COLLISION, assassination classroom

CHAPTER #018. CURIOSITY TIME!

     On their way back to the inn, Takano Hajime realized that he would not be seeing the professional sniper the government hired in action. The mere thought led to the brown haired male retreating into a gloom-ridden, bruised, and disappointed silence that only further worried his group mates. Since the last assassination route on the itinerary had been interrupted by that crackpot group of phony high school delinquents, Korosensei single-handedly decided to halt their operations for the day– field trip or assassination related otherwise. It left Hajime wishing he had spoken a few more (malicious) words with the scarred delinquent, if this was the consequence.

The unabating bitterness that was left at the unfulfilling conclusion of their assassination attempt was something that Hajime was working hard not to acknowledge, lest he fall to the temptation of the vengeful thoughts festering in his head and decide to act upon them. In his attempt to cool down and gather himself, Hajime immediately left the group upon their arrival at the inn to head for the bathing area.

In the showers, Hajime closed his eyes as the almost scalding hot water poured down his face and sighed in relief at the lack of other people in the communal bathroom. It appeared that his group mates were doing something else in the meantime. Soon, the rest of the class would return to the inn and so the rest of the time spent in solitude was precious. It was almost enough for Hajime to forget the disturbance that ruined his afternoon– almost, though not quite.

The brown haired male stepped out of the bathroom some indeterminate amount of time later with a dopey smile, closed-eye and red-cheeked from the hot water and steam that billowed out from the door. He nodded in greeting at the few classmates that passed him in the corridor, almost skipping to the in-house game corner. It was something that he had spotted when they first arrived at their quaint dwellings; there was no better way to destress after a long hot shower than some simple gaming.

Upon his entrance and a quick glance around the room, Hajime noted that most of his group mates were present and dressed down in the provided yukata and haori that the inn offered. Crowding the various game machines, his classmates looked to be thoroughly enjoying themselves after a rough and eventful day. Hajime hummed at the sight, rolling his shoulders backward to stretch his sore muscles. Kanzaki was standing in front of one of the game machines, his reddish-brown eyes being drawn to the fluid movements of her hands along the control board.

Hajime approached his group mate, standing beside Sugino as he peered over Kanzaki's shoulder to stare at the screen in wonder. It wasn't the type of arcade game that Hajime preferred, but he could tell by the current score on the top right corner that Kanzaki was good. The screen was a flurry of explosions and enemy battleships that flew around at a dizzying pace, his eyes barely focusing due to all the stimulating colors and action happening at once. The longer he watched the black haired female game, the greater his respect and admiration for her grew. His eyes had widened into circles at the expert gameplay she was displaying; this was the work of an arcade genius!

Sugino kept silent, spare for a few reactive hums and gasps, gaping in astonishment as Kanzaki managed to pass the previously logged in record. "Woah! How in the world are you dodging all of them?!?

Kanzaki Yukiko, her expression a calm and collected portrait, frantically tapped at the control buttons on the machine. "You're embarrassing me." She replied, modest with a hint of a blush across her cheeks. Hajime leaned forward just as a large explosion took up the entire screen, attention completely captured.

"You're moving like a pro, all the while gracefully smiling!" Sugino exclaimed. The dark haired male turned to face Hajime, only to double-take at the sparkly-eyed expression of awe the brown haired male had on. "Even Takano-san has fallen to her charms!"