Vol 2 Chapter 21 (1/2)
“……Hah……”
After catching a doll for everyone, I retreated to the bathroom for a breather.
When I returned to the arcade machine area, Aika was nowhere to be seen.
——Seems like this place failed too…
I sighed as I sat on the seat in front of the machine.
On the screen was the familiar logo of [ST4], short for [Strong Fighter 4].
Staring at the screen, I blanked out.——Suddenly,
……Hmm, something feels off about this though……?
“Kimito-sama, what are you doing?”
The excited girls in my cla.s.s surrounded me.
Wherever I go, they would always follow. How do I say it, it feels like I’m quite a celebrity in Sekain Academy.
“Well, what is this?”
“This is called a fighting game. You play it by pressing these b.u.t.tons to fight with your enemy in the game.”
“F-fighting?”
“It’s a game, just like shogi and chess.”
“I see!”
The Ojou-samas stared at the screen excitedly.
“Ah, they are facing each other!”
“Is the fight going to start?”
It seems like they felt excited yet scared at the same time.
“Does Kimito-sama play this game often?”
“Just a little, I guess.——Want me to try it for a bit?”
Aika is now a hopeless case.
“Yes, please!”
“Everyone, Kimito-sama said he is going to play this game!”
“Wahh!”
Wait…..
In an instant, the number of spectators increased by several times.
I’m not good at this though……The pressure is crus.h.i.+ng me.
Under the intense gazes of the Ojou-samas, I pressed the 1P b.u.t.ton.
A melody sounded out as it changed to the character selection screen.
At that moment, I noticed the difference.
RYU BECAME RYUKOOOOOO——————!!
The Karate uniformed man became a Kimono wearing beauty. Every character got a gender change!
“What is the matter?”
“Ah, nothing……”
The screen displayed Ryuko who was dancing to the music with the fan in her hand.
……W-what is this? Is this an exclusive edition for Sekain? Just for this field trip?
Choosing not to give a d.a.m.n, I picked the character I was most familiar with, Ryu…no wait, Ryuko.
The stage was set in America, with the enemy as Ryu’s rival, Kesoko.
With a catchy melody, the screen changed into the fighting screen.
“WHY IS KESOKO TRANSFORMED INTO A TUTU-WEARING BALLERINA POSING GIRL!?!?”
“W-What’s the matter, Kimito-sama?”
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING CAPCO——Ah, nothing. This game looks slightly different from the one that I know of……”
I steeled myself as I prepared for the battle.
[Round 1……Fight!!]
Other than the difference of the characters, it doesn’t seem to have changed that much.
“Is it starting?”
“Keep it up, Kimito-sama!”
Just as the countdown timer reached ‘0’, Kesoko rushed towards me.
Kesoko: “ Pas de Chat¹!”
She bent her right leg towards the left as she jumped to the side.
“……Hah?”
BANG CRASH CLANG!
Ryuko: “KYAHHH——!”
“HUHH!? I RECEIVED DAMAGE!?”
Ryuko: “Such fluttering steps!!”
She stood frozen still with her eyes upturned white in colour as if she wore a mask.
——What…the h.e.l.l is going on?
I tried to use Hadouken in a state of confusion.
But all I saw was Ryuko turning her fan.
“Why isn’t Hadouken working?!”
PAK!
Kesoko: “Oww!”
“Why did she get hit!?”
Kesoko: “I couldn’t take my eyes off those gracious hand gestures of yours
!”
Kesoko entered the state of [Maya is such a scary child…]. (TLN: Apparently some kind of an old-a.s.s shojo manga reference called Gla.s.s Mask…)
“Didn’t she only spin the fan!?”
“Kimito-sama, that is called [Kanamegaes.h.i.+²]!”
The Ojou-samas exclaimed.
“It’s one of the moves in j.a.panese traditional dance.”
“I-is that so……?”
Kesoko: “Pas de Chat!”
BANG CRASH CLANG!
Ryuko: “Such fluttering steps!!”
Ryuko: (Spins fan)
PAK!
Kesoko: “I couldn’t take my eyes off those graceful hand gestures of yours!”
Ryuko and Kesoko never approached each other and just stood there dancing gracefully.
Looking carefully, I could see the health meter increasing instead of decreasing.
It seems that the health meter is actually an ‘Impression Meter’. Whoever causes the opponent to be touched by the dance moves first wins.
“THIS ISN’T A FIGHTING GAME ANYMOREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!”
“What is the matter, Kimito-sama?”
“N-no, it’s nothing.”
On a useless side note, Kesoko was voiced by Eri. This popular voice actress pops out everywhere, doesn’t she?
What if Sekain’s presence gets revealed by this—I had an uncomfortable thought. Well, I guess it’ll be okay, given the strictness of information security here.
Kesoko: “GRAND BATTEMENT!”
KA KA KA!! (TLN: Some kind of attack SFX)
Ryuko: “How can you raise your leg so high!?”
“She used a high-level skill!”
“This isn’t good for us…”
I had no idea about what was going on, but the Ojou-samas were very excited.
“K-Kimito-sama, let us take up the challenge!”
I pressed a series of b.u.t.tons that was the combo of Hadouken, Tornado Kick and Shoryuken.
What happened next was Ryuko spinning the fan, then walking a few small steps to the front, and ending it all with waving the fan twice.
“[Kanagaemas.h.i.+], [Okuri] and [Yuki]!” (TLN: Okuri is a farewell move in a Kabuki show, and Yuki means snow)
“That was amazing, Kimito-sama!!”
But I had no idea what they were praising me for….
At that moment, a spotlight shone down on Kesoko.
A graceful music sounded out and special visual effects appeared.
Could it be—— an EX skill?
“This is…the [Dying Swan]!!”
“Ahh! This is bad……!”