Three months had already passed since then—or rounding up, almost the same.
Not that it mattered. What caught Akira's attention was the group of "landmine-type" girls across the street suddenly heading in their direction.
…Yeah, no thanks. Whether they're coming to ask for contact info or something else, better to leave before trouble comes knocking.
He and Nishikata quickly turned away, wandering aimlessly through the streets of Akihabara.
"Oi, Miyamura, wanna try your luck?" Nishikata stopped in front of a wall of gachapon machines, reaching out to grab Akira's sleeve before he could keep walking.
Akira's gaze swept over the colorful rows—chibi anime characters, mascots, little creatures. Nearly every few machines had someone hesitating or trying their hand.
Nishikata pointed to one machine. "This one. 'Chibi Action Kamen.' Two hundred yen a try, with a chance to pull the limited-edition Action Kamen. What do you say?"
Though his words sounded casual, his sidelong glance gave him away. He was fishing for an accomplice.
Akira smirked. A sucker friend, huh? He knew the odds were ridiculously low—especially with how stuffed those capsules looked—but sometimes it wasn't about winning. It was about dragging someone else into losing with you.
"Alright." Akira slipped a hand into his black jacket pocket and pulled out his wallet.
But Nishikata, already leaning in, moved faster. He dropped in his coin, twisted the handle, and—
Clunk.
A blue-and-white capsule popped out. He resisted the urge to open it immediately, instead handing the machine over.
Akira stepped up, repeated the motion, and retrieved a red-and-white capsule. Under Nishikata's eager stare, he cracked his open first.
"…It's Mimiko."
"Mimiko?" Nishikata blinked. "Who's that supposed to be?"
Akira tilted his head, holding up the tiny chibi girl.
"She's Action Kamen's partner," Nishikata explained. "Always helping him out… though usually she just gets kidnapped by monsters—"
He cut himself off as he opened his own capsule. Inside was a squat little monster in a black bodysuit.
His smile faltered. "…Tch."
So much for luck. Compared to Akira's pull, his was clearly worse, and envy prickled.
"…One more time."
Akira shrugged. "Your money."
Nishikata eagerly fed another coin into the machine. This time, another red-and-white capsule clattered out. He cracked it open—only to find another monster, this one in a red bodysuit with a black mask.
Akira leaned in, eyebrows rising. "Good heavens. Another?"
"…Last time. I swear."
"Yeah, no." Akira slung an arm over his shoulder, dragging him away. "You're spiraling. Let's walk it off."
Reluctant, Nishikata let himself be pulled along.
The afternoon rolled on as they strolled through Akihabara.
Retro arcades promising Metal Slug for 500 yen an hour. Dusty treasure-hunts in second-hand figure shops. Anime chain stores stacked with posters, manga, CDs, even limited voice-actor merch that wasn't for sale.
Everywhere, color and noise.
At one point, Nishikata tugged Akira into a handheld game shop, curiosity shining in his eyes.
When they walked out, both had shopping bags dangling at their sides.
Nishikata's curiosity had transformed into temptation thanks to a clerk's silver tongue. As for Akira… he swore it wasn't because he wanted to play Pokémon. He just wanted to see if the games here were different from his previous life.
Strangely enough, they weren't. Pokémon existed here too, with the same release schedule. Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon had launched in November 2017 on the 3DS, just like before. Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee was set to drop that November on the Switch.
The only difference? No anime, no manga. Without cross-media push, the games weren't nearly as popular as they had been in his previous world.
"I was impulsive…" Nishikata sighed a few steps outside, holding up his bag.
Akira gave him a flat look. "If you regret it that much, you can still return it."
"…I was just sighing."
"…Right."
Their last stop was a century-old taiyaki shop. Both queued up for the hot pastries, and Akira made sure to buy extra to take home for Shouko.
By the time they rode the subway back, the sky had already deepened into starlight.
"See you tomorrow," Nishikata said casually as they split ways.
"Yeah. Tomorrow."
Akira waved him off, not bothering to correct him, and turned toward home. A sneeze snuck out as his nose reddened from the night air.
He rubbed it, quickened his pace, and shot off a message to both Shizuka and Shouko on the train, letting them know he'd be late.
"Click—"
"Akira, welcome home!"
"…I'm back."
He was greeted by Shouko's smiling eyes peeking from the living room. No mistaking it—Shizuka had whispered the words for her.
Pat, pat, pat—
Shouko padded over in her white socks, extending her small hand.
Akira raised a brow mid-shoe-change. "…What's that supposed to mean?"
"I heard Auntie say you brought me something tasty." She cheerfully snatched the bag from his hands.
He bit back a laugh. "…That was mom just teasing. I forgot to buy yours."
Shouko grinned, undeterred. "That's okay! Just give me half of yours. I'm easy to satisfy."
Without waiting for a reply, she carried the bag back to the living room, clearly planning to scarf down his share while he was still busy changing shoes.
Akira watched her retreating figure, shook his head, and smiled faintly before finishing unlacing his sneakers.
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