“You are such a cheating-ass, button-mashing
scrub, Hisao Nakai!” I growl as another
K-O! booms from the TV. The cocksure grin of my opponent does little but infuriate me further.
“No one likes a sore loser, Rika.” He mocks with that stupid, handsome face of his as Fuuka giggles to herself; laying flat on my bed with her chin resting across her folded arms, watching intently as I get my butt handed to me for the third time in a row.
“Man, I have never seen you get this pissy about losing before…” She offers, an air of surprise in her voice that I do not appreciate.
“I’m only getting so salty because senpai
suck-butt here,” I gesture to Hisao who begins laughing at my lame insult as the character selection screen pops up and he chooses Law. Yet again. “Keeps choosing the same damn character! There he goes again!”
“I thought you said you knew all the match-ups?” Hisao chuckles and I glare in response. “Yeah, but
someone keeps flash-kicking me twice in the face every round!”
“There
is a block button!” Hisao interjects and I glare even harder, fully aware of that but having never mastered it because defence is for losers.
Fuuka and Hisao continue to laugh and I decide to play dirty and select Christie. If senpai wants to button-mash, I’ll give him a button-mash…
Immediately, Hisao is put on the defensive as an incredibly attractive fighter plays out her intro on-screen. I turn to him and, in unison with my new avatar, say “Go easy on me!”. The blush that erupts in his cheeks all but seals the deal as the round begins.
Round 1! Fight!
He goes for the old faithful but my character’s capoeira style side-steps it immediately and I spend the rest of the round pressing a flurry of quarter circles and random button taps. It’s by no means perfect but it’s a butt-kicking he didn’t see coming. The second round plays out much the same but Hisao puts up a better fight at least. I hate to admit it but he has gotten better.
“And that is what happens when you talk smack, boy!” I toss the controller onto the carpet in front of my crossed legs and throw my arms out wide in triumph. Hisao groans with a smile and leans back on his hands.
“She’s a sore winner too.” Fuuka chuckles and Hisao nods ruefully. “Oh, I’m fully aware of that.” He responds and I bop his arm.
“I’m a humble and gracious winner,
scrub-pai now pick up that controller so I can whoop your butt again!” I grin and Hisao slips further down onto his back.
“Nah, I’m good. I’m retiring as the undisputed champ of the day. You may leave accolades at my feet if you wish.” He sighs and closes his eyes with a contented smile.
“Undisputed!? I beat you! You were totally disputed! Fuuka?” I shove his side and then crane my neck back to Fuuka, who is snaking her way off my bed and into her stationary chair.
“I didn’t see nothin’. Hisao’s the champ.” Fuuka announces, hoping her raised hands will somehow soften the sting of betrayal. It doesn’t.
“Thank you, Fuuka.”
“You’re welcome, Hisao. I’m gonna have to love you and leave you, peeps; I got groceries to get.” She responds in a sickeningly sweet tone before offering a goodbye. I hop from my knees to my feet and escort her to the door.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” I ask and she shakes her head before leaning closer. “Nah, I’ve only got a couple things to get. Besides, wouldn’t want to play third wheel to you and your senpai.” She winks playfully and I have to push her out of my room before she really starts messing with me.
“
OKAYFUUKA, THANKSFORCOMING, SEEYA!” The door slams shut and I breath a sigh of relief.
“Is that how you treat all your guests?” Hisao chuckles, his arms folded behind his head for support. I throw the pillow Fuuka was using for support at Hisao as I plonk down on my bed, the former hitting my guest with a soft plush sound not too dissimilar to the noise my bed makes.
“Ow! Okay, okay, you won the last round!” He concedes as he rolls himself into a sitting position once more. “So what do you want to do now?”
“I have no idea…” I huff, resting back on my hands while stretching my legs off the edge of my bed. “I’d usually go straight into doing homework but that’s not very sociable, is it?” I chuckle weakly.
“It can be. I can go grab my homework and we can have a little study session if you want.” He offers with a sweet smile but I wave him off.
“Wouldn’t be much fun, I reckon, especially since our work is, like, a year apart.”
“You haven’t quite made it to the hardest difficulty, right.” Hisao ponders with a smirk, recalling what I told him when he asked which class I was in and was shocked to find I was in the year below him. “Well, I know some of my classmates are going down to the Shanghai for dinner and asked me to tag along. You wanna come?”
Oh no… I couldn’t intrude on his other circle of friends. Not that I count for much of a circle. Plus my social links outside of Fuuka, Hisao and the Doc are pretty weak… “I don’t know…”
“If I remember rightly, you’ve met Arai and Kapur before,” He explains and I furrow my brow. Kapur’s the British girl Fuuka hangs out with sometimes, right? Arai is… the fat guy Hisao was with a couple weeks back? Whoa… Time flies, huh? Regardless, Arai and Kapur seem okay enough. “Hayashi is pretty much just a male Fuuka, so you can just treat him the same as her if you’d like; we pretty much do. There’s also his boyfriend-”
“
BOYFRIEND!?” If I had been drinking, I imagine I’d have spat it the entire distance between Hisao and I. Hisao’s nonplussed expression tells me it’s not that big a deal, to him at least, so I purse my lips in embarrassment — allowing him to continue.
“Yeah, his boyfriend; Suzumiya. You… cool with that kind of thing?” He asks cautiously and I realise my reaction might come off as a bit — scratch that, comes off as
a lot — weird.
“No! Not at all! I’m totally cool with it! Cool as ice, even!” I ramble, my argument doing little to help my case as I seemingly try to back peddle out of being a homophobe. “I’ve just… never… met any…
gay people…” I quietly admit and Hisao laughs. Not outside of dating sims anyway…
“It’s okay, Rika, neither had I before Hayashi told me.” He pulls his phone out and begins texting. “But like I said, Akio’s just a male Fuuka and Haru’s okay but he
can come off as a bit aloof if he doesn’t find you interesting.”
“Right… Okay…” I comment, mostly to fill the air while I try to think of a way out of this… group outing I’ve now found myself party to. I run out of time as Hisao snaps his phone closed with a huge grin.
“There we go, all sorted. We’ll meet them at the Shanghai at five.” He announces and respond with the most half-hearted double thumbs-up in the history of the world.
Yaaaaay…
-----------
I expected the Shanghai to be much busier for a Saturday evening but the smattering of old couples and Yamaku students barely fills half of the café. Jitters doesn’t seem to be working today, our waitress a much younger girl — she can’t be any older than us, really — who must be a part-timer or the owner’s granddaughter or something.
She brought me a dainty little tea cup full of decaffeinated tea while Hisao ordered a larger mug of black coffee. The stench is almost overpowering, even from across the booth where I anxiously sit; listening to Hisao explain the dynamic of his classroom and the particular group of friends who’ll be joining us. I’m only catching bits of pieces as I stare at the amber liquid before me.
Why am I even here? What am I meant to have in common with a class clown, a one-armed artist, a clumsy British-Indian and a track-star with ADHD. Apparently Arai and Kapur are pretty close, both being English-speakers and massive geeks according to Hisao so I might be able to strike up a conversation with them but Hayashi and Suzumiya could be awkward, purely because I have no experience when it comes to gay people so that’s going to be… interesting.
I reach for my cup and find a hand soon covering mine. I look up to the worried face of Hisao.
“You’ve barely said a word since we got here. Are you okay?” He asks earnestly and I nod rapidly, staring at his hand on mine like a freak. The anxiety of meeting a bunch of new people already has me on edge but now Hisao’s tender touch… It’s really getting hot in here…
“Can you k-keep a secret?” I ask nervously and he nods. “I’m not very good at meeting new people.”
“You never really struck me as the shy type before.”
“Hisao, do you see me hanging out with anyone other than you or Fuuka?” I pose the question and Hisao leans back, giving it more genuine thought than I imagined he’d need. It’s pretty obvious really.
“I guess not…” His eyes lock with mine and I have to look away.
“You guys are
literally my only friends. And I’m fine with that. I’m happy with two good friends.” I smile a little to ease his concern before breaking out the secret origin.
“Fuuka actually approached me on our first day. I think everyone else had partnered up and I was the only one left but, whatever the reason, I’m super glad. That first day was so nerve-wracking and her constant jokes at the expense of our classmates weirdly put me at ease…”
“I know first-hand how that kind of personality can be infectious!” He jokes, probably referring to this Hayashi guy.
“And then there’s you,” I smile a little broader and Hisao smiles back with the tiniest hint of a blush. “Have to admit… I actually wanted to meet you before we bumped into each other at the post office… I saw you in the--”
Not the Doc’s office, not the Doc’s office, not the Doc’s office! “… Halls, I think you were with the student council, and there was just something about you.” The fact that your condition is almost exactly the same as mine.
I can feel my pulse quickening as all the blood in my body rushes to my pale face and I bet my cheeks match my eyes right now. Probably not a good look but I’ve come this far. “I know we both end up wiped out because of that hill but… I’m super glad to have met you too Hisao.” I smile earnestly at him as I fidget and the broad smile and proffered hand I receive in return only makes me smile brighter. I take his hand and it’s so warm and soft and yes, it’s really hot now. I’m burning up!
“I’m happy to have met you too, Rika.”
Oh my god, this moment is so perfect! It’s like the good ending for a VN, or close to it anyway. The moment, however, shatters as the door is practically kicked up and a shaggy-haired boy with crossed arms enters, holding the door open with just his foot.
“That has to be,
by far, the
slowest I’ve
ever walked in my life. Seriously, you guys need to show more hustle.” He scolds as his three companions follow him in.
“But you’re always telling me to go…
slower.” An auburn haired guy with a cane follows and delivers a particularly sultry comeback, pecking the cheek of the guy, who must be Suzumiya, holding the door. If that’s Hayashi then Hisao was right; he’s very much like Fuuka.
The soft metallic clicking of prosthetics follows and the dark-skinned Kapur nods to the door-holder before turning to face out the door. “Get a move on, Taro!” She calls but in a friendly way and the lumbering, large frame of Arai comes through the door; looking flush.
“Sorry, Molls.” He bows a little at the tinier girl and Suzumiya releases the door. “And butterball makes four. At least Hisao knows how to keep time.” Suzumiya says, pointing directly at us.
“Oh my god, is this the second-year cutie you’ve been talking about, Hisao!?” Kapur asks in giddy shriek that hurts my ears as she plants both hands on the table.
“C-cutie?” I stammer, looking at her, then her hands and then mine and Hisao’s still touching hands. My eyes dart to Hisao’s and he looks just about as worried as I feel.
Why do I get the sinking feeling this just turned into a triple date?
~~~~~~~~
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(Good thing I love sweet stories.)Hope you're feeling better.
