Emi - 32-bit Breaks

In a hopeless situation, even the oddest of solutions can be the ones that work out.

Emi's wheelchair-bound state, and her accompanying distant nature, has been on my mind every minute of every day.  I almost want to say that I should do nothing and let her deal with it, but that doesn't seem right, either.  I do want to help her out, I just have no idea how, and I've exhausted myself trying to get the answer out of her.

During this most typical of afternoons, I'm sitting on my bed, blasting through a report about the speed of light so fast I'd probably be able to use the act itself as a point of reference in this very paper.

Just as quickly, my concentration is broken by a sharp knock at the door.  I recognize the pace of the sound as Shizune's.  Better not keep her waiting.

Sure enough, I open the door to see Shizune standing there, and Misha next to her, holding a weighty-looking box.

Shizune begins signing a lengthy sentence to me.  Misha is idly looking down and thumbing the box as she holds it, until Shizune jabs her in the shoulder.

"Ow!  Huh~?  Oh, right~.  Hisao, we got a giift for you!  It's a... uhh... how do I pronounce that again~?  Puulay... laystay-"

She cuts herself off and makes a huge smile, shaking the box in her hands.  "It's a video game system, Hisao~!"

I wait for Misha to finish covering her slip-up with a hearty laugh, then speak up.  "You're giving me video games?  Why?"

"We got some new machines for the rec room in the girl's dorm, and we figured you liked video games.  You do, don't you~?"

"Well... no.  Not really."  Okay, I'll admit, I don't hate video games.  Who could hate video games?

"They're TONS of fun, though~!"  Misha shoves the box towards me awkwardly, her eyes still on Shizune's hand movements.  "We also noticed you've been adjusting so well~.  You know, to the school and all.  And the nurse told us you're in great shape, too~!  So, uh, we just wanted to give you something you could take a break with every once in a while.  Honestly~."

Or you had nowhere else to put it and needed to pawn it off on a random unsuspecting classmate for brownie points.  Still, they're right, I could use something to put my mind off of things every once in a while, especially with Emi being so hard to get through to lately.

I take the box from Misha, thank her, and exchange farewells with the two of them.

After taking due time to finish my report, I open the box and look the contents over.  It's not ancient, but looks pretty old, definitely some years behind the times.  I'm not an expert, but I'm sure I saw one around somewhere as a kid.

I clear some space on my nightstand to set up the small TV and console taken from the box, then plug in the wires according to where it looks like they should go.  After getting the machine to turn on with the third attempt, I choose a random game from an assortment of discs and fire it up.

The games are fun in their simplicity, but they still don't manage to distract me from worrying about Emi.

Maybe I'm wasting too much time.  I should, at the very least, go pay her a visit before it gets too dark outside.

I turn the system off and get my shoes on, planning first to stop by the cafeteria to grab a small dinner for the both of us.

Emi opens her door after a couple of knocks, probably taking a few moments to position herself so she can reach the doorknob.  She gives me a soft smile.

"Hey there Hisao.  What's up?"

"Nothing important.  Just thought I'd pay you a visit."  I hold up the bag of food in a gesture of kindness.

Emi nods and backs up her chair in response.  "Sure."

We nibble on portions of food I managed to grab up, getting some small talk in on the side.

After finishing off a piece of sushi that tasted as weird as it looked, I continue to tell Emi about my day.  "That's when Shizune and Misha came to my room.  Brought over some old video game."

I wasn't expecting a reaction, but Emi's eyebrows raise with curiosity.  "Video game, huh?  What kind?"

"I don't know.  I mean, there are lots of CDs.  Didn't really look through them."

Emi flashes a smile and jumps a little.  "Sounds fun!  I wanna try it out."

"Huh?  Really?  I never imagined you the type to be into gaming."

Emi shrugs.  "Eh, not really.  But it might be kind of nice.  A chance to take a breather and get myself less worked up.  That's what Nurse said I should do, anyway."

I'm about to tell her that I was thinking the same, but her face sours a little soon after she's done speaking.  Best not to take sides on this subject.

Fortunately, she looks cheerful enough once again, as we get back to my room.

I look through the available games a little more closely this time, trying to think of one Emi might like.

Tetris... simple enough, right?  I pop it in.

"Uhh... Hisao, what am I supposed to do exactly?"

"You just have to try to get the little blocks to make a row all the way across."

"But none of these blocks are straight!"

In Emi's state of perplexion, she fumbles the entire game quickly and loses.  She frowns, gripping her controller tightly, disappointed all over.  "I don't like this one.  Got anything else?"

Relieved that she's not giving up entirely, I fish out another title.  Summer Olympics?  That should have some running in it.  Maybe Emi will find this one more to her liking.

I manage to find a track and field mode through the menu and we start up.  Emi's eyes light up  when she sees the familiar red and white stripes of a running track on the game's screen.

The race starts.  Both our characters stand there.  We don't even know how to run.  We both start trying every button we can as fast as possible.

Our characters take slow, intermittent steps as we keep experimenting.  I'm the first to discover that you just need to press one of the front buttons really fast, but Emi looks my controller over, catching on, quick.

"Hey, I saw that!" I blurt out, "No peeking at my controller!"

Emi flashes a grin at me.  "You better worry more about the race."  She starts to mash her button faster, and I follow suit.

She continues to speed up the pace, the sound of it beginning to sound more like a hum than a constant beat.  Her character is sprinting, mine looks like it's taking a leisurely pace in comparison.

Oh boy, doesn't this look like a real-life scene we've both experienced.  I can't help but smile at the thought.

Emi finishes the race so quickly the graphics can barely scroll fast enough.  As I'm still struggling with a sore thumb to get through the second half, I see the words 'World Record!' show up on her section of the screen, indicating she beat the game's built-in record on the first go.

She throws the controller to the ground, improvising a victory dance in her chair while cheering aloud.

"Whoo!  That's right!  I'm unbeatable!  The best!  Get poo'd on, Player One!"

She points her finger in my face, laughing aloud.  Then, she calms down a little, still smiling.

"Sorry Hisao, was that too much?"

I shake my head.  "No, that's fine.  It's just a game, and it's good to see you happy.  Besides, that's a real good impersonation of Shizune you got going there."

"You know it!" Emi exclaims, moving her hand to the side of her head as if to adjust invisible glasses.  "I bet I'd beat her, too."

I nod in agreement.  "Maybe we can invite them over one day, wipe the floor with them."

After we share a giggle, she tugs at my sleeve with her hand, motioning me to come closer to her.  I bend down and our lips meet for a good few seconds.

"Next game," She murmurs after we part.  "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get the win this time."

"I'm not so sure about that.  I see that fire in your eyes."

The next one I take out of the box looks like some sort of combat adventure.  I spot the 'two players' symbol and decide to go with it.

It ends up being a pretty typical fantasy setting, but something about the gameplay keeps us both going.  We lose count of how many imposing monsters we kill, as well as how many hours have gone by.  It's well into the night before either of us checks the time.

"Ohmygosh!" Emi blurts out, almost getting out of her wheelchair before realizing she can't.  "Uh, it got late quickly, huh?  We gotta call it for now.  Can't forget about running tomorrow, right?"

"You're right.  I guess we got carried away."

"Well, that was the point, wasn't it?" Emi remarks as she bumps her chair against my door.  "Come on now, walk me home, 'Oh Great Hero'.

"Certainly, m'lady."  I take a bow and follow her request.

Emi retains her positive nature, thanking me warmly as we part ways at her room.

I get to bed feeling positive about our little 'date'.  I don't think video games are going to cure what ails her, but it probably does a good bit for both of us, something to put smiles on our faces once in a while during our hang-outs.

You know, besides sex.  Games still take a second seat to that.