Chapter 90

The gunshots, the death screams, the noises of flesh ripping apart…They poured out from the speakers, creating a cacophony that filled the room. It sounded like nothing a shooting game should ever generate, and it awed me. The audience, silent up to now, was starting to erupt into cheers and gasps. It was mastery in motion, unfolding before us second after exhilarating second. The monsters, appearing on-screen before instantly being blown away, were difficult to even tell apart with the naked eye by now. Spotting them, aiming, firing—both of them repeated this process over and over again with startling speed and accuracy. It was impossible to put into words, but if I had to, I could only call it “intense.” This battle was undoubtedly going to be one for the history books. That boy in the hoodie was easily an even match for Takane…Maybe even better than her, in fact. And Takane, on her side, was taking no prisoners. I no longer had any idea who was going to win. The monsters must’ve appreciated having these two masters of their craft take them on. Great work today, guys. It was a tough role to fulfill, but you’ve made this fun for a whole lot of people. I’m definitely gonna be making pins out of all of you later. The two minutes seemed to drag on forever. Now, though, we were at the final ten seconds. Neither side budged from their pursuit of perfection, and the dead heat was continuing on to the very end. Only one of them could win. Which is it? Who’s it going to be? As we all watched with bated breath, I found an emotion I wasn’t expecting starting to make itself known in my heart. …I’m so jealous. Both of them are so cool. I’m incredibly jealous of them. Why am I standing here, letting this amaze me like an idiot? Look at Takane, lost in battle, body twitching this way and that as she plays…What could she be feeling right now? It’s got to be just too much fun for her. …I can’t stand it. This is so frustrating. I want to sit next to Takane and play a game with her, too. I want to become good enough to get Takane impassioned like this. Ah, how awesome would that be, if I managed to do that? If I had that kind of future in store… The two of them, silhouetted by the light from the displays, seemed like faraway presences. All I could do was stand behind them, staring at them with envious eyes. The game-over buzzer rang out, and the “results” screen popped up. I crouched next to Takane again. I wanted to say something to her. I wanted it to be something like “That was great!” or “I was so amazed!”…but I couldn’t utter a word. The “results” screen was pretty simple. All it told you was whether you won or lost. That’s it. The score on Takane’s was her highest of the day, but the word WIN wasn’t underneath it. Takane lost. “Takane…” While I fumbled around for words, the kid in the red hoodie quietly stood up and headed for the exit. Oh no. I need to give him our prize. After such a passionate duel, I could never let him go home empty-handed. I thought for a moment before figuring out what I’d say to Takane. I chose to just go with what I was feeling. “…Ene, that was awesome, right up to the end! Great work today!” “Hey! W-wait a sec…!” I chased after the boy, running short on breath. The specimen I had in hand was pretty heavy. It wasn’t exactly attractive-looking, either. As a prize, it presented some issues. Why didn’t I notice that before? He might think I was just screwing with him or something. But given that we advertised a “wonderful prize,” I had to give him something. If I didn’t, and Takane was branded a liar, that’d be just awful. Even if he says he doesn’t need it, I’ve got to get him to take it…! “Stop, please…!” I called to the kid multiple times, but he never paid me any attention as he quickly headed toward the front door. Wasn’t he supposed to be going out with Ayano? ’Cause he pretty much left her in the dust. Was that okay?! I recalled Ayano gingerly introducing the kid earlier. She must’ve been looking forward to this day a lot. Getting stood up like that made me pity her a little. As if my feelings telepathically came across to him, the hoodie kid suddenly turned around. Our eyes met. It was now or never. I tried to sound as authoritative as possible: “Um, this is your prize! Please take it!!” The kid looked dubiously at me. He must have remembered me from the room, though, because he didn’t play dumb. I managed to catch up to him just as he removed his earbuds and put them in his pocket. Oh. Well, no wonder he wasn’t listening to me. “Uh, what’s that…?” The question could only be described as scornful. I had to agree with him. What is this thing I’m lugging around? …Wait. No. I need to answer him. “This is your prize for winning in that shooting gallery…I came here to present it to you.” “Huh?!” “It’s your prize. You earned it. It, um, it’s all yours.” Ugh. I feel like I’m trying to sell it to him. But I had to stay strong. Otherwise, I wasn’t sure he was going to accept it at all. Oof, look at him, he looks like he’s hating every moment of this. “Umm…I don’t need it.” I knew it. “Well, could you just take it, maybe? It’d be like taking home a memory of today. What do you think?” Yes, I know. I’m asking a hell of a lot from you. The only thing this would be a memory of is a deep-sea expedition. Ugh, what am I going to dooooo…? He’s never going to take it now. Like, why would anyone even want something like… …Ah. “…Hey, you were going out with Ayano today, right?” “Yeah, so what?” The boy now looked even more suspicious of me. Maybe I was too sudden with it. But I couldn’t turn back now. Just push a little harder… “Well, maybe you don’t need this, but I think Ayano would really appreciate it if you gave it to her. I’m, like, totally sure of that.” I honestly felt this was my most brilliant idea of the day. Who purchased this in the first place, after all? It was Ayano’s father, Mr. Tateyama. If Ayano took it, at least it’d be useful for something. In fact, she’d probably love it if it was a present from this guy. I was pretty sure she liked this guy a lot. Yep. I am so smart sometimes. Not only was I doing my job here; I was also potentially playing Cupid for these two lovebirds. Ah, what can I say? Heh-heh-heh… “Oh, okay. Could you give that to Ayano directly for me? See you.” The boy turned and started walking again, thinking nothing more of it. I chased him down in a panic. “Whaaa—?! No, wait a second! It doesn’t mean anything unless you’re the one giving it to her…Like, if you’re the one she’s accepting it from…!” “Uh, you’re really not making any sense. Stop following me, all right?” The kid refused to slow down as he spat the words at me, weaving his way through the festival crowd. With the baggage I was carrying, I had trouble keeping up. Finally, we reached the school’s front door. The boy removed his guest slippers and was just about done putting on his own shoes when I reached him. “Ahh, wait a minute! I’ll think of something, so…um…!” Crap. If he leaves the school grounds, I won’t be able to chase him around forever. What do I do now…?! Then, at that moment, someone bumped into my shoulder. “Sorry!” she said. I turned around to find a female student selling drinks and looking at me with sorrowful eyes. The cooler slung from her shoulder had SODA 100 YEN written on it. “Well, I’m outta here. Please don’t follow—” “Do…do you want a soda?!” The boy stared slack-jawed at me. “Uh, I don’t really like sugary drinks like that, so…” “Please! Just one can! You gotta be thirsty, right?! That was such a killer match, I bet some soda would taste great right now! C’mon. let’s have a drink! C’mon!” The boy responded with what almost seemed like fear at my fervent request. Other people nearby us stopped, wondering what my deal was. The drink seller took a look at us. “Um, would you like two, then?” she asked optimistically. “Yes, two, please!” I immediately replied. “Okay?!” The boy opened his mouth a couple times, attempting to say something, but then sighed heavily, giving up all hope. “…All riiiight. If you want me to drink it, I’ll drink it.” The response made me want to wave my fist in the air. Yes! I did it! I did it, Takane! I stopped him! Now our booth is a total success! “Thank you very much!” the girl said, smiling. A few people around us began to clap. “I don’t know what’s going on,” one of them said, “but hey, good job.” It was a good job. Seriously… …Why was I going through all this again? There were communal spaces dotted around the school for festival purposes. We chose a simple bench on the north side of the first floor, not far from the front entrance, to sit down and take a load off. “…Ooh, this is good.” The hoodie kid, who introduced himself as Shintaro Kisaragi, looked lovingly at his can. It was like he had never tried soda before. I gave him a questioning look. “There’s nothing that rare about it, is there?” There wasn’t. In fact, he was drinking the most well-known soda brand in the world. How the heck did he not know about it? “Well, I know about it and all,” Shintaro replied, sounding a little hurt. “I just never picked it out for myself because I don’t like that sugary stuff too much.” “Oh, I see!” I smiled. “Guess you just made a new discovery.” “Guess so,” Shintaro said, already uninterested in the topic. “…So you want me to give this to Ayano?” Shintaro looked down at the fish specimen by our feet. I did finally manage to have him accept it, although I was honestly starting to regret bringing up Ayano’s name. “I think she’d be happy to have it, but…I’m sorry. If she says she doesn’t want it, we can take it back.” “Ahhh, it’s fine. Even if she doesn’t, I got a sister who likes weird stuff like this, so I’ll give it to her instead.” Shintaro stood up and tossed his empty can into a garbage bin next to the bench. Hmm. He’s a pretty nice kid after all, isn’t he? I don’t know what he did to set off Takane so bad. He’s a pretty damn good gamer, too. Where’d he come from, anyway? I decided to send out a couple of feelers. “Y’know, though, you were really good at that game. Do you play in any competitions or anything?” “Huh? Oh, that was just messing around. All you had to do was shoot the enemies when they came up on-screen. It’s pretty easy.” Wow. Yeah, he and Takane were never gonna be too compatible. Kind of like oil and water, in fact. “Y-yeah…? Well, it was still really impressive. I mean, pulling off what you did…I’m really kind of jealous. I sure can’t do anything like that…” …Oops. Now what? I was starting to get frustrated with myself again. Damn, I’m an idiot. Why am I being jealous? I could never play like them. But…oooh, that was so cool. If I could play like Shintaro can, then maybe Takane and I could— “Uh?” Shintaro looked perplexed. “Well, if you wanna do that, why don’t you?” “…Huh?” “I’m just saying, if you want to play games online or whatever, just do whatever you want. It’s not like anyone’s stopping you, are they?” “Well, no, but…” Shintaro sighed and scratched his head. “So just do it,” he repeated. “Do what you like. If you want, I could introduce you to some pretty good…games…” The feelings running through my mind were probably written all over my face. Shintaro’s “Uh-oh, what have I done now” look of shock made that obvious enough. It was four in the afternoon. Just as someone over the PA system announced that the festival was over, I stood up and spoke as clearly as I could. “Yes! Please! I’d love that!”