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Chapter Text

[January 5th, 2024]

(Anon POV)

Skin Row.

Weather Condition: Oddly lukewarm for the middle of winter.

I've just finished unpacking the few items I brought with me to this run-down apartment, my new home for the time being. It's not the greatest living space, or even a good one to begin with. It's pretty shitty, but its better than living in the damn streets. If I didn't have a pocket knife or a baseball bat on me, I probably wouldn't survive the day. 

Lovely. I've got everything situated and now, I'm more or less all set to experience my first day in a new school tomorrow, predominantly infested with dinos that could all kill me if I so much as look at them funny.

Oh, wait a minute...

I open up a secluded pocket in my duffel bag and am met face to face with multiple bank rolls of quarters.

Bingo.

That's gotta be like 35 dollars worth of quarters! I've got my credit stash for any and all arcades that I come across while I live here. I knew collecting all the soda bottles that the shitty rich kids tossed in the garbage was worth it. Unfortunately I couldn't seem to find any arcades as I walked through Skin Row for the first time, but considering how much criminal activity, violence, and vandalism happens here, that's honestly for the best. Guess I'm gonna have to venture out a bit farther to get my arcade fix.

...Eh, fuck it. It's only 1:30. I'm going to an arcade today.

---

Looks like the nearest arcade was about a half-hour walk. Kinda annoying, but whatever, it's all worth it. After an incident at my last school caused my social status to plummet so hard that I had to eventually move to this rathole of an area to preserve dignity, I was looking for something to fill that part of my life that anime used to. I still think I like anime, but after it was the subject of my humiliation at my last school, I somewhat distanced myself. In it's place, my new obsession became the arcade. As much as I love the Xrox that I brought with me, arcade games bring me life. 

Or more specifically: Fighting games. Other genres are good too- I loved my time with Crazy Taxi, Metal Slug, and Sega Rally at the local arcade from my old home, but there's just...something about fighting games that call to me. Maybe it's the feeling of community or how fun it is when you're facing off against another fellow fighter, saurian or sapien.

Yep, this looks like the place. The Final Round Arcade. With a name like that, they've gotta have a good selection of fighting games. I take a deep breath, and confidently, yet forcefully open the door to enter the arcade.

Everyone that's not distracted by their game turns their head to stare at me. Shit, I probably looked like a dumbass getting all dramatic at the entrance. Well, guess its time to observe the games on display while trying to ignore the oppressive gazes of all those dinosaurs around me.

Let's see what this arcade has got...

Pinball machines? Check. An obscene amount of rhythm games? Check. Crane games that end up costing you more than a meal that could feed a starving Victorian family of 5? Oh, you better believe it.

Heh, looks like this arcade has 2 DDR cabs. SuperNOVA and A20. I never really liked most of those new-age DDR games. Call me crazy, but there was something really charming about watching those weird characters dancing in an otherworldly void while panicking your ass off trying to hit every single note perfectly. If I need a break from the fighting and bloodshed, I know which one I'm sinking my money into.

Seems like we've got 5 fighting games that stick out in particular, those being Tekken Tag 2, Tekken 3, Capcom VS SNK 2, Marvel VS Capcom 2, and Third Strike. Sick, lots of older fighting game representation. After another jaunt around the arcade, I find out that there's another fighting game in the arcade, that being Street Fighter... 1.

Raptor Jesus. It's the model with the pressure sensitive buttons too.

Disregarding all that though, the only one of these franchises that I actually play regularly is Street Fighter. Yep, I am a normie. I've played a bit of Marvel but never got good at it. Still fun tho. As I begin to let my morbid curiosity win and walk to insert a quarter into the Street Fighter 1 cabinet, I'm stopped by the noise a few cabinets down.

A few individuals seem to have gathered around a duo of arcade cabinets. It looks like they're around an arcade cabinet of Guilty Gear Strive. Huh, I didn't even know arcade cabinets existed for that one. Can't say I'm too familiar with Strive though; The only Guilty Gear experience I've had was when Accent Core +R was on sale for dirt cheap. I couldn't for the life of me tell you what the fuck happened in regards to the story though, I've heard that shit is almost as long and arduous as KH lore.

From the small gathering of saurians at the Guilty Gear cabinets, I listened in and found out that the one at the opposing cabinet is riding high with a 7-win streak, with past challengers showing up and eventually adding to that streak. Regardless, everyone seems to be rather chill about all of it.

Whenever I play fighting games at an arcade, I usually only play the single player arcade mode, since barely anyone ever shows for a challenge. I hesitate for a second and begin to wonder if it's because of the species difference between me and practically everyone else. Seeing the atmosphere and the banter between everyone captures me though, and I can't help but walk towards the games.

As I get closer, I survey the saurian playing at the cabinet. A lime-colored stegosaur, with her hair done up in buns and longer hair still going down to her shoulders. I also see that her tail is coiling around her right leg. Observing by her facial expression, I'm going to assume she's rather into the game.

"Yo, you gonna challenge her dude?"

'Oh shit.' Guess I stared and stood for too long. One of the spectators called out to me. Guess I gotta roll with the situation.

"Oh, yeah man. Just kinda hesitant to get absolutely bodied. Believe it or not, I've never played Strive. You guys seem cool though, so I'll go ahead and give it a shot."

"That's what I'm talking about man!" It seems like another spectator chimed in. "You won't regret checking this one out. And don't worry if your first few matches are a bit rough, getting bodied is good for you after all."

Can't exactly say he's wrong.

I sit down at the opposite cabinet and drop a quarter in.

HERE COMES DAREDEVIL!

As the new challenger SFX blast my ears, the full gravity of my situation hits me at this point. I'm facing a crazy skilled stego chick in a fighting game that I barely even know. I don't even know any of the characters names here! I don't stand a fucking chance.

At this point, my opponent is already selected her character, ready and waiting. I decide to use the same character that I used back when I played Accent Core a little, a doctor with a comically large scalpel and a paper bag over his head, although he does seem a bit off and deranged compared to when I saw him in that game. I hope he's doing ok.

Between him and the character that my opponent picked, a young girl swinging an anchor with a dolphin by her side, I'm going to guess that most characters in this series are a freakshow.

The round loads up with a bible-verse sounding intro, and I am thrust right into my demise. Many missed ranged attacks, whiffed jabs, and dolphins flung my way. It isn't long before I fall. At least I managed to take about a fourth of my opponents life.

Right. Time to harken back to my old strategy from the first time I played Accent Core for Round 2.

'RANDOM BULLSHIT GO!'

I fling a bunch of random items at the opponent, which doesn't help all too much. Pretty sure the only change was that the spectators began chuckling a little. I forgot that the bad part of randomness was that not only my opponent doesn't know what was going to happen, but neither do I.

The game ends with much of the same outcome as Round 1, bringing that stego-girl's win streak to 8. The spectators begin chatting.

"What a fine display of totsugeki."

"Alright! Another win for the Stego-Star!"

Hm, could swear that name sounds familiar.

"For a total newbie, that wasn't too bad."

"Actually, that was still kinda sad considering all that."

"Oh, you be quiet! I still enjoyed dueling with him regardless!"

That last one didn't actually come from the spectators. I saw the stegosaurus shift from her spot in front of the cabinet to look at me face to face. 

"Don't let first-time anxiety get you down. You were a joy to play with. Thanks for the match!"

Didn't expect such a nice consolation from the person that beat me senseless of all people. Despite getting steamrolled, I didn't really have that bad of a time during all this. Man, maybe being in a group is actually alright.

"Thanks, you and everyone else were pretty cool yourselves. Perhaps I'll get a better outcome when I actually know what the hell I'm doing first."

The lime stego-girl chuckles a bit to herself hearing what I've said.

"Heh, would love to see when that happens! Hey, do you wanna go for a few more matches?"

Even though I was totally flying by the seat of my pants in that last match, I can't lie and say it wasn't fun.

"Ah what the hell, I'll do another."

"Yay! I'll try not to beat you as bad this time, hehe."

We duel a couple more times, with my skill slowly but surely improving with each match. I know she said she would go easy on me, but I can't help but feel that I'm getting better.

I decide to check my phone. Should probably get back home to prepare for my first day of my new school tomorrow.

"Alright, this was a great time, but it's about time for me to head out. My school life starts up tomorrow."

The stegosaur sinks a bit into her chair, disappointed at that news.

"Awwww. I also start school tomorrow, but I'm gonna stay here for a tad bit longer."

"Trust me, I'd stay longer if I could, but the walk to both here and to Volcano High from where I live is quite a time-sink."

As the words Volcano High leave my mouth, the expression of the stegosaur changes from disappointment to excitement. Does she-

"OH! You go to Volcano High too? Sweet! I'm sure I'll see you tomorrow if that's the case! My name's Stella, by the way."

She seems to have perked up compared to 5 seconds ago. I won't lie, the amount of joy in her voice from just talking to me did sound a few caution voices in my head, but I didn't go full DEFCON LEVEL mode. You know, despite all the negative things that have led up to me moving into a neighborhood in the middle of fucking nowhere, I haven't really been as negative and scornful as I thought I would be. It's been oddly comforting today.

"Heh, nice name, Mine is Anon. If I see ya, I'll make sure to talk. See you at school tomorrow then."

"Okay then, take care and train up, I'll want a rematch soon enough! See you later!" 

She waves her hand and winks as I begin to get up. I even caught her tail wagging out of the corner of my eye.

'Heh, even I gotta admit, that's pretty cute.'

As I leave I look back and see Stella with a slight pink hue spread across her cheeks, as well as some of the spectators staring at me with raised eyebrows and grins across their faces.

Huh, wonder why that's the case?

Chapter Text

[January 6th, 2024]

(Anon POV)

Volcaldera Bluffs.

Weather Condition: Wind chills cold enough to feel like the blast of St. Hiems' Shotgun. 

In front of me is the sight of Volcano High. In front of that is a colorful cast of dinos reminiscing, reconnecting, and reconvening after winter break. Must be nice.

I try to not dredge up painful memories of the past and try to focus on my future, or what I'll need to do to even have a future.

The last time I talked with my father, he got my living quarters situated over in Skin Row. He offered to pay the lease, but only on the condition that after I finish school, I either go to college or the service. Not like he cares which.

Looks like I can't afford to fuck around too much during what's left of my high school career, especially considering those I'm in this school with. Raptor Jesus, does every single saurian in this school have a horn or claw that could disembowel me in 5 seconds flat?! Maybe my goal should be to just survive. Hopefully that won't be such a difficult goal to achieve...

Hm. Maybe I've been standing and gawking too much. Seems like some saurians in the distance are staring at me with concern or doubt. Even a ptero-girl that initially was staring at me in malice transformed her expression into concern as I stood motionless.

No time to think about that now. Just focus on the main task at hand: Get through school, preferably as inconspicuously as possible.

"Would you happen to be Anon?"

Mission failed already.

An orange parasaur with a disconcertingly bubbly voice calls out to me.

"Uh, yeah. Excuse me, but how did you know my name?"

"Oh, I'm the student council president for Volcano High. I'll be the one introducing you to our fine school, telling you the ins and outs of this place and every single fact about it. But where are my manners? My name is Naomi!"

At least I can put a name to that face now, instead of associating it with a chirpy student council voice that I wouldn't mind hearing less of. Funny thing though, I can't shake the feeling that something about her voice makes me feel like I've heard a more ferocious version of it before, like from someone who'd fight in a colosseum. Or on the street.

As she guides me through the crowds in the school for a basic tour that ends with meeting with the Principal, I can't help but look for that lime stegosaur I met the day before. Stella was her name, I think? So far, no appearance, and I can't help but feel a bit disappointed.

Many dull minutes of Naomi describing the insipid history of Volcano High later and we're facing a closed door in the middle of the school.

"Would this be the principal's office?"

"Of course Anon! Principal Spears is a stern, yet fair man. He may seem intimidating, but he always values his students, so never be afraid to approach him."

Naomi proceeds to knock on the door and I proceed to almost keel over from the booming voice emanating from the other side. Damn, I guess she wasn't joking about the intimidating part.

"STATE YOUR BUSINESS!"

"I've got the new student here sir! We are all set to get paperwork out of the way!"

Joy.

She ushers me into the office and I am met face to face with Principal Spears himself. Huh, seems like he's not a dinosaur, but a human like me, but judging by how he looks, as well as the species of this school in the first place, my mind is leaning more towards neanderthal.

"Greetings Anon. Let's get the important things out of the way first."

He proceeds to give me my schedule, lunch card, and other important info for the school year. We then spend an unbearable amount of time sifting through paperwork related to my transfer. 'If I could meet the person responsible for paperwork this arduous, I would give him a swift kick in the di-'

"Anon. Now that you are officially enrolled in Volcano High, I would like to remind you that this is your last chance to straighten up and figure your future out. You are turning into an adult, and I expect you to show some maturity. I won't go over your past history, but I expect great change from you."

For a moment, I wonder what the hell mom and dad put on my transfer form. Does he know about it all?

"Oh, and if you do need extra funds for your own living situations, I recommend looking around some of the richer neighborhoods of Volcaldera for a job. They usually give good money to take care of necessities, as well as extra left over for your own amusement. Unfortunately, I don't believe any of them offer...payment in rolls of quarters. You may need to go to a bank to convert your paycheck." 

I suddenly have an idea of what was on that transfer form. I just hope they didn't put my arcade obsession as anything other than a passing interest. I don't need a target on my back this soon into the year.

"Alright, thank you Principal Spears. I'll take my leave now and start the day."

"Have a good school day Anon. Remember, you have a map of the school in the papers I gave you in case you get lost."

That'll come in handy. Even though this school isn't as dense as a jungle, having guidance never hurts. As I exit the office and walk off, I shuffle my papers in my hands trying to find the map of th-

CLUNK!

Oof, looks like I knocked into someone. My papers go crashing to the floor, but I stay standing. Can't say the same for the person that knocked into me.

"Oh, sorry about tha-"

Wait a minute. I recognize those hair buns.

(Stella POV)

Owwwww.... I've gotta stop running like an idiot, that actually kinda hurt my backplates! I'm not even in a hurry either, class doesn't start for another 10 minutes. Was it that much of an urgent situation for me to rush to my locker and get my tarot cards, just so I could find that new guy and give him a reading?

...yeah, it probably was. I just hope that the person I ran right into isn't that angry. I raise my head and try and shake off my grogginess. Man, binge-watching PreCure until 2 am was not the ideal play.

"It's fine, I wasn't looking where I was goin- Oh wait, it's YOU! Anon, right?"

He seems to be a bit shocked, but in a good way.

"Oh, you're that stegosaurus girl that rode high on a win streak at the arcade! Your name was Stella, if my brain hasn't failed miserably on me?"

Heh, my brain does that multiple times a day.

"Yep, looks like your brain hasn't failed you, not yet at least! So, what're you up to?"

He finishes collecting the papers he spilled when i rammed into him. Shoot, I could've been a tad bit nicer and helped him out with getting those off the ground.

"Ah, I just got done getting introduced to this school by the Principal, and a really annoying student council president."

"That checks out, I don't really enjoy the presence of the student council president either. I remember doing a tarot reading for her, and she held a grudge against me when I pulled the Lovers Arcana in reversed position."

Anon thinks a minute before he tried to mutter something. Unfortunately for him, he was thinking out loud. Emphasis on the loud.

'Tarot, huh. I can already tell what her favorite RPG is.'

I've got a prime opportunity in front of me. 

I've been waiting for this!

"You're not exactly wrong, you know."

Anon's smirk is immediately wiped off his face and replaced with a look of embarrassment.

"In fact, Persona is how I got into tarot in the first place. I wondered what the heck those cards were, looked into what they were, and the rest is history."

That series really did have a bit of an effect on me, to a point where I consider tarot a part of my daily life now. It's a shame that some people like Naomi don't seem to take too kindly to my interests. Maybe it's because of the bad pull. It's fine though; I'm sure she'll course-correct herself from that anyway. Judging from what I've heard from her voice, she seems like her Arcana would be the Empress rather than the Lovers anyway. If only she knew French like-

"Hey, why were you running anyway?"

Oopsie. Was stuck rambling to nobody there. See Anon, THAT'S how you do it.

"Well, I wanted to see if I could find you and give you a reading! If you're ok with it of course."

Anon considers my offer and responds promptly.

"I don't know if I really believe in tarot, but sure, I'd be willing to give it a shot at lunch."

"Sweet! I'll be looking forward to our fated meeting at lunch then."

Anon chuckles a bit to himself. I hope he gets as hooked as I do; It would be nice to have someone to talk in-depth with my hobbies. I appreciate Rosa, but she only tolerates my ramblings for so long, especially when it comes to tarot. I think she considers it black magic that's offensive to Raptor Jesus.

"Well it was nice to talk again, but we should probably get headed to class at this point. I don't want to leave too bad of an impression on my teachers, even if it's just English class."

Perfect.

"So you've got English next period too? Well then don't worry, I'll lead ya! Let's go!"

I take hold of his hand and begin our journey to Mr. Tsuki's class. Along the way I catch some murmurings from him, something about 'DEFCON 1' I think? I couldn't make heads or tails of it.

During class we make small talk when we knew we wouldn't get called out for it, whether it was about the arcades of Volcaldera, or me trying to interest him on tarot again. It was nice, really nice.

Lunch can't come sooner.

Chapter Text

(ANON POV)

[Mr. Tsuki's Class]

You could probably give me 10 guesses on how my first day would go, and I still wouldn't guess that things would go this smoothly. I mean come on- finding a friend right out of the gate, and us hamming it up about our hobbies too! I was sure I was in for as shitty of a time as my last school, but nah, it's nice here if my first impressions are anything to go off of. Color me surprised.

It's at the tail-end of class, yet we still remain gabbering about various things, most being game-related.

"Yes Stella, I have also played Chrono Cross."

"Ahhh, I thought I'd finally get you with an RPG that you hadn't heard of!"

"Nah, go obscure, I'm pretty sure that game was a part of the Greatest Hits lineup so of course I'd know it. You gotta try something that isn't super obvious, silly."

Stella looks at me with a mock expression of annoyance and thinks to herself.

"Fine then! If unpopular is what you want, then how about The World Ends Wi-"

RRRRRRRING!!!

I could catch a slight glint of disappointment from the stego's eyes as the piercing sound rumbles through the air. Guess that's our cue to get outta here.

"Welp, as much as I'd love to keep this conversation going, I've got to figure out where the hell my next class is at. Maybe you could use this extra time to rack your brain for an answer, no?"

Her gaze intensifies after that line.

"Yep! Mark my words Anon, I WILL find an answer by lunch. You got that?"

"I'd like to see you try," I begin walking to the exit of the class, stopping halfway in the entrance. "Oh, and by the way? I have played The World Ends With You. A lot. Try a bit harder than that, won't you?"

I did stop in the middle of the class entrance so it wasn't exactly the most comfortable spot to be when there were sizably big dinos trying to leave the classroom and get on with their day, but it was worth it to see the shocked face of my new stegosaur friend. I can't wait to see the look on her face when I tell her that I've beaten every single version of that game on each platform it got re-released on.

Next stop: Home Ec.

---

You'd think it wouldn't take more than maybe two minutes to find a Home Ec. room, but hot damn is this school complex! Makes me wonder how they got the money to make this school so elaborate and premium, while my old school back in Rock Bottom had its asbestos lined ceiling tiles fall off on a regular basis.

After stumbling through the concrete jungle with classmates that look like they would belong in an actual jungle several eras ago, I find the fabled Home Ec. room that only legends spoke of. Legends such as the map that Mr. Spears gave to me of course.

I find a suitable seat and see an older, pale-colored pterosaur that seems to be the teacher of this class, probably in her 40's to 50's. Can't help but feel like I've seen someone like her earlier though.

As the class starts up I soon realize that we aren't doing anything interesting with any of the ovens or equipment yet- just a basic safety lecture for the first day. And here I was excited to actually enjoy a class somewhat.

I try my damnedest to stay awake during this lecture, leaning forward and tapping idly on the desk. That is, until I feel the loom of a ...sizeable presence.

"Dude, are you seriously practicing strings while zoning out from a lecture?"

I snap out of my bore and am snapped into a sense of intimidation, as an incredibly built megalodon that was apparently sitting next to me the entire time looms with a frightening aura. Raptor Jesus, this guy looks like a fucking Baki character with how insane he's built. How is his chair even supporting him?!

Wait a sec.

He asked if i was practicing strings when tapping the desk... Where the hell did he even get that idea? I guess my tapping did sort of resemble one of the SF6 strings I burned into my mind with practice. But still, I don't think anyone would find that tapping out of the ordinary. Not unless he's...

"Uhh, earth to.....human? Neanderthal? Monkey? It's gotta be one of those three."

Whoops, zoned out.

"Uh yeah, I'm human. Name's Anon. Hey, if you don't mind me asking, how did you know I was doing a string?"

The megalodon smirks. Oh God, please don't let that be a smirk of malice.

"Bro, do you not recognize me from yesterday? I was one of those spectators cheering you on when you did your first Strive match! Name's Chet by the way."

Ah. That makes more sense.

"Oh really? I totally didn't realize man, sorry about that!" I knew I was a bit bad with faces, but I didn't know it was this bad.

"It's all good bro. Besides, it seems like you had your mind on someone else that day anyway."

What is he- oh.

"Ah, you mean Stella?"

"Yeah man, she's like the best GGST player in the entire school! Well, out of the few people that actually play Strive in our school, but still pretty damn good anyway!"

Now that takes me by surprise.

"Well, how about you, have you ever played against her?"

"Nah man, not really a fan of Guilty Gear. Never really cared for it's artstyle."

"So then which fighter do you play then?"

That seems to catch his attention. The megalodon proceeds to force his closed fist and open palm together as a sort of gesture. I think I know where this is going.

"Heh, was waiting for you to ask. Well, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it-"

I knew it.

"-Tekken is my game, full stop."

"That doesn't surprise me too much, you honestly look like you would fit right into the cast with how you're built man."

Another smirk spreads on his face. Admittedly, I don't feel intimidation like the last time.

"It's kinda funny you say that, since it was the reason I got so muscular! It's weird, but Kazuya Mishima became my ideal goal. Well, minus all the devil shenanigans and the daddy issues."

Now that's something I wasn't expecting. The textbook school jock's main inspiration for getting built wasn't an athlete or a celebrity, but a video game character. If only I had a will that strong to actually commit to bulking up.

We chat more as the class goes on. As the bell rings and the safety warnings that somehow took the entire hour-long class period draw to a close, I wrap up the conversation me and Chet. For someone who could fold me like a lawn chair, he's quite a cool dude. Man, I've been having the best luck with my school life. I won't lie though, I worry that my luck will run out eventually and I'll make another stupid series of decisions like at my last school and ruin it all.

Best not to think on that too much. Let's just focus and fight for the future for now.

"Honestly Chet, with all the Tekken talk, I think you might've convinced me to fully get into it."

"Heh, I'd love to see that. See you around dude!"

As we part ways and I head toward the cafeteria, I get the lunch card that Mr. Spears assigned me and prepare my stomach to bear the potential stomach pain it will endure from eating food primarily meant for dinos. That is until i get to the cafeteria, and realize that the food is actually normal stuff, thank God.

Well, relatively normal stuff. I know this school is more flush with cash than my last one, but why the fuck is filet mignon an option for lunch here?!

After getting a relatively low-cost meal, I walk over to the tables and see a familiar orange parasaur waving directly at me. That girl, Naomi, is also sitting right next to a pterodactyl with one of his wings messed up. I wonder what happened there? 

Uh, I think Naomi's trying to get me to sit with her. Not really jumping out of my seat to do so though. I think the pressure is getting to me though. As I begin to take a reluctant step toward their table, I feel someone tap on my shoulder.

Who's that?

(STELLA POV)

You know, I was about to just grab Anon's hand and drag him to my table, but then I realized that he's carrying a food tray. Probably shouldn't risk messing up his food for the funny.

As he turns to me, I see a sign of...relief? Scanning the cafeteria, it only takes me 3 seconds to realize why. I guide him to my table while avoiding the annoyed glare of a certain student council president.

We return to my table, looking rather empty since Rosa was busy with garden duties. As he sits down, I can tell he wants to talk before he eats. I'm gonna beat him to the punch. Before he opens his mouth, I slap my hands on the table and give an intense glare right into his eyes.

"Solatorobo."

"Uh....what?"

That's a good initial reaction. I think. 

"You heard me. Solatorobo."

"And what's that supposed to be exactly?"

I can't see my face, but I can imagine the huge grin on my face as he said that.

"So you're telling me Solatorobo is an RPG you haven't heard of?"

To his dismay and my elation, his face changes from an expression of confusion to slight disappointment.

"Damn, I didn't think you were gonna actually succeed with that today. Fine, you win."

With how stupid I'm smiling, I probably look like the goofiest dino in the cafeteria, but I don't care. You may have a slight edge when it comes to obscure fighting games, but RPG's are MY territory sir!

"Geez Stella, what's with such the strong jubilation?"

Hm. I guess I got a bit carried away.

"Nothing, nothing."

We proceed to tear through our lunch, and as I begin to pull my deck of tarot cards to follow through on our promise earlier in the day, I see Principal Spears walking towards Anon.

"Good afternoon Anon, I presume you're settling in well into Volcano High?"

Anon turns to him and responds pretty cordial all things considered.

"Ah, hello Mr. Spears. Yes, it's been rather nice, much better than my last school at least."

"Glad to hear it. Say, I was given a fine suggestion by our student council president. Perhaps you would benefit from going to a student concert held in the auditorium after school? There will be an ample amount of food, with some leftover for you to take home."

I see Anon's face contort as he considers Spears' offer as I wonder why he approached Anon in the first place about this. Why did he need to specify that he could take home food?

It isn't long until Anon responds however.

"That does sound like an appealing offer, however I do have a sort of plan after school. I'm going around to see if any part-time jobs would be hiring, that way I don't need to rely on handouts."

Despite being declined, Principal Spears seems pleased with that answer.

"I see. Well, I am glad to see you are taking initiative and using your time productively. I just hope you're being fully honest with what you say, for your own benefit."

Maybe I should give my input.

"It's ok Principal Spears, I believe you can take him at his word. Besides, if he were to slack off at some arcade, I would join him!"

Principal Spears chuckles to himself. Now that's something that I haven't seen that often.

"Well, it is nice to see that you already have a good friend Anon. Perhaps I have thought of those arcade places too harshly. If they can bring together students, perhaps they have some sort of merit."

You're darn right they do.

"Anyways, I will leave you to your own devices. Take care, the both of you."

He waves us off as he exits the cafeteria. And just as I am about to get back to what really matters here and bust out my tarot cards, the pesky lunch bell rings out. It's as if the cosmos themself are in charge of time, and want to specifically annoy me.

But before I can mention it, Anon does the hard work for me.

"Hey, we never got to do your tarot stuff. I guess we can just postpone it for tomorrow then."

Fine then. Not like I was super looking forward to this since the beginning of the day or anything.

"Alright then, I'll make sure you get your reading done tomorrow, full stop!"

---

With the school day winding to an end, I begin to leave the building as I see Anon heading out, holding up a map of the Greater Volcaldera region.

I know he said he was going to look for part-time work, and I backed him up on it, but part of me wonders if that's what he's actually doing. Another part of me wonders why he's so eager to earn money. Does he like having money is all, or is there something else that I don't know about?

What exactly is going on in his head?

Chapter Text

[Greater Volcaldera]

(STELLA POV)

It's a shame that Rosa wasn't around today for the Garden Club, but I guess those supplies aren't gonna restock themselves. Personally, as much as I respect Fang and their friend's band, I don't think I wanted to stick around for that performance. It's probably a good thing that Anon was busy today; I don't want him to get too much of a bad first opinion on Fang, even if they are a bit...well...eccentric.

I've arrived at my house after about 10 minutes of jogging. I don't know anything about economy or anything like that, but I think it's an average two story house and a typical property value out here where there aren't many neighbors. Well, disregarding the garage shed 50 feet away that's greater in square footage.

As I enter, my mom nods her head and greets me.

"Welcome back hon. How was school? Any exciting news?"

"Heh, of course not, there's never anything exciting on the first day back to school. Though, I made a new friend today!"

I can see a flicker of interest in her eyes as I say that, but she tries not to break from her collected, composed demeanor. Very nice, ma.

"Ah, that's always nice to hear. Friends are always good to have by."

"Mhm! Hey mom, do you know where dad is? I don't see him around."

"Ah, he's over in the shed, probably tinkering with his latest cabinet. Let him know that dinner will be ready soon, and if he's not here when that happens, we will eat it all and leave no leftovers."

That won't be an issue. By the smell alone, he'll probably be running for dinner as soon as he's done with whatever he's doing.

I walk over to the building next to our house and open the door. What greets me is a room full of arcade cabinets and my dad, working on his latest import, DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA 2. 

After observing the almost playable cabinet, he sees me and greets me.

"Heya kiddo, I just got this in our hands not too long ago! I just need to do some finishing touches before this baby can be fully enjoyed. I can already tell, this ones gonna be popular. I bet when we open up our little family arcade to the public again after the winter season ends, this is gonna be the hot-ticket game!"

"Didn't you say that about the Taiko no Tatsujin cabinet that you bought a while back too?"

He looks at me, smug-like.

"And look at what happened! It may have not been extremely popular with customers, but your mother practically plays that thing daily. She could probably perfect combo Saitama 2000 blindfolded at this point. Not to mention, she always drumming to those anime openings you two always watch."

That's right, sometimes I forget that I got my anime familiarity because of her. You know, you would never guess that my mom is a total anime nut from her calmer demeanor alone.

"Oh by the way kid, what's the deal with you going around those arcades in town when you've basically got a personal arcade at home? Is there a specific game that you've taken an interest in?"

Well, I guess I should have expected my dad to catch on to that eventually.

"Mmm, not so much the games, but the company. It's super fun to be playing with people, and to make new friends too. Speaking of which, I made one the other day, he even goes to my school!"

"Hey, that's great to hear! You should invite him over sometime, I bet his maw would hit the floor when he sees this place."

"Well, not exactly a maw. Believe it or not, he's a human, one of the only humans in our school too."

He laughs a bit to himself.

"If that's the case, maybe wait a little bit to bring him over to the arcade, I haven't calibrated all of our dance pads to be totally usable for both humans and dinos yet. Either way, your mother and I would love to see some more friends of yours over!"

"Oh believe me, he would love this place regardless! I'm gonna check out what other cabinets we have up and running. By the way, you might wanna hurry it up. Mom's making minestrone, and I know you aren't gonna want to miss that."

His eyes grow wider than I've ever seen them, before rigorously tending to the DDR cabinet.

"Alright, no more fooling around then, I'm not about to miss that soup! Let's go, DOUBLE-TIME!!"

So that's where I get my goofiness from.

I walk around the beautifully noisy, spacious shed. The arcade has been way more successful than you'd think, to a point where my parents have been able to get new cabinets pretty quickly. When they started, they aimed for games that would get lots of cash, but at this point, they just get their own personal favorite arcade machines. Even if my mom and dad's taste are sometimes wildly different, they always have one thing in common. They love rhythm games.

Beatmania IIDX? Obviously. Project DIVA? Right this way. Chunithm? Should be on your left. Dance Rush Stardom? Sure, if you're brave enough to dance in front of everyone. Taiko No Tatsujin? That's mom's favorite, of course we have it!

But you know, my dad's love for DDR got me pumped up to break a record, let's get at it. I ready my e-Amusement card. DDR A20 cabinet, your time has come.

---

Soup.

I return to my room of the house and sink into the many, many plushies that I have obtained. You can never have enough.

Looking around my room, it's like a blast from my past. I see various sketches, drawings, and art pieces I've made of various characters from anime, games, and even manga.  Man, it's been like, 10 years since I made my first sketch! I still have it by my desk in my room, next to my tarot cards. Good ol' Koromaru.

Sitting right next to it is the most worn-out book on how to draw in an anime-style you've ever seen. As a kid I studied that thing like it was a Bible, and gradually my drawings went from tacky imitations of freehand art pieces in that style, to genuine sketches and drawings that I could be proud of.

Let's see...a rough sketch of Demi-Fiend, one of Nami, the characters from the smooooch music video, and one of Shiki Misaki. Wow, mom even framed that one for me.

As I sink into my bed, I think about what my dad said. I bet if I invited Anon over, his eyes would pop out of his head when he saw the arcade shed. Man, I'd love too see that when he's done looking for a...job...

Suddenly, my mind starts thinking dark thoughts. Is he just trying to get extra change, or is his situation really that bad? Oh no, what if he thinks I'm a total spoiled snob with all of this?! Surely not, I don't think I'm that bad. I think. 

I don't wanna pry, but thinking up something like that just makes me worry more. Surely his living situation isn't that bad...right?

[Outside Volcano High]

(ANON POV)

Alright. I've been avoiding directly mentioning this, but it has to be said.

My name is Anon Y. Mous, and I am broke. as. fuck.

Hopefully landing a good-paying job will help me at least survive off of more than just water bottles and microwave meals, with some left over for myself. I doubt anybody would want to hang around with a poor, jobless human from Skin Row anyway.

No time to be a sad sack of shit though. If I'm really gonna start over at this school, I'm gonna commit to it. I'm sure Spears would be happy to hear that.

Hm, there's probably gonna be a lot of opportunities over by the shopping districts, I'll probably have the best chance there. It's gonna take a while to walk over to that area. Thank Raptor Jesus for earbuds.

I'll go ahead and ignore the playlist I made back when I was in middle school. Just focus Anon, you've got people to impress and get money from. Listen to the music, shake off those dumbass tendencies, and just walk.

♪ He's the one for me and
  There's no place I'd rather be, yeah, yeah, yeah
  To the finish line
  Everywhere you look he's right on time... ♪

---

[Volcaldera Shopping District]

After finally getting to the shopping district, I gotta say, it looks way better than the basic strip mall that was in my old town. There's more than just 4 shops that look like they're 1 month away from being demolished for starters. It's got a nice hustle and bustle feeling, like people actually enjoy being out and about.

There's a shop for just about anything here, packed together and rather busy. Looking into the district...wait, is that...

Ah, it's another arcade! It has a dark sign reminiscent of the night sky, reading "Lupus Arcade". Honestly, I should've expected an arcade in a place so busy. Part of me wonders if there are any games worth my while the next time I'm here. You know, it's still only about 4 PM out, I can check it out for a bit.

Man, I didn't think it would be so packed on a weekday. I can barely hear my own thoughts over all the other chatter from the shopping saurians.

"...when's that coming in exactly?"

"If you don't like it...."

"...this time for sure..."

Just about to the arcade now. Heh, I wonder if Stella knows about this plac-

"Ay, no bueno. I couldn't find much here. I hope Stella isn't too down about that."

Huh? Who's that?