II.

Her enthusiasm made him turn his head down, snort quietly in amusement, and then turn his path away from the originally-planned beach. “We’ll go there. I would also enjoy seeing something I haven’t.”

“There are similar animals in the other wards. You can find cats with radios for heads in Fibonacci, and the other two I haven’t seen.” It couldn’t be the foxes in Cotes, unless mechanical parts weren’t necessary?

“What kind of machines do you normally work with?”

How exciting! Being able to see what sort of dogs these were was probably one of the good things about being trapped in this city. Maybe they were like real dogs? Eager for walks?

“Cats too?? Goodness! Do they travel between wards? I hope we get to see them!”

It felt unlikely. Maybe her presence could bring something new to the scene, but it was surely going to be the same sight as ever.

“You… would like one?” He wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly. She could have missed a word. “One of the tablet dogs, or a normal one?” 

It was just difficult to believe someone would want to keep one of the unusual pups upon hearing about them. It was possible they didn’t have the normal drawbacks of a fully flesh-and-blood dog, but also possible they had unexplained other needs… 

“Well, any dog would do, really! I mean, as long as it’s a nice one, and doesn’t... bite....” She’s a very mechanical girl, so she could deal with a robot dog, and her experience with Koromaru has prepared her for a regular dog, so she wasn’t really losing!

He shook his head. “The mall isn’t particularly close to the beach, but there is a boardwalk. We might be on an island, but for the moment we can only see this city.” The coast being unreachable in other areas, and the haze being on land there, did suggest there was more to it. The locals wouldn’t budge on information about the rest of the space around them. 

“We can head toward the beach for now,” he said, and his feet moved to follow his words. It wasn’t like he had something more useful to show her. The haze was as visible there as anywhere, and he didn’t plan on attempting a demonstration of crossing it. 

The dogs he didn’t know, but he did wish he had something more informative on that. “I haven’t been able to judge how real the dogs might look with their electronic modifications. I don’t know why they are modified, either.” It couldn’t function as a tourist attraction if everyone was just forced here already.

Oh, boo. She’d wanted to see the ocean! It’d been so long since she had, after all.

“I see.... Maybe if we do go to the beach, we would see something new?” Maybe it was like that video she saw on the internet once, about someone in Iceland (?) telling his cousin about how dark it is, and that would be the beach here. Except this city had light.

“Oh, I hope we see what these dogs look like! I would like one if I could!”

“‘Cause I’m hungry, of course. And they’re small, so I need a lot to fill my tummy! What else would you do with fish you catch?”

It was obvious, even to Threo, which meant it should’ve been super obvious to the other girl. Unless this other girl was even stupider than she was…

Her fish catching technique didn’t impress at all. Apparently it was a scoop, not a net? This made less and less sense the more she played it. Maybe it was supposed to be one of those boring tests of skill?

“What, so I have to be… uh, what’s the word… I have to be weak? I don’t know if I could even pretend to do that. I’m super strong, you know.” Paying for another scoop, Threo pressed the handle into the other girl’s hands. “Here, just show me! We’ll split all the fish we catch, okay? Fifty-fifty, even! I’ll pay for you!”

Fuuka could only blankly look at the girl. “Th-these aren’t the type of fish you can eat....”

When this was all done and said for, Fuuka was just going to feed the girl. There was no way she was going to let her eat them. She probably wouldn’t get full anyway!!

“Well, it’s more you just have to be patient! These fish are really fast and small so they can get away faster.” She started a bit as a new scoop was placed into her hands. Now she was feeling the pressure. As she held the scoop, Fuuka couldn’t really remember if she’d actually caught one or not....

@oracleabuser

It was a surprise to receive a message from Fuuka asking to spend the third day of the festival together. Normally he would expect a call, but it would seem this time has caused many to be more comfortable with texting instead. Not that he was complaining, but it was a difference to him. He was glad to hear from her again, as she was his only real lifeline to home, So of course the boy said yes to her, and the duo set up a time in mind. 

Minato was the second one to arrive, but he was used to this by now. After waking up and throwing on something somewhat fashionable (and warm) the boy was only two minutes late. It was a miracle he could get anywhere on time! Thankfully the festival was in his district, so getting to the meeting location wasn’t too difficult.

“Fuuka!” He spotted her before she noticed him, and decided to call out. “Sorry for being late, the festival brings out the worst traffic.” He was only partly lying. “So, what do you want to do today?” Personally, he was hoping to release a few lanterns for the people they had lost recently. “I’m not really picky about where we go, but I do want to try the games, and maybe some other stuff like the food stands.”

It’d been a long time since she’d hung out with Minato and everyone at SEES! Unfortunately, she could only reach Minato at the moment, seeing as how every time she decided she wanted to search, they’d always either disappear or end up in a different area than where she was, so she’d let them come to her. Or at least, approach them if they were in the area. It was too much effort to run.

Because there was a festival happening, she thought that maybe this was a good time to have a little bit of fun while she was trapped in this place, and sent a quick message to Minato. He replied rather quickly, and they decided on a place to meet up at.

Excited, Fuuka threw on some warm clothes, and briskly walked to the meetup. She’d be early, but that was just how she was when she was meeting with someone who enjoyed her company as much as he did. She didn’t wait too long, luckily, and Minato approached her not too soon after her arrival.

She agreed, but it occurred to him then that he wasn’t sure what a teenage girl would want to see. He was leaning toward many’s interest: the waterside, a view out as far as the impassible haze. If she prioritized escape, it made the most sense. But if she already felt trapped and wanted a distraction… probably not. Could be the mall, in that case.

“I’m aware of much of what this ward contains, but I haven’t seen most of it up close.” He drew closer to the front doors, adding, “There is… as much ground to cover as in the last city.” There was likely too much to see in just one ward for most, before they disappeared. 

Holding this one open as well as long as he’d need to pass it to her hand, he offered her the proper information. “The sea is closest here, if you can call it that. There are also shopping areas, like a mall. The park with half-electronic dogs I haven’t visited at all, but they might be unsettling to you.” He couldn’t even remember what electronic was attached where when so many things were connected to the internet in this year.

“What would you like to look for?”

“Hmm...” She looked to the side in thought, figuring that if he’d been to the other city, he’d be just as clueless as she. If it was as big as the last one, then they were in for a long day.

“The sea? So is this more like an island than a city?” Juno didn’t have that much range. Not quite yet, at least. “Does that mean there’s at least a seaside mall and a boardwalk?” Fuuka couldn’t remember the last time she went to something like that. Was it at Tatsumi Port? That felt so long ago now....

Quickly leaving the elevator as to not make him lose feeling in his arm, she stood outside it, waiting for him. “Half-electronic dogs? Do they look like real dogs?” She’d only dealt with real dogs. Like Koromaru.

Ideally, she’d like to look for her friends, but she wouldn’t trouble him with that. Juno could do that for her while she tried to learn about the city. Or island, whatever the heck it was.

“I see… and what recipes did you work on there? How many ingredients, on average, did you work with? And how many steps to those recipes were there? I do not need anything exact, of course, but the fewer steps and ingredients there are, the easier it is to do it.”

“For instance, um, cheesy rice is very easy to do! Would you like to know how to make that?”

“O-oh! Um.... I worked on just rice balls the whole time... My friend made a lot of other different things....”

Belial looks at her current score, then back to her, then back to the score, before turning one last time to face her again. Maybe she didn’t know that the object was to get more points, ergo winning prizes.

“You say that but, one of us has a cartload of prizes and the other has … yet to actually complete one of these games with a passing score.”

He plays with his boa absentmindedly again, what kind of fun could he squeeze out of this one. How angry could he get her over these games?

“I can help though, if you want me too. Or maybe, maybe if you ask rrrrreally nicely I’ll give you a prize and you can pretend you won it yourself, how’s that?”

Again, she puffed her cheeks. “You also say that but only one of us can physically play this game better!” Being a support character doesn’t give her any more points.

And would he just stop playing with his stupid fur scarf!! Ooh, she just wanted to take it and stomp all over it. Get some sand in it.

Threo’s eyes glittered as she leaned in. “So that means you do know how to play this game, right? They said you get to keep all the fish you catch, and since they’re so small, I need a bunch!” Because she was very hungry at this point, and her frustration was only making it worse.

“But I gotta catch ‘em myself, otherwise there’s no point! If you know how to do it, then you gotta help me! I’ll do anything! Pleaseeeeee!” She tugged at the girls’ sleeve, hoping her desperation was apparent enough.

“Here, I’ll show you how I’ve been doing it, and then you can tell me what I’m doing wrong!” Threo grabbed her new scoop and dunked it into the water, dragging it in a beeline straight for a clump of fish. The paper lasted only a second or two before it tore open, allowing the fish to simply swim through.

“See! Look what happened!” she said, jabbing a finger towards the water. “What kind of net is this if you can’t even catch fish in it!”

“Umm.... Why do you need a bunch?” She could only think of the worst. The worst being that these fish were going to meet their demise in between this girl’s teeth.

Maybe she could... show the girl how to catch them but then offer to buy some food for her?? Did she have enough money for that?? She didn’t want these fish to be eaten. Please.

When she showed Fuuka how she was using the scoop, she stared blankly at it, hole and all.

@oracleabuser

“This game is just impossible!”

Threo grumbled, but nevertheless handed her ‘tellofone’ back to the stall owner for another go. It had looked like a tasty food stall, but apparently you had to catch the fish first. They weren’t even that big, but it was a matter of pride now. She had to catch some goldfish or die trying.

Another paper scoop, another try. The game seemed simple enough, but these little paper scoops just weren’t strong enough to withstand Threo’s awesome power. A single swipe tore the paper, again, and again, and again.

“How does anyone win this? Why can’t I just use my hands? This sucks!”

Still, she let the vendor scan her tellofone again. She didn’t even want a fish anymore, but it was a matter or pride at this point.

Finally, someone else came and stood alongside her, and Threo wasted no time. “Hey, hey! Have you played this game before? I’ve been here forever, and I can’t get a single fish! I think I’m being cheated!”

What timing Fuuka had, arriving to this place just before a festival! There were so many neat stalls, fun games (that were a little more physically taxing than she’d like), people in cute yukata (or not. yukata) doing fun things.... Overall it was just a fun time!

Browsing the stalls, she heard a frustrated voice at the goldfish stall nearby. Investigating the commotion, she found a small (?) girl with horns (???) and multiple broken scoops. Maybe she was being too rough on the fragile scoops....

“A lot of things look easier on paper than in practice. For instance, a political system that appeals to all the citizens it applies to.”

That was definitely a relevant topic to bring up.

“How much experience do you have with cooking? We should start with something in your comfort level.”

“W-what--”

Before she could ask, the blonde girl changed the subject.