Chapter 61: Not Bad

Following a harmonious attempt to clear the dining room the Asahinas, Shin, and me calmly make our way into the living room. I can't fully express the peace that comes with being back at Sunrise Residence.

As Wataru bugs Masaomi to help him set up, it comes to our attention that this tournament needs rules.

"We should do a battle royale." Tsubaki laces his arm through Azusa's. "Me and Acchan against everyone else."

"That'd be a team battle," Natsume says. "Are you sure you'd want to team with Tsubaki?" He tries to grab a seat at the far end of the couch, but his brothers aren't having it. The poor guy ends up squished next to them in the centre. 

Ah. There's that frown. I've been wondering when it would show up.

Sometimes I'm not sure if it's Natsume's resting face or his response to anything that annoys him.

"If we're doing teams, I wanna be with Onee-chan." Wataru's hand shoots up.

"W-Wait a sec! If we're doing teams then I want in." Yusuke doesn't need to spell out his feelings for anyone to guess his true intentions. I wonder if I should help him out, but before I can do anything the Asahinas move to action.

"If we're doing teams we should do three people instead of two! Azusa and me will team up with Imouto-chan."

"I agree with that arrangement."

"Come off it, Azusa-nii! If you're with her then the skill levels won't be balanced."

"Good point. Yusuke will hold back any team without a player at Imouto-chan's skill level."

"What did you just say?!"

Once again, Ema finds herself in the middle of the chaos. She sends me a pleading gaze, but what can I do about this?

For once, even Shin is lost for words as well. Sure, we've had our spats, but in the end there's only two of us. Hardly enough for a team battle.

I wonder how he'd react to all thirteen Asahinas in one room?

Even I haven't had that pleasure yet, but I have a strong feeling that this preview is pretty representative of it.

As it isn't my place to interfere, I scoot to the side, awkwardly ending up between Shin and Natsume. The two also have little place in the argument at hand—Shin for aforementioned reasons, but Natsume because he is Natsume. Moving out must have given him an objective view on the chaos.

After much deliberating the teams end up as follows: me, Shin, and Ema; Yusuke and Natsume; Tsubaki and Azusa; Wataru and Masaomi. Ukyo has decided not to participate. 

"I have some work I need to finish," he says as he turns up the stairs. "Let me know how it goes." He says it so cheekily since he's not involved. His brothers spare him a look before preparing themselves for battle.

Shin and I are relocated to sit with Ema, though the brothers insist that I sit next to her instead of Shin.

Weird.

We only got put together because they figure it would be more fair. To whom, I wonder? Haven't we established that Ema and I are on par with each other's skills?

Oh well. It's your guys' funeral.

Shin snorts disbelievingly as I ready my controller. He still doesn't think I can do it. The joke's on him, though. We're on the same team, so even if I were an easy target it's not like he could turn on me and pick me off. Like it or not, we are teammates. Even if he doesn't see any value in the supposed reward. 

Though I guess he wouldn't say no to eating out someplace nice.

The competition begins, with the game set on battle royale mode. The first and foremost goal is to survive the longest. We'll not only be battling each other, but also zombies and other lab-infected creatures coming at us from all sides. 

"Whichever team lasts the longest wins," Tsubaki declares.

"What if your teammate is taken out early?" Natsume asks.

"B-By a zombie or another player?" Yusuke sputters. I wonder if he thinks Natsume is implying his early defeat.

The twins ruminate. 

"It would be a little unfair to count an entire team out if you lose your partner," Azusa acknowledges. "Especially when your skill levels don't match."

Yusuke narrows his eyes. "Hey, why are you looking at me?"

"Yeah, but that wouldn't be fair to the other teams," Tsubaki says. "One person shouldn't have to carry the entire team."

"Hey, why are you looking at me like that, too?!"

"What do you mean?" Wataru asks. "I think it's fair."

"Me, too," Masaomi agrees. "It's a team challenge. Shouldn't it come down to the last team standing?"

"Hmm." The twins think on it some more. 

Shin smirks. "But if you're winning as a team then you shouldn't you lose as one, too?"

Tsubaki grins. "He's got a point. It would be a lot more fun that way, ne, Aachan?"

Azusa grimaces. "Are you sure that's okay?" 

"Yeah." Tsubaki nods. "I know you won't let me down."

I glance at Ema. "What do you think?"

"I-I don't really know." Ema looks down at the controller in her lap. The "reward" doesn't really apply to her, and she doesn't want to upset any of her brothers. Besides, she'll be eating out either way. 

"Hm. It would be more us an advantage if teams don't get eliminated if they lose just one member," I murmur. "Then again, there's no guarantee that everyone will even make it to the end."

"That's right." Natsume agrees with me. 

"But we don't want the game to go on too long," Shin reasons. 

This time all the brothers consider it. It's a weekend so it won't matter if we stay up late, but I still have to go back to my apartment at the end of it. I don't mind, though Natsume seems to catch on. He, too, will have to go home later as well. Unless he gets to sleep over, too.

"Okay. Why don't we vote on it?" Tsubaki suggests. "Anyone who wants a whole team to be eliminated if they lose a member, raise their hand." His hand shoots up. A second later, Azusa joins him.

Shin nudges me and I put my hand up as well. Neither of us will be affected by the win or loss, so I guess it doesn't matter much to us. Natsume sighs under Tsubaki's silent pressure and adds in his vote. 

That leaves Masaomi and Wataru, who are still holding out for to play til the last man standing. 

"Majority rules." Tsubaki squishes next to Azusa. "As soon as you lose a teammate your whole team is out. The game will be quick."

"Quick and decisive," Azusa agrees.

"Yeah. Mai-san and I will need to go home after. I'm sure she's tired after a long day."

"I didn't even think of that," Ema worries. "Are you okay with that, Mai-san?"

"I'll be okay. We won't go too late," I say, my competitiveness showing through.

"Don't die early," Shin cautions. 

"That's my line." I nudge him. 

Normally we would be playing with this many people on individual screens, probably remotely. But the Asahinas have a TV large enough to be split into nine. It's a little overwhelming seeing so many points of view at once, but our avatars are all distinguishable; there's no danger of us taking out our own teammates.

And so, it begins.

"Hurry up, Makkun! You're too slow!" Wataru shouts from the other end of the couch. We've repositioned ourselves to sit next to our teammates. Wataru puffs his cheeks in frustration as team Tsubaki and Azusa hone in. There's a hint of bitterness there from being put in a different team than Ema. 

I would have expected Masaomi to have a decent chance of keeping up, since he's not only the oldest, but he's a doctor. I thought he'd have good hand-eye coordination for a first-person shooter game. 

"W-Wataru, can you wait up a little? There's too many—urp!"

"Don't throw up now, Makkun," Wataru whines. "It's not even real."

"I know that, but..." The couch shifts as Masaomi lurches forward. "E-Excuse me!" 

Mouth covered, Masaomi bolts from the room, hopefully toward the bathroom.

"Awww, Makkun!" Wataru falls back against the couch. Since Masaomi has gone, his avatar is easily swarmed by zombies. Shin and I don't even have time to reach him before he's gone. That takes out Team Wataru and Masaomi by default. 

"Tough luck, Wataru." Tsubaki takes out a trio of zombies that have encroached on Azusa's avatar. 

"You're only saying that cause you knew Makkun would run away."

"We can't help it if our good doctor can't handle blood."

"Come on, Tsubaki. Help me with this horde, would you?"

"Hai, hai, Aachan."

Thanks to Azusa's redirecting, the remaining gamers continue the battle. Sure enough, Ema, Shin, and I reach a point on the map where we can see Yusuke and Natsume's team round the corner.

"Get 'em!" Shin shouts. His fingers thunder against the controller as he aims. 

"Ack!" Yusuke yelps as his avatar succumbs to the zombies. 

I'm a bit reluctant to corner Yusuke, who's already down. I turn my attention to Natsume, who is facing off Ema. She doesn't hold back. Natsume doesn't hold back, either. The two of them are at it, dodging and shooting. 

There's no opening for me yet, so I focus on taking out the zombies coming up behind us. These controllers are newer, so it's easier to aim. 

"Huh." Shin huffs. "Not bad."

"Not bad, yourself."

"Mai-chan, Shin-kun, let's win!" 

The two of us turn, startled by the intensity of Ema's determination. She's completely in battle mode, eyes ablaze as she takes Natsume's avatar down. He accepts defeat gracefully, closing his eyes and lowering the controller to his lap. 

"We lost."

Yusuke slumps against a pillow. "They're too good." He regards Shin with a bit of fear. 

But my brother's attention is already onto leading the charge to find Tsubaki and Azusa. 

"Keep up with me, aneki."

"I would if you were going the right way." I steer in the opposite direction, having noted the twins' location from their sections on the screen. 

I find Tsubaki first. He chose the avatar that stands out the most, for what I can only assume was his own confidence that he'd make it to the finale. It doesn't do him any favours now, though. 

"Got you." 

Tsubaki reacts too slowly, having been distracted by a Level 3 zombie that's approached him from the side. He doesn't realize I'm behind him until it's too late. 

"Noooo!" Tsubaki yowls. His avatar falls. I don't even need to find Azusa now. Thanks to his insistence for having all your teammates survive his whole team has lost. 

Heaving a sigh of relief, I relax. Ema and I high-five. Shin pumps his fist in silent victory. The Asahina brothers stare at us with a mixture of jealousy and awe. 

"Nice one, Ema-chan."

"You, too, Mai-chan. Your practicing paid off."

"I guess you weren't bad, aneki," Shin says begrudgingly. 

I laugh. "You, too, Shin. You're not bad either."

While the three of us congratulate each other on our victory the other brothers recover themselves. 

Having lost his partner to his own stomach, Wataru goes to check on Masaomi. We don't see any more of him for the rest of the evening, so it must not be pretty.

"I'll go check on them," Azusa says. "Come on, Tsubaki." He tugs on his brother's sleeve.

"Aw, but I wanted to stay and chat." But Tsubaki goes with him, anyway. "You won fair and square," he says to us. "Let's have a rematch next time." With a mischievous grin, he adds, "But next time one-on-one."

"You're on," Shin and I say simultaneously. We glance at each other, sizing one another up. I know I could hold my own against him, and I imagine he thinks the same of me. Only a one-on-one battle will show who is correct. 

"That was fun," Ema says. "You were great teammates."

On the other end of the couch poor Yusuke wallows in his defeat. "I lost way too fast."

"It was a matter of skill," Natsume says, trying to comfort him. It doesn't work.

"Let's be teammates next time, Yusuke-kun," Ema says. That lifts his spirits a little.

"So what happens now?" I ask. 

Shin yawns. "I'm not going out to eat tonight."

I give him a look. "Obviously not."

"Let's decide on that another day," Ema says. She notices Shin yawn again. "It's getting late. Do you want to turn in, Shin-kun?"

As if suddenly remembering the situation, Shin turns away from me. "Yeah. I'm tired."

Yes. You're tired.

But I go along with it. "Yeah. Get some sleep, Shin. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? You're coming back here?" His tone sounds accusing, or like he's appalled by the idea of it. 

"If Ema-chan and the others are okay with it," I add quickly. Ema gives her permission. "Just to check in. I don't have to stay."

"Iie, iie. We'd love to have you, Mai-chan."

Shin purses his lips. Without another word he gets up and goes upstairs. I watch him go, wondering how I should react now. We spent the past hour acting like nothing happened. Now that the game is over we're back in the real world. 

"He'll come around," Ema assures me. 

"Right." I set the controller down on the coffee table. "I think I'll go back to my place now. Thank you for supper."

I stand, the remaining Asahinas see me out. 

To my surprise Natsume steps into the elevator with me. "I'll drive you home. I'm headed that way, anyway."

"Are you sure?"

"Thank you, Natsume-san. Please take care of Mai-chan."

"See ya, Natsu-nii." Yusuke waves, not fazed at all.

"M-Matte—"

Before I can protest any further the doors close, locking me and Natsume alone together. 

Why does this keep happening???