~ KENMA ~
"No, that's not what I meant! If anything, that's the opposite."
"What's wrong with tyranny?" Fire asked in full seriousness. "Okay, communism, then."
"No, Fire. No." I sighed exasperatedly, not liking where this conversation was going. Although I had already explained my idea once in full detail, she didn't seem to understand the ranking concept. Therefore, I had no choice by to restart and hope for the best. "Alright, here we go again."
"You know about the medieval hierarchy structure, right? How they believed in the Great Chain of Being, with God at the top, followed by the King, the Church, court officials and so on? Of course, you do! I've already explained it to you. So essentially, instead of "elite", "master" and "legendary", I'm implementing this alternative rank system."
"Basically you want to... regress societal evolution?"
"Patience, child, I'm not done yet." I hushed her again, before continuing. "The general idea of the game remains the same, I'm merely replacing the shit ranking system with an improved one. Of course, only a single player can obtain the title of God, and up to fifty Kings. As the status decreases, the number of people in the rank increases. Makes sense, right?"
"Yes, so far."
And that was good enough for me to carry on. "However, I'm adding another rank between God and the Kings: Angel. There can only be one, and similar to the Christian concept, the Angel must be the God's teammate. Therefore, if a God falls, so does the Angel. Only Kings are able to challenge the God and Angel, who must accept within a week."
"So everything works the same way from... what was it again? Peasants?"
"You're on the right track."
"Alright, so from Peasants to Kings, you have to grind to rise in ranks, like any other game. Except there's a limit to how many players are allowed in each rank. But only two players can be the God and Angel, and they have to be the number one and number two of the game."
"Yes! Precisely!" I was overjoyed that Fire was finally beginning to understand the concept. Time to move onto the next part. "And, as I've said before, the God has advantages. For as long as the player holds the position, they are given the power to control the weapon meta. Only to a certain extent, of course."
"See? That's tyranny."
"Yes, exact... Wait, no! How?"
"The concept is pretty fair to be honest, but with you as the starting God, it'd be near impossible for someone to take your place. And not to mention, you having full control over the meta means it's over for everyone else."
I smiled. "Actually, I had a change of mind. I'm thinking of you as the God."
"What? Why?" She asked, seemingly confused. "Dude, I'm a sniper."
"And? You're more deserving of the title than anyone else I can think of. Besides, there are no restrictions in my game. It doesn't matter what weapon you main, you could be a run-and-knifer for all I care."
But I guess she wasn't convinced. "Are you mad?"
"As mad as I am sane, my lady."
A faint, lighthearted laughter came in response. "That makes absolutely no sense."
Although she was still not convinced, I was glad to hear her laugh. Strangely, at some point in time, making Fire laugh became more important than winning games. I know, insane. The most concerning part wasn't actually my insanity, but the fact that I was fully aware of it and, in utter consciousness, enjoyed it.
"I want to be your Angel, as you have been mine." For the first time in my life, my thoughts turned into words without the usual extensive overthinking, and honestly, they weren't half bad. They conveyed exactly what I felt. No more, no less.
But see the downside to saying something so heartfelt, to the point where you're literally walking on the line between smooth and cringe, is the aftermath. I wasn't sure if I was grateful that we were conversing over the phone, that there was some sort of distance between us, or if I was annoyed by it. Without being able to see her, there was no way of telling how she reacted, and no way of observing her behaviour for signs of emotional impact. Therefore, without any direction of what to do next, my only option was the default: panic.
Unfortunately for me, I was someone who tended to panic in silence. On top of that, Fire didn't seem to know how to respond either. We began to drown in awkwardness, until my brain managed to regroup itself to a functional state.
In this situation I had driven myself into, there were two roads I could take. I could either run the risk of worsening the situation by following up the bold and corny statement with an even bolder and cornier explanation, a chance to tell her how I felt. Or I could play it safe and change the topic completely, but throw away whatever courage I've built up until now.
I didn't have much time to think and logically, safer seemed better. And so the topic was changed faster than switching channels. "Anyways, this works better for our usernames, don't you think?"
Laugh it off. Cover it up. Pretend it never happened.
"White Fire actually sounds cool. It sounds like a godly username. Whereas can you really imagine Apple Pie as the name of a god?"
"I mean, not really," she replied. Although it was a little hesitant, right now, any response was great.
"Precisely. It's more of a joke than a username, far below fitting for the name of a god." I continued, hoping to lead the conversation as far away as possible.
"But then again, I can't exactly imagine an angel with that name."
"Neither can I, but it'll have to do."
Glancing at the corner of my computer screen, I was reminded of the time. But more importantly, I became aware of the fact that I had been on the phone with Fire for almost an hour. And that also meant that Shiro had been left alone in a public place for almost an hour.
"Hey, it's been a while, are you still waiting by yourself?"
"Unfortunately, yes, I am." She replied, her voice containing more disappointment than irritation.
"Sorry for getting worked up, but where the hell is your boyfriend?" What the fuck was Akaashi doing?
"Look, I don't even know. Honestly, I just wanna go home."
"What's stopping you?" I was really struggling to understand why Shiro was able to put up with this.
"He promised he would be back and I don't want him worry. I mean, it's kind of unnerving waiting here alone but it's fine, I've got you to keep me company."
"Yeah, I got you."
But despite her reassurance, I couldn't help but worry about her. What made Akaashi think it was okay to leave his girlfriend there by herself for long? I didn't know how Shiro was okay with this sort of treatment, because I wasn't. It was infuriating, to say the least.
At last, I couldn't stand it any longer. Still on the phone, I grabbed a jacket and exited my room. I briefly put myself on mute. Although I was in a rush, I was still careful. "I'm going to the festival I'll be back in like an hour or so." I called, while heading down the stairs.
"Why? I thought you hated these things." My mother replied from the kitchen.
"I still do." I muttered in annoyance as I left the house.
On the way there, I attempted to extract as much information from Shiro as I could, without being suspicious of course. From a game of I-Spy, I acquired a basic idea of where she was. And apparently she hadn't moved at all since Akaashi left her.
As expected, there was a lot of people at the showground, far too much for comfort. However, after pinpointing Shiro's location, it didn't take long for me to find her. From afar, I could see her figure sitting on a bench, near a stall selling candied apples.
Now the hard part was ending the call and then approaching her without making it suspicious. She knew me too well, so I couldn't use beginner excuses like "I'm tired" or "I have homework". And it couldn't be something trivial either. She had to be under the impression that I had no other choice than to leave her. The last thing I wanted was for her to feel abandoned or unimportant. I'd have to come up with something more creative.
"Hey, sorry to cut this short, but my mum's calling me. We're having a family dinner, along with some friends, and she would get mad if I didn't show up."
"I thought you didn't like any sort of gatherings."
"Still don't." I replied with a half-hearted laugh. "But mum's orders are final. Pray for my survival."
She laughed in response. "That's unfortunate. Well, have fun."
After saying goodbye, I hung up, feeling proud of myself for clearing the first obstacle. Now all I had to do was set up a few things and I'd be ready to approach her.
I hurriedly sent a text to Kuroo, who was also the festival, presumably with Yaku and Kai.
Ken: I'm at the festival.
Kuro: Yo, what?
Kuro: Why?
Kuro: I thought you hated these things.
Ken: Still do.
Kuro: Let me guess.
Kuro: Shiro is also here.
Ken: Yeah, but Akaashi dogged out so I have to do his job for him.
Kuro: Don't act like you dont enjoy it ;)
Kuro: So what do you need help with?
Ken: Here's the story - I came here with you guys. But it got boring so I left to go elsewhere, and that's when I happen to find Shiro. Pure coincidence.
Kuro: Essentially you just want me to lie for you.
Ken: Essentially.
Kuro: Aight, got it. Anything else?
Ken: Meet me at the place selling candied apples on Towa St in ten. Pretend you were looking for me.
Kuro: Yessir. And good luck ;)
And with everything set up, I headed towards where Shiro was still waiting for Akaashi. Without anyone to talk to, she had redirected her attention to another game, likely a mobile FPS, to keep her fingers occupied from fidgeting. Although she seemed calm and focused on the surface, her body language was enough to tell me that she was getting anxious. I mean, who wouldn't? After waiting for someone for over an hour, anyone would lose their shit.
"Shiro?" I hurried over, pretending to have randomly spotted the girl while casually roaming the festival.
As expected, she looked up immediately, abandoning her game. The nervousness on her face morphed into relief. "Kenma. What are you doing here?"
I was right. Her mind wasn't on the game at all. She was tense and overly aware of her surroundings.
"Kuroo dragged me here." I replied, sticking to my story. "Have you seen him by the way?"
She shook her head. "I was here with Keiji, but he left a while ago because... I don't know, something came up, apparently."
"So he just left you here?"
"Unfortunately."
"What a dick." I commented bluntly, sitting down beside her. She knew I was still at odds with Akaashi so I didn't bother hiding it.
Shiro laughed and I could swear it was ten times better hearing it in person. "Someone else also said that."
"That someone sounds like a cool guy." I smiled knowingly. "But I'm not wrong. It was a dick move to leave you here." How could Akaashi do that? How could he bear to leave her alone?
"I can't believe I got all dressed up for this." She sighed, her eyes drifting to the ground.
Glancing towards the girl beside me, I was struck once again by how beautiful she was. It wasn't like I needed a reminder but I was reminded nonetheless. She looked nothing short of the angel she was.
It hit me that this was my first time seeing Shiro in a kimono. Suddenly, 'beautiful' became an understatement. The deep red fabric draped perfectly around her figure, its sleeves seemed to flutter in the evening breeze. Onyx black hair contrasted strikingly against porcelain skin, like winter's first snow on a raven's back.
"You look perfect," I quickly reassured her, sensing her embarrassment. "You always do." And if only she could see that, then perhaps she would be more aware of her own worth. Not that her appearance mattered, for it was merely a pale imitation of her personality.
Even as we settled into a comfortable silence, Shiro resuming her game, now more at ease, I couldn't help but continue to stare. She was beautiful no doubt, but in a way so unique, so otherworldly, that many fail recognise it as beauty. She was one of the strongest people I knew, and yet, to me she looked very fragile, as if she was a glass sculpture, too delicate to endure the brutality of this world.
If I was correct, she had already been broken, far too many times, and that if she was to shatter again, the pieces would be unsalvageable.
And I could only hope that I could prevent it from happening.
~~~~
Hi, hope you've enjoyed this chapter! I know I've been inactive but please bear with me. My block exams are next week so hopefully I clutch up.
I often take my time but there's no way I'd abandon this story. So rest assured, I will see it to its end.
~ krypto