Chapter Text
tempestuousBandit began pestering itinerantAperture
TB: tsukasaaaa >:)
TB: are u there
TB: did u get it yet
TB: …
TB: i know ur seeing this
TB: i can sense it in my fucking BONES that ur reading these words right this moment
TB: are u ignoring me
TB: :/
TB: :///
TB: ur gonna be like this huh
TB: just bc of that stuff i said last time? talk about lame & cowardly. u were the one who started it anyway but lol ok sure, it’s all on me
TB: i’ve already forgiven & forgotten like a mature adult but here u are being petty
TB: is this what u want to do? bring bad vibes into our fun game? ruin everyone’s good time bc of some bullshit that doesn’t even matter?
TB: zzzz – me asleep bc of how boring ur being
TB: well guess what
TB: ur officially cancelled. that’s right. i’m CANCELLING U
TB: have fun in Cancellation City, population: tsukasa!
tempestuousBandit ceased pestering itinerantAperture
You’re fairly certain that would have more bite to it if he didn’t “cancel” you at least once a week.
The truth is, it’s not that you spitefully ignore him as much as the thought of answering just exhausts you sometimes. Every other conversation with that guy feels like navigating an absurd flirty minefield of barbs and oneupmanship. It doesn’t help that half the time you have no memory of what he’s talking about when he references your previous conversations. You’d assume he was pranking you if he didn’t always seem so earnest about it.
You sigh dramatically as you spin your desk chair around, getting to your feet and wandering over to throw open the balcony doors, stepping out into the sun. Leaning against the railing provides the typical view of the gardens laid out below, the topiaries beginning to overgrow in a somewhat unsightly manner, the white brick of the quaint pathways beginning to look more than a little off-colour. The fountain in the center of the courtyard has all but dried up. Actually, you can’t recall the last time this place was in peak condition.
Your name is KADOYA TSUKASA. You live in this sprawling, remote lakeside estate completely alone, which recently you’ve started to find a bit strange. The details of your past are ODDLY FUZZY at times. You try to remain as coolly unconcerned about it as possible, but you have to admit it nags at you deep down. You have a keen interest in FILM PHOTOGRAPHY, at which you are NOT VERY GOOD but will doggedly insist that you are in fact a misunderstood artistic visionary ahead of your time. You fancy yourself a bit of a WORLD TRAVELER as well, despite having never really been anywhere. It’s more something you feel in your soul. Something you were meant for.
You are currently awaiting the arrival in the mail of a multiplayer co-op game sent to you by one of your online friends. You’re not much for such things, typically, but when a certain someone brings up an idea it’s difficult to say no to him. He’s always so infectiously optimistic.
A distant ding from your computer signifies that someone else has begun messaging you. You turn away from the pleasant feeling of the breeze on your face and head back in to potentially actually answer this one.
trendyIconoclasm began pestering itinerantAperture
TI: Are you not talking to him again?
IA: Is he complaining to you about me again?
TI: Is it a day of the week ending in ‘y’?
IA: I recommend it, you know. Leaving him on ‘read’ on occasion. Letting him suffer in silence a bit. He’ll never get less needy otherwise.
TI: Hm.
TI: I think you’re being kind of dishonest right now. Are you being dishonest, Tsukasa?
IA: I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.
TI: You can’t see it, but I’m giving you an exasperated look through the screen. That’s what I’m doing with my face.
You open up a game of solitaire and begin to play idly.
TI: Sighhh whatever. I know you want me to change the subject so I’ll be a good friend and ask,
TI: Did it get there? The ETA was today, right?
IA: I haven’t heard the doorbell yet.
TI: ??
TI: How have you ever been able to when you’re three floors up in that obnoxiously huge mansion of yours?
TI: Why don’t you go check anyway, jerk?
IA: Where would I be without you rudely telling me to complete simple tasks?
TI: I wonder.
TI: Smack in the middle of some kind of catastrophe, probably.
You roll your eyes and get up from your desk again to do as instructed.
It’s a long trek through the house to reach the front door, footsteps loud against the old wood floors, the echo bouncing off the vaulted ceilings. She’s right, to be honest. You wouldn’t hear the doorbell from up in your attic bedroom, and sure enough when you heft open the front door a package is sitting there on the stoop.
You pick it up, turning it over in your hands. Interesting, how the barcode-esque logo for this game happens to be a vivid magenta, your favorite colour. Maybe that’s why it caught his eye in the first place. You can’t deny that thought makes you smile, a pleased sort of warmth settling in your chest.
Your phone buzzes in your pocket.
buoyantAchilles began pestering itinerantAperture
BA: you got it, right?? :D
BA: so excited to get this thing started. natsumi’s gonna get you in first, ok? she’ll control your game environment and hook you up with everything you need. then you bring in TB and help him
IA: Is this order set in stone?
BA: umm idk! i just feel like it has to be this way, y’know?
IA: He’s not going to like it.
BA: haha yeah probably not… but he’ll get over it! he usually does
BA: this is gonna be great man just you wait and see
BA: it’ll be like a real adventure!
You shade your eyes from the sun, tucking the barcode-emblazoned package under your arm, and get the oddest feeling that he might be right.