The Sly One

After school, I began walking home, feeling a bit exhausted from my conversation with Aoi. However, as I was on my way, I noticed a familiar face approaching me.

"Kousei-kun~" Her hair was dyed honey butter blonde with light teal layers underneath.

"Tsukasa-san...?"

"Aha~ You remembered! Are you heading home already?"

I nodded in response.

"Hmm~ I see, after a long and tiring day at school, going straight home is probably the best choice... but would you mind going out with me for a little while?" She smirked mischievously.

"Why...?"

"Come on, can't you sense the atmosphere? It's just the two of us..."

I tilted my head, looking at her up and down, then realized.

"Nao and Yuki aren't with you, are they...?"

"Ahh, those two? They're probably off somewhere doing who knows what," she chuckled. "Anyway, how about we go to the arcade?"

"Alright..."

"Sweet~" Tsukasa exclaimed, taking hold of my hand as we made our way to the arcade.

Once inside, we were greeted by the lively atmosphere of the arcade. The sounds of machines whirring and the cheers of other students filled the air.

"So, what games do you usually play?" Tsukasa asked, looking at me with curiosity.

"Hmm, I'm not particularly good at any specific games," I admitted. "But I enjoy playing PvE shooting games. There's one over there with a gun remote. Would you like to try it?"

"Ohhh~ I see," Tsukasa said intrigued. "Shall we then?"

I nodded, heading to the counter to exchange my coins for tokens. Tsukasa was already waiting for me, holding the remote gun in front of the arcade machine.

As I approached her, I handed her a token. "Here, one life for you."

Tsukasa laughed, amused by my gesture. "You know, I don't need those tokens. I only need this." She held up the remote confidently.

"Seriously? What if you die?" I asked, skeptical of her claim.

"Hmph, underestimating me, I see..." Tsukasa smirked. "Wanna make a bet that I'll be able to solo this game without losing?"

I was taken aback by her boldness. "That's impossible. It's clearly a two-player game for a reason. But I'm sure I'll win."

"Sure, if you say so," she replied with a mischievous wink. "You shouldn't have made a deal with a devil." She inserted the coin, and the game began.

The first stage proved to be relatively easy, with fewer zombies and some special zombies introduced. Life packs were scattered around the map, providing a buffer for any damage taken. Tsukasa handled the gun as if it were a real weapon, skillfully shooting down the zombies on the screen while maneuvering her character.

As the first stage came to an end, Tsukasa looked at me with a confident smile. "See? Wasn't that bad."

I remained skeptical. "That's just the first stage. Don't get too cocky."

Tsukasa chuckled. "Pfft~ You still don't believe me, huh? Well, I can't wait to finish this game already."

"Sure, sure."

The second stage commenced, bringing with it an increased number of zombies and special enemies. Tsukasa continued to shoot them down effortlessly, her health bar seemingly unaffected. "Woah, that was close," she said, narrowly dodging an incoming attack before swiftly aiming at the zombies once again.

The second and third stages passed by smoothly, with Tsukasa, effortlessly taking down the zombies and special enemies. Normally, there would be five stages in total, with the fifth stage featuring a boss. This boss had a single weak point—its head—which had to be shot before it could fully recover. While not particularly difficult, the challenge lay in the fact that the head would start flying around the map, requiring precise aiming.

As we reached the fourth stage, I couldn't help but notice the growing crowd surrounding us. They whispered amongst themselves, their attention divided between Tsukasa's skillful gameplay and their own speculations.

"That girl is really good."

"And she's quite beautiful too."

"Do you think they're a couple?"

I let out a sigh, realizing that the attention was focused on us rather than the game itself. I shifted my focus back to Tsukasa as she tackled the final stage.

Tsukasa continued her relentless assault on the boss, shooting at its head during the first phase. However, as the head started flying around the screen, I assumed that she would struggle to hit it.

"Uwah! That's hilarious!"

But then, she took a shot in the general direction of the flying head. "It's a miss," I muttered, expecting her to fail but then... to my surprise, the head veered towards the path of the bullet and got hit. "Huh?!"

"Hehe, E-Z!" Tsukasa chuckled.

"But... how?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You just have to predict where the head is going," she smirked, setting down the controller. "Well, Niimi-kun... now that I've won, what should we do?"

I groaned, "The bet... I forgot..."

"Hehe, let's go!" Tsukasa grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the photo booth. "How about we take a picture together?"

"That's it?"

Tsukasa looked at me and smirked. "What, were you expecting something more?" she teased.

"Nope! I just want to head home already!"

"Hehe, alright then," she said, setting up the filters on the photo booth screen.

I noticed that she had chosen a heart filter, and that will be a problem for my heart. "Hey, why are you putting a heart?!"

"Why not?" she replied mischievously.

"Oi, oi... That's a problem."

"It's too late now!"

As the camera flashed, I felt a soft kiss on my cheek, surprising me.

After that, Tsukasa stepped out of the photo booth and grabbed the printed pictures. "Pfft~ Ahahahaha! Look at you, being all cute with a cheek kiss," she giggles, showing me the photo.

I sighed. "That's it? Alright... I'm outta here."

"Hey, hey, wait up!" Tsukasa grabbed my hand and handed me the photo. "Here~ I'll be going too! See ya~" She winked before running off in the opposite direction.

I watched her run away, noticing that her ear was slightly red. "So, you're embarrassed too, huh... how sly..."