"It" Can't Be Helped (Revised) | ✔️ | Blue Exorcist

50

"Dude, you fucking suck at this." Bon cackled and I untangled the cord of my rifle before digging out another handful of tokens. I growled and jammed a few into the coin slot, pointing the plastic gun at the screen and firing at the box to continue our game.

"Shut up, guns aren't my thing, okay?" That wasn't going to stop me from playing this damn game until I got a win, though. My ego was wounded from the last four playthroughs and I needed some sort of boost to stop me from bursting into a ball of blue fire. How tragic it would be for the son of Satan to lose his shit in an arcade, throwing everything he'd worked for out the window because of some stupid FPS game. Tempting, but I'll pass.

Bon's cackling continued even as he pulled his rifle back up to rest in the crook of his shoulder. The round started and a few low level zombies popped up onto the screen. Their corny groans echoed out of the low-quality speakers before gun shots blasted. Having been around firearms for a while now, I could easily tell that the noises used for our weapons weren't accurate. They were more like shotgun blasts, but our ability to fire in quick succession suggested otherwise. Not that I was shitting on the game — okay, yeah, I was. But come on, the aim sucked, it was old, the graphics were horrible, and those were definitely the reasons why I kept dying.

I growled as a zombie stumbled toward me, several black circles nailing it in the shoulder and torso as I fired my weapon. It fell to the side, just to be quickly replaced by another. I tried to repeat my attempt but failed when I ran out of bullets and was subsequently eaten by the monster. I groaned and jammed my rifle into the holster that was bolted to the top of the machine. I eyed Bon and the way he easily shot down the enemies. His shit-eating smirk was hard to ignore and I had to suppress the urge to shove him. He continued to fire away and I dug out our communal pile of tokens. As shot after shot rang out, I counted them, deciding that we had bought way too many, and would probably be here all day at this rate.

"Ayo," Renzo's voice called over the shitty speakers. I glanced over and saw him coming closer, precariously holding three cans of soda and a basket of fries. My eyebrows shot upward and he smirked at my look, gingerly placing the cans down on the table before pulling the basket off his bent elbow. "I'm a god, what can I say?" He was something, that was for sure. I expressed my gratitude by immediately plowing into the fries and popping the tab on my can. Shima pulled up a barstool next to me and began picking at our snack, as well. He watched Bon play for several seconds before flickering his brown eyes to mine. "I'm assuming he's been kicking your ass?"

I grunted, my lips twisting into a thin line as I propped my elbow up on the table and gestured at nothing. "The first time I died, he gave me mercy and got himself killed so I wouldn't have to wait." It had been a nice gesture. "But I told him not to worry about me, so now the asshole plays by himself for ten minutes."

Cackles radiated from the pink-haired teen's chest, a fond look settling behind his eyes. "He's always been like that. I stopped playing shooter games with him in middle school because he would always wipe the floor with me." I parroted his laughter and we slowly fell into a conversation. It reminded me of several months ago, when all three of us and Yukio went out to lunch. It suddenly dawned on me that the past had repeated itself. I'd been exposed back then and everyone around me took pity, it was really no different now. I shook my head to clear myself of the negative thought.

"Hey, did you ever play that one game?" He gave me an inquisitive look and I elaborated. "That street fighting game that came out this past spring?"

Recognition flashed in his eyes and he offered me a lopsided smile. Both his elbows thudded against the table before he let his head fall between his hands, cupping either side of his jaw. The action similar to my own posture. "Yeah, but it was kinda shit, to be completely honest." My nose scrunched in response and he mirrored it. "They pretty much took that last game and just slapped new skins on it. It was a total waste of money." I'd never played the franchise before, and found myself glad to have saved myself from the headache. Shima cocked his head to the side, scratching his chin. "It was a lot cooler seeing you do it in real life, anyway."