Critical Hit

After Ryuuji hangs up, Seiji places the phone on the receiver. Wanting the shaking to stop, he grabs his wrist with his other hand, but it’s of no use. He instead tries to remind himself that a trusted friend is coming over so there is nothing to fear, repeating that in his head until he is able to calm down even a little.

He sits back at his computer, “Did I miss anything?”

“No, just more of the same.” Sun says.

“Who was it that called?” Hanabi asks.

“Just some misdial.” Seiji says, wanting to save the explanation for Ryuuji’s arrival.

Meanwhile, Steve struggles with AkaNinja’s ‘God Speed’. He watches as AkaNinja starts charging again for the same attack. More prepared since he’s using it twice in a row, Steve is able to defend and even deal some damage in return.

Now 8 minutes into the fight, Seiji watches nervously as it seemingly nears the end.

Seiji hears a knock on his door which causes a chill to run down his spine. Despite knowing who it is, he can’t help feeling unsettled. He takes a deep breath and lets it out to calm himself once more.

Hanabi notices, “Seiji? Is everything alright?” she asks.

“I promise to explain everything later.”

Seiji stands up, placing the headset around his neck, and walks over to the door. He hesitates to open it until he hears a familiar, though exhausted, voice.

“Hey … it’s me, Ryuuji.”

With an invisible, heavy force holding him back, Seiji has to push his body to move in order to open the door. He slowly raises his hand to the doorknob, then takes an extra moment to turn it to open the door. A tiring endeavor.

Once opened, he sees Ryuuji hunched over, leaning on his knees and breathing heavily. Even if it wasn’t such a hot day, Ryuuji isn’t athletic so he would have been met with the same result.

Still catching his breath, he tries to speak, “I was afraid you wouldn’t...open the door.”

“Yeah, well.”

Unable to say much, Seiji clenches his fist in an attempt to stop the nervousness that has started to consume him once more.

As his breathing steadies, Ryuuji stands up straight. “How’s the fight going?”

“You should hurry, there probably isn’t much time left.”

Seiji holds his headset up so Ryuuji can use it. As he’s about to grab it, Ryuuji pauses at the sight of his unsteady hand. Seiji then forces it into his hand,

“Forget about me and do what you need to.” he says.

Ryuuji reluctantly grabs the headset and takes a seat in front of the computer.

Seiji closes the door and waits a moment to compose himself before sitting on his bed, watching over what happens.

In the game, Ryuuji sees that AkaNinja currently has more health, but they are both nearly out. Not wasting any time, he speaks up.

“Steve, can you hear me?”

“Ryuuji? Why have you been so quiet?” Sun asks.

“So you finally feel like talking again? That was strange.” Steve says.

However, Hanabi is the only one to notice on the screen that he’s speaking through Seiji’s mic rather than his own.

“Listen Steve. The person you’ve been fighting isn’t me. I can’t explain it, but somehow I’ve been hacked from the start.”

Surprised by his words, Steve’s fingers freeze. Noticing HeroHiro has stopped moving, AkaNinja takes full advantage and attacks, leaving him with 1/8th of his original health. Steve quickly gets back to defending as the conversation continues.

“So it hasn’t been you this whole time?”

“No...all forms of communication were cut so I couldn’t say anything until now. Seiji let me come to his place so I could clear this up.”

“So that’s what the phone call was.” Hanabi realizes.

“What are we supposed to do now?” Sun asks.

“There’s only one thing we can do. Steve, you need to win and take down AkaNinja.” Ryuuji explains.

“But Ryuuji…haven’t you heard what happened to all the characters who were hacked and lost in battle? You’ll-”

“I’ll lose my character, I know.”

Watching the situation unfold, Sun can only wonder why things turned out this way after it finally seemed like Ryuuji could catch a break. Steve also wants a different outcome.

“No, this isn’t right! We did all this to help fix one problem, only to create another? And besides...” Steve pauses, remembering the truth of what happened to Komi Co. and the effects it had. “...now I really am taking everything from you.”

Ryuuji considers that and laughs at the sad truth in those words. However, that idea doesn’t bother him right now.

“Well, look at it this way, at least you have my permission this time.”

As difficult as it is to admit, Ryuuji already knew this was the only solution. After there is no response, he cuts into the awkward silence in a lighter tone.

“Now stop being so gloomy. Just use that secret spell you have. You know, the one you’ve been hiding from me. Though Sun already told me about it.”

Despite what’s happening, Steve can’t help laughing. “Sun, how could you do that?”

“Sorry, it just slipped out one day.”

Not wasting a second, a burst of energy appears around HeroHiro as he charges his spell, surprising everyone. Once it’s completely charged, his one sword changes into two, almost like an illusion. With one in each hand, Steve crosses them in front of him and shouts,

“Secret technique….DUAL STRYKE!!”

He rushes towards AkaNinja, slicing him with both swords, almost completely draining his health. The hacker tries to dodge another hit, but HeroHiro swiftly turns around and attacks once more, taking away any remaining health. AkaNinja disappears right after. The top of the screen then reads, WINNER: HeroHiro.

********************

“Ahh! He really got me there.” the hacker shouts with her screen now blank. She turns around to her brother, “What did you think of that one?”

“That was your best one yet! The ninja was so cool, but the way the swordsman finished you off was even cooler!”

“I’ll stay on the lookout for another one after your surgery.”

“But sister, I was wondering. Why don’t you just make your own character?”

“You should already know the answer to that. I’m too lazy to level up!” She says with a big smile.

********************

With the hacker out of the way and the battle complete, everyone is now out of the Colosseum. Since he was saving it for a special moment, Steve immediately wants to know Ryuuji’s opinion on the spell he just used.

“So what did you think of that? Cool right??”

“It was okay.” Ryuuji says, nonchalantly.

“...you’re heartless.”

“Ryuuji are you alright?” Sun asks.

“Right now I can’t really say, everything happened so fast. I can’t believe things turned out this way.” Ryuuji says that to everyone, but the last part is only meant for Steve.

“It is disappointing, but our friendship still remains. Let’s try to move past this and look forward to the future.” Steve says in a cheerful manner.

“Heh, for a while I didn’t want to think about the future, and that hasn’t really changed, but with all of us together it has been easier.”

“That’s the spirit!”

Even though Steve would love to fight in a dungeon with Hargrave, he decides to log off with Sun following suit.

“Make sure you let me know what happens when you get home!” Sun says.

“Oh– me too! Me too!” Steve adds.

“What are you guys, my parents? I’ll let you know though.”

That just leaves Hanabi and Seiji.

“Ryuuji, can I talk to Seiji?” Hanabi asks now that things have calmed down.

Having no reason to refuse, Ryuuji hands the headset to Seiji, “Your girl wants to talk with you.”

Still sitting on the bed, he puts on the headset while Ryuuji proceeds to lay his back on the floor, still tired from his run.

“So you invited Ryuuji over?” Hanabi asks.

“More like he forced his way over.”

“I guess he didn’t have much of a choice. Are you feeling okay?”

After considering how he felt at the start compared to now, he’s doing better than he thought he would. “I’m still shaking, but I don’t feel as nervous.”

Ryuuji stares at the ceiling as they converse. He’s only able to hear bits and pieces, though he knows it’s none of his business.

“It seems Ryuuji helped you once again.” Hanabi points out.

“Don’t let him hear you say that.”

Hanabi chuckles, “Do you want to play Starfight until you fully calm down?”

“That would be the best. Thanks, Hana.”

Once finished, Seiji gathers the courage to explain why he was acting so strange. Ryuuji notices their conversation is complete and speaks first, sitting up to look Seiji in the eyes.

“You know you don’t have to tell me anything. This isn’t the first time I saw you react this way, but that doesn’t mean you need to explain it.”

“That’s true, but after this you have the right to know. Besides, you pretty much got it right on the phone.”

Seiji explains that after the incident with his mother, his father got full custody of him and he was placed in this apartment. Even today he has yet to meet him. Instead, a woman named Reiko was hired to be his caretaker. She would wake him up in the morning, take him to and from school, cook meals, buy everything he needed, and make sure he went to bed at a decent time. She never stayed overnight, leaving Seiji alone in the darkness, causing him to fear being alone. Seiji never tried getting to know her, not learning anything beyond her name.

During the explanation, Ryuuji glances around the room, not having the chance to earlier due to rushing. It’s a one-bedroom apartment with a small kitchen, bathroom, and living area in the back where his bed is.

His desk is across from the headboard. A low desk with no chair, causing the user to sit on the floor. He still has a small seat so he can lean back. It looks uncomfortable, but Ryuuji can only assume he prefers this setup.

To be left alone here every night would probably be scary at any young age.

“I’m not sure how he got away with leaving me here, but nothing ever changed. That woman continued to care for me until shortly after I met Hana.”

“Your dad, have you ever wanted to meet him?”

“Hell no! He’s probably some rich guy and I’m just an illegitimate child he wants to keep hidden. I don’t need to deal with any of that.”

Now understanding him better, Ryuuji realizes this must be why Seiji hated him so much when they first met. He’s been dealing with this for years and holds himself together better than Ryuuji has during these few months. I can’t really call him a brat anymore, can I?

“Now you know. It took a while for me to get used to Hana coming over and we’ve been together for 4 years now. It sure wasn’t easy.”

“One step at a time.” Ryuuji suggests, “You have to get over this problem eventually so I’ll help you out. One step at a time until you’re ready.”

Surprised to hear those words, Seiji can only say, “Again?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just...I like it better when you’re like this.”

“So you respect my maturity, but can’t stand my personality. Like an older brother?”

“That’s disgusting. I’m never calling you that.”

“You’re right, just stick to calling me senpai instead.”

“Only when you deserve it.”

This conversation was enough to make Seiji forget about his fear. Ryuuji is annoyed by how things turned and wants to call him a brat, but reminds himself he wouldn’t do that anymore.

“I should get going anyway so you can have your lovey-dovey time.”

“Alright, but let us know what happens.”

“I’ll try. See ya later.”

Ryuuji walks to the door, with Seiji saying bye in return as he leaves. Once in the hall of the apartment, he leans against the wall as his legs start to give out. Honestly, he’d rather stay here to rest more before going back home, but didn’t want to intrude any further. Especially since it made Seiji uncomfortable.

“It’s going to be a long walk home.”

********************

Starfight Tips;;

The only reward for winning a Colosseum challenge is a badge that states the date it occurred. Its purpose is to keep track of how many battles you won.