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It was a late afternoon in Primp Town. Maguro and Ecolo stood by the path they were once walking on, watching Arle, Amitie, and Ringo Puyo Battle. They had started the battle over a minor dispute, interrupting their leisurely walk. Whatever the disagreement was about, Ringo had promptly forgotten it in the heat of battle. What mattered now was winning.
“Cyclowhirl!”
“Mind Blast!”
At the moment, winning didn’t seem likely for Ringo. She had just started her Turn-Around, and Amitie and Arle had already set off their chains. Worse, she had blocked off her point of entry.
How much time did she have left before she was out? Could she do anything? All she needed was a red and green Puyo, and then she’d be fine. Ish.
Briefly glancing at the queued Puyo, she saw her opportunity. She could make an eight— no, nine-chain if done properly. It was enough to give her chills.
She’d risk it.
“Arle, watch out! Ringo has that look on their face again!”
“What look—“
Arle’s attention snapped to Ringo as her almost sinister laugh cut Arle’s question off.
“Permutation!”
As Ringo cast the spell, Garbage Puyo rained down on Amitie and Arle. A decisive victory! (Or a T.K.O., as Maguro had called it sometimes.) Thrilled, Ringo looked up from her board… only to find her friends still buried in the Garbage Puyo.
Right, the battle.
Ringo quickly began to dig the two out, sheepishly helping them up.
“You alright?”
Arle nodded, though they still looked a bit dazed. “Good… good game, Ringo.”
“Might’ve gotten a biiiit carried away. Sorry about that.”
“Happens all the time!” Amitie quickly waved the apology. “When you get excited and your hair goes all spiky, I can kinda tell you’re feeling the fever.”
Arle shook off their stupor. “Nice to know Ringo has a tell.”
Ringo blushed, but she had to agree. She needed to work on her poker face.
Arle laughed. “Hey, don’t worry about it! It’s those lightning spells, huh?”
Ringo tilted her head. “Lightning?”
“Your spells are lightning-based, aren’t they?”
Ringo paused. Were Arle and Amitie still talking about the same thing?
With no response from Ringo, Amitie was the one to answer. “I thought they were math.”
“Well, yeah, but the spell itself is lightning.”
“Ohh, right. Math isn’t a magical element.”
Ringo finally chimed in. “Math is perfectly magical, thank you very much! …Element confusion aside, what exactly are you two talking about?”
Arle looked at Ringo as if the answer were obvious. “You get shocked every time you use your spells, right?”
“Physically? Like some kind of magical static electricity?”
“How else would your hair stand on end like that?”
“Frisson. It’s a psychophysiological response. I thought that was what you two were talking about until Arle mentioned lightning spells. You know, the tingly feeling? Goosebumps? Chills?”
Silence. “I believe I’ve lost the room.”
Amitie spoke with a hint of concern. “We’re outside.”
“Figure of speech. Hold on, I’ll explain.”
Maguro found a spot under a nearby tree and made himself comfortable.
Ringo would have to backtrack. An example would help. One that didn’t involve any magic. Or electricity at all, for that matter. Math was a universal language. That could work.
“When you find a derivative that—”
Amitie already looked confused. Maybe not math. What else was a universal language?
“When you listen to a song, and it resolves a little differently than you expected?”
Arle furrowed her brow. “Like Harpy’s?”
“No, the opposite of Harpy.”
“Suketoudara?”
Ringo stopped using examples. Perhaps an anecdotal approach would work.
“I bring it up all the time during battles, don’t I?”
Ecolo, who had somehow gotten closer without anyone noticing, spoke up. “Only sometimes! Depends on where we are.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t worry about it~!”
“Maybe you could try explaining frisson, Ecolo?”
“Mmm, I’m not sure I’m qualified.” Ecolo poked at their own arm. It barely kept its shape. “Plus, last time I explained something to Amitie, it flew over her head.”
Amitie looked up.
“See my point?”
“Okay, back to the matter at hand, then. Does the word ‘frisson’ sound familiar at all?”
Arle nodded. “Oh, like when Schezo and I fought. Sparks flew from our swords without either of us using magic.”
“No, that’s friction.”
Amitie’s eyes lit up. “Wait, is it when you choose one thing over the other?”
“No, that’s a decision.”
Amitie tried again. “What about splitting those really tiny things? ‘At hums’?”
Arle nodded in agreement. “Doesn’t that make lightning people can use?”
“No, that’s fission—Wait, how do you two even know about that?”
“You talk about it when you stare at the lights in Suzuran for too long.”
“Do I?”
A resounding “yes” came from the rest of the group, including Maguro, who had shouted it from his spot by the tree.
“Et tu, Maguro?”
Maguro simply shrugged.
“…A different method, then!” Ringo turned to address Amitie. “Colloquialisms tend to work with you, correct?”
“Co… what?”
“Layman’s terms?”
“Who’s Leiman?”
“…Never mind. You described ‘feeling the fever,’ but you didn’t mean the immune respo—” Ringo stopped herself. “Getting sick, I mean.”
“No, I think Puyo Battles are pretty sick.”
“Not what I mean!”
Arle jumped in before Ringo could clarify. “Wait, Amitie, I think I get it. It’s like Bayoen.”
“Ohhhhhh, that makes sense! Feeling all happy, like there’s flowers all around you!”
Now it was Ringo’s turn to be at a loss. “…What?”
Amitie pointed at Ringo excitedly. “We’ll cast Bayoen on you, and then you’ll totally understand!”
“H-hold on! Two versus one?!”
But before Ringo could protest further, Amitie and Arle were already stacking Puyo. She’d have to catch up if she wanted to win again. And she very much wanted to win again. Resigned, yet almost excited for the battle ahead, Ringo started stacking Puyo as well. Once again, the battle was on.
Maguro, still watching from afar, tried timing his kendama tricks to the rhythm of the fight. Ecolo got Maguro’s attention. “Aaaare they gonna stop riling each other up anytime soon?”
Maguro shook his head. “Not for a while ★ .”
“What was the last battle about, anyway?”
“What to get for lunch. We’ll just get takeout. Maybe the dinner special ★.”