I didn’t even need to check the results screen. Takane dominated.
She’s incredible! This is so cool, Takane!
I looked on in respectful admiration as she wrapped up another match. The dimness of the room made it hard to gauge her expression, but after pulling off such a flawless, magnificent victory, I’m sure she must have been satisfied with herself. She had to be. The thought made Takane seem like a real soldier in my eyes, battle-hardened and ready for action.
The adulation poured out of my mouth. “Great work, Takane! You won again! Man, that was just…”
Takane was right next to me, but in a way, she wasn’t. I need to call her the name everyone else uses to sing her praises…!
“…Maybe I should call you Ene, though, huh?”
Takane, basking in the light of the monitor, casually opened her mouth.
“Shut up, you dumbass…”
The words, backed by the pounding music from the game, moved me. I felt a shiver rush across my body.
Another thing I had just learned today was that Takane had apparently taken second place at the nationwide championship for some online game or other. It made her, like, super Internet famous. She had real fans and everything. I just thought she was this typical girl, and now I couldn’t believe she had this aspect, too.
But…man. That serenity, that presence of mind…in every way, she lived up to the Dancing Flash name. Yes! Yes, I know I’m a dumbass! Dang, this is cool!
I was in no position to sit back and admire her, though. I stood up and smiled at the challenger.
“All right, thanks for playing! I’m afraid you can’t take the challenge twice in a row. Thanks very much for that incredible battle!”
The moment I finished speaking, applause thundered across the dimly lit science storage room. Every bit of floor space was occupied by onlookers. No doubt about it—we were attracting a pretty huge audience.
The challenger, dressed in military gear, stood right up and saluted at Takane. “Thank you!” he shouted. “I never would’ve thought I’d get to play against Dancing Flash Ene in a place like this…It’s such an honor!”
Yeah. I agree. That was a good match, too. Just watching from the side gave me goose bumps.
Soon, the audience began whispering to itself. “I’m next!” “No, let me take her on next…!” It was an impressive sight. Takane’s entire fan base must have been in this room.
Apparently this all got started because our first guest knew about Takane and told all his friends on the Net about this school festival.
Once they got word about the event, Takane’s fans stormed our school from across the country for a chance to compete against her. That’s how all this happened. Well, maybe not “across the country,” but it kind of felt that way.
Amid the chatter, I gave the signal to the next person up and guided him to the challenger’s seat. After a quick rundown of the rules from Takane, the game began and the audience instantly fell silent.
This tension…it’s like watching a real sporting event.
I didn’t know this since I had never really watched someone play before, but I had no idea competitive video games could get so exciting. Did they have a lot of championships like this? I’d love to see one sometime.
“…Whoa, crap! The time!”
Oops. I was so lost in the heat of the moment that I forgot my own job. I reluctantly took my eyes off the game screen and checked the clock and the number of people in the audience.
Just as I feared, we had under fifteen minutes before the end of the festival. There was no way everyone in the room would be allowed a match with Takane, currently soaking up the applause once more after another blowout. This constant warfare must have been tiring her out by now. I stepped up to give her a bit more inter-match breathing room, using my new name for her in this realm.
“You still doing okay, Ene?! We’re closing up in ten minutes, so hang in there!”
Takane muttered something or other in response, but I couldn’t make it out between the game’s music and the clamor of the audience surrounding us.
In terms of remaining time, we had room for two, maybe three more players. If we were proceeding along with our plan, Takane would need to produce a “winner” for us pretty shortly. The purpose of this wasn’t to establish the legend of Takane as this unbeatable monolith. Somebody needed to come home today with that fish specimen in their hands.
Takane said that losing sometime during the second half of the day would help keep things exciting. Did she still remember that, though? I wasn’t so sure any longer. She was in full Dancing Flash mode right now, so much so that it’d make you cry. Perhaps all she was thinking about was how she’d hunt down her next opponent and wring every ounce of life out of him.
That would be seriously bad news. But I didn’t want to wreck her concentration by bothering her too many times, either…I was starting to fidget a little, unsure which tack to take, when someone slapped a hand on my shoulder and a whispering voice found my ear.
“…Pardon me, Haruka!”
I turned around to find Ayano standing there. Kousuke mentioned she would be coming, but finally seeing her in person filled me with happiness. Come to think of it, he mentioned that his other siblings would visit, too, didn’t he? Did they ever show up?
“Oh, Ayano! Sorry, I’m being pulled in a million directions right now…”
“No, no, sorry to show up when you’re so busy,” she replied, scoping out her surroundings. “Running a pretty successful scene, huh? This is quite a surprise!”
“Boy, you said it. I’m pretty shocked, too. We got a lot more visitors than we were expecting. I’m sorry, Ayano, I’m not sure that I can fit you in…”
We had just a little time left and far too many competitors waiting. Ayano’s chances of getting a match in were slim. I bowed my head to her in regret, but she just smiled, presumably expecting to be disappointed.
“Oh, I’ll be fine. The guy I came here with is in line to play, so she can just play with him instead…”
She took her eyes away from me and turned toward someone off to Takane’s side. There I spotted a boy in a red hoodie staring blankly at the display. Unlike most of our current challengers, he didn’t seem to have any passion at all for video games, but given his position in line, he was likely up next to take on Takane.
“That guy’s in my class at school,” Ayano explained, apparently fidgeting over something. “I didn’t want to go to the festival by myself, so I invited him, and he…well, said yes, I guess. And when I say I ‘invited’ him, it’s really just that, okay? Nothing weird or anything.”
…Um, yeah. Sure. I can read you like a book, Ayano. I was about to sneer at her and say “Ha-haaa!” but stopped myself just in time, not wanting to come off like a creep.
As we chatted, the boy in the red hoodie sat down on the challenger’s seat. He was our first younger contestant in quite a while. Even Takane looked a little amazed.
Hang on. This might actually work out pretty well, timing-wise. If Takane played like she always did, she was almost certainly going to kick the snot out of this guy. That’d probably make him look pretty uncool in front of Ayano, and…um, that probably wouldn’t be good for him, I figured.
So let’s convince Takane to throw the game on purpose instead. It’s about time for us to do that anyway, so…yeah. Sounds like a plan to me. No time like the present, either. I quickly tapped Takane on the shoulder, once again calling her the only name appropriate for her now.
“Ene…I’m sorry to interrupt you while you’re in the groove, but we better give out our prize before we have to close. Would you mind much if you let this kid beat you…?”
Takane fixed her gaze on the boy in the hoodie. After all the hard work she put in today, having to tell her this at the very end honestly didn’t make me feel too good. But our aim today was to make the best “shooting gallery” we possibly could, and that meant keeping our customers happy, too.
She gave me an affirmative nod and began to explain the game to the boy without complaint. I took a few steps back to gain a better vantage point, hoping to take in every moment of this final battle.
…They seemed to take an oddly long time to get started.
Taking a closer look, Takane and the guy in the hoodie seemed to be talking to each other. What about, though? It didn’t look like a friendly chat, whatever it was. I was a little concerned, but from my position, the game music drowned out their whole conversation.
Since I couldn’t do much where I was, I looked to the side, only to find Ayano staring at them with a dour expression. Kind of like a mom during parent-visitation day at school. I figured I’d speak up about it.
“What’s up, Ayano? Are you worried about something?”
Ayano’s shoulders twitched a bit in surprise. “Kind of, I suppose,” she reluctantly said. “He…He can be kind of rude sometimes. He doesn’t like to mince words with people. I hope he’s not being mean to her or anything…”
She really was acting like a worried mother.
When it came to being rude, Takane was no slouch herself. That was one of her main personality traits. It made me wonder if this boy was the same way.
…Ooh, if he is, that could be rough news. It’d pretty much immediately get Takane’s goat, for one. I had a bad feeling about it all, but there was no point needlessly worrying Ayano if I didn’t have to, so I tried to keep the conversation innocuous.
“Well, I think it’ll be fine. Takane can be pretty patient with people, too, so—”
The moment I said it, Takane spoke:
“…I am not!!…going to lose.”
…Well, that’s strange. She was doing the exact opposite of what we were planning.
In a hurry, I shoved my way to Takane’s side. She’s gonna beat him?! This isn’t good!
“Wait a sec, Takane…You have to lose this, remember?”
But I didn’t even need to look at her face to know she was riled up. I don’t think any of my words even registered in her mind.
“…I’ll become your servant and call you ‘master’ and everything! But I’m not gonna lose!”
Another victory guarantee. We had to lose right now, but Takane was more excited for this match than any of the dozens she fought before.
Did anyone else in the audience hear her shouting? Ooh, I guess Ayano did. Her face was red from ear to ear. Great.
Well, nothing I could do now. Giving up on the effort, I stood and returned to Ayano’s side. My “sorry” and her “I apologize” came out almost simultaneously.
A sound effect indicated that the final match of the day was underway.
…Right from the start, I noticed something.
There was an insane number of monsters popping up on-screen. She must have turned the difficulty level up to maximum. If she was thinking about losing, she never would’ve done that. Even if she was just trying to entertain the audience, she still wouldn’t do that. It wasn’t hard to guess what was going through Takane’s mind at that very moment.
“Damn, she’s pissed…”
I cradled my head with a hand. “Is she?!” Ayano exclaimed, the blood draining from her face. But no matter what we had to say about it, this battle couldn’t be stopped. That much I could tell with one look at the scene before me.
The two skilled competitors’ button-mashing at their respective controllers resulted in an ocean of on-screen blood spurts.
The gunshots, the death screams, the noises of flesh ripping apart…They poured out from the speakers, creating a cacophony that filled the room. It sounded like nothing a shooting game should ever generate, and it awed me. The audience, silent up to now, was starting to erupt into cheers and gasps.
It was mastery in motion, unfolding before us second after exhilarating second.
The monsters, appearing on-screen before instantly being blown away, were difficult to even tell apart with the naked eye by now. Spotting them, aiming, firing—both of them repeated this process over and over again with startling speed and accuracy. It was impossible to put into words, but if I had to, I could only call it “intense.”
This battle was undoubtedly going to be one for the history books. That boy in the hoodie was easily an even match for Takane…Maybe even better than her, in fact. And Takane, on her side, was taking no prisoners. I no longer had any idea who was going to win.
The monsters must’ve appreciated having these two masters of their craft take them on. Great work today, guys. It was a tough role to fulfill, but you’ve made this fun for a whole lot of people. I’m definitely gonna be making pins out of all of you later.
The two minutes seemed to drag on forever. Now, though, we were at the final ten seconds. Neither side budged from their pursuit of perfection, and the dead heat was continuing on to the very end. Only one of them could win.
Which is it? Who’s it going to be? As we all watched with bated breath, I found an emotion I wasn’t expecting starting to make itself known in my heart.
…I’m so jealous.
Both of them are so cool. I’m incredibly jealous of them. Why am I standing here, letting this amaze me like an idiot?
Look at Takane, lost in battle, body twitching this way and that as she plays…What could she be feeling right now? It’s got to be just too much fun for her.
…I can’t stand it. This is so frustrating. I want to sit next to Takane and play a game with her, too. I want to become good enough to get Takane impassioned like this.
Ah, how awesome would that be, if I managed to do that? If I had that kind of future in store…
The two of them, silhouetted by the light from the displays, seemed like faraway presences. All I could do was stand behind them, staring at them with envious eyes.
The game-over buzzer rang out, and the “results” screen popped up.
I crouched next to Takane again. I wanted to say something to her.
I wanted it to be something like “That was great!” or “I was so amazed!”…but I couldn’t utter a word.
The “results” screen was pretty simple. All it told you was whether you won or lost. That’s it. The score on Takane’s was her highest of the day, but the word WIN wasn’t underneath it.
Takane lost.
“Takane…”
While I fumbled around for words, the kid in the red hoodie quietly stood up and headed for the exit.
Oh no. I need to give him our prize. After such a passionate duel, I could never let him go home empty-handed.
I thought for a moment before figuring out what I’d say to Takane. I chose to just go with what I was feeling.
“…Ene, that was awesome, right up to the end! Great work today!”
“Hey! W-wait a sec…!”
I chased after the boy, running short on breath.
The specimen I had in hand was pretty heavy. It wasn’t exactly attractive-looking, either. As a prize, it presented some issues. Why didn’t I notice that before? He might think I was just screwing with him or something. But given that we advertised a “wonderful prize,” I had to give him something. If I didn’t, and Takane was branded a liar, that’d be just awful. Even if he says he doesn’t need it, I’ve got to get him to take it…!
“Stop, please…!”
I called to the kid multiple times, but he never paid me any attention as he quickly headed toward the front door.
Wasn’t he supposed to be going out with Ayano? ’Cause he pretty much left her in the dust. Was that okay?! I recalled Ayano gingerly introducing the kid earlier. She must’ve been looking forward to this day a lot. Getting stood up like that made me pity her a little.
As if my feelings telepathically came across to him, the hoodie kid suddenly turned around. Our eyes met. It was now or never. I tried to sound as authoritative as possible:
“Um, this is your prize! Please take it!!”
The kid looked dubiously at me. He must have remembered me from the room, though, because h
e didn’t play dumb. I managed to catch up to him just as he removed his earbuds and put them in his pocket. Oh. Well, no wonder he wasn’t listening to me.
“Uh, what’s that…?”
The question could only be described as scornful. I had to agree with him. What is this thing I’m lugging around?
…Wait. No. I need to answer him.
“This is your prize for winning in that shooting gallery…I came here to present it to you.”
“Huh?!”
“It’s your prize. You earned it. It, um, it’s all yours.”
Ugh. I feel like I’m trying to sell it to him. But I had to stay strong. Otherwise, I wasn’t sure he was going to accept it at all. Oof, look at him, he looks like he’s hating every moment of this.
“Umm…I don’t need it.”
I knew it.
“Well, could you just take it, maybe? It’d be like taking home a memory of today. What do you think?”
Yes, I know. I’m asking a hell of a lot from you. The only thing this would be a memory of is a deep-sea expedition. Ugh, what am I going to dooooo…? He’s never going to take it now. Like, why would anyone even want something like…
…Ah.
“…Hey, you were going out with Ayano today, right?”
“Yeah, so what?”
The boy now looked even more suspicious of me. Maybe I was too sudden with it. But I couldn’t turn back now. Just push a little harder…
“Well, maybe you don’t need this, but I think Ayano would really appreciate it if you gave it to her. I’m, like, totally sure of that.”
I honestly felt this was my most brilliant idea of the day. Who purchased this in the first place, after all? It was Ayano’s father, Mr. Tateyama. If Ayano took it, at least it’d be useful for something. In fact, she’d probably love it if it was a present from this guy. I was pretty sure she liked this guy a lot.
Yep. I am so smart sometimes. Not only was I doing my job here; I was also potentially playing Cupid for these two lovebirds. Ah, what can I say? Heh-heh-heh…
Over the Dimension Page 7