(A few minutes earlier)
The room was dark, the only light coming from warm bulbs that cast a faint glow across the wall, revealing its deep purple paint.
Hung under those bulbs were portraits of bizarre and oddly dressed people.
But they were of no importance.
Click-clack!
Click-clack!
In the middle of the room, sitting atop a coffin suspended lightly off the ground by chains, was Koneko. Her school bag hung from her shoulder as her fingers worked at a handheld device, the letters on its back spelling out "PXP."
On the screen, a woman gazed out through the visor of a space suit, the label "Arasaka" was painted across it.
As the door in front of her opened, what greeted her was the cold embrace of Humanity's final frontier.
She stood there looking at the beauty in front of her as the glow of the Earth's atmosphere reflected off the visor's surface.
Then the woman took a slow step forward, her body beginning to slowly drift and rotate into the unknown.
She reached to her side and drew a pistol... then looked ahead.
The camera pulled back, revealing a massive space station surrounded by two soft pink rings.
She closed her eyes…
And the screen went black.
As the credits began to roll, Koneko closed her eyes and leaned her head back.
She wasn't usually one for single-player story experiences.
But…
She let out a quiet breath. 'That was...actually somewhat...good.'
She lowered her head and looked back at the screen. The trophy "Never Fade Away" appearing on the top right corner.
…The Platinum Trophy…
She narrowed her eyes at it. 'But no happy ending at all? Seriously?'
She glared at the screen.
And sighed.
Even if there was no happy ending...the truth was...
She was satisfied.
She moved her fingers across the buttons as she exited the game, returning to the main menu.
She stared at the time on the main menu.
February 1st, 9:30 PM
And it stared back at her. "Mhh."
She tilted forward, letting gravity do the work, dropping to the floor feet-first. The chains rattling above her.
She turned toward Gasper's desk and walked straight to it, pulling open a cabinet.
Reaching into her bag she pulled out a book, Shakespeare's name printed boldly on the cover. She slid the cover off, revealing the true title underneath.
"Deep Thought With The Deep. Vol. 69"—by Gasper Vladi.
She set it neatly inside the cabinet and closed it, letting out a long, steady sigh.
It had taken some time, but she'd gotten through all of it.
It genuinely felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders...thing was she didn't even know why...
Nodding to herself, she raised the PXP in her hand and glanced at it, a sinking feeling slowly building up in her chest.
Thirty minutes, it had been thirty minutes since Gasper cut the call, saying he would get back to her and yet...
'Where the hell is he?'
A small frown made its way onto her face as she powered down the device and tucked it into her bag.
Her eyes drifted to a corner of the room where a large sofa sat, surrounded by a cluster of beanbags and plushies. Her flip phone rested on one of the cushions.
'Should I try calling again?' She shook the thought away almost as fast as it came.
Gasper had said he'd call her back, but knowing him, it meant literally calling her back or just showing up out of nowhere. Either way, he wasn't the type to leave someone hanging for long. She knew that.
'It has been half an hour, though....'
She stood there, staring at the phone for a solid minute...then clicked her tongue.
Stepping forward, she crossed the room, and reached out toward the sofa.
Her hand wrapping around the flip pho—
—WHOOOOSH!!!
A sudden gust of wind came to life from out of nowhere!
Koneko spun toward the source, her hair whipping up thanks to the wind.
Her eyes snapped to the window frame.
And there he was.
The curtains parted at his very presence. The wind seemed to follow his every move, tugging at his sailor suit and hat like it owed him a favor!
As if gravity itself had simply decided not to bother, Gasper descended with his right arm extended fully behind him, his left raised to shield the side of his face, and his legs!—
—his legs spread as if he were taking a calm stroll on the very air itself!
Shiro clung to the brim of Gasper's hat, expression completely and utterly serious!
THEY LOOKED GOOD!
AND THEY KNEW IT!
As Gasper touched down, he planted both feet on the floor, and leaned forward?
Nearly kissing the floor!
But he stopped.
His entire body! It was being held up by nothing but the very tips of his toes!
Koneko stood there, her hair flowing wildly in the wind—then she blinked.
Then she did it again. 'What am I even looking at?'
Gasper pushed off from his toes, arms shooting outward as his palms hit the ground—launching him back into the air!
Then he began to spin.
Turning into a blur of motion sending wind tearing in every direction!
.
.
.
Tap!
Tap!
The sound of boots landing on the floor echoed through the room.
Koneko's eyes widened slightly. 'When did he...?'
Gasper stood with his back to her. The sailor suit was gone, replaced by a green shirt with a yellow grid pattern, light brown pants, and brown cowboy boots. His hair drifted slowly in the last of the wind, his right arm folded across his waist, left hand hovering in front of his face, fingers loose and completely, utterly relaxed.
He let out a breath.
Fog escaping from his bloodied lips.
He opened his eyes—
Well he opened one of his eyes, the other one too swollen to even attempt to open.
.
.
.
"What the hell are you doing?"
A bead of sweat rolled down Gasper's brow.
"...Whatever do you mean?" He could practically feel the judgment radiating off her.
'Was my distraction not good enough...? NO. Impossible!' His eyes started glowing faintly. 'I really am getting paranoid. To even consider that my completely unrecognizable distraction was somehow recognized would be absolutely ridic—'
Koneko took one step forward and extended her hand.
GRIP.
"WHOA!"
With a single tug at the back of his shirt, she yanked his face down to her level and took a good, long look at it.
She stared into his eyes.
And he turned his face away.
"You look like..." Her gaze dropped to a red stain slowly spreading across his shirt, growing larger by the second. "...shit."
Gasper blinked. "Ah? ...Thanks?"
Hearing that, Koneko exhaled hard through her nose.
.
.
.
— Twenty Minutes Later —
"Ow! Be careful!" Gasper cried out.
He was sitting on the sofa, shirt off, cowboy outfit gone, it was replaced by yellow pants held up by a green heart-shaped belt.
The grime from before completely gone, not even a speck of dust remained.
His damp blonde hair falling all the way down to his mid-back.
And Koneko?
She was sitting right next to him.
"Suck it up, chump," she fired back, wrapping a gauze over a wound that trailed down his left shoulder all the way to his right hip.
"Hey, I'm just saying there's no need to make it so t—" He grabbed the sofa hard as his whole body got yanked back.
"—IGIT! What did I just say?!" He twisted his neck to look at her.
Koneko was pushing off the sofa cushion, leaning all the way back, her only support being the gauze she was wrapping around him.
Gasper whipped his head toward a nearby beanbag—where a white cat lay lazily stretched out.
"SHIRO! COME GET THIS CRAZYWOMAN OFF OF ME!"
Shiro opened one eye.
Then closed it, as he curled up on the beanbag, a soft snore echoing out.
Gasper's expression went flat. "Wow that's cold man...."
He winced as the pull got stronger. "Maybe doing this on the sofa wasn't the best idea..."
Koneko froze.
Then she let go of the bandages and flopped back onto the cushion. "Agreed."
"Beanbag?" Gasper asked.
Koneko sat up and nodded. "Beanbag."
Gasper pushed himself up with a grunt, every part of him aching, and made his way over to a beanbag, tossing himself onto it.
Four plushies went flying from the sudden weight: one with familiar red hair, another dressed like a magical girl, a third shaped like a pink rabbit.
And the last—
A pink teddy bear, sailing straight toward Koneko.
She raised one hand and caught it without looking.
She turned it over, looking at it for a moment, then stood up, bringing her first aid kit along. She tossed the teddy over her shoulder on her way over, it landed perfectly on the sofa.
Standing behind the hunched-over Gasper, she set the kit down, grabbed more gauze, and resumed wrapping it around his upper body.
Gasper glanced over his shoulder. "So what have you been up to?"
"Nothing much. Just gaming. How about you, Gaspy?"
"Mmh. Well, like I said earlier, helped out a friend of Rias's, but other than that, not much. Just took a walk in the woods. Looking at nature and stuff, you know normal stuff."
Koneko nodded as she made the final loop, tucking the excess gauze neatly under the wrapping.
She slipped two fingers underneath and gave it a few firm tugs.
"Alright. Done."
"Finaaally~!" Gasper shifted his weight forward, ready to stand—
Only for two hands to stop him.
He blinked. Turned to look at her. "Whatcha... doin'?"
Koneko just stared at him.
Then she raised a hairbrush.
"?????"
Gasper raised a brow.
Koneko cleared her throat. "It's... too messy," she said, looking straight at his hair.
"Oh." Gasper smiled. "Don't worry about it—it's always like that. Trust me, no need to brush. I usually just let it air dry."
"I can tell."
"..."
Gasper blinked. "Was that a compliment or an insult?"
Koneko didn't answer. She simply drew the brush through his hair.
"..."
'...Huh.....This is actually, kinda nice?' Gasper thought, in a state of mild disbelief.
"You know, there's no point in having long hair if you don't take care of it."
Gasper stayed silent, as Koneko softly ran the brush through his hair once more.
He sighed. "I know. It's just...too much work."
Koneko stopped brushing. "Then why not cut it short?"
Gasper put a hand to his chin. "I don't know. Wouldn't I look kinda stupid with short hair?"
Koneko set the brush down and gathered a chunk of his blond hair, lifting it. "Hmm."
"What about a bit of both?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't let it go past..." Her eyes settled on something. Right on his left shoulder, just near the neck, a red star. "...the neck."
"Maybe..." Gasper closed his eyes, trying to picture it.
'Did he always have that?'
She reached out a finger slowly, her gaze locked on the red star.
A cold sweat broke out as her finger drew closer and closer—
ゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴ
Her hand cramped up before she made contact, and she pulled it back immediately.
"Yeah, you're right, it wouldn't look that bad. Should I get it done?"
She blinked several times and lowered her hand, steadying her breathing as she stared at her palm.
Not hearing an answer, Gasper turned to look over his shoulder. "Whoa—you alright?"
"Um..." Koneko shook off the feeling. "Yeah. I'm fine."
"You sure? You're looking a bit pale."
"I'm sure, but... Gaspy, how long have you had that?" she said, pointing at his left shoulder.
Gasper raised a brow. "My... shoulder?"
She sighed. "The star..."
"Oh, well, it's kinda like a family birthmark."
"Kind of?"
Gasper nodded. "Yep. Everyone gets one... eventually." He jabbed a thumb at it. "Pretty cool, right?"
Koneko let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Sure."
Gasper stood up and walked up close, a shit-eating grin. "'Sure,' she says! HA! You're jealous. Admit it." He poked her cheek with one finger.
He turned his head to the side. "The next thing you'll say is—'No, I'm not,'" he whispered.
"No, I'm no—" Koneko stopped herself. Her eyebrow twitched.
Gasper just looked at her.
Grin only getting wider.
Koneko drew in a slow breath.
And let it out.
Seeing that she wasn't falling for his rage bait, the grin slipped from Gasper's face. 'Is she becoming immune to my rage bait?'
...IMPOSSIBLE.
Koneko's lips slowly curved upward.
But then something came to mind.
"Oh, right. I finished the game you told me to play."
"Huh?! When?!" Gasper jumped back, caught completely off guard.
"Just now." Koneko walked up to the side of the sofa where her bag was resting and reached in.
Gasper walked over and sat himself down, watching her dig through it.
She pulled out the PXP and held it out to him.
As he powered it on, she moved to the table in front of them and picked up the TV remote resting beneath a 70-inch plasma screen TV.
"...Unholy cow." Gasper stared at the screen...
[Cyberthug Ledgerunners...
Completion: 100%]
The completion was a surprise in itself but... the play time...
It was over threehundredhours.
He turned to look at her. Koneko sat back down beside him and turned on the TV.
"...I don't think I need to ask whether you liked it, huh?"
"It was alright, I guess."
Gasper stared at her and sighed. 'You're such a tsundere. Just say you liked it.'
He turned back to the screen. "So what do you want to watch tonight?"
"Well, we just finished Soul Devourer last night, so maybe something lighter?" Koneko suggested.
Gasper got up and stretched with a groan. "Works for me. You good with yesterday's leftovers? I really don't feel like cooking right now."
She gave him a thumbs-up.
He smiled and headed toward the door on the right, pushing it open and disappearing behind it.
.
.
.
— Ten Minutes Later —
While Gasper was gone, Koneko scrolled through Tenguflix's anime catalog.
Doomscrolling past titles like Violet Forevergarden, Dragon-So-Ball, but nothing really grabbed her attention.
Creak~
The main door to the room slowly swung open.
Revealing...
...a slumped-over Rias Gremory?
Her eyes half-lidded.
Koneko turned toward the doorway. "Buchou?"
Rias's eyes snapped open. Her posture correcting itself in under a millisecond.
"Oh. *Ahem!* Koneko, what are you doing here?"
Koneko just looked at her. "Relaxing."
Rias nodded. "Good, good. Oh—have you seen Gasper, by any chance?"
Koneko opened her mouth to answer—
Creak~
Only for the kitchen door to swing open before she could let out a word.
Gasper stepped out balancing three bowls on each arm, smoked ribeye on the right, perfectly grilled chicken on the left.
Under his neck, he somehow trapped a whole bottle of cola.
He walked straight to the table, Rias staring, Koneko already scrolling again.
He set everything down.... and turned around, walking back into the kitchen.
Not once acknowledging the redhead standing in his room.
Rias blinked.
'Did he just... ignore me?'
She took a step toward the kitchen door—only for it to swing open again.
Gasper emerged once more, two bowls filled to the brim with potato chips, one in each hand, and a full tray of sauces balanced perfectly on top of his head.
He made his way back toward the table. But something was in his path. He glanced up just slightly, careful not to drop the tray.
"Rias?"
Rias reached up and lifted the sauce tray off his head. "Gasper."
He looked up at her. "Yo."
Rias looked at his face and went still for just a moment. 'Oh, brother. Sona wasn't exaggerating.'
Seeing her just stare at him, Gasper side-stepped her without thinking much about it, setting the bowls down on the table.
"Unfortunately, the seafood boil went bad, so we'll have to make do with this."
Koneko closed her eyes. "It's fine."
Gasper crossed his arms and nodded. "Yeah. As long as we pace ourselves, we won't blow through it too fast. ...I think."
Rias walked up beside him and set down the sauce tray.
Gasper turned to her. "So, Big Red... um. Nice to see ya."
Rias raised a brow. 'What kind of greeting is that?'
"Yes. Nice to see you too, Gasper." She paused. "And thank you."
"Huh? For what?"
Gasper's expression turned serious. 'Damn—did Sona already tell her? Seriously, she couldn't have waited until tomorrow morning?'
"For helping Sona." Rias's tone was gentle, but her eyes were steady. "That said, don't make a habit of jumping into a fight with a stray on your own. Even if you're helping someone." A sad look crossed her face as she took in the bruising. "At least call for backup next time."
Gasper gave her a thumbs-up. "Of course. What do you think I just go picking fights with strays for no reason other than to fight or something?"
Gasper slowly looked to the side, staring right at Shiro...
And Shiro stared right back, and put two paws up then raised a single finger in front of his mouth.
Rias smiled softly. "No. I know you're smarter than that. But still, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Give me a day or two and I'll be better than new."
"Hey, Gasper?" Koneko said.
"Yeah?"
She pointed at the TV. "How about this one?"
He looked.
And froze.
Four words stared back at him.
Your Lie in April.
"Well, it's good that you're okay, but unfortunately we have bigger iss—" Rias tried to redirect the conversation...
But Gasper sat down on the sofa without a word, not daring to look at Koneko. "Anything's good for me. As long as it's not Shinji Adventures."
.
.
.
.
Those words echoed in Rias's head.
She sat down on the sofa.
Slowly, she turned, her eyes covered by shadows. "...What's wrong with Shinji Adventures?"
Gasper turned to her. "What's wrong with it? Honestly, it'd be quicker to tell you what's right with it—much shorter list."
Rias let out a soft laugh. "Oh, so you clearly have no idea what you're talking about."
"No, I do—it's just straight garbage. But I'm talking about the anime; you're probably thinking of something else. A TV show, maybe."
He looked away, assuming the conversation was done.
After all, Rias Gremory didn't watch anime. That would be absurd.
"...I was talking about the anime, Gasper."
"Right," he said, not believing a single word.
"It's a great show." Rias said as if it was FACT!
Gasper slowly turned his head.
His face twisted into an expression of complete, genuine bewilderment.
Then.
He laughed.
"HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Rias's face did not change.
A cold chill ran straight down Gasper's spine. "...You serious?"
"Yes," Rias answered.
Gasper nodded slowly. "Well... to each their own... I guess. As long as you're not about to tell me it's better than something like Soul Devourer, we can agree to disagree."
"But it is better."
*GASP*
Gasper gasped audibly. Koneko gave Rias THE look.
"Koneko." Gasper turned to her with dead-serious eyes. "This right here? This is what we call someone who doesn't know ball."
"Say what you will. The truth stands—nothing will ever top Shinji Adventures."
"HUH?! Yeah right—get out of town—!"
Gasper stopped.
His eyes went wide.
'Wait, wait, wait.'
A slow, dangerous grin spread across his face.
'That smell...an opportunity? yes...'
'AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A PARLAY!'
"'Nothing will ever top Shinji Adventures.' That's what you said. Those exact words."
Rias nodded.
"Then put your money where your mouth is!"
Gasper swung his hand out and slammed it on the table.
Twenty thousand American dollars hit the surface.
"...And there he goes gambling again," Koneko murmured.
Rias blinked. "What?"
"Ignore her. I say once you sit down and watch Your Lie in April, Shinji Adventures will be nothing more than a distant memory."
"Oh, I see." Rias smirked. "Confident, aren't we? Fine. Twenty thousand says it won't change a thing."
Gasper's smirk only grew. "You sure about that?"
He extended his hand.
Rias smirked right back
and took it.
"Positive."
←–TO BE CONTINUED—