The midday summer sun beats down on the pavement under your feet, your mop of shaggy black hair, and the rapidly reddening skin of your neck, which has become steadily stickier and clammier over the course of the morning. It's a calculated risk, heading out into the city in the hopes of finding a promising lead, but so far, the heat appears to be keeping your enemies indoors.

It's actually been a quiet couple of weeks – a seeming eye in the storm as you and your friends have cautiously begun looking into any organizations that might have connections to the Yatabuya. So far, it's been a rough effort.

Poring over the entries in the Book of Avalon has been entirely unhelpful, especially as more and more new wishes pour in each and every day, burying any older posts deeper and deeper. Sure enough, it's been hard to go anywhere lately without hearing someone bring it up in casual conversation. Any hope that the general public would write it off as obvious malware has faded by the day, and it's gotten to the point where you can't even look through it without thinking about all the Shadows that must be roaming around Toshima by now. Nisekao, on the other hand, is the only one who's still willing to sift through the entries in the hopes of finding something worthwhile. You've spent a few afternoons supporting him, but it's mind-numbing work.

For the most part, the rest of you have taken to other forms of information gathering in your spare time – watching and reading the news, browsing social media trends, and even perusing tabloids in the hopes of finding some kind of odd or otherwise out of place clue that might point you in the right direction.

As for you - well, today, you've gotten tired of doing any of those things and resigned yourself to wandering the streets of the Toshima shopping square downtown. You tell yourself that you're doing this because you might overhear some interesting rumors, but that's just a flimsy excuse disguising your boredom.

"Coffee's gotten awfully expensive lately…"

"…left me on 'read'. She knows I can see that, right?"

"It's not on the app store, you just have to disable your adblocker on G-Net is all."

The crowd's idle chitchat passes in one ear and out the other, without giving itself any particular reason to stick around. The growing sense of futility combined with the intensifying sunlight drives you into a nearby café to take a break, although ultimately, you're leaning towards calling it quits and heading home.

After ordering an iced drink (that guy was right, coffee has gotten expensive) and settling into a corner booth, a text notification pops up. It's Shibutani.

[Good afternoon, Katsuji-kun. It's Shibutani. Might I have a moment of your time?]

[Sure,] you reply, hoping that it's not Council-related this time. While it is summer vacation, that fact hasn't stopped him yet.

[After a disheartening lack of progress in my investigations this morning, I believe that I may be feeling burnt out. What would you say to joining me for some entertainment this afternoon? it may be a good way to refresh both of our minds.]

Then, a second later:

[*It]

The prospect of finding out what Shibutani does for fun sounds instantly intriguing.

[Absolutely. Where are you? I'm at the square downtown right now.]

[Downtown? On your own?]

[It's been fine, no one wants to be outside when it's this hot anyways.]

[Precisely. Our enemies lack of presence is all the more reason to exercise caution.]

[*enemies']

[Where do you want to meet?] you ask.

[If I recall correctly, there should be an arcade nearby. I will be there as soon as I can.]

An arcade? You quickly suck down the last of your coffee and leave the café, your curiosity driving away the fatigue.

You know the place, albeit not well. You've never been one for crowded, cramped spaces like this, and the idea of playing games against complete strangers (in person, that is) has always been intimidating. Especially if they're frequent visitors. But today, the cool, dark space is perfectly welcome, even if it is packed with other school-age kids fighting off boredom.

"KATSUJI-KUN!"

You've barely been waiting fifteen minutes before Shibutani's voice blasts through the din with the force and subtlety of a train's horn. Either he was close by already, or he moves with a swiftness that's terrifying to think about. The arcade's attention snaps towards him, and several people back away from their machines.

"Right here, senpai. That was fast," you say, waving him over.

A smile creases his face as he lumbers towards you. His casual attire today is nothing short of a contradiction. With a black tank top that's struggling to contain his massive frame, and a pair of ragged plaid pants held up by a heavily creased leather belt, he looks like he'd fit in perfectly with any gang in Tokyo.

"Punctuality is an essential virtue, Katsuji-kun. It simply wouldn't do to waste your time."

"You're sweating an awful lot."

"Ah, am I? Perhaps sprinting in this brutal heat was a poor choice."

"Senpai, really…" you say.

He looks away and scratches his stubbly chin uncomfortably.

"Well, the air conditioning here is excellent, at the very least. Spare no thoughts for me, Katsuji-kun!" he says with a wry chuckle.

"Ah, but before we do anything else – you are fine with a place like this, right? It occurred to me on the way over that I hadn't asked your opinion. My deepest apologies," he adds.

"It's okay. Actually, I was more surprised that you wanted to come here. I didn't expect this to be your thing."

"I find games to be an excellent stress reliever after a particularly taxing day. On the occasion that I find the time to play."

"No kidding?"

Shibutani raises an eyebrow.

"Katsuji-kun, you do realize that I'm only a year older than you, right? Of course I play games. Don't most people?" He sighs. "It seems that my size leads everyone to treat me as though I were twice my age."

You'd like to say that not even people twice his age are that big, but that seems inappropriate.

"It's more that you're always so serious," you say instead.

"That doesn't mean I can't have hobbies. Come! Let me show you some of my favorites."

Shibutani leads you over to a cluster of cabinets for the latest Virtua Fighter. As he sits down, the little metal stool strains and the legs bow out precariously under his weight. The person on the opposite machine pops their head up over the top and scuttles away once they see who's on the other side. Shibutani notices, but instead of looking downcast, he laughs to himself.

"We'll play against the computer first, then. My reputation proceeds me at several of these places."

Several? Is Shibutani actually good at these games, or are people just afraid of him?

Your question is answered very quickly – Shibutani perfects the computer-controlled opponent in two rounds. He executes combos and block strings with practiced ease and a serene, zen-like expression. He clearly knows the AI inside and out, to the point where any match against them is just going through the motions. When he's satisfied, he turns to you.

"Ahh. It truly is wonderful to unwind after so long. However, I'd much prefer a human opponent. What do you say, Katsuji-kun?"

You're someone who has trouble just doing the special move inputs on purpose. After what you've just seen, the outcome of any match between the two of you has already been decided.

"I…can't imagine playing against someone like me would be fun for you at all, senpai. I'm nowhere near as good as you."

Shibutani's mouth curls into a disappointed frown.

"Come now, Katsuji-kun. I expected you to have more of a competitive spirit than this. Even if our skill levels aren't close, I would still like to get the measure of what sort of fighter you are."

"You'll be able to tell that in ten seconds?" you say, giving what you feel is a pretty generous estimate.

"I'd rather not sit here and play by myself all afternoon while you watch. You will let me extend that courtesy, at least."

He's not leaving any room for argument, so you plop down at the opposite cabinet and pick a character that looks like they have a lot of health.

You begin the match by immediately holding back to guard, but Shibutani effortlessly deals with your futile attempts at survival by throwing you into several combos, and finishing you with an impressively executed super. The second round goes much the same way. On the results screen, Shibutani leans over and plies you with a searching look.

"Katsuji-kun, are you taking this seriously?"

"As much as I can. I told you, I'm not really good at fighters."

He regards you with the barely masked disappointment of a parent whose child has lost a competition.

"I'll admit, I wasn't expecting you to win. But with the way you fought in my dream, I would have expected you to be more aggressive. Did you think I would eventually stop and let you have a turn?"

"Actually, I was mostly just trying not to be embarrassed."

"Hmm. That's no good," says Shibutani, shaking his head. "There are times when a strong defense is necessary, but it cannot be your sole intent right from the start. You're just inviting others to walk all over you."

"That's a little intense, senpai. Are you sure you're not reading too much into it?"

Shibutani's expression softens, and he sighs.

"I…may be. My apologies, we are supposed to be enjoying ourselves, after all. Perhaps we should take a break, and then try something with a more even playing field."

He leads you towards the back of the arcade where a couple of small tables have been crammed in next to some vending machines. You buy a couple sodas and bags of snacks to eat as you watch the other patrons play. It's still difficult to wrap your head around this more human side of Shibutani – you've always thought of him as something closer to a teacher, or a force of nature.

"Is something the matter, Katsuji-kun? You're rather quiet," he asks suddenly.

"No, I'm all right. Actually, I was wondering – how'd you end up getting so good at games like that?"

A wistful smile traces its way across his square face.

"Well, as I said, it's been something I enjoy doing whenever life becomes too stressful. Which, I will admit, happens more often than I'd like. But I also used to spend a lot of my time at arcades like these, back when I had far fewer responsibilities."

"So you weren't always so busy?"

"Not in the same ways, no. My work with the Disciplinary Committee has been a more recent commitment, relatively speaking."

"I've been wondering about that, by the way. How'd you fall into doing that in the first place?"

Shibutani swirls his soda can around, listening to the last couple drops slosh around the bottom before settling on what he wants to say.

"There were…several factors. But I suppose that at its heart, it stems from the heroes I watched growing up. This will probably come as a surprise to you as well, but I was an avid fan of shows like Featherman and Zephyrman, among others. To be honest, I still am. I didn't discriminate between them like many of my classmates – they all embodied everything I believed a man should be. Virtuous. Dependable. Unflinching in the face of evil. A world filled with people like those, I thought, would have no room to be unjust."

"That actually explains a lot of things," you say. "You know, I could definitely imagine you in one of those costumes. Have you ever thought about auditioning?"

Shibutani finishes the rest of his drink and flattens the can between his thumb and index finger. It's hard to tell in the gloom, but his face looks flushed.

"I have, actually. But every agency I contacted told me that they were looking for someone more…svelte. I was offered many villain roles, however, but I couldn't bring myself to accept any."

"You were that serious about playing the hero?"

"I simply couldn't reconcile the idea. It was probably for the better, though. I can't imagine that being my true calling nowadays, anyhow. Besides, I have done things…unbecoming of a hero."

"You can't still be beating yourself up over the Book, can you?"

"It's not exactly that, no. I have a clear path to atone for that transgression. There are…other things, however, that I'm still trying to make up for. But those are heavy subjects, best left for another time. For now, why don't we try out some other games? I'm certain there must be some better suited to you!"

For the rest of the afternoon, the two of you canvas the rest of the arcade, aided by a seemingly never-ending cascade of coins from Shibutani's pocket. It's easily the most fun you've had in weeks, and you even manage to best Shibutani at most of the rhythm and puzzle games. Before long, the orange rays of late afternoon sunlight lower themselves just enough to pierce the darkened room and remind you that the hour is growing late.

On your way out, the man behind the counter calls Shibutani over. He's an older fellow, with a high, thin hairline and two small beads for eyes.

"It's been a while, Shibutani-kun. Still dressing like that, hmm?"

"Some habits are difficult to break, Kaneko-san. And I do apologize for being away for so long. School has kept me busier than usual."

The man flashes him a thin smile that almost disappears in the dim light.

"Don't let it bother you, boy. We've had no trouble for some time, anyways. Hearing that you're going to school and doing your best is all I need."

"Many thanks, Kaneko-san. Have a good evening," Shibutani says with a bow before leaving.

Outside, he turns to you.

"Katsuji-kun. Thank you for agreeing to meet on such short notice."

"That's a little formal, isn't it, senpai?"

A sheepish grin spreads across his face.

"Ah, right. It truly has been too long since I've taken the time to do anything for leisure's sake. And for that, I am quite grateful. Let's plan to do it again sometime – what do you say?"

"Sure. Maybe you could teach me how to play fighters?"

Shibutani's expression lights up in a way you've never seen before.

"Absolutely! I'm looking forward to it."

Thou art I...

And I am thou...

Thou hast established a new bond...

It shall grant you the strength to open thine eyes...

Thou shalt be blessed under the sign of the Justice Arcana…