Interlude: Arcade Date

When Sam saw the two people waiting outside the arcade, she broke into a run. Her path sent her plowing through a flock of pigeons, and they scattered with much indignant flapping.

Once she got through the mess, she doubled over panting. When she caught her breath, she grinned up at the two. "You guys waiting long? Sorry, the trolley was kinda late."

Ryllis shrugged. "Wasn't that long."

Jin jumped up and down. "Let's go! Let's go, Sam!"

He was wearing a striped T-shirt and shorts, while Ryllis slouched in a baggy red sweatshirt. Which made Sam blurt, "Aren't you warm in that? I mean, it looks good on you, just – "

"Tch, it's fine." Ryllis tugged at the hood. "Meg didn't have anything more comfortable."

"You don't have to wear her hand-me-downs," Sam said, pursing her lips. "I'm sure Meg wouldn't have any problem buying you clothes."

Ryllis twitched. "Not gonna depend on her charity."

"Ryllis is job hunting," Jin piped up.

"Really?" Sam said, delighted.

Sighing, Ryllis ruffled Jin's hair. "Meg says I'd make a good…'bouncer.' She'll introduce me to someone next week."

A bouncer? Sam's grin widened. Yeah, she couldn't think of a better job for Ryllis.

Only three days had passed since they'd gotten back from the beach, and already Ryllis and Jin seemed to have adjusted magnificently to life on Earth. Seeing them so happy and comfortable made a warm, floaty feeling fill Sam's chest, until she wanted to sing and dance on the spot.

Well, something even better awaited. "Come on," she chirped, grabbing Ryllis' hand. "Let's go in."

"Arcade! Yay!" Jin cried.

"What's this 'arcade' thing again?" Ryllis asked, sounding skeptical, though she made no move to break out of Sam's grip.

"I told you, it's a place where people play games! They're loads of fun."

"Like the Havoc Den!" Jin said, skipping at her other side.

Ryllis' eyebrows crawled toward each other. "You are way too young for that place. Maybe this isn't such a great idea."

Sam realized Ryllis might not be getting an entirely accurate impression. "No, no, it's not like a casino or anything like that. No gambling. It's all-ages! You'll see! This one has all the latest rhythm games from Japan!"

By now, they'd reached the doors. Cold air blasted out when they slid open, along with the combined music of hundreds of arcade machines and laughing, chattering people.

Ryllis actually flinched like she'd been hit in the face. She hesitated at the threshold, but Jin had already hopped inside. Even in his glamour, he moved as quickly as a fox.

Which seemed to give Ryllis the motivation to come inside. Before Jin could dash off, she grabbed the back of his shirt and dragged him close.

Jin didn't protest; he was staring at the colorful lights, the gaudy machines, the milling crowds with huge eyes and a partly open mouth. Ryllis had on a far more dignified expression, of course, but her rapid blinking made it clear she was just as overwhelmed.

"You guys wait here." Sam spun to face the siblings. "I'll refill my card, okay? Then we can play whatever games we want. Well, forty dollars' worth at most. But that should be enough!"

Jin nodded; Ryllis just blinked some more. Eh, good enough. Sam skipped off to the nearest kiosk, though she kept an eye on the siblings.

She needn't have worried, because they didn't move an inch. They were still staring around the arcade when she came back.

Sam started to worry the sensory overload might be too much for them. They'd probably never been anywhere so crowded in their lives.

Clearing her throat, she said, "So, um...where do you wanna go first?"

Maybe she shouldn't have asked; wasn't like they knew what any of the games were. But the instant she asked, Jin blinked and perked up. Sam could practically see his tail wagging.

"Look, they're dancing!" he cried, pointing at the DDR machine.

"You wanna dance too?" Grinning, Sam grabbed Jin's hand. "See look, this one's easy. You just have to step on the arrows at the right time."

"Ooh!" Jin bounced on the balls of his feet.

Since the machines were occupied, they watched the current dancers for a bit – a couple of ungodly talented teenagers in stylish street clothes. Which made Sam kind of worry they were giving Jin an unrealistic view of the game.

Sure enough, Jin ended up barely stumbling his way through the easiest song. He seemed a lot more interested in jumping around the pad and making the arrows light up in random patterns than following what was on the screen. Which seemed like a perfectly valid way to play, Sam thought. She gave it a try herself, which ended with them rolling around giggling while the screens displayed big old F scores.

Obviously it didn't take long for them to finish. Breathless, sweaty, they met back up with Ryllis, who'd been standing back watching with folded arms.

"You wanna go next?" Sam wheezed, slapping Ryllis' shoulder. "I bet you'd be great at it."

Ryllis looked scandalized. "No fucking way."

Well, it wasn't like Sam had no experience going to the arcade with party poopers. Try as she might, she'd never been able to get Theo interested in the games. And this time she had Jin with her, who had enough enthusiasm for ten people.

Sam couldn't remember the last time she'd had this much fun at the arcade. If she went with Theo, he'd usually give up halfway, pleading exhaustion, and though Sam would keep playing on her own she always felt something was missing. But Jin ran from game to game as if he'd never have enough time to try them all out.

Shooting, ball toss, air hockey, rhythm games – the morning passed in a mad whirl of activity. Through it all, Ryllis followed and kept a watchful eye. Though her face remained grumpy as ever, Sam didn't need their contract to sense the contentment – and relief – bubbling just beneath the surface.

It must have been a long time since she'd seen Jin so happy. And by extension, that meant it must have been a long time since she'd been so happy.

They were making their way down the arcade from front to back, so eventually they reached the claw machines at the far end. Sam saw a familiar cartoon sheep smiling from the nearest machine, and before she could stop herself she let out an unearthly squeal.

"Oh my god! It's the DoDo Dreams series! I thought I'd never see it in the States! Awesome!"

With that, she bolted for the machine. It was all she could do not to fall to her knees and pray to whatever kind deity oversaw Mashuparo claw machines when she laid her eyes upon the pastel-colored plushies happily nesting inside.

Jin popped up by her side, his eyes round. "What are these, Sam?"

"They're Mashuparo plushies!" Sam jumped at the chance to introduce a newcomer to the lore. "See, that's Mashuparo the sheep, he's sitting on a cloud 'cause it's the DoDo Dreams series. And that's Tamapopo the tadpole, and omigosh, that's sleepy Pacha the alpaca, lookit his little nightcap!"

As she babbled, she had the vague sense Ryllis was staring at her like she'd lost her mind. Ha, she didn't know what she was missing out.

"So how do you play this?" Jin asked, tapping the buttons. Since Sam hadn't paid yet, nothing happened.

"You use these buttons to control that claw," Sam explained. "Then you grab one of the plushies with the claw. Easy, right? Which one do you want? I'll get it for you!"

"Hmm…." Jin tilted his head, deep in thought. "I like this one." He pointed at a mint-green Pacha. "This one too!" A coral red Krokey, Mashuparo's grumpy crab friend. "It looks like Ryllis!"

"It does not," Ryllis said loudly from behind.

Sam laughed so hard she almost choked on her own spit. When she recovered, she wiped the tears from her eyes and peered carefully at Krokey. Yes indeed, that indignant face with sharply angled brows was a dead ringer for Ryllis' current expression.

"Okay, let's get you Krokey!" she declared, swiping the card.

It was all well and good to say so, but Sam had forgotten one crucial fact: she sucked at claw machines. Hard. The claw barely managed to brush the Tamapopo to Krokey's left before she ran out of moves and it went whirring back in place at the top of the machine.

"Aww," Sam groaned.

"Do it again," Jin insisted, so Sam did. This time, at least she succeeded in touching Krokey.

Undaunted, Jin said, "Let me try."

Sam swiped for him, then joined Ryllis in silently cheering him on. No, Ryllis' face remained as grouchily Krokey-like as always, but she couldn't hide the tension simmering through their contract.

Jin brushed the Pacha to Krokey's right. He bumped into Krokey, who wobbled a bit. Jin gasped.

'Whirr.' The claw went sailing back up.

Sighing, Jin slumped his shoulders. "This game is hard."

Ryllis snorted. Then before Sam could wonder what was going on, she marched forward and put her hands on the buttons.

"Hey," she called over her shoulder. "Swipe the card."

"No way?" Sam clapped her hands. "You're gonna play?"

"This can't possibly be that hard. Got tired watching you guys make fools of yourselves."

"Yeah! Ryllis is the best!" Jin cried, hopping from foot to foot. Ryllis turned away with a huff, but Sam didn't miss the red tinge at the tips of her ears.

Sam paid up, and Ryllis leaned over the machine with an aura of intense concentration, like this was another battle. Sam might have laughed, but she was just as tense as Ryllis, barely daring to breathe as she watched her familiar work the buttons.

The claw descended. It closed around the top of Krokey's head, then tilted forward. Krokey went tumbling, hitting the bottom of the machine with the most satisfying thump in the world.

Ryllis reached into the vent and retrieved Krokey, dangling her by one of her legs. "Here you go."

"Whoa! Ryllis, you're awesome!" Sam clapped so hard her hands went numb.

"I told you, right?" Jin said, beaming with pride.

"Like I said, it isn't hard." Ryllis sounded exasperated, but there was no hiding the smug edge to her voice. "You want another one? I'll get it."

"You would?" Only the tiny fraction of self-preservation instinct she possessed prevented Sam from launching herself at Ryllis right then and there. "Oh, you're the best, Ryllis! Then, then, then, could I get Pacha?"

"Which one's that? I don't know their names." Ryllis rolled her eyes.

"The alpaca! The green one in the hat!"

"Sure thing." Ryllis proceeded to knock Pacha off his perch, smooth as butter.

The instant Pacha tumbled out of the machine, Sam grabbed him and kissed him right in the middle of his fluffy face. Oh, how she'd dreamed of owning this plush! And now he was in her hands, all thanks to Ryllis. Sam felt like she might explode from gratitude.

The card had enough for just one more go, which gave Sam an idea. "Hey, Ryllis, which one do you want?"

"What?" Ryllis' eyebrow twitched. "I don't want any of them. What's even the use of these things?"

"They're cute!" Jin declared.

'Yes!' Sam thought with a mental fist-pump. 'A fellow connoisseur of the cute! Impeccable taste, good sir!'

Ryllis did not look quite so convinced. "Uh-huh."

"Come on, don't you think it's fun?" Sam tried another tactic. "You totally want to go again. I can tell."

Ryllis scowled harder, and for a moment Sam wondered if she'd pushed too hard. But then Ryllis snatched the card from her.

Wide-eyed, Sam watched as Ryllis maneuvered the claw for a third time like she'd been doing this her entire life. Her heart jumped into her throat when the claw nudged a pink Mashuparo.

As Mashuparo tumbled, Ryllis nodded, short and sharp. It was such a brief movement it must have been involuntary – which delighted Sam more than anything else today. No mistaking it, Ryllis was proud of herself too.

Once she retrieved Mashuparo, Ryllis held him gingerly as if she wasn't quite sure what to do with him. Sam was certain she'd never seen anything so adorable.

"So that one's your favorite?" she asked, sidling up next to Ryllis.

"Tch." Ryllis gave Mashuparo an idle toss. "I recognize it, that's all."

Sam had not expected to hear this. "You do?"

"When you gave me that...weird chewy food." Ryllis cast Sam a sidelong glance. "This one was on the bag."

Sam couldn't contain it any longer. Screeching like a pterodactyl, she dive-bomb tackled Ryllis in a giant bear hug.

Which sent them both tumbling to the floor. While Ryllis cursed and flailed, Jin decided to join in and jumped on top of them. The noise attracted staff attention, who promptly kicked the three of them out of the arcade.

But it was fine, because Sam had already gotten everything she wanted.