Arcades weren't a common place for Okuda Manami to hang out on weekends. Truth to be told, she'd rather be cooped up inside, reading The Nature of the Chemical Bond by Linus Pauling. It was no exception even if it was rainy and gloomy outside, but when Sugino invited Nagisa, Kayano, herself, and even Karma to go, she couldn't refuse. She didn't normally go on outings with friends and this was her first in many years. She had only gone out with some friends once in kindergarten when it was a girl's birthday party.

The arcade was crowded and loud. Even though it was Sunday, the bespectacled girl didn't expect so many people. The smell of plastic from the prize counter filled the air. It gave Manami a headache. She didn't see the point in winning tickets for those cheap and fragile little items. The real prizes, she noted, were in the crane machines, but she also noted that even though the game looked fairly simple, it was a lot harder. Some were even rigged.

"What do you guys wanna do first?" asked Sugino, handing each person a generous amount of tokens. Manami took hold of the cup filled with little gilded coins and found it surprisingly heavy.

"Wanna try the shooting game?" suggested Nagisa, pointing to a zombie killing game. Sugino nodded in agreement and Karma followed, amused. It was no secret that shooting games were the red head's favorite.

"Wanna play air-hockey Okuda-san?" asked Kayano politely. The green haired girl had let her hair down today. The soft, green locks fell down to her back. Manami had to agree that she was quite beautiful.

"Sure!" replied Manami enthusiastically. The girl was rather grateful to have such a beauty as a friend. "Is this your first time here?"

"I've been here a few times with some friends a few years ago," replied Kayano, smiling, "How about you?" Manami shook her head. "Really?" asked Kayano, surprised. As the two walked over to the air hockey table, Kayano started to explain the rules despite the game being rather self-explanatory.

"I think I got it," replied Manami, smiling. As she tried to reach the puck, she realized that her arms weren't nearly long enough and hit it weakly. Kayano fired back strongly due to the advantage of the puck being closer to her. The puck flew into Manami's goal before she could stop it, frightening the girl.

"It's ok," laughed Kayano, "It's your first time."

As the game went on, Manami began to score points. The puck flew back and forth as the two girls enjoyed their game. In the end, Kayano won by only one point.

"What next?" asked Manami, smiling. Kayano paused to think, placing her index finger on her chin.

"Let's go to the crane machines," the girl replied brightly, "The stuffed animals in there are so cute!" She grabbed Manami by the wrist excitedly and dragged her over to the brightly decorated machines.

"Have you ever gotten anything out of these?" asked Manami, noticing her green haired companion's interest. Kayano shook her head.

"It's all about luck!" stated Kayano firmly, "These are probably all rigged…Anyways, which one's your favorite?" Manami looked around, her violet eyes scanning the rigged machines.

"Maybe that one," replied the glasses girl, pointing to a Domo in a mad scientist costume, "It's kinda like me." The two girls laughed. "How about you?"

"I like that kitty one!" shouted Kayano, "You know, I've seen a lot of movies where the guy miraculously wins a stuffed animal for the girl! If this happened in real life, it'd be a like a real prince!" Manami laughed. It'd never happen like that…right? Suddenly, a certain red head walked over to the crane machine and inserted a token.

"Oh, Karma-kun," remarked Kayano, "I didn't know that you were interested in this stuff." He just smirked in response. The boy skillfully maneuvered the crane so that it perfectly hovered over the little mad scientist Domo. The two girls gasped as the crane caught ahold of the toy and pulled it up. Slowly…very slowly, the crane moved over the box where the toy was supposed to drop.

"Here you go Okuda-san," smiled Karma, handing her the toy, "You wanted it, right?"

"Th-thank you Karma-kun," mumbled Manami out of shock, "I hope it didn't bother you too much to go out of your way!" She bowed apologetically. Karma chuckled.

"Bother?" asked Karma, "Honestly. Isn't this what friends do?" With that, the taller boy walked back to Nagisa and Sugino.

"O-ku-da-san," whispered Kayano mischievously, "You know what I said about the prince thing?

"I-it isn't like that!" retorted Manami, face red as a tomato, "It's just that Karma-kun is friendly…"

"Then why didn't he get me one?" demanded Kayano, mischief in her eyes, "He's your prince!" Manami shook her head while squeezing her new toy tightly out of embarrassment. "I knew it," mumbled Kayano.