Saturday morning, seven o'clock, Keyaki Mall.
For the majority of students at this school, this moment was the wonderful time to enjoy a lazy weekend sleep in a warm bed.
Shikime Natsu was a person who placed considerable importance on time. Basically, when agreeing to meet others, he would arrive an hour in advance, except for a few special circumstances.
He stood in the plaza at the mall's entrance, holding a small, exquisite paper bag in his hand. His gaze fell upon his phone; waiting was ultimately boring, but scrolling through a phone made it seem less so.
After about half an hour, a somewhat flustered figure broke into his line of sight.
It was Yamamura Miki.
Today, she had changed into a beige knitted cardigan, paired with a light blue dress underneath. The hem of the dress reached just above her knees, revealing a pair of slender calves, and she wore a pair of simple white shoes on her feet.
Although this outfit wasn't gorgeous, it unexpectedly suited her delicate, quiet temperament—fresh and inspiring pity.
When Yamamura Miki trotted over and saw Shikime Natsu, who had long been waiting there, her entire person clearly froze for a moment.
"?! Shiki-san?!"
She looked at Shikime Natsu, a look of panic instantly surfacing on her face.
"S-Sorry! I'm late!"
She hurriedly lowered her head, her voice filled with guilt and unease.
"I'm really sorry to have kept Shiki-san waiting for so long..."
Shikime Natsu looked at her appearance, as if she had committed a grave error, and couldn't help but smile and wave his hand.
"It doesn't matter, Yamamura-san," he said gently, his tone holding not a trace of blame. "Actually, it's still early. There's still half an hour until our agreed time of eight o'clock."
"So, you don't need to apologize at all."
"?"
Hearing Shikime Natsu say this, Yamamura Miki finally reacted and checked the time again.
Indeed, it was only seven-thirty.
She wasn't late; she was even half an hour early.
It was just that because Shikime Natsu looked like he had been waiting for a long time, she subconsciously thought she was late.
"So... that's how it is."
Yamamura Miki breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest, the blush on her face not yet completely faded.
She raised her head and looked around, seemingly searching for another person's figure.
After all, today's activity was initiated by Morishita Ai.
"Has Morishita-san not arrived yet?"
"Mn, haven't seen her yet."
Shikime Natsu nodded.
"Let's wait a little while longer."
"Mn... okay."
Yamamura Miki responded in a low voice, then stood obediently beside Shikime Natsu.
In other words...
Right now, there were only her and Shikime Natsu, just the two of them here.
Yamamura Miki's heartbeat involuntarily sped up a few notches.
She secretly raised her eyelids, carefully sizing up the boy beside her.
The morning sunlight sprinkled on his profile, outlining a perfect silhouette. Even just standing quietly, Shikime Natsu emitted a charm that made it impossible for people to ignore.
Although Shiki-san had always been very gentle to her, still...
When standing alone with him, Yamamura Miki would still feel an inexplicable nervousness and constraint.
It was like an ugly duckling standing beside a white swan; a sense of inferiority arose spontaneously.
Ah... if I had known earlier, I should have brought something to eat.
Yamamura Miki felt some regret in her heart.
If she had brought some small snacks or drinks, she could have used the opportunity of sharing food to strike up a conversation with Shiki-san naturally. It wouldn't be like now, with the two of them just standing there, the atmosphere somewhat awkward.
"Yamamura-san came quite early."
Just then, Shikime Natsu suddenly turned his head, revealing a brilliant smile toward her.
"I thought everyone would arrive just in the nick of time."
"Ah! N-Not early!"
Yamamura Miki hurriedly waved her hands, speaking somewhat embarrassedly.
"It is Shiki-san who came early... clearly we agreed on eight o'clock, yet you were even earlier than me..."
Shikime Natsu smiled and didn't explain too much. Instead, he handed over the paper bag in his hand.
"By the way, have you eaten breakfast yet?"
"If you don't mind... do you want to taste this thing I brought?"
Yamamura Miki's gaze finally fell upon that exquisite little paper bag.
Through the bag's opening, she could faintly see several golden-colored, cute-shaped baked breads inside.
"This is bread I baked myself."
Noticing Yamamura Miki's curious look, Shikime Natsu smiled and explained.
"To be honest, this is also my first time attempting to make this kind of thing. I personally feel the taste isn't bad."
"If you don't disdain it, would you like to try one too, Yamamura-san?"
"?! Shiki-san made it with his own hands?!"
Yamamura Miki's eyes widened in surprise.
She hadn't expected that someone like Shikime Natsu could not only make bento cuisine but actually knew how to bake as well?
Even though it looked quite delicious, it was his first time making it?
"T-Then I won't be polite..."
Blushing, she carefully took out a piece of bread that still carried residual warmth from the bag and gently took a bite.
The soft and fluffy texture, the rich milky aroma, and the sweetness that was just right...
"D-Delicious!"
Yamamura Miki couldn't help but let out a sigh of admiration, her eyes lighting up.
"It's really delicious! Shiki-san is too amazing!"
"Is that so?"
Looking at the young girl's satisfied expression, the smile at the corners of Shikime Natsu's mouth deepened.
"Hearing Yamamura-san say that, I'm relieved."
The two of them ate bread like this, chatting sporadically.
Time passed minute by minute.
Twenty minutes went by.
Seeing that the time was already fast approaching eight o'clock, yet still not seeing Morishita Ai's figure, Yamamura Miki couldn't help but start to worry.
"Morishita-san... she wouldn't have forgotten about this matter, right?"
She took out her phone, wanting to send a message to Morishita Ai to ask.
However, at the exact moment the clock jumped to 7:59, a familiar figure appeared punctually in front of the two.
Morishita Ai was wearing a set of deep blue sportswear today. Her upper body was a loose sweatshirt, her lower body was a pair of cuffed sweatpants, and she wore a pair of black athletic shoes on her feet.
She didn't wear the skirts commonly seen usually, but chose this outfit convenient for movement.
Clearly, she was truly prepared to go all out.
Looking at Shikime Natsu and Yamamura Miki who had been waiting for a long time, Morishita Ai's face still held no expression, and she just spoke indifferently.
"Good morning."
"No need to look at the watch. I am not late."
"After all, the protagonist always makes their entrance last."
Shikime Natsu glanced at the time; indeed, not a second off.
Regarding this 'denpa' (eccentric) beautiful girl with a unique brain circuit, he couldn't be bothered to fuss over such small matters.
He shook the paper bag in his hand, which was still half full, and asked with a smile:
"Do you want some breakfast? Morishita-san?"
"This is bread I baked myself. The taste isn't bad, you know."
Morishita Ai glanced at that paper bag. She didn't immediately reach out to take it, but looked at Shikime Natsu with a scrutinizing gaze.
"Shikime Natsu, are you trying to bribe me?"
"Wanting to use this little favor to make me let you off in the upcoming shooting game?"
Shikime Natsu sighed helplessly.
"If you don't want it, then forget it."
Saying that, he made a gesture to take his hand back.
However, in the next second, Morishita Ai snatched that paper bag from his hand with the speed of lightning.
"This doesn't count as Shikime Natsu bribing me."
She said self-righteously.
"This is my spoils of war."
After saying that, she directly took out a piece of bread and stuffed it into her mouth. Chewing a few times, she evaluated vaguely:
"Mn... the taste is okay."
"However, did Shikime Natsu originally intend to use these sugar-coated shells to corrode Yamamura Miki, making Yamamura Miki completely defect to your side?"
She ate the bread while pointing at Yamamura Miki beside her and said.
"I understand now. Shikime Natsu uses quite despicable weapons."
"..."
Shikime Natsu froze slightly, somewhat not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
This guy was clearly eating with relish just now, yet turned around and called him despicable?
This face-changing was faster than flipping a book.
"Corporal Morishita, is this your attitude toward your commander?"
He asked, pretending to be serious.
"Eating the commander's food, yet still calling the commander despicable?"
"One thing is one thing."
Morishita Ai swallowed the last mouthful of bread, dusted the crumbs off her hands, and said solemnly.
"We will see each other on the battlefield later."
"On the battlefield, regardless of military rank, as long as one is hit, one dies. Even if it is the commander, it is the same."
"However..."
She changed the subject.
"For the sake of that grilled bread just now, I can pretend not to see Shikime Natsu once."
"Once?"
Shikime Natsu raised an eyebrow.
He had a strong premonition.
The so-called 'pretend not to see' probably meant that after seeing him, she would turn her head, turn back, and then say 'This is the second time I've seen you, die'.
With this kind of word game, Morishita Ai was definitely capable of doing it.
Soon, under Morishita Ai's lead, the three arrived at an entertainment area on the top floor of the shopping center.
Shikime Natsu looked up; several large characters were written on the signboard.
"PUBG · Real-life CS Experience Hall".
"This is the upcoming activity?"
He looked at the venue before his eyes, arranged like a battlefield, and was somewhat surprised.
This was the 'shooting game' Morishita Ai spoke of?
He had thought it would be that kind of mini-game where one shoots balloons with a plastic gun.
"That's right."
Morishita Ai nodded, a trace of excited light flickering in her eyes.
"But..."
Shikime Natsu looked around. Aside from a few yawning staff members, the entire venue was empty; there wasn't even a ghost.
"So early, can we gather enough people?"
"This kind of real-life gunfight game, the minimum configuration is 5V5, right? In other words, besides the three of us, we have to find seven more people."
"If it were in the lively afternoon or evening, it would be fine to say, but picking this early morning time slot... will anyone really come to play?"
Regarding this, Shikime Natsu expressed deep skepticism.
However, Morishita Ai's expression remained rippleless, as if all this was within her expectations.
"Rest assured."
She said indifferently.
"I have already solved the problem of the number of people."
At this moment, Yamamura Miki was like an invisible person, standing silently at the side, not daring to interject a single sentence.
Under Shikime Natsu's surprised gaze, Morishita Ai walked straight to the counter and spoke to the staff member who was still rubbing his eyes.
"We want to play the one-versus-two challenge mode."
Saying that, she pointed at Shikime Natsu, then pointed at herself and Yamamura Miki behind her.
"That boy is one team alone. I and this girl are one team."
"Hah?"
The staff member froze for a moment, looking at the three of them, and said with a troubled face.
"Little sister, we usually only start a game here when ten people are gathered... This kind of one-versus-two mode isn't very good, right?"
"And there are no other guests right now either..."
"Since there is no one playing right now anyway, leaving the venue empty is just leaving it empty."
Morishita Ai did not retreat because of the rejection; instead, she spoke plausibly.
"Moreover, if you don't let us go inside to test it, how will you know if there are problems with your equipment?"
"In case the equipment ages and the sensors fail, if an accident happens during the peak passenger flow period, can you bear this responsibility?"
"This is a major matter concerning customer experience and shop reputation."
These words were spoken with righteous indignation.
As if, if he didn't let them go in and play, this shop would go out of business in the next second.
In reality... this was just a normal amusement facility. Even if there really was a small malfunction, how much responsibility could there be?
The staff member was clearly made dizzy by Morishita Ai's set of baffling yet imposing logic. For a moment, he actually didn't know how to refute it.
Shikime Natsu stood behind, shaking his head helplessly.
It seemed that counting on Morishita Ai to persuade them with talk was unrealistic.
He glanced at the deserted environment around them, confirming that indeed enough people couldn't be gathered in a short while. So he stepped forward and said to the staff member with a smile.
"Sorry to disturb you."
"We truly want to experience this project. If it is because of the insufficient number of people..."
"I am willing to pay the normal fees for a 5V5 booking."
"Which is to say... we will pay for ten people."
The fee standard for this project was 500 Private Points per person. Even paying for ten people would only be 5000 points.
For the current Shikime Natsu, this amount of money was simply a sprinkle of water, completely negligible.
Hearing these words, the staff member hesitated. He exchanged glances with several other colleagues, and still nodded and agreed.
"Since it's like this, then I will make an exception and open a special session for you guys."
Morishita Ai turned her head and took a deep look at Shikime Natsu.
"Shikime Natsu, it seems you have quite some capability."
"To actually be able to bribe even the staff... as expected of a Money Power Warrior."
However, she quickly added.
"Although you paid the money, I won't take advantage of you."
"I will transfer this fee to you later. Of course, only paying for my share."
Yamamura Miki at the side also hurriedly chimed in.
"Y-Yes! I will pay too! I can't let Shiki-san spend money alone..."
"There's no need for that."
Shikime Natsu waved his hand, speaking unconcernedly.
"Just treat it as me treating you guys. After all, I also quite want to play this."
"No."
Morishita Ai rejected decisively.
"Even if you treat us so generously, later on the battlefield, I absolutely will not show mercy either."
Her gaze sharpened, and her tone became serious.
"Don't think you can buy my soul with money."
Shikime Natsu smiled.
"Alright."
"I look forward to your performance, Corporal Morishita."
Soon, the procedures were completed, and the three were led to the equipment area.
The staff member helped them put on the sensor vests and laser guns.
Shikime Natsu wore a black combat uniform, holding a rifle that looked quite textured. His whole person appeared valiant and heroic, dashingly handsome.
Opposite him, Morishita Ai and Yamamura Miki also changed into the same equipment.
Morishita Ai was skillfully inspecting the weapon in her hands, her eyes focused and cold, as if she were about to rush to a real battlefield.
Yamamura Miki, on the other hand, appeared somewhat clumsy. Her helmet was slightly askew, and the vest also appeared somewhat large; her whole person looked like a little confused child who had strayed into the battlefield.
[Ding~]
[CG46: This Is Our Battle (Morishita Ai & Yamamura Miki)]
[Even with the conviction of certain death, we must win this match!]
[Congratulations Host for obtaining Skill Card: Free Fire (Your bullets follow your will; anything you fire can be controlled by your intention. Whether it is bullets on the battlefield or in bed, you can choose whether they hit the target)]
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