With the Captains suffering casualties and heavy injuries on their side, all hope seemed to be lost... until Shinji Hirako appeared, along with the rest of the former Shinigami. Though the aid of the Vizards certainly helped to draw the battle in their favor, it seemed Aizen's power alone proved too much for them.
The arcade: located in Karakura town the arcade would be looked at by some as a gathering place for teens and children of all ages. Even some of the adults would come here to indulge in their inner-child's wants and aspirations. A collection of people were here today, but it was nothing special about this crowd. Nothing about them stood out from the rest of the crowds that frequently collect here on days like today.
It was dark in the arcade aside from the flashing screens of the video games. This arcade was bigger than most, and had a few things one wouldn't find at any generic gaming station. There was an area for virtual snowboarding, skiing, a place for car races, fighting games, shooting games, all kinds of games, but these were not the games that one person in particular was paying attention to.
There was a certain special game one particular teen had a fancy for, as it was metaphorically apart of his life. This game was Dance Dance Revolution. The way the game is portrayed, one would think it was to pleasure those of the feminine persuasion; there is some truth to this, however, it never convinced this cream-haired teen to shy away from the platform.
The four arrows in the middle of the dance floor were arranged in the direction of a standard rosary compass, and the object of the game was to press those directional arrows just as they fell into place on the video screen. It was a game of timing and rhythm, two aspects that this teen has been brought up on. These traits built his entire foundation and made him who he is today. This was, in a sense, his game.
Currently there were three people occupying this game, all going against one another in competition for the highest score. Allah cared not for the score, he simply wanted to practice his dance, his flow, his timing. He wanted to refine his skills, and possibly have fun at the same time. The music that was playing was a fast-paced sound that kept the three before him on their toes at all times, but a song of this level was nothing to the teen that watched and observed; patiently waiting his turn.
Humans: Joe Hanyo- LLS, Ruban Alexi- MLA, Allah Khazam- LLS, Naz Rollands- BLS, Nas Rollands- BLW
Mashiro walked down the streets relaxed and slightly bored with her hands behind her head. Taking long strides, she moved quickly. The wind breezed through her green hair. Her scarf waving behind her. The long strides made her stand out from other people walking by. She looked up as she walked. She needed a break form staying in that old torn up building. Hachi ahd recomended her to go out and get fresh hair. She jumped up at the idea. She thanked Hachi and ran off. She thought to herself. What coudl she do on a day like this? Actaully, she had no clue. She would go wherever the road took her. Jumping at any opportunity she would recieve. She twisted her face like a rabbit and made a, hmmm what to do type of face.
Her short line of thought was cut off by a loud noise. Kids rushing past her like rockets. A few bumping into her as if they hadn't even noticed her. Mashiro scratched her head with her right hand. Where could they be going? She walked in their direction casually. Her goggles reflected the sun's light back. She felt that people thought she was strange for wearing the jumpsuit. However it didn't phase her. It felt comfortable to her, and that's all that mattered. Her orange scarf felt comfortable as well. Even though it was pretty hot outside, she still wore it. She came to a halt when she saw what they were so eager to get to. She had only passed by these types of buildings, never actually stepped into one. This one surely got ehr attention. The bright lights, and loud music captivated her.
She scratched her head once more and was curious to see what it was actually. She stepped in and gazed at the plethora amount of people. They seemed to be having much fun. Her eyes twinkled as she saw the games. The lights and noise seemed to amuse her. She walked around. It was a vast building for games. She had seen someone play one game before, but this was diffrent. Everyone was palying games at the same exact time. Guns, dancing, and car wheels, they all surrounded her. A few people looked at her and she waved.
She made her way to a loud noise. She clamped her hands onto her ears. It was loud but catchy. When she got there she let go of her ears. It was still very loud, but the music changed and was a bit more energetic. She saw there was a line and groaned as she walked to take her place after a human. She tilted her body to the right of him to try to catch a glance of the game. These people were dancing in an odd fashion. Almost roboticaly, as a matter of a fact. She bent her body around the man in front of her. She grabbed his right ribs and peaked past him. It wasn't meant to be sleek or slyly. She let go of him and tapped his shoulder. She wanted to know more about it. She didn't know enough to play it. She was curious on so many levels. Why were they dancing like that? How do you win? Why'd they play bad music? She tapped the man once more.
"Excuse me, but...What exactly do we do in this game?" Mashiro asked with a puzzled look on her face. She assumed this man knew what this game was all about.
Sierra was on a mission in the real world, but no hollows were attacking. She walked around until she saw a place that had bright flashing lights, and people all around. She walked in and looked around, inside were many different machines each ahving a different terminal in it. SHe walked up to a random one, popped a quarter in and listened for a beep.
"Mortal Kombat! Choose wisely!"
She was dumbfounded as to what the machine was talking about. What is Mortal Combat? Such a thing never existed in Soul Society, she picked a woman with blonde hair named Sonya Blade. The match started and she tried to attack, but continued to mess up until she died. SHe put another quarter in and tried again, thsi time winning twice then losing. This time when she lost a horrfifc scene emerged, the man she was fighting ripped out her brain and threw it on the floor.
She was terrified but all so curious at the same time. SHe popped another quarter in and began to fight recklessly. She made pretty far then died, another horrific screen emerged and she became angered.
"Stupid Machine!", she kicked the machine and people began to stare.
She walked over to a different game that had two people dancing, with music playing and lights flashing. She looked and saw there was a line she got in back and looked at the person in front of her. t was a woman with green hair, and a scarf. She dressed rather peculiarly, but she was to dazz;ed by the green hair to care.
"Oooh so pretty!", she ogled at the green haired woman.
Something grabbed on to Allah's ribs and his eyes quickly looked towards that direction. It was just a girl peeking over his shoulder probably to get a better look at the game before them, so he simply passed it off, that is, until he felt a tap on his shoulder followed by a feminine voice.
"Excuse me, but...What exactly do we do in this game?" Mashiro asked with a puzzled look on her face.
Allah turned to the girl and his eyes were captivated by her bright green hair. Also, the jumpsuit she was wearing reminded him of something he had seen on television before. He assumed that either this woman was cosplaying or was on some type of hidden camera game show. Whichever, it didn't really matter to him.
"Ah my green-haired princess, I see you have a true eye for the finer pieces of entertainment. With this game, your goal is to press on the arrows on the pad as they line up with that bottom bar on screen. It takes both rhythm and concentration to win this game, but then again, there are no true winners or losers at this particular game. It simply accumulates your score based on how well you followed the patterns."
The way he talked made it seem like this game was the god of all entertainment systems, aside from making himself look almost like a gypsy. His body swayed with his words and his arms enunciated the finer points of his explanation. This was how he talked. It was dramatic to say the least, but nothing short of entertaining to those who didn't view him as insane. Upon further examination of the girl before him, he game a charming smile to her.
"Although, there is no true fun in memorizing and matching patterns repeatedly. Some people, like those dancing before us, fail to realize the true purpose behind the game. It is merely a conductor of free expression. The rules and goals are simply... 'guidelines'. But do not worry. I'm sure one as unique as yourself will find a natural flow that will carry you to a true understanding and appreciation of the game."
Humans: Joe Hanyo- LLS, Ruban Alexi- MLA, Allah Khazam- LLS, Naz Rollands- BLS, Nas Rollands- BLW
Mashiro was only half listening to the man. While he was walking she realized that it cost human money, called tokens. It required four tokens to play. When he finsihed his first half of his lecture, she patted her jumpsuit where pockets on pants would be. A blend of orange and white mixed. No tokens. She didn't bring money either, Hachi had recomended a free beach or park. The man shot a charming smile at her. She listened to his second half with intent. She scratched her head and gave a puzzled look. Why did the man talk like that? He sounded like some philospher. Couldn't he just explain it simpley? She nodded, more confused than she was before he explained it. What a wierd guy, she thoguht to herself. She fixed her gogles so they wern't drooping to the sides.
"Oooh so pretty!", a voice echoed behind her. Mashiro turned around. She made fishy lips. Was the girl talking about her? The female seemed fixuated on Mashiro. The girl seemed to be looking at Mashiro's hair.
"Hellooo...," Mashiro asked slowly lengthening out the word. Mashiro quickly glanced back at the amchine. Mashiro quickly remembered she had no tokens. The three dancers in front seemed to be finishing up. A set of rules was posted to the side of the contraption. It seemed the point was to match the arrows when they reached the top of the screen and match them with the board you stepped on. She turned her focus back to the girl behind her.
"Can I have some tokens, Please....Please, please," Mashiro asked randomly with her lips pouting and her hands folded up to her chest. She only needed four. Yes they had just met, sort of, but she had no money. She patted her bottom of the jumpsuit to show she had no pockets. It may have seem akward, but she would have to leave her place in line, go to Hachi, and come back.
"I'll find a way to pay you back, please...please," Mashiro said hoping to reinforce the point. She was hoping the girl could spare a few tokens. She seemed quite nice. Mashiro twinkled her eyes in a puppy dog face motion. Maybe her charm would get her out of this one.
"Just so pretty!", she exclaimed as she stared at the green hair.
Suddenly the green haired woman, made these weird lips and began talking. She wasn't even listning as she was set onto the vibrant color. After a few moments however she began to tune in what she was saying. Something about tokens? Yes, she needed four for this game, Sierra didn't mind iin the slightest.
"Don't worry i'll spot you.", she said as she held out her hand which held four tokens.
She couldn't wait to feel the beat of the music running through her, body, and soul. It was like nothing else on Earth, having fun while awing everyone else watching. She smiled as she had these thoughts coursing through her head.
Allah leans his head back to look over his shoulder and he notices the three people ahead had finished dancing. Their scores were being counted on the screen ahead of them and Allah smirks before turn towards the two girls behind him.
"It would seem that we are the next three in line. I hope that you are both ready." He winks playfully at the two of them and leans back into a more comfortable position. He may have been acting calm, but under his playful smile was a three-year-old girl squealing to play her favorite game. Of course, he would never let this side of himself be seen by anyone. He had an image to uphold, after all.
Humans: Joe Hanyo- LLS, Ruban Alexi- MLA, Allah Khazam- LLS, Naz Rollands- BLS, Nas Rollands- BLW
"Don't worry I'll spot you.", the girl said as she gave Mashiro four tokens. Mashiro thanked her and bowed slightly then quickly turned around.
The boy ahead of her was studying the machine. Numbers were rallying and the higher they got the more cheers there was. The boy who had the largest number jumped up and down. Mashiro was ready to play this game. She clenched her hands and was starting to be impatient. Luckily, her timing was good.
"It would seem that we are the next three in line. I hope that you are both ready." The wierd talking boy called Mashiro to get on the game. She stepped into the center, as the others did. She grabbed the machine firmly and searched up and down for the spot to place the tokens. She shook it and found a spot that said 4 tokens. She opponened her left palm and there were four little coins. She shoved them down the machine. Literally, shoved them. She thought the game took too much time to start up. She kicked the machine. Start? She glanced at the screen. She leaned back on the bar behind her. She was sort of lost.
"Hey, how do we start it? And what difficulty are we playing on?" Mashiro asked as she looked to the left at the girl beside her. Mashiro glanced at the screen again. It said choose a difficulty. Mashiro looked at the machine with her face screaming I'm lost. She turned back to the girl, maybe she knew what to do.
"Hey, how do we start it? And what difficulty are we playing on?"
She smield as she put the tokens in and stepped onto the machine.
"You tap the arrows to the diffuculty you would like then click this middle button to select it. Like this...", she stepped on the buttons for the girl till she got to beginner. She looked at her own arrows and clicked "Light" which was like a proficient level. She gripped the bars in anticipation and got oin the middle of the talkative boy, and the confused girl. She grew a smile and spoke to them both,
"I hope you guys are ready for this!", she squealed with excitement.
Allah was always ready for a good performance: He never aimed to disappoint and always put at least 75% effort into everything. The beginner settings weren't really going to be his first choice, but it was not like he mind. It seemed like they were just beginners themselves so it wouldn't be fair for him to select a more experienced setting; it would most likely rob them of the love for the game.
The teen leaned his head to the side and smirked. Since the settings were already picked, he took it upon himself to find a good song to dance to. This machine looked like it had been custom-made for this very arcade. Along with the standard-set songs, there were a lift of songs that weren't regular to the platform. Upon further study, Allah concluded that these were, in fact, specially designed songs to fit the soundtracks of some of the games in the arcade.
He smirked as he scrolled through the custom songs until one particular beat grabbed his attention. He stopped, passing by that song, and scrolled back to it. "Mortal Combat Theme." was the name of the highlighted song and the sample music began to play. Something caught his interest in this song as he listened to it, then he looked down towards the two girls and gave a pleasant smile.
"If we all agree on this song then you may proceed with hitting the start button." Even though he was smiling at both of them, he was speaking mostly towards the green-haired woman seeing as she was having the most trouble out of the group. He felt as though he should take it upon himself to make her feel more included. "Once starting, prepare yourself and relax. This is a game that cannot be won with tense emotions and hasty maneuvers. Take time to get a feel as the beat serenades your body and let the music, not the mind, guide you."
It was a normal thing for Allah to speak as he did. His mother was a gypsy after all, so her language and speech patterns directly transferred to him since she was who he spent most of his early life with. He didn't mind that people thought he was strange because of the way he talked. He found pride in this because it made him feel like he was closer with his mother,
Humans: Joe Hanyo- LLS, Ruban Alexi- MLA, Allah Khazam- LLS, Naz Rollands- BLS, Nas Rollands- BLW
