Like instructed, Yukie went out on Saturday to meet up with Karma. He was outside the station waiting on her, she concluded, resting his back against the wall outside the station, too occupied with his cell phone to notice her steadily approaching. She immediately made herself known by standing in front of him and waving in his face.

Once their eyes met, she smiled gently.

"Not too bad, right?" Yukie gave him a slow turn and allowed him the chance to look her over.

Karma was honestly surprised; she wore down her ivory hair in adorable curls and painted her lips a glossy pink.

"Color me impressed. There is actually a cute girl beneath all that denim and plaid."

She puffed out her cheeks in aggravation. "Maybe you just didn't notice because you're an idiot."

"Sticks and stones," Karma rebuked with a shrug. He slid his cell phone into the pocket of his black jeans and stepped away from the wall, coming to a halt beside her. The naïve pout on her face only made his smile widen.

Yukie saw this and rolled her eyes. She turned her attention to the front of the station and puckered her brow. Why did he want her to meet him here? Taito was a famous game center in Shinjuku; otherwise a hotspot for teenagers rolling in their parent's money. She had a hunch as to why, but knowing the red head, she figured she'd better humor him by asking questions.

"What are we doing here? I know that you have some elaborate plan cooked up. This is just a cover, right?"

"And you say we are not always on the same wavelength; thick as thieves. But I'm glad you asked," Karma remarked teasingly. He took her by the hand and began to pull her into the center, much to her dismay. Karma led her to a claw machine and slid behind her, pointing over her shoulder at an item to the back of the glass case. "I want that."

He was referring to a game console with an emerald green covering. It was the only handheld left, but Yukie was certain Karma already owned one. She snorted in amusement. "Avarice is a sin, you know? I can only imagine what you plan to do with two."

"I had originally planned to sell it off to some poor idiot for more than I bought it for, but I decided I'd rather you have it. We can play together via connect, instead of you trying to be a backseat gamer," Karma stated. He really couldn't stand that.

Yukie felt her face heat up. He really has it in his head that he and I are going to continue seeing each other. She wasn't doing much to protest against this idea, but she also didn't want to be seen with him and jeopardize her shot at making it big. It sounded terrible – like she had no heart – but aspiring for more was better than going back to what she had; absolutely nothing.

But, that was a completely different story.

As of right now, Yukie was finding it hard to believe that Karma would test his luck and his money just to get her that handheld. The chances of him wining were not in his favor; about 30 percent. Weight and size of the item were two opposing factors he needed to be careful of.

"I don't know, Karma. It doesn't look easy. Neither of us really have the money to waste either."

"You don't believe that I can do it?"

She frowned; of course she did. Something like this, however, was pushing it. The thought was all that mattered to her, but deep down she wanted one of her own. No more watching over his shoulder or waiting for him to die just so that she could get a turn. Yukie felt awful, because she wanted Karma to know that she would never doubt him. Before she opened her mouth to answer him, however, he rudely interrupted her.

"No problem, because I don't think an idiot like me can do it either. That's why I'm not going to."

"Then how are you going to get it?" Yukie narrowed her eyes in annoyance. He was really something else.

"Someone else is," he clarified with a grin.

Yukie puckered her brow.

She can be so clueless sometimes. Karma huffed a sigh of displeasure; good thing he liked her. "Guess I better explain it to you. So, while I was on suspension I came here just about every weekend and wrote down all of the games that raked in the most cash, on top of the prizes that drew the most attention; I wasn't lying when I said I was going to sell them off at a higher price."

His smile never faltered as he continued. "Unfortunately, a no talent fool like me doesn't have the skill for such a plan, or the money to waste on it."

"It's not like you just to give up," Yukie pointed out. Her eyes met his for a brief second. "So … out with it then. Who is the sucker?"

Clever girl, he thought with a controlled laugh. "Hide is his name, and he is something of a legend around here. Then again, the only ones who call him that are delinquents. His sister is the operator who adjusts the catchers, and whenever Lucky Hide wants something, he just takes poor old sister's master key and takes it. No one has ever seen him do it, but he was nice enough to tipped me off – I have a way with words."

She wasn't buying this. Even so, there was nothing to be done about it now. Like she had said before; no matter the cost, Karma always got what he wanted. It would take something equivalent to a nuclear blast to stop him.

"So we ask. Then what? He just gives hands it over to us for no charge at all?"

Karma shook in disagreement. "A tool like him; no way. He will ask for something in return. Equivalent exchange right? And I know just what to offer him."

She was curious now. Yukie wanted to know, but once again, before she had the chance to ask, he took her soft hand and led her further into the center. Karma stopped near a relatively new machine with bright flashing lights and pulled her close. Anyone else and she would have knocked them out.

"He might try to run if he sees me," he explained once she narrowed her eyes at him. Gesturing with his finger, he continued. "That's him over there; the one with the beanie."

Yukie took a peak. The teen was strangely everything that she had expected him to be; a delinquent with a loud mouth and a fierce appearance. She frowned in annoyance as she watched him natter offensively with his just as crude seeming friend. Others around shot them uncanny looks, but they ignored it.

I know the sort of angle he's playing. Drop in a seemingly attentive girl and even guys like this will do anything to impress her.

It made sense now. Karma asked her to wear something girlie for him; girlie and cute was Hide's type.

"This kind of tactic is called honey potting; it's a mean way for a person to get what they want," she explained with a sigh. "But, he's a mean person for using his father's position as an employee of this center to steal what he wants."

"You up for it? Our little game."

I stopped playing these retaliation games a long time ago. Karma just has no empathy for others, no matter how unclear the situation is. She was no saint either. At one time she loved to play too. Karma gave her all the attention and all the praise she thought she ever needed. It was wrong, but she loved it. Just once more … but on my terms.

"Appeal to his interests. Is that the angle?"

Karma smirked – he was a little devil; so clever and manipulative. "That's right. And the objective is the lesson. The console is just a bonus."

She faked an innocent smile. "Tell me everything you know."

From the information she was given, Yukie built a quick profile for her character. She knew that Hide liked cute girls; defiant was too strong an approach to take. Dimwitted was too annoying – she honestly didn't have the tolerance for this one anyway – but easy to impress was right on the money.

This was poles apart from her actual personality, but she knew that she could do it; she was fairly good at playing roles. Her brief performance in the last school play was said to have been very convincing. All it took was a little inspiration to draw from, and given that she had friends with two very different personalities, she had this in the bag.

Timing was all she needed at this point.

Yukie waited in hiding until Hide's yellow haired friend won an object from the claw machine and sprung. She could work with this, even though Hide was not the one who had won. Timidly she approached them, coming to a rest behind the target of her mission, and tapped him on the shoulder. An expression of admiration twinkled in her eyes.

"Sorry to bother you but could either of you tell me whe––

She purposely cut herself off and redirected her eyes to the small toy in the yellow haired teen's grasp. "Oh wow! You won something from one of these things? I've never had the talent."

He took the bait and smiled with a hint of arrogance. "You bet, sweetheart. It only cost me a single swipe from my player's card."

"More like his entire savings," Hide snorted.

His embarrassed friend shot him a scowl. "Lay off man. Not in front of the babe."

"I'm impressed," Yukie lied. "The chances of winning one of these machines is pretty low. I hardly ever waste my time on them, even though the prizes inside are to die for."

Hide smiled; she was too cute. "It's all talent. I bet I could win you anything in here for the right price."

Now it was her turn to act embarrassed. She held her breath a few seconds until her face warmed up, then shook her head. "For me? That's really nice and all … but I don't want to be a nuisance. You see I was looking for my friend; he told me he'd be in and out, but it's been nearly 20 minutes since I last saw him."

His smile widened. "I totally understand. It's hard to pull away from this place; the games are pretty fun. But hey … I can wait near the entrance with you until he shows – maybe even get to know you a little better."

Yukie gently laughed. She locked her arms behind her back and shifted her hips naively. "I'd appreciate that. You did offer me a prize after all; I know just the one."

"Lead the way, babe."

She took his hand and led him over to the machine she and Karma were in front of earlier. Fortunately, the game console was still inside.

I know what I have to do, she thought with a frown. It was the lesser of two evils. But man do I want it.

With a low groan, Yukie forced another smile and laid her finger against the glass.

"That's the one; the emerald handheld. I'd do just about anything to get my hands on it."

Hide knotted his brows. This would be a challenge. Did he really want to do this? She seemed like such a sweet and innocent girl. He slid the card he used to collect points on from the pocket of his baggy jeans and offered it to her. "Take this up the counter and get you something to snack on."

She took it and slipped off. By this time, she knew that Hide was going to cheat. He never swiped the card before he gave it to her. How did he intend to play without points? Cheat, obviously.

Yukie stood by the food bar and watched him from afar. All she needed was the proof to call him out on. She waited for him to make a move, but he just stood there. This confused her – his actions – so she returned to his side and cleared her voice.

Hide jumped like he'd been caught. He almost had been – his drive to fit in almost won.

Passing back his card, Yukie bowed her head. "Let's be honest with one another. You were going to cheat, weren't you?"

Hide widened his eyes. How could she have known? He never told anyone. The only person who knew about the key was some junior high student that jumped him behind the station one afternoon.

"That red haired brat. He told you about me, didn't he?"

Yukie nodded in agreement. "He's … someone I used to be close to. Kind of mean, isn't he?"

Kind of an understatement. She sighed in disappointment. "The plan was to sucker you into winning me the game console, but unlike him I chose not to take advantage of you like that."

"You know that I have been stealing. What now? Do you plan on turning me in?"

He was surprised when she shook her head in disagreement. She really was too sweet. What could she want?

"Name your price," Hide said with a sigh. "You want that game console right? I can get it for you; for your silence."

Yukie shot him a glare. "I want you to stop. Whatever reason you have for doing it can't be that important. You could get caught or worse; get your sister fired."

He frowned – his big sister was the world to him. I knew it was a possibility, but I never thought I'd get found out. If she knew, and the junior high brat knew, then maybe he wasn't as careful as he thought. Hide just wanted to be known for something; he wanted friends who liked him for just being himself.

Tears filled his vibrant colored eyes. Did he really just schooled by a pretty girl?

"I won't tell if you promise to stop cheating," Yukie continued. She waited for his reply.

Hide offered his hand. "You have a deal. I'm Hideyoshi by the way; Hide for short."

"My name is Yukie," she introduced with a smile.

He shook her soft hand. Heat spread across his face.

So cute.

Yukie released him and locked her arms behind her. This was pretty awkward now. She forced another smile and decided that she'd better meet up with Karma. He would probably boo her for doing the right thing, but she didn't care. A part of her felt good for helping out Hide. The other part … well, it wanted the console.

She groaned to herself and mentioned to Hide that she needed to be on her way. Before she left, he asked if she'd like to come back and play games with him sometime. Yukie happily said yes.

Meeting up with Karma in the food court, she explained the situation; how she couldn't take something that was stolen. She opted not to mention that she made a deal with Hide, but she assumed that maybe Karma already knew this.

He didn't seem to care – though he did call her Little Goody Two-Shoes for not following through with the plan. Yukie glared at him and helped herself to some of his lunch.

"Guess it can't be helped," Karma mentioned with a sigh. "I have to deal with you being a backseat gamer until you get a handheld of your own."

Yukie frowned. He really was pressing this issue. She decided not to comment on it though. All she wanted to know was what Karma thought about Asano. Was he in love with her? Was he pushing her to become a Virtuoso because he wanted her to stand by his side?

She really wanted to understand. Then again, she really didn't. How was Karma supposed to know? He and Asano weren't even friends. And though Karma was very observant, she questioned his sincerity. She had a decision to make now; the lesser of two evils.

"Regarding our conversation last night," Yukie mentioned out of the blue. She took a deep breath. "I … want to know your honest opinion about Asano, but not until I ask. Give me some time to figure it out."

Karma agreed with a nod. "Suit yourself. But you may not like it."

She said nothing out loud. At least I know it will come from the heart.

If only she knew that at this time, someone who knew her – someone who knew Karma – saw her. This same someone took a picture of them together, then left before either of them noticed.

What a can of worms this would open up.