On Monday, Kenji sat in his office, his mind still replaying the strategy for first super robot wars.
He flipped through pages of documents in his hand, but his mind was filled with the majestic image of Perfect Gundam. Should he rent a set of Aura Battler Dunbine videos to watch again? Maybe he could even figure out some hidden plot.
"Did you guys see it? That kira kira island adventure GG, the little animals inside are so cute!"
"I saw it, I saw it! My sister bought it last weekend, it seems like a lot of mini-games, and four people can play together!"
"Xiangzi, what do you think? Do you want to come to my place to try it this weekend?"
The female colleagues' conversation was like a gentle breeze, dispelling the robot battle scenes in Kenji's mind. He suddenly looked up, his gaze passing over the office partition, landing precisely on Xiangzi's smiling profile. She was enthusiastically discussing with her colleague Reina which character in the game was the cutest, her face radiant with a glow he had never seen when discussing work. It made his heart beat a few times faster.
kira kira island adventure.
Kenji remembered. Last week in Akihabara, that brightly colored cartridge was placed right next to first super robot wars. At the time, his and Tatsuya's eyes only saw that pile of robots, completely ignoring this game that looked cute and soft.
He didn't expect it to be so popular among the female employees at the company.
Four people playing together.
An idea quickly formed in Kenji's mind. He felt his heart beat a few times faster. Wasn't this an opportunity?
An opportunity infinitely better than a chance encounter in the pantry or walking the same way home after work.
During lunch break, Kenji mustered his courage and, holding his bento box, approached Xiangzi and another female colleague, Reina's, table.
"Um, I heard you talking about kira kira island adventure." Kenji tried to make his voice sound casual, "My friend Tatsuya also has an MD. How about this weekend—four of us play together?"
Xiangzi's eyes lit up, "Great! I really want to play it. Reina, how about you?"
Reina smiled and nodded, "Sure, it's more lively with more people."
A weight fell from Kenji's heart. He immediately found an excuse to slip out of the company and rushed to a phone booth to call Tatsuya.
"Hey, Tatsuya, any plans for the weekend? Let's play a game together."
"New discovery again? Is it Dunbine or Elgaim's hidden unit?" On the other end of the line, Tatsuya's voice was full of anticipation.
"No, it's kira kira island adventure."
"Huh?" Tatsuya's voice instantly dropped by half, "That kind of kids' stuff? No way. I'm going to study at home to see if I can save Four."
"Stop studying," Kenji cleared his throat, "I've invited colleagues from the company to play games this weekend."
Silence on the other end for three seconds.
"Is it that cute female colleague you mentioned last time? I'm truly defeated by you—your place or mine?"
"Your place, I told them you bought it."
"Them? How many people did you invite?"
"Two, there's also another girl who's Xiangzi's colleague from the same intake."
"You still have a conscience, kid! You have to treat us after this is done!"
"No problem, no problem! Please! Remember to buy it after work, I'll reimburse you later."
"Got it, got it."
On the weekend, the four of them met at Kenji's apartment. When the brightly colored, lively music-filled start screen of kira kira island adventure appeared on the TV screen, Tatsuya's face still carried a hint of "I should be saving the universe" tragic grandeur.
On the screen, four chubby cartoon characters were bouncing around on a floating island.
"I, I choose this pink rabbit!" Xiangzi excitedly operated the controller.
"Then I'll use this little bear with a hat." Reina quickly chose her character too.
Kenji chose a blue puppy and quietly moved his character next to the pink rabbit.
Only Tatsuya was left. He looked at the controller, then at the last unchosen yellow chick on the screen, his face full of resistance. But looking at the two enthusiastic girls beside him, he finally reluctantly pressed the confirm button.
But as soon as the game started, the atmosphere completely changed.
The first mini-game was "Fruit Grab." Various fruits would randomly fall on the screen, and players had to see who could catch more.
"Ah! My apple!" Xiangzi exclaimed, her rabbit bumped by Reina's little bear, and the fruits in her hand scattered everywhere.
"Hehe, Reina, well done!" Tatsuya instinctively shouted. His controlled chick took advantage of the chaos to pick up all the fruits Reina had dropped.
"Tatsuya-kun! You're so mean!" Reina complained with a laugh, but her hands were quick, controlling the little bear to charge and knock Tatsuya's chick to the ground again.
The room was filled with the laughter of girls and the shouts of boys.
Tatsuya initially tried to use his previous gaming experience to gain an advantage, but he quickly realized that in this game, tactics were meaningless; luck and mutual mischief were king. His competitive spirit was fully ignited, and he quickly formed a "troublemaking duo" with Reina, specifically targeting Kenji and Xiangzi.
Although Kenji was constantly attacked by their combined efforts, he wasn't annoyed at all. He looked at Xiangzi, who was laughing so hard she was bent over because of a game, and felt that the dizzy blue puppy on the screen was the happiest dog in the world.
And Tatsuya had long forgotten any master's demeanor, his eyes wide, his fingers tapping loudly on the controller, his shouts louder than anyone else's.
In one racing game, his chick and Reina's little bear crossed the finish line almost simultaneously, leaving Kenji and Xiangzi far behind with a pile of items. The two instinctively high-fived to celebrate, only to realize they were a bit too close, and simultaneously withdrew their hands.
Sometimes, the four of them couldn't help but lean left and right with the characters on the screen, their bodies bumping into each other, then quickly sitting up straight with flushed faces.
The game lasted until evening, and all four of them felt they hadn't had enough.
"That was so fun, let's play together again next time!" Reina said while tidying up.
"You're welcome anytime." Tatsuya blurted out, then realized he seemed overly enthusiastic. He scratched his head, his gaze somewhat evasive, but he still couldn't help but look at Reina, "Um—let's exchange numbers, it'll be easier to contact next time."
Reina generously recited a string of numbers, and Tatsuya fumbled to write them down in his notebook.
After seeing Xiangzi and Reina off, Kenji and Tatsuya collapsed onto the sofa.
Tatsuya looked at the phone number in his notebook, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turning up. "I didn't expect this kind of game to be quite interesting too."
Kenji didn't speak, just savored what Xiangzi had said to him when she left: "I had a lot of fun today, thank you, Kenji-kun. Let's go to Saizeriya together next time if there's a chance."
He felt like he was floating, but after a while, he didn't hear his best friend Tatsuya complain about him.
Then he found Tatsuya grinning foolishly at the phone number in his notebook.