Game Gyaru

Chapter 56: Not Enough Attention

Hakuta sat back once again at his desk and turned on his computer. The boy cracked his knuckles to prepared himself to chat once more with the person who's face he had never seen. At least, this was to be his plan on how to spend his time after school. But a knock at the door would interrupt him.

"Oh, hello Noto." Shiuka greeted Iruka's father as he had come in at his usual time to do some work.

"Ah I keep telling you two to call me Omihiro." The older man laughed. He was a jolly fellow who seemed to treat his job as more of a thing he did for a friend. Despite only knowing her dad from the very few times they had actually met to discuss details.

This part of the day wasn't strange for Hakuta. Though the girl standing behind the man certainly was. It was Iruka, who had also dropped by for a visit. She didn't normally come by, but it wasn't a major surprise to see her either. The only problem for him would be now she had come along to cut into his plans.

"I'm sure Hakuta's home, right?" She asked Shiuka, who looked at her with slight disappointment and sighed.

"Yeah, of course he is." She answered with a tone betraying her unhappiness. "Hakuta, Iruka's here to see you!" Shiuka called up to the stairs.

"I'll be right down there." He called back, sighing as he shut off his computer. This would be a missed opportunity to try and get to know 'TheMaskedDemon' a bit better. Surely if he had this time, he would be one step in learning of their identity. It was a shame he would now have to leave his room.

At least, this was what he believed he'd have to do. However the moment he opened up his door to take one single step out, the boy had already run into Iruka. "Uh, I said I was coming." He told her, confused as to how she managed to quickly climb the stairs in the time it took him to walk out the door.

"I know." She replied. "But I was wondering if we could just hang in your room?" It was a strange offer he didn't expect coming from her. If he were to accept, then this would be the first time she had ever come into his own person room. This spot was important to him, as it was the only real place he could call his own after moving into Shiuka's home. Especially now that he had a computer for which he could privately place video games instead of the living room.

"Are you sure?" He asked with caution and apprehension. "I mean, you know, because I am a boy and you are a girl." If he allowed her, then this would also mean she would be the first girl other than Shiuka to be alone with him in his room. It didn't really count with Shiuka, since they already lived together. So there time never concerned him as they were always alone together in a home situation.

But Iruka was different, even if she was the only classmate of theirs aware of their circumstances. Apparently it didn't matter to her that he could barely call this place his home.

"I don't know what's wrong?" She replied with an air of innocence. "I've been in boy's rooms all the time." Said Iruka, recounting her old childhood friend growing up. It was rather cute to him that she somehow never grew up past those days and was naive to the changes of teens as they entered into high school. "And I don't see a sign that says no girls allowed."

"Okay fine." He relented and allowed her inside. Since she didn't seem to treat it any different than when she was with the girls. Hakuta was confident she didn't mean anything about this beyond just wanting to spend time with him.

She walked inside and he closed the door behind her. Now they were isolated from the outside world. The only thing mattering being just their company for each other. It was no wonder why people considered this to be a big deal once they got into high school.

"Phew, I'm tired." Of course, she was not one of those people as Iruka plopped herself face first onto his bed. A big deep breath could be heard despite being muffled by her face pressed into where he laid for sleep.

"You didn't just come over for a nap, right?" He said, crossing his arms in disappointment that he honestly believed there was more to her actions.

"Of course not." She assured him, only turning her head so voice could be more clearly heard. "I just wanted to see you out of class. I swear ever since you got that computer, you've been more cooped up in room." While she wouldn't be aware of what he did at home while she wasn't here. She did hear of Shiuka's complaints on the matter whenever they hung out during class.

"I do not." He vehemently denied the accusation. Though Hakuta did realize how he never tracked how much time he had really spent in just his room alone. "And before you make any accusation, I haven't been playing video games the whole time. I've actually been chatting with that one person I met during the gaming tournament."

"It feels like that's the only person you've been talking to since then." She spoke in a whiny, passive-aggressive voice where there was no way anyone would miss the hint. "You know you actually know us girls in real life, right? You don't even know who this dude is at all."

"That's not completely true." He turned his computer back on once again to show her proof. "See, I know they're 16."

"That's not really that hard to guess." She replied, unimpressive. "I mean, I doubt there's some middle schooler running around with a mask beating people at video games."

"But come on." He continued to attempt to get her to see his side of the story. "Aren't you at least curious about who they are? Like why someone would want to go to such lengths to hide who they truly are?" Hakuta knew a part of why he wanted to continue to chat with this person was due to that growing question. Even though it did make him feel a bit guilty on wanting to know someone for this purpose, rather than wanting to be their friend because he liked them.

"I'm not." She was not in the slightest bit curious on the true identity of this masked gamer. Mainly because she knew knowing who they were wouldn't change the fact she didn't know much about them beyond gaming. While she was cool with Hakuta, she didn't need another boy into gaming in her life. "You were about to try and talk to them before I got here, weren't you?"

"Maybe." He turned away from her in his chair to avoid her accusing gaze. "Why does it matter anyway? It's just how I want to spend my free time. None of this affects you guys at all."

"That's totally not true at all." She disagreed with him, standing up from laying on his bed. Considering her body language, he could tell she was being serious. "If you're choosing to be with some computer screen, then that means you're not doing things with me, or Shiuka, or anyone else of your friends."

"Hmm, you make a decent point there." He had to concede to what she said. It was oddly smart of her to put it in that way. Actually, it was way too smart coming from her to have thought of it all on her own. "Wait a second, did the others tell you to come here?"

"Um, no." She replied in a panic. "I just thought maybe I should come here to check in on you."

"Iruka." He stared at her like a parent waiting for their child to tell the truth.

"Okay fine, the other girls told me to look for you." They knew he held her in enough regard to listen to her outside of school. While they found it strange why, Ninka and Rouko did find it useful for once when they sent her to do their bidding.

"Interesting." He rubbed his chin in thought. Hakuta also wondered if Ninka was still upset about him preferring Iruka and Shiuka. Though that kiss on his cheek also made him wonder if she stopped caring about it, as the spot where her lips graced his skin burned from the memory. It was good he only had two cheeks, so that he could only have two memories of her and Shiuka doing so for him to remember. Those gals were so weird.

"I didn't go just because they asked." She sat back down on his bed. "I just wanted to see you again too. You're getting a bit weird about this online friend thing. Why would you care so much about someone you can't even see?" It wasn't just about the mask. He was sharing conversations with an essential stranger. All they had for each other were the words sent to the other. He couldn't see what they were doing while he chatted and the same the other way around for the masked gamer.

"You just don't get it." He countered, knowing they were indeed of two different worlds. "Talking online is, like, a basic thing for us gamers. It's not like everyone just wants to go hanging out with people they see everyday."