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It was suspiciously quiet in the Tenma household, or at least that was what Saki was thinking as she scrolled through her phone in her bed. It was the weekend, so Toya and Tsukasa were supposed to be home with her, especially since she had started feeling a bit nauseous last night and woke up with no appetite this morning. Her brothers, at the very least, were supposed to stay home with her since their parents both had work. Yet, despite Tsukasa’s loud personality, there didn’t seem to be a single person in the house.
At this point, her nausea and lack of appetite had subsided, and she was beginning to get hungry. So, with her phone charging on her nightstand, Saki got out of her bed and walked into the living room, trying to comprehend why everyone was so quiet.
Toya and Tsukasa were sitting at the dining room table, discussing something over Toya’s laptop. They seemed to be whispering to each other, hence the silence in the rest of the household. Whatever the discussion was, both seemed to be deep into it, not even noticing her presence when she entered the room.
“Hey!” Saki cheerfully called out to them, walking into the kitchen, “What’re you two doing?”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHH! SAKI!” Tsukasa screamed, startled by his sister’s presence. Toya, on the other hand, just silently closed his laptop, staring at it like he had never seen it before.
“Hehe, sorry for disturbing you. Seriously, though, what’re you two doing?”
“Ah, uh, we were just, um, talking about something that happened at Kamiyama this week…right, Toya?”
“Yes…” Toya looked away awkwardly, “There was an award ceremony this week, and it was on the news, so we were just looking up articles about it.”
“Ooo, cool. Anyone I might know in the ceremony?” Saki questioned, staring at Toya’s laptop as if asking him to open it.
“Probably not, it was mostly for first years.”
“Oh, I know a couple of first years in Kamiyama. Two of my friends from the hospital are going there now. Can’t you just show me the article you were looking at? Please?”
With a heavy sigh, Toya opened his laptop to show Saki the article. However, before she could read what was actually on the webpage he was on, he quickly switched it to another webpage that showed the photo of the awards ceremony. Saki was a little upset, especially since the previous webpage looked like a list – probably the list of students who won awards – but he just changed it to the photo without thinking.
“Hmm…doesn’t look like anyone I know is there,” Saki said, squinting at the photo to see if she could recognise anyone, “I might look more into it myself after I eat.”
“Oh? You’re feeling a bit better now?” Tsukasa smiled.
“Yeah, so I’m gonna make myself a snack and probably go back to bed. I already cancelled band practice with the girls, so I’ll be in my room if you need me!”
“Alright. Make sure your snack is easy on your stomach.”
“I will!”
“Aren’t these Takoyaki charms so cute?” Saki shoved a handful of Takoyaki charms she had found in the store into the faces of her bandmates, excitedly. After being sick for the past few days, she was thrilled to be able to go shopping with everyone again.
“Hehe, well, they do look like the real thing.” Honami giggled, holding one of the charms in her hand.
“I know, right? We should totally get one each so we can be matching. Ooo! I wanna get the cheese one! Which one are you guys choosing?”
“I think I’ll take an apple cinnamon Takoyaki. I know it’s not traditional, but they always remind me of apple pies.”
“If we’re doing this, I think I’ll take the traditional one with mayo on it,” Ichika reached for her chosen charm before turning to Shiho, “Shiho, which one are you taking?”
“Hm? Oh, sorry, I wasn’t really paying attention.” Shiho turned around to face the rest of her bandmates.
“Shiho-chan! We’re supposed to be hanging out!” Saki pouted, upset that her friend would get so distracted like that.
“I know, I know…But I was wondering if that’s your brothers over there.”
Saki looked to where Shiho was pointing. Sure enough, Toya and Tsukasa were inside a video game store on the other side of the mall. They seemed to be looking at a catalogue of some sort, pointing at different things as they flicked through it. Toya already had a bag from the same store, hinting that he had already bought something and was waiting for Tsukasa to choose what he wanted.
“Oh, yeah, that’s them. I didn’t know they were going to be shopping here too.” Saki tilted her head. The two of them had told her they were going shopping before she left the house, but she guessed none of them knew they were going to the same place. Either way, she didn’t want to disturb them since they both looked deep in thought.
“How about we go over there to say hello once we’re done here?” Honami suggested.
“Good idea, Hona-chan!” Yeah, Saki was just looking for an excuse to go over there and see what they were doing. “So, Shiho-chan, hurry up and pick a Takoyaki!”
“Alright, alright…” Shiho sighed, looking at the options she had in front of her.
While Shiho made her final decision, Saki looked back over at Toya and Tsukasa in the distance. Almost immediately, she made eye contact with Toya, who had a brief look of panic (or at least she could tell) flash over his face before he turned back to Tsukasa, whispering something urgently. She watched as Tsukasa’s face changed, and he immediately called over a worker, pointing at the catalogue he was looking over earlier. The worker eventually nodded before disappearing to get his order. Saki had no clue what he had just ordered, but he seemed impatient as he waited for the worker to return with his order.
“Saki!” Shiho called out, snapping her out of her thoughts, “You ready to go now?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m ready!” Well, if she wasn’t going to catch her brothers inside the store, Saki would just have to catch them outside of it.
As each girl paid for their items, Saki watched from a distance as the worker returned to Tsukasa with a bag in hand. He took the bag and handed it to Toya while he paid for whatever was inside with his card. Whatever it was, it seemed to be a bit heavy, since Toya was struggling a bit with holding it for him. However, the younger boy was able to breathe a sigh of relief once Tsukasa’s bag was returned to its rightful owner.
“Onii-chan! Toya-kun!” Saki called out once she was finished paying for her items. She was the last one to pay, meaning that she and the rest of the band could walk over to them as soon as she was done.
“A-AHA! SAKI!” Tsukasa responded, suspiciously loud. Sure, he was usually loud, but this volume usually meant something was going on. Not to mention the fact that he was holding his bag behind his back as though he was hiding its contents from her.
“Oh, Saki-san,” Toya took over as the calmer of the two, “We didn’t know you would be here.”
“I didn’t know either of you would be here either. I saw you over in that video game store. What did you buy?” Saki tried to get a peek at what was inside Toya’s bag, but he kept it at an angle that would hide what was in it.
“Oh, a new game came out that I wanted to try. Tsukasa-senpai was just accompanying me.”
“Really? What kind of game is it?” Shiho asked curiously.
“It’s…I believe the correct term is life simulator.”
“What? I didn’t know you were into those kinds of games, Toya-kun,” Saki seemed surprised at her brother’s change of game, “You usually play puzzle games like Puyo-Puyo or the crane games at the arcade, and sometimes shooters like Gunslinger Jungle, but I’ve never seen you play something as chill as a life sim.”
“Ah, well, I wanted a change of pace…”
“AND I’M PLANNING ON HELPING HIM WITH THIS CHANGE OF PACE!” Tsukasa interrupted, somehow louder than the last time, “Anyways, we need to go now. You girls have fun. Goodbye!”
And just like that, Tsukasa grabbed Toya by the wrist and dragged him out of there, leaving Saki and the rest of Leo/Need to ponder what just happened.
“I can’t believe I forgot it!” Tsukasa whined, looking desperately in the bag he had brought home from the video game store. Sure, he knew he had started rushing when Toya told him Saki was nearby and had spotted them, but he didn’t think it would result in a blunder like this.
“Relax, Tsukasa-senpai, we can either go back there to get a physical copy, or I can download a digital copy directly onto it,” Toya explained, already setting up his device from the other side of the older boy’s room.
“Wait, there’s been a digital version this whole time? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I like physical copies of games more.”
The sound of the door unlocking interrupted their conversation and sent Tsukasa into another panic, throwing the bag under his bed to hide it from whoever was coming in. Toya didn’t seem too bothered, continuing to set up the device in his hands.
“Onii-chan! Toya-kun! I’m home!” Saki called out cheerfully. She had almost completely forgotten about their suspicious behaviour at the mall, thinking more about how amazing her day with her girlfriends was.
“Welcome home, Saki-san!” Toya responded, knowing Tsukasa was too panicked to speak.
“What’re you doing up there, Toya-kun? I thought you didn’t like being so high up in Onii-chan’s room?” Saki began climbing up the stairs curiously (mostly as to how Tsukasa had managed to get Toya up there without the youngest of the three absolutely freaking out).
“Oh, I’m just working on something with Tsukasa-senpai.”
“Huh? Oh, is it related to the video game you two mentioned earlier?” Saki asked, noticing the device in his hand and remembering their conversation from earlier.
“Yes, it is. I’m just setting up the device to play it right now.”
“Ooo, can I play it with you once you finish setting up? Please?”
“Sorry, but the game only allows for one person per device to play at once. I’ll probably find a different game for us to play together, though.”
“Aw, okay.”
Dejected, Saki made her way back down the stairs to unpack the things she had bought from the mall. This allowed Tsukasa to come down from his panic, turning towards Toya with a hint of annoyance.
“Did you really make us buy three of these things so that we can all play at the same time?” He asked, taking the devices back out from under his bed.
“Yes, also, I just wanted my own island. Each device only allows for one island for every account on there.” Toya explained, taking the game he had purchased out of the bag to place the cartridge into the device so he could load up the game.
“That’s fair. I actually asked Nene to let me borrow hers. I can see now why she said no.”
“I think the game seems pretty good so far. What do you think, Tsukasa-senpai? Have you encountered any bugs?” Toya asked, sitting across from Tsukasa at the dining room table with their individual devices on the table.
“I’ve encountered so many bugs.” Tsukasa looked pale answering that question. That was the one thing he genuinely hated about this game – there were so many goddamn bugs.
“…I’m not talking about insects, Tsukasa-senpai. I’m talking about glitches.”
“Oh…I haven’t encountered any of those.”
“Good, I believe we made a good choice with this game. There doesn’t seem to be anything that could trigger any problems with Saki-san’s health. Some of the other similar games I looked at had combat elements I felt would be a bit too intense. I even tried one of them and got overwhelmed during combat.”
“Is it really that bad?”
“Well, it was fine until it all turned purple and the bats started swarming me.”
“What-“
“What’re you two talking about?” Tsukasa almost threw his glass of water across the kitchen when he heard Saki’s voice suddenly coming from behind him.
“W-we were just talking about that new game Toya got,” Tsukasa acted as though he didn’t just almost have a heart attack, “He seems to be really enjoying it.”
“That’s great! Are you sure I can’t play with you sometime, Toya-kun? I’d be fine with even just watching you if I can’t use the console!”
“Maybe some other time. I don’t quite feel like playing right now. I’ll let you know when you can, alright?” Toya explained, almost as if he were talking to a child.
“Ugh! Alright, fine, but you have to buy me snacks while I’m watching you, okay?”
“I understand. I will bring your favourite snacks.”
“Good!” Saki said before storming off. At this point, all the secrecy was really getting to her. She really wished she knew what the hell they were hiding from her, and why they were being so secretive about this damn game.
Honestly, the guilt was eating at Toya and Tsukasa, too. Every single rejection felt like betraying their dear sister, yet they had to believe the payoff would be greater than anything else they could ask for.
“Right, so these star things on the ground are where fossils are hidden?” Akito asked, staring at the screen Toya had put in front of him.
“Yes, and we need three fossils to give to the owl at the museum to complete the quest,” Toya explained patiently, sipping his coffee. The two were sitting on the floor of Toya’s room, cuddling up on his bed. This was a sort of practice for him, teaching Saki how to play this same game, even if Akito tended to be a more difficult student.
“So, once we give them to him, he’s gonna add them to the museum?”
“Well, if we have any duplicates, he’ll give them back to us, and we can sell them to the two smaller tanukis.”
“Damn, these gotta be worth a bunch of money.”
“The money in this game is called bells, and yes, they usually are. I did some research, and some dinosaur skulls, like the T. rex and Brachiosaurus, are the most valuable. Usually, you can earn 6,000 bells for one of them.”
“We gotta find one of those and make a ton of money for you.”
“While I appreciate the sentiment, I don’t have either of those in my museum yet. I’d prefer to complete my museum and then sell any duplicate fossils.”
“Toya-kun?” Saki knocked on Toya’s bedroom door, “You are your boyfriend aren’t doing anything weird, right? Can I come in?”
“Come in, Saki-san.” Toya moved slightly away from Akito, removing his arm from around the ginger’s neck. Sure, he didn’t have to, but it was a bit of a habit from when he still lived with his father.
“I was just wondering if I left my sheet music in here. Remember the one I had you look over the other day?”
“Oh, it should be on my desk over there. Sorry, it might be a bit mixed up with the others.”
“Hey, Tenma-san!” Akito greeted Saki, barely looking up from the game.
“Hi, Shinonome-kun, what’re you doing here anyway?” Saki responded, also not making eye contact as she sifted through the many papers on Toya’s desk to find her sheet music.
“Just gaming with Toya. Not gonna lie, this game is kinda lame but-“
“OH, AKITO, YOU GOT ANOTHER FOSSIL!” Toya interrupted, trying to stop Akito from revealing more about what they were doing. If he named the game, Saki would for sure ask him more questions about it.
“Huh, yeah, I did.”
“Oh? Are you two playing that fossil hunting game I’ve seen online a few times?” Saki asked. She had overheard a couple of things Tsukasa and Toya had discussed about this game they were hiding from her, so she had done a bit of research regarding those bits and pieces she had heard.
“Maybe. I mean, that’s all Toya’s having me do so far is making me run around looking for fossils.”
“Hehe, Toya-kun, you should let your boyfriend do something else.”
“I’ll allow him to do something else once we collect three fossils for my museum.” Toya chuckled, wrapping his arm back around Akito’s shoulders, feeling a bit more comfortable after the initial tension.
“Haha, bit of an odd number, but okay. Anyway, I found it. Bye, Shinonome-kun, might see ya at dinner if you’re staying over for that.”
“I am not going to be that close to Tsukasa-senpai if I can help it,” Akito muttered, digging up the final fossil he needed for Toya. Unhappy with his partner’s response, especially in front of Saki, Toya pulled on Akito’s ear, earning a yelp from the ginger. Toya gave a quick, subtle, satisfied smirk before turning his attention back to the game.
Saki was completely fed up at this point. No matter how many times she tried to ask about the game Toya and seemingly Tsukasa were playing recently, they would dance around the question. The closest she had gotten was the conversation she had with Akito when he was playing with Toya. She was sick of being left out, so she was finally going to confront her brothers about it.
She opened the door to her bedroom, peeking out to the living room, where Toya and Tsukasa were setting something up on the TV. Their devices had been left on the couch, and they were fiddling with a similar one that was connected to the TV. Some of her favourite snacks were laid out on the couch and coffee table behind them, as though they were waiting for her. Curious, she approached them to see what they were doing.
“Oh, Saki-san, perfect timing!” Toya smiled, connecting the last wire to the device, “Can you press this button here then sit on the couch for us please?”
“Huh? I guess?” Saki pressed the button Toya had gestured towards. It was on a device that was similar to the ones she had seen the two of them playing on over the past few weeks, but without the controllers at either side.
She sat between her two brothers on the couch, Tsukasa handing her a controller, or rather a pair of controllers, one light pink and one light yellow, that were conjoined with a black connector that made it look and feel more like a typical gaming controller. It was then she noticed that both of her brothers also had different colours for their controllers – Toya had blue and orange, while Tsukasa had yellow and purple. The screen of the TV flickered to life, revealing a white screen with some news articles on one side and a prompt to press A to continue to a home screen. Was this…?
“That’s your cue to press A, Saki!” Tsukasa pointed out, as if the words weren’t in bold black writing on the screen.
Saki pressed the button labelled with the letter A, which led her to another screen, asking her to press the same button three times to unlock. She obeyed, pressing the A button three more times to unlock the device. She was greeted by a home screen with only one game available on her device.
“Animal Crossing? Wait, isn’t that a really popular game series?” She asked, pressing A again to select the game, revealing an account already created on the device with her name on it. She selected her account and waited for the game to load.
“Surprise!” Tsukasa cheered with a massive grin on his face, “Toya and I spent ages researching cosy games that the three of us could play together without risking your health, and this seemed to be the best contender.”
“Wait, but Toya-kun said the console wouldn’t allow us all to play together!”
“That was only half true,” Toya explained, “We can’t play together on the same console. That’s why we each have our own consoles. Once you set up your island, we can come visit you through your airport.”
“Really? I mean, I really wanted to build something with you guys, but I guess I can’t.”
“Don’t worry, once you get used to the controls and night comes, we can all go to sleep on our islands and set up a new feature called a dream island. It’ll allow us to make our own island that we can all collaborate on.”
“Yay! Let’s do it! Oh! The game is already loaded!”
Saki turned back to the screen to be faced with two brown tanukis, who introduced themselves as Timmy and Tommy and started asking her some basic questions. At some point, she was asked to create a character before returning to the questions. After finally finishing the questions, a cutscene played, and she finally loaded onto the island she had selected.
“Gah! I’m sorry, Saki. I completely forgot your airport wouldn’t be available on the first day!” Tsukasa whined, interrupting Saki’s game. He had completely forgotten until now that she would be very limited on her first day.
“Oh, well, I can still sleep, right?” Saki asked, concerned that there was going to be a fork in their path to playing together.
“I’m sure it’ll be possible, but if not, we can always try again tomorrow when your airport opens.” Toya pulled out his phone, looking nervously through articles to see if they’d have to cancel their plans entirely, “Oh, it looks like you’ll need the house before you can actually sleep. That means we’ll have to wait a few days while you progress through the game.”
Despite both her brothers looking dejected, Saki looked at both of them with a smile.
“Well, if that’s the case, how about you guys show me how to make the best island ever?” Saki asked, looking over at Toya’s device, which already had his island loaded up on the screen.
“Alright! Let’s make sure Saki’s island is the best island this game has ever seen!” Tsukasa stood up on the couch, projecting his voice so loud that the neighbours could probably hear him (Saki and Toya were not thrilled about the possibility of being asked if they had gotten a dog again, as was usually the case when Tsukasa got this loud).
“Okay, your first task will be to collect some fish or bugs,” Toya began explaining to Saki, using what he had learned from teaching Akito beforehand, “I would give you a stronger version of these tools if I could get to your island, but since I can’t, I’ll have to teach you how to make the flimsy version of them.”
Despite things seeming like they weren’t going to plan before, Saki was just glad she was finally able to see what was really going on with her brothers; they were planning to surprise her with a game that wouldn’t be too detrimental to her health by giving her any sudden frights or locking her in an intense scene. The more she played, the more she understood why they hid this from her for so long, and the more grateful she became to have brothers like them.