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It'd certainly been a long day-- One that Takane wouldn't be forgetting anytime soon, that was for sure. Things had been going surprisingly well for her, too! She didn't have nearly as much practice as she did when she first entered a Dead Bullet tournament... But, apparently, after two years and a bit of practice, she still had enough skill to make it as far as she did. It was a huge surprise, to be completely honest. … Then again, everyone but her expected her to make it this far.
And by everyone, that obviously meant her fans from the game. The stupid fanboys who practically went rabid whenever she would step onto the stage-- It was almost like they'd never seen a girl play video games before-- … No. It was almost like they'd never seen a girl in general, before. If she was going to be completely honest with herself, the entire situation made her very uncomfortable.
She didn't like having all those eyes on her, watching every movement as she played her favorite game-- And, yet, the idea of regaining her title as second best-- Or even gaining the title of best in the country was too appealing of an idea to turn down. It was something that she and Haruka would be able to talk about once they got home--
That was one thing that she felt slightly bad for, to be completely honest. She hadn't been paying much attention to how well Haruka had been doing at the tournament. She knew that he was really good at the game, but... She had a feeling that he wouldn't have made it any farther than her. And, honestly, she felt guilty. Surely he had been paying attention to how she had been doing, even while he was competing for himself--?
Nervously, Takane Enomoto clenched and unclenched her fists, waiting for the speakers near her to crackle to life and announce herself, as well as her challenger. Who would she be fighting against for the title of best in the country? … As she waited, taking a sip from the water bottle that she had with her, she could feel herself growing more anxious. Yes, this entire event had been serious... But, now? This was the real fight. The one she knew that she would get to--
And she couldn't play around, and risk making a fool of herself in front of the potential number one in the country. … She still had no idea who it was, even--
“Takane?” Hearing that familiar voice behind her, Takane almost instantly whirled around, letting out a sigh of relief. Of course Haruka would be there with her, to congratulate her on making it this far-- He was that kind of person, after all. And, to be completely honest, she was glad that he was here right now. She needed him here, to help her unwind. She was, almost certainly, always a lot more comfortable when Haruka was around--
Quickly flashing him a smile, Takane was finally able to compose herself enough to reply to him-- “Oh, hey Haruka-! How've you been doing...?” She might as well ask-- She felt bad, knowing that she hadn't been paying much attention to how he had been doing against his opponents... But it was only fair for her to ask. Because she was, legitimately, interested in how well he'd done. She had a feeling that he'd gone far, but--
“Great, Takane!” he exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. He didn't seem phased at all by the fact that Takane hadn't been paying too much attention to how he'd been doing-- Then again, it wasn't like he minded. He knew that Takane was focused on how well she was doing. … She was the one who needed to get to at least second place, after all. Of course, his smile never faded as he fell silent for a few moments. “Can't wait to get to play against you, next,” he finally added, leaning over, still in his wheelchair, to plant a kiss on Takane's nose.
Almost instantly, Takane's face went red as a beet for two reasons. The first, and most obvious, reason being the fact that Haruka had just done something so simple-- Of course, she had expected that. The two of them had been dating for a couple of months now, especially since she had finally gotten up the nerve to tell him how she felt...
The other reason, though, was more... shocking than anything. She was going to be playing against him?! She sputtered, water that had been in her mouth being spit out-- … Right onto Haruka's shirt. “Fuck-- I'm so sorry, oh my god-- I didn't mean to do that, Haru-”
“It's fine,” he reassured, that friendly tone still in his voice, and that familiar smile remaining on his face as he brushed the water away, though some of it had still managed to soak into his shirt-- Luckily it wasn't that much, so his shirt wasn't completely soaked with the clear liquid. … And it wasn't like the water was going to hurt him, anyways.
Takane quietly nodded, still looking awful apologetic-- After a few moments of silence between the two of them, however, she was able to finally break it-- “But you and me? Next? Against each other-?” She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She had expected to be against someone else entirely. She knew Haruka was good at the game... But was he really this good? … Or was he, for once, just pulling her leg? … Or maybe she'd misheard him--
“Oh, yeah! We're up next. That's another reason I came looking for you, actually; to congratulate you for getting this far, and to wish you good luck in our match!” As he spoke, his voice grew more and more enthusiastic-- His eyes even lighting up in that all-too familiar way. Of course, Takane had grown used to it... And, yet, it was so nice seeing him legitimately happy and excited like this, event though he almost always was-- No, not even almost. Haruka Kokonose always seemed happy. Takane was sure that she'd never seen him look legitimately sad the entire time that she'd known him--
She'd seen him in pain, for sure... But sad? She was pretty sure that Haruka never felt that emotion. And, even if she found his optimism a little... over the top sometimes, she still greatly appreciated it. Especially when she was nervous, like she was now. … And, even more so, when she wasn't in the best mood.
“I... see,” Takane responded, trying her best to return Haruka's smile. “... In that case, I hope you realize that I'm not going to go easy on you-” Takane hesitated for a moment. It was... awkward, to say the least, to use his in-game name. After those two years... After Konoha came to exist as his own person-- It didn't feel right to call Haruka by that name. As much as she had despised Konoha... He was still his own person, not just some name that Haruka used in the game anymore. “-... Haruka.” While she had held a teasing tone to her voice at the beginning of her sentence, it had faded after her moment of hesitation.
Of course, it wasn't like Haruka didn't understand why she had hesitated. On one hand, this was a Dead Bullet tournament. It was common for others to refer to themselves as their in-game tag-- But, for Takane... That was difficult. And he understood that-- And didn't mind, honestly, either way. Of course, as to not dwell on that hesitation that had been in her voice, Haruka let out a laugh, still smiling at her-- Taking a hand to run through the blond-ish hair on the back of his head as he spoke. “Oh, I wasn't expecting you to, Takane! I'm definitely going to be trying my best out there!” There was a short pause as they both heard the speakers around the large room crackle to life, the announcer's voice coming to life after a few moments.
Takane wasn't paying much attention to what he was saying-- The only words that she had managed to catch were both her and Haruka's tags-- … As well as that stupid title that she had given herself almost... three years ago, at this point. Dancing Flash Ene.
As if on cue, both of them moved to the platform where the computers were set up-- Behind them was a large projector screen, which was displaying both of their faces as they came to their respective computers, which were pretty close to each other. Quickly, both of them logged into their accounts for the game, before exchanging a glance between each other.
The crowd was utterly silent, all eyes on Takane. They were expecting her to say something, weren't they? Something that fit with her usual snark... Some kind of comment about how she was going to kick her opponent's ass-- But that was far from what they actually got.
“Good luck, Haruka.” Those were the only words that came out of Takane's mouth-- The entire crowd was, quite obviously, shocked. Not that she cared.
“You too, Ene.” There was that stupid smile again, and Takane could feel her face going red again. She hoped that no one would notice-- Of course, with the fact that there were cameras pointed at her face...? Yeah. Everyone would notice. “... May the best player win.”
----
As the game came to a close, Takane's eyes widened. Somehow, Haruka had managed to beat her-- … Only barely, but she was still beat nonetheless. On one hand, she was... almost seething. Not that she was mad at Haruka, of course. She was seething solely because of the fact that she'd been beat. Even her 'Holy Nightmare' technique hadn't been enough to beat him-!
And yet, at the same time, she was happy for Haruka. The way he was smiling when she glanced over to him... He was so proud of the fact that he had won. She could see it in his eyes.
Maybe staying second best in the country wasn't so bad, after all-- … Especially when the only person above her was someone that she really, truly, cared about.