Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

Where is my little Charmander?!

"Minister, stop playing the ice sculpture. Chiba wants to see the heroic posture of our archery club. Do you have a good spot?" Higashiyama Shin helplessly stretched out his hand and waved it in front of Minamikawa.

"Higashiyama-kun! Use Water Splash!"

"I am not Magikarp, I am Rayquaza."

"I've never actually caught Rayquaza, so what skills does it have?"

"Fly! Which legendary Pokémon can't fly, except Groudon?"

"Honestly, you're not cooperating at all, cough cough cough! Chiba-kun, come here, I'll pick you a good spot, I guarantee you'll see Higashiyama-kun's profile when he shoots an arrow, usually so many people fight over it."

Haruko Minamikawa finally finished acting and took Chiba to find seats.

"Where is Imagawa-senpai?" Higashiyama looked around but couldn't find Imagawa, the silent, handsome man who was only slightly inferior to him.

"School's starting soon, so we'll definitely need to prepare recruitment materials. You can't back out at the last minute," Nanchuan said, turning back before she'd gone far.

The minister, a man of great stature, has actually become a hands-off manager.

Dongshan shook his head. Today he could only train alone; no one else could match him.

call out!

shhhhh!

After Dongshan Shen finished practicing and lost focus, he turned around and was shocked to find a huge group of people standing behind him, looking at him as if he were God.

"What are you doing?"

Higashiyama Shin smirked, knowing full well what was going on. In his excitement, he had inadvertently used half his strength, filling the bullseye with arrows, but leaving none outside the bullseye.

"I'm reading the Buddhist scriptures." Someone replied blankly.

Taira no Kyotsune was a Japanese military commander renowned for his exceptional archery skills.

"If Dongsan-kun wanted to, could he shoot through Jesus' palm?"

"We need to find a story or allusion for this."

"Your palm?"

"Disperse, disperse! Go practice! You can't learn just by watching; you have to feel your bows and the arrows you shoot!"

Minister Nanchuan emerged just in time and began to use his power to disperse his subordinates.

The members returned to their positions with envious glances.

Chiba appeared out of nowhere and handed over a handkerchief: "How many arrows did you shoot?"

“Exactly fifteen rounds.” Higashiyama Shin took the handkerchief, wiped away non-existent sweat, and answered with a smile.

Chiba nodded slightly, then inexplicably pulled out an arrow from behind him, as if he had prepared it beforehand: "I just picked up an arrow, can you shoot it for me?"

Higashiyama Shin opened his mouth, glanced at Minamikawa Haruko who was constantly sneaking glances beside him, nodded and took the arrow: "Watch carefully."

He immediately drew his bow, nocked an arrow, aimed, and fired.

Hey!

The bullseye.

"Oh! Higashiyama-kun, you've really hit the nail on the head with every arrow." Nanchuan's tone was strange.

"I'm leaving now, Minister. Let me know in advance when recruitment starts."

"Sigh, fine, go ahead, go ahead. It's okay if I'm all alone here. It's good to be busy."

Nanchuan waved to them helplessly, like a lonely old woman; she might suffocate if she didn't act for a moment.

Higashiyama Shin was used to this and was not fooled by her feigned pitifulness. After explaining and maintaining the bow, he put it back in the locker and went home with Chiba.

"How's Uncle doing lately?" On the way back, Shinichi Higashiyama casually started a conversation.

"I heard they're having some cash flow problems and are looking for a bank loan."

"Is it difficult?"

"It must be. He specifically told me not to tell my mother."

"Still so concerned about saving face."

"Ah."

"Let's go to the supermarket and see what we want to eat tomorrow."

"it is good!"

Chiba Shion's parents divorced early on, and she was awarded to her mother's custody. She even changed her surname to her mother's surname, which shows how dissatisfied Chiba's mother was with Chiba's father.

However, every year during spring break and summer vacation, she would take some time to stay at her father's place, and Chiba's mother tacitly agreed.

The two chatted as they walked into the supermarket, selecting ingredients for tonight and lunchboxes for tomorrow.

"Wait, that's just a turkey, don't take it down!"

"I know, I've just never tried it before, and I'd like to give it a try."

"Cough cough, it's not easy to do. I'll make it when I have a day off."

"it is good."

"Huh? Where's the broccoli, cucumber, and potato I just grabbed?"

"...Maybe he ran away on his own."

After buying groceries, including both meat and vegetables, the two returned to their tower apartment.

Apartment manager Natsuki Otsuka was not in the lobby.

"Ms. Otsuka took the afternoon off this year. She always uses her vacation days around this time of year, and it's always half a day in the afternoon. I don't know what she's doing. It's a pity for my old bones."

Uncle Sakamoto said casually, complaining verbally but without any real resentment in his expression.

Shinya Higashiyama recalled that it seemed to be true; every year from late March to mid-April, he often couldn't see her in the afternoons.

But this is someone else's private matter, and there's no need to be overly inquisitive.

"Is Aunt Chiba home tonight?" The elevator stopped at the floor where Higashiyama lived. Chiba helped carry some groceries and followed Higashiyama Shin into the house.

"exist."

Shinichi Higashiyama sorted the ingredients and put them in the refrigerator. Chiba stood next to Shinichi Higashiyama and handed him the ingredients on the table.

"Oh, then I won't invite you to dinner tonight," said Shin Higashiyama, as he removed a few more mushrooms.

"Hmm, are you free after dinner? Let's play badminton."

Chiba Shion suddenly asked.

"After dinner."

Dongshan shook his head regretfully. Today the game refreshed, and he had to be there without fail at eight o'clock sharp to see what new game had been added.

Chiba was slightly surprised, because she had expected that Shinji Higashiyama wouldn't have anything to do tonight.

She nodded thoughtfully: "Okay, see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

After seeing Chiba out, Shin Higashiyama began preparing dinner.

Chapter 25: Nobi Tomoyoshi (4k)

earlier.

"See you tomorrow."

"Bye~"

At the school gate right after school, Nobi Tomoyo didn't participate in any club activities. He walked past his classmates who were saying goodbye and smiling at each other. He was alone, head down, scrolling through his phone and chat history with his friends, up to three days ago.

[3 month 22 day]

[Hero: Your shooting accuracy is amazing! It's just that you lack strength, otherwise you could be a pitcher.]

[Hero: Oh, by the way, I had my dad buy me the new generation of Nintendo handheld consoles. I'm giving you the old one; don't refuse, we're good friends!]

[joker: Ah]

[4 month 2 day]

[Hero: That's great! The school I transferred to started on April Fool's Day. I thought it was a joke, and I almost got late.]

[joker: It's only a few days late.]

[Hero: Haha, but my classmates are all pretty easy to get along with. The guy in front of me is a tough, skilled fighter, unlike me who only knows how to use a katana.]

[Joker: By the way, I should be able to finish your Link Legends save file in a few days.]

[Hero: Great! I heard there's a little Easter egg quest after the ending of this game where you can find statues of Link from different games in the dungeon. Remember to take a screenshot for me!]

[Hero: That's all for now. I'm going to check out what gaming clubs are around here. Bye.]

Nobi typed "How's today?", "What club did you find?", and "I secretly went to our secret base last night," then silently deleted them, sighed, and exited the chat.

[Kryptonite: Not coming to the video game club today?]

[joker: Something came up, maybe next time.]

[Kryptonite: OK]

He breathed a sigh of relief, put away his phone, entered the station at Honkomagome, and got off at Komagome to transfer to the Yamanote Line outer loop.

He lives in Adachi Ward, and his daily commute home takes about 30 minutes, making a round trip more than an hour.

So he never understood why his father insisted on making him study at the private Komagome Academy, where the tuition was not cheap.

"Hmm, cherry blossoms?"

On the subway, Nobi looked strangely at the professional woman sitting opposite him. She had very standard and exquisite makeup and was holding a bunch of neatly tied cherry blossom branches, which gave off a faint fragrance of camellia and cherry blossoms.

He knew this only because the cherry blossoms at the school were of this type.

He had never seen cherry blossoms decorated like this before, so he couldn't help but take a second look.

The woman sitting opposite him noticed his gaze, nodded and smiled slightly at him.

Nobi Tomoyoshi awkwardly looked away and lowered his head, too embarrassed to look again.

The subway soon arrived at his stop. The woman with the cherry blossoms didn't get off; she just sat there quietly, gazing wistfully out the window, seemingly searching for something.

Nobi continued to change trains and returned to the old residential area near Kita-Ayase at about the same time as usual.

As he approached his home, his pace slowed. For him, home was not a warm harbor, but merely a place to sleep and eat.

"."

His head hung even lower, and he struggled to move as if grabbed by a hand reaching out from the ground.

But this short distance of only a dozen meters will eventually come to an end.

At these times, he never complains about the long commute; on the contrary, he feels it's too short.

Nobita took a deep breath, took out his key to open the door, only to find that the door was ajar.

He was a little stunned. He gently pushed open the creaking door. It wasn't surprising that the hallway light was on; his house didn't get much natural light, and some places would be quite dark in the afternoon. But the problem was that his father usually didn't come home until seven or eight in the evening. Why was he home so early today?

He looked down at the shoe cabinet; his father's shoes were scattered haphazardly on the floor, as if he had returned in a hurry.

Nobi paused at the door for more than ten seconds before mentally preparing himself, then walked into the entryway, changed his shoes, and headed towards the reception area.

Just as he expected, his father was sitting quietly at the kotatsu, still wearing his dirty and dusty work uniform, so he must have just returned not long ago.

At this moment, his face was dark and gloomy, like a volcano about to erupt, as he silently stared at the game console in his hand.

Nobita's eyes widened suddenly, and he instinctively reached out and took a step forward, cold sweat instantly breaking out on his brow.

It’s over.

That was the only thought in his mind.

The silence between the two did not last long before Nobi's father raised his head and asked, seemingly calmly.

"Is this yours?"