn't failed me yet," Shuichi retorted with a dry chuckle. "I take it you have a better suggestion?"
"Yeah—screw the waiting. Make it the right time," Shizuru replied simply, her teasing tone taking on a more serious air. "The tension between you two is ridiculous. She seems nice, but there's no way in hell she's going to be the one to make the first move."
"What makes you say that?" he asked, genuinely inquisitive as to how she came to such an idea. This examination hardly came as a surprise, but given Shizuru's razor sharp intuition, Shuichi was curious to hear her explanation regarding said notion. In truth, he was also eager to see if she could divine any other pertinent information regarding Davina's undesired ties to the demon realm. He knew it was a poor attempt, but since the opportunity had presented itself, he wasn't about to dismiss it.
"She's soft—it's not a bad thing, necessarily, but it's easy to see that she's unsure of herself when it comes to a lot of things. My bet would be on past emotional trauma, but then again, everyone has baggage. I'd say odds are she's been sheltered and lacks experience—confidence, too, in certain ways." Shizuru positioned herself and played her turn, narrowly missing her hit. She sighed in mild annoyance at her miscalculation as she stepped back and returned her attention to her companion.
"Quite the psychological profile you've put together there in such a short time," Shuichi responded, but with a small smile to show that he meant it in a good natured way. Despite having just met Davina, Shizuru, as usual, was pretty on the nose with her assumptions. It was true that he had primarily been on the initiating end of the majority of contact with Davina, and while there existed a handful of instances in which she had taken on that role, it was obvious that they had been the results of impulse rather than calculation. But this cause and effect didn't trouble him—Shuichi couldn't fault her for treading carefully, or being hesitant to initiate things of a more intimate nature between them. On a baser level, he had eons of experience with such things, while she was little more than young hatchling who had only recently fled the nest and was still in the process of learning the ways of the world around her. Inexperience did not equal ineptitude, and he knew in his bones that Davina would prove to be a most willing pupil once she grew comfortable enough with him. He was certainly keen to assist in educating her. "Anything else I should be aware of?"
"Only that Kazuma is going to take all the credit for introducing you guys once you start officially dating," she offered dryly, rolling her eyes just as the words left her lips. They both laughed in spite of themselves, with Shuichi shaking his head.
"Can't say that I'm surprised in the least," he replied, turning his gaze to the table to plot out his next turn. He felt strangely relieved that Shizuru had nothing concerning on her radar pertaining to Davina—it might have been a false sense of peace, but he knew the elder Kuwabara well enough to discern that if she had sensed anything off, she would have indeed shared such things.
Shuichi's mind began to wander off as the game continued, swiftly consumed by decidedly lecherous thoughts concerning some of the subjects he was enthusiastic to instruct her on. Perhaps he would take Shizuru's advice and mold the situation to his advantage—he couldn't see a downside to such a thing, and as the age old adage went, there was no time like the present.
Encouraged by this, he began to formulate a plan, carefully considering his options.
. . .
The interior of Gamespot was so remarkably expansive that to Davina, it almost appeared truly endless. As she made her way through the massive establishment, she was constantly coming across things of interest, and had begun making a lengthy mental list of all the areas she wanted to explore. Of course, such a feat would require multiple trips, as there was far too much to indulge in at once—the rows of cabinet games seemed to go on for miles, hosting a literal warehouse of different types and titles. There was an entire stretch dedicated to redemption style games, with a huge exchange counter sitting almost dead center, which housed a smorgasbord of appealing rewards to trade for accumulated tickets. While arcade prizes were traditionally a bit childish and hokey at the places she had frequented in her younger years, Gamespot had some attractive items on offer, like game consoles and small electronics. Of course, plenty of the latter existed alongside them, and Davina eyed the wall of huge plush characters, toys, and trinkets with an amused eye.
To the far right stood a collective of merchandiser games, offering a number of claw-machines housing everything from candy to expensive phones, all in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. Nearly everything was bathed in a ray of neon in every color imaginable—she took it all in with silent appreciation, notions of nostalgia still hitting hard in light of her current surroundings. Towards the back of the huge space stood a big dining area, offering a plethora of snacks and drinks to famished patrons. Despite being full from their recent lunch, she side eyed the dessert cooler for a brief moment, a sudden craving for ice-cream hitting her. She ignored the urge and made her way past, not wanting to risk overeating and feeling like a gross mess. In her travels, Davina soon realized that Gamespot boasted a second level, and, unable to contain her curiosity, she ventured up the stairs to see what it held in store.
Much to her surprise, she was met with an atrium that held within it a massive backlit monitor, offering rooms to host karaoke in. Judging by the text on the screen, six of the eight available rooms were free to use at the current junction, and she snickered out loud. She had only dared to participate in karaoke a mere handful of times, all at the behest of her best friend, Selina, who could sing far better than she could dance. She had certainly enjoyed herself during those outings, but given that performing in a public setting wasn't exactly high on her list of things to do, she hadn't been overly eager to participate. Her curiosity quelled, Davina headed back downstairs, intent on returning to her search for Area 51.
After strolling the entire length of the huge arcade, Davina found herself disappointed to discover that GameSpot did not host the game she had been hoping to play. However, despite the lack of her chosen article, she did manage to come across Mortal Kombat II during her travels, which alleviated her discontentment some. After stopping to exchange cash for tokens, she returned to the cabinet. Pleased to find that the game was currently unoccupied, she immediately deposited the correct amount of tokens to begin playing. In the first Mortal Kombat, Scorpion was always her go-to character, so she selected him for her play-through and commenced the fight.
Within seconds, Davina was consumed by the game, focusing entirely on the task of kicking some virtual ass and forgetting the world around her. She made it all the way to the secondary boss, Shang Tsung, before a miscalculation in the second round caused her to lose her streak and become the victim of a fatality move. Even with this loss, she managed to earn a lower spot on the leader-board, and typed in her trio of letters as DAV with a small smirk.
"Not bad," a familiar voice called out from behind her, effectively startling her—Davina had failed to realize that she had company, and was more than a little surprised to see Yusuke lurking there, his arms tucked firmly over his chest and curiosity present in his dark eyes. She swallowed hard, attempting to shake off the unpleasant feeling of her space being infiltrated by someone she hardly knew.
"Think you can do better?" Davina retorted somewhat callously, eying him warily. Out of all of Kazuma's friends, he was the only one she found difficult to read—unlike the others, he hadn't been exactly friendly or forthcoming with conversation, and, if she took their previous interaction into account, he was brazen and somewhat disrespectful. However, Yusuke couldn't have been entirely awful—Davina couldn't see Shuichi maintaining a friendship with someone who was genuinely terrible. But to him, she was a stranger, an outsider—he didn't owe her kindness or a good attitude. Odds are, she'd have to earn those things, and at the moment, Davina wasn't sure if she wanted to put forth the effort required to do so.
"Considering those are my initials in the second spot from the top, yeah," Yusuke replied dryly, but with a faint hint of amusement in his tone. Davina glanced up at the high score table curiously, her eyes taking in the sight of YuU in the exact position he lay claim to.
"Well, damn," she replied with a sardonic chuckle. "Maybe you want to go a few rounds and put me in my place?" Having grown up with older brothers, Davina knew exactly how to prove a point when it came down to matters of attitude—beat them at their own game. She wasn't entirely sure she'd emerge victorious, but knew on some level that Yusuke would dislike her a little less for the attempt.
"Hey, if you wanna have your ass kicked, then who am I to say no? Let's go," he replied with a smug smirk, stepping up to lay claim to the second player controls. Simultaneously, they deposited their tokens and selected their characters—Davina again chose Scorpion, and Yusuke, either in some unspoken act of irony or sheer gall, selected Sub Zero. She couldn't help but appreciate the nod to the canon of the first Mortal Kombat storyline, whether it was intentional or not.
The game commenced—Yusuke took the first round, but Davina annihilated him in the second, finishing him with a signature fatality that caused him to groan out loud in irritation. The third round was neck and neck, but Davina managed to emerge victorious, cheering loudly as the pixelated letters proclaiming Scorpion's win flashed across the screen.
"What was that about kicking my ass?" she asked with a wide grin, elated with her success. Truthfully, she half expected her opponent to storm off in a rage, angry that he had been bested. But much to her surprise, Yusuke fixed her with a bemused smirk and asked for another round. She was quick to agree—this time, it was Yusuke who claimed the win, besting her in the second and third bouts. Davina asked for yet another rematch—back and forth they went, getting rather involved in their competition and losing track of time.
In a match that ended with Davina's win, Yusuke moved to re-up his coins, only to realize that he was out of tokens.
"I'm tapped," he announced after digging around in his pockets and coming up empty.
"Same here," Davina replied, chuckling at their shared predicament.
Once again, Yusuke surprised her by joining in the mirth and shaking his head.
"Gotta say, that was one hell of a good time," he offered, fixing her with a genuine grin. It was wide and goofy to witness, but endearing, and for the first time that day, Davina actually felt herself feeling fond of Yusuke despite their somewhat unpleasant start.
"Yeah, it really was," she responded with a smile of her own. "Lost track of who kicked whose ass, though."
"So did I. Guess we'll just call it square for the time being—until next time."
"Hey guys!" The unmistakable sound of Kazuma's voice echoed behind them, prompting them both to turn around and come face to face with their friend. He had a huge plush of a calico cat nestled protectively under the crook of his arm, and a wide grin that stretched from ear to ear. "Look what I won for Yukina! Do you think she'll like it?"
Yusuke chuckled and shook his head, crossing his arms across the length of his chest.
"How many tickets did you waste on that?" he asked with a smirk.
Kuwabara's grin didn't falter, even in the light of his best friend's sordid remark.
"I wanted to surprise her," he said with a giddy laugh. "And seeing how she loves Eikichi, I thought this would be perfect."
"I'm sure she'll love it, Kazuma," Davina offered encouragingly, although, in truth, the stuffed cat's face was akin to something out of a poorly drawn cartoon, and its plastic eyes were noticeably askew. The only resemblance the plush shared with his cat was the coloring, but Davina didn't want to put a damper on her companion's joy. "I think it'll be a nice surprise."
"Right? By the way, have you seen the girls? I've been up and down this place twice and I can't find them anywhere."
"Last I saw, Shizuru and Shuichi were over playing pool, but I haven't seen the others," Davina replied thoughtfully. It was this acknowledgement that caused her to wonder just how long she had been away, and found herself feeling somewhat bad over her extended absence.
"There's probably up in the karaoke lounge," Yusuke offered quickly. "Botan mentioned it earlier—she loves that crap."
"Let's head up there!" Kazuma exclaimed, obviously eager to hand off his hard won prize to his beloved.
Yusuke groaned as his suggestion, but didn't protest. Davina looked for an excuse to wander over to the pool tables to see if she could catch sight of Shuichi, but when she found none, she decided it best to stick with the current group, knowing that they would reunite sooner or later. Together, they made their way to the back of the building and climbed the stairs to the second floor, in search of their wayward companions.
. . .
Author's Note: Well, we have finally reached the spot nearest to where the first incarnation of this story ended. For those who read through the previous version, I'm sure you recognize some of the similarities, but I'm far more pleased with this secondary run through than I ever was with the first. While there will be other excerpts hailing from the first version, from here on forward it will primarily be new content, and I am ridiculously excited for it to unfold. A huge thank you goes out to the lovely reader who left a wonderful review! I was going to hold off on posting this installment for a few more days, but your kind encouragement made my evening, and I decided not to wait. As always, my appreciation goes to all you wonderful readers. I'll have more content for you soon!