It was the second day of the new semester. The bell signaling the end of the day chimed, and the classroom stirred to life. At that moment, I ran lightly up to Weiss.
"Weiss, wanna go home together?"
"Sure."
After we had walked for just a little while, it was right then. I caught sight of the back of a female student in the first-year's hallway, quickly walking towards the stairs. I chased after the girl who was heading down the stair and called out to her.
"Hey, are you about to leave?"
Blake… turned her head. She looked even more emotionless than usual. I couldn't even tell what she was thinking right then. Although I was a bit frightened by the dark aura she was giving off, I still asked her the question that naturally sprung to my head.
Was it just me, or was she really cold at school? At that point, Weiss caught up to us.
"What's wrong?"
The silence stretched on for a few seconds. During those few seconds, Blake's gaze darted back and forth between Weiss and me. At last, she spoke hesitantly.
"… Senpai, who's this?"
"Ahh, this is my classmate Weiss. Weiss this my sister's friend Uchi-"
"My name is Blake Belladonna." Blake suddenly interrupted me.
Weiss gave Blake a friendly smile. In response, a terrified expression leapt onto Blake's face, as if she were staring at the devil herself.
"Ah, and so she's finally appeared… The Frost Angel Laufey…"
"E-excuse me…?" Of course, there was no reason Weiss would know what Blake was talking about.
Sorry, Weiss. The Frost Angel Laufey that Blake had mentioned was a character that had appeared in a manga she had drawn. The Frost Angel Laufey was the true form of Weiss, a character based on the real-life Weiss. It was just a huge jumbled mess.
And, speaking of the manga Blake drew… it was strange how Blake had managed to pin down Weiss' personality, considering they had never met in real life before. I really should have asked her about that… but whatever, that's not important right now. I have to deal with the present situation.
"Hey, Blake, get a hold of yourself. Come back to Earth. This isn't the fantasy world you created for that manga, remember?"
"… I know that."
She said that as if it were obvious, but when it came to this girl, I was still suspicious of whether she really did know that or not.
Once before, Naruko had talked all about how Blake was jakigan, how she was chuunibyou, how all her characters were Mary Sues… but in general, she was the type of person who tended to get way too involved with the settings she created.
"Don't get 2D confused with 3D, geez." That was what my sister had said. My sister was fully aware of the differences between 2D and 3D, and what's more, she could love each of them separately. On the other hand, Blake sometimes wasn't able to fully define where one ended and the other began.
That's probably why she would sometimes act as though whatever happened in some anime was actually happening in the real world. I didn't think that was necessarily a bad thing… but it could be dangerous sometimes, so it made me worry.
Blake looked back and forth between Weiss and me.
"Well then, I'm going to go…"
"Wait wait wait wait… Kouhai, why are you still trying to head home as if nothing happened?" I grabbed hold of Blake's shoulder from the back as she tried to run off.
"… I apologize, Senpai. Unfortunately, I have to go to work today, so I can't stay."
"Didn't you tell me once that you would never go into work on Thursdays?"
"… Moonlight Fantasy is on television today, so I have to get back quickly."
"Moonlight Fantasy already ended with the twelfth episode of the first season, and they aren't going to be airing anymore, right?"
"Don't say it as if they've cancelled it or something, dammit!"
Why the hell was she getting pissed there!? Also, her tone and way of speaking just changed, didn't they!? Who the hell was this person!? This must've been the first time I've seen an exclamation mark at the end of anything she's said! In any case, it seemed that I had just incurred her divine wrath. Terrifying.
"Sorry. I mean, the Season 2 for Moonlight Fantasy just hasn't been made yet. Alright?"
"… As long as you know that. Just remember, there isn't a single fan who's given up on it yet."
I see. Well then, why in the world was she lying to us just so she could go home? She still hasn't given us a reason. It's not like I was going to forcibly restrain her, but now I was curious. Weiss seemed interested in this cute kouhai, and she took that opportunity to speak up.
"Can I call you Blake?"
"… Do what you wish."
"Okay. Then, Blake… how's school? Are you still nervous?"
"… I'm fine."
"I see. Do you live near here?"
"I see no reason to tell you that."
"Why?"
The conversation was just not getting anywhere.
"Hey, Blake… hey, I need to borrow you for a second."
"What do you want…?"
As Blake reluctantly came closer, I put my mouth close to her ear. I gave a quick glance at Weiss, who was standing off to the side and staring at us blankly.
"Hey, could it be… I don't know if it's true, but… do you hate Weiss?"
"… Not really."
She gave the same exact response that Naruko had given. So what the hell was going on then? Why did it seem like you two were just so incompatible with each other? This was the first time you two were meeting each other, right? So why did it seem like your relationship was starting off from something less than zero?
"… So, was it Naruko then? Naruko told you something didn't she. Something about Weiss. That's why Weiss showed up in your manga too."
Blake just responded with a "hmph." Well, she didn't deny it. So I'll just take that as agreement.
"You know… I already know just how much you care about Naruko. But don't swallow every story she feeds you. You're meeting her in person now, so you should judge her with your own eyes."
"… Didn't I already tell you that I don't really hate her?" Blake grumbled quietly. But it didn't seem to me that she was speaking completely honest.
It really seemed I had hit the nail on the head. That is, she had been fooled by some story that Naruko had fed her, and so when she meet Weiss, she immediately tried to run away. Still, it just didn't make sense.
No matter what Naruko might have told Blake, when Blake saw just how kind of a person Weiss was, she should have realized that everything Naruko told her had been a lie. So why was she still intent on walling herself off to Weiss?
"… Alright, fine."
"Eh?"
Blake shrugged. "I said fine… Senpai. You want me to stay here for something, right? I'm not happy about it at all, but… I'll play along with whatever you want. Just stop looking so pitiful. Looking at that is just making me depressed."
Looking so pitiful? This girl was seriously every bit as relentlessly foulmouthed as Naruko. But, what she just said… it was pretty hard to understand, but… it was a response to when I told her to judge Weiss with her own eyes, right? And from what I could tell, she was being considerate of my feelings when she saw that I was feeling bad. This girl was seriously every bit as softhearted as Weiss.
"And if I just stay here and argue with you, I'll just end up wasting a lot of time. So if you need me for something, let's just get it over with quickly."
"Nah I just wanted to introduce you to Weiss and—"
Let's all go home together. That's what I was just on the verge of saying, when I heard someone call Blake from the stairs.
"Uchiha-san."
A group of first-year girls came pitter-pattering down the stairs (I could tell their year from the color of their school shoes). They were most likely Blake's classmates. One of them spoke up in a cheerful tone.
"Are you free right now? Everyone's planning to go for some karaoke, so if you want…"
"I'm not free."
Instant response. Blake cut down the proposal with a single emotionless stroke. This wasn't good. That wasn't an attitude to take towards classmates you had just met. Even if you really were busy.
Weiss came right to the rescue. She turned to the first-years and smiled.
"Sorry, we invited her to come with us first."
"Really? Weiss-senpai invited Uchiha-san?"
"Yeah. So, maybe next time, okay?"
"Alright, but… I'm so jealous of you, Uchiha-san. You're lucky to be invited by a celebrity such as Weiss Senpai. She's very popular, you know. Please tell us what your story with her later, alright?"
Her classmates waved and went off, but Blake just silently watched them leave. Weiss faced her not-so-friendly kouhai and gave her an apologetic smile.
"… Sorry, if I was out of line there?"
Blake remained absolutely silent, but just looked back and forth between Weiss and me. After a few moments, she shook her head. It was just her incredibly roundabout way of saying thanks. I thought I would translate that for Weiss, but…
"I see. Well then, I'm glad."
It seemed a translation wasn't necessary. Weiss was actually a kind-hearted person to her core. And then, because I was stalling for so long, Weiss even stole the words I had been meaning to say all along.
"Well then Blake, do you want to walk home with us?"
"… Whatever. Do what you want."
Having finished changing into her street shoes, Blake began to walk out alone. And that was what had happened during Weiss and Blake's first meeting. I think it definitely could have been worse.
So, for that reason, the three of us ended up leaving school together. Blake was still acting incredibly stiff towards Weiss. Seeming to sense that, Weiss didn't try to force a conversation. Blake ended up walking home between Weiss and myself.
… But seriously, considering what Blake's personality was like, was she really going to be able to get along with her classmates? From what I had seen just a little while ago, it was doubtful. Her classmates seemed to still be friendly with her, but if she continued to act that way, sooner or later they would begin to avoid her.
When we exited the school building, I was treated to an unfamiliar sight. In the corners of the space between the school building and the main gates, there were groupings of two or three desks spotting the grounds.
"Ruto, what's that?"
"Ah, they're club recruitment tables. When the first semester started at this school, all the first-year students attended an assembly in the gym, during which they were told about all the clubs at the school. And the day after that assembly, all the clubs began to try and recruit new members."
School had just ended a minute ago, so I still couldn't see many students around. It would still be a bit of time before the club recruiters started going at it in full force. As we walked by the tables nearest us, I took a glance and saw that they were occupied by the Literary Club.
They had two tables placed side by side, and there was a paper sign with "Literary Club" written on it in a magic marker hanging down in front of the tables. And they also had handmade pamphlets placed on top of the table.
"Hmmm…" I was suddenly reminded of the booths in the doujinshi market at Comiket. Geez, those otaku were really having a bad influence on me…
"Umm, won't you consider joining the Literary Club?"
"Sorry, I'm already have a club," I responded, moving on quickly.
Looking at the other tables in front of me, I saw there were other clubs that were trying to do the same thing the Literary Club was trying to do. All the clubs were trying their hardest to recruit some promising first-years. Granted, Weiss and I had already member of Ouzel aka the Folk Music Research club, so all this had nothing to do with us.
"By the way, Blake, are you going to join a club?"
"… No. I have a lot of other things I need to do…"
"Ah, yeah, you also have a part-time job, right?"
"Yeah, something like that."
"… What kind of part-time job do you have?"
When Weiss came in on the conversation, Blake suddenly turned the other way.
"… Why does it matter what it is?"
"I just wanted to know…"
Faced with Blake's cold response, Weiss managed to respond with a forced smile, but then sweatdrop as she looked at me. I could almost hear her voice in my head going "Hey, what's wrong with this girl…?"
"Ah, the Princess and her servant. You two headed home?"
"Don't call me Princess!"
"Don't call me servant!"
We turned around to face the bastard Sun who had called out. And we saw members of the soccer club standing there, wearing a soccer vest.
I was almost tempted to just let out what I knew about that time I caught him buying BL games, but considering we had a pact that we would never tell anybody about how we were buying eroge, I stopped myself.
"Wait, so did club activities already start for you, Sun?"
"Yeah. Gotta recruit members."
Sun was also part of the group that was recruiting first-years. For the soccer club.
"So, how's that going then?"
"Not that great… ah, who's this?"
Sun noticed Blake, and seemed a bit surprised. In response, Blake took a quick glance up at Sun's face, but she didn't seem interested in talking, so she quickly turned away.
"It's a new student. I actually know her from before, so we were about to walk home together."
Blake didn't seem like she was going to answer anytime soon, so I answered for her. At that, Sun gave me a suggestive look.
"Ohhh? Know her from before? I wonder how you know her from before…"
He gave Blake a single glance before turning back to Weiss… what the hell are you trying to imply, you bastard? Weiss also didn't seem to know what was going on, and she cocked her head lightly to the side.
"Hm? What's wrong…?"
"Ahh, no, it's nothing, Weiss. I was just thinking about how sly this guy over here is, to have two cute girls following him around."
"W-what the hell are you saying Sun!" I snorted. My mouth warped into a sour expression, and I gave Sun a sharp glare. "Hey, you, Mr. Soccer Club Representative, don't slack off. Get back to recruiting those first-years. If you keep on dozing off like this, I might accidentally spill the title of that game you bought."
"Wow Haruto, you're pretty quick with that temper of yours… you're pretty easy to read, you know."
"What the hell do you mean?" I said that with quite a bit of anger in my voice… but contrary to my expectations, Sun seemed to ignore it.
"Nothing, nothing. Also, Haruto, I'm not slacking off. I got permission from the club president before I came over. I promised my little sister I would meet up with her."
"Little sister?"
"Yes, little sister. You see her around here somewhere? My little sister, that is. She's a new student."
"Are you an idiot? How do you expect me to know what your little sister looks like?"
It was the natural response, but then Sun said something quite astonishing.
"It's alright, she's the cutest person in the world, so you'll know her when you see her."
I was incredibly put off. T-this guy is seriously a huge idiot of an older brother! He looks like he's being serious too! To be honest, I had an inkling that something like this was going on ever since I had met him during that late night sale in Akihabara.
After all, his sister might have asked him to do it, but this guy still went out of his way to line up in the middle of the night in Akihabara to buy BL games. Hell, he was even the only guy in the line he was standing in.
That just wasn't normal. There was definitely something wrong there. Granted, I shouldn't be talking here! I was the one who went to Akihabara to buy two little sister eroge because my sister had asked me to, and then ended up pedaling home like crazy for thirty-two kilometers on a bike with a huge anime character painted on it!
From an objective point of view, if you asked yourself who was being stranger here… was it me? Well, let's forget about me for a second. Come on, this guy is seriously a hentai! He's just crazy!
"So your little sister is really that cute, huh?"
"Yes! She's pretty slender and she extremely beautiful too."
Geez, is he a siscon? talking her sister like that. What an embarrassing guy. There was nothing more disgusting than having a real little sister and still liking little sisters. I just couldn't believe it. I could feel my entire body itching, and I just couldn't stand talking about this anymore.
Also, Blake had started briskly walking away, so I had to hurry up and catch up to her.
"In any case, I haven't seen someone as beautiful as that. See ya later."
"Ah, h-hey…"
I gave Sun a light wave and turned heel. I didn't pay Sun any more attention as I chased after Blake.
Hmph! Boasting about physical appearance of her sister like that, I bet my sister is much cuter than yours!
Blake suddenly stop in her tracks. I caught up to Blake, and spoke up to her right when I was by her side.
"Sorry. Were you waiting for us?"
No response.
This was what I was talking about… this was seriously, seriously weird… I thought we were getting along pretty well too as of late… why was it that if I met her at school, she would behave the same way I remember her behaving the first time we met?
So? Why exactly did she stop then? It looks like she's looking at something… I traced her line of sight to where she was looking, and saw the recruitment table for the Game Research Society.
"The Game Research Society, huh?" So there was a club for that too…
I see. Blake liked games, so her interest was drawn to that club. The Game Research Society had six tables put together, and on top of the tables they had placed three laptops. There was a game running on each laptop, and it seemed that any passerby could play those games freely.
It was a way to attract newcomers. It was like how the soccer club was juggling soccer balls, or the wind ensemble was putting on a musical performance.
"If you would like, feel free to play a game."
One of the male recruitment members of the Game Research Society called out to us, probably because we were staring at their tables. I recognised his face, so he was probably a second year like me.
When I looked down at the display, I saw that a demo movie of a shooting game was playing..
It looked like a vertical scrolling shooter (even I knew enough about games to know lingo like that). The characters you played were girls, and every once in a while the action broke and there was an event where the characters talked to each other.
"This game… did the club make this game?"
"Yes."
As I thought. After all, the characters were drawn too poorly for this to be actually sold on the market.
"So you have a doujin game here…"
"Yup. This club's primary activity is making these types of games and then participating in events. I guess it might look like we're just spending our budget on fun and games, but I mean, this is also just another way to contribute to the modern culture." He gave me a mischievous chuckle.
"Putting games on the table like this attracts people, and I get the feeling that if they play these games, they'll start to understand more about us." He explained the situation to me good-naturedly.
By the way, I feel like the minute I mentioned the words "doujin game", this club member began to talk to me instantly. He probably thought that we had a common interest here… well, it's not like he was too far off the mark.
"… Hmph, this is a bullet hell game like Touhou, isn't it? If you ask me, the difficulty level is a bit too high to attract people."
I suddenly noticed that Blake was staring at the display from a very close distance away. Blake was an amazing gamer, and I remember that she had said something about wanting to make a doujin game too.
"Ah, nice catch. Well, to be honest, that's a game our president made to test newcomers. The president said that there's no need to let people join the club if they can't even clear that game. But to be honest, I don't think that's something you should say. It's not like there are that many core gamers here at school, so if you're picky about it you won't be able to get many people to join the club."
The club member scratched his head and gave me an awkward laugh.
"So the demo movie might seem incredibly difficult, but there's also an easy mode, so please try it on that."
"… Ah, no, that's…"
The club member offered a controller to Blake, but she didn't move to take it. She looked at the school building, and then at the school gate, and then at the controller… she seemed completely lost.
Hm? I could have sworn she had said that she wanted to get back home quickly… while I sunk into puzzled thought, Weiss urged Blake on.
"You already here, so why not try?"
"… But…" Blake watched the game display with a sour look on her face.
She really seemed to be incredibly interested in trying the game. It was a look of longing, reminiscent of a child who wanted to play the goldfish game at a festival but didn't have enough money. And given that her attention was elsewhere, she even managed to respond to Weiss in a sincere, normal way.
But it seemed that she really did want to get back quickly. It seemed that she really had some plans outside of her part-time job. So that's why she was at a loss for what to do. Geez, what a troublesome person.
"Can't you just beat it really quickly? Considering it's you we're talking about, you can demolish that game in no time at all, right?"
When I goaded her on a bit, Blake seemed to finally steel her resolve.
"… Well, I guess there's no helping it then." She gave a nod, took the controller, and sat herself down in front of the screen.
The Game Research Society Entrance Test Bullet Hell STG: Divine Vengeance of Angry Righteousness, Eight Headed Dragon King Orochi.
"… That's quite an incredible name you have there."
"… I'm so sorry."
The club member looked ashamed. It seemed that this incredible naming was the work of the club president alone.
"Alright… I'm starting." Blake had to choose her difficulty. Of course, she didn't choose Easy Mode, but went with the very difficult Lunatic Mode instead.
"Ahh… are you sure? That's really, really difficult, you know?"
"I'll be fine." Blake briskly responded and started the game.
Well then, it'll probably take Blake a bit of time to finish the game. So I'll kill some time chatting with Weiss over here.
"Ruto, is Blake really good at games?"
"Really, really good. Well, just watch… she'll probably clear the entire thing."
"Ah, no, I don't think that will happen… to be honest, the person who made this game couldn't even clear it on this difficulty."
Wait a second… what the hell do you mean? Even though this game was being used as an entrance test, the president who made it couldn't even clear it? That was just a failure, in every sense of the word.
"Hey… if that's true, isn't this a pretty shitty game?"
"Hahaha… it's not good to just label every game that's difficult as a shitty game, you know. If you play enough and become good enough, even games like Transformer: Mystery of Convoy and Spelunker become playable… what the hell!? She already cleared the first stage?!"
On the display, I could see a huge enemy exploding with a thunderous boom while being engulfed in flames. It seemed that Blake had cleared the first stage in the short amount of time I had been looking away.
"If you just stick to him and keep on firing at him from close range, this is what you get. It's nothing to be surprised about." Blake briskly responded. "… Also, I agree that a game being difficult doesn't make it bad. However, this game is difficult to the point of being annoying, so it is a genuinely horrible game. In good games with a high degree of difficulty, sometimes death can motivate the player. Games like Wizardry or Demon Souls, for example. On the other hand… after playing a terrible bullet hell game like this, which just oozes with the bad personality of its maker, all I can get from it is a sense of irrational annoyance and discomfort."
And yet, even though she said that, she hadn't lost a single life yet. I would expect no less.
"Y-yeah, I know… I mean, you have those low-speed homing bullets that stay with you until the end of the level even if you shoot them with a bomb, and stages where your character's speed triples but the controls are inverted… it doesn't do anything but piss the player off. I already told the president that this isn't a Famicom game, so it wasn't necessary to program in these crazy game mechanics… Hey, but you're getting through it pretty well. You've barely died."
The club member also seemed to be surprised by how good Blake was at the game. A few minutes passed, and I slowly became tired of waiting. After watching Blake play, the club member sighed and seemed impressed.
"Although, you know, there are some really amazing first-years who have been coming to this booth…"
"So, you mean you saw someone else who was good at games?"
"Yeah, to tell you the truth, there was this bespectacled girl who came by earlier, who also cleared lunatic mode without a sweat."
"And she joined the club?"
"Yeah, somehow we managed to convince her to join."
Hmm. So there was even another amazing gamer here… and she was a first-year like Blake?
"A fellow gamer… I wonder if you'd get along with her."
"Oh yes, I wonder." Blake responded, sounding somewhat annoyed. She really seemed to be in a bad mood today. Right then, Blake set the controller back on the table with a clatter. "I cleared the last stage."
"No way!"
The club member stood up in shock. I understood that the difficulty was so high that it might warrant a reaction like that. But…
"Aren't you a bit too surprised? Wasn't there someone else who cleared lunatic mode too?"
"I-I mean… that's true, but…"
"But what?"
The club member's jaw dropped in amazement, and he slowly muttered his response.
"That's… well, she got a high score. The old high score was completely broken just a while ago too…"
"And that's something impressive?"
"It's way more than just impressive! Hey, umm, you…"
Even while completely shaken, the club member began to reach out towards Blake. But Blake lightly dodged his hand.
"Hmph. From start to end, that was just a crap game through and through. Please go tell whoever made the game to die." Spitting out that harsh insult, Blake twisted around and looked up at me. "… Well, shall we hurry back?"
"Y-yeah. Alright, let's go, Weiss."
"Mmm."
"Well, that's how it is. Sorry."
Leaving that message with the club member who still had his hand outstretched, I began to leave that place behind with Weiss and Blake.
"Umm… well, I'll try to find you some other day then."
We heard that from behind us. It seemed that the Game Research Society hadn't given up on getting Blake to join. But Blake didn't turn back, and just continued to walk away.
Feeling an odd sensation in the face of Blake's stubbornness, I began to walk and chased after her.