Ride On Shining Star

"What the hell is this for?!"

Tan-Tan struggled to keep her ears away from the eager hands of Kuromoto Nishi. He was trying to insert a radio earpiece into her right ear, accompanied by a walkie-talkie on the waistband of her skirt. His persistent actions were starting to annoy her for all the wrong reasons. Normally, she wouldn't bother fighting back, but she had a crush on this nerd, so she whined and fought against his strong grip as to save herself the aftermath of him touching her face; a furious blush.

"Just hold still a second, will you?" Nishi managed to skillfully place the earpiece in her ear. He adjusted the volume and frequency knobs of the walkie-talkie attached to her skirt and raised his own to his mouth. 

"Testing, testing. Nishi to Tan-Tan." 

She jolted and yanked the earpiece off her head.

"Too loud!"

Nishi sighed. He continued fiddling with the knobs and attempted to put the earpiece back in Tan-Tan's ear, but she beat him to it. She sat still, like a dog waiting for a treat, trying her best not to appear too excited at his hands being so close to her waist. After a few minutes of tuning, Nishi stepped back and raised his own radio back to his lips.

"How's that?"

Tan-Tan nodded.

"Much better. Jeez, were you trying to deafen me?"

Nishi looked around the recreation center's open field. The grass was littered with hay bales, old grease barrels, and all sorts of obstacles befitting a typical paintball tournament. He began strategizing potential hiding spots and blind corners. As he quietly mumbled to himself, Tan-Tan remained still, watching his lips curl with each whisper. She studied his differently shaped face, admiring the way a Korean boy's eyes looked as opposed to a Japanese man's. She could feel her own lips tingle as she imagined the roughness of his against hers. 

"What do you think, Tan-Tan?"

She felt like swooning upon hearing her nickname roll off his tongue.

"Tan-Tan?" Nishi waited patiently for an answer.

She began fantasizing about all the different ways she could manage to spend time alone with Nishi amidst the upcoming war.

"If I hide inside a barrel, maybe he could squish himself against me for cover. Oh, and if I pretend to trip and he catches me by my waist?" She squealed with delight.

"What the hell are you talking about? Hello?" 

Nishi waved his hands in front of her face in an attempt to gain the attention of this shoujo-brained buffoon.

She jolted once again. With red cheeks, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"I wear lip balm, so my own lips should be... ready for..." She froze.

"What the hell are you even saying?! Were you not listening to my game plan?" Nishi shrugged in annoyance.

Before she could open her mouth, a man in a ghillie suit appeared before them. Next to him was a woman with a face shield and knee guards around her athletic legs.

"I couldn't find a size small, so you'll have to borrow my extra gear, Tanaka-san."

The man in the ghillie suit handed a large, camouflage jacket to the extra tiny girl.

Tan-Tan gazed up at the odd pair and tilted her head to the side, a question mark practically appearing above her silver colored dome.

"Who are you?" she asked, curiously.

"What? Dude, it's me, Sakai Akinari!"

 The man in the ghillie suit lifted his hood off of his head, giving Tan-Tan a full view of his painted face. Dark green and black skillfully turned Sakai Akinari's face into what looked like a dead shrub on the outskirts of a Hokkaido mountainside.

Tan-Tan let out a strained giggle, trying her best to contain her voice as she gazed at the teenage boy in full military gear.

"What's so funny?!" Akinari snapped at her, his eyebrow twitching.

"Do you always go this overboard for a silly paintball tournament?"

She managed to sneak in her sentence through tears of laughter.

"Huh?! Silly?! Ten-thousand yen is riding on this game! If anything, these other noobs are all underdressed!"

Akinari shouted in embarrassment. If not for his painted face, his bright, red cheeks could have been seen from outer space. 

The girl beside him lifted her face shield off, revealing her natural, silky red hair. It was none other than Yamaguchi Minami. She tossed her arm around Akinari's and playfully bumped his hip with her own.

"Aki is a total military otaku! Ask him any question about any war and he'll spit an answer faster than you can finish your sentence!"

Akinari sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, grinning like an idiot. He spoke in a deeper tone, very obviously stroking his own ego.

"Well, being a history buff is just one of my many talents, so..."

Tan-Tan raised an eyebrow at this display. She could see right through his sheepish grin and into his soul. If her years as a shoujo fangirl had taught her anything, it's that you can't hide romantic feelings. She began to open her mouth.

Nishi quickly dragged her away from the two and whispered frantically in her ear.

"I know what you're going to say, but don't say it."

Tan-Tan gulped in anticipation. Judging by the look on his face, Nishi had probably known about these hidden feelings for quite some time. She remembered that he had briefly mentioned being friends with these two since they were kids. If anyone were to know anything about their relationship, it would be Nishi. She almost felt a little jealous that he got to observe such a complicated love story blossom before his very eyes. As a diehard shoujo fangirl, she definitely needed the juicy gossip; but being in the midst of starting a paintball tournament, this was not the time or place. She gave Nishi a mischievous smile and whispered close to his ear, her breath hot against his skin.

"I want every single detail later~"

He shuddered with a flustered expression. His voice shook slightly as he slumped his shoulders.
"Right, I forgot about your obsession."


"Ok, gather around. Nishi, I'll leave you in charge of scouting. Inform Minami and I of enemy coordinates through the radio. Minami, you're with me on elimination duty. Tanaka-san... um, I suppose you can go with Nishi?"

Akinari spoke firmly as he took on the role of 'Leader'.

"Right! Let's do this, partner!" Minami gave Akinari a slap on the back.

"I'll guide us to victory!" Nishi gave Akinari a thumbs up.

"I'll put on some lip balm!" Tan-Tan mimicked Nishi's thumbs up.

"Right. Not sure how that will help, but just stick close to Nishi. He's pretty skilled at staying hidden."




"On your mark, get set, GO!"

The starting pistol signaled the beginning of what was about to be Tan-Tan's most stressful day yet. She had only been a member of the Shishigami High School manga club for a total of two hours and she was already dodging paintballs. She looked around frantically as her own team scattered left and right. Like a deer in headlights, she stared death in the face- if you can count death as being a blue paintball hurling toward her face shield. Suddenly, she was swept off her feet and dragged into an old, rusted grease barrel. She let out a high pitched yelp and finally snapped back to reality. There, leaning above her in this tight crawl space, was none other than the handsome faced Kuromoto Nishi. She could hear his muffled panting through his face shield. The dangerous glint in his eyes as he scanned the area for potential threats left her feeling as if she were living as a Hollywood actress in an action movie.

"Aki, three enemies behind the garbage bags." Nishi spoke into his radio. Tan-Tan was stuck gazing upward, studying the sharp features of the handsome boy who was practically on top of her. She could smell the scent of cheap cologne mixing with the harsh plastic of her face shield. It was driving her boy-crazy. Leaning upward, she closed her eyes and puckered her lips- only to be met with the soft collision of helmet against helmet.

 She pouted in frustration. 

Nishi had to practically drag her out of the barrel and onto the raging battlefield. Tan-Tan scrambled to her feet and sprinted alongside him. She could hear the chatter over the radio in her right eardrum, but was far to occupied thinking back on her actions just a moment ago. With a swift knee slide behind a large hay bale, Nishi was once again speaking into his radio; a sleek, orange tipped pistol gripped in his right hand. 

She shook her head.

"This is for Azurbön volume nine!"

Tan-Tan did her best to mimic the knee slide but ended up tumbling onto her face, grateful she hadn't been seen. After getting back on her toes, she crouched beside Nishi, straightening the oversized, camouflage jacket that she was wearing; it was more like a dress on her. She watched in admiration as Nishi skillfully shot a few face shields peeking from behind a shrub, proving that not only was he a total stud, but he was a good shot as well. 

Amidst the chaotic, colorful warfare being presented before her, Tan-Tan couldn't help but feel a bit useless. The three members of the Shishigami High School manga club had mentioned earlier that they had been competing in this event since they were children. She didn't quite have the bond and understanding that they shared when it came to a paintball war. Like a princess being escorted through a gruesome battlefield; that was how she felt. She had never even held a paintball gun before, let alone shot one. The cold, metallic grip sent shivers of adrenaline through her and tempted her to pull the trigger. But she just couldn't find the opportunity. 

Just as she had her sights on someone, Nishi would eliminate them. It was a cycle of trial and error without the trial. 

A sudden eruption of static caused Tan-Tan to jolt back to reality, followed by the breathless voice of Yamaguchi Minami.

"Sorry, gang. I'm hit."

Nishi cursed under his breath. He had secretly been banking on Minami's skill to take them to victory alongside Akinari. He wasn't necessarily a pushover when it came to shooting, but he definitely hadn't planned on being one of the team members to assist with a clutch victory. Reluctantly, Nishi spoke into his walkie-talkie.

"Yo, Aki? Let's regroup and talk strategy."

Akinari responded, sounding winded.

"Loud and clear, man. See you by the wooden pallets."

"Follow me, Tan-Tan. Keep your eyes peeled for-"
Just as he stood up, Nishi's vision was soiled with the bright, blue sheen of paint splattered across his face shield. Tan-Tan gasped in horror, her palms began to sweat and her mind racing with despair.

"Nishi... You..."

As he raised his hands to signify his elimination to the other players, he frowned. Lifting the walkie-talkie back to his lips, he spoke one final dying message.

"I'm hit... It's up to you, Aki."