Game Gyaru

Chapter 11: Call Home

It took a while, but Hakuta was starting to fit into living at the Otari residence. Sitting back on the couch like he lived here never felt better. Before, it was like being a guest for a sleepover for him, but now kicking back and playing the Toystation was natural. So that was how he was spending his weekend when Shiuka approached him.

"That looks new." She commented on him playing something unfamiliar to her. Of course, there were only two she was aware that he own, so since this one didn't resemble either of those two, it was easy for her to tell this was new. At least for her.

"That's because I got a great deal on this one." He bragged, showing off the receipt. There was a nearby store that sold cheap second hand games for those on more of a budget. Therefore, he was able to pick up this title for the low cost of just 500 yen. While it was a game panned by critics and players alike, he was having decent fun with it.

The game was called, 'God From the Machine'. The gameplay revolved around stealth and sneaking around enemies rather than taking them all on in a gunfight. While the latter was certainly possible, the difficulty of fighting dozens of heavily armed guards meant the former was a much more viable option. Also like the RPG game that he had dedicated many hours on, this one also had dialogue options.

"That sounds incredibly boring." Shiuka didn't share his enthusiasm about the game. "Where's the fun in hiding like a pussy from everyone? Just kill them."

"I can't just play games where all I'm doing is mowing down countless lives." He retorted. "Besides, I am killing people in this game. Only quietly." He demonstrated this to her by getting a guard to go into an alleyway alone and taking the man out. Then, he hid the body so none of that guy's allies would be aware of him going missing.

"Just seems like a waste of time when you can just take them all out at the same time." She vastly overestimated the character's abilities in this game.

Just as they were talking, the phone rang. It wasn't just any phone however, this was the special phone she left on the kitchen counter. There were only two people in the entire world who could possibly be wanting to call on this device. So naturally, this got both of them excited over the prospect as they paused the game to answer it.

"Papa!?" Shiuka was quicker to getting there, so she was the one to answer. "I'm so glad to hear you're okay." Judging from her response, it was clear to Hakuta their parents were alive and well.

"Go ahead, put it on speaker." He urged her so he could be a part of this conversation. "Dad, are you all right?"

"Of course I am." The man replied through the phone. "Why wouldn't I?" He laughed as if the last time they talked wasn't concerning at all.

"So, where are you now?" She asked.

"Don't worry, we made it to the island perfectly fine." The meaning of the word 'fine' depended greatly on who one asked. Though regardless of who they were, they most assuredly would not use the adverb, 'perfectly' to modify it. Most people would've assumed they got there with little issue thanks to their pilots skillful flying through uncertain skies. However, for these two men, it meant they got on the island. That was it, as they were still hungry, wet, their clothes were torn up, and their pilot was missing.

As if was explained to the teens. They barely made it through the storm, where some lightning hit them a couple times. The engine got killed as a result, so the pilot informed them they'd need to make an emergency landing in the waters. Not feeling this menuver was safe, Kankichi decided they all jump out of the plane with just a couple of parachutes to their name.

"That sure was awkward." Toukou laughed as he recounted having to share with his friend. "Too bad we've got no clue where that pilot went off to."

"Anyway." Kankichi returned to the subject at hand. "We've got a couple of goals, and it looks like we'll be stranded here for the foreseeable future."