Carrying Dragon and Phoenix by the scruffs of their necks, Kotomi Izumi returned home. Only then did she glance at her phone. Kiyoko Matsumatsu had messaged her, asking if she still wanted to play Rainbow Six: Extraction. She said she'd finally figured out how to play and could now carry Kotomi in-game—promising absolute domination.
In Kiyoko's words: "Sometimes people are scarier than ghosts. In PVE games, no matter how terrifying the enemies are, once you understand their weaknesses, the only thing to fear is running out of bullets. As long as you have ammo, it's not you who should fear the zombies—the zombies should fear you."
And if it's a multiplayer co-op game, then all that horror just turns into comedy. No matter how creepy the monsters or atmosphere, it becomes a funny game with friends.
If the game even had a workshop for user mods… well, the drink next to you wouldn't be soda anymore—it'd have to be a bottle of Nutritional Express.
For example, in Kotomi's Left 4 Dead 2, she had installed a mountain of mods—especially strange, indescribable character and voice mods.
That turned Left 4 Dead 2, originally a serious zombie shooter, into something she didn't dare play in front of others—because as soon as the main menu loaded, anyone watching would question whether she'd opened an adult game instead.
Kotomi thought for a moment. There was still some time before her usual bedtime. Playing a few matches with Kiyoko would be fine. If it were a mobile game, she'd probably agree. But sitting at her desk for PC gaming… she sighed. "Forget it. I'll play next time."
Kotomi Izumi: Sorry, I'm going to bed. Let's play together next time.
Kiyoko Matsumatsu: Got it. Sleep well then. Good night.
Kotomi Izumi: Good night.
Kotomi realized that as a kid, she could sit in front of a computer and play games all day without getting tired. Now? Maybe she wasn't that obsessed with games anymore.
Sometimes she'd turn on her computer and spend ages just staring at her library, unable to decide what to play.
Not because there were too many games she wanted to play—but because, looking at the countless titles in her Steam library, she simply couldn't feel the urge to start any of them.
Most of the games she owned were ones she had bought, installed, played for an hour or two—and then never touched again.
Sometimes, scrolling through her library, she'd see those games with one or two hours of playtime and "last played: two years ago," and she'd think:
I was so hyped before this game released—checking updates every day, replaying every new trailer over and over. When it finally launched, I watched that download bar like my life depended on it.
So why did I lose interest after just a few sessions?
There were still so many features I hadn't even reached yet—so many cool things shown in the trailers… and yet, I couldn't find the motivation to continue. I told myself I'd play again in a few days, but then a few days became a few years. Even seeing it now, I don't feel like clicking "Play."
"Have I really started losing interest in games? I used to dream about starting my own game company after high school… but maybe liking games and running a company aren't really the same thing."
"'I joined the game industry because I love games'—yeah, maybe I'll save that line for a future interview if I ever actually succeed," Kotomi chuckled softly.
Ever since Kazumi's deep sleep, Kotomi felt like she had changed in ways she couldn't quite describe.
She couldn't put it into words—even though her writing skill level was high, she found it impossible to express exactly what felt different. How strange.
It felt like, ever since Kazumi had fallen into that mysterious slumber to save her, something inside her was missing. And yet, at the same time, something new had appeared—something she'd never had before.
What exactly it was, Kotomi couldn't say.
Still, one thing Kotomi Izumi knew for sure—if she kept living as she had before, she might never fulfill the task Kazumi had entrusted her with before falling into her deep slumber.
I hope you can find me. Find—the real me.
To find the real Kazumi… but where was the real Kazumi?
The Kazumi who used to live inside her body, always scheming for more in-game fame to buy a name-change card sooner, always arguing with her like a child, bickering until Kotomi wanted to tape her mouth shut… that childish... Kazumi—was she fake?
Then what was the real Kazumi like?
Would she be very different from the Kazumi she knew now? Or… would she be a completely different person?
If Kotomi did find the real her, would the false Kazumi—the one who laughed, fought, and dreamed beside her—vanish like ashes from a dying flame, drifting into the air without leaving even the faintest trace in this world?
Kotomi let out a long sigh.
Honestly, she still had no idea where to start searching for the "real" Kazumi. Maybe, she thought, Kazumi would just wake up on her own after a few more days.
When that happened, Kotomi would ask her properly what she meant by "find the real me." And if Kazumi dared to be cryptic again, she'd just pinch her cheeks until she explained herself clearly.
Once she knew what "find the real me" truly meant, then she'd decide whether to go looking.
"Dad, Mom," Kotomi called out as she entered the living room.
"Back from walking Dragon and Phoenix? Were they good?" asked Akina Izumi, picking up a cat toy stick she'd left on the floor. She glanced at the two cats, who looked so round and solid that anyone might mistake them for a small gas tank or sea cucumber lying on the floor.
To help them get more exercise, she'd recently bought several new toys that cats might find interesting.
Unfortunately, Phoenix had zero interest in any of them, while Dragon was obsessed only with a tiny butterfly magnet on the fridge—constantly standing on her hind legs, pawing at it like she could somehow pull it off.
Kotomi had once caught her in the act, and—helpful as ever—moved the butterfly magnet even higher up.
"Yeah, those two little gas tanks really know how to mess with me. The moment we stepped outside, they started running wild. You'd think something that round couldn't run so fast."
Kotomi made an exaggerated face of helplessness, as if completely defeated by her mischievous cats. She sat down in the middle of the sofa—her dad on one side, her mom on the other.
Meanwhile, Dragon and Phoenix, busy grooming each other nearby, suddenly froze. Their round eyes widened like copper bells, staring at Kotomi with an expression that seemed to say:
Are you even human? We spent 90% of that walk dangling from your hands by our necks! Anyone seeing you up close could tell they were cats, but from far away, in the dark? I bet the passersby thought you were coming home from a hunt—with two freshly caught rabbits!
"These two were that naughty? They behaved just fine when I took them for walks before," said Kaneyoshi Izumi with a warm smile.
"Maybe it's because they know who's really the head of the family~" Kotomi teased as she reached out, took off her father's black-rimmed glasses, and tried them on.
She didn't need glasses—she'd just done this ever since she was little. Whenever she sat beside her father, she'd instinctively take off his glasses and wear them for a bit. When she was a child, she thought it made her look cool. Now, it was simply a habit.
To be honest, Kotomi thought her dad looked handsome with glasses—but even more so without them. A different kind of handsome.
"Oh, by the way, Dad, Mom—school's only a half day tomorrow. The students get to go home early, and parents have to come for the parent-teacher conference. Who's going?"
"Parent-teacher conference?" Akina, who had been leaning back on the couch teasing the cats with the toy stick, replied, "I'll go. Your dad has a business trip tomorrow."
"Eh? Dad, you're going on a trip?"
"Yeah, it's work-related. I have to go to Tottori Prefecture. I'll be back in three days. Want me to bring you anything?" Kaneyoshi asked, patting Kotomi's head. Both her parents loved doing that—her hair was just too soft and pleasant to touch.
"Snow crab! And giant octopus tentacles!" Kotomi said instantly.
She loved octopus. Absolutely loved it.
She'd once seen those huge octopus tentacles being sold at the seafood market in Tottori on TV—and had been craving them ever since.
Octopus tentacles—or rather, any kind of tentacle—were her favorite food. She had even dreamed once of sitting before a mountain-sized plate piled high with endless octopus tentacles—a true dream come true.
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