Procedurally Generated

“Yup!”, I excitedly replied. “Also, Haruka... Even you know Soejima!?”, I had no idea she was that popular. Me and Ryuma are video-game nerds, so that's to be expected, but even Haruka fell prey to Soejima's game design. 

“Oh, yeah! I love that little farming game they made! What’s it called again…”, she took a finger to her under lip and started thinking.

“Expedition Terra”, I immediately knew.

“Yes! That’s it!”, she pointed at me with a smile. “Ryuma here is also a fan, we play co-op all the time”, Haruka added.

“Oh, is that so, Ryuma?”, I looked at him with the eyes of someone who was mocking him for playing farming simulators with his girlfriend.

“... Tsc”, he clicked his tongue and scratched the back of his head. “Hey, at least I’ve got a girlfriend to play it with!”, he pointed at me, mocking me back.

I nearly fell back on my seat. A complete defeat.

“Hey, how rude!”, Haruka cut him off.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, ha-hahahah…”, I laughed it off.

“Here’s your order, Mister!”, the cute waitress arrived with my coffee and strawberry shortcake.

“Why, thank you!”, I bowed.

“Just call me over if you’d like anything else!”, she bowed back and left quietly.

“I wonder if Soejima would like this cake too…”, I whispered.

“Woo, you’re already thinking about that sort of stuff, Toki?”, Ryuma excitedly leaned forward.

“What? What do you mean?”, I asked, sipping my coffee right after.

“That’s the sort of thing boys say when they fall in love with a girl”, the couple in front of me said it in perfect unison.

“Pllplpppltptttttttt-”, I may or may not have spat out my sip of coffee. “WHAT!? NO! You’ve got it all wrong! I love their game design!”, I immediately attempted to justify myself.

“She’s a cute girl, isn’t she? I see nothing wrong with that”, Ryuma said.

“Don’t peer pressure me into it, dude…”, I fully leaned back on my seat, nearly sliding under the table. “I hardly know her!”, I added.

“That’s true…”, Haruka thought for a bit.

“So, what’s the reason for calling me here, then?”, Ryuma asked.

“Well… She’s a bit of a shut-in, and I’d like to get along with her… But I can’t just go to their house, you know? So I wanted to think of a good spot to invite her out… So that we can talk about her new game in-person. And you’re good with women, so…”, I mumbled.

“Good with women, eh?”, Haruka looked at Ryuma with the eyes of a killer.

“A-hem…”, Ryuma cleared his throat, and I’m pretty sure a drop of sweat slid down his forehead. “Haruka, that’s all in the past…”, he gloriously failed in his attempt to escape her murderous intent.

After a powerful elbow blow to his gut, Haruka seemed to relax.

“Urgh…”, he leaned forward until his torso rested over the table, and I calmly sip my coffee and took a couple bites out of my cake.

“So, Shigeo… You want to take her out to a quiet place that won’t tire her out, but in which you can talk nicely?”, she asked me.

“Hmmm, yeah! That would be ideal”, I agreed.

“Right!”, she joined hands. “How about the beach?”, she asked.

“Too sunny”, I replied.

“The Karaoke?”, she asked.

“Too noisy. Also way too private”, I replied.

“A Maid Cafè?”, she asked.

“Way too Otaku”, I replied.

“Urgh… A…”, she stood defeated.

“Well, how about here, at Savepoint?”, Ryuma interrupted. “It’s got the CRT TV, good food at a decent price… And it’s not super full in the afternoon, we’re the noisiest customers here right now”, he argued.

“Huh, that’s not bad”, I thought for a bit.

“See? I know stuff!”, Ryuma boasted, and Haruka immediately stared daggers at him. “He-he…”, he laughed it off, and she couldn’t help but smile.

“As expected of you, a true veteran”, I commented, and smiled at the prospect of bringing Soejima here, to the Savepoint.

The conversation went on for a bit, with us discussing the best spots to have my business meetings with Soejima, and quite a bit of laughter for good measure.

“Hey, Tokitsu, I kinda have to get going now…”, Ryuma said. “But here’s what is up: I’m going to band practice, you can come have a listen if you’d like. Haruka is coming with, too”, he offered.

“Oh, that sounds good. I’d be honored to”, I accepted his invitation.

“Nice! Let’s get going!”, Haruka was most excited.

Thus, we all walked together to his band practice. Specifically, his garage band practice. Their group, Easter Egg Man, or EEM for shorts, was an alt-rock band that really struggled to find its fanbase a couple years ago. Now, they performed in restaurants and small shows locally, while cooking up what would be their big breakout hit.

Granted, such a hit hadn’t come yet. But it would, someday. Hopefully. For their sake.

I greeted the band members upon arrival. It wasn’t my first time on one of their garage practice sessions, and I really enjoyed being included.

They started jamming and experimenting, and I kept an attentive ear on their music. Before I realized it, I was headbanging. Haruka was absolutely thirsting over Ryuma. It was kinda cute. Call me jelly, I don’t care.

“Taro, you’re rushing a bit”, I said to their drummer.

“I felt the same thing!”, Ryuma agreed. “Good hearing as usual, Toki”, he added.

“No problem”, I simply answered.

“Alright, from the top y’all! 3… 2… 1…”, Ryuma had them start over.

I kept note of the beat with my right foot, and Haruka started humming the familiar melody. It took us places, and I’m sure the musicians went there as well. A familiar feeling, optimistic yet melancholic, calm and constant. That’s what I felt from their music that day. I assumed this was the song that was born from Ryuma’s last breakup.

I wonder if he’s ever going to write something for his current girlfriend, instead of dwelling on the past with his music…

“This would sound even better with lyrics…”, I whispered.

“Well, then find us a damn singer!”, Ryuma shouted in an attempt to defeat the instruments’ sound in the race to my ears.

That’s right: their band didn’t have a singer. Nor a songwriter. Ryuma was the main composer, but none of them could sing very well. I was sure that, with a good singer, they’d be in anime opening levels of good-sounding.

“He-he… Who knows? If I meet one, I’ll contact you”, I said once their performance was over, letting them know I was leaving for the day.

“Good luck on your date with Soejima!”, he shouted from within the garage.

“Break a leg!”, Haruka’s own shout followed.

“It’s not a date, though!”, I shouted back, and headed home.

“I think…”