[FREE] Game On! (ATTN: Osatsu)

[Karina Karamazov]

One way to unwind was by playing a game. Any kind would work as long as it was distracting and required some thought put into it. That’s why Karina headed to the game room, and was shuffling through its fine selection. It honestly surprised her at first, instantly noticing the lack of electronics when she walked in. Not that she was complaining or anything, but she would’ve thought there would be some modern time games too. Huh… but oh well. Nothing could compare to these hand crafted games.

“So beautiful and real. I wonder who made these…?”

Karina hummed in thought as she took out a chess piece. She stared at it for a while until she heard someone enter the room. She looked over her shoulder and eyed the other carefully before placing the piece back. The ballerina then twirled in place, ending it with a curtsy for the taller.

“Hello there, how do you do? You are… Osatsu, correct? What brings you here? Are you looking for a game or just checking out the rooms here?”

That may have been a lot of questions to ask someone who just walked into a room, but she couldn't help it. Taking caution is a given to her.

[Osatsu Kei]

🐧 --- The series of questions that was hurled in their general direction after the other person in the room noticed their existence was enough to warrant a slight raise of an eyebrow. It only went higher after seeing the ballerina twirl and curtsy to them, which in response, they cocked their head to the side with a smile on their face, as if it was their own personal greeting. Wow, it had been a while since they've seen someone curtsy outside of things like performances and such.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Am I being detained officer? What's with all of those questions? I'm just a simple civilian trying to exist in a suspicious building, y'know?"

A dry laugh comes from the comedian.

"No honorific for me either, Swan Lake? I'm flattered that we've already gotten close in a matter of microseconds, but, well, being friendly with people just isn't a thing for me. You're right though, I'm Ｏｓａｔｓｕ Ｋｅｉ . Try not to wear my name out at least, I do like it after all."

There's a weird echo that comes with that statement. Could be just one's imagination acting up.

Their eyes wandered over to the different games that decorated the interior of the room, with some of them taking them almost by surprise. Many of the games were ones that they hadn't seen in a long, long time. Of course, they were familiar with more of the electronic-based games now. What kind of comedian would they be if they couldn't understand the current age that they were in? In fact, what kind of teenager would they be if they were oblivious to such things.

Though in the good childhood years, they did remember having fun with some of the boardgames that they could find at garage sales. It almost made them feel something. Nostalgic, was that the word? God, they -- oh right, the questions.

"Boredom is the poison of humankind that drives people to new depths. Why would I need a reason to seek ｅｎｔｅｒｔａｉｎｍｅｎｔ out? Do you not agree?"

That was a little more darker than they had planned, but hey, that was their charm point as a comedian.

"Oh, and I'm doing ｗｏｎｄｅｒｆｕｌ. How about you?"

--- 🐧

[Karina Karamazov]

Osatsu’s first response made Karina roll her eyes and turn back around. Not because they annoyed her, but so they couldn’t see her small smirk or hear her snickering.

“Oh, but what if I am a cop? Are you ready to be arrested for your crimes?... Pfft, but really, nothing wrong with being a little inquisitive. You never know who someone might just be.”

That sounded more ominous than intended, but she hoped that the other would understand. For she too, is just a simple civilian that’s trying to exist in this unnerving place.

Now, being called Swan Lake would usually make Karina happy, and warmly smile; however, that’d only happen if they didn’t bring up no honorifics for them and they’ve ‘gotten close’. She really didn’t like that nor did she mean to do that at all. While she may have some excuse for slipping up a little, being a foreigner and all, it was still pretty embarrassing to her. She’s tried very hard to learn Japanese and not stick out too much, but here she was making a mistake. This is humiliating.!

“No no, I do not mean to imply that at all, Osatsu-san. I’m-… Please understand that I am doing my best.”

Karina made sure to put a big emphasis on Osatsu’s name. She wanted to make it clear that no, they’re wrong. She also wanted to apologize, but just the thought of that was killing her self-esteem.
Maybe she can find a way to slip them a note and avoid them for a while.

“My my, how dark… So peculiar that I would like to play a game with you, Osatsu-san. Unfortunately for you, you have piqued my interests and I just have to know more about you. Oh, but we do not have to play a game either. We can sit around and chat too. I do not mind either.”

The smaller looked over her shoulder at Osatsu expectantly. If they cared to look deeper, they'd notice glints of intensity shinning within her blue eyes.

“I am doing just peachy too.”

[Osatsu Kei]

🐧--- There's a sly smirk that appears on their face as Karina rolls her eyes and turns around, though they shrug it off with a dismissive, but amused puff of air that they let out. At her response, they playfully roll their eyes in return.

"If you were one, then I'm afraid that you'd have to duke it out with the detective in our grade for the ultimate law enforcement representation. Heh. Though, you make a good point-- but I do have to say that most people... well, don't usually open themselves up all that easily. Like oysters, if you think about it. Yum."

Now they were hungry. Dammit--

Though the sudden shift in atmosphere caught them off guard. Ah, no, not the atmosphere to say the least, but it felt like... well, there was just a sudden feeling that they've accidentally walked into awkward territory. It wasn't foreign to them-- rather, it was something that felt vividly familiar, reminding them of the days where they had threaded lightly during their career. The exact source of it was only made clear with Karina's backtracking on the name, putting the honorific back onto it as if she had done a mistake.

(There wasn't really much that they could offer her to soothe her nerves, really. It was just an honest mistake, wasn't it?)

No need to make things too awkward with an apology.

"Many other people do that too-- drop honorifics. Not an uncommon thing, really. You're doing well though, honest."

With that, they dismiss the topic at hand to focus on more interesting stuff. Enough about honorifics and that sort of junk-- this was a game room. This was the room to dismiss awkward atmospheres with a fun, and engaging game! Or well, to talk in some cases, but that all depends on the person.

"Oh? Me, catching your attention? Well, that's such a ｃｏｍｐｌｉｍｅｎｔ. You're flattering me into a flustered state, really."

They say, making no gesture or anything to back that statement up. Nor did they even seem remotely flustered at all-- just their neutral, constantly cryptic look on their face. It isn't as if she could see them at this time, so why bother? Words alone are enough to poke some fun here and there.

"I'm fine with either, but games are... well, how could anyone pass up a chance to play a game with someone else? Especially with all of this abnormal amount of free time that we all have on our hands."

A quiet pause falls upon them as a contemplative look flickers across their face, while casing their eyes to the side before looking back at the ballerina.

"...Might be a stretch, but do you perhaps know how to play shogi?"

--- 🐧

[Karina Karamazov]

She almost wanted to laugh at their response, and not just because of the oysters bit; even if that was pretty clever. Who do they take her for? A fool? She was well aware that not everyone opens up quickly. It wasn’t like she wanted entire life stories anyways, especially since she’d hate to share hers. It was more for her to determine if someone was worth her time and effort; to analyze their responses and deem them as safe or to take caution around. She hated trouble and would rather avoid it. It made her life easier.

The ballerina froze by Osatsu’s next comments out of shock. She wouldn’t be surprised if they had poked fun at her; in fact, she was expecting them to since they’re a comedian. So their reassurance that it was okay and she was doing well left her speechless. Karina didn’t respond because of that and was more than happy to move on from the subject. She was feeling way better now. Her face softened, and covered by her hand was a soft smile in gratitude.

“Hah, why, how adorable of you to be so flattered by my words.”

Sarcasm dripped from her words and was followed with a light-hearted giggle. Truthfully, she wouldn't have cared if they were actually flattered or not. She thought it was more of a statement, but she supposed it could be taken that way too.

“Shogi…? Sorry, but I do not.”

Karina hopped on her heels, scanning for the game board despite not really knowing what it looked like. She then raised a hand and motioned for Osatsu to come closer to help find it.

“However, I would love to learn how to if you have the patience to teach me. I do love trying and learning new things. I just ask you to not try to trick me and give me wrong directions. Winning every game can get pretty boring quickly, yes?”