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There it was. The final checkpoint. Chiaki looked around for any possible traps or ambushes. Though the coast was clear, she kept her gun loaded and ready as she crept carefully towards it. Suddenly, she heart gunshots. She looked around for the source and saw the group of enemies which had sprung seemingly out of nowhere running full tilt at her. They looked pretty strong. No. Come on. Not when I’m this close. She gripped the console harder and focused on evasion.
“Hey!” Something was touching one of her shoulders from behind. Chiaki froze. The enemies surrounded her character, capturing him. ‘Game Over’ blinked on the screen. Chiaki stared at the console uncomprehendingly for a good minute, thinking about how she’d have to replay at least half an hour now. This time she’d invest more in defense. She began loading the new save to start the level over.
“Heyyyyyyyy.” Oh, right. Somebody had said something. Chiaki paused and looked around, easily noticing the flashy-looking girl standing right by her. “Did you hear me? I asked what you were playing? Sorry if I scared ya.” Chiaki couldn’t remember the other girl’s name, but recognized her as the one who talked loudly all the time.
Chiaki blinked and looked back down at the screen to avoid the other’s intense gaze. “Oh. There was a PSP and a bunch of games in one the the cabinets. I haven’t even heard of a lot of these titles, so I’m trying some of them out. This one is mostly an FPS so far. But I died just now and have to start over.”
The girl walked around to stand in front of where Chiaki was seated with her Play Station. “Aren’t you bored? You were here when I woke up, and I haven’t seen you leave AT ALLLLLL.”
“Mmm. Not really. I just started this one, so it’ll last me a while.” She started replaying the level again, assuming the other girl was close to getting bored and leaving. Chiaki was well aware that she wasn’t the most exciting person to spend time with, and she was fine with the fact.
“It’s lunch time, though. You should at least eat something. Come on.” The girl grabbed Chiaki’s arm and pulled a little, encouragingly. Not knowing what else to do, Chiaki obliged, though she took the Play Station with her.
“I’m fine, really,” she tried to reassure the girl. “Sometimes I only have one meal a day and I’m OK.”
Instead of reassured, she gasped. “No. One meal? You need three square meals a day to stay at your peak! Come on, Ibuki’s going to buy you something nice.”