Angry Desu !jVJAZ.LN/Q 2009/01/06 (Tue) 20:15 No. 73393 ▼ File 123130170492.jpg - (141.07KB, 600x600 , MeilingStars.jpg)
Looking over the goods, still piled in the living room, your eye roves over the various boxes for what you think would be a good start. A remote control twuck - even if you did get it out now it would likely need to be charged up. An electronic keyboard... well, it wasn't like you had any idea how to play such a thing. The drink cooler-warmer perhaps? No, that would be best explained over dinner perhaps or at least some time in which you were planning on having drinks. That lest only the rock tumbler and the 'laser supernova' and, if you were to be honest with yourself, the second one seemed much more impressive - even though the packaging was distinctly lacking compared to the others. Hell, all you had to go on was a name printed on the side of a thick cardboard box.
“I think this will do,” you say, lifting the item out of the pile. The box itself was easily battling for the position of being the largest against the keyboard, but the moment you lifted it you were sure it would easily win the top position for being the heaviest item there.
“Eh!?” Utsuho exclaims, “But that one is boring!”
“Yeah!” Chimes in the other young-acting girl, Cirno. “It doesn't have any pictures or anything! Just words!” She squints a bit and you can practically see the cogs in her head turning. “Lah-seer Super- I know what that means - but what's a noo-vuh?”
Almost instantly Utsuho's head swings around to stare at Cirno in shock. “You can read!?” She yells, and you spot a wave of jealousy pass over her face before it vanishes into a smug look. “Tha-That's not so impressive! I can read it too!” She declares, drawing looks from a few of the girls. Ran, especially, raises one eyebrow and shoots you an obvious little glance to she that she too doesn't believe the raven-haired girl.
“Oh my,” Comes a polite whisper from across the room where Hina is sitting upon one of the comfortable chairs. “It's so impressive to know you can both read, alas it is a skill I have not particularly been able to polish within myself.” She shrugs, “However much Nitori,” she pauses and glances at you, “my friend, tries she simply has little that I am capable of understanding even with her assistance.” The green-haired woman sighs and shrugs lightly, “Still, I am given to understand that here is a new chance for such things for myself.” She pauses and stares at Utsuho in a pointed way, “as well as for everyone else.”
“Aha, yes, well, anyway...” You butt in before Utsuho has a chance to reply, “Lets just see what this 'Laser Supernova' is than, shall we?” Glancing around you frown slightly, “So which one of you decided to buy it anyway?” Slowly everyone seems to turn to face one way and, following their looks, you're left staring at an embarrassed looking Meiling holding one hand up in the air.
“I-it's mine.” She admits, her voice quiet, “Um... One of the shop assistant people showed me what it was for... and... um...” She trails off, “I didn't really understand it,” she admits after a few moments silence, “But it makes stars appear - and I like stars... he said it could make a room look like a night sky and...” She trails off again and remains quiet for a long while. It quickly becomes evident that she has no intention of starting up again so soon enough your attention turns back to the white box. Carefully you remove the tape holding it closed and, after fishing through several tons of plastic-y wadding materials, you eventually remove a white cylinder - perhaps as wide as a dinner plate and about as tall as a large soda bottle. It was topped by a dome of see through material within which you could see mounted some kind of lens assembly. A little more rummaging in the box revealed two more such assemblies as well as a large power cable and a slim instruction booklet.
“Laser Supernova,” you read aloud, looking over the front of the booklet, “A portable laser projection device capable of turning any ordinary room into your own personal midnight sky.” Opening the booklet you groan slightly and flick through it, looking for instructions that were actually in a language you could read. French? Spanish? Ancient Sanscrit - who the hell would need instructions in that? Eventually you come across the five or so pages in your own language and skim through them, discovering that they primarily consisted of warnings about how not to use the device rather than guides on how to use it properly.
Seriously, who the hell was going to try swallowing something that big anyway?
“Okay,” you speak up at last, “Okay... how should I explain this?” You frown for a moment, “Honestly I don't really know how, it's pretty high-level stuff in here... But at least I can show you what it does and how to use it.” Unwrapping the power cord you carefully plug one end into a slot in the cylinder and, with the eyes of the girls on you, plug the other end into a nearby socket. “It's an electrical device,” you explain as you go, “which means it needs to be 'plugged in' to a wall socket in order to work. Unlike your cellphones however it is not capable of storing electricity so it will not work when 'unplugged'.” Moving back to the cylinder you check it over quickly, “Inside is a device which makes a laser,”
“A laser?” Cirno frowns, “So it makes danmaku beams?”
You pause and give the girl a strange look. “Uh... Beams is right but, danmaku?” You shake your head, “I don't think I understand what you mean by that.”
“We'll explain some other time.” Ran interrupts, cutting Cirno off just as she seems about to launch into some kind of rant on the subject of whatever she meant by 'danmaku'. “It is not something to show off here,” she adds, giving the blue haired girl a hard glare, “Danmaku play is especially not something to be performed inside either.”
“If you say so,” You mumble, now somewhat curious as to what they were talking about. “Anyway, long story short, a laser - in this case - is a fine beam of light. I'll probably have to teach you more about what they are later, but generally you can't see the beam itself only the point at which it hits something.” Pausing you rummage around in your pockets before eventually producing your keyring - complete with laser pointer key chain. “This is a laser too,” you say, “Though a much smaller one, about all it's good for is drawing attention to things as a pointer.” Flicking the switch on it's side you aim it at the ceiling, causing a few of the girls to 'oooh' in interest as the little red dot that you make move about there. “Lasers can only travel in straight lines, which makes them also very useful for aiming things precisely.” You pause and frown, “Like weapons, among other things.
“I see.” Ran states, “So we should be aware that such marks appearing could indicate a potential attack?” The way she asks this is odd... as if she knows the answer already but is asking for the benefit of the other girls.
“Should there come a time when it is likely weapons may be used against you, then yes.” You respond, your voice low. “Though that's pretty unlikely.” Ignoring the girls glancing at one another you move back to Meiling's gadget. “Anyhow, lasers can also be used to produce patterns and other interesting effects depending on how they're used. Weak lasers are little more than lightbeams, but stronger ones are capable of burning or cutting through material, and some of the most powerful can become weapons in and of themselves - though as far as I'm aware they're not very good at that.” standing up you move to switch off the lights in the room, plunging it into... well, not darkness exactly, but a deep gloom in which you can barely make out the girls faces. You have the disturbing feeling, however, that the girls can see you a lot better in the dark than you can see them - you shudder involuntarily at that notion, part from a crawling sense of fear and part from the sheer creepiness of being watched by invisible watchers.
