Right! Left! Slash! Swipe!

"God fuckin' DAMNIT!"

"Weronika!"

"Eeeep!"

Elsie's chiding shriek was just as loud as Sophia's terrified yelp, but Weronika ignored them both, teeth set in fury, grit so tight that she was sure they would soon crack. Her entire body trembled, heart pounding in her chest as she moved her fingers back and forth across the screen as fast as they could go. She and the phone swayed this way and that, tilting right and left as she continued to decimate the little pieces of fruit flying all over the screen, coming at her from every angle. But no matter how ferociously she fought, someone just always had to be better.

Sitting motionless, calm and still, only the very tips of Neo's fingers moved, flicking this way and that. Countless, clean-cut combos sent her score skyrocketing. While Weronika spun her blade in large circles around the screen, Neo was far more focused, striking only when absolutely necessary, using as little movement as possible. That was the only way to win at Fruit Ninja. Sure, there were boosts and powerups and whatnot, but sometimes the best, winning strategy was the simplest. It was hard to go wrong with a classic combo crusher.

"GAH!" Weronika waved her phone in the air as if to hurl it across the room, and Sophia even dove dramatically off the couch. "Oh, you idiot! Like I'd waste a perfectly good phone like that!" she snapped, finally addressing Sophia as her little game came to a bitter end. Neo lowered her phone, a smile of only one and three-quarter centimeters slowly spreading across her face. While Weronika's avatar stomped its foot, snapped its fingers, and looked down scowling, Neo's pumped the air with its fist and cheered as confetti fell down around it.

To have won by over twice as many points… Oh, Weronika, this is why the Berserker Tactic does not always hold.

"And to think you beat me by double!" Weronika despaired at the exact same time, waving her phone through the air again. For a second time, Sophia whimpered nervously, but she clambered awkwardly back on the couch, knowing that Weronika had a point about not actually wanting to smash a perfectly good iPhone just because Neo beat her in Fruit Ninja.

All the while, Elsie only watched with a tiny smirk of her own, shaking her head to herself as Weronika angrily challenged Neo to a rematch, pointing an accusatory finger and looking seconds from hopping up and throwing a tantrum like someone a decade younger.

She turns EVERYTHING into a competition, even something as petty and peon as… a stupid little mobile phone app! Her smirk softened into genuine respect, however, when her amber gaze slid over to Weronika's much calmer, happier rival. Ah, but of course, as expected of Neo-sama! It is only her first time playing Fruit Ninja, and yet she makes the combos look so easy and effortless!

None of them had any doubt that if Neo actually tried using her power-ups, she would beat Weronika before the game even started. And sure enough, that was exactly what happened. As stupid and silly as the little iOS game was, Weronika and Neo became addicted to it because they were already so addicted to each other, and the competition they could provide. Weronika happily boasted about her Fruit Ninja training every single day, and although Neo never ever mentioned it, her name on the scoreboard spoke for itself.

"All right, you two losers, come on, let's go! Give it a try!" Weronika finally roped Sophia and Elsie into the game as well. Of course, at first, they declined, Sophia too afraid and Elsie too haughty. Then Weronika turned to Neo. "Come on, you, say something! Get them to do it!"

"You're acknowledging my superiority in this regard?" Neo quirked an eyebrow, teasing.

"No, they're just a buncha SIMPS!" Weronika snorted, turning her disdainful gaze on Elsie and Sophia. While Sophia yelped in embarrassment and twiddled her fingers, Elsie looked outraged and indignant, face turning as pinkish red as a pomegranate at the end of Fruit Ninja Arcade Mode.

But it did the trick, and with Weronika pushing and Neo pulling, Elsie and Sophia were eventually somehow bamboozled into agreeing to play at least one or two rounds of the stupid fruit slicing game. As expected, even after Elsie and Sophia got some level of control over the controls, Neo and Weronika still wiped the floor with them (but mostly Neo).

"ARGH!" Elsie shrieked, fingers swiping desperately back and forth across the screen, but every piece of fruit seemed to slip right through.

"Hnngggheeee!" Sophia agreed, madly swiping back and forth trying to catch all the fruit.

"Sophia! You idiot! Watch what you're doing!" Elsie snapped, eyes glued to her phone as one was nearly struck by a stray elbow from Sophia. Even though Weronika also put her entire body into the game, swaying with the rhythm whether she realized it or not, Sophia rocked side to side so violently that dodging her was almost another game in and of itself. For Elsie at least.

But even though Sophia was moving around enough to bother all three of them, Neo was her usual focused self, still scarcely moving as she flicked her fingers effortlessly through lines and lines of fruit. But even Weronika was too focused on the silly, stupid little app to chide or cuss Sophia out as she usually would. Instead, nose inches from the screen, she barely even blinked as she used powerups and combos to chase after Neo's rapidly-rising score. In the end, the disparity between the two numbers grew too big, but Weronika kept on fighting.

THIS is why I never challenge Neo-sama! Elsie thought. Did Weronika not realize? Even if she scored perfectly for the entire rest of the game, Neo would still finish with more points. But for some reason, it seemed not to matter to Weronika. Elsie shook her head to herself once again. Truly, I shall never even have a hope of understanding the inner machinations of their minds…

Beside her, Sophia was whimpering hysterically, crying and yelping as she fought in vain to strike at least one fruit.

I've never seen anyone so bad at a game before… Elsie marveled.

Maybe Elsie didn't understand the way Neo and Weronika's minds worked, but they did.

Elsie. Your first mistake was focusing on the score rather than your own actions. The score is merely a reflection thereof. Therefore, it is of no use to keep your eye on the score. Your actions will speak louder than words, and your deeds will be shown by the number, not the other way around. It wasn't as if silently praying to the counter would magically make it give extra points. No, the only way to get those extra points was to pursue it.

Besides, looking at the score meant Elsie's eyes and brain were distracted from the flying fruit on the screen just below. The foolish girl was shooting herself in the foot obsessing over the number at the top corner of the screen. And that was the difference between her and Weronika in that moment. Of course, Weronika wanted nothing more than to crush Neo just as Neo always crushed everybody else.

I won't win this one. I hate to admit it, but I'm gonna admit it anyway. But even though I ain't gonna win, it's not about winning anymore… It was about turning loss into opportunity. Even if Neo defeated her, it was still extra practice under Weronika's belt. Even more, the new challenge was to at least make Neo's victory a little less complete. If I lose by 100 points, oh well. It's better than losing by 200!

And that was the spirit that Neo so loved about Weronika. She didn't dare take her gaze off of her phone screen either, but as soon as they were back to the usual victory-loss Neo-Weronika avatar screen, blue-gray eyes finally flicked up to Weronika's face. She was smiling bitterly, but to see her smile at all made Neo smile as well. She could already tell what the other girl was thinking.

Good match. Good game. I may have won the battle again as always, but Weronika makes it hard-won, unlike Sophia and Elsie who falter and succumb to fear rather than focusing on themselves and their areas of improvement. As soon as they begin to lose, they begin to panic, and it's a vicious cycle down. But Weronika...? She was losing, but rather than ranting and raging, she was focused only on making the most of the practice the game provided her, even if she was going to come out as the loser. She was focused on making Neo's victory as hard-won and as close of a call as possible.

The diva thought back to the boardgame café, and what she'd told Sophia and Elsie upon that day. No matter how far away that day got from them, Neo's words rung true loud and clear, always. Weronika… She is the only one who challenges me now.

AN: TFW you get on a Fruit Ninja kick, then get on a multiplayer mode kick, and channel your inner loser-winner Opportunistic Weronika side. (I HAVE found I do way better when I focus on combos rather than scores LOL)