The Battle of The Arcade

When we finally reached the shopping district, I staggered to the nearest wall and slumped down, completely exhausted. Sakuya had dumped the job of talking to the patrol officers to me, since she was too lazy to repeat the same thing every time an officer stopped us.

“Are you okay, Ryuu?” Kazu approached me and offered a cold drink.

“You’re a savior, Senpai.” I accepted the drink gratefully.

After emptying the whole bottle, I realized that our surroundings became a bit too quiet. I looked up and found that only a few delinquents were around. The rest of them—including Sakuya and her loyal dogs—were nowhere to be seen.

“Huh? Where’s Sakuya-san and the others?” I asked.

“Well, all of us going into the same shop will freak everyone out, so we decided to move separately.” Touma, who also stayed behind, kindly explained to me.

“Then why didn’t we do that from the beginning?!” I slammed the empty bottle into the nearest trash bin.

“You’ll have to forgive them for that. No one wants to be separated from Kagura-san, after all.” Kazu smiled helplessly. “The last time we saw her was when she collapsed with a body full of injuries. All of us were anxiously waiting for the day we can see her again, all healthy and back to normal.”

I sighed, but I couldn’t refute him. During the two weeks when Sakuya was absent from school, it was the first time I saw the delinquents acting so depressed, as if they had lost the will to live. I guessed today was the outburst of those feelings.

After taking a short break, I went to look for Sakuya in the spacious shopping district. As I walked around, I noticed that the delinquents were dispersed according to their hobbies.

Inside a game store, Hiiro was involved in a deeply heated discussion about the newest dating sims game with Asahi and a number of like-minded delinquents—including Delinquent A and B. On the other hand, Ouji, Takashi, and few delinquents were trying out different bamboo swords in a martial art’s supplies store.

I finally found Sakuya inside a boutique. The sheer number of delinquents there far surpassed any other stores. They practically took over the store with the way they kept ordering the clerks around while Sakuya kept changing clothes as if she was in the middle of a fashion show.

“Oh, Ryuuji-kun! Where were you?” Asahi greeted me casually, but his arms were full of female clothes.

“You took so long that we nearly finished trying all of these clothes!” Hiiro added without looking up from the pile of clothes he was sorting.

“Wait, weren’t you two in the game store just now?!” I looked back, wondering if they perhaps had split themselves into two different bodies.

“How could I miss the glorious moment of Sakuya-chan dressing up?!” Hiiro flared back at me.

“Don’t say that with such a proud face!” I retorted.

“We ran here the moment we heard Sakuya-chan wanted to try some clothes.” Asahi answered nonchalantly.

“I am not trying it out of my volition!” This time Sakuya threw in a retort as she came out of the dressing room.

“Huh? Then why…” The moment I looked at Sakuya, my mind blanked out.

She was easily the most gorgeous person in the store right now. Sakuya was wearing a summer dress with the same color as her eyes. The upper part of the dress hugged her petite body, emphasizing her dainty figure, while the hem flared out and showed off her beautiful legs. The crimson-colored dress contrasted greatly with her pale white skin, evoking the image of a single red rose on a snowy plain.

“What do you think?” Sakuya twirled in her new dress, oblivious to the boys’ captivated stare. “I really like the short skirt, and the materials are cool to the touch. But I’m not sure when I’ll get the chance to wear this dress. Maybe I shouldn’t buy it…”

“I’ll buy it for you!” Hiiro snapped out of his daze and yelled passionately.

“No, I will! You’ve bought the previous ten dresses, so yield this one for me!” Asahi argued vehemently.

Sakuya stared in exasperation as the two started bickering. “I can buy my own clothes, mind you. And anyway, I’m only looking for one or two pieces of summer clothes. You guys were the ones who forced me to try half the store’s clothes.”

“Sakuya-san.” I spoke up, my eyes refused to move away from Sakuya’s charming figure. “Can you let me buy this dress for you? It suits you very well.” I said seriously.

“O-Oh…” Sakuya stepped back, clearly flustered. “I-If you insist…then I’ll let you buy me this one…” She said shyly.

The blush on her cheeks made her even lovelier, to the point where I instinctively wanted to hug her tightly.

All of a sudden, two different hands grabbed each of my wrist.

“Eh?” I looked alternately between Hiiro and Asahi. “W-What?”

“Don’t play dumb. You were going to hug her, weren’t you?” Hiiro glared daggers at me.

“I won’t let you steal the march any further, Ryuuji-kun.” Asahi declared.

I realized that I was nearly acting on my instinct and quickly stepped away from Sakuya. “T-That’s not what I’m going to do! I mean, sure, she looks very lovely, but even I have enough tact not to hug her in front of everyone!”

The moment those words left my mouth, I realized that I had said the most embarrassing thing in my life. I covered my face and crouched down, wishing that I could find a hole and hide there for the rest of my life.

“Um…a-anyway, I’m done picking clothes, so I’ll go get changed.” Sakuya muttered before fleeing into the changing room.

By the time Sakuya finally came out in her usual clothes, Hiiro and I had finished paying at the cashier. The store clerks tearfully sent us off, while begging for us not to come back. It seemed our presence there scared off the rest of their customers.

Since it was nearly lunch time, we all decided to take a bite in the shopping district as well. It felt like we were in a school trip, where everyone just spread out and went wherever they wanted to eat. While the stores we visited earlier were clearly afraid of us, the restaurant owners were instead competing to get as many customers as possible. They all went out of their restaurant and started promoting their dishes to us. It was amusing to watch the delinquents being forcefully dragged into different restaurants, since they’re usually the ones forcefully dragging other people.

After we settled the chaotic lunch, we all regrouped in front of the biggest arcade center in the shopping district.

“Hey, hey.” Asahi spoke up as we were waiting for the rest of the delinquents. “Why don’t we compete to see who can get the highest score in every—geh?!”

Asahi abruptly stopped talking in the middle of his sentence. His eyes were fixed at something across the street.

“…geh?”

I curiously turned to look, and my eyes met with the Student Council president.

“…ah.” We’re so screwed.

“A…SA…HI!!!!!” Yuuki instantly dashed toward us, his murderous glare locked on to his traitorous subordinate.

“P-President, please wait for a minute! I can explain!” Asahi quickly ran behind my back and shamelessly used me as a shield.

“You better give me a damn good explanation!” Yuuki roared angrily. “What kind of Student Council officer skips out on the end-of-term ceremony to go hang out with delinquents?! You’re setting a terrible example for everyone else! You’re lucky Mitsuki-kun covered it up as you resting from a cold at home, or else I’d have come and dragged you back to school at once! You need to be more aware of your position…!”

As Yuuki nagged and nagged at Asahi, the rest of the delinquents subtly sneaked away from him. After all, everyone here—excluding Sakuya—also skipped the ceremony.

Unfortunately, Yuuki was too sharp to be outwitted.

“And all of you!” Yuuki turned his anger away from Asahi to the rest of the delinquents. “Even if you’re delinquents, you’re still students! Attending the ceremony is a part of your duty, no matter how long or boring it is! Shiba-kun!”

“Y-Yes?!” I inadvertently straightened my back like a military cadet.

“You’re the person with the most common sense around here! So it’s your duty to beat some of it into these delinquents’ heads! Don’t get swept off by their pace!”

“That’s unreasonable, President!” I protested. “I didn’t even mean to skip the ceremony! I was dragged off by them in the first place!”

“And you, Kagura!” Yuuki splendidly ignored my complaints and directed his murderous glare toward the nonchalant Banchou. “They’re your subordinates, so hold their reins properly! Is that title of yours just to show off?!”

“In case you forgot, I was suspended for half a month, so how am I supposed to know what my subordinates are up to?” Sakuya shrugged without any guilty feelings. “And even if I knew, I wouldn’t stop them from skipping. After all, I planned to do so myself.”

I looked at Sakuya in surprise. Her first reaction to us skipping the ceremony was anger, and she scolded us like a mother would. But now she took our side and directed Yuuki’s anger toward herself. It was truly like her to step up and protect her people.

“Kagura, you…!” Yuuki’s face darkened and he stepped toward her.

But before he could reach Sakuya, Hiiro suddenly interjected between the two of them.

“Okay, okay, we all apologize for skipping the ceremony, President, so why don’t we leave it at that? The ceremony’s already over anyway, so there’s nothing we can do about it.” Hiiro said in a soothing manner. “Putting that aside, why don’t you come and play with us in the arcade? It will help to channel your anger somewhere else, you know?”

“What?! I don’t…”

“Come on, President, I think that’s a good idea!” Asahi came out from behind my back and clung to Yuuki’s arm, preventing his escape. “Consider it a part of our Student Council duty to watch over the delinquents and make sure they don't cause any trouble! Okay? Okay?”

“Ugh…even if you say that…” Yuuki had a conflicted face.

I stepped forward to save him from the situation, since I knew how terrible it was to be forced into something you didn’t want to do. Alas, I was a beat too late.

“I guess the President is afraid that he’ll lose to mere delinquents in a game.”

At Ouji’s merciless words, Yuuki froze.

“Ah, I agree. After all, he doesn’t seem like he had ever set foot in the arcade.” Hiiro added while smirking annoyingly.

“…you asked for it.” Yuuki muttered in a barely heard voice.

“Hm? President, what did you say?” Asahi inched closer to hear him out.

“I said, fine! I won’t hold back, okay?! You asked for it!” Yuuki snapped.

“Aah…he fell for it.” I cradled my head.

“Okay, let’s get started then!” Hiiro, Asahi, and Ouji half-dragged Yuuki inside the arcade.

“Sakuya-san, will President really be okay?” I asked her worriedly. “I can tell that Hiiro and Asahi play a lot of games, while Ouji-senpai can be really competitive. What if…”

“Well, I guess we should worry.” Sakuya nodded with a contemplating look.

“Then, why don’t we stop this before President gets humiliated…?”

“No, I’m not worried about that guy.”

“H-Huh?” I looked at Sakuya in surprise.

“I’m worried that Pochi and Tarou’s spirits will get crushed by him.” Sakuya started walking inside, and I hurriedly followed her. “Well…on the other hand, maybe it’s a good way to keep them quiet.”

*****

Just as Sakuya predicted, the result was a crushing victory for Yuuki.

No matter if it was a shooting game, a racing game, a rhythm game, or even one-against-three air hockey game, Yuuki completely dominated all of them.

“W-Why?! Why is he such a cheat-like player?!” Hiiro sank to his knees, disbelief was written all over his face.

“Damn…he’s way better than I thought. It seems we really can’t judge a book by its cover.” Ouji’s eyes were blazing with fire of rivalry.

“President…I’ll never play with you in the arcade again…” Asahi was prostrating in front of Yuuki. “So please forgive my cheeky attitude…!”

“Hmph…it seems I’m a bit rusty after not playing for three years.” Yuuki grumbled, not satisfied with his current record.

“See?” Sakuya said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Whoa…how did you know, Sakuya-san?” I asked her in amazement.

“Well, Koyama was quite famous back when he was still in middle school. They called him the ‘Crimson Demon King’ and he was the strongest delinquent in this area, both in terms of fighting power and gaming ability.” Sakuya easily revealed such a shocking fact.

“W-What?! A delinquent?! That diligent, strait-laced President?!” My jaw slackened from the shock.

I could imagine Yuuki reigning as the strongest delinquent, seeing how easily he handled those Takamine delinquents back then. But I couldn't quite picture him playing around the arcade like any other delinquents. In my mind, Yuuki was more suited to working on some documents or studying in his free time.

“Wait, where did the ‘Crimson’ part come from?” I asked Sakuya, unable to hold my curiosity back at his seemingly disjointed nickname.

“When Koyama was in middle school, he dyed his hair to vivid red and crushed all of the delinquents that challenged him. His brutal strength and razor-sharp brain earned him that nickname. But when he entered high school, he completely changed his image and hid his past. I guess he’s the same as me in that aspect.” Sakuya explained all of these smoothly, as if she had known him herself.

“And how did you know about this, Sakuya-san?” I eyed her suspiciously.

She shrugged and answered nonchalantly, “It’s no big deal, just that my family kept an eye on strong youngsters like him. And I happened to read his files back then.”

“That…” I gazed at Yuuki with a newfound pity in my eyes. “Isn’t that just a dark history he never wanted to remember?”

“…maybe.” Sakuya averted her eyes, not denying that she might’ve dug up a dark history Yuuki would rather erase from his memory.

“A-Anyway!” She coughed and changed the topic. “Why don’t you play some games as well, Ryuu?”

“Uhh…to be honest, I really suck at arcade games.” I scratched my head.

Even though Kazu and the others often invited me to play together, I always ended up losing pathetically. I had tried playing the easiest game that even children could win, but I still lost in the end.

“It can’t be helped, then.” Sakuya sighed before grabbing my hand. “I’ll help you out, so tell me which game you want to play.”

“Um…” I looked around the arcade, carefully going over each game. It was rare of Sakuya to indulge me like this, and I wasn’t going to waste the chance. “Then, can you help me with the crane game?” I pointed at one of the machines.

I noticed that the delinquents were steering clear from the crane game. The reason was obvious—it took god-level skill and god-level luck to actually win the prize. Of course, some people said that you would eventually win something if you kept trying, but in my opinion, the cost wouldn’t worth the prize.

“Hmm…” Sakuya didn’t say anything for a moment.

“A-Ah, like I thought, is it too hard?” I felt bad for pointing at the most difficult game in the arcade. “Then, how about…”

“No, I’ll do it.” Sakuya wore the fierce smile she always had whenever she was facing a tough situation. “I’ll get the cutest prize and gift it to you.”

Without letting me say another word, Sakuya dragged me to one of the crane game machines.

*****

“Uh…I thought you said that you’ll get me the cutest prize?” I asked Sakuya doubtfully.

“Yeah, I did.” Sakuya answered without any hesitation.

“So why am I the one holding the controls?” I stared at the joystick and the game buttons in front of me.

Sakuya snorted. “Don’t worry, I’ll give instructions easy enough that even a child can follow it and win the prize in one shot.” She said proudly as she literally stuck to the side of the machine.

Sakuya’s face was completely glued on the glass pane and her eyes carefully scrutinized each and every prize inside the machine. Incidentally, this machine offered various animal-shaped dolls as its prize.

“Ah, Sakuya-san, why don’t we try to get this one?” I pointed at the pink, pig-shaped doll nearest to the prize hole. It seemed like a reasonable choice, since we could easily drop it into the hole.

“Hmm…no, it’s not nearly cute enough.” Contrary to my expectations, Sakuya flatly rejected my suggestion. “We’ll get that one.” She pointed at the furthest doll, which was shaped like a black dog.

“Wha—?! Are you kidding, Sakuya-san?!” I looked at her in disbelief. “It’s freaking far, and it’s not even in a good shape!” I protested.

The doll’s design was cute, I had to admit, but it seemed a bit old. The color already dulled and its stitches were starting to unravel in some places.

“I want that one. We’ll definitely get it in one shot.” Sakuya declared with so much confidence that I couldn’t help but wanting to believe her.

“It can’t be helped.” I let out a sigh and prepared myself. “I’ll follow you, Banchou.”

“Good.” Sakuya smiled happily. “Then, put in the coin.”

Once I had inserted the 100-yen coin, the machine started playing a song to announce the game’s start.

“Okay Ryuu, move the claw up 7 centimeters, then twist it clockwise up to 45 degrees, and move it to your 3 o’clock. Don’t forget to keep your hand steady. Once you’ve moved it for about three seconds, twist it for another 15 degrees and let the claw stabilize itself.” Sakuya started rapidly firing complicated instructions.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Sakuya-san! There’s no way I can do that freakishly complicated instruction! Which part of it that a child can follow, huh?! And the claw can’t even be twisted, you know! Make it simpler!” I snapped at her.

“Geez, you’re such a handful…” Sakuya muttered, and I nearly choked her.

Why did she make it sound like I was in the wrong here?!

“Okay, let’s not waste more time whining about this and get back to the game.”

My knuckles made a cracking sound when I heard that sentence, but I managed to suppress my anger.

“Ryuu, move the claw closer toward you. Make sure to stop at the exact moment when I tell you.” Sakuya instructed.

I nodded and started operating the joystick. I strained my eyes and pricked my ears to make sure that I didn’t miss a single word.

“There. Stop.”

I quickly stopped the claw according to Sakuya’s instruction.

“Now, move it to the right. Slowly, so that we won’t miss the right angle.”

I pushed the joystick to the right, while my eyes were fixated on the claw. Cold sweats started forming on my forehead, but I didn’t have the leeway to wipe it off.

“Stop right there. Move it back a bit—no, you’re going a bit too far. Move it forward again, this time slower. Slowly, slowly…okay, hold it there for a bit.” Sakuya pulled away from the glass and started observing the claw from different sides, checking if she had the angle right.

“Sakuya-san, we only have twenty seconds left before the claw automatically grabs the prize.” I reminded her.

“Shush, don’t rush me. If we don’t get the angle perfect, we won’t be able to get it at all.” Sakuya hushed me without looking away from the claw even for a moment.

“Yeah, but…”

“Move it a bit left. A very, very slight left.”

I was forced to shut up and followed Sakuya’s instructions. When the timer showed only ten seconds left, it started blinking and letting out an alarm.

“S-Sakuya-san!” I instinctively looked at her in panic.

“Don’t panic. We still have some time. Push it back a bit, Ryuu.” Sakuya calmly answered.

“Can we even get it in one shot?! The doll’s position is too far!” I protested.

“Ryuu, when did I ever tell a lie to you?” Sakuya finally looked at me. She put a hand on her chest and declared, “Trust me. Push the claw a bit further back.”

I stared at her dubiously. “You technically lied to me when you sent me to the rebel’s trap. And when you told me that you didn’t need my help. And…” I recited her lies while still operating the joystick.

“S-Shut up!” Sakuya’s face reddened in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, okay?! I won’t do it again, so trust me!”

Without waiting for my response, Sakuya reached out and pushed the button to let the claw down.

“Whoa!” I jerked away from her, surprised by her sudden action. “A-Are you absolutely sure, Sakuya-san?! The claw’s angle is a bit off, you know?!”

When I looked at it, the claw was positioned at the rear side of the four-legged, dog-shaped doll. Usually people would aim for the head side, since it could grab the doll better. Wouldn’t it just slide off if the claw tried to grab the rear side?

“Don’t worry. It will not fall off.” Sakuya said calmly, as if she could read my mind.

I watched nervously as the claw went down and grabbed the rear side of the doll. Fortunately, it managed to grab the doll properly. I exhaled a sigh of relief as the claw went up, with the doll in tow.

But as the claw went toward the prize hole, the doll started slipping off bit by bit.

“Sa-Sakuya-san! It’s slipping! It’s slipping off!” I grabbed her shoulders and started shaking it violently.

“I can see it too, you know! Calm down a bit!” Sakuya yanked my hands off with an annoyed look on her face.

We watched helplessly as the doll kept slipping off the claw, pulled down by the weight of the dog’s head—until it completely fell.

“AHHH!!!”

I stuck myself to the glass pane and watched the doll fell off the claw—

—only for its stitches to get entangled with the claw.

“H-Huh?!” I blinked repeatedly, trying to comprehend the impossible sight in front of me.

I kept staring at it blankly, even as the claw dropped the doll into the prize hole smoothly.

“We…we did it?” I muttered while Sakuya took the doll out from the machine.

“Yeah, we did it.” Sakuya smiled and showed the doll to me.

“We did it! We freaking did it in one shot, just like you said!” Her smile rubbed off on me—I started smiling widely as well.

We both raised our hands and our palms met in a perfectly synced high-five.