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Chapter Four - Finish Him, Finish Him
Yuki Nagato paced her apartment nervously. She'd been a member of the SOS Brigade for over a year and the experience had changed her. She'd joined the group as a silent, almost robotic, bookworm; the member who rarely spoke or acted, the member who seamlessly merged with the background. Spending time with Haruhi, Mikuru, Koizumi, and Kyon inspired her to come out of her shell; to become more than a witness, to explore the world and herself. At the one year mark, Yuki longed to develop her personality and humanity. Accepting Koji's invitation set a milestone on her path of discovery.
Since Haruhi Suzumiya was scouting out locations for an upcoming SOS Brigade camping trip, Yuki and the rest of the crew had the weekend to themselves. Yuki decided that she would spend all day Saturday preparing for her Sunday date, a visit to the Mortal Kombat tournament held at the City Center Forum. She didn't know what to expect. None of the characters in her romance novels played video games. She'd watched members of the Computer Club play games while she helped them with their coding projects, but she never played any of those games herself.
Yuki searched YouTube for behind-the-scenes footage of gaming tournaments. These E-Sports events, as they were called, took place in large rooms or halls, sometimes even stadiums. Row upon row of gamers fought each other in the virtual universes created for their contests. The center of the venue often sported a large-screen display that showcased the more important match-ups and eventually the finals.
Wikipedia taught her that Mortal Kombat ranked as one of the top three fighting games, in league with games titled Tekken and Street Fighter. Mortal Kombat's claim to fame was its "Fatality" system. As a defeated opponent stood on the verge of collapse, the victor could input a series of controller moves that initiated a gruesome execution sequence. The graphic nature of these endings both stunned and electrified her.
"Distractions."
She closed the game-play videos and focused on ones exhibiting the social aspects of these tournaments. Boys tended to outnumber girls by a wide margin, often ten to one or more. Everyone wore similar style clothes — jeans, cargo pants, shorts, gaming-themed t-shirts, baseball caps — and blended together. On several occasions, outliers caught her eye. A few bold females had set themselves apart from the pack by adopting a distinctly feminine look.
A smile crept onto Yuki's lips.
It felt good because she rarely used those facial muscles. Since becoming a part of the SOS Brigade family, she found herself exercising them more and more.
A peek inside her closet revealed a limited wardrobe. A downright boring wardrobe.
"Yawn."
She knew those clothes would have the same effect on Koji. Yuki was going to look good for her date. She was going to be his girl — for the duration of their date at least.
She cycled through more videos. A frame caught her eye.
"Wow."
A female gaming tournament attendee stood out from all the others. Instead of blending in like an androgynous egg in a full carton, this girl looked spectacular. She looked feminine. Adorned in colorful thigh-highs, a bouncy short skirt, a tight top, and wire-rim glasses, this person stood out.
"Could I do that?"
Yuki stripped naked and stood before the mirror. She shifted her weight to her right hip and crossed her arms under her chest. Her breasts were small but adequate. She showed the mirror her profile. Thankfully, fate had blessed her small frame with a beautiful round bottom supported by a pair of firm shapely legs.
"Hmmm."
Nice, but incomplete. She retrieved a dusty case from her dresser drawer, opened it, and placed a set of spectacles on her nose. A smile lit up her face.
"He'll love it."
She threw on her school uniform, hopped on the next train to the Nakashiki Mall, and went on a shopping spree.
###
Sunday morning. The phone rang. She picked it up.
"Hello, Miss Nagato," said a wavering voice. "I'm here."
"I'm coming." Yuki checked her look in the mirror one last time before leaving her apartment.
When she exited the building's main door and stepped out onto the sidewalk, Koji nearly fell over. He stared at his date with bulging eyes, his mouth open. "Holy shit, Miss Nagato, you look incredible." He quickly covered his mouth. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to swear."
Before him stood a girl he'd never seen (or imagined) before. Purple thigh-high socks sprouted from solid black platform shoes. A tight forest-green blouse topped an orange-yellow skirt that barely hid brief red panties. Wire-rim glasses complimented the magenta highlights in Yuki Nagato's dark hair.
Drool dripped from Koki's mouth. Yuki tried to suppress her pleasure but the joy of his reaction reflected in her eyes. "Thank you."
"Well." Koji took a deep breath and collected himself. "Let's go then."
They walked side-by-side to the train station. Though Yuki's conversation skills lacked, she did her best to accurately answer the questions Koji posed.
At a lull in the conversation, Yuki did the unthinkable. She asked Koji the question, "What do you like best about being a member of the Computer Club?" taking care to make it open-ended.
Koji took quite a while to answer, telling her about how he first became a member two months ago by replacing a graduating senior, the fun things the club did, the camaraderie. He also talked about the anger the Computer Club president expressed whenever Haruhi Suzumiya's name came up, as well as the awe he expressed for Yuki's role in the SOS Brigade's victory in their space game.
By the time Koji finished talking, they had arrived at the City Center Forum. He flashed the door attendant his tickets and the two entered the huge hall.
Yuki's outfit garnered a lot of attention.
"Whoa."
"Check out the hottie."
"Nice legs."
Instead of drawing back, she raised her head, straightened her shoulders, and grasped Koji's hand.
"Sweet."
"Lucky bastard."
Koji beamed.
They entered the main hall. Fifteen rows of ten Sony Playstations drove as many LCD television sets. Players seated in chairs opposite the monitors fought each other by pounding controllers in hand. Yuki counted 298 men and two ladies (though one might be a trap) using 150 game stations.
The two moved behind the contestants playing on the big board located at center stage. The defending champion from last year manhandled his current competitor so badly, people cringed. Once the champ had the challenger on the ropes, the crowd around him chanted, "Finish him. Finish him. Finish him."
Everyone cheered as a character named Scorpion fired a spear-on-a-chain through Johnny Cage's head and yanked the chain back, cleanly removing the head from Cage's body. Adding insult to injury, Scorpion tossed the head into the air and whipped a blade at it. The blade pierced Cage's brain and stuck it to a wall.
Yuki and Koji strolled up and down each aisle and stopped to watch the more interesting matches. Yuki couldn't take her eyes off of the gruesome endings. Impalements, decapitations, dismemberment, the violence mesmerized her.
Yuki asked the second question of the date. "Can we play?"
"I didn't register," Koji said. "It's kind of pricey. But there is a practice area where everyone can try the game."
Yuki's squeezed her date's hand.
The room set aside as the practice area resembled a rush-hour train. People stood shoulder-to-shoulder. As Yuki and Koji squeezed in to watch the screens, several rogue hands found their way onto Yuki's body. She ignored them.
"There are players on all kinds of levels here," Koji shouted over the noise of battle. "Aces, amateurs, newbies."
"What level are you?" Yuki asked.
"I could probably beat most of these guys. But that's not saying much."
A friendly rookie gave up his seat at Yuki's approach. "I want to watch this girl play."
"Works for me." His partner gave Koji his seat.
The rookies were not disappointed. Koji taught Yuki the basics of gameplay. Five minutes later his character lay on the ground with his arms and legs torn off.
Yuki worked her controller with bright eyes. "This is fun."
"Has anyone ever told you you're a natural at this?" Koji said.
"Some have hinted."
"Damn, girl," said a spectator standing behind them. "You play almost as good as you look. You should have registered."
"Is it too late?" Koji asked.
The guy shrugged. "Slots sold out months ago, but still…"
"That chick is vicious," another bystander said. "Not a milligram of mercy."
"Want to try?" Koji offered the guy his controller.
The guy eyed the bespectacled beauty in the chair opposite him. "It would be an honor."
Yuki finished him off in seconds. A crowd formed as the hot girl finished off one challenger after another while cycling through every character in the game.
"Finish him. Finish him," they shouted as she dispatched rookies, amateurs, and pros as if they were kindergartners.
"You should take on the champ," one spectator suggested.
"I bet she'd kick his ass," chimed another.
"I'd love to play you," a voice said. Everyone's head turned toward the champ who had sneaked in behind them. "But nobody ranked in the top twenty is allowed to play an unregistered player. Otherwise, what's the benefit of buying a spot. See you next year maybe?"
Yuki tilted her head. "Maybe."
The crowd booed as the champ walked away. "Don't be pissed at me," he shouted over his shoulder. "Those are the rules."
###
The two left the hall hand in hand.
"It's too bad you didn't get a chance to play the champ," Koji said. "You would have ripped his head off."
"It's probably better that I didn't." She turned toward the train station entrance.
Koji paused. "Do you need to go home right away or do you have time?"
"What would you like to do?"
"I'd like to buy you dinner."
Yuki's eyes lit up. "Sure. Where are we going?"
"Since Mortal Kombat was developed by Midway Games in Chicago in 1992, I was thinking we could have some Chicago-style deep-dish pizza at Giordano's up the street." He pointed.
"I'd love that."
When they arrived at the Giordano's, the hostess led Koji and Yuki to a secluded booth at the back of the restaurant where they shared a stuffed pizza loaded with vegetables and beef. Afterward, they rubbed their full bellies.
"Thank you for buying me dinner," Yuki said. "You've been an amazing date."
"Me?" Koji put his hand on his chest. "This date was amazing because of you." He shook his head. "In fact, I don't think it could get more amazing."
Yuki returned a shy smile. "It might."
The waitress came by, took their dinner plates, and deposited dessert menus before them.
"Are you getting dessert?" Koji asked.
"Yes," Yuki said, "I plan to."
Koji focused on the menu. "I think I'm going to go for a hot fudge sundae. It's really good. The pie is good too." He set down the menu and looked across the table. Yuki had disappeared. He scanned the restaurant. No sign of his date.
ZZZZZZIP
When he looked down past the tablecloth at his pants, he found her — pulling his penis out through his open zipper. Koji spread his knees, shifted his hips toward the edge of the seat, and gasped when Yuki took him into her mouth. "Oh, boy." He gripped his menu tight as his date gently sucked him off.
The waitress stopped by. Noticing Yuki's absence, she gave Koji her attention. "Have you decided on dessert yet, sir?"
Reclining with his arms spread gripping the backrest, Koji replied with content glassy eyes. "I'll need a few more minutes… oh, boy… ahhhhhhhhh."