『A3! ❀ 』20 Minute Mankai

Itaru ❀ Comedy

Itaru-san, how was your day?
Starring, Itaru Chigasaki

（｡ ･.･｡)つ━☆・*。.· '¸.·*'¨) ☆

Standing two paces before a simple mirror on the wall, his back straight and shoulders lax with one eye on the clock, Mr. Chigasaki got ready for work.
Itaru smoothed out the folds on his beige jacket. He fixed up his collar, checked both sleeves to measure the cuffs, and promptly finished up his morning routine of twenty minutes. Appearance had a price and came with little margin for error. The least he could, he told himself as he fixed his onyx-colored tie, was keep his charm stats high.

Some say that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.
Others say that the heart alone can stand to judge all things beautiful.

And one man would like to interject that his event is going to start soon, so he wants to hurry up and finish the story. He wants to skip pass the elaborate details of his morning commute and post-noon banter with his coworkers. He has also stated from the get-go that he has no intention to share work matters, such as his current projects and meetings; which is fair. However, that does make it hard to write a story about a beautiful, possibly misunderstood man working both at a modest company and acting venue.

"Then how about we change the angle?" he asked with a posed grin. And so, we shall:

Night has fallen, and his wall mirror catches no light.
After rushing into his room, Mr. Chigasaki throws off his jacket, that unwanted constriction. He could care less whether or not his shirt's color scheme matches his complexion; he wears whatever smells decent. That's his true code. His focus is still precariously on the clock: time is running out. He hurries to make it to his precious, private, evening date...

With his phone. - - - 【❀】

"Level cleared."

Introducing properly, Itaru the Slob.

He uses around 50% of his stamina during the day at his desk job. Some say, he broke a pack with the gaming gods to conjure up another 200% for all his nightly fancies. All for the sake of his jubilant rhythm streaks and combos, his masterful RPG conquests, and for his timid sanity.

Tonight was the release of a new RPG app, he preordered. It got reviews for its relaxing instrumentals, and after a mind-draining event session in his mobile app, he was up for some peaceful music and graphics.

'Nya-buru, ready to play!'

Itaru hummed lightly, tapping his phone while snuggling into a corner of the sofa. "Aight, first feature is selecting a virtual pet? Oho."

Of the few options, a rose-colored ball of fur and joy caught his attention. It instantly reminded him of Sakuya, their soft-hearted leader. "Cute, I'll go with this one. Name is gonna be 'Saku.' Hm, his stamina's already plummeting due to hunger. Time for food."

'Nya-noo, Game Over!'

"What? If I feed it seafood, it'll die?" He read the sub-text. "It's weak to water attribute? I see, Saku's literally a ball of flame. Let's try again."

Itaru paid 15 gems to fully restore Saku's stats. He avoided feeding Saku any Aqua items and leveled up his virtual friend through (ironically really detailed) dungeons. He sat up on the couch when he realized that Saku was no longer on his screen. "Wait, where did he go? Saku, come out~ come out. Huh... A notification?" Tap.

[Saku's been kidnapped by a poacher! ]

"You can't be serious. Do I have to fight that guy then?"

'Nya-noo, Game Over!'

Itaru stared in disbelief. "...I can't believe it. Saku, you blocked the attack for that scum... Why? That's so noble... Saku..." He vowed never to forget.

Now, the slob takes a stand. Third life, fourth life, 50 paid gems for not, Itaru wasn't going to back down now. His virtual buddy deserved a legacy, and his gamer heart burned with passion.

"That's the spirit, Saku! This labyrinth ain't going to stop us! You've taught me to never back down, so don't you go quitting on me now! Look, you were even reunited with your long lost twin, pink Mumu!  With your bravery and Mumu's heart, you can change Nyan-buru-land! Alright, now go on, take the throne! Let's leave the darkness behind us. Yes!" Itaru finally broke away from his phone, to silently and emphatically celebrate reaching the top of the fictional tower, hitting the rankings and treasure trove. "Saku, I just want to say it's been an honor... Wait, Saku! Stay away from that ice goblet! Mumu stop him! I swear, if you-"

'Nya-noo, Game Over!'

"..." Itaru threw his phone to the floor and sat down on the couch with his face buried in his hands. What did this all mean? For him? For Saku?

.

.

A hesitant knock came from behind his door. It slowly creaked open.

"Excuse me... Itaru-san?" Sakuya and Muku looked inside, concerned. "H-How was your day?"

scene.

written by - l u k a
dedicated to - requests

Luka's Note: Thank you for the request! c: I hope you enjoyed reading about spring troupe member (and one of my favorites) Itaru Chigasaki. Itaru is usually a more silent gamer type with small bits of curses or praise, but when your digital buddy is in danger, I believe even Itaru can get frazzled. And I find a frazzled Itaru so endearing, don't you~?
Prompt: Virtual Pets + Comedy.

【❀】- - - indicates 20 minutes have been reached
c o n t i n u e !