At that very moment, Takanashi Mirai had her face pressed flat against her bedroom door, ear straining to catch the conversation in the living room.
After being bombarded by Kuroha Akira's door-pounding—which had made her head feel like a beehive—the noise suddenly stopped. She wondered if they'd finally given up.
But she didn't hear anyone leave the house, which meant they hadn't gone yet. So Takanashi Mirai started eavesdropping, wanting to know what their next move would be.
Unfortunately, with a closed door between them, she still couldn't quite make out what they were saying…
Dang it! Just leave already! Stop messing with my plan!
When the Asato family's car had pulled up outside, Mirai had already been alerted. She'd immediately run to draw the curtains, lock her room door, and then dive under her quilt, blocking out all outside information.
She figured Hitomi had probably been brought here by Saionji Makoto. Back when they used to play together, those two had the best relationship—they were the most compatible pair. The overly serious Makoto and the shrewd, cunning Hitomi—their dynamic was like a daimyo and his samurai. Hitomi would come up with the plan, and Makoto would execute it. They could solve any problem together.
Unfortunately, Hitomi later distanced herself from them, and that was that.
And Makoto, after hearing that Mirai had stopped going to school, had already visited a while ago. But Mirai had given her the cold shoulder—couldn't even exchange a single word. So, at her wit's end, Makoto must have called for reinforcements and brought Hitomi.
Even though their relationship wasn't what it used to be, in Makoto's eyes, Hitomi-chan would still be the first person she thought of as "most reliable."
However, Takanashi Mirai had always been a little afraid of Asato Hitomi. The main reason was that Mirai could usually read other people's emotions and easily guess their thoughts—but she could never figure out what was going on inside Hitomi's head.
To this day, she still didn't understand why Hitomi-chan had chosen to distance herself from them. She suspected Hitomi-chan felt they were no longer useful and thus "discarded" her childhood friends.
Especially when she saw Hitomi making new friends, Mirai felt that Hitomi was just playing a new round of "friend games."
In Hitomi's eyes, friends were probably disposable.
This idea came to her because, while others saw Hitomi and Makoto as the perfect pair, Mirai felt that Hitomi-chan was actually controlling Makoto. She exploited Makoto's straightforward personality, directing her however she pleased—and Makoto herself seemed to willingly accept it.
Hitomi-chan is truly skilled at manipulating people's hearts! She's a control demon!
So, after entering high school, when Mirai learned that Asato Hitomi was at the same school, she never once sought her out.
Asato Hitomi… is no longer a friend!
Then, the boy who came with Hitomi-chan this time must be the one she'd seen at the family restaurant before. Later, Ryota had said he seemed to be Hitomi-chan's friend. His name was… Kuroha Akira, right?
Mirai felt he was most likely Hitomi-chan's "new pawn"—just like Makoto had been back then. To put it bluntly, he was Hitomi-chan's pet dog.
Speaking of which, he was sitting at the same table as that goddess who gave me inspiration, but he's also Hitomi-chan's dog… What a messed-up love triangle.
Forget it, it has nothing to do with me anyway.
Mirai had already decided that no matter who came, she wasn't stepping out of her room. She had everything she needed here—she could play games, play musical instruments, her room had its own toilet, and Akiko wouldn't let her starve, delivering meals to her door every day…
So Mirai felt she could stay in the Takanashi house for the rest of her life.
She didn't really plan to be a freeloader forever, but for now, she wasn't going back to school. She didn't want to see those jerks who'd slandered her mother. And she genuinely believed school was boring—a waste of time.
This was also the revelation from that goddess named Shinomiya Shion: If you have your own ideas and are striving to achieve your dreams, giving up your studies isn't out of the question!
Mirai swore even more firmly that she would never step out of her room…
Just as she was mentally prepared, she heard the sounds outside her door growing louder.
"Ya, ya me te!" (Stop, stop it!)
"So ko… da me!" (Not there… don't!)
"Ha na shi te… yi ta yi yo… a!" (Let go… it hurts… ah!)
"Mo koko ni wa… ha i de wa i ge na i!" (You can't come in here anymore!)
"A! su go i ne… yi ku! Aaaaa!" (Ah! That's amazing… I'm coming! Aaaaa!)
Wait…?!
Wait, WAIT?!
What are they doing?!
Why is someone's mother making such strange noises?!
Suddenly, Takanashi Mirai's mind was flooded with all sorts of terrible scenarios. And she alone could protect Akiko!
Mirai pressed herself against the door, listening to the ominous conversation, and finally couldn't take it anymore. She shoved the door open and burst out.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO SOMEONE'S AKIKO-CHAN?!"
The moment she pushed the door open, she froze.
The three people present were just… playing a fighting game.
The players holding controllers were Kuroha Akira and Takanashi Akiko. And just now, Kuroha Akira had simply been unleashing a relentless barrage of attacks on the character Akiko was controlling.
Even though it was his first time playing this fighting game, Kuroha Akira was completely dominating Akiko. Because if your tachikawa—movement and positioning—was good, your skill level wouldn't be bad in any fighting game.
What's tachikawa? It refers to all actions taken before an attack—preemptive strikes, probing… In simple terms: spacing.
In the game, Kuroha Akira was spacing with Takanashi Akiko. And outside the game, he was spacing with Takanashi Mirai using the fighting game itself.
Kuroha Akira had deliberately asked Akiko to cooperate by making sounds and delivering lines that sounded suspiciously like… well, certain kinds of adult videos. When he'd proposed the idea, Akiko had been a little shy, but she'd still agreed to play along. And she delivered the cries so professionally—indistinguishable from the real thing.
Kuroha Akira was startled. How could Akiko cry so "professionally"? It was as if she'd done it countless times—so natural, so convincing…
But wait… her husband passed away years ago, didn't he? Was she… entertaining herself regularly?
She truly lives up to being a married woman. Very active indeed.
As expected, Takanashi Mirai couldn't help but burst out to check the situation.
Now, Kuroha Akira had to seize this rare, critical opportunity to launch his attack—what gamers call "hitting the counter".
"Takanashi-san, it must be boring staying cooped up in your room alone. Why don't you come play a game with us?"
First, extend the invitation.
"No way! Are we even close?!"
Rejected instantly.
But Kuroha Akira wasn't in a hurry. He kept smiling.
"Oh? Well, we're not close yet. But we'll get to know each other by playing games together… I bet you're itching to play a bit too, aren't you? Sure you don't want to go one round?"
"I have no reason to play games with you!"
Hearing her ask for a reason, Kuroha Akira spread his hands and mischievously activated taunt mode.
"Sigh… So there's no worthy opponent for me in the entire Takanashi household? Akiko said your fighting game skills were good, but it was all just talk, huh?"
"Nngh…!"
Then, Takanashi Akiko immediately jumped in to help, wiping fake tears from the corners of her eyes and giving her daughter a pitiful, pleading look.
"Mirai… Akiko is so pitiful. Kuroha-kun has completely destroyed me… Please, will you help Akiko get her revenge?"
"Nngh…!"
He's even pulling Akiko into a combo attack…!
This guy is not to be underestimated!
Takanashi Mirai, with her sharp instincts, immediately understood.
Kuroha Akira felt just like Hitomi-chan… He and Hitomi-chan were the same kind of people.
Really good at manipulating people's hearts!