Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

It all started with an innocent suggestion—a double date, leading into gaming at Shiki’s. After going out for dinner, nice as it was, Shoka found herself excited to just chill on the couch for the rest of the night. She loved Rindo, sure, but today had been one of those days she hadn’t wanted to be out at all.

Maybe it was because today was the anniversary of her return to life—and her goodbye to the friends she’d lost during her last Reaper’s Game.

Rindo had been the one to suggest heading back for games, and Neku had bought rice crackers to snack on. After dumping the bags into serving bowls and placing them on the coffee table, the four gathered around the TV, controllers in hand.

“So what are we going to play? We could introduce the guys to that one game,” Shiki said. In all the time Shoka had lived here, Shiki had never been the biggest gamer, but she’d gotten more used to it with Shoka’s influence. She especially loved co-op games, but as much as Shoka wanted to satisfy her, she’d been dying to try out the final board on the ultimate party game. “I was thinking this,” she said, selecting the case from its shelf. The words ‘Fantasy Party’ glistened off the cover in golden text, characters from the series duking it out with dice instead of swords.

Rindo must’ve noticed her proud grin, ‘cause he caught on faster than she expected. “Wait, did you unlock the Gold Saucer?!”

“Gold Saucer?” Shiki asked.

“Yup, you’ll see,” Shoka said as she popped the disk in, not even waiting for confirmation.

“You sure about this? You tend to get competitive on that one,” Neku cautioned.

“It’ll be fine.” Shoka didn’t let him deter her. Today was supposed to be a distraction from today’s woes. “Unless you’re scared to lose.”

“Didn’t I beat you last time?”

Oh. Right. He did. Unlike his girlfriend, who relied on pure luck in games, Neku proved a quiet force to be reckoned with. He’d managed to sneak up behind Shoka and win more points on the Besaid board by obtaining one of each crystal, whereas she’d been forced to double up on fire. But this time, she wasn’t about to let him take the glory.

“Why do you think I want to play so bad? Hope you’re ready for payback,” she teased as she started up the game. Blah blah blah, intro stuff she didn’t care about—she quickly clicked past it, selecting a wireless multiplayer game. Four players, fifteen turns would be good, all minigames possible.

Before long, she had the settings locked in, and they moved onto the player select. With this being the most recent Fantasy Party game, all heroes from the series were fair game, organized by when they appeared. She rifled through a few of the screens, considering characters like Tifa—until she saw Neku pick Cloud. She’d pass on the ship teases with the wrong guy. Skipping over another set, she eyed Dagger and Freya—both interesting characters in their own right, but not who she’d pick as a main.

Vivi, however… The destructive power of his magic sounded just perfect for her.

Choice decided, she watched the other corners of the screen right as Rindo made his choice. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, “Really? You’re going with Auron?” Since the character roaster had been expanded on this newest version, she hadn’t seen that favorite of his yet.

“Yeah, well… He’s cool, y’know?” Rindo commented sheepishly.

“Don’t you always go for Mr. Hahaha or someone equally dorky?”

“Oh whatever—Tidus is badass in his own way, but he’s not Auron.”

“But you still think he’s badass.”

“Aww, look, Neku! She has a dog,” Shiki gushed so suddenly that it threw both Rindo and Shoka off their little spat. She’d picked Rinoa, and as soon as it showed the character’s full body, her dog Angelo rushed over to join her with a bark.

Rindo raised an eyebrow, eyeing the fluffy black cat that’d settled in Shiki’s lap. “I thought you were a cat person.”

“I am, but I still think dogs are cute. Don’t you think so, Nanako?” she asked her sleepy kitty, who simply yawned in response.

Speaking of cats, Shoka’s own cat hadn’t deigned to show himself since their return home. He was likely still napping in her room, curled up on her pillow with no regard to the fact that she needed to sleep there later.

Well, he could have it for now. She wasn’t ready to get up and move him yet. She had a legend to thrash.

Shoka loaded up the Gold Saucer board, eager to see its contents.

What she wasn’t so eager to see was the Saucer’s crown prince of pecs with spandex clinging in all the wrong places announcing their match. While she appreciated that they picked announcers to match the theme of each board, did they have to pick Dio?

“Um… wait, what’s going on?” Shiki asked, and Shoka’s cheeks flushed with heat as she jammed her thumb on the X button. She had to get through this embarrassing spectacle as fast as she could, before Shiki questioned Shoka’s choices in games even more.

“Just a dumb musclehead,” Shoka grumbled.

“Isn’t he supposed to tell us about the board?” Rindo pointed out. “I haven’t played this one before—and does Shiki know how to play?”

“She’s played before, but I’ll give her a refresher,” Neku offered. Kudos to him, ‘cause Shoka wasn’t about to slow down. As for the board, they could just figure out as they played, so she ignored Rindo’s first question.

Finally, they reached the part showing off the Crystal Moogle. So they had a fire and wind crystal in Chocobo land, and… Wait, there was another? Shoka’s eyes narrowed as a wind and water crystal parked in the Ghost Square. Two moogles, three elements—meaning they’d have to claim one before earth became a possibility. Which element to go for first, though…

Dio came back on the screen, purposely flexing his muscles. And she couldn’t skip past him, either, ‘cause now they had to determine turn order.

Shoka pressed the button, and Vivi rolled his dice on the ground, adjusting his hat. An eight—hell yeah, she’d likely be first.

Until a ten hovered in front of Rinoa. Shoka’s jaw dropped as she turned to her favorite fashion designer.

“I got a ten… is that good? I don’t remember.”

“Yeah. That means you go first,” Neku said as he got a five. “Congrats, Shiki.”

Well, if it was Shiki, then Shoka didn’t mind going second. Especially since Rindo sat in dead last with a four.

With turn order decided, Rinoa patted Angelo, then took the stage alone.

“So then, what do I do now?”

“It’s like a digital board game. You have to roll the die to see how far you’ll go,” Neku replied. “You can also look at the map, and you’ll eventually get items to help you or hinder opponents.”

“Huh… and what about that Materia option?”

“Fantasy Party has these spheres called Materia. If you get one, you can equip it and get a boost during minigames.”

“Oh right, I remember the minigames! Those were fun. When do we play them?”

“We get one after each turn, plus some scattered throughout… You’ll see.” Neku patted her shoulder before nodding to the board. “Try to avoid the red spaces, if you can.”

“Okay, I’ll try!” Shiki made her roll. A nine—pretty good start. It easily took her to the first fork in the road. “Wait, which way do I go?”

“Take a look at the map. You’re trying to reach one of the moogles selling crystals. Each crystal’s worth one point, and if you get one of each element, you get bonus points.”

“So if I want a crystal, then…” Shiki stared at the screen for a solid minute, not pressing anything.

“It’s the square button,” Shoka finally said, only to then realize she came off more impatient than she meant to. “Er—if you wanna see the map, I mean.”

“Thanks, Shoka.” Shiki was so earnest… Shoka ducked into her hood as Shiki opened the map, studying it.

“See that moogle symbol on the lower part of the map? You want to go there,” Neku said, taking over for Shoka. “The tunnel on the lower middle level should take you there.”

“Just make sure you have enough gil for it, too,” Rindo said as Shiki closed the map.

“Okay, I will. So then that was… down here.” With their guidance, Shiki was on track to her first crystal by the end of her turn.

Next up, Shoka. She rolled the die, Vivi casting a fira spell to whack it into action. “C’mon, give me something good…”

Two. A measly little two. Which didn’t even get her to the first crossroads. Shoka balked at the screen. “Oh come on!”

“Tough luck. But at least you get a fortune,” Neku said. She didn’t want to hear that from him —not after he beat her once before. She kept a pout as she let Cait Sith read her fortune, his moogle granting her a Shinra Phone. Not bad, actually. She’d have to use that on one of the guys after she saw who had the better luck between them.

Cloud stepped up, one hand shaking the dice and another posed on his hip as Neku readied his controller.

I swear, he better roll a one…

Or… another two. Okay, Shoka could live with that, even despite the fact it netted him a Water Materia. He wouldn’t be able to equip it ‘til next turn anyway.

Last but not least, Auron approached the Gold Saucer’s gate. He looked so out of place in the land of merriment, especially rolling his dice like he was today’s hot topic. Well, not like Shoka was one to criticize him too much—she’d still be in an outfit as black as night if she had a chance to go to the Gold Saucer. At least her kitty ears would fit in just a tad better, though.

Ha! Rindo rolled a one. Guess my luck’s not the worst—

Shoka froze when the camera zoomed in on Auron, showing a Guide Moogle talking to him. For just fifty gil, he could warp to a random Gold Saucer square, including either of the two that housed a Crystal Moogle. Ugh, Shoka should’ve known that yellow space would give him an advantage somehow.

“That’s one way to get around the board. Let’s try it,” Rindo said oh-so-innocently, forking up the gil and getting teleported away.

“Good luck,” Neku said as they all waited in anticipation. Soon enough, the screen faded back in. Shoka recognized this area… The Battle Square lobby?

“Really? They didn’t even use the arena?” she couldn’t help but comment.

“I mean, this kinda makes sense?” Rindo replied. “There’s the registration desk and gift shop here… Maybe they have some good items.”

“Better hope they do. You’re already off track for a crystal.”

“We’ll see—never know what I might land on next.” He threw a grin at Shoka, so friendly and adorable that it made her heart lurch. He always had that effect on her, even with something as simple as a glance.

Though this was no place for fond looks. Shoka pressed her lips together, preparing herself to face him on the digital battlefield. Here, they were enemies—not lovers, and she wasn’t afraid to remind him of that as she playfully shoved him with her shoulder. “Bet I’ll get a crystal first.”

“Heh, you’re on.”

The minigame selector popped up, soon throwing them on the game Chocobo Scavengers. Each of their characters hopped on one of the feathery creatures, and after a little tutorial segment, the game began.

It was a simple enough game, partially luck based—she just had to watch the Chocobo’s reactions each time she told it to dig, and lead it to treasure. Sadly, since this was a gil collecting game, it meant she couldn’t cut Rindo off from gaining any gil unless she found the goods first. She just needed her Chocobo to give her better answers…

“Oh sweet, I got a treasure chest!” Rindo cheered, as adorably innocent as when she first saw him complete a mission. His prize was nothing to sneeze at—his Chocobo opened up a chest to find a hundred gil inside. With starting funds and other measly gil added in, it’d be enough to grant him a crystal.

“Congrats, Rindo,” Neku said. “I’ve just gotten a bunch of coins so far.”

Shiki, meanwhile, had veered away from the playing field, her Chocobo complaining at her.

“Shiki, I think you’re getting a little far—”

As soon as Shoka finished saying that, Shiki’s Chocobo got an exclamation point above its head. She found something out there?

“Um, is my Chocobo okay?”

“Uh—yeah. Go find that,” Shoka encouraged, almost forgetting to watch her own Chocobo’s reactions. With the timer ticking down, Shiki struggled with pinpointing the hidden treasure… until the very last second. She unearthed a golden treasure chest, and opening it netted her a whopping two hundred gil. It successfully made her the winner of the game, though they all got to keep their spoils as they returned to the board.

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. Great job, Shiki,” Neku complimented, and Shiki smiled bright.

“Everyone else was going to the middle, so… I dunno—I wanted to explore some.”

“That was a big risk,” Shoka commented. She had no idea it came with such a reward. Pretty tricky of the devs, though she’d have to be careful taking advantage of that in the future. One wrong move, and it could really screw up her chances.

Shiki’s turn. She rolled, taking her only three spaces ahead. So close to her tunnel, and a rando in a Chocobo mascot suit gave her some GP along the way for who-knows-what. That wasn’t really important now, for a board-specific event stood in her way. Well, surely that wouldn’t be too bad…

Or, so Shoka thought, until she saw the lower tunnels swap destinations. Now, instead of leading to the Ghost Square, the tunnel Rinoa would’ve gotten to pick next turn would take her to the Event Square.

“Hold on, what’s happening to my tunnel?” Shiki asked.

“Looks like they all got swapped… That sucks.” Neku patted his girlfriend’s back. “Hopefully you can still get there somehow.”

Shiki pouted, and honestly, Shoka couldn’t blame her. She knew this board was hard, but to put tunnel swap spots right in front of the tunnels was next level annoying.

“It’s still just turn two, so you’ll get more chances.” Shoka gave Shiki a smile, offering her best attempt to comfort the skilled designer.

“Yeah… You’re right. I’ll keep trying my best!”

Shoka’s shaky finger jammed into the button to roll her dice. “N-no prob…”

Seven, and now she wanted the highest tunnel, soooo… Crap, that landed her on a red space. With a scowl, she accepted her negative gil in hopes that she, too, wouldn’t be barred from access to the most important tunnel.

“My turn, then…” Neku equipped his Materia, then rolled a one. “Damn.” Cloud moved one step forward to have the gil sucked from him as well, and then the board unceremoniously switched to Auron.

After a streak of unluckiness from the rest of them, of course Rindo would break that by rolling a nine. He easily strolled up to Elena’s Turk Shop by the reception desk, purchasing a Vitality Materia.

“What, scared you might get hit in minigames?” Shoka quipped.

“When you’re playing? Yeah. Besides, a good defense can really save you in some of those.”

It really depended on what minigames they ended up getting—and what other Materia, for that matter. If only Rindo’s luck had stopped there. He landed on the Tantalus spot in the gift shop, granting him another opportunity to screw everyone else over.

“Oh you’re kidding, ” Shoka complained. Blank and Cinna greeted Auron, offering to steal gil for free. They also had the option to steal crystals, but it’d be way too early in the game for that.

“Sorry, Shiki, but…”

Rindo selected Rinoa from the list of players, and the thieving crew disappeared. Much as Shoka hated seeing Shiki targeted, she couldn’t deny that it was his best option—especially after she and Neku had lost gil that round. Shiki got one chance to defend herself, but she still ended up with a hefty amount yanked away.

“Aww,” Shiki mumbled as the Tantalus duo shared their spoils with Auron.

“It’s okay, you can get him back,” Shoka assured her. “Er, after this minigame, I mean.”

As the turn’s colors settled out, they ended up in a two versus two match—Shoka and Neku on the red team against Shiki and Rindo on the purple team. The game? Blitzball.

“Bet you’re thrilled,” Shoka told Rindo, her voice dripping with snark. Blitzball was okay, but not really her favorite, or from her favorite game. Plus, if she’d been born in that universe, she knew she wouldn’t see the appeal of an overhyped sports fest.

“I was hoping we’d get this one.” Rindo beamed, helping Shiki figure out the controls during the small tutorial segment. Though the red team had played it before, they both took the time to practice and figure out their coordination. They would start on the offense, so as long as they didn’t lose the ball, the game was as good as theirs.

Neku began with the ball, and he and Shoka quickly split up. Rindo followed Neku, and Shiki guarded Shoka. When against computers, this game was way too easy—all you had to do was communicate. But with players that could interrupt, that option left the table, and Shoka just had to rely on intuition to tell her when Neku would pass the ball.

First pass went smoothly. Shoka caught it, swimming closer to the goal with Shiki chasing her. With the ball holder’s speed reduced, Shoka couldn’t escape as Rinoa circled around in front of Vivi.

“Got you! Now give me the ball,” Shiki said, getting really into it. Shoka smirked, pressing the circle button to pass it to Neku instead.

“Sorry, but no.”

Shiki hadn’t quite been fast enough on her buttons, and the ball slipped just past Rinoa’s grasp. “Rindo, catch it!”

“On it!”

Damn, he was good. Auron not only snatched the ball before Cloud could, but also slipped past with ease, heading towards the goal. Neku tilted the control stick to follow, but Rindo still managed to gain some distance before passing the ball to Shiki.

Unfortunately for Shoka, she and Neku just weren’t able to recover after that. A few quick passes between Shiki and Rindo, and they reached the goal. They earned the win, and the gil that came with it.

“Heh, great job,” Rindo told his teammate, and the two high-fived.

“Hehe, we totally owned it.”

No fair, Shoka wanted to team up with Shiki… Hopefully she’d get her chance later, on a better game.

And so the next turn began.

“So should I still go through the tunnel?” Shiki asked after rolling.

“Probably not,” Shoka replied. “It’ll take you to the wrong square. I’d go for the Chocobo Square instead if I were you.”

“Where’s that?”

“Just head back to the fountain and circle around it. You’ll get there.”

With an understanding nod, Shiki led Rinoa back down the stairs and around the fountain, arriving at another fork in the road. A helpful hint later, and she landed on a GP space. Much like the Chocobo Mascot from before, this one eagerly talked to Rinoa—but instead of giving her points, it offered to trade her points for an item. She’d only passed one such space so far, leaving her without enough points for most of the rare items they offered. She was still able to claim Une’s Mirror, giving her a chance to switch places with a random player. That sort of power could be either a blessing or a curse, depending on her timing and luck.

“Nice one, Shiki,” Rindo complimented. “Good luck when you use it.”

“Thanks… I’m not sure when would be best for that,” she replied as the turn switched from Rinoa to Vivi.

“I’d save it for desperate measures,” Shoka said. Speaking of items, she still had a Shinra Phone to use on a certain lucky boy. “Hope you’re ready, Rindykins.”

“Wait, what?” He balked as sweet, innocent little Vivi called the dangerous corporation. Only it wouldn’t be Shinra employees coming to say hi—but any villain in the series. They all waited with baited breath as the screen faded to black.

Within seconds, One-Winged Angel began playing.

“ Really?! ” Rindo exclaimed as Sephiroth descended from on high before Auron.

Shoka couldn’t hold it in. She burst out into laughter, doubling over against Rindo’s arm.

“I dunno if you deserve that right now,” he mumbled, watching Sephiroth slash his sword across the screen to stop the randomizer on a fate even Rindo wouldn’t be able to change.

“Aww, sad you might lose a little gil?” Shoka teased.

“I’m not the only one.” Rindo nodded to the screen, putting one arm around Shoka to hold her close. “Looks like we all lose two hundred gil.”

“Still worth it,” Shoka commented. Just his reaction alone had been a juicy enough prize, and this way, they’d all have to work to get the crystals. Taking comfort in snuggling against him, she took her turn. A seven easily got her into Ghost Square—and appropriately, to a Cait Sith Fortune space.

“Okay, now give me some gil…”

No gil, much to her dismay. Instead, Cait Sith granted her a Black Chocobo. That’d let her roll twice whenever she wanted to cash in. But before she started zooming around, she really needed gil. She’d have to win this next minigame if she wanted a crystal of her own.

“We’re all in need of some now,” Neku said as Cloud rolled. He shuffled forward onto a tactics space—perfect, another chance for gil since they’d wager a random amount. Though even if Neku ended up with the smallest bet possible, it’d leave Shoka with nothing unless she won. Rindo tensed as well, waiting with baited breath as Neku took his sweet time on the slot machine randomizing it.

A hundred fifty gil. That wasn’t the worst, but not great for any of them, either. Their characters forked up what they could, and the minigame selector picked Laguna’s Sharp Shooter.

Shoka smirked, readying her controller. Oh yeah, she had this in the bag. Shoka leaned forward, tilting her target this way and that. She hit the X with skilled accuracy, taking down one strong target after another. She just had to watch for the golden Chocobo…

“Got you!” she cheered as she shot the poor thing in the neck. Not the nicest way for it to go down, but hey—it was just a cardboard cut out anyway.

“Good thing Fret’s not here to see that,” Rindo mumbled.

“He’ll live. Besides, it netted me a ton of points.”

Just in time for the buzzer. Results came in, announcing Shoka the winner with Neku right behind her. Shiki glanced at him, her eyebrows furrowing. “You did surprisingly good on that, Neku…”

Neku shrugged. “I’ve been shot enough times, so this game’s my way of letting off some steam. Still can’t beat Shoka at it, though. Must be a Reaper requirement to be good with a gun.”

“Obvi,” Shoka said, not about to pass up a prime opportunity to boast. “We have to keep Players on their toes somehow.”

“Right, ‘cause missions don’t already do that,” Neku replied with good-humored sarcasm.

“You’re just jealous you don’t have my skills.”
After equipping his Materia, Rindo’s high rolling streak continued, freeing him from the Battle Square. He landed on a basic purple space, and the game pitted them all against each other for some Chocobo Racing.

Shoka couldn’t deny it was a classic. Still, she had to be on top of her game if she wanted to beat Rindo and have enough gil for her crystal.

Much like with the scavenger hunt, they all got different colored Chocobos based on their character, giving Vivi a blue one, Auron a red, Cloud a basic yellow, and Rinoa a white one. But Fantasy Party had a way of simplifying their minigames—meaning the colors wouldn’t affect stats or special abilities. They would have to win on skill alone with a randomized track, making this a game no one minded a bit of repetition with.

The tutorial mostly served to teach Shiki techniques with drifting, as well as the types of speed balloons or obstacles they might find. Content in his racing abilities, Rindo didn’t bother with practicing, but instead rested his head on Shoka’s. His sudden weight made her screw up her controls, and if this had been a real race, he’d be meeting her elbow in his ribs for his attempted affections. Maybe because it was just practice, she accepted it, too busy concentrating on the sharp corners. As long as he didn’t move during the actual game, she didn’t mind this so much.

“Okay, I think I’ve got it,” Shiki said. “Though, which balloons are better? I never could figure it out when I played before…”

“It really depends,” Rindo replied. “I’d say don’t worry too much about the blue ones? They help your speed, but they max out at ten, so you’ll get enough as long as you don’t touch anything. Yellow gives you a quick boost, which can help you pass someone, and red lets you jump. You can use it to avoid some obstacles.” Glancing at Neku’s screen, he added, “Unless you have a Materia that changes it, anyway.”

True to his word, Neku’s ability allowed him to shoot forward bursts of water, spinning Shiki out of control. She quickly recovered, using a boost to keep the practice race going.

“Huh, okay. I’ll give it a try!”

As the real race began, Shoka leaned forward. Rindo let go of her, focusing on his own controls instead. Three, two, one—and they were off. As soon as they hit their first set of blue balloons, Auron shifted into the lead, using only one hand on his Chocobo’s reins. Just behind him, Vivi bounced along with every step, his hat miraculously staying on as the virtual wind rushed by.

They reached their first sharp corner, and Shoka carefully timed the drifting. She managed to keep up with Rindo, veering away from him to grab more balloons. She had to pass him somehow—maybe a well timed speed boost would do the trick.

After drifting, Shoka activated the boost, passing by Auron. “Ha! Eat my dust—”

Maybe she boasted a little too soon. A burst of water hit her back, shoving her straight into a Bomb balloon. She groaned as her friends all passed her before she could recover.

“Hey—Neku!”

“Sorry.”

He wasn’t sorry. Shoka fought the urge to glare at him.

“So… what was that about your dust?” Rindo teased.

“Shut up.”

Great, now how was she supposed to win? Glancing at Rindo’s box, she saw him jump over another Bomb balloon. She watched her screen close again, putting her all into a perfect race. She couldn’t hit the wall or run into the grass—not if she wanted to catch up.

Another red balloon popped, filling her ability gauge. Instead of using it on the remaining Bomb balloons, though, she twisted around them, hoping the ability would serve her better on the upcoming obstacles.

Speaking of—great, Cactuar gates. Just ahead of her, she saw Rinoa attempt to slip through an open gate, only for it to shut right in her face. Shoka activated her jump ability, soaring over the gates and past Shiki. With another speed burst, she passed Cloud, leaving only Auron ahead again. He zoomed through another gate, his ability all used up. Hers still wasn’t, and Shoka leapt over the next set of gates. Surely they had to be coming up on the end of the course soon. But first, they had a few sharp turns back and forth ahead.

Or… Rindo did. With Shoka’s ability still active, she decided to take a chance on running straight. She jumped as she reached the grass to cut through the otherwise slow zone. Seconds after landing, she jumped again, this time taking a chance over the cliff that’d usually send her out of bounds. She got no such restriction this high above the course, though, and she hit the ground in front of Rindo.

“What the—Shoka?!”

Shoka smirked, grabbing a yellow balloon just in time to use another speed boost. The final stretch combined conveyor belts with Bomb balloons, some purposely placed to put players in dire straits. Placing her full concentration into it, Shoka swiftly sprinted along any conveyor belt that’d boost her forward, veering off them before hitting the exploding nightmares.

Soon after, she crossed the finish line. “Yes! Take that!” she cheered, pumped up and eager for her gil grand prize. Rindo placed second, and Neku third, ending the race.

“Damn,” Rindo muttered, but like a good boyfriend, he still rubbed Shoka’s back. “Good use of that jump.”

“Heh, thanks. I knew I had to get ahead of you somehow.”

“You win this time. If we get Chocobo Racing again, though, you’re going down.”

“We’ll see about that.” She glanced back, flicking a strand of his Chocobo-styled hair. “Maybe I’ll even steal your title of Chocobo champion.”

“Think that title still belongs to Fret,” Rindo joked. Gil distributed, the turn began anew.

“I want to go… this way, right?”

Shiki was catching on. With the other crystal in Chocobo Square, the lowest path would take her there—as long as she didn’t land on another tunnel switching event. She stopped just before it, taking the negative gil as her turn ended.

The camera shifted to Vivi in the Ghost Square—just five spaces from the crystal. Not wanting to take a chance on rolling low, Shoka called her black Chocobo. She rolled two dice this time. One for the first. Good thing she’d used that, or she would’ve been really mad. Second gave her a ten. Vivi climbed up on the Chocobo, moving forward eleven spaces—with a few stops on the way.

First stop brought her to Tseng’s shop, offering her a nice variety of items. She could spare a little gil—but not much. A Tonberry Knife could be fun, and screw someone up nicely. Selecting her purchase, she moved on to the Crystal Moogle.

It greeted her in a high pitched voice, offering her pick of either a wind or water crystal. Both could be good choices…

“The Moogle sounds cute,” Shiki said. “I almost wish I could take it home.”

“I dunno about that. I feel like its voice would get annoying after a while,” Shoka replied. Not that she usually minded them that much, as long as they only talked in small bursts.

Neku chuckled. “Surprised to hear you say that.”

“You are?”

“Well, yeah. I feel like I’ve heard you hit that pitch when you’re really mad.”

Shoka flushed, this time not holding her glare back from the legendary player. “Keep talking, and I’ll show you that pitch.” She picked the wind crystal. With any luck, maybe she could steal that Water Materia from Neku and force a water crystal later.

The Crystal Moogle moved, keeping on the lower half of the board by entering the Event Square. This time, it had water and earth crystals available for purchase. Shoka really needed to up her gil if she wanted any chance at them. Oh hey, lucky her—after exiting back onto the main board, she had a chance to spend the GP she’d gathered by passing a Tonberry mascot back in the Ghost Square. Though with little to her name after that crystal purchase, instead of gaining an item, she decided to trade her GP for gil.

Rolling the dice, Cloud safely made it into the Event Square, gaining his first GP as well. Though Neku was taking a serious chance—he didn’t have enough gil, which meant he’d be out for blood with the next minigame. Being one of the few Materia holders, he might have a good chance at winning, depending on the selection.

Auron was up, and Rindo rolled an eight. With no chance at the northern tunnels anymore, he went down the stairs, gained GP from a mascot, and then…

“Are you serious right now?!”

He’d ended up on the exact same Guide Moogle that’d let him into the Battle Square on the first round.

“Well, might as well give this another go.” He paid the cost, and it teleported him to the Speed Square. “Damn, not where I wanted.”

“Better luck next time, Rindykins,” Shoka teased. For the next minigame, she ended up on a team with Shiki. They just needed a good one so they could own the guys with their combined skills.

The minecart game would do the trick. “Alright, Shiki, for this, we just have to hit targets. Use the control stick to aim, then X to hit the far ones with Thunder. If any are close to the cart, you can use O to use your weapon instead.”

Once again, Neku got a slightly different ability—but at least in this one, Blizzard wouldn’t give him too huge of an advantage.

“Huh, okay… How should we split it?” Shiki asked.

“Just focus on the right side. Using your weapon will slow you down, so only hit close ones if you have a chance between farther targets.”

Shoka knew the timing, but it took practice—practice that Shiki wouldn’t get just from the tutorial menu.

“Oh yeah, and watch for levers. Usually hitting them will take us a different way with even more targets, and one should give us rare targets.”

“Watch for levers… Got it.” Shiki peeked around the boys, smiling at her. “Let’s do our best, Shoka!”

Shoka sunk into her hood a bit. This really wasn’t the time to geek out, but to hear that from her idol…

Shaking her head, Shoka got herself back in the game. If she wanted to help her idol gain some gil, they had to win this.

The game shot them through a treacherous mining tunnel, confined to their wild and uncontrollable carts. The first targets were in a line on Shoka’s side, then another line on Shiki’s. They soon became more sporadic, and Shoka found herself having to think on her feet as she switched from spells to Vivi’s staff. He was so slow to whack them, too—she slammed her thumb on the magic button repeatedly as she tried to get him to pick up the pace. She couldn’t dare to look at how the boys were fairing, so she just had to give it her all.

“Shiki, get that lever!” she said, noticing the split ahead.

“Right!”

The track shifted, and they went up and down a few bumps with golden targets all around. Bingo, they hit the jackpot already. Shoka almost let out an evil snicker as she reveled in the points. No way were the boys going to win this one now.

A minute or two later, and the game ended. The boys weren’t that far behind on points—but still enough to lose the match. She and Shiki reaped the rewards.

“Great job, Shoka!” Shiki said with the nicest smile. “We make a good team.”

With the winning high over, Shoka almost wanted to melt again. “Y-yeah, we do,” she mumbled, grinning despite herself. Rindo gave her a pat on the shoulder, as if congratulating her—not for the game, but for Shiki’s approval. She shrugged him off before her cheeks burned even brighter, hoping the other couple wouldn’t catch on.

Luckily for her, Shiki didn’t. Neku, on the other hand… He gave her a smirk. If he said one word…

“Alright, Shiki, we’re back to you,” he said instead. Smart boy. Shoka could let him off the hook this time. Turn five began with Shiki’s roll.

Two, and to a blank purple space. Well, they couldn’t all be winners—

Or… could they? Angelo rushed over to his mistress, sniffing the ground. Rinoa knelt down, and seconds later, pulled up a Summon Materia from the board. Shoka’s jaw dropped.

“Huh… Is that good?” Shiki asked.

“Uh, yeah, it is,” Shoka replied, unable to keep the sass out of her voice—even for Shiki. “Summons are worth two points if you have them equipped by the end. You just have to beat us at their minigame first.”

“Wait, we’re all doing it?”

“Yeah,” Rindo took over. “If anyone lands on the spot, we all get a chance… but you get something to give you a head start. I think for Shiva’s, you get an ice shield.”

Said icy lady hung over Rinoa, and with a freezing blown kiss, instructions for her game came up.

Shoka might as well have turned to ice. She remembered Ayano doing that once when teasing an unlucky Player…

No, this was supposed to be their day to have fun. And now, with Shiva’s challenge, they had a snowboard race, where Shiva’s icicles would rain down on them. Even without a speed boost, Shiki’s shield would no doubt save her a headache. They set off down the slope, practically a recreation of the one from Cloud’s game. So when he was the first one to hit ice and fall flat on his face, Shoka couldn’t help but snicker.

“Glad you’re enjoying this,” Neku mumbled, recovering in the last place.

“Aww, what’s wrong? Sad you can’t use that Water Materia to cheat your way out of this?”

“Not cheating if the game gives it to you. Aren’t Materia disabled for these anyway?”

He dodged around another icicle, gaining speed. Shoka tilted her control stick, sending Vivi over a jump. With a quick tap of her buttons, a trick gave her more speed—right into a snowy flurry of death.

“Seriously?!”

Only Shiki and Rindo pushed through, the former losing her shield in the process. Meanwhile, Rindo just recovered way too fast for video gamely possible. Or at least, Shoka thought so.

“Looks like she’s making her attacks wider,” Rindo said as he dodged around another.

Shoka rolled her eyes, following him close. “Yeah, I can see that, thanks.”

“Now who’s sad?” Neku teased. Oh like he had any room to speak. He still hadn’t even passed her.

“At least I’m not in last.”

He opened his mouth to respond, only to run into another icicle. He shut it again in a grimace.

“Uh-oh, this looks bad.” Shiki’s screen became covered in white, followed by Rindo’s. Great, Shiva’s blizzard. Shoka was struggling enough as it was to catch up.

Soon, none of them could see that far in front of their characters, relying on simply quick reactions and intuition to dodge the attacks. Though Shoka could pride herself on her Reaper reflexes, they sadly didn’t translate to this particular minigame. She glared at the screen, imagining all the psychs she’d use to fight her way through this—if only she could transport herself into the game. Or at least, let her use Vivi’s spells! She groaned as she hit another icicle, utterly hopeless with her useless mage.

…Okay, thinking that was an insult to Vivi. It was the game’s fault for limiting everything so damn much.

“Finish!” Dio’s voice announced. The blizzard cleared, showing Rinoa safely at the bottom. Auron slid in behind her, then Cloud third. Shoka pouted as Vivi tripped into last place, with no chance in freezing hell at the summon.

Oh well, she couldn’t be too mad—at least Shiki won.

“Congrats,” Rindo said, beating her to it. “You got Shiva. Be sure to equip her before the final turn!”

“Will do!” Shiki’s turn ended, Summon Materia safely in her inventory.

“Yeah, uh… Good job,” Shoka mumbled, having Vivi roll the die. Crap, she forgot to use her Tonberry Knife. She sulked as a four appeared in front of Vivi. She’d just have to remember to use it next time. For now, she had Laguna’s shop to stop at, apparently. “Still can’t believe this dummy’s a shopkeeper.”

“I know, right?” Rindo chuckled. “Guess they wanted his crew in it somehow.”

Shoka’s eyes practically sparkled as she stared at his wares. Materia—any green Materia she wanted. With a Wind Crystal in her possession and a Water Materia already out for potential stealing, she knew it was in her best interest to get fire or earth. Maybe if she got earth, she could use Quake, and…

Her fingers stopped. All of a sudden, it was like she felt the ground shake beneath her, the rain beating on her head. She saw Susukichi above her, in his full on Noise form, some old car over his head. One year ago, he made his last stand—and they stopped him with everything they had. He never… got to see how Shiba changed…

“Shoka?”

Rindo’s gentle hand touched her shoulder. It was light, yet somehow firm at the same time—something solid to hold her to reality. Shoka blinked a few times, tilting her head away from him as she realized she’d just been staring blankly at the screen.

“It’s…it’s nothing, sorry.” She scrolled back up, coughing up the money for the Fire Materia instead. Earthquakes were more boring anyway.

Rindo’s hand shifted to her back, rubbing it.

“If you need to pause a moment, it’s fine…”

“No, I’m good, really. Just…”

She bit her lip, refusing to meet Neku’s and Shiki’s worried glances. How could she even begin to explain that this game—full of its happy colors and pretty lights—managed to remind her of a much darker time, and one of her fallen comrades? She felt so dumb…

“Alright… We can talk about it whenever you’re ready.” He knew her too well. Instead of pushing it, Rindo tapped his controller against hers. “Looks like you have a choice now. Who are you gonna call over to the Skywheel? We could have our digital date there.”

“...with Vivi and Auron? That’s… no.”

Rindo shrugged, a playful smirk on his face. “It could be an afterlife thing, since they’re both dead. Maybe Auron’s helping Vivi get accustomed to the UG.”

“ Rindo! That’s so bad!” Luckily, Shoka knew who she wanted to invite—and it wasn’t him. Especially not after that joke. “Vivi deserves something nicer, like a friend date with Cloud.” She clicked the spiky haired boy before his similarly spiky haired player could protest.

“Surprised you didn’t want to go with Shiki,” Neku said, even as he was stolen away from the Event Square and all the prizes inside.

“Shiki’s not the one about to get a crystal.”

“She did just get Shiva, so you never know.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be protecting your girlfriend?”

“Hey, it’s a video game. Besides, she has Piggy if things ever get too rough.”

Shiki huffed, shifting enough that her kitty companion woke up. “He’s a cat. ”

Reaching over, Neku scratched under Nanako’s chin. “No, this is a cat. Surprised you can’t tell the difference.”

Apparently even Shiki could have her buttons pushed, albeit in a playful way. She snatched up Neku’s controller, pressing the roll button before he was even ready. That eight really backfired on her, though. Neku could only laugh, too amused by her adorable protest to stop her. Cloud soon hit a fork in the road, and without even looking at the map ahead, Shiki veered him left onto a red space. With a triumphant grin, she then handed the controller back to him. “Here. You lose thirty gil.”

Neku continued laughing as he took it. “Fine, you win, okay?”

“Good. I better.”

Auron strolled right up to Reno’s shop, where the Turk offered him plenty of items to slow down other players. He purchased Seifer’s Challenge—an item that’d let him duel someone else any time he wanted for gil.

“I see someone’s feeling a little feisty.”

“I think we’re all getting feisty at this point,” Rindo replied. They were in for a three versus one this time, and the game? Fort Condor. Only instead of the full-on strategy focus it was known for, this would be a test of speed. Shoka, Rindo, and Shiki would have to coordinate matching the troops they could each call to combat Neku’s, versus Neku, who had only his own timing and aptitude with buttons to contend with.

Shoka had the blue shield units. That meant… Right, according to the guide in the corner, she’d be good against red units, like the ones Rindo controlled. Shiki rounded them out with the green archers.

After explaining the game to Shiki, it commenced, and Neku quickly placed a few troops down. The trick for them was placing their units in the right order, meaning… She was first—

Except a green unit pranced out before she could start. “Er, Shiki, hold on,” Shoka attempted, though it was too late for that poor guy. He shot a few useless arrows before being annihilated by a sword. Shoka quickly sent out her guy, followed immediately by Rindo’s for the next.

“Wait, was that bad?”

“It’s that rock-paper-scissors thing we were saying. We need to get rid of Neku’s units, then send some out to put him on the defensive.” Shoka sent another unit out. “Okay, send someone now.”

That got them back on track, though they still couldn’t catch up—even with Neku’s forced delays. His units pushed into their territory, taking advantage of their lack of coordination. He switched them up constantly, too. Well, they still had a chance. As long as they could keep up, they could get a powerful unit…

Just as Shoka was thinking that, one of Neku’s shield guys charged through Rindo’s sword, making it dangerously close to their side.

“Crap, sorry,” Rindo said. “I freaked.”

“Yeah, well we’re about to lose. Shiki, we need an archer!”

Shiki wasn’t fast enough, and the game flashed red—an indicator that Neku had killed enough of their units for his own special boss. The screen showed Neku a sequence of buttons to press, and he owned it, selecting one of his three colors at the end. A pixelated Hojo revealed his creepy ass self, throwing bombs full of who knows what on the hero team and destroying all of Shoka’s well-placed units. They were finished.

“Really? You had to pick Hojo?”

“Not my fault he’s a blue unit. You had the most on the board, so I went with it.”

Shoka couldn’t argue that—she’d have done the same. She pressed her lips together, trying to speed past the screen of his victory gil. Not that her button mashing helped.

“So um, do I want to use this summon?” Shiki hovered over it on her items soon after she got control.

“It wouldn’t hurt to equip it,” Neku replied. “You only get three Materia total, but Shiva can act like a Water Materia in minigames. And if you get something you’d prefer later, you can always send her back into your inventory.”

“Just keep in mind that’s also limited to three,” Shoka said. “If you get too many, you’ll have to get rid of something.”

“Huh, okay. I’ll put it on for now, then.”

With Shiva equipped, Shiki rolled. A nine took her past a GP station and up to a Cait Sith space. She received two Gil Machina items.

“What do these do?”

“They let you set traps,” Shoka answered. “Lay one down next time. If one of the boys land on it, maybe you can steal their gil.”

“She could steal your gil, too,” Rindo pointed out.

“I’ll be more careful than that.”

“Riiiight, ‘cause you have total control over the dice.”

Someone was asking for it. Shoka glared at him as she equipped her Fire Materia, then rolled.

If only the dice could’ve worked with her, just once. With no splits to save her, she landed on a Jenova Space—which, like the Shinra Phone she used earlier, could call any villain. Well, at least some of them were cool. She wouldn’t mind Sorceress Ultimecia. Or, though she refused to say it out loud, Kuja wouldn’t be that bad of a choice. She waited as the screen faded to black, hoping for something good.

“The world needs a new hero!” an over-the-top voice said—and if she didn’t know better, she would’ve thought Shiba had somehow infiltrated the game from the way that annoying tone grated on her nerves.

“Oh no, don’t tell me…”

Genesis appeared on the screen, flaunting his dorky red outfit.

“Oh come on! You get Sephiroth, and I get Genesis?! That’s so not fair!”

Rindo snickered. “What, don’t want to have your fate served by the drama king?”

“No! Who would?!”

Genesis selected a boss battle, because of course he did. Why couldn’t he just pack up and leave? Vivi looked ridiculous facing this evil angel-wannabe.

As the fight started, she had free reign to run around and roll out of the way of his oncoming attacks, and her attack button let Vivi cast a random spell, with Fire upgraded to Fira due to her Materia. Otherwise, element didn’t matter in this fight—she just had to get a certain number of hits on him to win, and she got one right away. If only he’d stop moving…

He swung his long red sword like the failed knockoff Sephiroth he was. Vivi rolled out of the way, only to be hit by shiny red blasts of energy.

“Infinite in mystery, is the gift of the goddess, we seek it thus, and take to the sky,” Genesis began monologuing in the middle of their battle. Ugh, just listening to him somehow made her reflexes worse, yet she still continued giving it her all. “Ripples form on the water’s surface, the wandering soul knows no rest…”

She struck him with Blizzard—her final hit. “You need to chill out,” she quipped. He fell to one knee, yet still managed to grin before disappearing in a black mist.

As for her… She’d suffered enough hits to run her dry, ten gil knocked out with every bit of HP he stole. Like she needed another reason to hate Genesis.

Neku rolled, landing on a GP space. He relinquished his GP for a Green Chocobo, and Cloud posed next to the Cactuar mascot.

As Rindo took control, he looked through his inventory, tapping his controller as he considered. Deciding against it, he simply rolled instead. An eight took him to the local Guide Moogle—an experience he knew all too well by now.

“You’re way too lucky with that,” Shoka commented.

“Yeah, but not with going to the right square,” Rindo replied as he brought up the map. “Let’s see… If this takes me out up there, then… Ehh, better to take my chances.”

And so, he paid for the random warp once again. They all held their breath as Auron warped away from the Speed Square, soon ending up in the Ghost Square instead.

“Damn, see? Still not in the right place for a crystal.”

“You don’t even have enough money for a crystal right now,” Neku pointed out. “I’d take this break to build up a little.”

“I guess…”

If he wanted to build up gil, then he had competition—‘cause Shoka desperately needed to recover after Genesis. And a three versus one meant that she’d have to put her all in if she wanted to triumph over the trio next to her.

The random selection picked a minigame, and…

A wide, borderline sadistic smirk covered Shoka’s face.

“Oh… crap.” Rindo paled, clutching his controller tight.

“We’re in for it now. Rindo, don’t lose concentration,” Neku said.

“That’s right, losers!” Shoka gloated. “Hope you’re ready to be at my mercy!”

Shiki tilted her head at the screen, so lost. “Vivi’s Jump Rope?”

“Y-yeah,” Rindo replied, sitting up to practice his timing. “Shoka controls how fast or slow the rope goes, and we have to jump. Get hit once, and you’re out.”

“Can that Vitality Materia help you?” Neku asked.

“I don’t remember. I know a Revival one could, but none of us have that.”

They were already squirming. Good. She wasn’t about to let them off easy.

As the game began, Vivi took one side of the rope, Puck took the other—ready to follow the player’s lead. Shoka started out easy. A few paced out jumps to lure them into a false sense of security. Just as they were getting the timing down, she sped it up. Shiki jumped too late, knocking her out of the game.

“Whoops,” she said as she set her controller in her lap, petting her cat instead.

“Too bad, but you’re out.” Shoka could be nice for Shiki, at least. “As for you two…”

The boys wouldn’t get such kindness from her.

Shoka varied up the speed, shifting between slower takes and fast ones. Rindo was practically sweating as he tried to keep up—not that it helped, ‘cause he hit the button too fast. Auron unceremoniously tripped over the rope, falling on his butt.

“Dammit…”

“Sorry, Rindykins. That Vitality Materia won’t save you after all.”

She just had Neku left. He said nothing as he leaned forward, keeping his concentration steady. If she wanted to get him, then she had to break the rhythm—rapidly and haphazardly. If he could latch onto the timing, she’d never win.

His eyebrows furrowed as he barely made the jump. Just a few more seconds, and the game would be over, one way or another. She switched from fast to slow, then back to fast—

“Crap!”

He said it before Cloud even tripped. He knew he’d screwed up, and Shoka grinned manically as Vivi triumphed.

“You really thought you could beat me? Please!”

“I almost had it,” Neku grumbled.

“‘Almost’ won’t help you.”

“Yeah, yeah, good job.”

Shoka grinned as she watched that sweet gil come to Vivi. As long as she could keep this up, she could recover.

“Shiki, you should set your trap now,” Neku advised as Shiki’s turn began.

“Oh, sure! Okay, I’ll try it… Maybe here?” With only a few spaces on either side allowed, Shiki smartly chose a spot right before the last fork in the road.

“Yeah, that’ll work. Good job.”

Shiki thanked her and rolled, this time safely making it through the tunnel and into the Event Square. She stopped only a few spots away from the Crystal Moogle, and she had enough money for it, too.

Which meant Shoka had a difficult choice. She could use her Tonberry Knife to slow Shiki down… or she could let her idol have a crystal. With that and a Summon Materia in her pocket, she’d be on track for winning—and it’d be hard to catch up at this rate.

“Well? You gonna do it?”

Neku just had to notice her hesitation. Biting her lip, Shoka clicked the item, then clicked Rinoa’s portrait.

“Sorry, Shiki.”

Rinoa stepped back in surprise as a Tonberry appeared in front of her. It stabbed her, cutting her next roll down to a max of three. That’d at least buy them one turn before Shiki got to the Moogle.

“That looked bad,” Shiki said as she watched the camera shift back to Vivi.

“It just means you can’t roll as high next turn,” Rindo explained.

“Huh, okay… That should be fine, right?”

“Depends on what you roll.”

Shoka lowered her head as she had Vivi roll his ten-sided die. She landed on a basic purple square, netting her a little more gil.

And with that, Neku was up. He called out his Green Chocobo, letting him roll three times before moving on the bird. Ten, ten… Damn, he was getting lucky. Until the third one came up a one, anyway.

“Still pretty good,” Neku said as Cloud started moving. At the first fork, he ascended the stairs, then kept going towards the same tunnel as Shiki. Shoka frowned. He landed on the same spot as her—and with no Tonberry to slow him down, he actually had a chance at the crystal next turn.

“Are you for real?” Shoka cursed her luck. She should’ve saved the dumb knife.

“Didn’t actually think it’d get me that far. But hey, I’ll take it.”

Shiki giggled. “Yeah, and we get to be together for a bit.”

Neku scratched Nanako’s belly as he gave his girlfriend his full attention. “True. Though we’ll see next turn if that’s good or bad.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Shoka wouldn’t be so sure. If Neku stole that crystal from Shiki, then Shoka would have to get back at him somehow.

Rindo moved, holding his breath as he passed over some red spaces. He landed on Tseng’s shop, purchasing a Yellow Chocobo for just as much money as he received from the space itself.

With them all against each other, the Run Wild Soccer minigame loaded up. Each person was assigned a different color, with four goals stationed around the field—each with a five above it. With the ability to do a regular kick or a jump kick on the overly huge soccer ball, they had to eliminate everyone else before the time limit.

Shoka noticed Materia active on this one, too. With the triangle button, they could call a spell from their set Materia to help hit balls at a distance, but the slow cast time could screw them up if they weren’t careful. They had to balance it somehow for losers like Rindo who lacked any elements.

The game began, and they all raced for the ball. Both Shoka and Neku pelted it with magic, sending it at an angle. Shiki reached it first, sending it hard towards Neku’s blue goal. He couldn’t reach it in time, and he lost a point.

“Nice shot,” he said as another ball dropped from the sky.

Once again, they all rushed after it, trying to whack it towards anyone’s goal but their own. A few seconds later, and things really got interesting. A second ball dropped, and they’d have to divide their attention—and keep their cameras moving if they wanted to keep track of both.

If only that was the end of it. By the time the third ball joined the fray, Shoka found herself juggling way too much. How the hell was she supposed to protect her goal if she was out here trying to get balls in everyone else’s? And the ball wouldn’t even work with her. Its physics reminded her more of an inflated beach ball, not a soccer ball. She practically growled at the screen every time she missed the goal by a hair, only for the ball to bounce backwards with the speed of a turtle.

It came as no surprise when she lost. She slumped back against the couch, watching the others somehow handle the balls way better than she ever could.

Soon enough, the game ended with Rindo as the victor.

“That was kinda fun,” he said, and Shoka groaned as she sat up.

“Speak for yourself. I don’t get how you’re supposed to aim in that dumb game.”

“It’s really not that hard…” He trailed off when he caught her annoyed look. “Er—a-anyway, it’s Shiki’s turn now.”

Shiki’s turn with the Tonberry’s curse still hovering over her. At least she had the sense to place the Gil Machina down before she began, making the Cait Sith space dangerous if Neku happened to land on it. But that was a problem for later—especially since Shiki landed on the red space right in front of the Crystal Moogle.

“Aww, I’m just one off…”

Yeah, and whose fault was that? Shoka’s, of course. She internally reprimanded herself for giving in to that last turn.

As the camera moved to Vivi, Shoka briefly considered using Une’s Mirror. With both Neku and Shiki in front of a Crystal Moogle, her chances of warping there were good—too good for the amount of gil she had. Or, she could stay on her current path and make it to the Chocobo Square…

As much as she wanted to screw Neku over, she determined it would be better to hold off. She rolled, safely entering the Chocobo Square and heading right up to the counter. The yellow space offered an event that let her bet on who would win the next minigame.

“Huh, that’s new.”

“Who are you gonna pick?” Rindo asked.

Shoka moved back and forth between them, considering. She could do herself and get double the gil… but it really depended on the minigame. If they got another dumb one like that, she might lose out.

She had to think about this logically. As much as she wanted to bet on Shiki, her track record wasn’t the best. Then Rindo just won the last game, but he was at least on par with Neku and Shoka—really just depending on what game they got. Meaning, if the random number gods varied up the type of game, Neku would be the best option.

And so, she picked Cloud.

“Ouch. No faith in me or Shiki, huh?” Rindo teased.

“I have faith in you losing,” she joked right back as she selected the gil amount. Her turn over, she snacked on a few rice crackers.

“Gee, thanks. ”

“I’m surprised you didn’t bet on yourself,” Neku commented as he had Cloud roll. Damn, he rolled enough to get the crystal. He forked over the money, purchasing an Earth Crystal right in front of poor Shiki. And so, to Rindo’s dismay, the Moogle skipped over the Ghost Square and moved into the Wonderment one instead.

“I was so close, too,” Shiki mumbled.

“Sorry, but you were too slow thanks to a certain someone.”

Shoka responded by tossing a rice cracker at the legendary nuisance. He laughed—though his humor didn’t last long. Cloud moved once more, landing on a yellow trade space.

“Uh-oh.”

“Ugh, why do they even still have these?” Shoka didn’t even need to see the results to be salty. These never worked in her favor, and they got so hard to time that she’d just rather not see Vivi’s face pop up on it.

First one up was Rinoa. Next, the direction of the trade. Whatever got traded would be given to Rinoa—and looks like a hundred gil was up for grabs. From…

“Really?!” Shoka almost threw another rice cracker at Neku when Vivi popped up on the screen.

“I had no control over that. You saw how fast it was going.”

She hated that he was right. She crunched the cracker between her teeth instead, gritting them as Rinoa stole Vivi’s gil. Now she really wished she hadn’t betted on Neku like that.

“At least you didn’t lose a crystal?”

If Rindo thought he was helping, he could shove it. Which Shoka demonstrated by giving him a face full of rice crackers. Rindo laughed, guarding himself as Auran moved.

“Hey, c’mon, Shoka!”

“Don’t ‘hey’ me.” She snatched her controller up, scooting away from Rindo as much as she could on this cramped couch. “I don’t know if I want to be on your team now.”

“Doesn’t this work out better for you?” He moved closer, acting like he’d never heard of personal space. “You get gil no matter who wins.”

Fine, maybe that did comfort her a little. But just a little.

“Yeah, whatever. So we’re doing Cloud’s Motorcycle Escape?”

She actually liked this one. Though on the surface, it seemed like a race, it was actually a battle to the death—or at least, that’s what she liked to tell herself.

As the practice loaded up, she found herself as the attacker. She could use her staff or spells, while Rindo would be in charge of driving. And on the other team, Shiki ended up as the driver.

Well, at least she could digitally whack Neku for everything he did last turn. That’d definitely help Shoka get a bit of revenge out of her system. Finishing up the practice, the true game began, and the motorcycles zoomed down the tunnels. Rindo held back, letting Shiki zoom forward before coming up behind her. Shoka was already on top of her part, burning Cloud with fire before switching to bonk him with her staff.

“Ha! Take that!”

“Shiki, pull away,” Neku instructed, bringing his sword around to get one hit in—but with Rindo’s Vitality Materia giving their team more HP, it barely made a difference.

“Right!” Shiki veered to the side, giving them space for Neku to cast a spell. His aim was impeccable, but whatever—if he wanted a magic battle, then a magic battle he’d get. Even if characters didn’t abide by their usual stats in this game, no way was Shoka gonna let the ultimate black mage fall to the aloof mercenary—

“Mreowww!”

Before Shoka knew what was going on, a fuzzy shadow leapt at the screen. Her cat Kage batted the left side of the TV, trying to catch the Blizzard spell as it hit Vivi in the face.

“Kage!” Shoka hissed, but it didn’t phase him one bit. His tail twitched back and forth as he kept attacking Vivi and Auron.

The game paused, and Neku lowered his controller. “Here—you wanna get him?”

Shoka groaned as she handed off her controller to Rindo, then pushed herself to her feet. She rounded the coffee table as Kage’s head twitched back and forth, trying to figure out where the fun lights went.

“Okay, that’s enough, little mister!” Shoka scooped her cat up, and he squeaked and squirmed in protest. She set him on the cat tower by the far wall, patting his head. “Stay here.”

Cat handled, she returned to the couch. “Okay, I’m good,” she said as she snatched her controller back.

The game continued. Shiki pulled him close, Cloud and Vivi whacking each other with everything they had—

Until Kage once again got in on the action. He tried striking them both with his paws, and Neku paused again.

“So much for that.”

“Ugh, seriously, Kage? It’s just a game!” Shoka once again got up to handle her furry menace. This time, she pet him through his giddy wiggling, trying to calm him down with a “shhh.” She took him over to the couch, snatching a blanket to cover him up with.

“You really think that’s going to hold him?” Rindo asked.

“It’s fine. Let’s just finish this.”

“If you’re sure,” Neku said.

“I’m sure. Just continue.” She hovered her thumb over the attack button. They were even now, so if she could just get some good hits in…

As they resumed, she could feel Kage trying to get out of the blankets. With her hands occupied, she tried using her elbows to trap him—then her knees when he wormed his way down there. She failed in both regards, and he jumped down out of the blanket and immediately charged towards the TV again.

They paused for the third time—and the final strike. Shoka got up once again to take care of her furball. “Okay, you had your chance,” she told him as she snatched him up. She carried him to her room, dumping him on the floor before closing the door. As she walked away, she could hear him protesting as loud as he could.

“Sorry about him,” Shoka said as she plopped back down.

“It’s fine. We’re pretty used to it,” Neku said as he scratched Nanako’s head. At least their cat was being a good little girl. Shoka wished Kage could learn a thing or two from her.

Finally, they were able to continue the game without any interruptions. But with time almost up, Shoka couldn’t recover. She and Rindo lost.

“That cat, I swear…”

It had to be Kage’s fault—she had been doing good before he interrupted. As annoyed as she was, she also felt bad every time she heard his sad meow from inside her room. She’d give him pets later, whether he deserved them or not.

Besides, as the gil got distributed, her bet took effect—giving her more gil than she would’ve gotten if she’d won. Okay, so maybe losing wasn’t so bad in this case. But she wasn’t going to admit that.

“That was great, Shiki,” Neku said.

“Thanks. Better watch out for my biker skills!”

“Oh yeah? Should we go out and buy one for you?”

Shiki faltered ever so slightly, but quickly recovered enough to grin at him. “Maybe. As long as the wind doesn’t mess up my hair.”

Neku laughed, patting her head. “Yeah, yeah, I’m sure you’ll be fashionable no matter what you drive.”

As Kage’s scratching drowned them out, Shoka leaned over to address Shoka. “Do you think Kage will be okay in there?”

“He’ll be fine. I’ll give him a treat later.”

An eight took Rinoa right up to the stage—where two members of Tantalus waited in the wings. Ruby and Marcus offered to steal gil for free, or if Shiki wanted to pay, she could nab a crystal instead.

“Crystals are worth points, right?”

“Yeah,” Rindo replied, perfectly content since he had none to steal. Shoka and Neku exchanged uncertain glances, both wondering if they should stop Rindo from teaching Shiki any tricks. “Each crystal’s worth one point, and if you get one of each element, you get an additional point. Whoever has the most points wins.”

“Okay… then I guess I should do this.”

She selected the option to steal a crystal. As her choices came up, she scanned the screen, considering…

“Let’s see…”

Please not me, Shoka thought, bracing herself for the worst. She didn’t have enough gil for another crystal yet…

Luckily, Shiki selected Cloud instead.

“Sorry, but looks like you’re in second right now.”

“You sure you’re not just secretly teaming up with Shoka?” Neku asked as Tantalus got to work. Baku appeared behind Cloud, running into him and stealing the Earth Crystal.

“Not on purpose. But thanks for the crystal!”

“Yeah, yeah, you earned it.”

Shiki’s turn resumed, and she landed on a Cait Sith Fortune space. As if she wasn’t lucky enough already. She gained a hundred gil, and the game shifted over to Vivi next.

For once, Shoka wouldn’t mind if she rolled a one—she liked betting on minigames. She couldn’t decide if she was grateful or not when she rolled a four instead, taking her to Rude’s shop.

Now this was a toughy. She didn’t have enough for the crystal yet, so she could seriously hurt herself if she bought an item. On the other hand, items could help quite a bit…

No, she didn’t want to take the chance. She backed out of the menu, ending her turn.

Cloud rolled next, also strolling right up to Ruby and Marcus. Without enough to steal a crystal, he was forced to steal gil instead.

“Time for some payback,” he said, sounding way too good-humored for those words. He sent the gang after Shiki. She got a chance to mash the X button, but she still lost most of her money to the thieving team.

“That left me with practically nothing,” Shiki whined.

“Says the one in the lead,” Neku replied. “You’ll be fine.”

“But now I can’t go shopping.”

“Why are you complaining? It’s not like you can buy clothes here.”

From the looks of it, that didn’t help Neku’s case—but none of them minded Shiki’s protests. She always managed to be way too cute.

As it shifted to Rindo’s turn, he opened up his inventory, considering. He had Seifer’s Challenge and the Yellow Chocobo… Considering how he eyed the screen, it looked like he might challenge one of them to a match. Only two people could make Rindo pause that long, and they were both valid options.

Though if he challenged Shoka… She was only barely skirting by as it was to get the crystal ahead of her. If she won the duel, she’d be well off. If she lost, though, it’d seal her fate.

That thought just made her want to win against him more.

“You gonna pick me, or just sit there staring all day?” Shoka asked, nudging him with her elbow. “We both know you want to.”

“You sure you want that? If you lose, you’re gonna be mad, especially when you’re that close to a crystal.”

True, but she wasn’t about to quit now.

“Aww, you too chicken to fight me?”

“Whatever. Just know that I warned you.”

He selected the challenge, then picked Vivi. With a hundred fifty gil from each on the table, she wouldn’t rob him for all he was worth, sadly—but she could still put a dent in his wallet.

Especially with Queen’s Blood as their chosen minigame. They’d each get a random hand, and it was up to them to figure out how to place the cards. A mix of luck and strategy, but one Shoka quite enjoyed.

The lucky numbers were in her favor. Not only did she get to go first, but also she started with a strong card for claiming slots.

Rindo also got a good start, increasing the rank of his other two available slots. Back and forth they went, each placing a card on the board to try and one-up the other. Each time Shoka advanced, Rindo took one of her slots. She had to beat him somehow, if only she got…

Oh, a card like that. The one she just drew had the strength she needed to knock him down a peg, plus it’d enhance the power of her cards. Rindo’s fingers twitched. He knew he was in trouble.

“Read it and weep, Rindykins,” she teased, bumping against his arm.

Rindo pouted, shifting through his cards for anything that could help him. Too bad for him, though—he came up empty, forced to place a useless card instead.

“Yeah, whatever. You got lucky this time.”

“Or I’m just that good.”

With one more placement, the game was called. Shoka won, gaining a whopping three hundred gil for her troubles. A smug grin planted itself on her face as she reveled in it.

“Oh yeah? Just for that…”

Before Shoka could react, Rindo grabbed her, yanking her into his lap like his personal prisoner. She yelped, kicking her feet as his hands slid down to tickle her stomach. Shoka found herself forced to laugh. She squirmed, batting her evil boyfriend away. As he let go, she practically turned into pudding in his lap, and she hated that she loved it.

“Anyway, my turn…” Putting his arms around her, Rindo rolled the die. Auron moved, landing on a purple space. As the camera lingered on him, Shoka realized—he’d somehow landed on another Summon Materia. Auron stabbed the ground, pulling it out to reveal Bahamut.

“Holy crap,” Rindo gasped, totally forgetting his loss on Queen’s Blood as something even more special hovered over him. “I got Bahamut?!”

Shoka could feel his legs bounce, ready to jump off the floor in full dragon fanboy mode. Adorable as it was, she couldn’t let him earn a summon that easily.

“Only if you win,” she said, sliding back to her own spot on the couch.

“Oh you bet I will.”

Well wasn’t someone confident. The side of Shoka’s lips tweaked as practice started. They each had a certain amount of HP, with Rindo being gifted more due to landing on the space, and they had to survive against a series of ever-growing Flares by hiding around the map.

“You know, I think this is my first time getting Bahamut,” she commented as she pressed the button to say she was good.

“Really? I’ve gotten him when playing with my brother a few times,” Rindo replied.

“That’s lucky. Even more reason why I can’t let you have him.”

“We’ll see.”

Even Shiki looked locked-in as Bahamut soared over the screen, charging up his first spell. With ruins scattered about a starry backdrop, they had to figure out based on visual clues where would be safe to hide.

Judging from the practice round, they had to prep for Megaflare first. The area around the center of the ruins sparkled with magic, growing brighter against the night. All four of them hurried behind pillars around the edge, with no care whether they stood tall or had fallen.

After a bloodcurdling roar, Bahamut shot his blast into the middle of the ruins. It exploded, then shot up in a devastating blast. The ruins crumbled, destroying some basic rubble and the pillar Shoka hid behind—though Vivi managed to stay safe from the attack still. Without giving them a chance to rest or fully study the new array of rocks, Bahamut charged its next attack.

This time, the energy created a path across the battlefield. Gigaflare—and to make things more difficult, a few strands of the spell homed in on each of them as Bahamat took in a deep breath.

“Hey—that so isn’t fair!” Shoka complained as two of the tendrils hit her. Only Rindo managed to dodge all of them, then get back into position.

Unfortunately, Neku wasn’t so fast.

“Damn, that’s hard,” he mumbled, most of his HP knocked out. One more hit, and he’d be out.

A orb of light gathered in front of Bahamut, charging up for Teraflare. Like Megaflare, the magic glistened around the middle, but this time wide enough to cover the whole field. Only pockets of shadows remained around some of the ruins, and their characters rushed for the closest one as Bahamut flew up into the sky.

Seconds later, he shot it down over them. It exploded in a sphere, crumbling the ground in the center. Shiki got hit by a little bit of it, her HP draining as the ground rumbled.

“Get ready for the real challenge,” Rindo warned as Bahamut prepared Exaflare. This one showed good sided pockets they could hide in—not even all behind ruins.

“What are you talking about? This doesn’t seem…”

Shoka just about ate her words as the floor beneath their characters crumbled. They all fell into an old temple, and they had literal seconds to reach their hiding spot—if they could remember it. Neku and Shiki were both out by the time the explosive attack finished, and Shoka was barely holding on by a thread. Even Rindo lost a little health, though he seemed far too ready for that. Almost like he’d practiced this minigame more than just ‘a few times.’

They had one round left, which meant this was it—Bahamut’s Zettaflare. The whole field lit up as he prepared the spell, the flashes showing a course it’d take. Shoka watched as close as she could, but even that went too fast.

Before she was ready, the powerful beam came shooting across the field. Bahamut moved his head back and forth, spreading it across the field. The closest rubble to him vanished, forcing the characters to move back quickly. Right as the last of the ruins crumbled, four green Materia fell, bouncing just like Aerith’s signature Holy Materia. Rindo hurried to grab one, and Shoka tried, but she couldn’t grab the damn thing. A button popped up on the screen for Manawall, protecting Auron right as the Zettaflare exploded.

There was no question about it—Rindo tamed the dragon-like summon.

“Good job, Rindo,” Neku said. “That was tough.”

“It really is. First time I got that one, I lost him to my brother… so I made sure not to let that happen again,” Rindo replied. “Still, even I can’t get through without losing some HP.”

That explained it. Shoka couldn’t be too pissed at him for that one—at least he was getting along well enough with his brother these days despite their rocky relationship in the past.

“You did good for your first time on it, Shoka,” he said, his bright smile turning to her.

…Okay, now she definitely couldn’t be mad. She fiddled with the controller as it selected the end of turn minigame and mumbled, “Yeah, thanks.” Why couldn’t she come up with something more quippy? Oh well, she’d let it go this time.

As for their actual minigame… Great, looks like they weren’t done running away yet. Couldn’t she just fight back?

This one put them all on a track through the city together, a large machine walking behind them on four legs. Shoka only partially remembered its name because it was called an X-ATM—but not one she’d want to withdraw money from.

With little in the way of optional buttons, they forgoed the tutorial to get started on the real thing. They started on a cliffside and had to run towards the camera, dodging falling boulders. The machine stomped after them as they dashed around the side. When the cliff narrowed, the X-ATM slipped and tumbled down the side, and Shoka had to hold in a snicker. She knew that couldn’t be the end, though. Not when they’d just started, so she kept running alongside the others.

“Is something else going to chase us now?” Shiki asked. “Or—”

As if answering her question, the X-ATM leapt up the side of the cliff, landing behind them with such force that a few rocks hit them all. Shiki got it the worst, and she let out a squeal as she hurried to catch up to the others.

“This thing’s tricky. Don’t let your guard down,” Neku said.

“I-I won’t.” She squirmed to lock in better, though that had the unfortunate side effect of making Nanako finally get up. Shiki let the cat go, not about to let the distraction stop her.

They descended the stairs, following a brick path to the bridge with the machine hot on their tail. The camera shifted to a side view, panning out for a nice shot of their escape. Suddenly, it launched itself up and over their heads. It landed on the other side, one leg smashing right into Auron. Rindo cursed as it took out most of his HP—but he was still in the game thanks to his Vitality Materia.

They all ran backwards, only for it to jump up again. Finally, they could continue to the right, and the camera shifted again as they entered the city. Now they had cars, bikes, and even store signs to dodge, and some of them had parked out in the middle of the road. Shoka growled as she found herself slowed down by a dumb car who apparently had nothing better to do than park in the middle of the road.

Behind them, the X-ATM climbed up on the wall, somehow gaining speed as it jumped down. It crashed on Auron and Vivi, successfully eliminating them from the game.

“Well great, that went well,” Shoka grumbled sarcastically. Though… Shiki was still in the game, and now ahead of Neku, so maybe she could win this.

The machine turned onto a side street with no care how many cars it stomped on. Shiki and Neku had a moment reprieve, but neither slowed down—on purpose, anyway. Cloud tripped over some trash, stalling him just enough that the X-ATM could ram into him as it crashed through a building’s wall.

Only Rinoa escaped, jumping down to a beach as her allies shot at it. Minigame over and gil distributed, they were onto the last five turns.

Which meant that the muscle king also returned.

Dio flexed as he took the stage, eager to announce the current standings. Shiki was in first, Shoka in second, Neku in third, and Rindo in last—

“Oh come on,” Rindo complained. “I’ll be in second as soon as I equip Bahamut.”

Shoka rolled her eyes. “Only if you remember to equip him first.”

“I will! I still have five turns for that.”

“Uh-huh.” Shoka clicked through, keeping at a good pace so they could all read the changes to the rules. Purple spaces would now be worth sixty gil, while red spaces would take away that much. And if they landed on the same space, they’d be forced into a duel.

Finally, Dio finished and left the stage, leaving Shiki free to roll.

“Looks like I get to try warping somewhere.” She forked up the gil to the Guide Moogle, and the screen faded to black. When the colors returned, it placed her in the Speed Square.

“Better luck next time,” Shoka said in full honesty. Besides, who knows—when she got this Crystal, the Moogle could warp over to the Speed Square. Not that Shiki really needed the extra points.

Speaking of, it was Shoka’s turn now. She strolled up to the Crystal Moogle, purchasing her prize. A fire one would do nicely, and the Moogle moved on to… the Speed Square.

“Oh wow, that’s where I am, isn’t it?” Shiki asked.

“Yeah. That’s lucky.” Truth be told, Shoka didn’t know whether to be appalled at the designer’s luck or to cheer her on—both seemed like valid options right now.

The next space brought her to the shopkeeper Gurdy, who had any type of Chocobo available on this map for sale. Including the Gold Chocobo—a sure way of claiming a crystal no matter where she was. Though sadly, she didn’t have enough gil for it. She settled for the Green Chocobo, hoping that she’d make up its cost.

And speaking of, the purple square she landed on helped a bit. Her turn done, Neku rolled.

He landed on a Cait Sith space, and the cat soon gave him his fortune.

1000 Needles. Shoka raised her eyebrows and sat back, wondering if he’d actually use it to screw over Shiki or not. Guess they’d find out next turn if he wanted to move one of the Crystal Moogles.

As soon as Rindo got control, he equipped Bahamut. At least he remembered, sadly. He took his sweet time moving along, studying the map before deciding which way to go at a fork. Finally, he landed on Laguna’s shop, purchasing a Wind Materia.

“Like you need more Materia,” Shoka commented.

“You can never have enough,” he replied with a shrug.

They ended up with a three versus one minigame, with Shiki as the one. The game picked Mr. Dolphin’s Gil Collection. As soon as practice loaded up, they saw Rinoa riding the dolphin, with the other three on jet skis behind her.

“So we’re just collecting gil?” Shiki asked, trying out her buttons.

“Yeah, but it has a little bit more to it than that,” Rindo replied. “If any of us hit one of the buoys, we’ll lose gil. Also, you’re the only one who can gain gil from doing tricks in those rings,” he said, nodding at the screen as a ring hovered in the air, “but if you fail the trick, it’ll drop more gil for us instead.”

“Huh, okay. And I do a trick like… this?” She shifted the control stick over a higher wave, pressing a button in mid-air to get a frontal flip from her dolphin companion.

“Yeah, that’s exactly it,” Rindo said. Once Shiki got a little more practice, they were all ready to begin.

The dolphin took off faster than the jet skis, giving Shiki an advantage. She veered her friend this way and that, grabbing the loose gil with such grace. Meanwhile, Shoka found herself stuck between the two guys, unable to get a coin in edgewise between the three of them. A dark circle in the water from a surfacing treasure chest formed on the right side. Taking in a sharp breath, she tried turning to get it, but ended up smashing into one of her teammates instead.

“Rindo!” she hissed. “Move your butt!”

“I was getting that coin…”

“Yeah, well there’s a chest—hurry up and grab it!”

He didn’t hurry fast enough for her. Even knowing that the physics of the game wouldn’t let him go faster, she still tried her best to treat it like bumper cars—only to turn up empty.

“We missed it, no thanks to you.”

“Well sorry for missing one,” he shot back. “You could actually tell me next time you see one on my side.”

“I did, if you recall!”

“Not soon enough.”

“Okay, children, that’s enough,” Neku said as he slid over to another dark spot. “We got a chest, so let’s just call it even.”

“We could’ve had more gil,” Shoka muttered.

“We’ll get what we get—just have fun with it.” Neku nodded to the screen. “Besides, Shiki’s having fun with her tricks.”

Shoka lifted her gaze off the water’s surface, watching for a moment as the dolphin did tricks in the air. Shiki really was getting a hang of this, and Shoka had to admit, it was cool to see.

“Fine, you win. I’ll be good.”

Rindo breathed easy as he was let off the hook. And before long, the game ended. Shiki got more gil than the rest, but they’d still made a nice amount.

Shiki rolled, easily making it to the Crystal Moogle and purchasing a Wind Crystal. It moved to the Battle Square, and Shiki ended her turn on a Tactics space—so they all geared up for another minigame, this time with a bet of a hundred fifty gil on it.

Whatevs. Shoka could totally own this…

…if only it hadn’t been a picture slider. Shoka’s face dropped when she saw the cursed game pop up, its bright colors betraying its sinister nature. The random picture of the day would be a screenshot of something from the series all jumbled up, and they’d have to slide the tiles around until they got it.

Shoka really hated these.

Without anything worthwhile to practice, they began. Noctis had been scrambled, shattering the popular heartthrob’s image by moving his mouth above his right eye. Now as for how Shoka was supposed to get it down… She frowned, moving one piece after another into the only open slot, but she somehow ended up with everything farther and farther from their rightful slots.

“What the hell, just let me move it there, dammit!” she growled at the screen. “I swear, this thing’s rigged!”

“It’s not rigged,” Rindo said calmly. “Just take it one step at a time.”

“Gee, I never would’ve thought to do that,” she snapped sarcastically. “Thanks for the useless info.”

Rindo set his controller down. He was finished already?! That just made Shoka pout more as she slid Noctis’ left ear behind the sword on his right side.

Glancing at the others’ portions of the screen, Shoka watched Neku also somehow finish. It was down to Shiki and Shoka, and the game would just keep going until either one of them won or the time ran out.

And worse, her empty space was nowhere near where she needed it.

Shoka sighed, leaning back against the couch. “I give up. Shiki can have this one. I don’t need the gil this bad.”

Just then, Rindo held out a hand. “Here. Let me help.”

“Have at it.” Shoka let him take the controller from her grasp without a fuss, sinking down as she watched him try to unscramble her puzzle.

Neku chuckled, tapping Shiki’s controller. “Mind if I cut in to even the odds a bit?”

“Sure… I’m totally lost on this one,” Shiki admitted as she handed hers over as well.

Rindo made quite the effort in Shoka’s name, but unfortunately, she’d already screwed it up far too much for even him to save. Shiki got the third place gil, and the game resumed with Shoka a hundred fifty gil shorter.

“Sorry,” Rindo said as he handed the controller back. “I’m sure you can get more later.”

“Yeah, it’s fine… Thanks.” She took it back to roll, hoping she at least landed somewhere interesting.

She landed on an event space, and the northern tunnels swapped which square they’d lead someone to. Well, that could be interesting—if she’d hit it earlier in the game. Oh well, she’d just have to take what she could get for now.

Neku landed on a Guide Moogle, and he would’ve been dumb not to take it with how much gil he was rolling in. It teleported him to the Wonderment Square, giving him a chance at the Moogle there.

As the camera shifted to Auron, Rindo called out his Yellow Chocobo, giving him a plus five to his roll. He kept to the left side of the board, making it up close to the topmost tunnel in record time.

And with the rolls over, it was time for Andrea’s Dance Off—a rhythm game that’d have all their characters dancing on the stage of the Honeybee Inn.

“Is Vivi even old enough to be in here?” Shoka asked, smirking as they went through the simplified tutorial.

“Probably not,” Rindo answered with a stifled laugh. “At least Cloud can show him the ropes? Rinoa, too.”

“If she doesn’t step on his feet first,” Shoka joked. Though, she couldn’t deny that the mess of a girl had gotten Squall to dance pretty quickly. “Anyway, if this was real, I’d expect one of those two to win. No offense to Auron, but he doesn’t exactly strike me as the dancing type.”

Though whether Cloud or Rinoa won depended on Neku and Shiki. The legendary player didn’t reply, tapping his finger on the controller to get a feel for the rhythm.

“Okay… I’ve got it now. I’m ready,” Shiki said. Everyone else pressed the button to start, and the screen faded out for maximum drama.

The lights came on, focusing on just one screen. They all had the same notes to press, and they’d have to watch for their color if they wanted to know how they did on timing. They ended up with Real Emotion from Yuna’s game, a perfectly upbeat song to match the quick dancing from the characters. Made sense, being Yuna’s fake idol debut—and apparently now Auron’s.

Not that Shoka could pay that much attention to the graphics. She had to focus, or she’d miss notes—like that. She cursed under her breath with every wrong note, trying her hardest to get the timing right. The number of blue “perfects” was appalling, and she knew before they even finished the game who’d win.

Just as she predicted, Cloud came up on top. Shoka managed to make it into second, with Rindo third.

“Well now we know who the best dancer is,” Shoka teased.

“Just don’t ask me to do it in real life,” Neku replied. “You’d be disappointed.”

“Aww, don’t have some sweet moves you wanna break out?”

“Not particularly.” Neku sat back, resting an arm around Shiki’s shoulders as she took her turn.

Shiki hummed, taking a look in her inventory. “Should I use this yet? There are only a few turns left…”

“Wouldn’t hurt,” Rindo replied. “If you switch with Neku, you could get that crystal.”

“You really didn’t have to tell her that,” Neku protested, garnering a snicker from Shoka.

“I had the same idea with mine. You don’t really have the gil for a crystal, but you should still give it a go,” Shoka encouraged. “If nothing else, maybe you’ll screw Neku over.”

“Okay… Then here it goes.”

The mystical mirror expanded, and Rinoa walked through. Seconds later, Cloud tripped through, and Neku retracted his arm from around his girlfriend.

“So much for giving you some extra TLC.”

“You’ll give it to me anyway,” Shiki replied as she rolled. A one. Got her a fortune, but not a crystal. She received gil for her efforts, bumping her up enough that she’d be able to purchase the crystal next time.

But only if Shoka’s mirror didn’t land her in the Wonderment Square instead. With only two turns left, Shoka decided to try it—even if it meant she might steal a spot from her idol.

“Okay, here it goes…”

Vivi entered the mirror, and Auron came out. Shoka couldn’t complain too much. A spot near a target tunnel, and she didn’t mess Shiki up? Seemed like a win-win to her.

“Damn, I worked hard to get there, too,” Rindo complained.

“Too bad, so sad.” Shoka fluttered her fingers at him, then rolled. She barely made it past the tunnel switcher, entering the Battle Square and landing on a red space. Annoying as it was, at least she made it in safe.

“Now I don’t feel so bad about using this.” Left with little options, Neku called out the legendary Cactuar needles. He used it on Shiki’s Moogle, sending it flying over to the Ghost Square.

Shiki huffed. “Now you’re the one not getting TLC.”

“You’ll live,” Neku replied as he rolled, landing on red as well. He grimaced as if already expecting Shiki’s response.

“That’s what you get for attacking my Moogle.”

“Hey, still worth it.”

Rindo left, he finally equipped his Wind Materia, then rolled to pass by the starting gates, and up to a fork in the road. He could go up the stairs to the proper tunnel, or…

“Hold on… I think…” He picked the other way, landing on the tunnel swapping space. As they switched places, the tunnel before him now directed to the Ghost Square—just as he’d obviously planned.

“Seriously?! How’d you get that lucky?!” Shoka demanded.

Rindo shrugged. “It made the most sense. It started as Event, then was Wonderment, so it just had Ghost left.”

She hated that that explanation made sense. “Fine, whatever. You got lucky.”

“Or I was just that good.”

She playfully pushed his shoulder, not ready to admit that maybe he was kinda cool for figuring that out.

Whatever the case, it was time for a two versus two minigame with Shoka on Neku’s team. They got Firion’s Memory Puzzle, where they’d have to work together to identify the one pair among a bunch of characters she hardly knew. Maybe one day she’d get around to the old-school classics, but for now, she’d be riding on luck and speedy coordination to get her through this.

As they began, the grids popped up on each side of the screen. Shoka’s cursor had Vivi’s face to easily identify it, and she selected random squares as she watched Neku’s picks. As soon as they found the match, the grid flashed and expanded, taking them onto round two.

They did three rounds total, but before Shoka and Neku could find the last match, the game ended. Shiki and Rindo won.

“Great job,” Rindo said. “You caught onto them fast.”

“I just had a good feeling about some of them, you know?”

Shiki was weirdly good at some games, yet struggled so much at others. Shoka found herself baffled by the designer’s play style, especially since somehow, it kept her in the lead even now as they entered the last two turns. She passed by Hurdy’s shop, purchasing a Gold Chocobo before landing on a purple space. Pretty good for a final purchase.

Shoka, meanwhile, passed by Elena’s shop. With her die leading her up to a fortune space, she decided to hold off on shopping and just take her chances instead. A Luck Up Materia would at least help her out if they ended on a luck game, but that was a big if. Guess she’d be relying on its luck in more ways than one as she accepted it into her inventory.

Neku exited the Speed Square, landing on a mascot space. He traded all his GP for Yuffie’s Doppelganger. He was serious now.

“You wouldn’t,” Shoka said, eyeing Shiki’s lead for her favored idol. Though Yuffie’s attack was random, Shoka knew without a doubt that Neku was gunning for his girlfriend’s strong lead.

“Hey, I have no points, and Shiki’s about to earn another one.”

Someone was likely sleeping on the couch tonight once Shiki realized his plan.

“You won’t even get points for it.”

“It’ll still disrupt Shiki’s reign of glory. I’ll take my chances.”

Now catching on, Shiki grabbed Mr. Mew from the side table. “Look, Mr. Mew! We have a new Noise to attack!” And with that, she stuffed the doll in Neku’s face. He laughed it off, holding up his hands as if to admit defeat. Not that it mattered right now—he’d be in even more trouble if Yuffie managed to steal Shiva.

That was a problem for next turn, though. For now, Rindo rolled… taking him right up to a Jenova space.

“Ugh, again?”

Shoka smirked. “Sucks to be you.”

That earned her a playful nudge from her boyfriend. “As long as I don’t get Sephiroth again.”

“Aww, don’t want to get stabbed?”

“I’m not playing Aerith for a reason.”

“No, but you might as well be playing Terra,” Shoka commented as a certain clown-looking court magician showed up. Kefka cackled over Auron, eager to select his punishment.

The worst possible result came up. A hero shuffle—which would switch all four of them around. Right before Shoka was about to get a crystal.

“Rindo!”

“H-hey, don’t look at me! I can’t control it,” he said. “I was close to a crystal too.”

“Ugh, I swear, if I don’t end up where you are…”

Luckily, she got her wish. Neku ended up in her former spot, and Shiki in Neku’s. Which left Rindo in the useless Wonderment Square.

“See? You’re fine, while I got nothing.”

Okay, maybe Shoka did feel a little bad for him. As the minigame selector rolled, she leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek.

“Sorry. At least you got Bahamut to give you something.”

“Yeah… We’ll have to see if that sticks.” Her kiss had done its magic, for his voice gained a bounce to it. And hopefully that magic would protect him from Neku’s chaotic plan.

They all ended up against Rindo in the Wonder Catcher. He’d have control over a crane, while they had to try to escape his grasp among other prize balls. With all Chocobos of all colors sprinkled around them, it offered quite the challenge to push through, especially with only the control stick available to use.

As soon as the game began, Shoka tried rolling away as fast as she could. She bumped into a Chocobo capsule, bouncing back off it. Gritting her teeth, she fought for control over her troublesome sphere as Rindo’s crane hovered overhead.

No way was she letting him win that easily. She barely dodged his clutches, rolling towards the far side of the screen.

Just as she thought she was safe, a Chocobo charged into her. How come they could move so fast? Shoka glared as she bounced against the opposite wall, struggling to regain control. She had to get away…

Suddenly, the crane’s shadow appeared above her. It descended, scooping Vivi up and depositing him off to the side like some unwanted prize.

“You went after me on purpose,” she accused.

“Not really. It just worked out that way.”

Shoka was already starting to regret her kiss. She wasn’t sure he deserved it right now.

Though, maybe she could hold off on too harsh of judgement. He kept fumbling with the other two, missing them by a hair half the time he descended. He managed to capture Neku right as the buzzer went off, but Shiki still rolled safely away, winning it for their team.

“Oh, that was fast,” she said like she was surprised by it.

“Thanks, Shiki. You saved our asses back there,” Shoka told her.

“I’m just glad I could help.”

Last turn, and Shiki was up. She immediately summoned the Gold Chocobo, warping straight over to the Moogle in the Ghost Square. Shoka hadn’t counted on that at all.

“Let’s see… It doesn’t matter which one I get, right?”

“Nope. You have Wind and Earth, so you should be good with either,” Neku replied.

Shoka had half a mind to argue it, but she couldn’t do that with Shiki. So instead, she just continued to stare, flabbergasted, as Shiki stole the Water Crystal right from under Shoka’s nose.

“Good job. You almost got a full set,” Neku said. Like he had any right to compliment her.

“Thanks. I just need to roll, and…”

Shiki rolled up to the Guide Moogle. Only instead of the regular variety, it seemed the ones here in the Ghost Square were malfunctioning. One beckoned Rinoa over to a gravestone, and while she studied it, it dropped her right through the grave below without asking for even a single gil. She landed back in the Wonderment Square, her final turn ending just like that.

Shoka’s turn, but what was even the point anymore? She couldn’t get her crystal. After equipping her Luck Up Materia, she rolled, and Vivi strolled over to where the crystal should’ve been just to rub salt in the wound.

With his turn, Neku used his dreaded item to summon a doppelganger of Yuffie. The ninja dashed away from Cloud, sniffing out Materia from…

I hate to say this, but please be me, Shoka thought. At least her Materia wouldn’t be a huge loss with this final turn.

Her wish didn’t come true. The doppelganger stole from Auron, delivering his Vitality Materia to Cloud.

“Damn, didn’t get Shiva. Oh well.”

“You should be glad you didn’t,” Shoka replied with an eyeroll. “Not sure you want to face Shiki’s wrath.”

“I might face it anyway.” Neku rolled, the very next square giving him Tantalus. He paid the price for stealing a crystal, this time purposely targeting Shiki.

“Hey, Neku!”

“You did it to me earlier. I’m finally just stealing it back,” Neku replied nonchalantly as Baku took Shiki’s Wind Crystal. And if that wasn’t enough, he also got the opportunity to purchase a crystal from the Moogle before exiting the Battle Square.

“Are you done yet?” Shoka asked, ready to move on from his turn. Sadly, he had one more bonus—a Cait Sith Fortune. Only this time, he could only gain gil. He got the same amount he paid for the crystal, breaking him even as his turn finally ended.

Rindo took his final turn, stopping in front of Ward’s closed shop. With all players moved, they ended with a four-versus minigame. And best of all, it was a battle royale.

For controls, they had close range, defend, dodge, and ranged attacks. They’d taken the extra time to animate this based on character, so Vivi’s close attack gave him a random spell thrown out quickly in front of him, while his ranged button used one farther on the field. Shoka’s Fire Materia would favor Fira, but other than that, element didn’t matter too much. And now that Rindo had lost his Vitality Materia, he didn’t have an advantage with defense. Though… he still had that Bahamut. The strength it granted meant he’d favor close up attacks. Best to let the others deal with him.

As the game began, Shoka quickly moved back to cast a Blizzard on Cloud. Neku made an annoyed noise as he rolled away, charging for Auron instead. Just as Shoka was about to chase, she saw something circling around at her. She dodged Rinoa’s blaster edge, automatically turning a spell on her instead. Yes, Fira—and it hit, too!

“Aww, that looked like it hurt,” Shiki said.

Oh right. Shiki was Rinoa. Biting her lip, Shoka decided to use a spell on the boys instead. Sadly, her efforts just worked to split them up, and they each picked a new opponent. Which meant she had to deal with Auron chasing her after all.

“Hey, get back here!” Rindo complained.

“Not a chance.” Shoka turned, casting a quick Quake before running again. Good, she caught him in it. She tried another, hoping to pelt him at a distance—

Except he shot an Aerora right back at her. She cursed under her breath as Vivi got caught in the winds, knocking out a portion of his HP. As Auron’s sword closed in on her, she ran again, ducking behind Rinoa and Cloud. Rinoa fell to both their swords, and Cloud backed away, as if anticipating the spell about to hit his back.

Shoka grimaced. “Oh come on!”

“Sorry, but I’m not gonna let you win that easily,” Neku replied. Though he seemed caught in the middle of Shoka and Rindo, he expertly managed, rolling away or defending when attacks came and striking back when he had a moment. Shoka could keep her distance, using spells on both of them—until finally, Auron collapsed.

“Ha! Go back to where you came from!”

This was it. Vivi versus Cloud, or Shoka versus Neku. Maybe her winning this minigame wouldn’t make up for his last victory in this game, but it was a start. As Cloud closed in, Shoka used a close ranged Fira to bat him away. She followed up with a Thunder, knocking him down to a sliver of HP. If she could just get one more hit…

As she sent another spell flying, he dodged. He tilted his control stick to make it right up to her before she could blink, slashing his buster sword across the little black mage. He followed up with a Blizzara, and Shoka could only defend this time. It took a little bit of her HP, but she was still alive.

Cloud charged in again, and Shoka let him. She waited for him to get right up on her before dodging, then sending a final blast of magic at him.

It hit, and Cloud fell to his knees. The announcer called the match. Shoka had won.

“Yes! Take that, losers!” she bragged as she gained her gil.

“Heh, good job,” Neku replied. Instead of bringing the board back up, the game shifted to show them all in front of the Gold Saucer’s gates again, Dio ready to announce the final bonus points.

First up, the Cait Sith Award. This one went out to Vivi, Rinoa, and Cloud—but poor Auron got left out.

“Oh come on, how’d you all three get it?” Rindo whined.

“Tough luck for you.”

“Literally… I don’t think I even landed on one.”

“Speaking of unlucky,” Shoka commented as she nodded to the screen. The Jenova Award was next—and if she was right, it only counted who landed on the space itself, not the Shinra Phone.

The game gave the award to Vivi and Auron, just as Shoka thought. With awards out of the way, now was time for the final results.

With a drum roll, all their characters waited… until finally, a platform appeared under Rinoa. It scooped her up, presenting her off as the ultimate hero of this story. She posed, the camera getting a picture to show her with Vivi close behind her, then Cloud, and finally Auron in the far back. Well, Shoka didn’t mind second if Shiki was in the lead. She grinned at her idol.

“Great job. And to think, you didn’t know how to play at the start of this.”

“Wow, I really won?”

“Yeah. You knocked it out of the park.”

Shiki beamed, stretching her arms. “Heheh, thanks! That game’s wild, but I wouldn’t mind doing it again sometime.”

“Yeah, I need a chance to redeem myself,” Rindo replied as the results screen showed him in dead last. To be fair, gil had become the deciding factor between him and Neku, but a loss was still a loss.

“Sure. We can hold another Fantasy Party again sometime,” Neku said. “We have all the stages now.”

“Oh yeah, you have to try the Lindblum stage sometime, Shiki,” Shoka gushed. Who could blame her? It was way more fun having a full party for this game rather than relying on dumb computers to fill out the roster.

“Sure! Maybe we can try it tomorrow.” Shiki glanced at the time. “For now, it’s getting late…”

Rindo also looked. “Crap, it’s that time already? I should get home…”

“O-oh, right.” Shoka stood with him, helping him gather his stuff.

“We’ll see you, Rindo. Tell us when you’re coming over next,” Neku said, he and Shiki waving to their friend.

“I will.” As Rindo headed for the door, only Shoka accompanied him. But this was technically the end of their date, so she guessed the older pair were giving them space.

“So, um…” Shoka twirled a strand of her hair. “Thanks… for today.”

Rindo shoved his shoes on, then faced her with a smile. “Yeah. I had a lot of fun.”

“Same here. And, well… It meant a lot.”

She knew it’d all been for her sake. The reminders of Ayano and Susukichi also came with everything she lost a year ago. The others could treat it as a celebration, an anniversary of them winning the game and coming back to life. But for her? Deep inside, she knew that pain may never go away. All she could do was live with it and keep their memory alive.

“I know it’s a hard day for you,” he said as he reached over to squeeze her hand. “But we’re here for you.”

“Yeah… That means a lot.”

“And next time we play, you better be ready—I’m coming for revenge,” he teased.

Why was he so perfect? Shoka grinned, pulling him close to whisper, “Not if I leave you in the dust.” She then kissed him as if to seal the promise, the sensation enough to uplift her spirits for the rest of the night.

Rindo laughed, waving without a care to the lipstick mark she’d left. “We’ll see. I’ll let you know when I’m home safe.”

“Sure. Tell me if you find anything good on the way.” She held up her phone, FanGO already loaded and ready to finish out her night. Even if she didn’t plan on leaving, she could see what monsters were around or trade with randos.

“Will do. Night, Shoka.”

“Night, Rindykins.”

He finally left, and Shoka backed away from the door. Though she offered to help Shiki and Neku clean up, they pretty much had it taken care of. Shoka returned to her room, freeing Kage before she plopped on the bed and checked for updates on FanGO. She had a simple life now—which she didn’t mind so much.

A year ago today, she should’ve died… but she didn’t. She was alive and able to enjoy days like this with Rindo, and she wasn’t about to take that for granted.