Chapter 12: It’s all Fun and Games…
Saturday’s lessons are thankfully spent in group work, allowing me to talk to Akio about my trip to the councillor and my plans with Ritsu. He seems to take the former in stride, even offering to talk if I need to. Despite the grief we give each other, he really is one of my best friends.
“Mind if I tag along? Not on your date, I have plans with some of the lit. club and I may as well head into the city with you guys.” He asks, idly scrawling an equation on his worksheet.
“I don’t mind. Ritsu?” I look to my girlfriend who nods with a smile.
“No problems here! What are you guys going to do in the city?” Ritsu quizzes Akio, resting her chin on the back of her braced hands.
“I think we’re just hanging out… Me, Suzu, Lezard, Kumaki, Miura… Maybe some others, I dunno…” He trails off, tapping his chin with his pencil, deep in thought.
“Sounds fun! I don’t know what Taro and I are doing…” She announces cheerily, deferring to my judgement. I guess I’m taking the lead since the date was my idea. I’ve got a couple good ideas but we’ll see how the day goes. I have a more pressing concern, however.
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“You can’t wear a t-shirt and hoodie on your date!” Akio exclaims, opening up my closet and examining the contents.
“I’m not seeing the problem, it’s casual wear.” I argue, tossing my suggestions onto my bed.
“You need
Smart-Casual. I’m not having you go on a date dressed like a slob.” Akio flicks through my clothes hangers one at a time. “Don’t you have a sweater-vest or something?”
“What kind of dickhead wears sweater-vests on dates?” I ask incredulously.
“Never mind! You’re going to look great even if it kills me.” He declares, reaching further and further in.
“Yes,
mother.” I laugh as he pulls out a black t-shirt with a distressed logo on it and grey long-sleeve shirt. He hands them to me and I give them a once over. Not a bad combo.
“Put these on with a pair of your grey slacks. Layers work for bigger guys and the contrasting tones are cool.” He comments, waltzing out of the room. “I’m going to change, you’ve got five minutes!”
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“Okay, I’ll admit that this is
much better than my idea.” I concede to Akio. The outfit he picked out looks pretty damn good. It even matches the messenger bag that hangs loosely around my lower back.
“I fucking told you, bro. You look hot!” He laughs with a wink. His usual neatly combed hair is now poofy and gelled with great care. Baggy denim jeans, a loose-fitting belt with a playing card motif, dark grey undershirt cut off at the forearms and a nuclear orange t-shirt with “Warning - Fragile” printed on it. It suits his sardonic sense of humour.
“You’re not too bad yourself, man. You look like you belong in a boy band.” I laugh, patting his back.
“So what’s your game plan for today? I hope it’s better than your original choice of wardrobe.” He jokes, can’t say I blame his scepticism.
“A trip through the shopping district, spend some time in the arcade, grab some food at a nice restaurant maybe, romantic walk through the park… Y’know, the whole dating shebang.” I reel off my intended destinations, Akio nodding along.
“All solid choices, Taro but…” We both stop in our tracks as we find Ritsu waiting at the gate.
Her hair is in her usual style and her casual spandex support gloves are present but the rest of her outfit is totally new to me. A loose, flowing turquoise top with a white gradient around the bottom. It’s long too, only allowing a peek of the black denim shorts clinging to her hips and thighs. Her legs look fantastic and they end with dark grey knee-high socks that match her gloves and black, cleated boots. She’s a punk-rock vision of perfection. Damn.
“Well…” Akio offers, clearly as beguiled as I am. “You know what they say; no plan survives first contact with the enemy. Or a
pretty girl.”
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We reach Akio’s rendezvous point and wave him off as he joins up with the group of five he mentioned earlier. Lezard Valeth and Ikuno Komaki are looking awfully cosy and Suzu is resting against Miki on a bench. I swear I notice Akio’s shoulders slump a little before Ritsu turns my attention toward her.
“So what do you have planned for us, Mr Arai?” She asks, gripping my hand tight. For a split second, I’d forgotten how good she looks.
“Well, I… uh…” Focus, Taro!
“How about we take a walk around the shopping district for a bit?” She offers, leading me in that direction.
“I was just about to suggest that!” I chuckle nervously.
Our adventure through the crowds is fruitful. We spend a surprisingly small amount of time in clothing stores but I do buy a nice shirt that I could always wear on another date, given how Ritsu cooed over it when I tried it on.
We wandered around a couple game stores and manga cafes. I saw quite a few collectibles that I’d love to own but have no room for. Hell, I’m sure my parents are already going to give me grief about the little stuff I
have bought. Ritsu looked over some phone charms and smaller figures for herself but nothing really caught her eye.
“Feeling hungry?” I ask, Ritsu’s eyes suddenly lighting up.
“
God yes! I’ve had a craving for ice cream since we passed that place twenty minutes ago.” She’s already dragging us towards it. Guess it’s decided.
The particular store we go to boasts
‘Over 30 kinds!’ of ice cream and only about twelve seem edible. Cones in hand; caramel for me and a banana/coconut mix for Ritsu, we take a stroll along a foot bridge towards an arcade that was suggested to me. I offer my ice cream to Ritsu and she does the same, both of us taking a bite at the same time. It’s a corny move but hey, why fix want isn’t broken. As we both return to our own treats, Ritsu suddenly grabs me and kisses me deeply. The strange concoction of flavours is tasty. The kiss was pretty hot too.
“I’ve always wanted to try that…” She admits, blushing.
“Coconut, banana and caramel… You’ve got excellent taste, Miss Tainaka.” I give her a smile, which she returns in kind.
“I meant the kiss!” She playfully punches my ribs. “Though now you mention it… We should buy a tub with all three in to take home!” The spark of inspiration sends her eyes wide.
“I dread to think what you’d do with a whole tub…” I narrow my eyes at her.
She winks and starts humming ‘Frosty the Snowman’ as she deposits what’s left of her cone and it’s wrapper in the trash. A shudder runs up my spine as increasingly sordid images flash through my head.
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The noise of the arcade hits us like a brick wall as we walk in. It’s Saturday so there’s plenty of people here but not so crowded as to have lines for every machine.
“Pick your poison, Taro.” Ritsu stands before me with an impish smile. I take a cursory glance of the machines around us. Fighters are out, since I’d need two hands. Same with some of the rhythm games… Aha! There’s something. I step past Ritsu, gesturing with my head towards the machine on the right.
“This one?” She asks, looking over the machine. It’s a competitive light gun shooter. Two players compete to score the most amount of points. Simple enough and the two gun stations are even colour-coded blue and pink. I slowly pull the blue pistol from it’s holster while the demo plays on screen. It’s heavy. Surprisingly so but when you rely solely on one arm, you tend to adjust. I straighten my arm to check and, true enough, I can handle it’s weight. Ritsu on the other hand…
“Why is this so damn heavy?” She wails, her straightened arms quivering slightly.
“Probably to keep people from beating it too easily. Can’t see any other reason to weigh it down.” I twist the gun around to inspect it.
“That’s some
bullshit,” She hisses bitterly. “But I’m going to kick your ass just to spite this thing!” She grins with a playful menace. I replace the gun for a second and thumb in a couple ¥200 coins.
“Then by all means…” I
have to goad her. It’ll make her try harder. Plus she’s hot when she’s pissed. “Give me your best shot!” I laugh and pull the gun from the holster as the game begins. An “Asshole!” is thrown in my direction but I’m too busy grinning and shooting to respond.
Two rounds in and she’s flagging. Her arms are shaking worse than before and even I’m starting to feel the strain. Still, she’s only a couple hundred points behind… I could, maybe…
Over the din of our machine,
I hear a familiar tune start up on the CVS2 cabinet just behind us. It seems the Arcade Gods approve of my plan. I replace my gun and step up behind Ritsu.
“Hey, wha--” My good hand sweeps under her two holding the pistol, stabilizing her aim.
“Just giving you a {helping hand}.” I whisper into her ear with a wry smile
She refocuses on the screen and her aim improves with the support and soon she approaches my own score. She breathes harder and her shoulders tense as the screen counts down.
[3! 2! 1! ROUND OVER]
“Waaaa~” She gripes, slipping her weapon back in it’s holster. “I can’t believe you threw that last round and I still lost!” I laugh and wrap my arm around her waist from behind and kiss her check.
“Barely. You really caught up by the end.” I offer supportively.
“Only because of your
hell-ping han-do.” She drenches the English in sarcasm but strokes my arm affectionately.
“Okay, you can pick the next ga--” And she’s dragging me through the crowd before I can even finish my sentence.
“I’ll definitely kick your ass at this!” She boldy proclaims, letting go of my arm and bouncing onto the stage. A rhythm dance game.
Oh boy.
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I don’t know what I regret more; my piss-poor coordination or the profuse sweating.
“I’m… gonna sit the next one out.” I hang my head in defeat and stepping of the platform, leaning against the guard rail. Ritsu turns on her heels and sticks her tongue out.
“Toldya I'd beat you! I‘m awesome at these games!” She laughs and I glare back, flicking a ¥100 coin to her. Let’s see what she can do when she
isn’t laughing at my lumbering attempt at dancing.
“{Show me your moves}.” I wink. She gladly accepts the challenge, plopping the coin in and then picking a 5-Star song. Run-time is short but the difficulty is high. I guess she’s going all out.
[START!]
She rhythmically stamps her feet rapidly on the centre pad as the song kicks in with a heavy bass and drum beat. Is this anime theme in English? Holy. Balls. The song is so fast-paced but the onscreen prompts are even quicker. And Ritsu is doing it. Not perfect but the flashing
[GOOD!] and
[GREAT!]’s come in quick succession. Her swaying hips and graceful arm movements are totally mesmerising. If I hadn’t already fallen for her, this would be the moment I would.
Damn.
The chorus comes after what seems like an eternity and Ritsu’s movements become a blur of shape and strobing lights as the song blares around her. She’s so graceful. Wow. The crescendo is coming and she’s just going faster and faster! Do it, Ritsu! When the song finally ends, she strikes a triumphant pose, thrusting her fist in the air as the music dies and the screen tallies her score.
[87%] I’m at a loss for words as Ritsu climbs down from the stage, her legs buckling as she hits the bottom step. I instinctively reach for her and hold her steady.
“I’m… good… just… a little winded.” She wheezes as I pull her close.
She looks up at me, sweat dripping from her forehead. “You were magnificent.” I whisper, still in awe. She leans into a kiss and smiles.
“
You bet your ass, I was…”
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The breeze feels fantastic. Me and Ritsu had gone through three more machines before calling it a day on the arcade and stepping outside for a nice cool-down with some soft drinks before our next stop, though I haven’t really thought about--
“Whoops. Hang on,” Ritsu giggles and pulls out her ringing phone. “Hi Suzu! You guys having fu-- Wait, slow down.” That doesn’t sound good. Ritsu’s face changes drastically, from a pretty smile to abject concern, especially when she looks at me.
“Can you give me a sec?” She whispers.
“Sure…” I nod. She gets up and walks a few feet away. I hope everything’s okay.
“Fucking
asshole!” Ritsu screams as she cuts the phone call short. She’s visibly shaking so I go over and put a hand on her shoulder.
“What’s wrong?” I ask tentatively. She doesn’t answer, just tenses.
“Ritsu… Just tell me…” Oh god, what happened?
“It was such a nice day too…” is all she can muster. “This was supposed to be
your day…”
“What. The hell. Happened.”
She breathes a heavy sigh and turns, she can barely look at me and I can see she’s distraught. “It’s
Akio… He disappeared a little while ago. Suzu says that he’s been moping since he got here and the last time they saw him, he was…”
I feel a familiar sinking feeling in my stomach, the spectre of fear’s cold hand grasping my heart and an burning anger that I haven’t felt in a long time. I steel myself, I don't want to unnerve Ritsu.
“{Gotcha}.” I bring Ritsu into a reassuring embrace. “You go join Suzu and the others. I’ll go find Akio.” I affirm slowly, trying to maintain my composure.
“B-but, this was su-supposed to be…” She’s choking back tears and I pull her closer.
“I know,” I whisper. “But I have to. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t. Go to the others, I’ll let you know when I find him.” I plant a kiss on her forehead and head off down the street. I daren’t turn around, because I know I’d stay with her if I did. But this
needs to be done and I hate to have to be the one to do it. The burning in the back of my mind continues. Breath slow, Taro.
I walk cautiously down the steps leading into the inner-city park. The golden hour makes this place look spectacular. I take measured steps toward the pavilion in the centre of the park’s immaculate gardens. This place really is
beautiful. I should be here with Ritsu. Focus on your breathing, Taro. Calm down. Please.
“Heeeey, buddy~” I close my eyes and take one slow, deep breath. It's not helping. The burning increases.
“Tell me why you’re drinking again, Akio.”
I see now I had no reason to be, I have utter confidence that you'll do this proud. So yeah,good chapter. 
Thank you so much for taking the time to write it out twice and for reading! hehe
I didn't get the reference so I changed it to Kamen Rider joke, sorry 
