In the early morning, sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains onto the kitchen counter. Okabara Kyogumichi, wearing an apron, stood at the counter, skillfully placing pan-fried ham and lettuce between slices of toast, creating a delicious sandwich.
Milk in the warmer was steaming, emitting a faint milky aroma.
He packed the finished sandwich into a lunchbox, along with the hot milk, as his breakfast.
After breakfast, Kyogumichi cleaned up the kitchen, then changed into casual clothes, ready to go out.
The weekend streets were unusually quiet, the air carrying the fresh scent unique to early mornings.
He chose not to go to the library or a shopping mall, but instead headed towards the arcade in the city center—it was a rare free time, and he needed to relax properly.
The arcade had just opened, and there weren't many people inside yet. Colorful lights flickered, and various game sound effects mingled together.
Kyogumichi exchanged a pile of game tokens and first played a few rounds at the basketball machine. His precise shots even made a passing staff member applaud. He then played racing games and shooting games, quickly clearing the highest difficulty. The high scores popping up on the screen left him feeling a bit uninspired.
When he wandered into the fighting game area, a few players were gathered around a King of Fighters machine. Kyogumichi stopped, watching the intense battle on the screen, feeling a little restless. After the previous player left, he inserted two tokens, chose his most proficient character, and started to play.
"He's actually using Kyo Kusanagi? That's a character only beginners choose." Someone whispered beside him.
Kyogumichi ignored them, his fingers deftly manipulating the joystick and buttons. His fluid combos left his opponent no chance to retaliate. Soon, someone, unwilling to concede, challenged him, but in less than three minutes, "KO" appeared on the screen. Then, a succession of experts came forward to challenge him, but all were defeated by Kyogumichi's precise controls.
"How is that possible! How can he be so strong!"
"It must be fake... We ordinary people don't stand a chance."
The chatter around him grew louder, but Kyogumichi frowned slightly—without an opponent who could truly challenge him, even the most impressive controls felt dull. He was about to leave when a clear female voice suddenly spoke: "Let me try!"
Kyogumichi turned, seeing a girl in a red hoodie standing behind him, her eyes sparkling, holding a bag of potato chips. She must have been watching for a while.
It was Umaru Doma. With a chip in her mouth, she mumbled indistinctly, "You're pretty good, but you're unlucky to meet me. I'm the strongest here, you know."
The surrounding passersby were shocked upon hearing this. It was said that the current champion's strength was extraordinary; she had emerged from countless matches, earning her the nickname "Dream Destroyer Princess."
"Oh? Then please enlighten me." Kyogumichi raised an eyebrow and inserted more tokens.
Umaru put down her potato chips, stretched her fingers, and chose Mai Shiranui and Iori Yagami.
The moment the game began, her gaze became extremely focused. Her fingers danced across the buttons, her operating speed so fast it was dazzling. Mai Shiranui's wall-jumping combined with Iori Yagami's Dark Stinger forced Kyogumichi's Kyo Kusanagi and Leona Heidern to continuously retreat.
The audience instantly swarmed around, gasps of amazement rising and falling. Kyogumichi also became excited and began to respond seriously. He used Kyo Kusanagi's Red Flame combos and Orochi Nagi with masterful skill, and he made Leona Heidern's V-Slasher and Revolver Blast look like an art form.
The two went back and forth, unleashing ultimate moves constantly. The health bars on the screen fluctuated wildly, a dizzying sight. In the final round, both sides unleashed their ultimate moves simultaneously, and "DRAW" appeared on the screen, met with enthusiastic applause from the crowd.
"It's a draw?" Umaru's eyes widened in surprise, and the potato chip in her mouth fell out.
"You're really good! Much better than my brother!"
"You're very strong too." Kyogumichi praised her sincerely. She was the first opponent he had met today who could fight him to a standstill.
"Let's play something else!" Umaru immediately led Kyogumichi to other game areas, her energetic demeanor charming everyone.
While her skill at the claw machine wasn't great, she always had incredible luck at crucial moments; when playing rhythm games, her fingers moved like blurs, perfectly clearing the highest difficulty songs; she even showed surprising talent in shooting games, her accuracy no less than Kyogumichi's.
The two of them went wild in the arcade, playing almost every game there, from fighting games to puzzle games.
Umaru occasionally pulled out potato chips and cola to share, chattering about various interesting things, her hearty laughter infecting those around them. Kyogumichi also let loose, cheering with her for winning games and lamenting losing matches.
Before they knew it, it was afternoon. Kyogumichi stopped in front of a claw machine filled with cat plushies. "Watch me!" He inserted a few tokens, precisely maneuvering the mechanical arm, and quickly grabbed a pink cat plushie.
"Wow! So amazing!" Umaru clapped excitedly, "I tried so many times and couldn't get one!"
Kyogumichi tried again, this time grabbing a gray cat plushie. He handed the pink one to Umaru: "This is for you."
"Really?" Umaru excitedly took the plushie, hugging it and rubbing her face against it, "It's so cute! Thank you!"
"You're welcome." Kyogumichi put the gray plushie into his bag.
Umaru suddenly took out her phone: "Oh, right, let's exchange contact info! We can play games together again next time!"
"Sure." Kyogumichi scanned the QR code to add her as a friend, noting her as "Umaru Doma."
When they left the arcade, the sun had already set. Umaru, hugging the cat plushie, skipped and bounced as she said goodbye to Kyogumichi: "Next time I'll show you an even more fun game! You can't not come!"
"Definitely." Kyogumichi smiled and waved, also saying goodbye.
He looked down at the gray cat plushie in his bag, found Yukino Yukinoshita's chat interface, and sent a message. Yukino Yukinoshita replied instantly.
[Kyogumichi: Yukinoshita, can I come to your house tomorrow?]
[Yukino Yukinoshita: You can, but is there something special?]
[Kyogumichi: I have a surprise for you!!!]
[Yukino Yukinoshita: What surprise?]
[Kyogumichi: It's a secret.]
[Yukino Yukinoshita: ...]