As they were walking down the first-floor hallway of the East Wing, Taichi heard the battle signal.
“Ina — er, Himeko, just checking, but — ouch!”
Out of nowhere, Himeko flicked his forehead.
“I heard that! You were about to call me Inaba again! You promised you’d call me Himeko!”
“I know! I’m sorry!”
This was a recent development that took place over spring break, and Taichi hadn’t quite gotten used to it. As she pouted her lips, he reached out and stroked her hair.
“C’mon, I’m really sorry.”
“...Well, I’ll forgive you.” Embarrassed at her own childish antics, she sheepishly scratched her cheek.
Normally she was always so stoic in class. How many people had seen this side of her? Possibly just him... and if so, part of him wished he could keep it that way. Or was he being too possessive?
“Anyway, just checking, but... what’s your game plan? Do you want to win, or...?”
“Damn right we’re gonna win!” She folded her arms like a badass. “I’m not planning to half-ass this. I’ll show them we’ve got what it takes to be the best... and I’ll do it all for you!”
“C-Cool... Why for me, though?”
“What do you mean? Don’t you want that Student Representative title to go on your permanent record?!”
“I mean, sure, but...”
He didn’t quite understand why she was getting so worked up over it... but then she frowned sadly.
“I just... want us to go to the same college, that’s all. And right now it looks like my top choice might be out of your range, so if you had something that could boost you up...”
This was something Taichi hoped for, too. But he didn’t want to hold her back from pursuing her dreams to the fullest extent, so he’d kept it to himself.
“Thanks, Himeko. We can talk about it more later, so for now, let’s focus on the tournament. I’m gonna win for you, too.”
“Oh, Taichi...”
Himeko gazed at him passionately, her long-lashed eyes locked on to him, pulling him in—
“THIS IS NO TIME FOR FLIRTING, YOU LOVEBIRDS!!!”
A deafening scream threatened to shatter the windows. Taichi whirled around to find Miyagami Keisuke standing there, his rectangular glasses askew and his carefully styled hair fluttering as he gasped for breath. Beside him was Sone Takuya, a chubby guy from the Manga Club. Last year Taichi had shared a class with both of them, but this year they were separated.
“The heck are you doing in the middle of the hallway?!”
“Excuse me?” Himeko shot Miyagami a sharp glare.
“Eeek! I... I’m sorry!” He shrank back.
“Dude, come on! You were off to a good start and then you dropped the ball!” Sone shouted at him.
“Did you two pair up?” Taichi asked.
“Yes, we’re a pair, okay?! Unlike you, we’re single, and we couldn’t find any girls to get with, so we ended up stuck with each other!”
For some reason, they were both livid. But what had set them off?
“Screw it. This is for all the single guys out there... I’m going to beat these lovebirds! I demand a battle!”
“You know we’re not your enemy, right?” Taichi blinked.
“And to be clear, we have the right to reject any challenge,” Himeko mused as she reviewed the rules.
“Wh-What, you chicken? You can’t just run away!” said Miyagami.
“Actually, they can. If they don’t want to fight us, then the rules allow them to make a run for it instead,” said Sone.
“But if we can’t beat a couple of nobodies like you, then we’ll never take home the prize. You’re on,” said Himeko. “You don’t mind, right, Taichi?”
“Go for it,” Taichi nodded.
And so it was decided that they would battle.
“Uh, Miyagami? Did she just call us ‘a couple of nobodies’?”
“I always had a feeling she saw us that way... and frankly, if you compared us to her, I don’t think we’d come out on top in any category...”
“Guys, you don’t have to say the quiet part out loud,” Taichi retorted without thinking.
“But just think about it, man! Do you really think we’d start a fight we know we can’t win? Of course not! Your hubris will be your downfall!” said Miyagami.
“Yeah! Just this once, we’re going to beat you, Yaegashi!” said Sone.
Apparently they cared more about winning this one single battle than anything else. Miyagami thrust his fist in the air, then swung his arm down, pointing at Taichi.
“Now we’re going to choose the competition. And we choose... rock-paper-scissors!”
“Rejected.”
“Whaaaa?!”
“Hey, c’moooon!”
Evidently neither of them had expected Himeko to shoot them down point-blank.
“Inaba-san, don’t you think it’d be polite to accept our proposal? We’ll each take turns, best three of five. Rock-paper-scissors is actually a lot harder than most people realize, y’know?”
“The battle can’t happen unless both parties agree on the format. I’m well within my rights to refuse.”
“B-But if we don’t play rock-paper-scissors, then we don’t stand a chance at winningggg,” Sone whimpered.
“Well, that’s the whole point of the Battle Boxes, isn’t it? To keep things fair. Let’s see... The closest one iiiis...”
“Have a heart!” said Miyagami.
“We stayed up all night coming up with this strategy!” said Sone.
Together, they bowed their heads, almost as if they’d already lost the battle.
“...What should we do, Taichi?” Himeko asked as she looked at the other pair with a pitying expression.
“I’d rather just go with their suggestion, but... I’m really bad at rock-paper-scissors.”
“Trust me, I know. And I’m guessing they’ve got more tricks up their sleeve.”
“Which means we’d be at a major disadvantage...”
But before Taichi could recommend playing it safe, Sone muttered:
“...Huh. I guess their love isn’t as powerful as I thought.”
“What, you think we can’t handle it?! You’re on!”
“Himeko?!”
In a blink, she had taken the bait. Oh boy. I’m really not sure we’re going to survive this tournament.
“So you agree? Well, alright then!”
Miyagami exchanged a high-five with Sone.
“Yaegashi’s notoriously bad at rock-paper-scissors! We’ve got this in the bag!”
“Uhhh... Is that your entire strategy...?” Taichi asked, baffled and mildly terrified.
“Heh! Rock-paper-scissors is all about luck. Normally we’d only have a 50-50 chance of winning, but there’s no way we’ll lose to you! Heads up, spectators — we’re about to battle!”
Miyagami raised his hand to draw attention from everyone nearby. At this, a few pairs wandered over to observe. Taichi had wondered how the “honor system” could possibly be viable in a competitive event, but with an audience present, there wasn’t likely to be any foul play.
Huh?
From out of left field, he felt someone watching him. And when he looked over his shoulder, he thought he glimpsed someone ducking out of sight...
“Well, there’s no going back now. Let’s do it.”
“I knew you’d be a good sport, Inaba-san! Alright, Sone, you go first!”
“Leave it to me!”
“Okay then. Taichi, you’re up.”
“What?” Taichi, Miyagami, and Sone all reacted in unison.
“Just so we’re clear, Inaba-san, we’re not trying to bully the poor guy! We wouldn’t ask you to subject him to humiliating defeat right out of the gate!”
“You really think I’m that bad at it...?”
“Relax. He’ll be fine. Alright, Taichi, I want you to — and if it’s a draw, then — got it?” Himeko whispered into his ear.
“You sure?”
“Trust me.” She sounded fully confident.
“Alright, let’s get started! Here we go!”
But right as Sone took a step forward, Himeko called out:
“Just so you know, Taichi’s gonna play rock. Good luck!”
She gestured with both hands as if to say have at it, boys.
“What?” Once again, the three of them reacted in unison.
“Wh-What was that about? Is she playing mind games with us...? I thought they only do that in manga...” Despite some confusion, Sone still seemed excited to play.
“Remember, you’re going to play rock!” Himeko called.
Then the game began, and all Taichi could do was trust in his girlfriend.
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
Sone played rock, and Taichi played paper. Winner: Taichi.
“Wh... I lost?!” Sone fell to his knees right there in the middle of the hallway.
“Wh-Why would you play rock, Sone?! And how did Yaegashi know to play paper?! Did Inaba-san mess with your head?! Or was it all just a coincidence?! I’m so confused!” Miyagami stammered.
Likewise, Taichi didn’t really understand it either... but it was way too convenient to be mere coincidence.
“If you tell your opponent you’ll play rock and they believe you, they’ll play paper,” Himeko explained. “But if they suspect you want them to play paper, then they’ll play rock. Make sense?”
“Oh, because they think you’re going to play scissors. I get it now,” Taichi nodded.
“So in that situation, playing paper is the safest choice. Also, since rock doesn’t require you to change your hand when you play it, you can increase the chances of your opponent playing rock by putting the idea in their head. Especially if they’re nervous. Anyway, that about sums it up.”
“It makes sense when you lay it all out like that, but... how did you come up with that on the spot?!” Miyagami wailed.
“Are you sure you should have told them all that?” Taichi asked.
“Hah. You think that’s the only mind game I know how to play?”
“Eeeek!”
And so the battle was decided.
Winner: Yaegashi Taichi/Inaba Himeko
Total Flowers: 2