Why Not Make Both Twins 'Girlfriends'?-Chapter 2Volume 1 . - Another Side of Chikage Usami...?

Another Side of Chikage Usami…?  2

The second floor was lined with arcade games, like puzzle games, fighting games, and mahjong games.

Unlike the first floor, the number of men increased significantly.

He wondered if Usami was really here.

Looking around, he saw a crowd gathered around a row of machines in the center.

“Damn it… I lost again!”

A man, who looked like a college student and wore a knit cap, stood up abruptly from his chair.

The machine the person in the knit cap was playing was 『’End of the Samurai 3′ (shortened to Ensam 3)』.

He thought it was quite a cool taste.

The Ensam series is a fighting game set in Japan during the final days of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

The characters featured are primarily from the Shinsengumi, including historical figures like Sakamoto Ryoma, Okada Izo, and other somewhat not well-known swordsmen.

Possibly due to the influence of e-sports, its popularity seems to have reignited recently.

It’s possible to play online on home consoles, allowing players to compete with others around the world anytime.

However, hardcore arcade fans still prefer to battle using the game machines.

Sakuto, who once was deeply involved in Ensam 3, can understand the sentiment of these people.

In fact, if he has time and is not wearing a uniform, he would even like to compete in a match.

“Pathetic, losing like that.”

“Shut up! Why don’t you try playing then!”

The knit cap guy retorted irritably.

A long-haired man, presumably his friend, mockingly rolled up his sleeves and sat down, inserting a coin.

“Alright. My turn next——”

‘It seems I was off the mark,’ Sakuto sighed.

Just as he was about to turn back, at that moment—

“Man, that JK using Koto-kyun is amazing…”

Koto-kyun is a female character named Nakazawa Koto in the Ensam series.

Popularly known by the nickname ‘Koto-kyun’, she is well-liked for her speed and tricky movements.

She was a real female swordsman who fought in disguise as a man in the Ronin group known as the Shinsengumi.

(JK using Koto-kyun… don’t tell me…)

He walked around to the opposite side of where the long-haired guy was, then he saw spectators forming a semi-circle, all focused intently on one spot.

He quickly peeked through the gap.

Indeed, there she was, the girl he had been searching for, skillfully manipulating the controller.

” !! Usami-san…!?”

As soon as Sakuto saw her profile, the words slipped out of his mouth.

However, she didn’t even glance at Sakuto.

She was completely absorbed in the game, her hands moving silently, her eyes fixed on the screen without blinking——then her lips moved slightly.

“…? My bad, but I’m in the middle of a match…”

“Sorry, no, it’s just that——”

“If you want to play, go around to the other side. If you don’t want to, please don’t talk to me.”

He felt like he was being told not to disturb her.

The onlookers around were also glaring at him, so Sakuto kept quiet.

However, many questions about her began to arise in his mind.

This casual attire, the way she handle the controller, and the familiarity of being a regular at the arcade— even her way of speaking was different from usual.

He had a lot to ask, but it looked like the game wouldn’t end anytime soon.

(I see… if I want to talk, I have to play against her.)

Sakuto exhaled.

“…Alright. Can we have a little chat if I win the match?”

“Is that a pick-up line?”

“No, I just have something I want to ask——”

Then, a flashy effect appeared on the screen.

Usami’s character, Nakazawa Koto, was unleashing her ultimate move.

“Hmm… okay, sounds interesting. But only if you can beat me, okay?”

Her face was partially hidden by her side hair, but she seemed to be smiling.

***

The long-haired guy before me lost quickly, and it was finally Sakuto’s turn.

Sitting in front of the machine, he inserted a coin and moved to the character selection screen.

Judging from the diagram, he should choose Perry, which Nakazawa Koto was not good at, or Okita Souji, who has similarly tricky moves.

However, he deliberately chose Kondo Isami, a slow-moving power type.

“Tsk… this guy, what a newbie… You got it all wrong. Why choose a power type?”

A mocking voice came from behind.

In Ensam, the speed type’s weakness is a balanced type with a good mix of speed and power.

This means Kondo Isami is at a significant disadvantage against Usami’s Nakazawa Koto.

But he ignored it and focused on the game in front of him.

The match began.

Initially, Kondo Isami was thrown off by Nakazawa Koto’s tricky movements.

He managed to hold a solid defense, but as everyone expected, Koto had the upper hand.

The decisive moment happened in an instant.

Kondo Isami, cornered at the edge of the screen, stood guarding.

For a moment, Nakazawa Koto crouched.

Kondo tried to crouch to match her, but he was a few frames late——that was all it took.

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(Wow… This feeling… Usami-san is really good…)

Sakuto resigned and let go of the controller.

Once this hit lands, it’s already too late.

Nakazawa Koto’s low kick connected, followed by a series of moves.

Finally, her super special move 【Second Form: Hundred Flowers Bloom】 was activated, lifting Kondo Isami into the air with a flashy display.

It was a textbook-perfect combo sequence.

There were no input errors, and it took away sixty percent of the health gauge.

But as Kondo Isami began to fall to the ground——

(——Alright, here we go.)

Sakuto’s eyes widened, and his hands quickly returned to the controller.

He started inputting commands rapidly, and Kondo Isami, who was supposed to fall and lie down, suddenly bounced up and stood rapidly.

“What!? The 【Kondo Grasshopper】…!?”

Someone shouted, and by then, Kondo Isami had already circled behind Nakazawa Koto.

A strong punch led to a series of connected moves, with Koto being tossed into the air at the edge of the screen.

Then, before Koto hit the ground, Kondo’s strong tackle hit her again. Koto was thrown into the air while taking damage.

Kondo’s strong tackle—Koto floating—tackle—floating—there seemed to be no end to this cycle.

A murmur rose from behind Sakuto.

“The 【Kondo Grasshopper】 into 【Tackle Trap】!?”

“Seriously…!? First time seeing this in actual combat!”

“This guy is not an amateur…!?”

In fact, Sakuto had already set the stage.

He was pretending to be cornered to the wall while avoiding his health gauge being completely depleted.

In other words, he took the earlier combo on purpose——to lure his opponent and create an opening to catch them off-guard.

Then, there is what the experts call the 【Kondo Grasshopper】.

Also known as a recovery to avoid knockdowns, Kondo Isami is unique in that he can perform it even after being hit by a super special move.

However, this move is sometimes seen as unfair or a bug, and it’s already been patched out in the home console version.

It’s a technique unique to standalone arcade machines.

Furthermore, Kondo Isami has this wall-trap technique, commonly known as the 【Tackle Trap】.

Once caught in it, it’s the end.

Unless there’s an operational mistake, the health gauge won’t stop depleting until it hits zero.

(…Sorry, but I have reasons why I need to win too…)

The screen displayed the words ‘One Point!’ prominently.

The first point was scored by Kondo Isami, controlled by Sakuto.

When Sakuto also won the second point, cheers erupted from the audiences behind him.

***