Chapter 18: Dual-Line Dating
Hikaru took Ai over to the claw machine section. The atmosphere here was noticeably cozier than the rest of the arcade, with soft pink lights illuminating rows of machines packed to the brim with adorable plushies.
"See anything you want?"
Ai's gaze swept over the various machines until, suddenly, her eyes lit up. Inside one of the glass cases, she spotted a pink, chibi plush doll—it was a piece of merchandise from an official plush toy line modeled after her.
"That one!" Ai pointed at the doll inside the glass box, a look of high anticipation sparkling in her star-struck eyes.
Following the direction of her finger, Hikaru's lips curved upward into a highly confident smirk. "Leave it to me."
"Though not many people know this, I used to be a claw machine god back in the day. A casual flick of my wrist is already the absolute limit of what an ordinary person could ever hope to achieve."
However, five minutes passed. The claw repeatedly grazed the plushie time after time, failing to secure it every single instance. Fine beads of sweat began to break out across Hikaru's forehead.
"Uh, my form's a bit off today. Why don't you give it a shot, Ai?" Hikaru sheepishly yielded the position.
Ai let out a soft giggle, standing in place as she quietly watched him.
Having completely failed his attempt to show off, Hikaru pulled out his phone, pretending to check the time as he tried to slip away. "You play for a bit, Ai. I'll be right back."
With that, he quickly walked away.
Left standing alone in front of the claw machine, Ai suddenly lost all interest in continuing to play.
Hikaru hurried back to the music game section and found Koromo Shiranui. She was currently sitting in front of a fighting game cabinet, her fingers flying wildly across the joystick and buttons.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Hikaru said as he approached her side.
"Mm, it wasn't that long," Koromo replied without even lifting her head. "I just finished a few matches with some people."
Hikaru looked at the game screen, which displayed the famous fighting game *Tekken*. Koromo had already logged into her own account, and the record column displayed her recent matchmaking history—five matches, five victories, and every single one was a perfect win.
Hikaru sucked in a breath of cold air. He had never expected the seemingly dazed Koromo to be a hardcore fighting game prodigy.
"Want to play together?" Koromo finally turned her head, a look of anticipation filling her large eyes.
"Uh..." Hikaru initially wanted to decline, but seeing the hopeful look in her eyes, he braced himself and agreed anyway. "Then I shall humbly accept."
The next ten minutes could easily be described as the most brutal experience of Hikaru's gaming life. Across three rounds of matches, he was thrashed so severely by Koromo that he couldn't even muster a defense. Every single round ended with him being carried away by flawless combos, unable to even launch a proper counterattack.
"Your defensive awareness is pretty good, but your offense is way too conservative," Koromo commented while actively manipulating the controls.
Hikaru put down the controller with a wry smile, suddenly clutching his stomach and putting on an expression of sheer agony. "Apologies, my stomach feels a bit upset. I need to run to the restroom again."
Koromo nodded, remaining completely immersed in her gaming world.
Hikaru quickly ran back to the claw machine section. From a distance, he could see Ai clutching a single purple plush doll, standing next to the machine and just staring blankly.
"If there's only one, Aqua and Ruby are going to fight over it," Ai muttered to herself. "So there really needs to be at least two."
"What about me?" Hikaru asked, half-jokingly as he walked up to her side.
"?"
Discovering that Hikaru had returned, Ai whirled around and let out a huff. "Is Hikaru a child? Wanting a doll like this too."
"Because it's Ai's merchandise. As a fan, of course I'd want it," Hikaru answered honestly.
"..." Ai froze in place for several seconds before slowly muttering, "Then let's just catch another one." Hikaru slot in another coin, and with a stroke of good luck this time, he successfully grabbed the second doll within moments.
"I'll head out first." After handing the doll to Ai, he hurriedly departed once more.
When Hikaru stepped back into the arcade section, Koromo was standing before another rhythm game cabinet. Accompanied by the intense, driving beat of Ai's song—*Idol*—her gloved hands flew gracefully like butterflies, precisely striking the musical notes that continuously cascaded down.
Hikaru noticed that the border of the screen was a flashing rainbow color, which looked like a pretty big deal.
"I'm incredibly sorry for keeping you waiting yet again," he said, feeling quite awkward.
Koromo forgave him easily. "Mm, it's fine. But Hikaru-kun, is your digestion perhaps a bit weak? I know a very good hospital specializing in that field; I can introduce you if you like."
"Uh..." Hikaru felt even more embarrassed. "Let's skip that. Today was just a freak accident."
Right at that moment, Koromo suddenly took a step forward, throwing her arms wide as she hugged Hikaru.
Blindsided by her sudden attack, Hikaru's mind went entirely blank, his body freezing solid in place. He could feel the soft sensation against his chest, along with a crisp, refreshing fragrance wafting from Koromo—reminiscent of freshly bloomed gardenias.
"Thank you for coming out to play with me today. I had a lot of fun," the young girl's gentle voice echoed right beside Hikaru's ear.
Koromo quickly released her grip and took a step back. A slightly unnatural, mischievous smirk played across her face, giving off the vibe of a little girl wearing mature, heavy makeup. "Since Hikaru-kun kept running to the restroom, the crew was running short on footage. If this keeps up, I'm afraid they won't have anything to edit. So... I took it upon myself to hug you. Hikaru-kun won't blame me, right?"
"How could I?" Hikaru threw both his hands up in a shrug. "I'm the one who got the better end of the deal here."
"That's all for today then." Koromo straightened her hair, speaking the honest truth. "I really was happy today. After all, watching Hikaru-kun scramble back and forth all over the arcade was actually incredibly amusing to watch."
*What?! She knew all along?* Hikaru was utterly struck with panic.
"I'm not angry, you know. Not this time."
Walking up to the entrance, Koromo suddenly spun around, locking both her hands behind her back. "But I will definitely be angry next time. When it comes down to it, a guy who goes on a date with two girls at the exact same time... Hikaru really is a scumbag, isn't he?"
"I'm a normal girl too, you know. I had expectations for today's surprises as well. Well, it certainly was quite surprising." Koromo held up a single index finger. "Only this once, okay? For our next date, please let me be your one and only female lead."
"But for now, Hikaru had better go find his actual female companion."
With that said, Koromo turned around and left, her decorative tassels slicing a beautiful arc through the air.
Hikaru stood frozen in place for a few seconds, letting out a bitter, wry smile.
*What even was that? My entire game plan was seen through completely, and then I just got forgiven right after.*
*She was just comforting me, wasn't she? After giving her such a terrible experience, how could there possibly be a next date,* Hikaru sighed deep in his heart.
He straightened his clothes slightly and quickly walked back toward Ai's section. As he drew near, he found Ai still holding the two plush dolls, standing in the exact same spot waiting for his return, her posture completely unchanged.
Seeing him come back, Ai puffed up her cheeks in a pout, looking exactly like a little blowfish. "Hikaru, really, tossing both dolls over to me... I can't even do anything else now."
Hikaru hurriedly took both plushies from her hands. Having freed her hands, Ai took off her baseball cap, letting a cascade of smooth purple hair fall down like a waterfall of wisteria blossoms.
"But I still have to film the show; I can't exactly carry them around either."
"Hmph," Ai said stubbornly, turning away. "Either way, it's just Hikaru's fault. Please stop making excuses."
"Yes, yes, yes, it's my fault. I shouldn't have left Ai all by herself here."
Hearing those words, Ai's mood instantly brightened up. She probed tentatitvely, "So? Are you going to leave again later, Hikaru?"
"The shoot is over." Hikaru let out a long sigh, his entire posture relaxing. He couldn't resist reaching out to place his hand on Ai's head. Seeing that she didn't show any signs of aversion, he gave it a gentle pat. "I'm not leaving. I'm staying right here to play with you."
"Does that mean we can do whatever we want now?" Ai's eyes lit up.
Upon receiving Hikaru's affirmative answer, Ai cheered an excited "Yay!" and went dashing off eagerly toward the other arcade machines.
"Since a very, very long time ago, I've always wanted to come play in a place like this!" Ai looked absolutely ecstatic. "When I was little, I used to pass by arcades all the time, but I couldn't afford game tokens, so I could only watch from the outside."
"And then later on, when I finally had the money, I became an idol. The President started holding me back again, saying stuff like 'an idol has to look like an idol' and that I couldn't frequent these kinds of places."
"I think what the President actually meant was for you to hurry up and graduate from being an idol," Hikaru couldn't help but tease.
"Eh? That actually makes a lot of sense! Did the President seriously plan that far in advance?"
Ai chatted away with Hikaru while actively hunting around for fun games.
"I want to try them all, is that okay?" Ai stared up at Hikaru with wide, expectant eyes.
Being stared down by Ai with a gaze like that, how could Hikaru possibly refuse?
And so, the two of them played to their hearts' content.
It wasn't until Hikaru finally returned home late that night that he suddenly realized he seemed to have forgotten something.
*We clearly agreed to catch another one... where did my plush doll go?*
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