Chapter 5 - Chapiter 4

It wasn't so long ago that I only lived with my parents, we were alone. Well, well, well. Even when they went on a trip I stayed alone, or Shun would come and spend nights at my house - nights that we would end up laundering without revising. I liked those moments, those quiet moments when thinking was a real ordeal, we lived like kids, it suited us perfectly. But as soon as Megumi set foot in my town, my parents saw her as a babysitter that they weren't going to pay because she was family. At first I thought that my freedom would be hindered, persecuted, taken to court and condemned to no longer exist in my dictionary. Luckily for me my cousin is so cool, in front of the parents she said:

— Don't worry, I'm going to take good care of him and he won't take his eyes off his notebooks.

With such great conviction that even my father had to believe it. Even I believed it in spite of his wink.

My parents left for who knows where, my cousin moved into the house, the guest room soon became hers. Very quickly she took her bearings. As a result, my freedom didn't die, neither did my access to games. She even helps me with my studies - since homework time has arrived... While she helps me, I help her in her love life. After more than three dates in one week and no great love in sight, it's worrying.

But then again... Anyway, anyway...

It's Tuesday.

And Tuesday is lazy. Especially when it's the written exams. A week entirely full of papers to be filled in with answers on courses I didn't take, where I dropped out every time the teacher opened his mouth. After being dropped off by the neck', I noticed that all the students on the spot are relaxed, either on their phones or chatting, some even dare to eat when it's only eight o'clock, eight o'clock brother, calm down!

Sitting on the roof, in my thoughts, Shun crosses the door that leads him to me.

— Did you have time to sleep? he asks, sitting beside me.

— Yeah, Megumi helped me study, I think it's going to do it.

— Are you really eating right now, or am I in the middle of a bad trip? he shouts before hitting a mega fang on my sandwich.

Yes. I'm eating and you're not going to say anything. Or do anything.

— That's not a fang, man, calm your stomach or it won't do it.

We laugh for a while before we separate.

I'm in the same class as Yūhi. Here she is in front of me, more precisely on my left. She gives me a cute little smile, I do the same - I try anyway. A few seconds after I sit down. The test begins.

The front is full of multiple choice questions, and the back is full of questions to be answered in English... minutes go by. The class gradually empties out. I take my time answering them... It only takes five minutes to clean up. So I go out, Yūhi was already outside. Which makes me smile. At the break, I sit down with Izuki, who tells me about her life, I listen to her half because I'm too concentrated on eating. But she stops me dead in my tracks when she says:

— At the top. Your parents have agreed for me to spend the summer holidays at your place... So on Sunday evening...

I cut her off when she said

— Huh !? What? Why did you cut it off? Why? Sunday? Surprised

— Yep, Sunday night I'm at your place!!!! Askip Megumi has prepared a great program for us!!!

— Really ? Always in total incomprehension.

— Well... Yeah..., you really didn't know anything about it ? She asks worriedly.

I reassure her, my parents probably don't want to see me alone anymore. I can understand that. They say that Shun is my brother, he's not a real friend, they're cute.... But nevertheless, there are limits. This is abuse of power. It's all because I live in their house.

We keep talking, I find out that she wanted to leave her parents for a while. Meanwhile, Yūhi comes to us...

— Hi Riku-kun. Hi Izuki-chan. Can I sit with you? she says with a smile.

— Che...llo Yū... I say with yogurt in my mouth.

— Ho!? Hi Yūhi come and sit down. Said the girl sitting on my right.

Izuki shows her the seat next to me. She sits down and starts to eat. The three of us are talking... Shun and Emiko invite themselves to our table too. So we spend the whole break laughing like kids, strangely I had missed this kind of atmosphere.

A notification takes me out of our discussion about the best pokémon bow in the whole universe. Honestly the fifth cycle -XYZ is the g.o.a.t. But none of them want to accept it. So the notifier says:

"Yama asks you for a duel, do you accept?"

My smile widens as soon as I enter the game to accept his request, it's been a long time since I've been asked outside the sanctuary of the association.

— Guys, get your phones, there's a challenger for me.

They all take out their smartphones, even the smallest one of us does the same. She asks Izuki for something, probably my nickname so she can watch my duel. I don't pay too much attention to it and start making the final adjustments to my character.

"In game":

The arena being a city destroyed after the flood makes me happy. I've often played there.

Dressed in a black dinner jacket, with a shinigami nose mask, I attack. Being an assassin my combos are more of a hand-to-hand attack, surprisingly my opponent too. Our blows are multiple, we hit each other blow for blow and none of us use chains with our weapons, especially him who is an archer. The moment my point propels him to the other end of the arena he double jumps before hitting the ground and then screams:

— Archer invokes: sequence one →triple arrows !¹

Unsurprisingly, three arrows come towards me. They are so fast that I avoid the first one. The other two hit me in the shoulder and my pv² drops enough to collapse. In spite of that he doesn't let go of it:

— Acher invokes: sequence four→ rain arrows!

This time a cloud of arrows is about to descend on me at a crazy speed. Nevertheless I escape with a sequence:

— Assassin invokes: sequence two→ full speed moove !

My body reacts automatically and I am propelled in front of my opponent, I take out my two katana in order to eliminate him under the numerous katana combos... When I use the second sequence, my movements are hyper fast during the fifteen seconds that follow with my two blades, my blows are more powerful. Every time he tries to run away to launch an attack I stop him, but my super speed stops before I'm done with him. He runs away and then uses what looks like a super ³.

— ARCHER INVOKES: ENDING SEQUENCE : DRAGON ARROW !!! He writes this with me in mind.

I already know that I have no chance of avoiding this super, this arrow surrounded by a dragon that is coming at full speed in front of me hits me in the chest. The shock is painful, for me as it is for my pvs. The dragon makes me waltz through the air, reducing the gauge to yellow. Luckily for me, five seconds after the end of my sequence has passed, my mana gauge is full, so there is no need to hesitate, let's get it over with, my heart is boiling so much this fight is so exciting.

— Assassin invokes:... I whisper.

The attraction makes me land on the ground...

— Ending sequence... I still whisper.

This same force propels me right in front of my opponent...

— Finishim One. I finish.

My blades slit his throat.

He explodes...

"You win"

I smile in front of the amazed eyes of my friends. On the other side of the cafet' Ayama stands up in rage after dropping her phone, our eyes meet. I smile even more...

********

— Archer invokes: sequence one →triple arrows !¹ : it is a formula that the player quotes when he wants to make a special move.

This formula is composed of the name of the player's class, the number of the technique and the name of the technique.

Example: - Archer invokes: sequence one →triple arrows !

Thanks for reading and see you next week.