On Equal Footing

“Good morning, sleepyhead! Are you sure you’re up for the challenge, Mikarin?” Hajime snickered.

The hands of the sole wall clock within my sight were pointing at three o'clock precisely. I was aware there were people who sometimes woke up around this hour but objectively speaking, it was no longer morning. Her jocular comment was based on me yawning for the third time in a row, in the span of what had been a minute at most.

My eyes were crossed like a pair of embroidery stitches. I was looking at the bowling lane in front of me – if you could even refer to the desperate squinting I was doing as such. I swung my arms lethargically; both of my throws went straight to the gutter and I opened the game with a clean and clear zero.

The reason behind my poor performance and weighty eyelids was the all-nighter I had pulled with Iruka. We were meant to conduct a background check on Hajime's favorite otome game boy, Mika Kojima. However, me and Iruka had almost immediately trailed off-track by starting things completely unrelated to our original objective. With the benefit of hindsight, I would've been better off on my own when it came to hunting for useful knowledge. At least we had a fun night, I guess.

"Don't worry about it! You did well for your first try", Hajime comforted after having witnessed my pathetic struggle.

My companion was quite an athletic person and it was indeed upon her suggestion that we had decided to take each other on in a game of bowling. Even though the two of us were on summer break, the cloudy Tuesday afternoon was still a working day for the majority of people. Of course, that included the unfortunate employees who had to listen to our inequitable match unfold.

“Look at that, a perfect strike! Aren’t I amazing?” Hajime grinned.

She was clearly trying to get me to talk more but I didn’t want to reveal my incompetence: our interests collided. My strategy was to cut my replies as short as possible whenever I could.

“Huh, yes!”

“You don’t sound too good. Is there something I could do for you? Do you want something to drink? I think sugar could perk you up”, she offered.

Unfortunately, even though Hajime was pretty chatty herself, my plan wasn’t working on her. So, I had to momentarily switch to plan B: fake it until you make it, also known as pulling things out of your ass based on the cues you’re given. I never imagined my favorite exam tactic would end up being useful in everyday conversation.

“Ah, I’m a big boy! I don’t need nee-san to baby me. In fact, I’ll get her something too! What does she want?”

Mikarin usually referred to the player as "nee-san" and rarely used second person. That's something I found out (and still remember from) last night. The other key words were childlike and role reversal – the former based on the character’s appearance and the latter on what Hajime had told back in the karaoke cubicle.

“Aww, that’s so sweet! Can you grab me an orange juice then?”

It appeared I had managed to fend her suspicions off for the time being. Though, Hajime didn’t exactly seem like the kind of person to hold suspicion or grudges towards others.

"Sure thing!" I smiled.

My offer wasn't out of sheer chivalry: I needed a breather away from the situation. Not only was my social battery at its limit in general after receiving a year’s worth of interaction over the course of about 5 days, putting on an act while in the company of someone was even harder. This was supposed to be an exchange with no losers but as it stood right now, Hajime had definitely pulled the shorter straw. Still, begging for mercy wasn’t among my choices. My only option was to do my best now and do better next time. She was kind enough to understand an apology.

“Sorry for the wait, nee-san! I was having a hard time deciding what to get myself. In the end, I got the same as nee-san”, I explained with a can of orange juice in each hand.

Before taking her share, Hajime ruffled my hair and praised me – or Mikarin, to be exact. But I was the one benefiting from it. The way her nails scratched my scalp made me feel as if my braincells were melting away: it was almost like I was an actual cat. Although, Mikarin was part fox, not a cat, and foxes are more of a dog-like species.

Thereafter and thankfully, my date took it upon herself to keep the mood and conversation afloat by doing most of the talking. She cheered for and celebrated even the slightest of my successes, creating a safe and comfortable atmosphere for me to just try my best and have fun. I also learned how someone like her, a person with a credible social life, had first come across otome games and developed the peculiar tendency of feeling genuine affection for a 2D character.

"I came across Once Upon a Hollow Night's Eve when an artist I follow on Instagran posted fanart of Mikarin. I thought he was the cutest boy ever and when I found out the game was free, I just had to try it out myself! I was kind of shocked at first because I had no idea how otome games were like, and OUAHNE is one of those weirder ones to be honest, but I quickly learned to love the quirkiness of the characters and the detailed story. Before I knew it, I started to notice some feelings of jealousy over anyone else who liked Mikarin like I do. They're insignifigant but they're there... And then I created this whole new world in my head for just me and him. Ah, it must sound so weird! It's embarrassing to admit this, I don't know why I'm telling you this. Maybe it's because I'm assuming you're the same", she rambled, all while throwing an effortless spare.

"If that's considered embarrassing then what am I?" I wondered, out of character.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that! We're valid", she reassured.

Eventually, the bowling game ended just as it had started: Hajime claimed a well-deserved landslide victory.

“I was just giving you a handicap, in character”, I made up an excuse for my wounded pride.

“I really appreciate your devotion. Are you usually a competitive person, Kujiran?” she asked.

“I guess so”, I admitted.

We had no other plan for the day but to be honest, I was glad it was over. I wasn't about to put on a lackluster show for any longer. As we were standing in front of the sports hall entrance, readying up for our individual departures, Hajime asked a sudden question.

“By the way, do you know your love language?”

I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to answer her question as Mikarin or myself. I didn't actually know mine. I wasn't even sure what the question meant in the first place, which is why when it came to Mikarin, I had even less of a clue.

“I... don’t.”

“That’s fine! You can take the test. I’ll text you the link", she suggested. “I’ll text you about the dates as well once I’ve checked my schedule. We don’t need to see each other every day, you seem like you could use some rest days at least. See you, Kujiran!"

She farewelled me with an understanding smile on her face. She was observant when it came to the emotional side of things – scarily so.

Thanks to the task she had given me, the way home felt shorter than usual. Walking with an active smartphone in hand was a safety hazard for sure but I just couldn't stand being out alone without anything to do... I didn't want to keep Hajime waiting either. As soon as I had gotten home, I typed her a message.

“For the love language thing, I got a tie between words of affirmation and acts of service. What would Mikarin answer? Also, sorry that I came in on a bit of a short notice to our date today... I’ll become a better actor by the next one, just you watch!”

She was a fast replier. And an expressive one.

“I see!! Mine’s physical touch for sure. I think Mikarin’s would be either physical touch or receiving gifts! (｡･ω･｡) ♡ And well, that was certainly a try but if I’m entirely honest, that wasn’t Mikarin at all. That was just an alternate reality Kujiran calling me nee-san... (• ▽ •;) Don’t worry about it though, I’ll be looking forward to your character development!! By the way, did you already watch the new episode of BakaBiku?? ( ╹▽╹ )”

When we weren’t dating, we had already become friends – as Kakuji Ran and Hajime Aiko. Since we were both the geeky type, discovering the mountain that was our shared interests was only a matter of time. For us, that time wasn't even a full day's worth of hours. Besides nourishing each other’s multi-dimensional delusions by coming up with headcanons and planning future dates based on them, our conversations also consisted of topics such as discussing seasonal anime, recommending each other manga and complaining about summer homework.

If it wasn’t for my gacha addiction, I could’ve possibly missed out on meeting her. It was surreal to think about. Although I hadn't known her for long, the time before her felt like a hazy fragment of the distant past – almost like life without her hadn't existed at all.