Chapter Text
**Ranma**
The fluorescent neon and bright screens cut through the dimly lit arcade like the beacon of a lighthouse.
Daisuke started running his mouth, "And Saotome steps UP to the plate, a lot of tension here from the crowd, can he make it. Only one ball left, one skee ball to ball the skee." He held up a microphone to his mouth, one that wasn't actually there. "If he makes it on this 50 it will be his best streak of 13 perfect games in a row. CAN he do it?!"
I put on a determined face, full of moxie as I grabbed the last cheap-feeling ball that was ejected from the machine. I stared down my target, letting the mood be set by Daisuke's mock-sports commentary. Hiroshi looked on with bated breath, his (and by extension our) now empty token cup sat next to us. It was all on this. Skeeball got us the biggest, most consistent ticket haul, and the three of us combined (mostly spearheaded by MY efforts~) had almost enough to get us our big score. All I had to do was do what I do best. Act under pressure, and keep it cool. I looked over at Dai, who gave me a smarmy smile and a nod, and gave him a smug smile right back, and nodded. I whipped my head over to Hiro, and he gulped, we made eye contact, and he started to fidget with the hoard of tickets we'd been collecting.
"I got this." I assured him. "Don'tchu worry. We'll have that big boy in no time flat."
He suddenly snapped out of something, "Oh! Uh, yeah! Mhm!" And made eye contact with me.
There was a beat.
I simply tutted, "Ye of little faith." Turned my head and cranked my dominant hand back, taking in a deep breath to clinch that sucker right in the 50 pocket.
Suddenly, Hiroshi must've been feeling a lot more revitalized, as he yelled into his tiny cup, adding a stupid muffle to his voice. "GO FOR IT RANMAAAA!"
I had shot my arm forward, his stupid sounding warbly voice made me let out a *snrrk* as I undershot, and only got a 40.
"Booooooo." Daisuke said, some genuine disappointment mixed in his lighthearted ribbing. "Duuuuude you just let down the WHOLE stadium bro, the WHOLE stadium. They're crying dude. Dude they're sobbing and weeping bro."
"It ain't my fault! Hiroshi had ta do his stupid bit RIGHT at clinch time!" I retorted gesturing over at the offending boy.
Daisuke's flow was barely interrupted, "Dude ohhhh dude there's one that just said they're giving up all sports because of you. Because they got let down so bad. Ohhh dude someone put their life SAVINGS on that ohhhh jeeze that really sucks to be you man."
I rolled my eyes, "I hate you sometimes man."
"Me?!" He balked in mock surprise. "Dude what did I do!? YOU'RE the one that made little Shuichi give up on his baseball career! Oh- and- oh what's this? A fortune teller was in the crowd and apparently Shuichi would've won a match and donated his winnings to cure cancer. Damn dude. Now cancer's still around. Do you have anything you wanna say for yourself"
Hiroshi solemnly raised a hand, "No, no, that one's on me. That's my bad."
The lil dickhead crossed his arms, "Well, Hiro? Got anything you wanna say to them?"
I let those two muck about while I crouched down and started to count the tickets from the machine. I purposefully ignored my score.
Hiro shook his head, "Yeah... that uh- that well that it's my b."
I rolled my eyes at the two chucklenuts, focused in making sure I didn't lose count, just in case the machine accidentally let a few extra slip out.
Daisuke loudly and obnoxiously slurped at his drink as he watched.
"Awright, if I didn't lose track..." I scooped the last of them up, wrapping them in a bundle and handing the wad off to Hiroshi, who had it join the rest of its companions. "Then... I think we should have enough? Maybe?"
I felt a familiar fist bump me on the shoulder as Daisuke spoke up, tone full of reassurance, "Aw you got this man, you're a real math whiz, I trust you." Though it was entirely mocking.
Hiroshi nodded excitedly as he stared, practically drooling and sparkle-eyed at the absolute unit of tickets we'd collected. "Ohhhohoh I really hope it's enough... I've had my eye on the golden treasure since that thing hit the shelf."
Me and Daisuke both nodded, an undeniable truth being spoken to the chorus of our hearts. The three of us, warriors coming to collect our loot, had went to the prize corner and lo and behold, there the sight of our conquest sat. Underneath the near perfect spherical item had that number we'd been trying to meet for more than two months now. Fifteen hundred tickets.
The big heaping spaghetti-pile of tickets sagged on the counter as Hiroshi put the full girth of the paper studs down in front of the man at the counter.
Hiroshi's voice quivered with excitement, "Gang, I think we've done it."
A smirk drew itself on Daisuke's face, I couldn't really hear whatever he said over the ticket machine.
"Sh-shut up dude!" Hiroshi replied, a rosy blush smattering itself onto him, it made the very few freckles he had pop out.
I simply whumped both of their heads down onto the counter to get them to shut up, "So, what is it? What is it what is it what is it!?"
The clerk popped his bubblegum, and with a dead look in his eyes, he grabbed the paper from the machine. "fourteen hundred ninety-five."
Just five tickets!??
My face sank, and I watched my friends around me deflate.
A whine left Hiroshi's lips "But... My Pac-y boyyyy..."
All of us looked up at the magnificent item. A large, wonderful plushie of the hottest game character on the market. Pac-Man. It was about half the size of Hiroshi, and a third the size of Daisuke, which meant that right now, in my girl form, it was basically two thirds of me. We agreed to put our winnings together to get it, and since I did the most work for it, it'd get to stay with me. The other two would get shared custody, as we all had Nabiki define in fine print. She went on record saying it was the "Dumbest use of a favor I've ever seen", but who needs her?
I was so excited too, I was gonna brag about this SO hard, and considering how fuck-off huge it is, I thought it'd be nice to hold it in girl form and go 'waka waka' while I get engulfed in it. Y'know, just a little. As a treat.
Girl form...
The one I'm in...
Right...
now...
I fluttered my eyelashes at the man behind the counter, and felt like running a little twist on a ususal classic. I wrapped my arms around Hiroshi's sadboy waist. "Oh pwease sir~! Me and my boyfriend here are on a date and well... he pwomised me that for our annivewsawy!" I gave him the biggest, wettest, pleadingest, most pathetic girly eyes I could muster. "I-I'd remember you forever if you just let us have the silly uhm, uhm, puck man! He's like, sooo cute! Pweeeease?"
The ticket-man blinked, and a little bit of life came from the back of his dead eyes, and he blushed and smiled, averting his eyes, they lingered past my boobs (because of course they did) and he puffed his chest out a little bit. "It's actually PAC-man. And... uhm, yeah! I could, well, I mean... just this once..."
I looked up at Hiroshi, to see how well he was selling it. He was sweating, his eyes were shooting down at me with embarrassment, confusion, and flustered bewilderment, he was clamming up, he was trying to not breathe too hard. I watched his blush get beet red, and he hover-hands around me, unsure of where to put them as I glomped further, and in a display more for the clerk than anything, pushed my boobs against Hiroshi. He squeaked slightly.
He was...
he was...
playing the PERFECT role as a cute loser boy who the clerk didn't feel intimidated by, perfect, I knew I could count on him.
Moments passed and the large plushie was in my hands, I held it triumphantly! I let a big ear-splitting grin wring across my face, and Hiroshi kept his character up by looking at me with funny eyes.
Y'know, the eyes you make when someone makes you feel funny.
The three of us walked out of the arcade with gusto as we chanted the sacred phrase.
"WAKA WAKA WAKA WAKA WAKA WAKA WAKA WAKA!"
"WAKAWAKWAKWAKWAKAWAKAWAKAWAKAWAKAWAKA!"
"WAka WAka WAka WAka WAka WAka WAka WAka!"