Twisted Wonderland 2

A Fantastic Team

You and the boys play some pool together. Or at least, that what you would be doing if Ortho wasn't dominating the table.

Jade brings a hand to his chin as he watches. "There are fast learners, and then there's..."

"Two ball, side pocket." Ortho hits a ball and it drops into the pocket. He goes for the next one. "Five ball, rear right corner pocket. Yay, that's four in a row for me!" Ortho cheers.

Vil watches in disbelief. "He's too good at this! What's going on? Ortho hasn't missed a single shot since he picked up his cue stick!"

You almost can't believe it as Ortho makes shot after shot. "Are you secretly a pro at this?"

Jade tilts his head. "What a show of skill. He's landed every shot in the exact location he's called. There were some points where his shot path was obstructed by the other team's balls, but..."

"He cleared those obstacles with jump shots and got his target ball into the pocket anyway." Vil finishes the thought. "Those aren't moves someone playing the game for the very first time could pull off."

Floyd grits his teeth. "I'm gettin' kinda tired of the peanut gallery crowdin' around goin', 'Who is this guy?' and 'Is he a pool shark?'"

Ortho smirks under the mask. "Imperfect tools made things hard during target practice, but this cue and these balls have no such issues. Ball positions logged. Simulating optimal route to pocket. Calculating point of contact, angle of incidence, angle of reflection, ball spin rate and energy. If I make the shot as calculated... Three ball, side pocket."

The ball lands in the pocket.

Ortho turns to the boys smugly. "There, see? Easy as that."

Jade chuckles. "Nicely done! We might not even get a turn at this rate. Oh, what a pity that would be."

You sheepishly rub your neck. "That might not be so bad."

Vil narrows his eyes. "If I could just get a single turn... We're about to lose before we can even play!"

"Right?" Floyd groans. "It's kinda boring when none of the rest of us can play the game."

Grim waves his tail indignantly. "Yeah! Gimme a chance to shine!"

Jade smirks. "Oh, but we decided the turn order fair and square with rock-paper-scissors. Is that the baying of sore losers I hear?"

"Sounds like it to me." Ortho snickers. "I think I'll go for the six ball next..."

As Ortho readies his shot, something bounces in front of him. Startling him and making the ball miss.

"Whoa, Ortho actually missed." Grim cackles. "About time!"

"That's a positive development, but what happened there?" Vil asks. "You'd better not have missed on purpose."

Ortho folds his arms. "Of course I didn't. I would never pull my punches in a game! A bug jumped out in front of the ball."

Vil looks to the table. "Oh, there it is. It's hopping all over the pool table. What is it?"

Ortho gets a closer look. "I think it's a cricket. It seems to be chirping." He shoos the little bug away. "Come on, little cricket, you can't be up there! You startled me and made me mess up my shot. I was on track to play a perfect game all the way to the eight ball and everything. Jade, Y/N, I'm really sorry..."

You smile and place a hand to his shoulder. "You did amazing. You gave us a huge head start."

Jade nods. "Yes, you did quite well. That was a most impressive display of skill, Ortho."