So it was the arcade indeed as Ishi led the way. This boy figured that his poor luck would get him here eventually. That was just the reality of living next door to a popular idol that apparently everyone he was close with knew about. At least with his cousin, it was family.
Now that his peaceful Summer break was officially over, he might as well try to enjoy it in his own way. Which is part of the reason he picked the arcade to be their destination. That place was somewhere he could have a little bit of fun for a low price. Well, as long as he didn't get too sucked into it.
"You said you've never been to one before?" Koto was talking a lot, mainly towards Rinse rather than catching up with his own cousin. "Why not? They're lots of fun."
"I guess you could say that I've just been really busy with work all the time." She answered. Personally, the girl couldn't say she was a massive gamer. But something like this with friends would certainly be a blast. "What about you?"
"Ahh, Rinse wants to learn more about me." He got a bit starstruck from being asked a question. She wondered for a bit how these two could even be remotely related to each other. "I went to the arcade here last time I saw Ishi, that was only a few months ago."
"I definitely remember that." Ishi recounted the memory for them. There was a contest that the younger boy really wanted to attend, so he was forced to come along. It was almost ruined due to the malfunctions with the machines, which really would've put a damper on the competitive spirit.
"It was a good thing that girl in your class was there to fix it." Now it was becoming clear to Koto. "But why did she need you to tell her to do it? Couldn't she just fix it on her own?" The boy couldn't understand why someone would be willing to let something bad happen if they could do something about it.
"Who is he talking about?" Rinse asked as they entered the arcade. "And what made you realize they could do anything about it?"
"It was that Ryugi girl. You know, the one who fixed our bus."
"But her dad's a mechanic, what does that have to do with an arcade machine?"
"Her mom's an IT specialist. So that should answer your question." He informed her. Another piece of information that he gained thanks to his parent's not-so-useless online group. "She knows a lot about fixing things, but she refuses to do it if it's in public. Especially in front of friends." He hated that the most about that girl, other than her harsh words directed towards him. Those things just weren't considered right in her girly image. Which was a problem seeing as they would've came real handy during many situations.
Hmm, he seemed to keep tabs on his classmates for no apparent reason. Didn't this boy say he didn't care for rumors, or did he consider this to be different from that? She couldn't understand why he would remember that with a girl he supposed didn't like. Perhaps he viewed it as something that could provide help in a time of need? If that was the case, then it was working for him so far.
"Anyway, we're here now." Koto took Rinse by the hand. "Come on, we should find something fun to play on."
"Yeah, I'll just go play by myself." Ishi was about to separate from the group, then Rinse took him by the hand.
"Oh no you don't." They talked in this ridiculous display of one of her hands being held by Koto, while her other grabbed onto Ishi's. "We came here as a group, so we're sticking together as a group." He sighed. The only reason he was here in the first place was because of them. Now it looked like he wasn't going to be able to enjoy even a tiny bit of alone time. "Plus, what are we supposed to play on anyway?"
"I'm not your babysitter." He responded by ripping his hand out of hers. "It's not like either of you need someone keeping an eye on you." Still, she didn't appear to be relenting. This girl was going to be the death of him. "Fine, we'll find something all three of us can do." Though a trio wasn't as easy to work with than a pair or group of four.
"I know, how about we play 'Area 52'?" For once, he didn't have to be the one to make a suggestion as Koto directed them towards a popular gun game. It was for duos, which was fine since Ishi wanted to just watch.
"It's kind of weird to hold one of these things." Rinse commented as she took it hold of its holder. "How do you use them?"
"You just point at the screen and pull the trigger." Koto took this chance to teach her how to play. It was simply an excuse to try and impress her with his knowledge. "If you run out of ammo, then you just shoot off screen."
They got started on their game while Ishi himself simply stood back and watched the screen. He wished it was easy to get lost in their actions, so that this would all be over soon. However, he learned how bad this girl was at this. She somehow found a way to miss over half her shots, while also wasting tons of time shooting without ammo.
"Guess that's one thing she's bad at." He murmured to himself. Though he would rather be hanging out at home, at least here he didn't have to do much right now. At least, that's what he was hoping, but something seemed to be wrong with his cousin.
Did that boy normally cross his legs like that? No, that couldn't be right. Koto seemed to be squirming about as if there was something wrong with his legs… Oh, it's not the legs that are the problem here.
"Koto, do you need to go to the bathroom?" He realized that the boy probably didn't use a restroom on his way to town. Not to mention a break was most likely skipped in his excitement to hang out with Rinse. "You're kind of dancing a bit."
"D-dancing?" Koto stuttered as he looked over to see that Rinse was looking at them. Flustered, he immediately covered the mouth of his older cousin. "Don't say that out loud in front of her." His embarrassment was immeasurable. "She'll think I'm a little boy." Irritated his this immature display, Ishi pushed off the hand.
"She'll think you're a child when you wet yourself here. Now go to the bathroom." He made no attempt to make this conversation private, which only served to humiliate the boy further.
"Okay…" He quietly listened and walked away from them, doing his best to avoid eye contact with the idol.
"Guess I'll take over now." Ishi said as he picked up the light gun for himself. When they started up their game again, he showed off his skills by carrying the team. Basically he took all the kills from Rinse.
"That was kind of mean, don't you think?" She scolded him while they played. "You could've kept that a little more hush."
"He was being silly." He defended his actions. "Trust me, I saved him from a lot of embarrassment just now." The boy really wished he could say that the last time one of those accidents happened was a long time ago, but that would be a lie. "I swear, you'd think being a first year by now would've made him more mature."
His brash nature was one that usually got on her nerves. He didn't seem to have any tact when talking with most people. Not only that, but he didn't care if they were embarrassed by his actions all that much. Except, there were reasons why he would speak up.
His younger cousin might've been ashamed about having that brought up so publicly, but it was better than ignoring it until things got really embarrassing. The same went with that Ryugi girl, where he didn't care if she wanted to maintain an image. If that girl could help out, then he'd bring it up for the sake of everyone else.
This boy, perhaps he was actually…
"I wonder what's taking him so long?" Ishi broke her train of thought as their game finished. "We should go look for him." He hoped that the boy didn't have a little accident and was hiding away from them now.
"I think I see him over there." Rinse pointed him out from the crowd. It appeared that there was a boy talking with Koto. "Actually, I think we know who that is, don't we?"
"We do." He answered. "But he doesn't." This was a boy from their class that went by the name of Reno. One that was known for his attempts of picking up girls. Quickly, Ishi went over there without bothering to wait for her to follow. So the girl had to rush herself as well as she could in this sea of people.
"So, here's my number." The boy said, handing Koto a piece of paper.
"Really? Gee, thanks!" He responded with a smile, but then felt the sensation of it being ripped from his hand as Ishi arrived.
"Sorry, but that's going to be a negative here."
"Eh? Hirose, what are you doing here?" Reno was surprised to see him here of all places. "Oh I see, you're just a little jealous your date here is more interested in me than you."
"Unless the two of us are swinging for the other team, I'm pretty sure he's not interested in dating either of us."
"What?" Now it was his turn to be surprised with the revelation that Koto was indeed a boy. "Why didn't you say something?" Reno got a bit upset at being played a fool.
"He's a little naive." Ishi didn't allow his cousin to speak. "So he misunderstood your flirting for kindness. Believe me, no one else would be tricked by those empty words of yours." At this point, Rinse reunited with them to hear his last words. This led to the girl being worried if a fight might break out.
"Why you-"
"Just because he's going out with that girl doesn't mean you need to be so rushed on finding your own girlfriend." Ishi didn't let up on his verbal assault. He was well aware of his close friendship to Izuru, the boy who asked Rinse out before deciding to follow his true feelings. "Instead of wasting so much time on shallow girls that'll fall for anything. You should be happy for your friend and supporting him. Not trying to make everything a competition."
"Whatever." He turned away from them. The potential crisis was avoided for now. When he saw that Rinse was with them, it appeared to make him more upset, but at least he wasn't going to make a scene.
"I was really hoping you weren't going to follow me." Ishi turned his attention back to the group. Specifically towards Rinse. "None of us here need someone who's feeling a bit jiffed at what he perceives to be an unfair life." If that kid took issue with his friend now being in a relationship, then he'd be livid that he was hanging out with the school idol. He breathed a deep sigh of relief at having to avoid danger, then anger as the boy grabbed Koto by the ear once more. "And all of us would be happier if you weren't so stupid!"
While he was busy giving his cousin a lecture, Rinse pondered over the situation that unfolded in front of her. How can someone be so mean with their words and not get decked in the face? Surely insulting someone would only rile them up. Then again, this seemed to be the standard Ishi that she had grown to know.
It was as if she couldn't understand him. When in reality, he simply was a pretty straightforward person. All of his actions made perfect sense once they came to a proper light.
And the two of them were a lot more similar than either of them could see.