On Saturday afternoon, the moment Tetsu Kobayashi arrived at the game shop, Shimayori Yōsuke hurried over with a mysterious expression.
"Let me secretly tell you something—don't tell anyone else. My uncle works at Sega. No one knows about this; he only told me."
Tetsu Kobayashi said, "Sega is planning to release a new arcade game."
Shimayori Yōsuke: "??"
"How do you know that?!"
Shimayori scratched his head.
What's going on! He hadn't even said it yet and got exposed?
Tetsu Kobayashi laughed. "I'll tell you a secret too—also something my uncle at Sega told me. Soon, Kobayashi Puzzle will be updated with a two-player versus mode."
Shimayori Yōsuke's eyes widened, full of astonishment behind his lenses.
"How do you even know that?"
"Because I also have an uncle."
"But I've never heard of him."
Tetsu spread his hands.
"That's because my uncle outranks your uncle."
—Reality: Tetsu hadn't even started developing the two-player mode yet.
Shimayori fell into deep thought, trying to figure out who Tetsu's uncle could be.
Meanwhile, Tetsu scanned the store, and as expected, spotted a familiar figure playing at the TV.
Kobayakawa was concentrating hard on the game. Her skill had clearly improved compared to before—seems she'd really been practicing.
Tetsu crossed his arms and watched behind her for a moment before speaking.
"Not bad."
Kobayakawa's hand trembled, jamming a Z block straight into a U.
She turned around and looked up at Tetsu, eyes full of grievance.
Suddenly she flipped her hand and pulled a small booklet from her pocket.
Tetsu read the title. "Elementary School Math Quiz?"
"It suits someone as boring as you," Kobayakawa said.
The "boring" Tetsu casually asked,
"You're playing really seriously. You're not planning to enter the tournament, are you?"
"The tournament…"
Kobayakawa lowered her head.
She had thought about it.
But she didn't believe she was strong enough to win.
"But I still want to try," she said, lifting her head. "Rin has already saved 400 yen. Soon I'll have enough for the entry fee."
Tetsu nodded. "That's good. But I'll let you in on a secret—the tournament is actually a two-player competition. They'll be using a special game cartridge."
He spread his hands. "So you'll need a partner. You two can split the entry fee."
Meeting Kobayakawa's gaze, Tetsu reached into his pocket.
"What a coincidence—you have 400 yen, and I just happen to have 600!"
After saying that, he stuffed two extra coins back into his pocket right in front of her.
Kobayakawa: "…"
Shameless! He clearly had 800 yen but claimed he only had 600!
She didn't even bother asking how he knew this kind of information. She simply turned her head.
"Rin is going to team with someone else."
"Then I guess I'll use this 200 yen to bribe someone to lose on purpose," Tetsu said.
Kobayakawa was both annoyed and amused.
Who would be stupid enough to take 200 yen to throw a match?!
Still… even though Tetsu could be infuriating, she enjoyed listening to him talk. He was… fun.
She lifted a hand to cover her flushed face, then looked at him seriously.
"Do you want to team up with Rin?"
Then added, "I'll return you the 100 yen."
"Sure."
Carrying tens of thousands of yen in his pocket, Tetsu shamelessly accepted a little girl's 100-yen debt.
Looking at Kobayakawa's slightly pink neck, Tetsu couldn't help feeling a bit sentimental.
Girls are really cute.
At that moment, an ill-timed voice cut in.
"So you guys are entering the tournament too?"
Tetsu turned toward the player at the next TV.
"…Oh damn, a hedgehog!"
He exclaimed.
The spiky-haired youth ran his hand over his hair, unbothered by Tetsu's comment.
You dyed your hair yellow—what right do you have to judge me?
This is Shibuya's latest ion-perm style!
"Let's get acquainted," the spiky-haired youth said. "I am… Black Flame Dragon, Fifty-Sixth Edition."
"That can't possibly be your real name," Tetsu muttered.
"It is," Black Flame Dragon insisted. "Black Flame Dragon is the ancestral guardian surname of my family!"
Kobayakawa added, "No way that's your real name."
"It is my real name," he said again, no longer dwelling on it. He pointed at the screen.
"I'm going to win the championship and take home that limited-edition SG1200. There's no doubt about it!"
Tetsu nodded.
Sure, sure. Whatever you say. Just don't actually summon a Black Flame Dragon and breathe fire on me.
"Nice to meet you, Black Flame Dragon Fifty-Sixth Edition." Tetsu extended a hand. "I am… Blue-Eyed White Dragon Crimson-Eyes Sealed·Tetsu."
Kobayakawa quietly scooted her chair several inches away.
I don't know either of you.
Black Flame Dragon ran a hand over his spiky hair.
"Let me show you my true power!"
Tetsu actually watched seriously.
After all, this guy was a competitor. Observing him was worthwhile.
Watching the repeated maneuvers, Tetsu folded his arms.
Well now—
This chuuni guy actually had some skill.
He had already mastered some beginner-level Tetris techniques.
Many people thought Tetris was pure randomness. It wasn't—Tetris had technique.
For example, dropping a piece straight to the bottom was a hard drop; quickly lowering it and stopping at a precise spot was a soft drop. Using both effectively drastically increased efficiency.
Some techniques were impossible without proper soft-drop control.
From Tetsu's perspective, this chuuni guy clearly understood the basics—he could even deliberately create double or triple clears.
Considering when the game came out, and the fact that he obviously didn't own a console and could only practice here, his improvement was very fast.
Tetsu didn't know that this spiky-haired guy was, in the 1980s, a legendary Dengeki Soft player—once invited by Nintendo to do stage demonstrations for Donkey Kong, later becoming a Famitsu editor who famously exposed the truth behind Takahashi Meijin.
(Takahashi Meijin—the protagonist of Adventure Island—was based on a real person. In reality, he wasn't good at games; he just had absurd finger-tapping speed.)
But revealing the truth about a corporate idol had predictable consequences.
Not long after, Black Flame Dragon Fifty-Sixth Edition voluntarily left Famitsu.
Right now, none of that had happened.
He hadn't done Donkey Kong displays, hadn't exposed Takahashi Meijin, and certainly hadn't joined Famitsu.
Famitsu hadn't even been founded yet—Kadokawa Haruki was off doing who-knows-what.
Black Flame Dragon flicked his hair and declared,
"I'm taking first place!"
Tetsu nodded.
First place is yours, sure.
He turned to Kobayakawa.
"And you? Want first place too?"
"Rin wants third!"
Kobayakawa declared with incredible confidence… in the least confident way.
Tetsu was startled, then understood.
He still remembered the tournament prizes:
First place: a special upgraded SG1200
Second place: one game cartridge
Third place: one month of unlimited play at Shimayori's game shop, including any newly released titles
"So actually… this works out perfectly."
Tetsu weighed the two coins in his pocket.
He didn't want first place anyway.
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