“Ah, man, this guy’s more exhausting than I thought.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMpbwsJ7LK
What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about gaming?399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxNTkfCxpaQ
Do you picture a bunch of over-eccentric boys kept silent by the audio of their headphones? 399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqaPt96F0rK
Do you imagine a whole new world of exaggerated color schemes and characters with various hair colors?399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWyYEk0hwhS
Do you think of racing, fighting, shooting, skating, gambling?399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ76iJcaXJWP
Do you live off of gaming? Or is it just one of those things that you’ll never understand the hype about?399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaII6i487Kr
I live for it. Every breath I take behind my screen is new power flowing to my avatar. Every level I unlock is a whole new galaxy that I must swim through. Every character I take down, every creature I pulverize, every road I wander, every weapon I hold, every item I gain, every game I win. I live for it.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4gSNXeE6o
“Fuji. Come down for lunch before I call out your entire name.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQiyE6WJ9W
“Oh. This is bad. This is bad, bad.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXO5dGAWm8t
But man, I’m on the last level of RawSK8.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMvY08S9sWF
“Fuji Nak-”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCIBI9yxu0
"I’M COMING!!"399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡezOSDj6xAp
I rip off my ultra-bass headphones while gently placing them on my grazed desk. I abruptly swirl around 180 degrees in my swivel and violently jump onto the floor with my pale bare feet. It’s so cold. Was it this cold when I was gaming? I take one step closer to my door, and oh no- I’m already looking back. The room’s dark. All of the lights are off, and the windows are shut. The heater’s just barely working, we really need a new one. My desk’s cramped up with a mountain of tissues, Cola cans (some finished and some partially full), a half-eaten bowl of Ramen noodles, some thrashed-up looking figurines, lollipop wrappers and sticks, and a bunch of gambling cards dripping off the desk like water. I don’t even gamble (yet), where the hell did the cards come from?
My eyes shift away from the hot mess and gaze into the computer screen. A mirage of colors that look so enticing it’s almost dangerous- the only thing lighting up the room, brighter than blurred city lights. I taste the sourness of adrenalin wafting through the air. Wait a second- it’s sweat, so much for having my own dramatic monologue. 399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbi9uXQ1WZ
I can feel my eyes gleam and grow bigger as they study the game’s interface with undeniable astonishment. “RESUME”, “HELP”, “CHANGE SK8”. These three words, floating in the middle of the glass like undiscovered planets, appear to me as Gods. Each button has a heartbeat of its own, and I can feel mine synchronize with every one of them. I get a cold sweat when competing, yet I’m on fire like never before. I feel like I’m being absolved off my sins in Church and every crack of the whip, off the game, is painful. I feel like-
“FUJI NAKAMURA, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkpZMLTIliU
I feel like my life is about to come to an end over a bowl of miso soup. I should really head off now. 399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSzmhc5DfjJ
“Yes, I’m here, I'm here!” 399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOEUoZ7sJcS
“No you’re physically here, but mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and in every other way possible, you’re there.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJNhsND8jl
“Isn’t the existence of my body more than enough?”
“The existence of your body will no longer be if you come this late for lunch again.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvD49Q5I2zj
She’s smiling, but it seems sinister. Is this a good or a bad sign? Either way, the only thing that gives me more goosebumps than losing virtually is this woman right here. Mom. 399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiudOg59L0K
“Mom, we need a new heater.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQYOPbAwhV
“Sure, I’ll sell your gaming set for it.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbEk59ghbz
“Mom, our heaters work beautifully, the suggestion of a new heater is absurd.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmqV9mVPn8o
Yep, she’s the only game I can’t figure out.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGfBVn7loXQ
“Okasa, tadaima!”
“Oh, a warm welcome to my much preferred child.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJgOZBpjxwc
“Yeah, I always knew you played favorites.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfpQpUd5OL
“I did not say ‘favorite’, I said ‘preferred’.
With a short gap of silence taken to absorb the after-attack of such an already diminishing remark, all I could say is,399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQ9Hvx3LHg
“I’m dumb, but not that dumb.”
“You’re dumb enough to have not passed a math quiz you cheated on.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXGThdzH2Ld
And this is a game I’d never want to play, “The Sister Complex”, aka, Junko Nakamura. She was named after Junko Tabei, the first Japanese female climber to have climbed Mt. Everest. My parents, and their creepy obsession with the concept of overcoming situations, named her after the woman who’d overcome the highest mountain in the world. They have high standards, yet they had me. But as long as she hasn’t climbed Mt. Fuji, I’m good (wink wink). 399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzwukwx0id
“I… I… I’ll cheat better next time.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqsC8QzovN
“Dear God, I don’t know if I should be ashamed or proud right now.” 399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc2ciyNo0dd
“Knowing this boy, the latter, mother. At least he’s putting effort into something other than twiddling his thumbs.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMubx5zaF8b
“Alright, foods getting cold, let’s eat. Itadakimasu.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn9mMj3m2On
(Fuji and Junko in unison) “Itadakimasu.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwmoOosqxV
“Geh.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnxvSdatWf
I slightly choke on the Miso soup.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmfroIK3mS
It’s cold.
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