Seli in the Square

"I guess that's a no." The other man hadn't suggested anything in all. This meant the decision was left all up the her, which was alright with her. Polite as she was, she had no issue making decisions.

"Hm. . . " making a noise aloud to clue her ally in to the fact that she was thinking. She had had plenty of things to do while alone, but now she had others to consider; she needed something that all parties would enjoy. "But," she turned to her friend, with a sudden smile on her face, "who doesn't like a game?"

"I know. We should play a game." She smiled and closed her eyes as she said this, imagining them in her head. She quickly pointed in a direction. "There are a few that way. Want to try them?"

A game? Great, an opportunity for me to make a fool of myself, ViralMan thought. Then again, it was better than trying to make random conversation with the girl. Maybe it would even be fun. He sincerely hoped so. But what kind of game would he be good at? ...what kinds of games were there in the first place?

This would have been a great time for Zeo to appear and help, but the teen was currently busy with a medical emergency. ViralMan didn't know that, but it didn't make a big difference. Swallowing his fear of screwing up, the Navi responded in the affirmative.

"A game? Sure, that would be great," said ViralMan, only semi-lying. He ran a hand through his hair and took a step forward, ready to go with Seli (or more likely follow her) wherever the games were.

"Alright then." Seli said, smiling, and trying to ignore the tone of reservation her friend gave off.

She then began walking towards the area she had pointed out before, assuming her friend would follow her. It wouldn't be a long walk, but it was a walk, so it did take some time.

Nikki could feel herself growing more bored. So she surfed the BBS while hoping her Navi would start doing something soon.

Seli made it to the aisle and pointed out a few games. "Here we are. There's a bunch of them. A water gun race, a shooting ally, ring toss, milk bottle toss; even fishing and basketball shooting games."

She pointed to them in turn, and then turned back to ViralMan. "So, what do you want to play?" she asked.

Alright, let's see. Which game am I least likely to fail at?

ViralMan banished more negative thoughts from his head and surveyed the games before him. He wasn't made for this kind of thing; of that he was sure. Ring toss and milk bottle toss? ViralMan only threw bombs, and he barely even did that. Next. Fishing and basketball? He barely knew what basketball was, but it was just another throwing game and so it was out. Fishing was a viable option; perhaps being bad at that would actually be entertaining.

Water gun race and shooting alley? That was more his style. He fired guns for what was practically a living. Then again, these little fake weapons paled in comparison to what he normally used, and that could potentially throw him off. However, of all the available games the shooting ones seemed to suit ViralMan the best. With that resolution, the indecisive Navi focused on the water gun game and made an effort to smile. "I guess that water gun game looks pretty fun," said ViralMan, actually sounding somewhat interested.

He started towards the game in question before a thought struck him. "Hmm..." he wondered. "Do these games cost money? I'm...not sure I can access any right now." ViralMan hoped Seli didn't interpret that as 'I forgot my wallet'.

Upon reaching a decision, the girl clapped her hands together and was about ready to play. It was then, however, that her friend added his addendum to his previous statement.

She thought back before answering the question. When she had been through earlier she could swear that she played a game for free. However, she definately remembered there being a sign with a fee on it. Realizing that it had probably been a gender related perk activating, she also realized that this meant they likely wouldn't be playing a game right now.

Nikki, still bored, was not planning on giving up her money for this escapade. She didn't have to say that though, as Seli knew her well enough to take that for granted.

"Yeah. They do." She said, a slightly less excited manner coming over her face and posture. She though for a moment, looking up. "Well, I guess we can't play these games." she said with a dismissive shrug. "What now?"

Her lesser level of happiness blew over and away as she considered their other options.

ViralMan was a little surprised when he himself was also disappointed in their lack of money. Just when he'd started getting interested, too. This is just typical. And Zeo isn't here to provide money... ViralMan sighed. What could they do now? It seemed like Seli had really wanted to play a game, and now she looked a lot less happy since they couldn't.

They could always go busting. One group of viruses would probably yield enough zenny to play a few games. Of course, going off by himself and leaving Seli there would be rude. He wondered whether she would mind coming. He didn't really want her to be hurt for the sake of a few games. Might as well try, I'm not going to get anywhere by doing nothing, he thought. Turning to Seli, ViralMan tried to present the proposition in the best way possible. He wasn't very good at that though, so in the end he just explained his idea.

"Well, if we need money, there's always virus busting. I'm sure one group of viruses would net us enough to play a few games," said the Navi. "Of course, it's fine if you don't want to. This could have all been avoided if my operator was paying attention to the PET..." ViralMan trailed off the last bit on a sour note. Another thought struck him then; he wouldn't be able to use chips without Zeo to send them. At the very least he'd be able to access his standard buster and other attacks. Those would just have to be enough if they decided to go.

"Virus Busting?" Seli echoed, hollow for a moment. She stood motionless for a moment, blankly staring past ViralMan as she remembered her last battle. She snapped out of it immediately, though.

Seli was aware that she hadn't quite done well in her last battle. And that she wasn't meant for battle. But she also had her friend's wants to consider. And she had lived through the last one.

She glanced up over her left shoulder before Nikki responded, seeing this cue. "Sure, it'd be better than all this boring standing you two've been doing," She said, flat and exhausted through boredom. This quote was portrayed directly too Seli, of course, on a private connection. It was because of this that Seli felt the need to explain.

"Sorry," she said, with an apologetic smile. "I was discussing it with my Operator." She sincerely hoped she hadn't looked too odd. "And sure we can do it, I'm sure it'll be," she paused briefly, looking for a word, "exciting!"

This time, though, Nikki would be there with her. And ViralMan would be too. It wuld be much better. She was sure of it. And with that, a wave of warm happiness rolled over her, replacing her worry. Once again her happiness and excitement radiated from her.

"I should warn you though, I've never been a very good fighter." she said. Nikki chuckled, to herself, at this comment. She would certainly enjoy anything more than this, and watching her helpless navi try and fight was something she couldn't even imagine. Too ridiculous.

"But if you'll put up with me, I'll do as many matches as you want." Seli continued. She meant it, too. Nikki agreed here. She wouldn't have minded the bonus cash at all. "It's like being paid. To watch a train crash. Or a sitcom. Or an action movie." she thought, unable to decide how the busting would go.

Half turning, she looked over the various portals to the other nets. She ran through the names and picked one. "Well, I can't think of a better place for trying to earn money in a fun way than a NetVegasNet." she suggested, pointing out the portal. "I mean, I've never been there. But I imagine it'd be like NetVegas, which is bright, fun, very interesting and exciting. Want to try there?"

Seli neglected to point out that the gambling theme would very much fit with what she was doing, but she did think it. She really did mean the other things she said; Neon lights and the thrill of gambling really were fun and interesting.

So she...agreed? That was a surprise. Maybe they'd be able to salvage this little gathering yet. ViralMan looked where Seli was pointing and examined the portal out of the NetSquare. NetVegas? He'd never been there, much less heard of it. Of course, it did sound more entertaining than a place like ACDC Net, so he was fine with it. He wondered if there would even be viruses in the area.

"Sure, let's go," ViralMan agreed. ViralMan had already guessed that Seli wouldn't be the best Navi to have around in a fight, but he was relatively sure it wouldn't be too much trouble to have her along. Besides, it wasn't like ViralMan intended to simply let her be attacked. With that, he began walking towards the NetVegas Net portal. A few steps into his short journey, he turned around to ensure he wasn't running off without her and made an attempt at a light smile. Being positive would help.

It'll be fine. I hope.

ViralMan had agreed that NetVegas sounded like fun. In fact, he was already walking away.

Seli smiled at him as he turned to smile to her, and jogged to quickly catch up with him. She matched his pace and followed him through the portal to NetVegas, wondering all the while what it would look like, and what lied in store for them.

((+12FXP for interaction))