Battle of the Brave - Chapter 4

[iridesenescence]

Location: Shopping Mall

Hinata: We've finally reached the mall. I'll go check the directory to see where we can find mountain climbing gear, so Sora-kun and Anzu-senpai, wait here for a bit, okay?

Sora: Okay, Sora's got it! Sora and Anzu will be good and wait for Hina-chan to return~

Hinata: Directory, directory…

Ah, here it is. Let's see, the location of the shop selling mountain gear is…

Makoto Oh, hey, Hinata-kun! What a coincidence to meet you here; are you shopping too?

Hinata: Ooh, it's Yuuki-senpai! Hello!

I'm accompanying Sora-kun and Anzu-senpai to purchase mountain climbing gear! Based on how excited you are, Yuuki-senpai, could it be that there's a fun campaign being held here~?

Makoto: Yeah, I'd say it's pretty fun! I heard a new game got released, and this mall happens to be selling it, so I rushed over. I was just about to queue to buy it.

Sorry Hinata-kun, how about we talk later? I gotta go queue up before I miss the chance to buy the game. Say hi to Sora-kun and Anzu for me!

Hinata: Sure. Bye, Yuuki-senpai!

Makoto: See ya, Hinata-kun!

Hinata: A new game? Yuuki-senpai left too quickly, so I forgot to ask what game it was. Hmm, lemme think, what games released recently?

Ah, I got it! It's the sequel to that game Sora-kun and I were playing earlier! I can't believe I forgot about that, I've gotta go back and tell Sora-kun!

Sora-kun, Anzu-senpai, I'm back~

I found out where the mountain climbing gear shop is, and I coincidentally met Yuuki-senpai too~

Sora: Wah, Hina-chan saw Yuuki-sensei~? What is Yuuki-sensei~ here for?

Hinata: Well, this and that happened… And then Yuuki-senpai left.

Sora: Wah, so the sequel was released… Sora wants to buy it too, but Sora has to go buy mountain climbing gear, and when we're done buying the gear it might be sold out…

"It's fine", you say? We can go have a look at the games shop first, since buying mountain climbing gear shouldn't take long?

Really? Thank you, Anzu! Let's go!

Hinata: Uwah! What's with the huge crowd gathered around the games shop, did something happen here?! I heard someone mention Yuuki-senpai's name too… Don't tell me he got involved in some kind of violent situation?! Agh, I've gotta go in and check…

You're looking a little uncomfortable, Anzu-senpai, maybe you should wait here for now. It'd be pretty dangerous for you to get pushed around by the crowd, and if you got into an accident or something, I wouldn’t know what to tell everyone…

You agree to wait? Alright then. Don't worry, I'll tell you everything about the situation in there once I'm back.

Sora-kun, let's go in and take a look.

Sora: Okay~ Anzu, make sure to be good and wait out here!

Hinata: 'Scuse me, please let us through…

Ah, sorry for stepping on you.

Whew, we finally made it in. It feels like we just got through a maze.

So everyone was just watching others play the newly released game… There wasn't any violent incident at all.

Wow, this guy has skill… His movements on the controller are so smooth that my eyes can't keep up at all -- no wonder there's so many people gathered around to watch.

Wait a sec, this person looks familiar… Isn't this Yuuki-senpai?!

Hey~ Yuuki-senpai~♪

Makoto: ? Is someone calling my name?

Oh, it's Hinata-kun! Weren't you guys going to buy mountain climbing gear?

Hinata: Since we heard about the new game releasing, Anzu-senpai agreed to let us come take a look first. By the way, Yuuki-senpai, your skills just now were incredible!

Makoto: Ahaha, thanks for the high praise. Hinata-kun, do you want to play too? This game feels way more satisfying to play than the previous version. They added a bunch of new monsters too, so the difficulty level has gone up as well!

I checked with the boss, and he said he still has some stock left. It just so happens that he's letting people demonstrate the gameplay today, so if we do a good job, he might reserve a copy of the game for us~

Besides, with a great game like this, it'd be a huge waste to not grab the chance to play~

Hinata: Wah, really? A chance to team up with Yuuki-senpai? That’s awesome!

Makoto: Look, the boss is nodding and saying it's ok. Let's do it~♪

Hinata: Playing in front of this many people kind of feels like a performance…

I've gotta take this seriously — after all, I did get invited to play by Yuuki-senpai~

Sora: Phew, Sora finally managed to get in~ Oh? Is that Hina-chan playing together with Yuuki-sensei~?

What's going on here? But it's probably not a good idea to disturb them now, so Sora will stand aside and watch.

Hinata: Just as you'd expect, the sequel is a huge step up from the original! But I shouldn't keep Anzu-senpai waiting for too long. Yuuki-senpai, I'm going to take my leave now…

Uh? The boss just came running over looking really happy?

The gameplay demo that Yuuki-senpai and I did was really thrilling, so you'll reserve a copy of the game for each of us, but you want me to play for a little longer, you say?

Mm… I'm really grateful, but that puts me in a tight spot...

Sora: Hina-chan~♪, what happened?

Oh, Sora gets it! Hina-chan, you can keep playing then! Sora and Anzu will go buy the mountain climbing gear — that way none of us will be held up~

There's so many people watching you perform that Sora's actually a little jealous~ Keep doing your best!

Hinata: But… I feel bad…

Sora: So that's what we'll do~ Sora's gonna head off~

Anzu, Sora's back! Let's go buy the mountain climbing equipment first~ Hina-chan has something more important to do right now!

Your confusion is written all over your face~ Sora will explain as we walk!

This should be the store for mountain climbing gear! Sora’s gonna select the equipment now~

Oh, this suits Sora! With this weapon, Sora is even more like a hero, HuHu~

"Waving the hiking stick around is dangerous", you say? Okay, Sora will stop~

Ah, Anzu, you're buying backpacks and drinks too? Wow, there are so many things needed for mountain climbing~

Hinata: Sora-kun, Transfer Student-senpai, I'm back~ Sorry to have kept you waiting.

Oh, are you both already done shopping? I've bought something fun too~

I was supposed to accompany you guys while you were shopping, but ended up running off and playing on my own… Please take this as a token of my apology!

Sora: This is the newly released game! Hina-chan, isn’t this what the boss reserved for you? Are you really giving it to Sora? Sora’s really happy~!

Hinata: After we finished playing, the boss happily told us that our demo was more effective publicity than the store’s advertisements, so he’s even asking us to demo-play for future games too. Sora-kun, I’ll bring you with me next time~ ♪

Anzu-senpai, I bought something for you too~ I spent lots of time trying to get it, which is why I only managed to catch up to you guys now... I hope you’ll forgive me!

You’re saying there’s no need to apologise? Even so, please accept this! Or my conscience won’t be able to rest easy!

Chapter 3 || Chapter 5