144 Tetris

[Tokyo, Japan]

Koizumi Otaka, a young man, recently learned from his classmates that KiShin had released an exclusive video game only available in arcades. Despite being a casual gamer, he decided to pay a visit to the arcade section of a specific store.

Upon entering the arcade section, someone suddenly grasped his shoulder, startling Koizumi Otaka. When he turned to see who it was, he was pleasantly surprised to find his school friend, Ryuji Nori, a blond young man.

"Koizumi-kun, what brings you here?" Ryuji Nori asked with a friendly smile.

Koizumi Otaka smiled faintly while scratching the back of his head and said, "I'm here for the KiShin video games exclusive to arcade machines."

Ryuji Nori, who had previously informed Koizumi Otaka about this, smiled and said as they walked shoulder to shoulder toward one of the unoccupied arcade machines, "Several arcade machines were just brought here to the mall's arcade section by KiShin workers." He pointed to the arcade machine situated in front of them, which was currently vacant.

Seeing Koizumi Otaka's confusion, Ryuji Nori explained, "This unoccupied arcade machine is one of the machines running KiShin video games exclusively available in this arcade."

Koizumi Otaka was taken aback by this information. He examined the arcade machine cabinet in front of him, which featured a unique art style and design, with various block drawings such as '+,' 'I,' 'L,' and a distinctive control panel at the front.

Curiously, Koizumi Otaka asked, "What video game is running on this arcade machine?"

With a smile, Ryuji Nori replied, "You'll find out when you play it." He then took a coin from his pocket and inserted it into the arcade machine.

Ryuji Nori invited Koizumi Otaka to take a seat in front of the arcade machine. Koizumi hesitated, as it was Ryuji Nori's coin, but he was insisted upon by his friend. Reluctantly, Koizumi took a seat, and the arcade machine's screen came to life, displaying the title of the video game.

The title was aesthetically designed, and it read "Tetris." Koizumi Otaka couldn't help but be surprised and thought to himself, 'Wait... 'Tetris'... Why does it sound so familiar?'

Ryuji Nori smiled and nodded, signaling Koizumi Otaka to proceed with starting the video game 'Tetris.'

Koizumi Otaka nodded and initiated the video game. As it began, he was taken aback to find Ryuji Nori sitting beside him, and on the screen, two options appeared: "One Player" and "Two Player."

Ryuji Nori, sitting beside him, suggested, "Let's choose two players." As he said this, he opened a lid next to the arcade machine, surprising Koizumi Otaka with the discovery of another controller for the arcade machine he was using.

Ryuji Nori nodded with a smile as he inserted another coin into the adjacent coin slot.

Koizumi Otaka only realized the purpose of that additional coin slot when he saw it, as he had previously assumed it was merely an extra slot without understanding its function. Being more familiar with video game consoles and having limited experience with arcades, he was not well-versed in arcade machine mechanics.

After selecting "Two Player" mode, the video game 'Tetris' finally started, presenting a split screen with a 'VS' label in the center. Koizumi Otaka was taken by surprise, and he heard Ryuji Nori say, "Get ready, Koizumi-kun, we'll battle in 3..." As Ryuji Nori counted down, the screen displayed a countdown with '3, 2, 1,' and Ryuji Nori playfully imitated the American narrator's countdown and exclaimed, "Go!"

Koizumi Otaka felt a wave of nervousness as Ryuji Nori displayed such excitement. As the video game 'Tetris' began, Koizumi had anticipated something akin to the competitive fights in the 'Street Fighter' game, but to his surprise, he was met with falling blocks.

Koizumi Otaka cautiously manipulated the controller, discovering that when he pressed the left button, the slowly descending blue block also moved to the left.

On the other hand, Ryuji Nori was fully engaged, making strategic moves. He pressed the down button, causing the block to plummet rapidly, skillfully stacking blocks to score points.

Meanwhile, Koizumi Otaka, still somewhat puzzled and curious about 'Tetris' gameplay, stole a quick glance at Ryuji Nori, who remained deeply focused on the game. With a determined expression, Koizumi turned his attention back to his falling blocks, grinning as he believed he was making the right moves.

Koizumi Otaka began to grasp the objective of 'Tetris,' realizing that the aim was to build tall structures with the falling blocks, especially as he noticed Ryuji Nori's blocks steadily decreasing.

Koizumi Otaka managed to reach the top border of his screen with his slowly descending blocks. He thought he was about to win but was met with the disappointing text 'Defeat.'

Meanwhile, on Ryuji Nori's screen, the triumphant message 'Victory!' appeared.

Ryuji Nori found himself perplexed as to why he had won when the countdown hadn't even reached zero. He turned his attention to Koizumi Otaka's screen and noticed that Koizumi Otaka had indeed stacked the blocks all the way up to the border.

In disbelief, Ryuji Nori couldn't help but exclaim, "Koizumi-kun! Did you lose on purpose?" He looked at Koizumi Otaka, seeking an explanation.

Koizumi Otaka quickly shook his head and explained, "No! I genuinely thought that's how it was supposed to be!"

Ryuji Nori found himself utterly speechless upon hearing Koizumi Otaka's sincere response, and it was evident that Koizumi was not lying. He sighed helplessly and then asked, "You didn't know how to play 'Tetris'!?"

Koizumi Otaka shook his head genuinely, admitting his lack of knowledge about the game.

Ryuji Nori sighed again and explained that 'Tetris' was a classic video game from the past, which had been remade by KiShin, Tora, and Suzuki. He further clarified that anyone who had frequented arcades before the entrance of these companies into the video game industry would be familiar with the iconic 'Tetris,' a game composed of parentheses and brackets.

Ryuji Nori had been an avid 'Tetris' player long before KiShin's arcade machines and video games gained immense popularity. This is why he was overjoyed when KiShin remade 'Tetris,' and he had been enjoying KiShin's video games just as much.

Upon hearing Ryuji Nori's explanations, Koizumi Otaka nodded in understanding. Subsequently, Koizumi Otaka inserted two coins into the dual coin slots, and both of them, Koizumi Otaka and Ryuji Nori, began to play 'Tetris' together, having a great time.