A Welcome Distraction

The next day was a completely normal school day. I didn't even think much about Arisu's brother until we all met in our club room. We were all there... except Pudding.

Okay. This doesn't have to mean anything. Maybe I just missed her, I thought.

"How's Pudding doing?", I asked Erica, "Surely you've seen her today."

But the girl in question shook her head.

"I haven't seen her all day. Not that it's uncommon for her."

She placed the pencil she had been sketching with on the table, quickly hiding her sketchbook.

"Sill, we should look for her."

"That sounds good," Maria agreed.

I looked at Arisu.

"Your brother couldn't have escaped, right?"

She thought about it for a second, before shaking her head.

"If he did, then I wouldn't be here, I think."

I let out a sigh of relief.

"Good."

It didn't seem like we were in danger. But still, while we went to Pudding's home, I couldn't shake my gut feeling. The sky was ablaze with reds and oranges, and the sun gave everything a golden glow, even Pudding's house. I squinted, and saw light in one of the windows.

"It looks like she's there," Erica commented.

"Ah, that's good." Maria tilted her head, smiling. "Maybe she just forgot the time."

"Probably."

Erica had a smile on her face when she rang the doorbell. For a moment, I could only hear the breeze, rustling my clothes and the leaves. Then, the door opened, and Pudding's sleepy head poked out.

"Oh, hi."

She leaned against the doorframe, a content look on her face. Still, I couldn't help but worry a bit.

"Are you alright?"

"Uwa?" She tilted her head, and now leaned against the door. "Yes, yes. I told the school I was sick, hehe. I got a bit carried away last night..."

She opened the door, letting us in.

"How's my brother doing?" Arisu asked her as we went upstairs.

"Hm? Oh, he's doing fine."

She nodded along with her words, a tiny movement with each step she took.

"Are you girls here to hang out? I've bought a ton of snacks today."

"Well..."

I didn't know how to answer that question. It felt a bit weird to hang out here, with Pudding, who guarded Arisu's brother. But whatever the feeling in my stomach was, it had changed. It didn't feel as heavy anymore. That was a good sign.

"Hey!"

Suddenly, the door to Pudding's room opened, and Ninsei's face popped out.

"What took you so long?"

She shrugged.

"Well, my friends wanted to hang out."

"Oh."

He looked at all of us, and finally, Arisu. His brows furrowed in anger.

"Did you beat me unconscious? How did you manage to trick me, little sister?"

"Nope, wasn't me." Arisu crossed her arms. "Also, how did you escape the energy prison?"

"Well, he couldn't join the game with that... energy prison... you put on him... uwawa..."

Pudding yawned, and pushed Ninsei inside. I exchanged a confused glance with Arisu, but she shrugged. At least he wasn't attacking her?

"Uwa, you know you can sit wherever you want. Do any of you want to play too?"

Ninsei sat down in 'his' chair again, and took one of the controllers. He certainly didn't do it because of the energy prison, but his own free will. The will to game.

"Let's start the next match. I will not lose again."

"Hehe."

Pudding smiled, but did as he requested. Those words were oddly familiar... he even used his hair to help with the buttons, just like Arisu did. I looked between the two. They started the match, and Ninsei had a look of pure focus on his face. Pudding, instead, looked as relaxed as ever.

"I-you... you've been gaming through the night?"

"Yup." Pudding shrugged. "Not really different from my usual nights. But now I can finally test out all the two-player modes, hehe."

"That's... nice."

I couldn't say anything more. I was stunned, and the others must have felt similarly. We just stood there, looking at the screen where Pudding's character beat Ninsei's, varying punches and kicks so he could barely move. Finally, the match was over. Or so I thought.

"Another one!"

"Uwa."

And again.

"Another!"

"Sure..."

By now, I sat down, and accepted the snacks Arisu offered me. It was entertaining to watch, but I had no desire to join the game. Ninsei was... intense, and it seemed like he couldn't accept his defeat.

"Another!"

It was fascinating, if a bit weird, to see how much the alien man struggled. He demanded rematch after rematch, losing again and again to Pudding. By this point, I would have given up. No, that wasn't true. I would have given up long ago, but that thought didn't seem to cross his mind. His attempts got more and more desperate, all while she still wore her content smile.

"Another."

By this point, he looked miserable, as if all energy had left him. His hair was in disarray, and dark circles were under his eyes. That was probably why Pudding gave him a pitying look.

"Are you sure? You look tired."

"I said another!"

"That's not going to help you win."

"I don't care. Start the game."

"No."

She yawned.

"Well, even if you're not tired, I am. We stayed up all night, and most of the day. I'm gonna sleep now."

And with that, Pudding melted into a lightly snoring puddle, not reacting to his demands. It was impressive to see her talents in front of someone who didn't know about them. Erica sighed.

"She won't wake up," she said, "Even if you yell."

He looked at her.

"Why not?"

"That's just how she is."

She went over to Pudding and lifted her somewhat gently, before she dropped her on the bed.

"I guess she'll be fine again tomorrow?"

That was apparently not the response Ninsei had hoped for. He huffed, putting the controller aside.

"Tomorrow? She needs until then to regain her energy?"

She shook her head.

"I don't think it's just about energy."

With a small smile, Erica took Pudding's place in the chair and eyed the controller carefully.

"I might try it, if you need an opponent so desperately."

He squinted his eyes.

"You're the one that beat me yesterday, right?"

Erica blushed at his words, and avoided his gaze by quickly turning towards the monitor.

"I'm sorry, but you were trying to kill Sara."

"What? I was not!"

He seemed upset, but not enough to really be angry. Somehow, today he didn't seem dangerous at all. But maybe that was because of the cute things all around us. He really looked like Arisu, the way he sat in the chair. I couldn't help but smile.

"You certainly looked like you were going to," Erica justified her actions.

"I... well..."

He went silent.

"Just start the next round," he grumbled.

And with the press of a button, Erica continued the game. Even though it was clear that Pudding was more skilled than her, she managed to stand her ground against him. Ninsei looked serious, with his attention laser-focused on the screen. I couldn't help but be caught in the intensity of the battle as they fought against each other. It was a close call, but finally, Erica lost after a misclick, breaking her combo. But somehow, I felt like it wasn't a mistake. Maybe she wanted the alien to finally taste victory after losing uncountable battles against Pudding, who was still sleeping peacefully on the bed. Whatever Erica's intentions were, the victory certainly affected Ninsei: he completely lost his cool, jumping jump in the kitty paw chair while victoriously raising the controller up in the air.

"Yes! Finally!"

Only then he became aware of our stares, and cleared his throat, slowly sinking back into the chair.

"I was not aware of Earth's fight simulators. There seems to be more to this planet than I originally thought."

Arisu sighed at his words.

"I've been trying to tell you that."

She hadn't, but I didn't want to correct her. With a sigh, Erica leaned back into the chair, clearly having no energy left for another round, though Ninsei looked like he really wanted to do another round. Did this guy not run out of energy? It was somehow fascinating. But then, Erica blinked, and looked at him again.

"Did you try out some other... simulators?"

But Ninsei shook his head.

"We have only focused on this one. What else can be there, as advanced as this?"

She nodded thoughtfully at his words, before starting up Pudding's computer and going through her folders.

"Ah. There."

With that, she opened PlanetCraft 2. Ethereal music played as a lone planet turned around in Orbit. At this sight, Ninsei leaned in closer.

"Just play the tutorial first. You can, uh, find out about our programmed intelligence as your opponent?"

She stood up, and without a word, he took her place, leaning over the mouse and keyboard as if he grew up with it.

"Real time strategy, huh? I have to... research this."

Satisfied, Erica took a chocolate bar from Pudding's snack stash and walked to the door.

"I'm going out for a walk. Do any of you girls want to come with me?"