Mugi Rukio overslept. The time was already 1 pm when he opened his eyes. He had been up all night playing games with his online buddy, Rei. He woke up in a daze, his head still groggery. His eyes shifted toward the windows near his table. A dim light pressed the pane of glass while snow fell softly on the outside. Truly a cozy day.
As the school nurse and the family doctor advised, Rukio took a rest and was absent from the school. His body was still warm but he felt a lot better now.
gwi
His stomach growled. He was hungry. He hadn't eaten anything since yesterday's dinner.
"Mom's rice porridge would be perfect right now," he muttered.
His phone screen lit up. Rukio's heart leapt with hope. But his excitement only lasted for a few seconds. The digital texts of a game advertisement were mocking him behind the LCD screen. But he hadn't given up. His slender fingers quickly navigated through the message app, hoping something would be different today. To his despair, everything was still the same, except for that advertisement spam.
Rukio sighed. He felt stupid for even hoping. He decided that he would get rid of this gloomy mood and wash up. Maybe play a game or two. He put a towel on his shoulder and climbed down the stairs in heavy steps.
"Ru-chan! You are awake!"
His mother was there, sitting in the living room with his father. They both greeted him with smiles on their faces, acting as if they weren't on each others' throat just the other day. But it was the norm for his parents. But that doesn't mean it was fine for him. He just put on a slight smile and went straight to the bathroom.
After taking a lukewarm bath, Rukio's mood was much better. His parents were still in the living room, discussing their favourite haiku poet. Noticing his presence, they both turned their heads.
"Rukio, how are you feeling?"
It was his father who asked first.
"Not bad," Rukio replied curtly. He was not in the mood for a lecture.
"Ara, your body's still warm!" his mother, Clara said - pressing a palm on his forehead. "You haven't eaten anything, right? Guess what? Mom made your favourite - Okayu(Rice Porridge)! Go, rest in your room. I will bring it to you."
Seeing his mother go to the kitchen with a smile, he felt like the tight knot in his heart had loosened up a lot. Such a smile suited her the most.
A lot happened yesterday, huh?
Rukio's mind wandered back to yesterday's events.
He had always been bad with the names - the kind of guy who forgot the name of his own favourite band. But he remembered the name clearly.
Amamiya Shinichi. It might be because he only learnt the name yesterday. The slacker who sat behind him. He had that messy uncombed hair and always confessed to Yukari like it was history-given duty. Most people in the classroom avoided him like some sort of plague. Rumors had it that he is a delinquent. So, it was an obvious choice for Rukio to not be involved with such a person.
After yesterday, he had to both blame and thank him. Blame him because he was the very reason he collapsed. If Rukio hadn't worked up over his provocation, that would've never happened. But it can't be denied that the tense atmosphere of the house eased up due to his presence at the dinner. You could say it was a blessing in disguise.
That doesn't mean his mind is settled. Why? Because he got looked down on something he's good at - games. Rukio is heavily competitive. Close friends would say it was on the extreme level, even so that he became a completely different person. Even more so in the video games. Because he knew he was good at it, even more than art and basketball.
That's why he got so aggressive yesterday. If opportunity would come by he would show that smirky guy who's the real boss.
knock knock
A sudden knock cut off his thoughts.
"Ru-chan, your friend's here!"
His mother said and walked inside the room with a tray of food. Behind her, Amamiya Shinichi followed.
"Amamiya-kun brought printouts for you," she continued.
Shinichi lifted his chin slightly, as if saying 'what's up!' to him.
Rukio smiled back at him. Rukio himself knew it was not an earnest greeting. He was thinking of how to destroy this smug guy at the game. Fate had blessed him with the perfect opportunity for revenge.
"Then, Mom will be downstairs. Call me if you need anything, okay?" Clara said and left the room.
Rukio dragged the chair and gestured to Shinichi to sit.
Shinichi sat, glancing at the computer in front of him.
"Oh, you also play LoA huh? Give me your ID. Maybe we could party."
Yeah, no thanks sucker.
Rukio muttered internally as he navigated through his game library. Finally, he found the game he was looking for.
"I will give it to you later. By the way, are you familiar with fighting games?" Rukio asked abruptly, handing Shinichi the black controller, while he held a white one.
"Heh" Shinichi laughed. "Familar? Dude, I am king of them."
"Is that so?"
The more pride they have, the more it feels good to crush them.
Shinichi was idly pressing the button on the screen as the title booted up - The Ironfist Street Bruiser - a popular fighting game that was released last year, it is played in 2.5D unique graphics.
"You are challenging me in IFSB, huh?" Shinichi said, realizing Rukio's intention.
"Well, let's just remind you whose score stands at the top of Hardcore Samurai," Rukio said flatly.
"Whatever man," Shinichi sounded disinterested.
The game loaded up to 2 player versus screen. Rukio smashed the random button - the outright disrespect. But Shinichi followed, also picking the character at random.
The game started. The rules are simple. 60 second timer. Best of five. The first one to win three rounds wins.
As soon as the countdown hit 0, Rukio's fingers danced across the controller.
It wasn't even close. 3 for Rukio and 0 for Shinichi. Shinichi looked at the screen in awe, mouth agape.
"How the fuck did you do that?" he uttered.
Rukio just smiled.
"Rematch?" he asked.
"Of course!"
The scores weren't pretty. It is 10 to 0. Shinichi switched characters, techniques, stages but he couldn't seem to get over the wall that was Rukio.
Over time, Rukio could see the frustration seeping into Shinichi. He was maintaining the calm exterior but he knew things were boiling inside. If Shinichi got up and left right now, he couldn't blame him. It wasn't the first time something that happened. Rukio had a lot of friends over for games before. He even had friendships ruined because of that.
After seeing his skills, people said to go easy on them. That was the problem. He didn't know how to go easy since he is always giving his fullest. But some people misinterpret that as being sarcastic. That's why he stopped playing games with people he's close with.
"Hahahaha" Rukio burst out a laugh after his 30th win where he won all three rounds in 'flawless victory' which meant he didn't even lose a single health.
"Whew!" Shinichi sank into the chair as Rukio triumphed. He had finally had his revenge. He glanced at Shinichi who was quiet.If Shinichi made some excuses to leave now, he wouldn't be surprised. Somehow, he felt bad. Compared to what Shinichi did at the arcade, this was a total massacre. Thinking back, he didn't have anything personal against Shinichi, this was purely the work of his ego.
"What are you doing?" Shinichi's sudden words dragged him out of his thoughts. "Pick your character."
Rukio glanced at him with surprise.
Does he still intend to continue after this? Rukio couldn't find any reason except for two - either this guy is really stubborn or he is really used to losing.
Just like that, the games continued. Maybe due to newfound rivalry, the two got sucked into the game. Shinichi started winning rounds. Rukio started to have fun. Before they knew it, they were standing up and throwing insults and snarky comments at each other as if they had been friends since 3rd grade.
It was fun. They were having fun. They were having so much fun that they didn't even realize the two women that hurried into the room, calling their names. They were too busy shouting insults at each other.
"What are you guys doing?!"
Mugi Clara's sharp voice snapped them out of their zones.
Rukio and Shinichi turned their heads in unison.
She stood in front of the room with her arms crossed.
"Rukio," his mother began.
It was at this moment, Mugi Rukio realized he fucked up. He knew he was cooked when his mother called him by his first name. She can be doting but when she gets angry, it is scary. Even scarier than his father who wore a permanent scowl like a badge of honor.
"Are you picking a fight with your friends over a game?" she asked with a stern voice. "Again?"
Clara is well aware of her son's overcompetitiveness. After all, that was something he had inherited from her.
Rukio is at a loss for words. How does he explain this to his mother? No matter how you looked at it, it looked like a fight. He couldn't explain to her that he was having revenge because Shinichi talked shit about him yesterday. That was partly the reason why he collapsed.
"Sorry, Mugi-san. We got a little worked up while playing games," Shinichi explained, as if nothing had happened. "It was me who suggested we play games. We were having so much fun that we didn't realize we were being loud. I sincerely apologize."
Shinichi casually lied as he bowed his head.
Clara's face softened and a smile formed on her face.
"Is that so? Try to keep it down, okay?" said Clara. "Oh, Rukio. Tachibana-san is here."
Yukari appeared behind Clara in a meek expression, clutching her school bag.
"Yukari?"
Both Rukio and Shinichi blurted out.
Yukari had that puzzle look on her face, not fully understanding the situation.
"Ah, Yukari. Did something happen at the basketball club?" Rukio asked.
Shinichi just shrugged.
Yukari averted her gaze, her face flushed.
"U-Uh..No. I mean...yes...uh-no," Yukari fumbled.
She is at a loss for words. She came here thinking Shinichi was causing trouble. But it turned out he was just here to give printouts. She also looked embarrassed since she just barged into Rukio's room.
"Yukari, sorry! I just saw your text and missed calls," Shinichi looked at his phone. "Shall we go?"
"Ah, yes. I heard you didn't go to the faculty room either. Sensei's furious, you know?"
Yukari seemed to have returned to her normal self thanks to Shinichi's assist. Rukio smiled. This guy had a knack for saving people out of awkward situations.
"Shoot! I totally forgot!" he blurted out, pretending to forget. He then patted Rukio's shoulder.
"Then, I'll be going. Thanks for letting me play," he said.
Rukio nodded at him.
"Sure, thanks for bringing the printouts."
"No problem," Shinichi said casually as he walked out of the room accompanied by Yukari.
"Then, if you will excuse us. R-Rukio. Clara-san," Yukari said goodbyes, trying to sound calm.
Rukio realized Shinichi's expression changed. Just before leaving, he tiled his head slightly and glanced at Rukio, smiling in the most natural way.
"Let's play again sometimes, huh? We've got a score to settle. I can't keep losing to you," he challenged.
Rukio smirked.
"Anytime"
At that time, Mugi Rukio didn't realize what Shinichi really meant by those words.