Chapter 6: Hey, can I come over to play?

I decided to share a bit about my family’s quirks.

“At my house, my parents and my little sister are all gamers,” I said. “Sometimes, my parents have been at it longer than us kids, so they can’t exactly scold us for playing.”

“Your parents play games too?” Toudou’s eyes widened, her voice tinged with disbelief. “Even though they’re adults?”

I didn’t think it was all that shocking, but from the perspective of the Toudou household, it must’ve seemed unthinkable. “Of course. Parents are humans too, you know—adults are just people. Japan’s a gaming powerhouse, so it’s not that strange for them to play, right? They were kids once, and even now, they still game.”

“Is that so?” Toudou murmured, her tone still carrying a trace of doubt. Clearly, her parents had nothing to do with games. They lived in different worlds, with clashing values—there was no bridging that gap.

She settled her slightly raised hips back down, muttering, “But yeah, that’s right.”

“Adults come in all sorts,” I continued. “Common sense varies too. My parents are into old-school board games, though.”

“Like shogi or go?”

“Yeah, stuff like chess or backgammon.”

Toudou let out a soft giggle, though I couldn’t quite figure out what was so funny.

“Kuroki-kun’s family sounds nice,” she said, a hint of envy in her voice. “I wish mine was like that.”

“Do they set time limits on your gaming?” I asked.

“Time limits?” She waved her hand as if swatting away an annoying thought. “It’s way past that. Gaming’s straight-up banned at my place.”

“Banned, huh…” I trailed off. From an educational standpoint, games often got painted as the villain. Some adults even called them evil, though I figured alcohol or cigarettes were far worse.

“They don’t need to worry so much,” Toudou said, her tone edged with frustration. “I’m not gonna turn into a delinquent or anything. Papa and Mama just don’t trust their kid enough.”

The way she tossed out “or anything” made it clear the Toudou family’s strict moral upbringing was doing its job, for better or worse. Her words stirred a faint memory from elementary school, flickering at the back of my mind.

“Toudou, have you ever played games before now?”

“Yeah, just occasionally, though.”

“Maybe at a friend’s house who’s into games, when you went over to play?”

Toudou’s puffed-up cheeks deflated with a soft huff. “Yeah, you nailed it. I’d play at friends’ houses who were obsessed with games, or at places where an older brother had a ton of them.”

As she spoke, a spark of realization flickered across her face. Without waiting for my response, she pressed on. “Wait, Kuroki-kun, were you the one hosting? You know, for kids like me from no-gaming houses?”

I nodded, a memory surfacing. “Yeah, I just remembered a kid from a no-games household who used to come over.”

“Whoa, a comrade!” Toudou’s eyes lit up. “So, like—”

Her excitement spilled over, and we dove into a lively exchange, swapping stories about households where gaming was a way of life and those where it was forbidden. The back-and-forth was surprisingly fun, each tale more relatable than the last.

“That guy practically lived at my place during summer break. It was basically his second home.”

“Huh, I see, I see!” Toudou leaned forward, her voice brimming with curiosity. “Every day just to play, huh? Like it was his own house?”

I didn’t catch the gleam in her eyes at first. “Hey, Kuroki-kun?”

Toudou’s tone shifted, cloaked in a sudden, almost mature aura as she scooted closer. She’d been sitting across from me, but now she dragged her chair right beside mine.

“Huh?”

“Can I ask one thing?” She leaned in, her body so close it was practically brushing against mine. A soft warmth pressed against me, sending my pulse racing.

“W-what is it?”

My voice cracked, the easygoing vibe evaporating into pure tension.

Toudou brought her hand to her mouth, then leaned even closer, her lips hovering near my ear as if to share a secret. Her hand rested lightly on my knee. “If you’d be okay with it…”

The moment her breath grazed my ear, something in me snapped.

“Too close! Too close! Back off!”

“Huh, backfired?” Toudou pulled away, sticking out her pink tongue with a playful “tee-hee.” Everything about her was infuriatingly cute, but I wasn’t about to fall for it. I raised my voice, trying to shake off the flurry of improper thoughts.

“If you’ve got something to ask, just say it straight!”

Toudou dropped the teasing act, her expression turning serious. She pressed her knees together, hands smoothing down her short skirt, and met my gaze head-on. “Then, I’ll get straight to the point.”

“Please do.”

“Talking with you, Kuroki-kun, gave me an idea…”

“An idea…?” A bad feeling crept up my spine.

“I mean… would it be okay if I came over to your room to hang out? I just realized we could play games together…”

“…Huh?”

Time seemed to freeze. My heart felt like it might stop altogether.

A single word slipped from my lips, barely audible.

“You’re kidding, right?”

Toudou let out an embarrassed “ahaha,” her cheeks tinged with a faint flush. But honestly, I was the one feeling flustered here.

“Nah, I mean, if I showed up at your place, it’d probably stir up all sorts of misunderstandings… Just because we’re game buddies doesn’t mean we can do whatever we want.”

Misunderstandings? About what? No, wait—hold on. She’s Toudou, practically a celebrity at school. Any rumors would spiral into tabloid-level gossip. The kind of thing where the public and nosy onlookers would blow it out of proportion.

“Yeah, misunderstandings would definitely be bad,” I muttered.

“Right? You’re always so quiet in class, Kuroki-kun, earphones in during lunch, keeping to yourself. If people got the idea you’re suddenly hanging out with everyone when you prefer your own space, it’d be such a hassle for you.”

Her words hit harder than I expected, and I barely managed a response.

“…It’s not like that.”

“It’s not? But you’re always alone, so I figured that’s just how you roll.”

Her innocent words stabbed straight into my chest.

“I’ve got friends, you know… people I talk to,” I said, scrambling to defend myself. “Like, uh, Sato-kun, for example.”

Toudou didn’t miss a beat. “The guy who sits in front of you, right?”

“Yeah. And Kato-kun, too.”

“The one next to you?”

“Y-yeah…!”

A bright, full-faced smile spread across Toudou’s face. “That’s awesome! All your friends have seats so close by!”

“…Gah.”

Okay, fine. I only really talk to the guys whose desks are right next to mine. I surrender.

At this point, I was ready to admit defeat. “Look, friends… whether you’ve got a ton or just a few, it’s different for everyone. What matters is how well you get along, right?”

Toudou nodded, her expression softening as she looked at me, my head slightly bowed. “That’s a great way to put it, Kuroki-kun. So, as fellow fans of the same game, coming over to your place to play—”

“No way, absolutely not, sorry, that’s a hard pass,” I cut in, my voice firmer than intended.

Toudou’s eyebrows drooped, her face falling. “You don’t have to shut it down that hard… It’s kinda harsh, you know?”

Guilt tugged at me. Toudou was probably used to being the one invited, the one turning people down—not the other way around. Rejection wasn’t something she was accustomed to.

With a small shrug, she seemed to brush it off, like flipping a switch to reset the mood.

“Still, that’s a pretty normal reaction.”

“Yeah, sorry.”

She seemed to get it, her expression softening with understanding. “Okay, Kuroki-kun, I won’t push to come over to your room or anything but, how about we just play games together instead? That’s fine, right? Maybe you could even teach me a thing or two?”

Normally, I’d shut that down without a second thought, but this felt like a safer compromise than letting her into my room. “Yeah… I don’t know how much I can teach you, but that much should be okay.”

“Yay!” Toudou’s face lit up. “Can I hit you up with game questions outside of school too?”

“As long as it’s stuff I can actually answer.”

“Then let’s exchange LIME!”

LIME. The chat app. Not to brag, but my friend count on there is still in the single digits.

“…Okay.”

Momentum is a terrifying thing. One small concession, and before you know it, the situation spirals out of control. Just like that, I found myself exchanging contact info with Toudou Mashiro, whose face could easily grace a magazine cover.

Toudou fiddled with her smartphone, with a satisfied smile on her lips. My phone buzzed almost immediately. I glanced at the screen.

Mashiro: Nice to meet you? Game buddy Kuroki-kun

Game buddy. Since starting high school, this might be the first time anyone’s called me a “buddy” to my face. I read the message a few times, then looked up at Toudou’s expectant expression. If we’re buddies, I should respond with some sincerity, right?

“I’m not great at clever replies, but… nice to meet you too,” I said, my voice quieter than I intended.

Toudou’s eyes widened for a split second before a mischievous smile crept across her face. “Fufu. Kuroki-kun, are you the type who replies to LIME messages out loud?”

“…Kuh.”

“Kusukusu,” she giggled, unable to hold it in. Her smile was dazzling, like something straight out of a commercial. My face heated up, but there was an odd sense of accomplishment in making her laugh like that.

“So, Kuroki-kun.”

“?”

Pointing toward the next stage, Toudou’s eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. “How about after school tomorrow? We can game right here. That cool? Since we’re game buddies and all.”

“Tomorrow…?”

“Yeah. Just the two of us, playing games?”

“Just the two of us…?”

It felt like I was making some kind of forbidden pact. Still, I gave a small nod, sealing the deal.