Sometimes I just don't believe myself. I had some free time so I went and written a grand total of at least 7 thousand words over the course of a few days. I guess when things flow they really flow. I still haven't managed to break the 10 thousand barrier though.
Another random thought, I just don't understand the word count in the Doc Manager. Sometimes the word count is less than what it is in OpenOffice, and I edit this a little in here and the word count shoots up.
This is the 2nd half of chapter 7. I managed to break my own expectations and write double the length of what I expected.
As always, please enjoy reading and please review. All feedback, thoughts, questions, suggestions and criticism are welcome either though PM or reviews.
"How are things looking Hinagiku?" Hayate asked the pink-haired girl sitting next to him.
"Not many can come I think," Hinagiku shook her head back at Hayate. "Wataru and Sakuya gave me a maybe. The rest of the student council are busy with 'tutoring'."
It did not take long for the group of 3 to manage to find a small family-run restaurant nearby the apartment. The furnish looked modern with large clear square-pane windows. Despite the large windows, most of the vision from inside to outside and vice versa was obscured by red curtains. The restaurant only had less than a dozen tables. The 3 tables at the window were accompanied with linear couch seats lined with red leather. The rest of the tables had to make do with simple wooden chairs. The restaurant was empty, save the skeleton staff and the sole group sitting near the windows. The white table had been wiped to a dim shine, but had nothing on it save some water and the menu.
Nagi noticed that she was sitting alone, while the butler and Hinagiku were sitting together opposite to her. She blurted, "Hayate! Why are you sitting next to her?"
Hayate rubbed his hair whilst he tried to think of an answer, "Well, I thought I wanted to give you some space Lady Nagi, so that you can sit comfortably."
"That's nice of you but..." Nagi said.
Nagi thought of asking Hayate to move, leave his current seat and come sit with her. She saw that Hayate was sitting next to the window and in between him and the walkway was Hinagiku. It would be too much of a hassle and rude to make her sit up and have Hayate move.
"It's fine," Nagi continued.
"So could anyone come?" Hayate asked.
"I didn't really expect anyone to not be busy. After all none of us planned this in advance, and I don't expect anyone to come on such short notice. However one person did say yes."
"And who that might be?" He inquired.
"It's..."
A girl cheerfully skipped down the quiet street. She stopped for a moment to adjust the bands on her pigtails, which were becoming loose and in danger of coming off her dark blue hair. Done with the task, she popped another pork meatball into her mouth, leaving one less on the wooden skewer. She continued on her way while chewing simultaneously.
She stopped when she reached an intersection. Upon retrieving her cellphone, she quickly looked up some directions she had noted. What she did not notice was that the restaurant she was looking for is directly in front of her. A moment passed before she was struck with the realization that the restaurant she was looking for is just ahead.
The girl looked around. Upon seeing no one other than a few unknown pedestrians she thought, "They are not waiting outside? They must be inside already."
All 3 people who were sitting turned when they heard a bell that is supposed to ring when the door was opened. They all recognized the hair, face, and identity immediately.
Nagi was the first to yell out, "It's Hamster! What are you doing here?"
"Why are you asking? Obviously Hinagiku called me." Ayumu answered as she finished the last meatball on the skewer.
Their eyes met in a cold, long stare.
"What are you doing here then?" Ayumu asked back.
"Obviously I'm here with Hayate!"
Nagi turned towards Hinagiku, "Why did you invite Hamster here?"
"I called everyone," Hinagiku replied. "Ayumu was the only one who was available."
Nagi said, "So that's why. Well thanks for coming anyway. Have a seat."
Ayumu proceeded to sit next to Nagi where the only remaining unoccupied seat was left.
Nagi jumped back when Ayumu seated herself next to her, "Why are you sitting next to me Hamster?"
Ayumu was perplexed, "This is the only remaining seat..."
"You're right... but... I don't want you sitting next to me!"
"I see. If you really want me to, I can squeeze into the other row and sit next to Hayate."
Nagi did not hesitate to wave no to Ayumu with both hands, "Actually it's fine! You can sit next to me!"
"Make up your mind..." Ayumu mumbled.
Hinagiku sighed, "It's almost 1 PM, can we order something?"
"Good idea," Ayumu said. "I'm getting hungry."
The sole waitress in the restaurant saw the group pick up their menus and in effect walked to the table to take their orders.
She began to flip through the menu, stopping at the main dishes section. Ayumu asked Hayate, "For a family restaurant, looks like there's a large selection available. What do you want Hayate?"
Hayate answered, "There is a large choice. I guess I'll have the..."
Nagi interrupted Hayate, "It's only proper for a mistress to provide what her butler needs. What do you want Hayate?"
He answered, "The menu looks pretty varied. I guess I'll have the..."
"The fried rice looks delicious right Hayate?" Ayumu proposed to Hayate, pointing at the copy of the menu she was holding.
"It does," Hayate nodded to Ayumu.
"Hayate, you just have to order the spaghetti," Nagi said.
"Maybe I should," Hayate agreed with the other girl opposite to him.
Hinagiku and the waitress looked on as the battle raged.
Finally she had enough of the little argument that was going on. "Can we please just order? Curry rice please."
"Fried rice with pork then please," Ayumu said to the waitress.
"Meat sauce spaghetti," Nagi added.
All eyes turned to Hayate as they waited to see what he would order. He shed a sweat as he noticed the deep, eager gazes of two teenage girls. The butler thought for a moment, picked up the menu again, took a long look at it, and thought some more.
Hayate started to speak, "I guess..."
He suddenly felt both Nagi and Ayumu move an inch closer to him.
"Rice with omelette please."
The waitress closed her notepad and bowed before leaving towards the kitchen. "Thank you. Please wait a short while."
Ayumu slumped back into her seat as she tried to find a comfortable position to relax in. She asked, "I've been hearing a lot of things. I couldn't come to your festival this year. Hinagiku told me a small portion of it, but what exactly happened there?"
"It's a long story," Hayate responded. "It's best if you don't know, but what's important is that Lady Nagi doesn't have her inheritance any more."
"What? Sounds serious!" Ayumu said with a tone of surprise. "What happened to the mansion?"
"We no longer live in it," Hayate said. "We rented a small apartment room nearby."
"That must sound rough for you two..." Ayumu said. "So what is the occasion? Why are we all here together today?"
Nagi replied to Ayumu, "Hayate's been working all hard all week. So this little occasion is to thank him."
"Sounds wonderful." She turned to Hayate, "Let's have fun together Hayate."
"Thanks Nishizawa-san."
A wait of another dozen or so minutes passed, filled with general chatter. After that period, the waitress finally returned and served everyone's dishes to them.
Itadakimasu!
The first few spoonfuls were filled with silence as everyone nodded to themselves to compliment the good food they were eating.
Ayumu was the first to speak out. She exclaimed, "This fried rice is delicious!"
"Good for you..." Nagi said bluntly before eating another mouthful.
"Hayate, want a taste?" Ayumu asked.
Hayate thought for a short moment. He did not want to rudely decline, so he shrugged a yes. "Sure why not," he said.
Ayumu quickly scooped up a spoon of her fried rice and tried to reach across the table. "Say ah..." she said as she leaned further. The width across the table was not short and her hand shook her little as small grains of rice fell from the spoon.
Nagi who was watching, could not stand or wait another moment. "Hayate! Try my spaghetti," she said as she curled up a bunch of pasta around her fork with haste. Her hand with the fork raced towards Hayate's mouth. She did not care for the sauce that was dripping onto the table.
Hayate quickly found himself with a fork of spaghetti and a spoonful of rice in front of his mouth. Of course, he was very undecided which of the two to choose.
"Please! Will you two stop it!" Hinagiku cried out when she was finally fed up with what she saw. "We are not feeding a 6 year old child here."
"Hrmph, fine..." Both girls said as they sat back down and ate the portion they had prepared for Hayate themselves. Neither removed an eye from the other as they continued to eat.
"A six year old child..." Hayate sulked as he chewed another mouthful.
"Thanks for the meal!" Everyone said as according to custom.
"So who would be treating everyone today?" Hayate asked.
"If this occasion is to thank Hayate, maybe we should be paying for Hayate's meal." Hinagiku suggested.
"Good idea," Ayumu agreed as she reached for her wallet.
"I don't have any money though," Nagi confessed.
"Maybe we should give you a wallet in the near future," Hayate said before he reached into his own pocket. He said to the other two girls, "I'll pay for everyone this time."
"Are you sure?" Hinagiku said, "Aren't you short in cash right now?"
"Don't worry, I got some left," Hayate said as he paid the waitress.
"Who is in the mood for some ice cream?" Ayumu asked everyone on the table.
All she got in response were moans.
The group were walking down the street rather aimlessly as they tried to figure what they wanted to do or where to go next. Eventually, they drifted more and more towards the centre of the district and the number of pedestrians that were on the pavement with them gradually increased. People's houses gave way to more commercial buildings and restaurants.
Eventually Ayumu brought up an old topic, "Nagi, do you remember our karaoke fight?"
"Of course," Nagi replied. "I floored you badly remember?."
"That's not the point!" Ayumu said. "Are you up for a rematch?"
"Sure," Nagi smirked, already sure of her upcoming victory. "What are the stakes?"
"How about this? The winner gets a dinner with Hayate, and the loser pays for it!" Ayumu suggested.
Hayate thought, "If Nagi loses, it will still be me who's paying..."
"That sounds good," Nagi agreed. "Last time you got to choose karaoke. So I get to choose our arena this time."
"Fine," Ayumu said. "What are you suggesting?"
Nagi took a look around at her surroundings. However, all the buildings and urban sprawl around her all looked the same. She could hardly tell a store, a restaurant, or a office apart even if she really tried. Muddled, Nagi said, "I really don't know... you help look! But I still have the final word on what we are battling with!"
"You really are hopeless in some aspects," Ayumu said as she took her own look of the surroundings. "That's just an office... this clothing store looks nice... That's a shabu restaurant, looks delicious. I don't see a karaoke box anywhere though..."
Something caught Ayumu's eye. The entrance was narrow, but noticeable. The doorway only had space for a neon sign which was obviously not turned on during daytime. It read 'Fun*Box'. Common sense for a person with any good degree of street smarts would say that it is the name for an arcade.
"Say," Ayumu pointed to what she saw. "How about we battle in an arcade?"
"An arcade?" Nagi was confused. "What are you talking about?"
"An arcade is an arcade! It's where they put arcade machines and where you go play them!"
"Arcade games? Do you mean the games where you have to put coins in?"
"Of course!"
"Never knew people went outside of their homes to play these kind of games."
"Umm... people do go outside to an arcade to play arcade games..."
"I never knew that. I thought people have arcade games at home."
"Why do you say that?"
"I had a whole room dedicated to them!"
"What..." Ayumu shook the feeling off. Nagi wasn't the rich girl any more anyway. "Let's go," she said.
When one peered inside, the entrance was adorned with various posters of different arcade games. Some were much less colourful and instead informed the viewer of upcoming events or tournaments that might be held in due time. The only part of the arcade above ground that could be seen above ground was the entrance that was basically a square hole in the concrete and was only a door's length wide. The entrance had no door, and if one stood close to it one could feel a slight breeze of the air-conditioner from underground. To the sides were another businesses, whether it be restaurant or clothing store. Beyond the entrance was a perilous-looking set of steep stairs that led straight down. Each step hardly had any room for a foot. The small, minimal railings that were drilled into the walls did nothing to provide the sense of comfort or safety.
"Those look steep," Nagi remarked. "Are you sure can walk down without falling?"
Just as Nagi finished her sentence, a typical young Japanese male walked past the group and straight down the stairs. He quickly strode down the stairs without a hint of fear or worry as he hurried into the arcade.
"Don't worry Nagi. I guess there's nothing to fear," Hinagiku said as she took her own look down the stairs. Her face and expression told a very different story. She constantly whispered to herself in her mind, "It's not even that steep. It's only a flight of stairs leading 1 story underground. It's not even that tall, is it? It's nothing compared to the clock tower."
It is hard to believe that a flight of stairs can be scary. It is hard to dismiss the thought of what would happen if one slipped. A straight tumble down into the concrete wall at the 90 degree turn in the stairs.
"Seriously..." Ayumu sighed, as she made her own way down the stairs very cautiously.
"Al right, you can do this," Hinagiku psyched herself up as she took the first step downwards. She tried her best to hide it, but she was slightly shaking to her very core. Her left hand gripped the railing tightly as she took another step downwards.
Hayate offered Nagi his hand. "Lady Nagi, I have an idea," he suggested. "Let's not waste too much time going down these stairs."
Nagi said nothing, nodded in agreement, and offered him her hand. She trusted her butler utterly. Hayate wouldn't drop her or trip on the stairs, would he?
Nagi suddenly felt herself being lifted up, as Hayate made sure he had a firm grip on her. After taking only a moment to find confidence, Hayate quickly scurried down the flight of stairs. He passed Hinagiku who had only gone down a dozen steps or so. He made the bend effortlessly and landed into the arcade proper after the last few steps.
A pedestrian stood on the other side of the road, seemingly just minding his own business as he took another long drag of the cigarette. The weather was getting slightly cooler which caused him to adjust his coat tighter around himself. He noticed a certain blue-haired boy carrying the young blonde girl down the stairs into the arcade.
"This is Pawn 3. Yeah, they went into Fun*Box arcade. Where is that? I think the address is..."
He met Ayumu at the bottom of the stairs, who was losing patience at the general fear of other female friends. Nagi was placed back down firmly on the floor after the short ride.
Hayate said, "You two go on ahead. I'll catch up later."
The two rivals nodded and went about into the arcade itself. Hayate climbed the steps again, there was still one person unaccounted for.
"You okay there?" Hayate said soon as he saw that Hinagiku was only halfway down.
"I'm fine. Just taking my time," Hinagiku said as she slowly took another step down. "Nothing wrong with that right?"
"You sure?" Hayate asked.
"Go on ahead, don't worry about me," she replied.
Hinagiku felt a hand grip hers.
"What are you doing?" She said, surprised.
"Feel better?" Hayate said.
"I guess..." She nodded as she held Hayate's hand tightly.
The arcade itself was rather small and the small space that the room had was already mostly occupied by various arcade games and machines. The number of people was still small, perhaps because it was still early in the afternoon and people were either still home or at lunch. The dozen or so people who where already there just minded their own business. Perhaps they were practising for an upcoming competition?
"Hayate gave me some money earlier and I went to exchange tokens already. So what are you suggesting?" Nagi said as she took a look around the arcade.
"Let's see..." Ayumu took a look at each of the different arcade games. "The UFO Catcher seems nice, no... How about that drum game over there?"
"Looks good," Nagi agreed. "How about this? Whoever gets the highest score wins. Should be simple enough for your hamster brain."
"Hamster brain? You're on Nagi." Ayumu said as she accepted the challenge.
75% accuracy. Not bad!
The machine announced the score after a token was inserted and 2 songs were played.
"How about that?" Ayumu pointed a large, round drumstick at Nagi. "That karaoke battle was a fluke. You can't get lucky twice!"
"Technically we did multiple battles of karaoke that night and I won all of them. It was no fluke!" Nagi countered as she stepped towards the arcade machine.
"Let's see how you fare then." Ayumu said when she reluctantly handed the drumsticks to Nagi.
100% Accuracy! You are a drum master! (Or have you played this too much?)
"Is that luck? That wasn't even on the hardest difficulty." Nagi asked Ayumu before she confidently placed the drumsticks back into the holsters on the machine.
"How can you..." Ayumu's jaw dropped. "You had this in your house as well?"
"Maybe..." Nagi answered half-heartedly, unsure of the answer herself."
Ayumu tried to shake composure back into herself, "Anyway I'm not giving up! Another round?"
"Sure, I always like beating poor hamsters."
Hayate took a look around the arcade himself, with Hinagiku still in tow. They squeezed through an opening between two people who were sitting at machines opposite to each other on the aisle. After a short search, Hayate found Nagi and Ayumu at an arcade machine in a corner. Nagi was drumming hard, much to Ayumu's amazement. Both were too concentrated on their duel to notice either of them though.
"Seems like they're having fun with their little competition," Hayate remarked.
"I guess when two rivals meet, nothing can come between them," Hinagiku said.
"Looks like they'll be busy for a while though. I hope I gave her enough money for plenty of tokens." Hayate asked, "Do you want to find something to play together?"
"Sure," Hinagiku agreed.
"Seriously... how do you manage to do that? I only got 60% on the hardest difficulty when I tried my hardest and you just get 100% effortlessly," Ayumu asked.
"What do you mean? 100% isn't hard," Nagi answered, not understanding Ayumu's awe. "And what do you mean by how did I manage that?"
"You know, drum that fast?"
"Drum fast? I'm not sure either, I guess it just comes naturally."
"Geez... another 'natural' talent you seem to have."
"Does that mean I won already?"
"Erm... I'm not giving up yet!" Ayumu said. "How about we make it a best of three?"
"You sure don't want to go down easily," Nagi commented. "Tenacity is a good thing though. It matters not, because I'm still going to beat you. Best of three is fine. I'm giving you some leeway by letting you choose the next game."
"Fine, I don't want an unfair advantage but I'll take if if you give it to me." Ayumu scratched her hair as she thought and took another look around the arcade. "What game I might be better in..."
Something caught her sight. "How about this?" Ayumu pointed.
"What's with that touch screen?" Nagi asked.
"You haven't seen these before?" Ayumu said. "Here, let's take a closer look."
Ayumu quickly pulled and beckoned Nagi towards a small row of similar machines, all with LCD touch screens.
Ayumu explained, "These typically have many trivial games built into them and are usually designed to be played with 2 people in mind. Solo play is boring. These can be typically found in any department store. We can choose the game we want from the list after inserting a coin."
"Fine," Nagi said. "So what game do you choose? Let's get on with it."
"How well would you handle..." Ayumu grinned as she inserted a token into the machine. "A quiz game?"
"Shooting spiders, giant mosquitoes, and other insects?" Hinagiku said nervously, "I'm not sure if that sounds very fun to me." She swivelled the light gun that was installed directly onto the machine left, right and around.
"I'm sure it's fun. If you don't want to play this, we can go play Mansion of the Dead if you want instead," Hayate said.
"This is fine..." She quickly responded. "So why did you choose this particular game over everything else here?"
"I haven't played this game before so I think this is quite new. Nagi used to invite me to play arcade games often. After all she had a personal arcade in the mansion She really wanted to order one of these."
"I see. So you must have some significant experience with these kind of games. So how does this work?" She asked.
"It's simple," Hayate showed her the screen just as the game demo was playing. "You use the light gun that is installed into the machine. There's one for the both of us. Aim and shoot, simple."
"Okay..." Hinagiku nodded as she tried to understand.
"Let's begin shall we?" Hayate said just as he inserted a few tokens into the coin slot. "I only wanted to try it, so please remind me not to continue too much."
I'm sorry, but what you answered was incorrect. That was your last question.
Last question for contestant: Hamster. Topic: Local Geography. Question: What's the subway station that is the 2nd closest to this arcade?"
"Interesting question," Ayumu thought. "Doesn't look like a pre-programmed question though. Seems like the owner or an arcade staff member added this one herself. I might know an answer to this one though."
She quickly hit answer B among the 4 possible answers given.
Congratulations, that was correct. End of final round. Counting up your scores. Winner is... Hamster.
"I won!" Ayumu quickly jumped up and down in joy.
"That's cheating..." Nagi sulked, "You knew that you would win in a quiz game didn't you. There's so many general knowledge questions..."
"As if being talented at everything isn't cheating enough." Ayumu said.
"Fine, you win this one," Nagi sighed. "It's best out of three though. So we're still tied up."
"That's just what I want. I'm going to beat you in the third round. Perhaps you should choose our third game Nagi?"
"I could play dirty and choose something I have a distinct advantage in, but I'm not going to do that. Maybe we should go for something where neither of us have an advantage or disadvantage. An equal playing field should settle this for all."
"And what do you suggest?"
"Actually I'm not sure... Let's have a look around."
Continue? Do you want to see the end?
"I spent a few tokens already. Better not continue," Hayate said as he looked into his pockets to see how many coins he had left.
"Sure," Hinagiku said. "My arms are getting tired already. I can't imagine playing this to the end."
Game over. Too bad.
Hayate stopped Hinagiku who was about to walk away from the arcade machine, "Don't go anywhere yet. I think there's a little gimmick at the end after you beat the game or lose."
"What do you mean by that? What's with the empty heart?"
Let's test your compatibility. Counting... Sorry, seems like you two are just friends. Thank you for playing.
"I see... Hinagiku said. "What's with the 'compatibility' score?"
"It's just an arbitrary number," Hayate replied. "This game is marketed mainly towards couples. The score is a little nonsense though. I didn't expect you to do very well at this game though so our score wasn't very high. If we both were very good, the number would be very high even if we had no feelings for each other."
"A little gimmick to draw in couples? Makes sense."
"Let's find Nagi and Ayumu," Hayate suggested. "I don't want to lose sight of them for too long."
The two groups ran into each other at the middle of the arcade. The center had some room and was where a counter could be found. At the counter stood a staff member who exchanged currency for tokens and served as a general information booth for help.
"So how goes your friendly competition?" Hayate asked.
"It's tense and neck and neck," Nagi replied. "We changed it to a best of three and we're currently tied with 1 win each. We're currently trying to find a game where none of has an advantage. We can't find one yet. Maybe you could help us find one."
"A game where both of you are equal?" Hayate surveyed what was around him. He noticed something rather small beside the counter.
"How about this?" Hayate pointed to a discreet looking machine that can be basically described as a small punching bag.
"Good idea Hayate!" Nagi ran to the machine. "I didn't have one of these, but I think the objective is simple enough. Insert a token, and punch as hard as you can! The machine will record how hard you punch."
"But aren't you smaller than me?" Ayumu remarked to her, "Wouldn't that put you at a disadvantage?"
"Don't underestimate me!" Nagi shouted back, "It's the fairest thing we are going to find anyway."
"Whatever you say," Ayumu shrugged. "You go first."
"I'll show you what I got physically," Nagi said as she inserted a token into the machine. The punching bag dropped down from it's holding spot, ready to receive a solid beating. The little girl wound up her best... closest thing to a punch.
200.
"I don't know what 200 means. The previous record was 4000." Nagi looked at the numbers that appeared, feeling confident. "There's no units, but 200 feels high enough. Your turn Hamster."
Ayumu walked to in front of the machine, while Nagi clearly shuffled clear of it.
"This one is for you Hayate," Ayumu thought. "For our dinner together."
400.
"How about that?" Ayumu taunted Nagi.
"Fine. You win this one." Nagi breathed the sigh of defeat.
Contrary to expectations, the punching bag had not retracted and remained in it's usual position, ready to be punched.
"Seems like we have a few goes left," Nagi noticed that the bag had not moved after the 2nd punch. "Hinagiku, you have a go."
"Why me?" Hinagiku asked, "This is your competition."
"It's over anyway," Nagi said. "You have a go. I want to see how well you do compared to us."
"Fine," Hinagiku said as she walked to the machine. "Don't expect too much from me though."
She was about to throw her best punch. After all she was quite athletic whose achievements include but not limited to president of the kendo club. She had nothing to lose, or did she?
Hinagiku had second thoughts, "If I punched as hard as I could, the numbers could go through the roof. They would think I would be a man in disguise. Let's try for something more... girl-like."
300.
"That didn't seem like your best punch," Nagi said.
"Really, it really was." Hinagiku tried to convince Nagi, obvious lie was obvious on her face.
"How about you have a go Hayate?" Nagi asked her butler. "It should have 1 more punch left."
"As you wish milady." Hayate bowed as he received his mistress' request.
Hayate stood in front of the machine as he did a little stretching. "You sure about this?"
"Of course Hayate!" Nagi encouraged him, "I want you to throw your best punch."
"If you say so..."
9000. New record!
Everyone stood in awe. Even the staff at the counter felt the shock.
"Was that even human?"
"Did the machine malfunction?"
"So how much did you spend mistress?" Hayate inquired.
"A bit. Why do you ask?" Nagi said.
"Well, there's a major difference between now and the last time we played together. This is not your personal arcade, so we don't have an unlimited number of tokens. Whatever you spend comes straight from my pocket." Hayate explained.
"I see. So the tokens I spend are pretty much Hayate's..."
"They're literally not mine, they're the arcade's but that's a good way to think. How much do you have left right now?"
Nagi checked her pockets and found only a single coin. "Only one. Watch me Hayate, I'm going to use this one as efficiently as I can."
"Good idea milady, but how are you going to achieve that?"
Nagi heard sounds she was very familiar it and hurried towards the source. Her search brought her to a part of the arcade where a small crowd of people were gathering. All of them were bunched around watching a single arcade machine. As the hours of the afternoon dragged on into the evening, more and more people started to trickle into the arcade. Of course, more people in a small place meant it quickly became more cramped and crowded.
Nagi pushed her way through the crowd which was easy for her due to her small stature. The three others found it increasingly difficult to follow her.
The whispers and murmurs could be heard. Nagi got closer and closer to the center of the crowd.
Look at him. He's amazing!
What did you expect? He's one of Japan's top players. I got badly beaten.
He's in a 90 win streak right now. This guy who is playing against him might stand a chance though.
Nagi finally arrived at the center of the crowd. While it is not at the actual center of the arcade, it was where the arcade's most popular game is located and where the crowd was gathered. She found herself next to a man who was sitting at one of the two ends of the machine.
The match became more and more heated as it drew on into the final round. The man furiously started to push hard and rapidly on the buttons and his control of the stick became wild. The match reached the finale and the climax as both characters that were being controlled found themselves with an identical amount of very low hp left.
KO! Player 1 wins!
He threw up his hands in frustration, nearly missing Nagi. The man groaned in frustration, "So close! I was so close!" Defeated and in low spirits, he left and joined the crowd to watch the next match.
His opponent and the winner of the previous match sat at the opposite end of the machine. He said nothing and merely waited for the next opponent as the game loaded up the next match.
Nagi tried to recall what she had seen the previous match. Even though she had seen very little, any information on her possible opponent would be very helpful. She deeply contemplated going in and challenging the champion herself, although it would be more advantageous and wise to wait a while longer, watch another match and learn from it.
The crowd looked at each other and the screen for a moment. It has been a few moments and no one has come forth yet. The game had already matched the champion with a CPU opponent. He did not hesitate to use his computer opponent as a helpless training dummy.
Who was next to challenge the champion? Eventually, a young man nominated himself and made his way towards the machine and the chair.
Nagi stopped him. She had already decided herself she was going in, "Do you mind if I go next?"
The man looked confused. He felt a slight tug. He looked around at his close premises and saw nothing. Unsure of where else to look he turned his gaze downwards and saw Nagi. He asked, "What did you say little girl? Are you lost?"
"No I'm not, do you mind if I go in before you?"
KO! Perfect!
"Are you sure? Do you know even know how to play?"
"Yes I'm sure," Nagi answered confidently.
"Don't waste your token," The man shook his head. "He's ferocious."
"Don't worry. I'll win. If I lose, it won't take long anyway."
A New Challenger!
"Can you see Nagi?" Hayate asked the other two girls, who were watching from afar.
"Yeah," Both girls agreed.
"She's there, but I can barely see her though."
"Can you keep an eye on her please?" Hayate requested. "I'll be right back."
"Umm... sure."
KO! Player 2 wins!
What did that girl just do?
Am I dreaming? A little girl beating one of Japan's best?
Nagi panted, still tense from the match. "Good match, I still got it I guess. I haven't played this game for a few weeks."
The champion, who was now defeated, walked around to see who was the person who defeated him. To his surprise, he saw a young girl. He kept his straight, stoic face though, nodded and merely acknowledged that he has indeed been defeated by a girl. He rejoined the crowd after being sitting at the machine for very long. A few friends patted him on the back in a slightly mocking gesture. He had done well since he had been winning for so long anyway.
"Who's next?" Nagi taunted, fresh from the victory.
Hayate finished his personal matters as he turned the tap of the sink. The toilets itself were rather roomy, contrary to expectations. There were hints that the toilets themselves were expanded over the history of the arcade. After all, it can become very crowded during peak times which meant there were a lot of people in one place at one time. More people need better facilities.
He turned off the tap and was about to leave through the door when another person entered.
He only looked briefly and thought as something familiar caught his eye,"Expensive clothing, familiar hair, familiar face? Is that who I think it is?"
Hayate grabbed the man by his shirt and pinned him against the adjacent wall. Hayate threatened with a growl, "You've got guts to show your face again. What do you want Mr. John Sanzenin? Is that who you are right now?"
John coughed as the grip began to choke him. He tried to speak, "Nice greeting Hayate, and yes that is my current name. I strongly suggest you put me down. You don't want to be charged with assault."
"Why should I? I don't mind being arrested right now. The crime is insignificant compared to what you've done with Nagi," Hayate tightened his grip.
"You're still mad about that? I thought you were the type to easily forgive people. Guess I was wrong," John tried to explain, "Look, about what I've done. I'm sorry about it. The means might seem cruel, but the ends justify it."
"And what end could possibly justify hurting a little girl? Living in luxury?"
"That's an insignificant part of it. It's something personal, you wouldn't understand."
"And you expect me to accept your apology after not giving a proper reason?"
"I didn't. If you really need physical violence to make yourself feel better, go ahead, punch me. I won't go crying to the police."
Hayate's right arm was drawn back ready as John braced himself. Unexpectedly, Hayate released the grip his left hand had on John and left the man to catch his breath.
"Forget about it," Hayate sighed. "If you are not here to gloat or mock me, then why are you here?"
John took a few deep breaths before answering, "I could ask the same question myself. It took a lot of manpower to find out where you were. And I did all that just because I read an article in a newspaper. Did you watch the morning news?"
"Yeah? What about it?"
"Do you remember the frontpage story about yakuza? It's just a hunch, but I don't think Japan will remain a safe place for much longer."
"Why? That seems crazy, it's just a bunch of gangsters," said Hayate.
"I don't know either. I was going to reconsider due to how you greeted me but I won't come all the way here for nothing." John said in a convincing tone, "Look, please consider this as a proper apology to you. It's not going to be safe, and people who have a tendency to fall in debt like you are going to be their prime target. I'll offer this once. Forget about the girl, come with me. I'll offer you a good job. You're not going to be exploited again."
"Sounds very convincing considering my current state of life, but the answer is no," Hayate declined.
"If you're worried about the girl, she has the maid. She'll manage if you leave her life. You don't have a debt to her anyway. That 150 million debt you had to the Sanzenin household, I cleared that for you."
"It's true that I tend to fall in debts, but the one I have with Lady Nagi is not to do with money. You wouldn't understand."
"So you decline?" John frowned, "Last chance."
"Thanks for the offer, but no," Hayate shook his head.
"Suit yourself, I should have no more business with you then. I'd rather not see you again," John adjusted his coat and tie back after they were ruffled by the choke.
"Maybe, I wouldn't want to see you again either," said Hayate.
John said no more and left through the door without any additional hint of eye contact.
KO! Player 1 wins!
"That was close," Nagi groaned as she finally tasted defeat. "Did you see that Hayate?"
The butler was nowhere to be seen.
"Hayate?"
"That was impressive milady," Hayate said as he popped from the crowd.
"It sure was. I didn't manage to win for 90 times straight like that guy, but I think 30 is fine enough."
"I guess that is an achievement," the butler agreed.
"And I did that all on 1 token. Talk about efficiency."
"I hope we can apply that to real money. Let's find the others."
"What took you so long Hayate?" Hinagiku asked sternly with arms crossed. "When you didn't come back I was beginning to become worried."
"Well..." Hayate quickly thought of a reason, "I happened to find someone in need, so I helped him as best as I could."
"I see," Hinagiku said. "If something bad happened to someone you could have called me though. I would be glad to help."
"I'll keep that in mind for next time," Hayate said. "Let's go home?"
"What about our dinner Hayate?" Ayumu reminded him.
"The dinner?" Hayate replied, "I think we should leave it for another day. I'll find time and we can have dinner just between the two of us."
Something caught the corner of Nagi's eye and she quickly darted towards it. It was the on-rails shooter that Hayate and Hinagiku were playing earlier.
"Hayate! It's the game I tried to order before! Come play it with me! I want to see how compatible we are!" Nagi shouted.
"You know..." Maria said. The tone of anger was obvious. "You could have called me if the four of you were going to have dinner outside. What did I prepare all this food for then?"
"I'm sorry Maria!" Hayate quickly bowed in apology. "I wasn't really thinking!"
The maid was not satisfied with the apology.
Hayate said, "If Maria's food is really delicious, it should be fine reheated. Thanks for thinking of us in advance."
"Seriously..." Maria said as she started to clean the frying pan she had used. "Next time, at least invite me too."
By the time the group reached the apartment, it was already nightfall. The lights were dim, but was sufficiently enough to provide enough light. The two rivals lay asleep next to each other while Hinagiku watched over them.
"Today's been fun wasn't it," Hayate said as he entered the bedroom.
"It was, rivalry is an interesting thing isn't it," said Hinagiku.
"Hayate... we are... very... compatible..." Nagi muttered in her sleep.
"Seems like this day turned out to be more of just having fun than thanking me though," Hayate commented.
"When I think about it," Hinagiku agreed. "Yeah, it became more about their little competition than anything else."
Hinagiku glanced up to the clock on the wall as it struck 8. Outside the window, one could see the lights being turned on one by one as people started to arrive to their homes.
She said, "It's getting late. We should leave. I'll go wake Ayumu and walk her home. You keep Nagi comfortable okay? She looked tired when she arrived here."
"Take care then," Hayate said goodbye.
"Now that I look back upon today," Ayumu confessed. "I don't think I talked to you a lot today."
"It's fine. If you think we didn't chat enough today, we have this chance," Hinagiku said.
Hinagiku and Ayumu walked down the suburban street. They were illuminated by the occasional street light or by the occasional car driving past them slowly as they walked past people's homes.
"Did we do a lot for Hayate today?" Ayumu asked.
"We did, I asked him about it. He's happy about it." Hinagiku replied, with a smile.
"I'm glad things turned out the way it did today. I'm glad if Hayate is happy. I was so riled up with my competition with Nagi," said Ayumu.
"But you won, didn't you?" Hinagiku said.
"Of course I did, and I earned my prize."
"I hope you enjoy your dinner with Hayate then. Don't forget we have our own little contest though."
"What do you mean?" Ayumu asked.
"Who can get Hayate's heart first?" Hinagiku said, "You have an advantage right now, but I'm not giving up yet."
"I'm not letting my guard down either," Ayumu confidently said. "If I do, I'll lose that moment."
"Is this your house?" Hinagiku noticed as soon as they arrived at their destination.
"Yes it is, thanks for walking with me all the way here," Ayumu waved goodbye. "See you soon!"
"Bye!"