Chapter 14: Not a capture target
A dire situation has descended upon me. Toudou Mashiro is coming to my house—or, to be precise, my room.
Just the other day, I was cornered by Toudou’s request—no, her overwhelming smile, which felt more like a veiled threat. As expected, resistance was futile. It was like an RPG dialogue prompt, looping relentlessly until I caved and selected “Yes.” Things escalated quickly from there. Per Toudou’s wishes, she’s set to invade my space this Sunday.
It’s Friday night now. Tomorrow’s Saturday, and the day after, Sunday. No matter how I crunch the numbers, I’ve got a mere three days to prepare. Time is slipping through my fingers, and I’m left scrambling to ready myself for Toudou Mashiro’s arrival.
If only I could shrug it off with a casual, she’s just coming to hang out, no need to panic—how much simpler would life be?
A sudden chill creeps down my spine.
“Wait… Having a girl in my room won’t spark rumors, will it? It’s not a crime, and we’re just classmates, so it should be fine… Or is it already a problem that a girl’s coming to a guy’s room alone?”
My brain stutters, teetering on the edge of a meltdown.
Whatever. One step at a time. Clear the quests, level up bit by bit—that’s the core of any game, right?
With that resolve, my first task is clear: clean and organize the room.
“Scrub the place spotless, then… hide anything that’d be embarrassing if she saw it!”
I clench my fist, determination surging through me.
“I can do this. I will do this…! I’ll make it perfect!”
“…Nii-nii…”
“Huh!?”
A sudden, intense presence behind me makes me spin around. There, framed in the open doorway, stands Akane, clutching a plastic bottle, her eyes fixed on me.
“Nii-nii, you’re kinda… scary…”
“No, it’s not like that—”
“Nii-nii’s gone nuts, huh? But you were always like that, so it’s fine, right?”
With a carefree nyahaha laugh, my little sister saunters off.
Your big brother is very, very sad.
I’ve started cleaning my room. No time to wallow in sadness.
The room’s a complete disaster. To get organized, I’ve dragged everything out onto the floor, like a spring cleaning frenzy. I’m sorting what stays out and what gets stashed away.
In my hand, a game cartridge. A hardcore RPG.
“This is fine.”
In my hand, a manga volume. A famous adventure series from a shonen magazine.
“This is fine too.”
Then, my fingers close around a book with a slightly risqué cover—a seinen manga, an outlaw story with some spicy scenes. “…I’m not fazed by this,” I tell myself, but caution wins out. “Just to be safe, I’ll put it away.”
I’m such a weakling.
“This one… probably fine to leave out. This one’s a no-go, gotta hide it. This too—out. It’s a battle manga, sure, but there’s way too many half-naked girls. If she saw this, I’d be done for.”
Even among familiar stuff—manga, light novels, games, magazines—reexamining them reveals risky items lurking in plain sight. Take, for example, a fighting game poster: a battle scene, naturally, with clothes torn to shreds. Or a light novel with a girl on the cover, her outfit barely clinging on—not showing anything, but still suggestive. And then there’s the slightly spicy artbook by my favorite illustrator, featuring a high school gyaru lifting her skirt on the cover. Is this book trying to ruin me?
No way I’m throwing them out, so I pack them into a cardboard box. The work moves faster than expected.
“That’s all the physical stuff… Now, that leaves…”
My eyes land on the desk, where the gaming PC Toudou’s after and the gaming laptop I use to help Akane sit. The hardware itself isn’t the issue. The problem’s the data inside.
Toudou’s a newbie, so she’ll likely use the easier-to-handle desktop. Unlike Akane’s streaming PC, this one’s my daily driver, loaded with all sorts of sensitive data.
“Gotta be careful. Precise. Execute this perfectly,” I mutter, fingers flying over the keyboard and mouse as I shove anything remotely sketchy into a hidden folder.
“Oh, right! Search history’s a problem too…”
With a flash of inspiration, I click the search bar, and my past searches flood the screen. “…‘Swimsuits, summer.’ Delete. ‘Beach, girls, things to watch out for.’ Delete. ‘Beach, guys, vibe.’ Delete. ‘Toudou Mashiro, wiki.’ Delete… Ugh, I should’ve been clearing this regularly… There’s some seriously bad stuff in here!”
Why the heck is ‘Toudou Mashiro swimsuit’ in my predictive text!? Is AI evolving in the wrong direction or what?
I manually delete everything, my heart pounding. After wiping out days’ worth of history, it finally hits me—just clear it all from the settings! I’m so frazzled I’m losing it. Calm down, me.
But staying calm is impossible. Who could imagine Toudou Mashiro—a legit celebrity from commercials—stepping into my room? No one would. When she walks through that door, how am I even supposed to feel?
I keep working in a daze, my mind: a fog of nerves, until my mouse slips—click—and I hit the wrong spot. A video from the “Recommended for You” section starts playing. It’s a search result for “Toudou Mashiro CM soft drink.”
The screen flickers to life.
The video begins.
Instead of hitting the back button, I’m glued to the display. Sunlight spills across a serene landscape—clouds, sky, mountains, rocks, a crystal-clear stream. Toudou Mashiro stands in a flowing white dress, her ankles kissed by the river’s edge, her gaze piercing through the screen. Ash-blonde hair, dark eyes. She looks younger, almost childlike—middle school, probably—but there’s a quiet maturity in her poise that belies her age.
Soft, chill BGM hums, as the camera lingers on close-ups: her eyes, her hands, her lips, the curve of her thighs just below the hem of her skirt, the faint sheen of sweat on the back of her shirt. Subliminal, deliberate. Toudou’s figure and striking features weave in and out, searing themselves into the viewer’s mind. The sweat evokes summer’s relentless heat, offset by the cool rush of the river. Her voice—probably hers—cuts through: “Change the flow from within.” She raises a soft drink bottle to her lips, drinks, and turns to the camera. The ad fades to black.
“Phew…”
I slump back, exhausted, not realizing how tense my body had become. Just thirty seconds, but it’s draining. Maybe it’s the avant-garde flair—this one was an online exclusive, after all.
Another version auto-plays before I can react.
Brighter, upbeat BGM this time. Toudou Mashiro dashes along a coastal road under a blazing sun, clad in a summer sailor outfit. The camera zooms in: her eyes, her legs, her arms, the subtle rise of her chest. She reaches the beach, sweat tracing a path down her jaw. A mature woman’s voiceover chimes in: “Change the flow from within.” Toudou’s cheeks are flushed, her breath slightly ragged. She downs the soft drink, exhales deeply, and licks her lips with a satisfied glint in her eyes, locking onto the viewer. This one aired on TV—I remember it vividly.
How do I even put it into words? Toudou barely speaks, yet the message lands with force. Is this what they call acting? I’m no expert, but her presence carries weight, conveying everything with crystal clarity.
She’s from another world. Toudou can insist she’s just a regular high schooler all she wants, but that’s absurd. She’s untouchable, no matter how far you reach. That’s Toudou Mashiro.
“And that’s my gaming buddy? Why’s she coming to my room…?”
No matter how many times I turn it over in my head, it doesn’t add up. But this isn’t a dream—it’s reality.
Sunday, ten o’clock. Toudou will be here any minute.
I’ve prepped as much as humanly possible. My parents are home, but thanks to the separate staircase in our two-family house, we won’t cross paths. Their jobs keep them sleeping late on weekends—no way they’re up this early. The real wildcard is Akane, but even she, usually up late editing or filming on weekends, won’t stir until noon at the earliest. I know because she was up until the wee hours last night… How do I know? Because I couldn’t sleep either…
I pace back and forth in my room, restless. “I’m so nervous… I can’t stop fidgeting…”
Today, I’m supposed to meet Toudou near the house to bring her in. After agonizing over it, that seemed the safest plan. I drilled her on the route, the layout, every detail to ensure no one spots her. “Is all this really necessary?” she’d asked, but this is non-negotiable.
My LIME app chimes, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“It’s here…”
My jittery excitement plummets with a single message. It’s definitely from Toudou.
Mashiro: Kuroki-kun, I followed your directions and made it to your door. Open it!
“…Huh?”
My brain stalls, but my fingers scramble to reply.
You: Wait. Where are you right now?
Mashiro: Like I said, at your front door. It’s a two-family house, so the second floor, right?
I strain my ears, and—there it is—a faint “Kuroki-kuuun” drifting from the door.
“Waaaah!”
A small yelp escapes me as I bolt down the hallway, sliding toward the entrance.
I’d given her the route and house layout to make her entry smooth, not for her to go on a solo adventure! Some people unfamiliar with two-family homes might head to the first-floor entrance by mistake, but this was not the plan.
I fling the door open the second I reach it. Naturally, Toudou’s standing there, looking mildly surprised. But I’m the one freaking out.
“Whoa, you opened it so suddenly! That’s dangerous, Kuroki-kun,” she says.
You’re the dangerous one! I want to shout, but I swallow the urge. I need to get her inside—fast.
“…Just come in already. It’ll be bad if someone sees you.”
“Huh? Why? Is it a problem if someone sees?”
You’re the problem! I don’t have the composure to say it out loud. Lingering here risks my parents catching on or a neighbor spotting us, whispering, “Oh, the Kuroki boy brought a girl home.”
Toudou flashes a carefree grin. “Chill, chill. I came in disguise. No one’s gonna know it’s me.”
“That’s not the point…” I start to argue, then actually look at her.
She’s definitely disguised.
A black cap pulled low, a black mask covering from nose to chin. Her ash-blonde hair is tied back tightly, less eye-catching than usual. No sunglasses—probably a smart move, since paired with the mask, she’d look too suspicious. Her striking black eyes, though, are still unmistakable.
“See?” Toudou says, tilting her head.
“…Okay, you’re disguised, I’ll give you that.”
I can’t argue, but that aura of hers? No disguise can hide it. And no matter how you slice it, she’s unmistakably a girl. The risk of neighborhood aunties spinning gossip is still very real.
“Just being a girl is the problem,” I mutter as I usher her inside.
“Why?”
“It’ll become fodder for the neighborhood aunties’ gossip sessions.”
Every time I run into them, they’ll probably grill me with, “Oh, what kind of girl is she?” Those aunties love meddling like that. According to Akane, “I don’t get bothered that much,” so I can’t rule out that they’re just teasing me specifically.
“Isn’t it fine, Kuroki-kun? You could become popular—pretty great, right?”
Behind Toudou, who’d stepped into the entryway, the door clicked shut. That was a relief, for now…
“No way that’s fine. I don’t want people whispering that I brought a girl into my room.”
Depending on how it’s phrased, that could stir up trouble, but it’s the honest truth.
“Mind if I come in?” Toudou asked, already slipping off her shoes.
“Oh. Could it be I’m the first girl to step into Kuroki-kun’s room?” Her voice carried a teasing lilt, like poking fun at me was the main event.
No need to answer honestly.
“It’s not the first time a girl’s been in my room,” I said. After all, Akane’s been here. Yeah. Not a lie. She’s a proper girl too.
“…Hmm.”
Toudou saw right through me, her eyes glinting with mischief, ready to tease me further. But she paused, then slowly resumed moving, neatly aligning her shoes by hand. “I see. So I’m not the first. Got it, Kuroki-kun’s surprisingly active. You’ve got lots of disciples. But you didn’t give me an okay right away…”
Her expression shifted to one of playful boredom.
“Are you mad or something?” I asked.
“I’m not mad. Where’s the room?” she replied, her tone clipped.
“Why the polite speech…”
She’s definitely mad.
Girls are impossible to understand…
The moment Toudou stepped into my room, she threw her arms up in victory. “Kuroki-kun’s room! I finally made it!”
In mere seconds, her mood flipped back to bright, like mountain weather—unpredictable. As expected, she began inspecting every corner of the room. Good thing I tidied up.
“Whoa, amazing,” she said, her eyes locking onto the gaming PC. The power was already on, the desktop clean, displaying only a serene ocean wallpaper.
She turned to me, puzzled. “It’s not all lit up and shiny?”
“I can make it light up, but it’s distracting, so I usually keep it off.”
“Aww. It’s cute though, like a theme park night parade.”
“No point lighting it up during the day,” I countered.
Toudou blinked, confused. “Huh? So if I stay until night, you’ll light it up?”
For some reason, her gaze flicked to the bed. The room’s temperature seemed to spike.
“…I won’t light it up,” I said firmly.
“Boo,” she pouted, puffing out her cheeks.
“But this one lights up all the time. Like the keyboard.”
“Huh?”
I booted up the laptop, and the keyboard glowed in vibrant rainbow hues. Toudou’s eyes sparkled, drawn in like a moth to a flame.
“Whoa, cute! Like nail tips!”
“Glad you like it…” I muttered.
More importantly, we need to get this show on the road. I had her come in the morning specifically to wrap things up before my family notices. I offered Toudou the gaming chair.
“Come on, you came to play games, right? Let’s get right to it. I’ll teach you from the basics.”
And send her home soon.
Before settling into the chair, Toudou puffed out her cheeks again. “It kinda feels like you want me to leave soon.”
“N-No, not at all,” I stammered, cold sweat breaking out. Maybe my urgency was too obvious.
Toudou reached down and produced a paper bag from somewhere—a fancy package of yokan. “I even prepared greetings for your father and mother…”
“I told you not to do that!?” I blurted out. If she did, it’d be the biggest scandal in Kuroki family history.
She nodded, her expression oddly serious. “Right, so that was your true feelings. I thought Kuroki-kun was just pretending. Good thing I didn’t ring the first-floor bell.”
“It’s not pretending! Absolutely don’t ring it!?” I was practically panting, shoulders heaving.
Toudou leaned in, peering at my face with concern. “You don’t have to get so worked up.”
“Just sit down, please…” I pleaded.
“Kuroki-kun, are you crying?”
I really might start tearing up.
An hour had already slipped by since we started the game.
I’d walked Toudou through the basic controls, so now it was time for hands-on practice—more fun that way. Naturally, we stuck to casual battles rather than ranked matches.
We were in the thick of her debut match.
Toudou adapted to the PC controls faster than I’d expected. Sharp instincts or a quick learner—either way, it was impressive. I’d braced for her to struggle, but she proved me wrong.
With a click, bullets burst from her character’s gun, nailing an enemy dead-on. “Ah! I took them down!” she exclaimed.
The opponent seemed like a beginner too, but hitting a distant target was no small feat.
“Pretty good sense,” I said. “Next, let’s loot some supplies.”
Toudou melted with joy, practically flopping in her seat, her usual cool demeanor from class or modeling nowhere to be seen. “Hehe, got praised.”
Normally, we’d use voice chat for games, but sitting side by side, there was no need. I could even feel the faint warmth radiating from her—proof that Toudou Mashiro, my gaming buddy, was right here.
“Don’t let go of the mouse to celebrate,” I teased. “Come over here.”
“Ah, Kuroki-kun, another enemy!” she cried.
Her eyes and instincts were sharp, but she was way too excited. “Calm down,” I urged.
“Wah, there’s one over here too! I’m gonna get taken out—wa, our teammate saved me!”
I was about to rush to her aid, but our third teammate, nearby, beat me to it, saving Toudou’s character.
This game runs in teams of three. They don’t all have to be friends—this time, our third was a total stranger. But somewhere out there, a gamer with the same hobby was our comrade.
“I’ll thank them for saving me!” Toudou chirped, tossing healing items in front of the faceless teammate. They shook their character side to side, a simple gesture for “don’t need it.” Even that thrilled Toudou, who gleefully scooped the supplies back up.
Meanwhile, I dispatched the remaining enemy. “Took this one down too.”
“Wah, so fast!” she gasped.
“Toudou, our teammate might not need healing, but I think they’re low on ammo.”
“Got it! Then I’ll share… um, for ammo, the button is… not tap, but click and…”
“Might be easier with the keyboard,” I suggested. “It drops one set per press.”
“Ah, right, right.”
Toudou glanced away from the screen, fumbling with the keyboard as she chatted.
We got lucky—our debut match teammate was cooperative, no reckless charges. They probably clocked Toudou as a beginner, especially since we’d just made her account, leaving her character in default gear.
But our luck didn’t hold. Another party, drawn by our gunfire, swooped in to pick off the weakened. Toudou went down first, easily.
“Sorry—!” she wailed.
It wasn’t game over yet. Her character knelt, downed, waiting for a revive. Without a support healer, though, immediate rescue was tricky.
I kept my hands moving, focus unbroken. “It’s not over yet… but man, this is tough. They’re good.”
Our teammate and I put up a solid fight, but with our attention split on helping Toudou, we both got taken out in the end.
“Ahh, it’s all my fault!” Toudou groaned, clutching her head.
In truth, her presence didn’t make or break the team’s strength, but I held my tongue to spare her feelings.
The ranking screen flashed up: eighth place. Not bad for a first match, but I didn’t want her mistaking it for our skill alone. “Not a terrible start,” I said gently, “but we got a bit lucky. Let’s keep practicing.”
“We got matched with strong players, so we did pretty well,” I said.
Toudou tilted her head, puzzled. “Really? Was that person stronger than you, Kuroki-kun?”
“Nah, who knows. Probably about the same.”
My shooting accuracy was sharper, but that player’s awareness and teamwork were top-notch—better than mine, especially in a random party. Being kind to a faceless stranger like that? That’s a rare, strong player. Something to be grateful for.
“Eh, then they’re super strong,” Toudou said, deflating. “So I was just being protected by you two…”
“If you realize that, you’ll get good fast,” I encouraged.
But my words didn’t seem to sink in. Toudou let out a strange “fuee” sigh, then jolted with a “Wa?” Such a fidgety girl.
She pointed at the screen. “Hey, hey! I got a friend request from that ‘Nathan’ player from earlier!”
“Eh? For real?”
Sure enough, a friend request blinked on the display. Could’ve been an accidental click at the match’s end, but who knows? Sending a request to a beginner… From their playstyle, it didn’t feel like a pickup attempt. Just a hunch, but probably right.
I nodded. “I think it’s fine. As a memento of your first match, why not accept?”
As I spoke, a pang stirred in my chest. A friend means a gaming buddy. Wasn’t that supposed to be my thing with her? Stop it, Kuroki You. Toudou making friends is great for her gaming experience.
I still remember my own in-game encounters. A fleeting moment can spark a lifelong connection—friends from north to south, even across the globe. Isn’t that why Toudou came here, to experience that?
But it stings. What a lame guy I am. Does it feel like she’s slipping away? She’s right here, so close. I slapped my cheek with a sharp smack.
“Eh, Kuroki-kun, what’s wrong?” Toudou asked, startled.
“Nah, nothing. You should definitely friend Nathan-san. These encounters can turn into long-term gaming buddies.”
“Oh, really?”
I expected her to light up, but Toudou hesitated, her expression faltering. Then, tentatively, she spoke. “Do you have people like that too, Kuroki-kun…?”
“Yeah, I do. We play at least once a month or so.”
“Huh… What kind of people?” Her voice trailed off, her gaze averted. She looked… lonely?
“What kind of people, huh…” I echoed.
Toudou fidgeted, her awkwardness palpable. Did I get ahead of myself? Could she be feeling the same weird pang I am? No way. She’s a beautiful girl with no shortage of connections—why would she feel that about me? Another part of me snapped back to reality, slapping my cheek mentally. Just a misunderstanding.
“They’re all no-good types,” I said. “Like a guy who skips college to game all day or one who uses a voice changer while playing.”
Toudou’s head snapped up, the odd expression gone. Yeah, just my imagination. “Oh, right. So they’re all guys, huh. Are they good at the game?”
“They’re not ‘guys’ at that age, but yeah, they’re legit better than me.”
Quirky, though, every last one of them.
“Whoa. Stronger than you, Kuroki-kun? I can’t even imagine that,” Toudou said, eyes wide. She laughed, then grew serious. “Come on, second match, second match. Let’s hurry and do it!”
It was all a misunderstanding. Every bit of it.
But her every word sends my heart into chaos.
