Stealing Spree

Chapter 2705: In the Arcade (1)

As we stepped inside, the girls instantly marveled at the arcade’s chaotic charm. Although the place was quite crowded, most of them were middle schoolers and elementary students. The few high schoolers present would immediately back down upon seeing me. My reputation as the Disciplinary Officer preceded me.

If they try something, they’re probably afraid I will get back at them in school. Well, I don’t mind dealing with them right here and now though. But that’s probably not gonna happen as they already decided not to mess with us. They just nodded at me before walking away or steering their focus back to their games.

That’s good. They know their place, at least.

"Ruki... what’s that?" Himeko tugged at my arm as she pointed at one of the arcade machines that no one was playing on. It was an old shooter game with plastic rifles mounted on its console.

It was somewhat of a hype a few years ago, but with more and more advancements in arcade games, this one was already forgotten.

Still, Himeko looked genuinely interested as she approached the machine and watched the preview being shown on the screen. It depicted soldiers fighting zombies in a ruined city. She tilted her head. "Can we try it?"

"Of course. Let us get tokens first. Maaya, you coming?" I asked, noticing her still fixated on the alpaca. She blinked, tearing her gaze away with visible effort. "Hmph. That bowtie was crooked. Disgraceful craftsmanship."

We bought tokens at the counter manned by a bored teenager chewing gum loud enough to compete with the machines. The shooter game Himeko chose had two rifles. She picked one up gingerly, its weight unfamiliar. "How... how do I hold it?"

I naturally moved behind Himeko, gently adjusting her stance. My hands settled over hers on the rifle’s molded grip, guiding her finger to the trigger. "Like this. Lean into it slightly."

Her back pressed against my chest as she gradually relaxed into my guidance.

Then I looked at her sister, who had her arms crossed as if she was not interested.

"Maaya, want to play too? It’s a two-player game. It’s a rare chance to play something with your Nee-sama." I coaxed her as Himeko also looked at her, the girl’s eyes blinking expectantly.

Maaya hesitated, glancing back at the prize alpaca before sighing dramatically.

I gently released Himeko and stepped toward Maaya. "I’ll get that one for you later. It’s quite big. We won’t be able to play if we carry it."

Maaya’s eyes widened slightly at my promise before a satisfied smirk tugged at her lips. "Fine. But only because Nee-sama wants to." She snatched the second rifle, her fingers brushing mine deliberately as she took position beside Himeko.

"Great. Then, I’ll put in the tokens." I slid the coins into the slot, the machine whirring to life with a jarring synth soundtrack. Zombies lurched onto the screen, pixelated and groaning. "Ready?"

Himeko nodded eagerly. Her excitement felt contagious as the screen flashed START.

As for Maaya, she seemed to copy her sister’s stance at first, but she quickly found it difficult to stabilize her footing. Her eyes shifted to me, wordlessly pleading for help. Without hesitation, I stepped behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist to steady her.

"Shameless idiot. J-just stay behind us. You must watch over Nee-sama and me." Maaya hissed, her rifle wobbling despite my grip.

"Well, let me see how you two are going to fare first. You won’t have as much fun if I keep guiding you." I lightly nibbled her earlobe and stepped back before she could protest.

"Ugh... You shameless. Fine. Nee-sama, let’s show him our teamwork."

"Un. Ruki, I need encouragement too." Himeko giggled as she called out to me. So, I leaned forward and kissed her cheek quickly. Maaya clicked her tongue at her sister’s straightforwardness but didn’t complain.

With that, I told them to pull the trigger and shoot at the flashing ’START’ button. The game started with the usual cinematics showing the zombie apocalypse happening in the city. Then, the screen shifted to the first-person perspective. Zombies started appearing from the sides of the screen.

"Eh...? Why are there too many?" Himeko gasped as pixelated zombies surged toward her crosshair. Her rifle jerked wildly, shots spraying uselessly against crumbling brick walls. Then her bullet rounds instantly ran out. She frantically pulled the trigger again and again to no avail. "R-Ruki! It’s stuck!"

"Shoot outside the screen to reload. Hurry. The zombies are about to get you." I chuckled as Himeko frantically waved her rifle toward empty air. Her character groaned as a zombie clawed her digital shoulder. "Left! Aim left!"

Meanwhile, Maaya looked more composed. As someone part of the Game Club and was using games to relieve her stress over her position as the heir, she could quickly adapt to the controls. She expertly reloaded by shooting off-screen, then fired precise bursts at the slow-moving zombies.

She even had the time to glance back at me and smirk, "How am I doing, shameless guy?"

"Impressive," I admitted, watching her character rack up points while Himeko frantically reloaded. "But don’t get cocky yet."

Upon saying that, I moved behind Himeko and started helping her aim. Her character was already flashing red. "Focus here," I murmured, guiding her rifle toward a cluster of zombies shambling from a burning car. "Squeeze gently." Her shot tore through two rotting heads -- a satisfying pixelated splatter. She gasped, a genuine thrill lighting her face.

"See? Easy." I stepped back as Himeko found her rhythm, her shots becoming steadier. Beside her, Maaya scoffed but missed a lurking crawler. It latched onto her avatar’s leg. "Tch! Cheap hit!" She shook her rifle violently, as if that would dislodge it.

The game showed that they had at most five lives. If they get hit five times, it would be game over. Himeko lost two before I stepped in to help her. And this time, Maaya, who couldn’t get rid of the zombie clinging to her leg, started losing more than one life. Her character groaned as another zombie bit her shoulder.

As her remaining lives burned down to two, she looked at me, eyes wide with panic. "Ruki! Help!" Maaya’s character staggered under pixelated gore. Before I could intervene, Himeko calmly swung her rifle sideways. "Covering fire!" Her shots ripped through the zombie gnawing on Maaya’s avatar. The creature dissolved into pixels. Maaya breathed out sharply. "Th-thanks, Nee-sama."

"Hehe... Go on. Have Ruki help you, Ya-chan." Himeko giggled softly, her rifle already tracking fresh targets. Maaya hesitated, her pride warring with desperation as another zombie lunged. Her avatar took another hit—life counter flashing ominously. "Fine! Just... hurry!" she hissed, cheeks flushed.

Right. She’s still quite a tsundere, isn’t she?

In any case, after giving Himeko another kiss on her cheek, I moved behind Maaya. My arms encircled her waist, settling my hand over hers on the rifle’s cool plastic. Her entire frame stiffened momentarily before melting back against my chest.

At this point, I noticed how we’re getting quite the stare from the other patrons. Most of them were looking on enviously, especially the guys who came here alone.

We also gathered quite a crowd of grade schoolers who cheered whenever Himeko landed a shot.

"Onee-san, aim at the fat one! It gives bonus life," A girl yelled, pointing at a bloated zombie boss lumbering onto the screen. Himeko giggled nervously, tightening her grip as I steadied her rifle.

"Like this?" She fired a direct hit to its glowing weak spot. The creature exploded.

The kids erupted in applause. Himeko beamed in pure joy.

"Onii-san, you should switch with her. She’s terrible." Another kid gestured at Maaya, whose avatar stumbled after missing a crawler. Her cheeks flushed crimson.

"I am not!" she snapped, firing wildly as she glared at me. "Guide me properly, idiot Ruki."

Hearing that, the kids laughed louder. They’re still quite innocent but they knew what it meant for a boy and girl to be this close. They whistled and cheered as Maaya hid her face against my shoulder.

"Shut up! You little brats!"

Of course, they didn’t shut up.

Meanwhile, Himeko’s rifle clicked empty again. She fumbled the reload, her character flashing red as zombies closed in.

"R-ruki!" Himeko gasped, fingers slipping on the rifle’s trigger guard.

I quickly moved over, guiding Himeko’s hands back onto the rifle. "Shoot down!" My fingers tightened over hers just as a zombie lunged

The shot tore through its pixelated skull.

"Reload!" She jerked the rifle downward, the satisfying chk-chk of the mechanism echoing. And to her surprise, she also got another life.

A minute later, they’re still alive and they’re about to reach the first Boss stage. Himeko’s brow furrowed in concentration while Maaya called me back which caused the kids to tease her again.

"Shut up! You little brats! Ruki! Help me!" Maaya hissed as her character took another hit. At this point, she was down to one life while Himeko still had two.

"Oh! Look out, Onii-san. The owner cranked up the difficulty. That’s why no one wants to play that game anymore." One of the kids yelled as the screen shifted to show a giant zombie boss lumbering toward them.

Well, it was obvious. There were too many zombies spawning at once. In a game like this, the owner naturally didn’t want to keep them playing for long using just one credit. So, he set the difficulty to max.