Remote Control My Buddy

【POV: Tetsuya】

The students of Class 2-A gathered around Jishu Jinja, the small shrine nestled within the grounds of Kiyomizu-dera. This place should have been as noisy as a marketplace, but everyone was trying their best to suppress their excited squeals down to a whisper, maybe out of fear of disturbing the gods of love who were busy matchmaking..?

The center of attention was the two love stones. Legend has it that if you can walk in a straight line from one stone to the other with your eyes closed without straying off path, your love life will be fulfilled. If you need someone else's help, it means your love will require a matchmaker.

I stood with my arms crossed, leaning against a tree, watching my classmates clumsily grope their way forward like a bunch of drunk crabs. Some made it halfway only to bump into tourists, while others veered completely off into the roadside bushes. The whole group giggled and pointed.

Riku stood next to me, his feet were glued to the ground, completely unmoving.

「What? Not gonna try your luck, gamer?」 I gently nudged his shoulder. 「Who knows, maybe after you walk it, you'll actually find a girl who can put up with your personality.」

Riku grimaced, adjusting his glasses. 「Give me a break, grandpa. The success rate of this superstitious crap is lower than the gacha rates in C.O.R.E. I'd rather trust Tinder's matchmaking algorithm.」

He said that, but his eyes kept darting toward the two stones with obvious craving. This guy, his mouth was complaining, but deep down he was probably desperate to escape his single life.

「Come on, just give it a try.」 I patted his shoulder, my voice full of encouragement (and a little bit of dark intent). 「It's not every day you get to visit Jishu Jinja.」

「I said no!」 Riku swatted my hand away, his face flushing red. 「Do I look like the kind of guy who believes in destiny?」

I sighed, shaking my head in exhaustion. My buddy was truly stubborn. But... today I was in "good friend" mode, so I decided to lend him a hand. In my own way.

I turned to Mari, who was standing nearby, happily eating a cup of matcha ice cream.

「Babe.」 I whispered. 「Lend me the Pocket Galgal.」

Mari looked up, blinking her big round eyes, the plastic spoon still in her mouth. She swallowed her ice cream, then reached into her jacket pocket.

「Here.」

Mari handed me a small metal sphere about the size of a tennis ball. It was made up of hundreds of interlocking silver rings, spinning continuously yet completely silent. A pocket-sized Galgal.

「Perfect...」 I winked, then turned back toward Riku.

The moment she saw the strange object in my hand, Yuria's face instantly went pale. She pulled a 180, buried her face into the tree trunk and muttered, "I don't see anything, I don't see anything..."

I gave an evil smirk, gripped the Galgal tightly in my right hand, and approached Riku from behind. 「Hey, Riku.」

「What now?」 Riku turned around, looking annoyed.

「I've got a little gift to boost your love gacha rates to 100%.」 Before he could react, I activated the Galgal. An invisible wave of energy, vibrating at an extremely low frequency, radiated from the palm of my hand, transmitting straight into Riku's motor nervous system.

「What the f—?!」 Riku's eyes widened. His arms automatically raised to shoulder level like a Jiangshi, and his left foot took a decisive step forward.

「Hey! Tetsuy...........!」 Riku screamed in panic, but his mouth only let out muffled groans because his jaw muscles were also partially under my control.

「I'm helping you here.」 I said, my voice as calm as an aerobics instructor. 「Close your eyes.」

Riku's eyelids slammed shut with a smack, glued tightly together.

「Very good. Now... march!」 I commanded, making the Galgal spin slightly. Riku's body jerked, then began taking stiff, robotic steps toward the love stone on the other side.

The students around us started to notice. Giggles spread through the crowd.

「Oh! Riku-kun is trying it too!」

「Go for it, Riku!」

「Why is his posture so weird? It's like he's lagging?」

Riku stumbled forward. In his head, he was probably cursing up a storm. I stood behind him, holding the Galgal and tweaking it bit by bit, like I was playing a game with a motion controller.

「Two degrees to the left... good... straight ahead... that's right...」

Mari stood next to me, eating her ice cream and smiling so hard her eyes vanished, occasionally clapping to cheer him on. Yuria still had her face buried in the tree, but her shoulders were trembling—couldn't tell if she was crying or laughing, probably a bit of both.

Riku marched onward with the absolute precision of a machine (driven by me). Finally, his hand touched the destination stone.

Tap.

I disconnected the Galgal.

Riku collapsed to the ground, panting like he had just run a marathon. He snapped his eyes open, looked at the stone in front of him, then turned back to glare at me with eyes shooting daggers.

「Tetsuya... you... you are the biggest bastard I have ever known...」

The whole class erupted into applause.

「Well done, Ōtsuka!」

「A perfectly straight line! That's insane!」

「He's definitely getting a girlfriend soon at this rate!」

I shrugged, putting the Galgal back into my pocket. 「You're welcome, buddy. Love just needs a little... physical intervention, that's all.」