Story of a Rhythm Game Couple

Chapter 6: Grinding to the top

It was on Friday.

After washing the dishes from the lunch he'd had just now, Asahi sat down quietly on the sofa. He let out a sigh as he caressed his full stomach.

Looking at the clock, it was getting close to two in the afternoon, the time he had set for meeting his new rhythm game friend, Sana, at FunZone. He grabbed the crossbody hanging behind the door in his room. After double-checking his stuff, which usually included his gloves, the game data card, the subscription member pass, and his small pocket of tokens, he put the crossbody on, took an umbrella from the small wooden holder at the entrance of his house, and set out for the arcade.

The weather wasn't exactly favorable, as the sky was overcast with gray clouds. As a result, the air was also noticeably chillier. Though the weather forecast earlier hadn't mentioned any possibilities of rain, he thought there might be a little drizzle, so he decided to bring the umbrella along just in case.

Since today was a day off, Asahi opted for a light outfit that was quite airy. Not as casual as he was at home, but not as formal as he was going to school either. He went for a cyan T-shirt and a pair of jeans. It might be a little cold walking outside, but he was sure it would be much warmer inside FunZone, even more so after a few games.

FunZone Arcade was steps away from his apartment, so he decided to go for a walk instead of riding the bike. Upon arriving, he found the place empty, since 2 o'clock in the afternoon wasn't the usual time that people would seek entertainment from the arcade.

However, in the rhythm games' zone, he saw a figure of a girl who was already playing MaiDan. Her delicate yet swift movement, perfectly going through a difficult chart, was a mesmerizing sight for an onlooker.

The girl was Sana. She seemed to have done her errands and rushed here before their scheduled meeting time. Different from the first day he had met her, she was now wearing a miniskirt over her sports leggings and a light, basic pink long-sleeved shirt. She tied her hair into a ponytail today instead of the bun, not sure why.

Sitting in the corner of the zone, Asahi intended to watch Sana play for a longer while.

"Huh? You are already here, Noguchi-kun! Huh..."

Though the chart didn't quite finish, Sana turned to the side only to find Asahi staring at her, so she seemed a bit perplexed. She hit the last two notes instinctively before the cabinet speakers roared "All Perfect" as the screen turned into a fireworks display.

"I've just arrived!"

He quickly answered her question shortly as he gently clapped his hands to congratulate her on the All Perfect, but she pouted and lightly hit the button on the cabinet for her dissatisfaction.

"Stop doing that! It's not a rironchi anyway."

During MaiDan gameplay, there are four levels of judgments, from the most precise timing to the least: Critical Perfect (or simply Crit.), Normal Perfect (or simply Perfect), Great, and Good. A miss occurs when the note is completely unhit. Playing through a chart without missing a single note grants players a Full Combo badge, or an FC for short. An AP, or All Perfect badge, on the other hand, is given out when every note is hit within Perfect or above judgment's timing window. However, an AP doesn't necessarily mean SSS+ rank, nor does a rironchi. Ranks are assigned based on how well one performs on the chart, and technical scores are awarded to the player accordingly at the same time. To earn the chart's maximum technical score, players are required to achieve a SSS+ rank of 100.85% or above, which implies that the ratio between Crit. and Perfect from an AP score must be 120 or higher. A rironchi means the highest possible score achievable in a chart at 101.0000%, meaning every note has to be hit at Crit. One single normal Perfect will ruin a rironchi run.