Chapter 6:

Chapter 6: Arcade Sanctuary, AKA "Twilight" Time

My Peaceful Life as Bloody Twilight is GONE!

My "peaceful walk" to clear my head lasts exactly fifteen minutes.

The "empathy" essay is stupid.

Principal Tanaka is stupid.

Fuji Kenji, with his stupid, perfect, waving hand, is the stupidest of all.

I'm so annoyed my teeth are grinding.

Which is why my feet, apparently on autopilot, have brought me here.

The "Giga-Zone" Arcade.

My real second home.

The second I step inside, the noise washes over me. It’s not like the canteen-not the annoying chatter of idiots. This is good noise. It's the sound of digital explosions, J-pop from the rhythm games, and the frantic clack-clack-clack of joysticks.

It’s... peaceful.

I bypass the first floor. This is where the cutesy crane games and air hockey tables are. Rika loves it. I hate it. It's all luck and soft, plushy scams.

I head straight to the back stairs, to the "Pro-Zone" on the second floor.

It’s darker up here. The only light comes from the glowing cabinets. This is where the serious players are. The rhythm game masters, the fighting game sharks.

And my throne.

"Street Fighter X: Ultra Hyper Omega Edition." (The name is dumb, but the mechanics are solid).

I slide my student ID card to log in.

The screen flashes: "Welcome back, player: Twilight."

My local rank is #1. My national rank is #47.

This is me.

No 'Bloody Twilight.' No 'Isuzu-san.' Just 'Twilight.'

I pick my main. A fast, aggressive rushdown character. No fireballs, just pure, in-your-face pressure.

I crack my knuckles and hit "Find Match."

My first opponent is a 'Chun-Li' main. Predictable.

He jumps. I anti-air. He tries a low kick. I parry. He throws a desperate super. I block, punish, and launch him into a 20-hit combo that drains half his health.

Round 1: Perfect.

He's trying to zone me out. Sloppy.

Round 2: Perfect.

The guy on the cabinet next to me, who I just beat, slams his fist on the panel and storms off. "BS! That's just-!"

I don't even look at him.

Next.

A 'Ryu' player. Yawn.

Perfect.

Next.

A 'Zangief.' This one is a little better. He actually blocks.

It takes me 30 seconds.

KO.

I am in the zone.

My breathing is even. My eyes are locked on the screen. My hands are a blur.

This is my world. There are rules. There are inputs.

If you are sloppy, you lose. If you are better, you win.

It makes sense.

Unlike "empathy." Unlike Fuji Kenji.

"WOAH! LOOK AT HER GO!"

A familiar, annoying voice snaps me out of my trance.

I finish my combo. KO.

"I told you she'd be here!" Rika's voice chirps.

I sigh and exit the match, looking over my shoulder.

Toujo and Rika are standing there, grinning.

"Knew it!" Toujo says, pointing at me. "The 'peaceful walk' was a lie! You came to punch pixelated faces!"

"I needed to de-stress," I mutter.

"De-stress, huh?" Toujo cracks his knuckles with a goofy look. "Alright, Queen. You and me. Right now. I've been practicing!"

I just raise an eyebrow.

"Oh, really?"

"You bet! My 'Blanka' is sick! Prepare to be electrified!"

I sit back down and hit the 2-player button.

"You're paying for this match," I say.

"Deal! But when I win, you have to... uh... carry my bag for a week!"

"Fine."

Rika just giggles. "Get him, Aoi-chan!"

Toujo picks Blanka. I stick with my main.

The round starts.

Toujo immediately starts rolling across the screen like a spastic green bowling ball.

Whiff.

I just walk back.

He does it again.

Whiff.

He jumps.

I jump.

I hit him with a heavy kick. He lands. I hit him with a low punch. He blocks. I throw him.

"Hey! No throwing!"

"It's part of the game."

I walk him into the corner. He's panicking. He's just mashing buttons.

I parry his 'electric' attack, which leaves him wide open.

"This," I say, as I input the command, "is for the 'empathy' joke."

My character's eyes glow.

ULTRA COMBO!

The screen explodes in light. A 45-hit, unblockable, screen-filling sequence of pure, unadulterated pain.

Toujo's health bar vanishes.

PERFECT. KO.

Toujo just stares, his joystick hanging limp.

"I... I didn't even... you...!"

"Round 2."

This time, I don't even let him move.

I hit him on the first frame.

Jab. Jab. Medium Kick. Cancel. Special Move. Dash. Heavy Punch. Launcher. Air Combo. Air Throw.

He lands.

He's dead.

PERFECT. KO.

I stand up and crack my neck.

"You're sloppy," I say, grabbing my bag. "You rely too much on gimmicks, and your neutral game is non-existent."

Toujo is just a smoking crater.

"I... I hate you," he whimpers.

"No, you don't," Rika says, patting his back. "You just suck."

"SO MEAN, RIKA!"

As we're walking out, a group of three guys-big, loud high schoolers from a different school-are blocking the exit.

"Yo, you're 'Twilight'?" the one in the middle, a guy with a bad bleach job, sneers. "Heard you were good. You're just a girl."

Oh, for-

"We want a match. 3-on-3," he says, jabbing a thumb at his friends. "If we win, you gotta... y'know, hang out with us." He gives me a gross, leering smile.

Toujo tenses up. "Hey, man, back off-"

I put a hand on Toujo's chest.

I look at the guy.

I don't say anything.

I just... look at him.

I give him the full "Bloody Twilight."

The 1000-yard stare. The one that says I am not impressed, I am not scared, and I am calculating the 47 ways I could end you.

His smile freezes.

His friends, who recognize the Hijiridono Academy uniform I'm wearing, start whispering.

"Dude... isn't that...?"

"The purple hair..."

"Is that her?"