Arcades & Memories

A sea of lights was before Miyuki, each arcade machine competing for her attention with their dazzling displays. Her eyes darted around the arcade, scanning each row of machines. “It’s been so long since I’ve been to an arcade.”

Jin nodded in agreement. “Same for me. I think I went once or twice while I’ve lived here, but it’s been a while.”

Some time had been killed before they embarked for the arcade for Miyuki to disguise herself. While she was washing her face, she had requested Nanami to buy some clothing at the store that would hide her identity. Her friend had returned with a cheap pair of green toy glasses, a dark grey sun hat, and an oversized winter coat that she then equipped.

Nanami and Komi leaned against a wall of the business, watching Miyuki and Jin from afar.

“Let’s go to the crane game first,” Miyuki said before dragging Jin to the claw machine. Inside the machine were various plush toys, but one in particular caught her interest–a red fox with black, beady eyes, standing on four legs. She turned to Jin and gazed at him with stars in her eyes. “Jin, I want that fox. Can you get it for me?”

“Me?” He blinked. “I guess I can, but don’t you want to win it yourself?”

She shook her head. “I can think of it as a gift from you if you win it.” A soft blush rose to her cheeks as she imagined him handing her the hard-earned toy. It was a classic trope for the boy to win something at the claw machine for the girl.

“Yay! Thank you,” she placed her hands on the glass and watched closely.

Jin put a few coins into the machine, and the claw sprang to life. While he controlled its movements, he glanced at Miyuki through the corner of his eye. Her childlike excitement somehow made him determined to not disappoint her.

The claw moved into position, sitting still for a moment above the fox before plunging down at the hit of a button. Miyuki held her breath as the metal wrapped around the toy and lifted. “Come on, come on…”

Watching the claw hold the toy in the air put a smile on her face. But just before it reached the section to drop it, the fox slipped out of its grasp and landed on a pile of plushies.

“That was so close, Jin! Do it again! You’ll get it next time, I can feel it,” she encouraged him.

He inserted more money and tried again. The claw tried again to pick up the fox but was unable to separate it from the rest of the pile this time. Seeing Miyuki’s disappointed pout gave him the motivation to try again.

It took a few more attempts, but eventually Jin was able to retrieve the toy fox. It dropped into the box, and he reached inside to pick it up.

“Yay! You did it, Jin!” Miyuki jumped with glee.

“Here,” he handed it to her. “It’s yours.”

Miyuki’s eyes enlarged for a moment, and her heart skipped a beat. Like a turtle, she reached out for the doll and brought it to her chest. “I’ll cherish it,” she whispered, closing her eyes to enjoy the moment.

“There’s an arcade I’d like to show you,” Jin said. He took her down the aisle of arcade machines and stopped close to the back in front of a machine labeled Dark Temple, with a pixel adventurer in front of the silhouette of a pyramid surrounding the title.

A gasp escaped her. “Dark Temple? They have it here?”

“I thought you might like it,” he entered some coins into the left and right sides of the machine. Dark Temple was a retro game that featured one or two players as adventurers exploring the ruins of a pyramid-shaped temple, fighting monsters like snakes, zombies, and skeletons. The final boss was an undead priest that the players stopped from summoning a demon god. It was a game that Miyuki and Jin would frequent the arcade back in Akita to play together back when they were young.

“Think you can keep up with my score now that you’re older?” Jin teased.

“I haven’t played this in so long, I’m probably worse than when we played together,” she said.

“Rest assured, I haven’t touched this thing since then either.” The two of them took their places in front of the machine and waited for the game to begin.

The next hour passed in the blink of an eye, filled with smiles and laughter. Jin scored more points in the first match, so Miyuki demanded they play another round. When the result was the same, she was determined to keep playing until she had outscored him. Eventually, he had to convince her to give up.

After spending a long time on Dark Temple, they tried a few other arcade games before it was time for Miyuki to say goodbye.

“I had a lot of fun today,” she said to Jin, her cheeks rosy red. “Thank you for taking me to the arcade.”

“No problem. It brought back a lot of memories from when we were little,” he responded.

“We share a lot of fond memories from back then, don’t we?” Miyuki shifted bashfully. “Every moment I spend with you becomes a fond memory.”

“I have to admit, it is fun with you around,” Jin said. “Today reminded me that you are the same Miyuki that used to follow me around like a little sister.”

“Following you around isn’t exactly how I’d put it…”

“What I’m trying to say is… I’m glad you haven’t completely changed,” he said with a smile, bringing a larger smile to Miyuki.

“Me too! I’m happy you’re still the you I knew.” Seeing Nanami and Komi standing idly by the arcade’s entrance behind her as they waited made her take a few steps back. “It’s time for me to go, but I look forward to seeing you again next week! Take care, Jin!” She waved before turning to sprint over to her friends. “Sorry I made you wait so long.”

Nanami shook her head. “Seeing you happy makes me happy, so I didn’t mind waiting.”

“I’m going to be exhausted by the time we get back,” Komi exhaled. “Not that that matters too much.”

Miyuki’s heart warmed at the support of her bestie and new friend. “Let’s go home.”

On the train, her mind traveled forward to the next week, and she wondered what she would do next with Jin.