"You're in Liohime's shadow."
"H…uh?"
"I said that you're in Liohime's shadow. Please don't remain so close to him and step back."
"...Who are you?"
Tisha froze blankly as she replied, still processing the statement that she had been hit with while noticing the woman's presence for the first time, and Liohime's anxiety shot through the roof, prompting him to act.
"T-This is…uh, she's a close….acquaintance! Yeah, that's it!" he stated.
Almost blurting out Shihon's name, he corrected himself just in time, remembering that he had mentioned her name to her in the park while Shihon was in her beast form. If he had said it here again, Tisha could have easily made a connection between the two forms.
"Close acquaintance…?"
"Yeah. She's an online friend that moved into town. Uh, her name's-"
"We don't need to introduce ourselves," answered Shihon and quickly wrapped her arm around Liohime's as she pulled him along to the door. "If you wanna join this match with the both of us, I'd be glad to be the first to eliminate you."
Tisha's eyebrow twitched at that remark, and Liohime tried to explain while laughing it off.
"She's a bit…competitive, as you can see."
Tisha scoffed with a glint in her eye.
"Hm….alright, I can go for one more. I'm a bit good at this though, so you'll have to watch out, girl."
"Is that so?" Shihon questioned with a smug look on her face. "Because when both of us came in to watch the concluding match, I didn't see you on the screen as part of the final competitors.
"...Heh."
"...Tch."
Liohime could easily sense the sparks flying between the two, and palmed his face.
Good grief. Is this some reality tv drama scene? Why is this even happening?
His ex and his…Magical Beast who was vouching as a potential love interest, possibly duking it out in Laser Tag. What a scenario.
Breaking the tension was the loud announcer through the public address system: "The next match begins in five minutes. Please enter the door to the arena where staff members help you with the equipment and guidelines needed to begin.
With that Tisha entered first, and the grip on Liohine's arm tightened.
"That hurts, Shihon."
"M-Master, just how good is she?" she whispered. "Have you ever watched her play?"
"Huh? Why are you suddenly so nervous?"
"Just answer the question."
"Um…there was one time. She won pretty easily against really good contestants. If she got a hold of a real gun, she'd be a pretty good marksman."
"Shit…" Shihon muttered before clicking her tongue in dismay.
"Just have fun, and don't overthink things, Shihon," Liohime insisted. "I know that you have…well, a bit of a rivalry complex when it comes to her, but you're still my partner when it's all said and done, so don't get too worked up over it, okay?"
Her pupils wavered and she shifted her focus onto the ground.
"That's…not the main reason why I wanna win, actually…" Shihon quietly mumbled.
"Wait, what did you say?"
"Nothing. Come on, let's go."
***
Well, well, well. Look who's back for another beautiful day of action!
As always, I'm your host, Narrator, and today, we'll be focusing our sights on what will surely be another life-threatening scenario stemming from a simple game of Laser Tag.
I'm looking forward to seeing what unfolds this time, and I know that you're all expecting something awesome, so let's hope that the author locks in for this.
Are you guys ready? Let's head over to the final minutes before the beginning of the fated match and view some of our participants!
"Oi, Shihon, stay still for a second."
Liohime, surrounded by a large group of other participants, walked over to Shihon who was only a few feet away from him and held her body firmly in place, monitoring the Laser Tag equipment equipped onto her.
After inspecting her and giving her the nod of approval, he pulled out rubber bands and wrapped them around both of her hooded bunny ear sockets that hid her horns and released them.
"That should keep them in place and prevent any wind from blowing the hoodie back on your head."
"Uh, wouldn't this make my…you know…look more suspicious?"
"Not really. You'll be alright."
"I-If you say so."
She fidgeted, shyly eyeing the various sizes, sexes and physicalities of her opponents who waited alongside her, but tried to play it cool as some of them noticed her clothing.
"Are you nervous….Liohime?" She asked, trying her best not to say 'Master' out loud.
"Huh? Nervous? No, I don't think…..oh, I think I know who's really nervous here."
"U-Ugh."
"If you're nervous, you don't have to go through with this, you know…"
"No, I have to," she answered immediately. "If I can't train my reflexes, my critical thinking skills, and work hard to win here, then…then…"
"Then?"
Then I won't be able to protect you if you're in a rut, when the time comes.
It would be a bad time to mention her concerns for him, so she simply shook her head.
"Forget it…"
"Uh…okay. Oh, it's about to start. We should head over to our designated starting bases."
"R-Right."
She deeply exhaled, but her voice trembled, and Liohime decided to give her a warm embrace.
"Mas-uh, Liohime!?"
"Good luck, Shihon. Have fun, like how you always do."
"-hk."
Like how….I always…do…
She narrowed her eyes and returned a hug.
"Of course. I will."
After finally pulling away from each other, the duo waved each other goodbye as the soon-to-be incredible turn of event at the Polar Town Fair's Laser Tag arena was about to begin.
***
"Good evening, participants. As your announcer, take these rules to heart.
You are now currently in your starting bases, surrounded by black curtains and accompanied by a staff member to ensure that you are in your correct place. Please proceed only when the horn blares over the loudspeaker.
You are currently equipped with one laser gun, with twelve laser rounds of ammunition. When these are depleted, your gun will be of no use, and you can refill it by collecting the green, miniature, glowing cylinders that charge your gun back up by nearby balconies called refill stations. Please be mindful that you can only take one at a time, or else you will be disqualified.
AI Warbots roam the area, serving as NPCs that can also attack. Therefore, please note that you will also have to be wary of things other than other contestants.
As soon as the game begins, the arena will go dark, and foam along with the darkness will both build and fade away at different intervals.
Of course, you are also equipped with a glowing circle strapped onto you and is visible on both your forehead and your chest. This is where you must aim and fire at your opponents, and if the laser connects, you deduct one life out of three. That's right, guys. Everyone has three lives, and a holographic image of the lives that you currently have will pop up over your heads.
Please note that physical violence is prohibited. However, things like restraining someone in order to make it easier to shoot, grappling, snatching a weapon out of someone's hand, and more are allowed. Any sign of physical violence will result in immediate disqualification.
There will be three stages of the match due to the large number of participants today. The first stage includes everyone, and the second includes the last remaining eight. The third and final stage includes four, and the last one standing from those four wins.
With these guidelines in place, good luck, have fun, don't die."