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“You are now arriving in Akihabara, this is Akihabara!”
Makoto allowed Ren to scooch ahead of her outside of the subway politely, following behind him shortly afterwards. He walked her out of the station and into the Akihabara district without a word, mostly due to the loud crowd. It was summer. Makoto wore a plain white T-shirt and light gray capris with black heels, while her partner wore a matching white tee and blue jeans, with white sneakers. His bag did not house Morgana today.
The moment Makoto’s red orbs laid upon the popular electric district she was impressed by the scenery of bright maid cafes and huge technology stores. She blinked a few times.
“So, to the electronics shop?”
“Huh? Oh, yes, of course.” Ren smirked.
“Sightseeing? Don’t worry, we can look more on our way back.”
“Truth be told, this is my first time being here in person. I never had a reason to come down to this part of town.”
“Yeah, me neither until Futaba begged me to come get her some new game with her. It’s a cool place.”
Makoto nodded, lips pursed as she scanned about. Her eyes lingered when she spotted the Gigolo Arcade. Ren followed her line of sight and smiled, taking her hand in his. She was taken out of her train of thought and met his eyes with a twinge of intrigue glistening within.
She’s almost too cute.
“After, right.” She closed her eyes and sighed, then held her wallet in her pocket and walked in the direction of the electronics store, hand-in hand with her study partner.
Inside of the large store was the interior of a maze, one that only someone with a prior knowledge of the aisles could navigate without wasting time. Ren, luckily, was that someone. He guided her to the handheld devices section of the store as she curiously toured the walls of gizmos and gadgets that only one of her odd friends would have any interest in.
“Perhaps I should come here with Futaba sometime. I don’t know what anything is here.” She spoke mostly to herself, keeping up pace with her boyfriend.
“That’s how I learned, and I’m still confused.” He grinned comedically, stopping just short of their destination. “Let me see which one she recommended again.”
“Okay.” She let go of his hand and took a few steps around before the aching pain in her legs told her to sit down. She looked down and grimaced, letting out a soft whine. “Ree~een?” her voice was comically weak.
He peaked his head up from his phone with an eyebrow raised. “What is it, dearest?”
“My legs hurt.”
“Don’t worry, we’re almost done.”
“I’ve been walking around all day, standing on the subway.. And you completely forgot about this place until I asked if Futaba knew anything about where to find a cheap but modern and long lasting Dell laptop, making the first hour and a half of our shopping trip around town a completely painful waste of time..”
“I’m sorry, my love,” a smile almost pulled its way onto her lips at his sweetness, but she maintained her attitude. “I promise I’ll treat you to many a massages and arcade games when we get this stupid thing, alright?”
“..Ren~”
“Makoto.”
“Are there any chairs in the arcade, Ren?”
“I don’t think so, Makoto.”
She walked closer to him while he picked up a box containing a cheap but modern Dell laptop with little trouble. Working out with Ryuji was certainly paying off. Her firm hand hooked to his shoulder, lips coming into whispering distance with his ear. “Too bad then. Looks like you’ll have to work overtime.” He felt his cheeks burn. She stretched out her limbs like a cat. “Shall we? Don’t worry about splitting the cost, Sae’s covering it for me.”
“That’s.. That’s uh- nice of her.” He cleared his throat.
When did she get so bold?
She led the way this time. “I seem to remember seeing the register at the entrance of the store. Would you mind if I led?”
“Certainly. I mean- certainly not.”
She laughed behind her hand. “Sorry. It’s not often I get to see you flustered.”
“You’re not the only one who's tired here. I’ve been standing and walking all day too.”
“I’ll have to tire you out more often then.” At this point he wasn’t listening. Her backside figure had encapsulated and captured him. He hypnotically followed her to checkout before putting the box on the counter and watching as his short but hyper intelligent Queen bought the laptop, a few suggested accessories from their red headed friend (earbuds, backup driver) and an extended warranty.
Ren held the bag containing their luggage outside after thanking the cashier. Makoto sighed and turned around on her tippy toes to give Ren a kiss on his cheek.
“Thank you.”
“Hm? For what?” He barely even registered it, looking down at her with a soft smile.
“For dealing with me today.”
“Well, thanks for dealing with me today. It’s not often I brain fart as hard as I did earlier.”
“Really we should be thanking Futaba-chan. But you were a big help too.” She grinned devilishly. He returned the expression.
“Of course. Now.. Gigolo Arcade break?”
“Mm, sure. We’ll have to come back another day to look at the other stuff, it’s getting somewhat late.” The sun was still in the sky, but the two would check their phones and find the time left in the day unforgiving. They began walking to the arcade across the street.
I’ll have to treat Sae and Ren sometime this weekend for thanks.
They’ve both been a great help as of late…
The interior of the arcade was quite cramped, though almost nobody was inside, apart from two teens with Shujin uniforms at a game in the corner closest to the door. Compared to the muggy district outside and the chilly air conditioned space of the Electronics Store, the arcade was resting somewhere comfortably in the middle. Lights flashed here and there, filling Makoto with the same excited curiosity as before.
“It’s much nicer here than the arcade on Central Street.”
“Not as hot for sure.”
“There’s something drawing me to this place that I can’t quite put my finger on.”
“Well, you are with me, at an arcade. You know, the first kind of place we ever hung out at alone for fun. Maybe you’re just nostalgic and-” She gasped and ran towards the claw machine, leaving him in the dust. “Woah, what’s up?”
“Ren, look!” She squealed, small but tough hands resting adorably against the glass. Ren followed her, realizing exactly what she was so ecstatic about the second he saw a big, fluffy black and white panda plush staring joyfully at them. “A Buchi-themed crane machine?! I didn’t even know these existed!”
“I’ve.. never seen this here before. I wonder where it came from.”
“Ah, I want to play, but..”
“But..?”
“But these games are rigged. It’s a known fact that all crane games are next to impossible and only work sometimes to create the illusion of skill based victories. You could be proficient enough to catch a fly with chopsticks and still wouldn’t be able to claim a prize, and based on the width and size of this particular claw, there’s no way it could pinch the head or body of Buchimaru-kun, meaning we would never be able to claim this adorable plush!” She took a deep breath. Ren put the bag down next to the crane game and placed his hand on her shoulder.
“We could still try, if you want. If not, they have Gun About here if you wanna try that instead.”
She chewed her lip, looking around. Then her eyes lit up with a newfound encouragement. “It’s worth a shot, right? People didn’t just stop believing in us because we seemed impossible. They kept cheering us on, and it turns out that was the right choice.”
“That’s right. I have plenty of extra change, too.” He fishes out his wallet and unzips it, fetching a few coins from the inside.
“Same. Well, not plenty, but enough. Would you like to do the honors of trying first?” She stepped away, wandering to the side of the machine as Ren took over.
“Sure.” He popped in two coins. The machine began playing a jingle and Ren gained control over the crane. Slowly he moved the joystick, maneuvering the claw towards the center of the machine. He had two attempts to get this right and more than a few prizes. One of which was the illustrious giant Buchi-Maru plush. Another was a side character in the show that Makoto really didn’t seem to care much about, but apparently his name was Buck Bumbure-kun. The last few choices were much smaller, but not bad choices either, such as a Buchimaru-kun calculator, pencil case and eraser (all of which Makoto had owned before) and a sticker sheet.
Carefully, and with much direction from his eager lover, Ren selected an area that would most likely retrieve the panda, clicked the red button on the joystick and watched as the claw shimmied down, scratched the toy and then ascended with only air in its grasp. He looked over at Makoto and saw how her determination had simmered. Her eye twitched before she locked eyes with him.
“Again.” He nodded, tried the big panda bear once again and, once again, couldn’t get a good grasp on it. It wasn’t even lopsided or laying down weirdly, it was sitting and waving with those adorably frustrating cutesy anime eyes, almost like the pure Buchi-kun was taunting them.
“Shoot. You’re up.”
“Alright. I can do this.” She gave the joystick a firm grasp, leaning forward with her nose almost touching the glass. Ren took her spot at the side of the machine and coached her on if she was off or not, but she went over to check in case he was wrong anyways, several times. Not because she didn’t trust him, of course.
“Just need to be sure..” She whispered, mostly for him, before clicking the button. This time she did catch Buchi’s ear, and even picked him up. She grinned like a child, gasping quietly with stars in her eyes.. but then the crane dropped him halfway up the ascent. “Dang..”
“You still have another attempt.”
“Yeah..” She got back into position, poised to capture the lost panda. “Come on, Buchi-kun.. Momma needs a new piece of merch..”
“Are you hyping yourself up?” He questioned, an amused smirk on his face. She blushed, but quickly shook her head and ignored him, accidentally bumping into him as she went to check the side of the machine. When she tried to go back to the control stick, she found herself caught on something - or someone. Ren’s arm hooked around her waist. “You know that’s my job, right, Queen?” He queried flirtatiously.
She stopped moving and held his arm with two dainty hands. “I don’t need you to hype me up.. But I’d love it if you did. Nothing wrong with a bit of teamwork.” She turns her head to look at him.
“Noted. Good luck, babe.”
“Thank you, again.” She was freed from his grasp. She slowly strutted towards the joystick and got back into position, cheeks still noticeably red. Ren folded his arms and watched her play.
How does he know exactly how to calm me down every time?
She once again failed in her effort to even pick it up, but as she went to where Ren stood to give him his turn she was greeted with his open palm and ten turns worth of yen. Her eyes fluttered upwards and met him in the middle.
“I believe in you. You’ve got this.”
“I promise I’ll pay you back.”
“No need, Makoto. Please, keep playing. Seeing you like this.. It’s honestly payment enough.”
She couldn’t help the overwhelming feeling of butterflies in her stomach. She took the coins and pocketed them. “I won’t let you down.”
“You can’t let me down.”
It’s impossible.
Maybe it’s the heat talking, but I’m feeling more royal than normal.
Playing for brownie points, or do you really like me that much?
Don’t answer that. It’s a dumb question. I know you.
With a new sense of determination over something as silly as a crane game, and with her boyfriends adoring eyes glued to her, she spends the next half hour failing, over and over again. Though their stomach’s growl and their feet remain tired, though her hands are beginning to cramp and her eyes are beginning to burn from lack of blinking, she is dead set on scoring Buchimaru-Kun. No matter what it takes.
But claw after claw, click after click, precise movement after slightly off precise movement begins to become hopeless once again. Yet, now dripping with sweat from arms to foreheads, the two continue to watch as their grand prize continues to fall between their metallic fingers. Ren puts on some Lyn for them to listen to as montage music, but Rivers In The Desert somehow reminds her more of a palace leader fight than an arcade classic she’s attempting to outsmart.
Around 4:30 PM, a miracle occurs.
Sixty two turns, 3000 yen and at the cost of dry shirts later..
Makoto sighs, inserts another coin and moves the claw above her pudgy white and black idol.
“Is that good?” She asks, eyes unmoved from the glass. Ren squints.
“At this point he’s so close to the drop-off zone that even if you were to drop him, he’d still probably end up chipping it at least.. Right?”
“I don’t know.. Maybe we should quit before we miss the next train.” She looks down at her aching hands and blinks.
“You still have two more turns. Let’s at least try those before we go.”
“Right, right of course. You could come over, if you want. It’s close to dinner time.” Her voice is small, as it usually is when she asks him a more intimate question.
“..Is Sae gonna be there?” The machine let out the sixty second loser fan-fare of the day as she let out a soft chuckle.
“Most likely. Don’t worry, she-”
“Because last time she glared at me like I had just laid in the same bed as you.”
“R-Ren!-”
“And although the thought had crossed my mind that night, you know I took the floor that night, and that aside from your amazing company, I only stayed overnight because of the torrential rain and lack of funds for a taxi.”
“She’ll be fine. And if she isn't.. I’ll talk to her, okay?”
“I’m mostly teasing. Mostly. Coming home with this would make me look a little more favorable at least.”
“So I better win then,” Ren opened his mouth to speak, “before you tell me no pressure, I’m aware. But I work better under it.” he stops and nods.
“You’re a smart woman, Makoto.”
“And now I’m a Buchi-kun rich woman..”
Click.
The claw moves down, snatches the panda bear up, moves slightly to the left and immediately drops him. But, as he hits the side of the drop zone, his body shifts one direction: toward the victory slot. His foot is caught on the edge of the drop, preventing him from falling down.
Makoto goes through a range of facial expressions. From shock to disappointment to hope to anger. Instead of saying anything, she watches the crane ascend and reset. Ren comes up next to her and pats her shoulder.
“These things are rigged. We basically won-”
“FIST OF JUSTICE!” She winds up for a punch on the right side of the crane machine, and…
BANG!
Woop!
A celebratory fan-fare plays, a siren blasting softly.
“Winner! Winner!”
With one powerful punch to the side of the machine, Buchimaru-kun fell through the hole and was now theirs. Makoto blinked. Ren laughed, eyes wide in surprise.
“Well.. I guess impossibility can be trumped by brute strength, support and plenty of determination any day of the week.”
She eagerly chuckles, pumping a fist into the air with glee written all over her face. “I won! I did it! Oh my gosh, I won!”
“You did great.” She got down and retrieved her prize. He was at least three feet tall and incredibly comfy, like an overstuffed pillow. She holds him tight, her brown locks flowing from her exaggerated hug.
“He’s so cute!~”
“Cuter than you? Impossible.” He teased. She looked past Buchi to her 2nd soft male role model, adding him to the hug with closed eyes and a content smile.
“Right back at you. Now, let’s get the hell out of here before I collapse.”
“Your wish is my command, Queen.”
“What are you- hey!”
Ren scoops her up with much more effort than before with the PC, bridal style. She holds her giant Buchi plush as he adds the Electronics to his other hand and stumbles his way outside of the arcade, her giggles and embarrassed suggestions to put her down eventually making him do so. She walked him to the train station, where they found two rare, available seats. Ren let Makoto nap on her Buchi plush on the way back, snapping a quick pic of her just before they arrived at Central Street.
He smiled. “Another one for the collection.”
Sleepyhead <3
10 photos in gallery
9 shared with Niijima Sae.