"Hold it Shampoo! You're saying that you bought a game from a mystery shop there wasn't any sign of the day before and has since disappeared?" Nabiki asked slowly and carefully, making sure she had heard the purple-haired Amazon correctly. "Doesn't that seem a just little suspicious to you at all?"
"Shops open and shops close. Nothing suspicious about that. Is normal for most places. Happen all the time," Shampoo told them, shrugging her shoulders slightly. "Is no wonder that shop couldn't stay in business for long with its too too low prices. Game cost only a bit of change which was lucky cause Shampoo only had a pocketful of change with her that day."
"Hold it, you’re saying he asked for exactly the amount of money you had on your person when you walked into the store," Akane pointed out, beginning to see where her sister was going with this train of thought. "You didn't even have a chance to tell him how much you could spend before he named his price, didn't you?"
"So?" Shampoo asked still not seeing the point. "That no mean that game is evil magical artefact, could be totally harmless."
Ukyou meanwhile had knelt down next to the game careful not to touch it and was reading of the side of the box: "So much fun that you won't be able to stop until it’s finished. Also it promises to 'suck you right in' here on the box," Ukyou argued standing up again and stepping back, keeping a close eye on the box as if it contained a snake. “Does that sound safe to you, especially when it was bought in Nerima?”
"You have point," the Amazon complained huffily as she packed the box back in to everyone's relief. “So how about my suggestion then," Kodachi asked.
"Well, I can't really see what sort of harm a computer game might do," Nabiki had to admit reluctantly, having never encountered fusions of magic and technology.
Akane carefully studied the still unopened box of the "Virtual Virgin Smackdown Tournament Alpha" game for any warning signs of evil magic.
"It does seem to be legit if a bit hentai," she concluded reading the description on the back. "Is there a special reason why the closes of the all female cast have to get ripped of during the fight? And I think it would be totally uncalled for to do this kind of thing to somebody just because they have lost a fight...." "Shampoo think that Rose Girl forgot controllers," Shampoo cautioned.
"No I didn't," Kodachi told them. "This is the new 'GameStation X-Treme' it supports Virtual Synaptic Control and the game is on of the first that takes advantage of that. You control the game with the help of these electrodes. You put them on the side of your head. They promise total immersion in the game environment."
"Wait, haven’t you tested it at all before this?" Nabiki asked, suddenly getting a tingle on the back of her neck. "Umm… No I didn’t," Kodachi admitted. "But what could possibly go wrong with it? They surely wouldn't have started beta-testing the Virtual Synaptic Control system if it wasn't perfectly safe."
"Shampoo suddenly don't think that this is such a good idea," Shampoo declared.
"No offence Kodachi, but I am afraid I have to agree with her," Akane added.
“Also, the weather report DID call for a storm later on tonight," said Ukyou. "Maybe we ought to save Kodachi's game for some other occasion, when the power won't go out on us mid-game."
"Ah, that is acceptable!" said Kodachi, accepting this explanation as to why no one wanted to play. Which wasn't true of course, but it allowed her to save face.
The door to the dojo then opened and the last member of the group showed up. “Oh my! I hope I’m not too late to join in…”
“Nope, we still haven’t picked a game, Kasumi so you’re ok!” Nabiki responded. “We’re down to just three choices: some collectable card game that Ukyou had in her attic, the classics of spin-the-bottle or truth-or-dare that Akane suggested or my suggestions of a normal game of cards...”
“Well, Shampoo no can see anything really bad happen from playing truth-or-dare or spin-the-bottle," the Chinese girl mused. "No can see anything good or exciting happen either."
"Well, as long as we don't involve any alcohol anyway," Kodachi added. "After a few drinks something may be far more likely to happen."
"Something really bad or something exciting?" Akane wanted to know. "No wait, never mind. I think I know what you mean! Scratch my idea then…"
“Just two games left,” Nabiki noted. “How about we put it to a vote? Ukyou, would you please stand over in the left half of the dojo. I’ll stand in the right half. The rest of you go and stand beside the person who suggested the game you want to play!”
With this there’s a brief shuffle around in the dojo as each girl makes a choice. When things have settled down, the winner is clear… It’s just Nabiki and Akane for a normal card game, while the rest of the girls have gone for Ukyou’s choice.
“Well, looks like you’re the winner, Ukyou!” Nabiki stated. “You know, now that I think about it, this might not be so bad… It’ll be different at least! Right, how about we see the cards then?
“Sure thing!” Ukyou responded, opening up the large briefcase that she had brought to reveal a massive amount of…
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(Posted Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:43)
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