"Ah—?!"
Amanori Reinako's startled gasp escaped before she could stop it. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the game screen. Last time, she could write it off as a lucky fluke. But two perfect shots in a row? There was no way she could still call this coincidence.
If they weren't sitting right next to each other, she would honestly suspect Kazama Haruka of running some sort of cheat program.
"My goodness, Kazama-san! Are you… are you really playing a shooting game for the first time? How did you even spot the enemy in all that smoke?"
"I've played plenty of shooting games," Haruka replied, taking off his headset with a relaxed smile. "But this is my first time playing with a controller."
Ever since his "Shooting Game" skill hit LV3, his dynamic vision and reaction speed had skyrocketed. The in-game movements appeared almost slowed down to him, every detail popping into focus. Not a single bit of visual information escaped his brain.
"But still—this was your first try! Kazama-san, there's a limit to how perfect you're allowed to be!"
Rinako threw her head back with a dramatic wail. It was bad enough that Kazama Haruka was unfairly handsome—now he had the nerve to display cheat-code-level gaming talent? What sort of protagonist blessings did this boy possess? Had he saved humanity in a past life?
She had originally planned to use her best FPS skills to impress him, maybe even act a little cool while showing off. That plan had clearly gone up in smoke.
Watching her lament loudly, Haruka couldn't help smiling in satisfaction. Wanting to keep the mood fun—and also to honor Rinako's wish to show off—he pointed toward a cartridge in the cabinet.
"Amanori-san, how about we switch to a fighting game next?"
Rinako snorted, though her feet were already moving toward the cabinet. "Kazama-san, you're really terrible. First you pretend to be a no-skill beginner, then you reveal your true power. And now you want to beat me at a fighting game too?"
"Haha, nothing like that," Haruka said, waving both hands. His expression was perfectly sincere. "I promise I've never played this one. I've only seen some edited clips online. I was interested in its… uh… very violent presentation."
"Hmph. You say that, but you're probably planning how to juggle-combo me into the sky already."
To Rinako, Kazama Haruka's credibility had plummeted to that of a certain pro player who "forgets everything when the sun rises." In other words—not trustworthy at all. About as believable as scanning a broken rental bike.
When the game loaded, Haruka leaned forward, eyes glued to the screen. Dummy Slowdown was, as advertised, a brutally violent fighting game. Every punch spilled blood; every special move thrived on gore. The finishing moves were so excessive that they required censorship—eyeballs ripped out and stomped on, throats torn open and devoured, limbs twisted in unnatural directions. The game often collaborated with major franchises too, making it endlessly entertaining.
Haruka honestly hadn't expected someone as prim-looking as Rinako to enjoy something like this.
But this is… fantastic.
"Hyaaah—take THIS!"
With a triumphant shout, the clown character controlled by Rinako slammed Haruka's fighter against a wooden sign and unloaded bullets into him. Haruka's character slumped dramatically in a shower of blood.
"Kazama-san, why did you suddenly get so weak? Are you holding back to make me feel better?" Rinako teased with a smug raise of her eyebrow.
Her provocation sent a flash of competitive anger through Haruka. He resolved to absolutely demolish this pink-haired menace in the next round.
Unfortunately, he was very much not a shonen protagonist. Getting fired up didn't translate into instant power-ups. Without any fighting-game skills, he was nothing more than a helpless Tom to Rinako's Jerry—thrown, slammed, bitten, and toyed with with humiliating ease. Her decade of console fighting-game experience made her unstoppable.
By the time an hour passed, he was emotionally exhausted.
"Thank you for your hospitality today, Amanori-san," Haruka said at the entryway, bowing politely. He forcibly ignored the psychological trauma of being mercilessly dominated in-game for so long. "It's been a while since I've had so much fun."
Even if being crushed by a girl was painful to his pride, fun was fun. He had genuinely enjoyed himself.
Rinako bowed back. Remembering how aggressively she had bullied him in-game, she flushed with guilt.
"Oh—good. I'm glad Kazama-san had fun. I, um… may have gone a bit too far earlier."
Are you trying to start something?!
Haruka clenched his fists quietly, vowing that someday—someday—he would take revenge in Dummy Slowdown.
"Well, I'll get going then, Amanori-san. Tomorrow at school—"
"T-That!"
She suddenly cut in, identical to the way Sena Ajisai had interrupted him last night. Haruka inwardly groaned. Do Japanese girls all follow the same hidden script? Confession-of-feelings must come specifically at the doorstep farewell.
Still, groaning aside… he leaned in, curious and alert.
"Ka-Kazama-san…" Rinako clasped her hands over her chest, eyes flicking up to meet his. Her voice trembled shyly.
This atmosphere—could it be…?!
"Kazama-san, there's something I absolutely must tell you today! Especially after playing games so freely with you in my room… these feelings are even harder to hold back. If I don't say it, I know I'll regret it!"
From behind the slightly open hallway door, her little sister Haruna, who had been spying the entire time, nearly yelped aloud. She hadn't expected her usually reserved older sister to act so boldly—not only inviting Kazama-senpai home but actually confessing to him at the doorstep?!
Go for it, Sis! Capture that handsome guy! Live your rosy youth!
Haruna clenched her sweating hands, silently cheering.
"W-Well then," Haruka said, heart thumping. "I'll listen."
He had been confessed to many times at school—so often that his shoe locker overflowed with letters. But this was different. He was at someone else's house, and Rinako's seriousness made even him nervous.
Rinako inhaled deeply, mustering the greatest courage she had ever summoned.
"Kazama-san… would you be willing to—"
Haruka swallowed audibly. This was it.
"—become my close friend!?"
"Yes, I will!"
Their replies overlapped perfectly.
Haruka exhaled in relief. So smooth! He had been bracing for a romantic confession. Amanori Reinako was already—
Wait…
"…close friend?"
"Yes!" Rinako nodded earnestly. "Even someone as ordinary as me can't help developing feelings after seeing Kazama-san's brilliance up close."
"You happened to see me in a moment of weakness today and kindly offered a hand… then you even came to my house just to cheer me up with games."
Gesturing emphatically, she continued, "Even though we're classmates, we normally wouldn't have any deeper interaction. So if we could become close friends…"
"…"
Both Haruka and the secretly-listening Haruna were struck speechless.
Haruka finally sighed. "Um… going by normal standards, two people of opposite genders spending an entire afternoon playing games together in the same room would already count as being close friends, don't you think?"
"No! That's not the level I mean!" Rinako declared, face serious as she pointed dramatically skyward.
"I mean a real close friend! The kind who sees your other side, who acts silly with you, gets excited with you… and when you're sad, you can quietly lean on them."
"That's the kind of close-friend relationship I want to have with Kazama-san!"