𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗨𝗡𝗡𝗬 | itaru chigasaki

i. 「 arcade 」

❝ I take an impure and random stroll ❞

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Itaru felt often sentimental whenever he visited the arcade at night. It was always better visiting it at 7 PM when not many people- almost no one- visited the place.

Like he predicted, as soon as he stepped inside, there was almost no one in it other than the staff member he had gotten friendly with and a certain arctic-blonde girl he was particularly familiar with.

As Itaru approached the counter, the staff member already had a small bag of coins prepared for him, as if he was waiting for him to come and take it. Itaru paid him and walked towards the girl at one of the arcade machines.

Minori was particularly fond of rhythm games. According to her, it helped her clear her mind and occupy it with the one thing she loved the most- music.

It was expected of her as the MANKAI Company's official music composer. For an 18-year-old, Minori was good at composing BGMs and theme songs for their productions. Most of the things she did were related to it, dancing, singing, even playing video games.

Of course, rhythm games weren't the only thing she was good at.

"Got off pretty late at work?" She asked, keeping her eyes glued to the screen as she swiftly pressed the buttons of the machine, hitting every beat of the song with accuracy.

"Yeah, it was a bit of a pain in the ass, to be honest." He sighed as he sat next to her. "We had a meeting with a partner company and a girl there was pestering me about going to dinner with her."

She snickered. 

"And you're here now to relieve some stress, I suppose?"

"What else?" He watched as her score flashed on the screen, she beat the most recent high scorer (which had to be herself since she looked like she had been sitting in front of the same game for a while now) by 25 points. 

She then turned to face him and pulled out a coin, "Ninja Battle, 10 rounds. You up for it?"

He smirked, "I'll beat your ass."

"Not if I beat yours first." She smiled and stood up with him as they walked towards another set of arcade games. 

As they sat down, Itaru reminded himself why he was there in the first place. 

Being an adult was difficult. There was a time in his life where he wished he could just stay a child forever. Struggling in school, playing video games, and with only dreams and wishes to fulfill. Minori, however, made her adolescence look easier than he had it back then. 

She had high grades in school. She was obedient, kind, and respectful both in and outside of school. She made Izumi proud. She had her quirks, but she accepted them as a part of who she was. She was quick to learn, outgoing, she grew increasingly bold and adventurous with each passing day. 

She was mature- strong. 

She was everything Itaru wasn't when he was her age. 

Itaru didn't know if he should feel envious or proud of her for that, but he was happy for her for the life she was living. 

But life wasn't always that merciful. Even Minori had her moments.

"How was school?" They were three minutes into level 3 when he asked that.