Sixth Curse

[bondsofsuffering]

[Video/Action for Cancer Ward Arcade]

[Hey guess who's calling during work at a game center? If you guess Hizumi, you are 100% correct. He's got an extremely excited!!! expression as he talks, having clearly made the most wonderful of discoveries and being eager to share them with the world.]

Great news Hinoto-Ri! According to studies, playing video games can reduce stress-- going off of that, if you happen to be suffering from stress due to unexpected demonic kidnappings, playing some video games to let off some steam is a fantastic solution. And it just so happens, the arcade is pretty much empty right now, so what better time to drop by and try to heal some of that trauma?

...Also, if anyone brings me snacks, I'll seriously owe you one.

[Please. He's hungry and bored and desperately needs someone to pester.]

Comments

[otakuro]

You never know. Fire-breathing samurai could still be around in modern times... hiding in caves or something. [Hadn't that been 'fire arrow shooting samurai'] Maybe they turned into you --

[A sudden cut-off as Atsuro disappears for a few moments.]

...
Augh, no, I died again!

[bondsofsuffering]

[And he'll take out those candies, laying them on the counter.]

There you go! And with that... I think I can finally clock out.

It'll only take a few minutes to settle this stuff!

[bondsofsuffering]

Well, I guess death counts as "finished fighting", right?

[frequent_flyer]

When you can't-!? [Hizumi...] Do you want customers, or do you want to play games!? [They would only be mutually exclusive during the tournament..!]

[Ugh. He can't deal with being the only one between them with the motivation to plan this thing. He decides to tackle the subject again later, looking to Otonashi.] ...What game? I'll play a round with you.

[trainwrecking]

Ahh, I should have known it was something like that... Uh, there's nothing stopping you from playing a handheld game while it's going on or treating yourself to things after hours.

[Hmm...]

Eh? O-oh, I was going to play Space Invaders or City Break Ultimate. [Sometimes controlling a badly-rendered robot and breaking cities is therapeutic, okay?!]

[hachitaro]

Thanks.

[He'll just lean against the counter, waiting for Hizumi and nomming his candy.]

[otakuro]

If you want to be technical about it, I guess...

[SIGH why doesn't anyone understand him and his video game needs life sure is hard when you are so special. Atsuro grumbles a bit and steps away the screen, whereupon some rustling is heard.]

I don't see why people make games that cheat. It just means they don't have the knowhow to program a competent AI.

[bondsofsuffering]

It's just time consuming.

[Munch. He washes down the cupcake with some of the soda, sticking by the counter as Hinata goes to join Otonashi.]

--If you're going to do this, there's a lot more to it than just deciding to have a tournament, you know. You'll need to figure out how to advertise and get a good estimate of the crowd you'll be able to draw in. The prizes we offer and other expenses should be based on what you expect to earn from the entry fees. I mean, it's good publicity even if we take a loss, but you're already going to need to take it up with the manager, so it'll be more convincing if you can make sure we earn it all back and then some.

[bondsofsuffering]

[Aaaaand done!]

Ready to go! Got any idea where we should start?

[bondsofsuffering]

You're interested in that stuff, right? Have you ever tried making a game yourself?

[otakuro]

Me? Sure I have. It's easy to code simple games on the computer - games like these, not so much.

[bondsofsuffering]

Have you ever thought about it, though? It sounds like it could be interesting...!

[otakuro]

I think you'd need a lot of special developer's tools to get anything really well-designed done. There's something online for RPGs back in my world - a program called RPGCreator or something along those lines.

[hachitaro]

There's a pizza place down the street - do you wanna start there?

[bondsofsuffering]

They'd probably have something like that here though, right? It might be fun to look into!

[bondsofsuffering]

Sure! Y'know, even though I work close by, I've never actually tried it before...!

[And beginning to walk!]

[hachitaro]

Well, you know. Sometimes you get in a routine and you just don't think about trying new things.

[bondsofsuffering]

I guess I'll just have to break out of the habit with some delicious pizza, then!

[hachitaro]

The very best way to break out of a habit!

[bondsofsuffering]

That, or hitting up an amusement park.

[Because who doesn't love those things I mean come on.]

[hachitaro]

True. Though I usually end up giving away any of the stuffed animals I win.

[He is a stuffed animal, so.]

[bondsofsuffering]

Keeping all of them is a little inconvenient, huh? I did the same thing at the festival.

[Kept the figurines though.]

[hachitaro]

Yeah. Also it's nice to make little kids smile.

[otakuro]

...I guess they probably do!

Hah, why are you so interested in this all of a sudden? Are you out of games to play, too?

[bondsofsuffering]

It's pretty fun to see their expressions light up, huh?