The Reaper

@doctorgneiss​

“Oh, that one was close.”

“Unless you were trying to hit the pins, of course.”

Not that he’s one to talk, considering his game is steadily declining as he nurses his way through yet another drink.

“The next one will be a strike and then you’ll be owing me an apology, Jade!” Never mind that he’d probably need to make the rest of his game all strikes to catch up, even with Jade’s increasing discoordination – Saphir had a plan.

When he returned to their table for in-between round drinks, he brought one of the balls with him.

@doctorgneiss

“Now I don’t know how much you know about me, but one of the first things you’re gonna have to learn is that I’m a little too… advanced, so I really don’t want to hear too many comments when I bring something like this to you or your peers. Most of my knowledge is a little beyond some of this archaic nonsense.”

“That in mind…” Peridot hefted the device over her head and onto the counter; a partially melted keurig. Something must have gone horribly, horribly wrong with the owner’s coffee. “I have no clue what this thing could be. Have you got any idea?”

“What happened to this?” He squints at it through his glasses for several seconds before reaching for a screwdriver. Not that there’s much left to salvage, but he can’t resist taking a look.

The lid comes off more-or-less without a fight, but the stench of burnt coffee floods from it badly enough that even Saphir cringes.

“Oh, you’re an inventor of sorts then? How lovely!” To see the sorts of things that human ingenuity could come up with- perhaps there were many terrible things that humanity could do, but there were also many lovely things. Such as the internet he mentioned- it was strange, but quite interesting. “I’m sure you could accomplish it with time and effort once you understand how it works!”

“Well, it has been something of a shock. Perhaps I’m simply too old to understand some of these new things, but they’re still all quite delightful. There’s so many I wish I could show all of these things too!”

“An inventor is one word for it. I prefer ‘genius scholar’ but I will accept your slightly less glowing term since you have sufficiently recognized my talent.”

Truly, he had grown for the better over his time here, and this was proof of it. No one could argue that.

But he still had the ever-burning need to continue to show off when he knew things that other people didn’t.

Now, hold the phone.

Sure, she had been debating on bolting at the nearest opportunity from this odd flamingo-themed villain wannabe, but now he’s said something that actually catches her attention. Noticeably so,  if the way she perks up and actually looks at him instead of trying to look at everything around them instead.

…Which she might regret, since he’s actually posing like a certain someone else she knows. It might even be less cool…not that she’d admit that. Out loud, anyway.

“Hold up…you’ve never played an actual video game before, but you made one? Like, totally coded and everything? Did you just max out your intelligence stat or something…?” A hand settles on her chin, the offer sounding…kind of good, but the skepticism weighs heavier. How can you make a video game if you haven’t even touched the marvel of one yourself?

Still…it’s not every day somebody asks you to test their stuff for free. It would be a fun experience…depending on if he was as good as it as he says. Futaba chews her bottom lip for a moment, shifting in place as she crosses her arms and closes her eyes in thought.

“I’m listening, buuuuut first things first, buster. What are we talking here? A dating sim? Classic RPG? Shoot’em up? And, also…” A dramatic pause as she adjusts her glasses. “If you want me to test these out, you better be ready for some red-hot criticism! When it comes to games, I don’t pull any punches. I’ve 100% completed VNs and clocked in more hours than you’ve been alive!”

Completely impossible, but it’s the thought that counts.

“It’s not like making a video game is hard or anything. Like I said, I had someone who described how they worked to me and I went from there.”

Was he preening? Only a little. He fluffed up the heavy scarf around his neck in a manner not unlike a pigeon.

“The first one I made was sort of a play on Breath of the Wild. Have you heard of that one?”

Less of a play-on and more of a rip-off, based on the word of an alien troll, but what Saphir knew without a doubt was that his was the superior version.

“And since then I’ve been working on one of those ‘talking simulators,’ but that’s still highly top secret; only my most trusted confidants can play it right now.” He was exactly the sort of person to make air quotes with his hands when he talked, and he did.

“One can never be too careful, Saphir.”

And Jade will continue to ignore that particular plight. There’s hardly any reason to go anywhere unarmed, whether he likes it or not. He smiles, though, when a stray balloon makes its appearance.

“Besides,”

He turns, weapon swinging, to slice through one of the lighter-colored balloons behind him.

“I daresay you could use the exercise.” 

It took a moment to peel the remains of black balloon off himself, but somehow he managed and flicked the scraps to the floor.

Saphir stood and latched onto Jade’s left arm.

“Fine! But our date is still on, and that means that you still have to romance me.” He really didn’t have to squeeze Jade’s arm after that, but he did it anyway.

“It’s quite fascinating!” She wasn’t sure she entirely understood what was going on with it, but it was still interesting. If only she could show Sorey and Mikleo something like this.

“Oh no, not me. I’m afraid technology isn’t my strength. It’s not really something we have in the same way where I’m from.” She shook her head, smiling. “It’s quite interesting, though. Perhaps because there’s nothing quite like it where I’m from, I can’t help but be intrigued.”

He chuckled. It could even be said that he chortled.

“There’s no technology here that even compares to the level of Auldrant,” he bragged. “After all, it had me as its foremost scientific mind.”

“Honestly, the only thing I want to take back with me is the internet. It’s not like it would be hard for a genius to recreate.”

Jade, on the other hand, is already on his feet and surveying the chaos around them, spear slowly materializing in his grasp. One can never quite be too prepared.

“I know this may come as a shock to you, but I daresay they do very little with your convenience in particular in mind.”

That’s when he finally turns his gaze back to his companion at the table, and then the salad in question.

“If you’d like, we can take it along for later.”

He had already forgotten about the salad.

“Jade...”

“Why did you bring that on our date?! We have talked about this!”

More accurately, Saphir had talked about this at Jade, while Jade ignored him.

“And don’t think it’s okay just because we’ve been roped into some balloon-popping minigame today! For one thing, men of our talent have better things to be doing, like engaging in intellectually stimulating conversation. In fact I was just warming up to the topic of the moon lately, and--”

“How could they do this, Jade? How could they do this in the middle of lunch?”

Indeed, the casino around them was in absolute uproar as the balloons tipped over slot machines and herded panicking people around, forcing them to run into things like the buffet, which was now mostly on the floor.

Saphir had yet to rise from his seat.

   ⭐ At least someone said it before she had to. 

She gives a thumbs-up. “Right on!”

“It is.”

Jade’s agreement is quiet, while he sets his free hand on Saphir’s head. He can have his moment to cry, that’s fine. If anything… this reaction is the confirmation Jade was looking for, that Saphir is feeling something, and not just going through the motions.

And, perhaps, confirmation that Jade is feeling some of it, too, in his more subdued way.

“…perhaps that’s the worst thing of all. That she couldn’t go on to scold more misguided souls.”

His grip on Jade’s arm was as tight as could be, but he couldn’t drain the emotions bubbling up in him through it. That would just take time. But as Jade set his hand on top of Saphir’s head, he burrowed his face harder into Jade’s shoulder.

“Do you think she’d— ” He still couldn’t finish the sentence.

The tears on his face were starting to freeze in the cold.

“… We’re staying for a few more minutes, aren’t we?”

Not far, really, just enough to lower the volume of Saphir’s enthusiam a few levels. He was certain he could feel a headache coming on. More importantly, though, there was a street vendor with sub sandwiches; it wouldn’t do to skip lunch.

Just as Saphir notices his absence, of course, is the moment he’s returning.

“I’m right here.”

He pipes up from behind him, holding out a second sandwich for him to take.

“I thought this field trip of yours could do with some catering.”

What a way to take the wind from his sails, Jade. Now he had to recover from his rage being undercut, and that gave him little else to do other than take the sandwich… well-played.

“Well, we could have lunch first. I suppose,” he grumbles. With that, he’s quick to latch onto Jade’s arm and pull him (with Rose following) in the direction of a bench. By the time they arrive and begin to eat, though, the joy at Jade having brought him a sandwich has finished undercutting his choler.

“Now, I am an extremely reasonable person, as you know, and that means I want your input on this.”

He picks off a corner of the sandwich to hand to his Clefairy.

“Do you think a net will be enough to catch one of these? It’s not too late to call over the Kaiser for the direct route, now that I think of it…”

“Hey, hey, did you hear? Microwaving a grape turns it into a ghost!” He’s confusing ‘plasma’ with ‘ectoplasm.’