Coach Takahara sighed the moment Haruki, Airi, and Ryuko walked in.
It had been two weeks since their last session, but all it took was a few questions for him to realize none of them remembered what he'd taught.
Dealing with one forgetful student was normal. Three at once? That was a nightmare.
By the end of the afternoon, Coach Takahara felt completely drained.
Airi, especially, was chaos incarnate. Always fidgeting, always asking bizarre questions. Could water spin in a cup while drifting? Did inertia help with parallel drifts? Had he ever driven an AE86? Ever run a tofu shop?
He was already exhausted from coaching all day and now this barrage of nonsense from a hyperactive girl? It was too much.
Haruki and Ryuko, at least, were serious. They tried to follow instructions. The problem was their coordination sluggish hands, clumsy feet, always out of sync.
Coach Takahara didn't say it out loud, but it was clear: none of them were getting past their second driving test anytime soon.
Still, at least Haruki and Ryuko knew what was coming. They'd shown up mentally prepared to be scolded.
By the end of the day, Airi walked out of the driving school with a wide grin.
"Alright then, go call a taxi and head home," Haruki exhaled, eyeing her with tired eyes.
But Airi ignored him and pointed across the street.
"Hey, let's hit that net café!"
Haruki's face darkened. "Seriously? Again?"
"That was a special case before! It's not like I play games with you every time we both know I'm super busy!"
Airi said dramatically. "Come on, Ryuko let's go!"
She immediately clung to her, switching to a fake-sweet voice: "Ryuko-nee~!"
Haruki stared at her, deadpan. She had no shame.
He knew exactly what was going on. Airi was convinced Haruki had been ordered by Haruka to keep an eye on her and she was milking it. She wasn't scared of him leaving; she knew he'd feel obligated to stick around.
"Keep it up and I'm reporting you to Haruka," Haruki threatened halfheartedly.
"My manuscript's done. She can't control me anymore!" Airi shot back triumphantly.
Still, she clearly didn't want Haruki snitching behind her back. Haruka's temper wasn't something she wanted to poke.
"…Fine," Haruki muttered.
Airi, of course, was already halfway across the street toward the café.
Ryuko looked at Haruki, silently waiting for his decision.
He sighed and followed them in.
He didn't really care about playing or not. If he'd gone home, he probably would've booted up the game anyway. It was just… Airi. She was chaos in digital form. That was his only hesitation.
Still, she hadn't done anything too insane yet. No need to make a big deal.
And so—
Haruki's frustration disappeared after just two rounds.
"Airi, just press Q then auto! That's it! Don't panic! If you die, I'll avenge you!" he yelled, eyes locked on the screen.
"Haruki," Ryuko said calmly, "the enemy jungler just ganked top and went home. He'll probably clear the lower jungle next. Mid lane's under tower and still has decent HP, so most likely he'll try to gank your lane next."
She was sweeping camps on the top side while offering that analysis.
Haruki didn't take it seriously.
Ryuko had only started playing two weeks ago. She was still green how accurate could her game sense be?
"Relax. With Airi healing, I'll just sit under tower and farm. What's he gonna do, dive me?"
"I'm saying you and Airi should back off to second tower. Otherwise you're getting collapsed on."
"It's fine," Haruki waved it off. "We'll outplay them under tower."
Fifteen seconds later, his screen went black and white.
"...You were saying?" Ryuko asked dryly.
Haruki didn't respond.
"Anyway," Ryuko continued, "I think the enemy's trying to bait you while you're pushed up. I'll rotate to countergank"
Twenty seconds later, a 3v3 broke out under Haruki's tower. She picked up two kills, and suddenly momentum was on their side. Airi and Haruki pushed the lane, and Ryuko capitalized with a few clean roams.
Somehow… they won.
After that, Ryuko practically became their in-game shotcaller. Her mechanics were still sloppy, but her awareness and map judgment? Ridiculously good.
After a few failed plays where he ignored her advice, Haruki gave up and just followed her around the map. She even let him take kills so he could scale faster.
"Wait… Ryuko, you sure you just started playing?" Haruki asked, suspicious.
"I did. First time was two weeks ago."
"Then how the hell are you this good?"
"I just watched a lot of tutorials," Ryuko said with a shrug. "Once I figured out how the jungle works, everything started clicking."
"All this from tutorials?"
"I guess?" she tilted her head. "Honestly, it's not that complicated. It's a ten-player game. Eight are in lane, and the jungler controls the flow. So if I can predict what their jungler's thinking, I can control the map."
She smiled. "Operation matters. But so does game sense."
Haruki and Airi both looked like they'd been hit by lightning.
Was she calling them brainless?
Well… she wasn't wrong.
Haruki had always seen Ryuko as a bit of a quiet tag-along. But tonight? She was officially promoted to "potentially scary teammate."
As for Airi… still a lovable mess.
By the end of the night, they'd played nine games three wins, six losses.
But compared to the disasters of last week, Haruki actually had fun.
At nearly eleven, Haruki still wasn't ready to call it. He dragged them to a nearby late-night skewer shop for supper.
They talked about the matches, teased each other, and just… relaxed.
By the time they finished eating, it was past midnight.
"How long's it take you to get home?" Haruki asked Airi.
"Maybe thirty minutes by taxi," she replied, looking content and sleepy.
"You busy, Ryuko?"
"Not really."
"Mind coming with us to drop Airi off?"
"You don't have to," Airi said. "I can head home on my own."
"It's late. I'd rather we all go together."
They both blinked at him.
This… wasn't like him at all.
A few weeks ago, Haruki wouldn't have cared if Airi walked home alone or if Ryuko missed the last train. He was the definition of emotionally distant.
But tonight, something was different.
Airi used to come and go on her own. Ryuko too quietly, without complaint. If she hadn't insisted on staying late, Haruki never would've noticed.
Now, after just a couple nights of gaming, his attitude had flipped completely.
"…Alright," Ryuko said, smiling with her eyes.
She hadn't wanted to trouble him earlier, but now that he offered, she didn't mind at all.
Neither of them said it out loud, but both could feel it.
That sense of distance Haruki always kept between himself and others… it was starting to fade.
For Haruki someone with no real friends outside of manga this was more than just a casual hangout.
Sora and Kotone were far away. Haruka and the others were colleagues. He didn't have anyone just to chill with.
For now, this felt close enough to real friendship.
And that's why… he wanted to see them home safe.
Shout out to Dersbyth for joining my p-atreon! your support means everything to me.
(TL:- if you want even more content, check out p-atreon.com/Alioth23 for 55+ advanced chapters)