For once staying in line with Hinata's advice, Souda allowed the rest of the day to proceed as normal, only approaching Tsumiki after their final class on Monday.
By the time he stepped into the hallway, Souda noticed Tsumiki quickly fading from sight. "Hey, Tsumiki, wait up!" he called, attracting a few stares and a snicker from Saionji. The dancer likely said something derogatory about the two pigs of the class finally getting together, but Souda was too far away to hear by the time she started to speak.
Tsumiki flinched and turned, stumbling slightly over her own feet. "S-Souda! Do you need something?"
Souda stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Nothin' in particular. Just wanted to know if you wanted to hang out."
Tsumiki's lower lip wobbled. "I-I'm very sorry, but I can't today. I'm behind on my hours in the nurse's office."
Souda gaped. "Behind? You've spent half your time in this school with those old crones. How long do they expect ya to work for?"
Tsumiki held her hands in front of her face. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you..."
"No, it's not your fault," Souda said. "It's just... don't ya ever get tired or want to do somethin' else?"
"I-I really enjoy what I do," Tsumiki replied, lowering her hands. "It's v-very exhausting work, but it's also very rewarding. If I accumulate a certain number of hours by the end of this year, I may be allowed to work in a real hospital over the summer."
"Oh, gotcha." Souda looked to his feet for a moment. "Um, can you just tell me when you're free, then? I wanted to ask you somethin'."
Tsumiki laced her fingers together and looked down at her own feet. "I-I usually have Sundays off," she murmured.
"Okay, awesome." Souda tapped a finger against his thigh. "So, uh... do you wanna go to a cafe or somewhere like that?"
She smiled and opened her mouth, but a different voice sounded from the end of the hallway.
"Kazoodle!" Mioda yelled. Her footsteps rapidly drew closer, and Souda groaned as he turned around.
"What? I'm tryin' to have a conversation here," he said.
"Well, you'll have to play footsie with Mikan later, because MGC has a super-extra long super-extra important meeting today, remember?" Mioda grabbed Souda's ear and started to drag him to the band room, but he slapped her hand away.
"Can you just give me one second?" he demanded, rubbing at his earlobe. "Damn, you need to trim your nails, too."
Mioda blew a raspberry. "Ibuki will be generous and give you one-plus-nine seconds! Hurry hurry!"
Souda whipped around to look at a bemused Tsumiki. She smiled again and said, "I-I would like that. Where should we meet?"
Souda grinned. "I'll pick you up in front of your dorm at five, if that's a'ight."
She giggled. "Yes, it is."
"Beep, beep!" Mioda buzzed into Souda's ear. He screamed and jumped away. "Flirting time is over! It's band time now!" She grabbed Souda's elbow and started leading him down the hallway. "Bye, Mikan!"
Tsumiki waved at the two retreating figures and turned around, holding her hands to her mouth.
Mioda barreled around the corner, down the art hallway, around another corner, and into the band room doors. Souda nearly crashed into her as she skidded to a stop in front of three amused students.
"Kuwataters isn't here yet?" Mioda whined. She hopped from foot to foot while Souda fought to catch his breath. "Ooh, looks like Nekomaru will have to add more sprints to Kazoo's routine!"
"No," Souda gasped. "Please, no."
Hinata cleared his throat. "Doesn't Kuwata's school end half an hour later than ours?"
Mioda clapped her hands. "That's right, and MGC can't stand to lose that much time! They'll just start without him and he can come in later."
Sonia smiled. "What is it that we must discuss so urgently?"
"Sunshine should know better than anyone," Mioda said. "Doesn't she have something to tell the group?"
"Oh, yes, but I thought that we should wait until every member was here to make the announcement," Sonia said.
"Also a good point!" Mioda nodded.
"Well, now I'm curious," Souda mumbled, crossing his arms.
"Kazoo will just have to wait!" Mioda stood up on a chair and crossed the ankle of one foot over the knee of the other, which left her standing on one leg. "MGC will just discuss the finer points of our merch plans until Tater Tots arrives."
Souda sighed and slumped into the chair next to Hinata. The two boys weren't terribly interested in the topic, so they started whispering to each other as the other three carried on a separate discussion.
"I asked Tsumiki out today," Souda muttered.
Hinata smiled. "That's great! What did she say?"
"Well, I dunno if she actually considers it a date, but she said yes. We're goin' to a cafe on Sunday." Souda shrugged. "I'll ask her out for real then, I guess."
"Sunday?" Hinata paused. "That's the day a new arcade opens a few blocks down. Nanami and I were thinking of inviting the whole class to go together."
"I've never been to one before," Souda said.
"I've heard that this one is going to be really big." Hinata glanced at the rest of the group and continued. "It's supposed to have a bunch of games from a few decades ago, and I think it has laser tag, too."
"What time were you thinkin' of goin'?"
"Probably around 1:00. Maybe you could switch the time to before then?"
Souda shrugged again. "I'll think about it."
Kuwata arrived some time later and was greeted by Mioda's war cry of "Finally!"
He held his hands up. "Hey, I got here as fast as I could. What'd I miss?"
Sonia handed him a piece of paper with various sketches. "We have been working on designs for merchandise while we waited for you." She rested her hands in her lap. "Shall I make the announcement now, Miss Mioda?"
"Please do!" Mioda abandoned her perch on the chair to sit on the floor.
Sonia stood and took a step back to view the whole group. "As Mioda has surely told some of you, I have been working on acquiring another time slot for a performance." She paused and smiled. "As of this morning, we have two shows lined up."
She was interrupted by a bout of cheering. "Yes, it is very exiting!" She laced her fingers together. "One show is two weeks from now on a Thursday, and the other is the Saturday the next week."
Mioda sprung to her feet and enveloped Sonia in a hug. "MGC is very thankful for Sonia's hard work!"
"Yeah, this is awesome," Kuwata said with a grin.
The imposter nodded with a soft smile. "Despite my usual preference for staying under the radar, I did enjoy performing. Excellent work, Sonia."
Sonia bowed with a giggle. "I did the best I could. I am sure even more opportunities will open up as we establish ourselves in this world of rock and roll."
As everyone else discussed the band's future, Souda felt himself getting nervous for the more immediate future with Tsumiki.
...
Hours later, Hinata stretched as he stood from his drum set. Everyone else began packing up, and he took the opportunity to call Sonia over.
"Hey," he began, "did Souda talk to you yet?"
"No," Sonia said. "I have not spoken with him since Saturday."
Hinata sighed. "Well, he talked to Tanaka, anyway, and it seems like they worked things out, so that's half the problem solved."
"I am glad to hear that," Sonia said, twirling a strand of hair around her fingers. "I will have to speak with him soon."
Hinata glanced around to make sure that no one was listening in. "I think he's going to try moving on. He asked Tsumiki out today, actually."
Sonia gasped and put a hand to her mouth. "Did he really? Oh, that is wonderful news!" She smiled. "I think they would make a lovely couple. Miss Tsumiki has matured tremendously since the beginning of this year, and Mister Souda has made progress, as well."
Hinata chuckled. "He's got a little farther to go, but I think they'd be good for each other. If he does anything harmful, I'll definitely step in."
"I am sure that I would do the same." Sonia smiled and turned back to her vibraphone. "I must put this back in storage. We can discuss this further later, if you would like."
Hinata hooked his thumbs in his pockets and shrugged. "We'll see what happens."
...
Six days later, a painful feeling settled in Hinata's stomach as he saw Souda walking through the arcade in tears. He rushed to his friend's side.
"What happened, Souda?" he asked.
Souda sniffed. "She said she'd go out with me."
Hinata grinned. "That's amazing! I'm so happy for you two." He paused. "So why are you crying?"
"I'm just so happy," Souda blubbered.
"That's... good." Hinata patted Souda's shoulder. "Where is she, anyway?"
"She had to use the bathroom or somethin'," Souda said. He wiped at his red eyes. "Should be back soon." He blinked a few times and looked around. "Where's Nanami?"
Hinata chuckled. "I have no idea. I lost her in the first few minutes of coming here, honestly. She probably went to the vintage games first."
"Do they have those zombie shooting games?" Souda asked. "It's a little more manly than playing Whack-A-Mole," he said, picking up a foam hammer to illustrate his point.
"I think I saw a few, yeah." Hinata crossed his arms and looked around. "Everyone's doing their own thing until 3:00, and then we're meeting up in the back to play laser tag."
"Oh, hell yes." Souda's eyes took on a different sort of sheen. "I am gonna destroy Tanaka."
Hinata furrowed his brow. "I thought you two made up."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that I still don't have some pent-up resentment." Souda rolled his shoulders back a few times. "I'll just get rid of it all today and then we'll be good. Probably."
Hinata rolled his eyes. "I wanted to talk to you about that, actually. Have you talked to Sonia lately?"
Souda winced. "Not since last weekend. She keeps tryin' to come up an' talk to me, but I freak out and bolt every time."
"I think you two should talk," Hinata said. "There's still probably some stuff that you need to sort out."
Souda crossed his arms. "Hey, that's not really any of your business. It's fine anyway, right? I got another girl now, so it's all good."
Hinata shook his head. "That kind of logic is exactly the reason you need to talk to Sonia."
Souda huffed. "I'll think about it, man, just quit harassin' me. We came here to have fun, remember?"
"Sure, whatever." Hinata turned back to Whack-A-Mole. "I'm going to keep playing this unmanly game, so excuse me for a sec."
Souda stomped his foot. "But we need to kick zombie ass together! It'll be so cool."
"One sec," Hinata repeated.
As the game started, Souda leaned over the machine. "Hey, can I hit these things by hand?" He tried gripping one mole by its head, and his arm was wrenched downward as the plastic figure retreated into its hole. He screeched and stumbled backwards, rubbing his shoulder.
Hinata smiled and continued bopping the moles. "Little bastards are fast," Souda muttered.
"Yep," Hinata said.
The round ended with a series of beeps, and Hinata stooped down to claim the tickets at the bottom of the machine. "Okay. So, zombies?"
"Hell yeah!" Souda darted through the maze of the arcade and stopped in front of the biggest machine, a few paces short of Sonia and Tanaka. The former stood with her knees bent, back slightly hunched, while the latter stood in a wide stance, posture straight. Both held their plastic guns so tightly that their hands were nearly shaking.
"Minions of Hades, moaning and dripping magma from the earth's core, shall never come even a dragon's breadth within reach of the Tanaka empire!" Tanaka roared, index finger spamming the trigger. He turned slightly paler each time blood made an appearance onscreen.
"I feel just like the zombie hunter Rika," Sonia breathed, shooting with more pointed control.
Souda gasped as Hinata caught up. "I can't believe she watched that movie," he muttered. "It's so... inappropriate."
Hinata chuckled. "She seems like to lower-budget media in general."
"Did you see it?"
"No. Did you?"
"Yeah, no way." Souda bit his lip and continued watching the slaughter. With a grin, he noticed that Sonia's score was significantly higher than Tanaka's. "He talks big, but he's not so tough," he said to Hinata.
"You're just figuring that out?" Hinata asked. "Although I wouldn't really measure someone's toughness by how good they are at killing zombies."
Souda looked to Hinata with a frown. "Why not?"
Hinata just shook his head as the couple stepped down from the game. "That was so thrilling!" Sonia exclaimed. "What an adrenaline rush! We must conquer every machine in this building before time runs out." She spotted Souda and Hinata standing behind Tanaka. "Hello! Are you two enjoying yourselves?"
They nodded. "How are you two so far?" Hinata asked.
"The four kings do not seem to thrive in such a noisy environment," Tanaka muttered, trying to cover each hamsters' ears in the folds of his scarf.
"Yes, we may have to return to the dorms before laser tag so they do not become too distressed," Sonia added.
"But they are bloodthirsty today, my lady!" Tanaka realized he was still holding the plastic gun and jammed it into its stand, brushing his hands on his coat afterwards. "They seek vengeance against those who have wronged them."
"Who might those unfortunate souls be?" Sonia asked, setting her own gun down with more control.
"I cannot say." He stroked Cham-P's back. "The mere utterance of their titles is enough to cause an upset. Names have such power over human and beast alike."
Sonia nodded. "Very true." She took Tanaka's hand and waved to Souda and Hinata. "We must keep moving along if we are to play every game before 3:00! I am sure we will see you two shortly."
The boys waved back and stepped up to the game as soon as it was vacated. "Okay," Hinata said, "get ready to get shown up."
"What, you think you're tougher than me?" Souda asked. He looped his index finger through the trigger hole and tried to twirl the gun on his hand, but, as it was connected to a cord, it lurched from his grip and fell to the floor.
Hinata snickered.
"Shut up," Souda muttered, bending to retrieve the gun. He looked around as he stood. "Let's just wait a sec."
"What, you want Tsumiki to see you shooting at pixels on a screen?"
"Well, damn, if you're gonna be that sarcastic about it, let's go already," Souda huffed. He inserted his coins and stood in a ready position.
The dual screens displayed a dark, still warehouse. Souda huffed. "Of course somethin's gonna jump out-"
A pack of zombies burst through the crates near the door, and Souda screamed. He started spamming the trigger as Hinata snickered.
A few minutes later, Hinata said, "You know, if it was possible, I think you would've ended up with a negative score."
Souda tried to the gun into its holster, fumbled, and stooped to pick it up. "It was a stupid game anyway," he mumbled. "Let's play somethin' better."
"DDR?"
Souda grinned. "You're on."
Owari and Nidai were occupying the machine when the boys arrived, and a crowd had already formed. A nonstop series of synchronized bangs and grunts sounded as arrows flew past the screen at near incomprehensible speeds.
"You must become one with the music! Feel the beeeat!"
"You're distractin' me, old fart! Shut it!"
Hinata squinted. "Yeah, they're gonna be here for a while. Let's just try something else."
After sampling various arcade games, Hinata found that he still liked Whack-A-Mole the best, and Souda excelled at Fix-It Felix. Tsumiki had to be taught the basics of Frogger by Nanami and teared up every time the frog was run over by a car. Hanamura gave an insightful if critical review of Cooking Mama, and Kuzuryuu claimed that arcades were for children until Nanami showed him the original Space Invaders. Most everyone else tried to play a variety of games, but Mioda and Saionji played Street Fighter nonstop for the whole two hours until they were dragged away for laser tag.
"Beating up big sweaty men is just so much fun!" Saionji whined.
Koizumi held the dancer's hand and led her to the laser tag arena. "Well, now you can shoot them in real life. That's twice the fun, right?"
Saionji beamed. "You're right, Big Sis!"
"I'm scared," Souda whispered to Hinata.
Hinata shivered. "Me too."
"Ha!" Tanaka barked. "Your fears are misplaced, foolish ones. You have failed to notice the threat looming under your very noses."
"Your big mouth?" Souda muttered.
Tanaka bristled. "Watch your words, for there will come a time when regret will flex its cold fingers in preparation to strike you with its dark talons. That is when you will come to learn the true meaning of fear."
Souda coughed. "Dude, it's just laser tag. Chill."
"I am very excited to play this," Sonia chirped, swinging her and Tanaka's intertwined hands in tandem. "Most children receive some form of military training in Novoselic, so the competitive do-or-die environment may be pleasantly nostalgic."
Before anyone could come up with a response to that, they were shown through the heavy double doors in the back and led into a small room. Supply packs of guns and vests glowed along either long wall.
The attendant cleared his throat. "Okay, everyone please pick up a pack and type in your code name on the gun's display."
Souda strapped on the gear and flexed. "What'cha think?" he asked Tsumiki.
"I-it's very... bulky," she said, picking up a vest of her own.
Souda deflated. "S'not what I meant..."
The group was quiet long enough to receive basic instructions but exploded into sound as soon as the door to the arena opened.
"Every man for himseeelf!" Nidai bellowed, charging into the dark room with his gun drawn.
"I'm going to die today," Hinata said.
"Nah, c'mon, it'll be fun!" Souda slapped the glowing green square on Hinata's back and rushed after Nidai.
Tsumiki whimpered to Hinata's left. "Some boyfriend he is, huh," Hinata muttered.
"Guys, you're blocking the door!" Koizumi yelled. Saionji shot at Hinata, and the green light on his equipment turned red.
Hinata rolled his eyes and started walking forward. "Come on, Tsumiki, it's just a game. You can just find a good spot to hide in if running around is too stressful."
"Move it, pig bitch!" Saionji's gun fired with another cartoonish sound effect, and Tsumiki was bathed in a red glow by the time she stumbled into the arena.
"Let's go find Souda, okay?" Hinata said, helping Tsumiki regain her balance. "The three of us should stick together."
"W-what about Nanami?" Tsumiki asked.
"She's a team by herself."
...
Nanami was already perched at the top level of the arena, ready to snipe at anyone unlucky enough to pass by a floor down. She kept her back to the wall and checked the area around her periodically, eyes open for the flash of green that signaled enemy approach. Two luminescent squares started to approach from her left, and she swung her gun around.
"Don't shoot," Kuzuryuu said. "We're here to form an alliance."
Nanami kept her weapon poised. "I don't need your help."
"But just think about it," the gangster said, holding his gun at his hip. "Think of all the times Souda's gotten on your nerves or one of the girls made eyes at Hinata. We can triple-team 'em and they'll never cross you again."
"I don't need your help," Nanami repeated. "I will give you three seconds to leave."
"Fine," Kuzuryuu spat. "We won't play nice-"
As three seconds had passed, Nanami shot Kuzuryuu in the chest. He gasped, and Pekoyama took a shot at Nanami in return. The gamer, anticipating this, had already dropped to the floor and shot at Pekoyama from a crouching position. A descending series of beeps told that her aim was true.
Pekoyama's arms fell limp at her sides. "I have failed."
"We'll get you for this," Kuzuryuu growled. "C'mon, Peko."
The two red squares retreated, and Nanami turned back to her work.
...
"Souda!" Hinata hissed. The crouching figure yelped and twisted around, opening fire into Hinata's chest.
Hinata sighed as his pack beeped again. "That's the fourth time I've died. Listen, we want to form an alliance."
"Oh, man, I'm sorry, Tsumiki!" Souda stood, throwing a quick glance around the wall. "I got so caught up in the moment that I forgot we should've stuck together."
"I think you should shoot him," Hinata whispered to the nurse.
"W-what?" she stammered. "I could never do that!"
"Hey, I heard that." Souda frowned. "Why don't you just go off with your own girlfriend, Hinata? Me'n Tsumiki got this."
Hinata's light flicked back to green. "Nanami disappeared and would probably shoot at me if I tried going near her. That's if I could even find her in the first place."
"Who the hell keeps grabbin' my ass?" someone screamed from across the arena. Another set of screams that sounded suspiciously like Hanamura's could be heard shortly afterward.
The man himself barreled around the corner a minute later and crashed into Souda. The mechanic, already in a crouching position, lost his balance and toppled to the floor
"Oh, my," Hanamura chuckled. "What an unfortunate turn of events."
Tsumiki screeched in surprise and shot at Hanamura's back light. She somehow ended up shooting both the cook and the person under him and began apologizing through her sniffles.
"Hey, Tsumiki, it's okay - holy shit, get off me-" Souda shoved Hanamura to the side and stood. "That was awesome! You stood up for me."
"I-I didn't mean to sh-shoot you," she whimpered, wiping at her eyes.
"No, it's fine! We'll just shoot Hanamura again to make up for it." The second Hanamura's light turned green, Souda shot at his chest again.
"Hey!"
"See? All good." Souda looked around the corner again and was met with a faceful of Kuzuryuu.
"Get the hell outta my way!" he bellowed. "I'm gonna kill him!"
Pekoyama quietly followed, gun drawn. Souda thought that he saw death reflected in her green-lit eyes.
Souda turned to Hinata and Tsumiki. "Let's just get outta here," he said. The trio started running across the arena, with Tsumiki periodically stepping on the backs of Souda's shoes and apologizing just as often. As they reached the open space in the middle of the room, all three of their lights turned to red in quick succession.
Souda looked down. "What the fuck?"
"Nanami," Hinata breathed. He looked upwards but saw not even a flash of green light. "It's not safe here," he said. "Let's get to-"
Another screech sounded, and Hanamura again ran from the direction it came from. Koizumi and Saionji followed moments later, and Souda never knew that such a short person in sandals could sprint that fast or hold a laser gun that intimidatingly. All three of their lights also turned red, but this change went unnoticed in the heat of the chase.
"We're running out of time before we respawn," Hinata said. "C'mon!" He started to the left, and the other two followed. The group ran into Owari in pursuit of Nidai; the gymnast was screaming as she fired her gun nonstop, but Nidai was too fast and his movements too irregular for her to land a shot.
"I'll get you, old man!"
"You must use emotions to your advantage or rid yourself of them altogether! Do not let them cloud your view!"
Their voices faded, and the trio continued.
...
"The Tanaka Empire will be victorious!" Tanaka bellowed, charging through the dimly lit hallways.
Sonia sprinted in front of him, head darting constantly from side to side in search of a target. "We must find Nanami!" she said. "She has taken down too many of our friends."
"There are no friends in war!" Tanaka halted as Sonia did, and she held a finger to her lips.
"Do you hear that?" she whispered.
Tanaka listened and could detect, besides Hanamura's ongoing screams, a nearby set of footsteps. He held his gun at the ready and waited for the opportune moment.
Mioda rounded the corner, the white stripes of her clothing glowing green, and faced a quick defeat.
"Aww, c'mon!" Mioda stomped her foot. "Ibuki's no good at this game, and it's no fair that people are teaming up. Ibuki lost AC-DC because she's fast like lightning! Greased lighting!" She ran off again and, true to her words, was gone in seconds.
Tanaka laughed heartily. "Those unfortunate enough to cross my path will-" He yelped, and Sonia turned to face him.
"I thought I felt a phantom hand graze my haunches."
...
"Komaeda, are you even trying?"
Komaeda shook his head from his position next to Nanami. "I just wanted to see the notorious gamer at work. I'm not interested in violence unless it's necessary."
The swindler leaned against the arena's railing and looked down. "I'm not really interested in this game either, to be honest. It's too loud, especially with this group." The trio paused to listen to another round of shouts and curses that seemed aimed at Hanamura. "I'm surprised we haven't been kicked out, honestly."
"You're doing such a wonderful job, Nanami," Komaeda crooned. "It's almost... unfair."
Nanami neglected to respond as she shot at another passerby, but she eventually said, "I let you two up here because I knew you wouldn't distract me. Don't prove me wrong."
Pew.
Nanami's pack glowed red.
She looked down, blinked, looked back up to Komaeda.
"I'm sorry, Nanami, but I don't think the others had any chance of defeating you the way things were going." Komaeda backed up, holding his hands in front of him. "It was necessary, I thought. I hope you won't resent me for it."
"I've been hit," Nanami said. She sat cross-legged on the floor and closed her eyes.
The two still standing stared at her until she started to snore lightly. The swindler smiled. "I think you're fine, Komaeda. Nanami may be incapable of holding grudges."
...
"Look, you need to leave. Putting your hands on other people is not acceptable in here."
"I tripped, honestly. Is there some way I can just... make this little misunderstanding go away?"
"Sir, I will call the police if you don't go."
"Okay, 'kay, 'm'sorry..."
...
"Okay, have you guys actually been able to hit anyone yet?"
Souda jerked his head around the corner and looked back to Hinata. "I hit Hanamura that one time."
"Is that it?"
Tsumiki raised her hand. "Um, I hit Hanamura that one time, too. A-and Souda. I'm sorry!"
Hinata leaned against the wall. "So I'm probably the only person with no points."
"Well, no, there are some other people who probably aren't too good, like, uh..." Souda tapped his foot. "Komaeda? He gets tired pretty easy, right? And Mioda's probably too loud to sneak up on anyone." He shrugged. "Game's almost over, anyway. You're probably fine."
Pew.
"Dude, what the hell?"
"I really need the points."
...
FINAL SCORES
1. MotherNES
2. PekoPeko
3. karinto420
4. AntCrusher
5. PolaroidPic
6. Nirvana
7. BigShitter
8. meatmaster
9. OverlordOfDa
10. TheSquish
11. MGC4eva
12. Anon
13. isopropyl
14. luckyducky
15. RocketMan69
16. HHajime
"I am never playing this game again."
...
"Hey, has anyone seen Hanamura?"
Shh, don't say his name! He might-"
"My, is someone looking for their favorite big-city chef?"
"Hinata, you're not allowed to talk anymore."