Chapter 418: Shiina Mashiro, a Stranger to the World, and the Friendship Forged in Game Tokens
Ten minutes later, Cerberus and Lanterby found themselves seated on chairs in the arcade's lounge area. Lanterby stared at Cerberus, who had her arms crossed with an unnervingly calm expression, and finally broke the tense silence.
"So, Cerberus," she began, her voice laced with confusion, "what exactly are we supposed to do now?"
Cerberus's gaze remained fixed on the middle distance. "I believe," she said with a deadpan tone, "that I should be the one asking that question. What are we going to do?!"
The source of their predicament, Shiina Mashiro, stood directly behind Cerberus. Both of her hands were still firmly gripping Cerberus's… ears, showing no sign of letting go. At this point, Cerberus wasn't even concerned about the sensation of her ears being held.
What truly terrified her was the imminent exposure of her secret! What was she going to do?! Lucifer would definitely scold her, wouldn't she?! This was a disaster!
Lanterby tried to mediate, speaking gently. "Um… Shi…"
"Mashiro."
The soft, flat reply startled Lanterby. "What?"
"Just call me Mashiro."
Lanterby nodded, recalibrating. "Alright, Mashiro. Why do you keep grabbing Cerberus's… hair ornament?"
"Hair ornament?" Shiina Mashiro repeated, her voice a blank canvas of curiosity. She gave the soft, pointed objects another experimental pinch, then tilted her head. Just as she was about to voice her observation, she heard Cerberus practically shout, her pupils trembling.
"Yes! Yes, it's a hair ornament!"
Shiina Mashiro paused, her hands freezing in place. Then, without a word, she released her grip. She clenched her small hands into fists at her sides before speaking again, her voice a soft murmur. "Cerberus… so cute."
Cerberus blinked, taken aback for a second. A wide, slightly bashful grin spread across her face as she scratched the back of her head. "Hahaha, thanks! But Mashiro, are you a student here?"
"Yes. I just transferred from Britain."
"Eh? A transfer student? No wonder you don't look like a local. But Mashiro, are you an art student? That's a drawing board on your back, isn't it?"
Mashiro's gaze drifted vaguely toward the large canvas case strapped to her back, and she gave a small, affirmative nod. An awkward silence descended, which Cerberus promptly shattered by clapping her hands together.
"Mashiro! Let's play together!" she declared with a bright smile.
Lanterby quickly chimed in, nodding enthusiastically. "Yes, of course! When you're at an arcade, you play games!"
"Games?" The word sounded foreign on Mashiro's lips.
Lanterby's expression was one of genuine surprise. "Mashiro, you've never played a game before?" she asked, a note of disbelief in her voice. "Then what did you do for fun?!"
Shiina Mashiro thought for a moment, her expression unchanging. "Drawing. Sleeping. Drawing. Sleeping. And also… draw…"
She trailed off. Lanterby swallowed hard. "Mashiro, your life is… really monotonous. What about shopping? You don't do that either?"
Shiina Mashiro simply shook her head.
"Why not?" Cerberus asked, genuinely puzzled.
"Because it doesn't help with drawing."
The answer hung in the air, simple and absolute. Cerberus and Lanterby exchanged a look, a silent conversation passing between them. Finally, a warm smile bloomed on Lanterby's face. "Do you want to try? I'm sure there's at least one game you'll like!"
Shiina Mashiro considered this for a moment, her gaze shifting to the other girl. "Will Cerberus go, too?"
"Of course!"
In the time that followed, Cerberus and Lanterby came to understand the true meaning of… a complete and utter lack of athletic coordination. Shiina Mashiro's performance subverted their every expectation.
In the shooting games, she couldn't seem to locate the aiming reticle on the screen, her focus drifting away mid-battle as she became lost in the colorful explosions. At the basketball machine, she couldn't even get the ball to graze the hoop, her throws sailing off in wild, unpredictable arcs. When they put her in the driver's seat of a racing game, she nearly dozed off, her virtual car bumping placidly along the guardrails.
The true spectacle, however, was the dance machine. Shiina Mashiro was completely, hopelessly off-beat. Her attempts to follow the arrows quickly devolved into a series of random, stomping motions set vaguely to the music. Yet, because of her incredible sensitivity to visual information, her focus was absolute.
It was a strange paradox. Her eyes saw everything, capturing every arrow, every pattern, capable of rendering the entire sequence from memory in an instant. But her feet—those feet simply refused to obey the signals her brain was sending. The disconnect between her sharp perception and her clumsy execution was, in its own way, incredibly endearing.
Cerberus and Lanterby could only watch with expressions of helpless amusement. In that short time, they had come to understand Shiina Mashiro. The girl could be summed up in a single phrase: a creature of pure innocence, completely unacquainted with the ways of the world.
Lanterby groaned, dragging a hand down her face. "Mashiro is… something else. I'm genuinely starting to worry about her physical education exam results. This is going to be a disaster…"
Cerberus nodded in solemn agreement. "I feel like she might… no, she will definitely fail. But then again," she added with a thoughtful hum, "it would feel strange if Mashiro was actually good at sports."
Lanterby chuckled. "You're right. She's so endearingly, stubbornly herself. But she seems to really like this music, doesn't she? Or maybe…"
Cerberus shook her head, a knowing smile playing on her lips. "Mashiro is… Mashiro is… Ah! I know! But I bet Mashiro looks incredibly cute when she smiles!"
"Hmm… But Cerberus, what did you figure out just now? What was she doing?"
Cerberus's smile widened, but she didn't elaborate. As a Guardian Beast of Hell, she could perceive the nature of a person's soul, just as she had seen the fading life force of Clow Reed long ago. She could feel the purity radiating from Shiina Mashiro—an innocence so deep it barely seemed human.
Cerberus had already taken a great liking to the girl. Whether it was because Mashiro hadn't exposed the secret of her ears, or because of that untainted soul, or simply her naturally earnest and clumsy demeanor, Cerberus had decided she approved of her.
Shiina Mashiro finally stepped off the dance platform after burning through half a basket of game tokens. Cerberus immediately held out a tissue for her. Mashiro stopped, startled. She looked from the tissue to Cerberus's smiling face, and after a long moment, tilted her head.
"Cerberus?"
With a fond smile, Cerberus reached out and gently wiped the beads of sweat from Mashiro's forehead. "You look like you had a lot of fun, Mashiro!"
Shiina Mashiro nodded. Her eyes fell on the remaining tokens in the plastic basket. "These…"
Lanterby grinned. "Those, my dear Mashiro, are for the one place all leftover tokens must go!"
"Eh?" came the synchronized, confused reply from both Mashiro and Cerberus.
More than twenty minutes later, the arcade owner watched the trio leave, nearly doubling over with laughter. They hadn't exchanged their tickets for any of the usual prizes. Instead, they had poured all their winnings into the claw machines, taking only the single record-breaking prize they'd managed to win. It was no loss to him at all.
Shiina Mashiro clutched a cat-shaped plushie, about the size of a pillow, and a rare spark of delight flickered in her usually placid eyes.
Lanterby laughed. "As expected, half a basket wasn't enough. We only caught one? Hahaha~"
Mashiro looked down at the plushie in her arms, then shook her head and spoke softly. "Sister Lanterby… is amazing."
"Hahaha~ Little Mashiro sure knows how to talk~"
"Hey! Mashiro!"
A clear voice cut through the evening air. Mashiro turned to see a beautiful woman with long black hair and a weary expression, standing beside another woman with reddish-brown short hair who was waving energetically in their direction.
"Mashiro, do you know them?" Cerberus asked.
"It's my cousin."
Sengoku Chihiro and her friend walked over. Her eyes took in Cerberus, Lanterby, and the plushie in Mashiro's arms, and she quickly pieced together the situation. "Thank you both for looking after Mashiro," she said with a polite smile. "This plushie…"
"It was no problem at all," Lanterby replied cheerfully. "Mashiro is very cute. As for the plushie, please consider it a small gift."
"A gift…"
After a few more pleasantries, Sengoku Chihiro prepared to lead Mashiro away. But Mashiro, moving with surprising purpose, walked directly to Cerberus and wrapped her arms around her in a hug.
Cerberus was momentarily stunned before a warm smile spread across her face. "Mashiro, it's time to go home!"
"Cerberus, Sister Lanterby… will we meet again?" Mashiro asked, her voice muffled against Cerberus's shoulder.
"Of course~" the two chimed in unison.
Lanterby smiled. "Didn't I give you our contact information, Mashiro? Just get in touch whenever you miss us."
Mashiro nodded. Just as she was about to let go, she felt Cerberus press something small and cool into her hand. Startled, she looked up at Cerberus with a questioning gaze.
"It's a token of our friendship!" Cerberus declared with a grin. "Ren said so!" She paused, then added as an afterthought, "Hmm… Ren is just Ren… I guess…"
Shiina Mashiro nodded slowly, her fingers closing around the object in her palm. "Mm," she whispered. "Cerberus and Sister Lanterby are friends."
"Cousin, where are we going now?"
"You said your goodbyes properly," Chihiro noted, a hint of surprise and warmth in her voice. "Mashiro, you've really met some nice friends. Well then, goodbye to you two. Let's go, Mashiro."
Cerberus and Lanterby smiled, watching as Shiina Mashiro and the others disappeared into the growing evening crowd.
"Alright, now it's time to tell me," Lanterby said, turning to her friend. "What was Mashiro really doing back there on the dance machine?"
A mischievous grin lit up Cerberus's face. "She was looking at the cartoon characters on the screen!"
"Eh? Hahahaha! Of course she was! That's so Mashiro~"
"Cerberus! Lanterby!"
"Ah! It's Lady Mana and the others!"
"Ren, Ren, Ren!"
Startled by the calls, the two turned to see their own group approaching. They exchanged a quick glance before running off to join them.
From a distance, Shiina Mashiro turned her head, her gaze finding the spot where Cerberus and Lanterby were being swallowed by the crowd. She saw them run toward a small group of people and tilted her head in thought. "Ren?"
Sengoku Chihiro smiled down at her. "So, what did that girl slip you just now?"
Mashiro blinked, as if just remembering. She silently opened her hand. Lying quietly in her palm was a single, shiny game token. As she looked at it, the faintest hint of a smile touched Shiina Mashiro's lips.
"A game token? What's that supposed to mean?" Chihiro's friend asked, puzzled.
But Chihiro was focused on something else entirely. "Hey, hey~ Mashiro, you smiled?!"
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