The last kill shot was broadcast onto the flat screen TV with the banner: "Longhorn Squad Wins!". Kimberly and Fio erupt in cheers and high five each other as Ramirez sinks onto the couch and sighs in relief now that the match is finally over.
"It looks like Emi hesitated to take the last shot." Mai concludes as she watches the replay. She shrugs her shoulders and smirks. "Well she did pretty good until the end. Oh and you too Hikari."
"Is that a compliment Mai? A real compliment?" Hikari quirked an eyebrow, glancing over from her armchair.
"I mean, you got a kill. I didn't. I screwed up big time by not checking my corners."
"Are we even now?"
"Sure Hikari. I'll call it even now."
Hikari offers a soft smile to Mai as she crosses her arms and relaxes on her armchair. "You know, this game isn't half bad after all." Hikari sighs. "I could get used to this...other than losing."
"I could have sworn I got you after I empty my magazine into your cover." Fio addresses Hikari from her side of the penthouse living room. Her high pitch nasally voice being distinct out of the all the others in the penthouse.
"I was hiding behind the engine of the car. You know you're going to have a harder time making penetrations behind such cover." She winks at Mai. My little engineering friend told me about that long ago.
"Hey, you're a real Japanese are you?"
Hikari almost chocked on her own laugh. "A real Japanese?" What do you mean?
Fio twiddles her fingers. "Well...um...what do you think of Anime and Manga."
"What about them? I know they are for dorks if that's what you're implying." Hikari smirks in a dismissive manner.
"Oh....I see.." Fio sighs. "I don't think our squad leader Tomio is either."
"Your squad leader is Japanese?" Hikari eyes light up with a piqued interest. Perhaps this is her chance to finally find a boyfriend of her kind."
"Partially." Fio remarks. "His family is more Italian leaning."
"Oh." Hikari sighs but she ponders a bit more about it. "I mean....maybe..."
Emi and Tomio finally spawn into the penthouse floor. Fio, Kimberly, and Ramirez all get up go congratulate him the moment he spawns. Emi is still reeling from the end of the match. Chiara is the first to approach her.
"Emi?"
She quickly comes back into reality once she hears Chiara's voice. "Ah...well..the match is over...sorry I couldn't win the match for our team."
"Nah...it's not biggie." Mai pats Emi on the back. "You did just fine for your first match. In fact, you probably make a better squad leader than I would."
"Oh, no... I just did what I could when it was down to Hikari and me. Nothing special, really." Emi tries her best to speak humbly even though she wasn't very proud of her temporary role as team leader.
"She's right. You put up a good fight Emi."
"T..Tomio?" Emi blushes in embarrassment as she is addressed by him.
"I never thought I'd run into you again. In VR of all places too?" His voice and expression is soft with a friendly smile.
"Yeah...It's been...years hasn't it?"
Chiara watched the exchange closely, her brow furrowing as she noticed the subtle shifts in Emi’s demeanor. Emi, vulnerable? That can't be. It was a side of her friend that Chiara had never seen before, not in the way she was seeing it now. The usually confident and composed Emi seemed almost fragile.
"It's good to see you again Emi. I've heard you've started University right?
"Yeah...the girls on my team all go to the same Uni."
Tomio nodded. "I figured you’d get far in life. You were always motivated Emi." His expression grew more serious, almost hesitant. "I’m sorry I wasn’t around all those years ago... but I want you to know that the door to our friendship is always open. Anytime you want to step back in, I’m here."
"It’s been so long Tomio... I wasn’t sure if you’d even remember me."
"How could I forget? You were my close friend, Emi. I never understood why you suddenly stopped talking to me."
Emi murmured, her voice barely above a whisper, as if speaking too loudly might cause her to break. "I'd...I'd rather not talk about it."
Tomio can see something is up with Emi. He'd rather not prod her anymore than he needs to. It might make this even more awkward than it needs to be. He sighs and then reassures her. "I....I understand."
Looking for a way to ease the tension, Tomio glanced at the rest of Emi’s team, his expression brightening slightly. "You were worthy opponents, and my team has taken quite a liking to you all. You’re welcome to join us anytime we’re online," he added, his voice growing warmer. "Or better yet, stop by my family’s pizzeria. It’s not too far from your university."
"P...Pizza?" Chiara's eyes light up as she feels her mouth watering. "Oh that sounds wonderful!"
"Is it like one of those fancy Italian style pizzerias?" Hikari asks with her interest peaked. "That honestly sounds lovely to me."
"As long as Hikari pays, I'm in." Mai adds to which Hikari sneers back at Mai.
"Emi? Do you think we can use your car and stop by to hang out with them?" Chiara asks as she looks at Emi hoping she would say yes despite her uncomfortable expression so far.
Emi hesitated for a moment, feeling the weight of Chiara's expectations on her. She couldn’t bring herself to say no. She had no reason to let her doubts and fears get in the way of her friends having a good time. She closes her eyes and sighs with a nod as she attempts to relax herself.
"Yeah, I think that sounds great," Emi replies, her voice steadier now. "We could totally use a break after all this."
"Great! And don't worry, the meal will be on the house. Can you all come tomorrow around lunch time?"
Emi nods as do the other girls. "That'll work for us Tomio."
"We'll all be there too! Kimberly adds as she waves towards the girls alongside her other team members.
"I have so many questions to ask you Hikari! Don't keep me waiting okay?"
"Uh huh. Sure." Hikari responds to Fio unenthusiastically.
"I'm glad to see you again Emi."
"Yeah...me too Tomio." Emi attempts to smile as she waves at Tomio's team before everyone de-spawns from the penthouse. Emi, Hikari, Chiara, and Mai are now back in the gun store lobby with Flint behind the counter again.
"Well I'll be. Welcome back girls. How did your first match go?"
"We lost by the last second. No hard feelings Emi." Mai said as she looks at her heads up display showing the amount of credits she earned from the match.
"Yeah. I kind of just was in a bit of a shock. I take the blame for our loss."
"What was up with you and Tomio?" Hikari asks as she looks at her AN-94 which is still clearly jammed from the match.
"Oh...he's....he's just an old childhood friend. It's been so long since I've seen him. He's a good guy. I just haven't seen him since we moved schools, that's all."
"Is he single?"
"I...hm..I don't know." Emi ponders for a while as she recollects her memories to herself. "I mean...we haven't seen each other for so long so I wouldn't know what he's been up to. But we're all going to hang out tomorrow anyways so we'll know soon enough.
"Yeah....tomorrow...pizza~" Chiara dozes off as she thinks about tomorrow."
"You're going to have to socialize with them too Chiara." Emi says with a bit of a caring authoritarian tone with her hands on her hips. "Think of the pizza as a little reward for overcoming your anxieties Chiara. You did well today. On the battlefield and with your social anxiety."
"Oh right!" Chiara chuckles and blushes as she looks at Mai and Hikari. "I had a lot of fun hanging out with you both."
"Hey don't mention it. You did save me in that match. I doubt Mai would have done anything with her museum piece."
"At least my museum piece can handle a bit of sand and mud." Mai sticks her tongue out at Hikari as she cuddles her Type 56 SKS like it's her baby.
"Uh huh, I'm sure you know all about being dirty yourself." Hikari crosses her arms and looks away with a pout. "At least I got a kill that last match."
"Alright you two...that's enough." Emi tries to settle their banter down before things get ugly. "Hey Flint. Can you help bring Hikari's rifle back to working condition?"
"Sure can do." Flint takes a loot at Hikari's AN-94 and inspects it. "Yep, she has sand and stones inside the action. Sorry to say, this beauty is built like a clock inside. It could take a few days to clean her up into working order. But it can be done."
"Oh that's alright I suppose." Hikari sighs. "I guess I have to be careful with letting debris get into the action."
Flint nods, giving Hikari a reassuring look. "You got that right. The AN-94 is a high-tech precision platform. A little sand can go a long way in gumming things up. There's all sorts of springs and even a pulley system."
"Wow, that's some overly complicated mechanical engineering just for a rifle that looks like an AK." Mai comments.
"The only other rifle I know that's more complex than this is the HK G11. I'm lucky I haven't ran into one of those in my gun smithing career. The internals will make your head spin."
"I suppose it would be nice to see one of those for research." Mai ponders as she thinks it might be a good subject to study for her degree plan.
"So are you gonna to be fine with just your P320 Hikari?" Flint asks as he puts the rifle in his backroom to work on later.
"I guess so...but it's just a pistol at the end of the day. I'm not sure if it can hold up on the field.
"Hm....I'll tell you what." Flint eyes flicker as he has a solution to Hikari's temporary problem. Are you familiar with the Flux Raider addon for the P320?
"The Flux Raider addon?" Hikari raises an eyebrow, intrigued. "No, I haven't heard of it."
Flint grins, clearly excited to share his knowledge. "The Flux Raider is a conversion kit for your P320. It turns your pistol into a compact carbine, giving you better accuracy, stability, and a little extra firepower. It doesn't make your pistol any larger so it's still nice and compact. The stock is retractable, it has a extra magazine storage grip in the front for stability and quick mag changes. Only 600 credits.
"Sold."
"Hikari~!" Mai groans as she watches her spend her credits again.
"It'll be a nice accessory for my pistol. I mean we didn't win the jackpot but we got a little extra from the match. Why not spend it?"
"Nope! SKS is fine!" Mai huddles her rifle tighter. "I'm not gonna Bubba him up."
"Afraid of devaluing your museum piece?" Hikari smirks.
"Hikari's right. It's not a bad idea to get some upgrades for our firearms?" Emi notes as she looks at her account on her HUD. Flint. I'd like to make a few purchases before we log off. We have to wrap it up for now and get back to reality. We'll be meeting up on campus tomorrow before heading over to Tomio's."
"Alright alright, but my SKS is fine. I don't need anything else other than ammo."
"I could use a red dot on my MP5." Chiara looks through the selection of optics on the shelf counter.
"Well not to worry. Y'all figure out what you need for your firearms, and I'll be here to answer your question. Until then, I do look forward to seeing you ladies next time."
"Thanks Flint. We'll be back soon enough."
Emi finally exits the game through her UI interface and is immediately out of her dream-like state. She removes her VR headset and wipes her forehead. She's been so invested into the simulation, she feels her body stressed and tired from all the action. As she shuts down her laptop, she looks towards Chiara who is just removing her standalone headset unit. She watches as Chiara unties her ponytail and wipes her glasses with her T-shirt.
"That was pretty fun Chiara. We even made a few local friends. Not bad for our first week of college."
"Hm...oh yeah and you were really amazing up until the end of the match. That was really intense...but I liked it." Chiara smiles as she feels her upper arm. "I haven't felt goosebumps like this since I was doing piano concerts back in high school."
"Did you bring that portable piano from back home?
"No but I have an alternative. Why?"
"Could you play something for me? I think I am going to take a nap in your dorm if it's alright." Emi places her hands behind her head as she leans on Hikari's bedside while sitting on the floor."
"No offense Emi but you kind of stink."
"Oh...um...sorry." Emi lowers her arms feeling a little embarrassed for being called out.. "It's been kind of hot this week."
Chiara gets up from the floor and opens her closet. She pulls out a Korg RK-100S2.
"A keytar?! I was not expecting at all! Chiara, are you going to rock out for me?"
Chiara giggles and shakes her head. "I could if I wanted to. But I figured you want something a bit more relaxing."
"True. Still, that's some good tastes in instruments. A bit retro though."
"Yeah, but I think it's cute and unique." Hikari straps the keytar over her shoulder as she sits on her bed. "Hey Emi..."
"What's up Chiara?"
"You seemed rather awkward around Tomio today. I know you said he was an old friend of yours...but was there more to it than that?"
Emi looks up at Chiara and then nods as she blinks her eyes. "Ah well...I guess I should be upfront about it. Tomio and I were more than friends. We were close friends. Like the way you and I are, but I known him since we were kids. We grew up in the same neighborhood and everything."
"Did you have a falling out with him or something like that?"
"Oh no...it's nothing like that." Emi smiles even though she knows her memories might be a little embarrassing to admit. "Tomio is a great friend. He's never been one to let me down....well...um...well you see..."
Emi tries to swallow her pride before speaking. "Back in my middle school years, I started to have...feelings for him."
"Oh!" Chiara eyes flicker with glee as this is the first time she had ever heard of Emi having a crush on anyone.
"Yeah I know...I know...I'm not exactly without a weakness. I can take a lot of verbal abuse and everything but you know what really broke my heart? Seeing him talking to another girl back then." Emi smirks as she tries to keep up her strong perseverance even though this is a though memory for her to recall. "I mean, I was not brave enough to tell him how I felt. I still don't have that desire to tell him even now."
"So...you separated from him?"
"Yeah...and I kind of went off on him about it without admitting my feelings fo for him. I was a dumb awkward middle schooler. I didn't know how relationships were supposed to work. So I just stopped talking to him. I became a loner. Just like how you were in high school. The only difference is I got my solace from doing track and field."
"You should try to tell him while you have the chance Emi." Chiara suggests as she connects her keytar to an outlet."
"I don't think I can Chiara. That's the thing. What if he's still in a relationship. And it doesn't help that I was the one who broke off the friendship."
"Well maybe you should stop acting like a dumb middle schooler and start acting like the Emi I know." Chiara scolds Emi.
Emi is a bit shocked to receive a schooling from Chiara of all people. Shy little Chiara who would always look up to her for protection from bullies and as her one only friend in high school. "You know what...you're right Chiara. I need to just be honest with him...and apologize for blowing him off like that."
"Heh..that didn't sound right at all Emi."
"Oh now you're trying to be snarky like Mai and Hikari aren't you?" Emi playfully nudges Chiara's leg from the floor. “I had a feelings they’ll start influencing you.”
Chiara laughs for a bit. "No worries Emi. I'm sure Tomio will understand. For now, let me lure you to sleep with some music."
"Yeah...I could use a nice melody to put me to sleep." Emi closes her eyes as she waits for Chiara to play a melody on her Keytar.
"Rather than the typical piano tones you would hear from a piano instrument, Chiara has a preset synth sound on her keytar, set to something like sounds like a bell mixed with a sine wave. A very smooth and soft tone. She places the keytar on her lap so she can use both hands to play. She goes with one of her favorites. "Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2, by Frederic Chopin" Chiara whispers before playing the melody for Emi. Her fingers gently waltz on the keys as the smooth synth sounds eases the emotional stress Emi is feeling. Emi feels like she's falling into a dream state again as she slowly dozes off to sleep.
When Chiara finally finishes the song. She looks down at her friend sleeping. A small smile forms on her face as she puts her keytar away.
"That was beautiful Chiara." Emi murmurs in her sleep.
"Thanks Emi. I knew you'd like that one too. See you tomorrow morning."
"Yeah...goodnight Chiara." Emi snores a little as she sleeps.