"Hey... Look, I don't know how you knew the name of the game but it doesn't matter" said Mitsuru. Waiting for an answer that didn't come, he couldn't help but look at the other with concern. He was left wondering what to say and decided to try again.
"Most likely I forgot just as you say, otherwise it wouldn't make sense. Or maybe you saw the game box? Daitaro, it's okay..."
"It's not that, it's just..." Daitaro replied with effort.
"Woof! Woof!"
At the barks that he perceived as ones expressing worry, Daitaro looked up and smiled warmly at him.
"Don't worry, Hachi, I'm fine," the boy said as he now shifted to look somewhat downcast.
"Is it the deja vu feeling again?” Masaru asked, apparent curiosity in his voice. Daiki and Mitsuru looked intrigued by this but decided not to comment anything for the moment.
"No...” Daitaro muttered as he then laughed briefly and looked at the tower of pancakes. "On the contrary, I feel like I forgot something."
With that said, the children fell silent. An awkward silence reigned over them for a few seconds, this, until they watched Daitaro serve himself a pancake and start eating. They were grateful for this, for they could imitate him and eat in silence. Mitsuru looked at his console, and just after turning off the screen, he set about eating.
Aware that he had made things awkward with his brother, Daitaro tried to remedy the situation as soon as he regained his composure.
"Mitsuru, what's that game about?"
"Hm?"
"I'm curious as to why you're liking it."
"So you don't know what it's about?"
"No, hence why I asked" Daitaro replied with a smile. Mitsuru was left thinking. He looked at him suspiciously for a moment, as he didn't know if he would be lying, but... Strangely he thought he was being sincere.
"Well, it's a survival game in which the characters have to be careful not to eat too much."
"What? That sounds really stupid" Daiki commented unable to believe that something like that had his brother anchored to the screen.
"And you're not wrong that it sounds like that, but, it's more complicated than it sounds" said Mitsuru "In most survival games, the key is to find food to survive, but..., in this one, the difficulty is in deciding the right time to eat, because as you give them food, the characters keep asking you for more and more"
"Huh?" Masaru arched an eyebrow upon hearing that. He wasn't a video game nut like his brother, but... He had to admit that sounded pretty weird.
"Yeah, let's just say the more food you give them, the more food they need, the more food they ask you for and managing their actions becomes harder" Mitsuru commented. "It's strange but I think it's interesting"
“And can’t you win the game if you just don't feed them?" asked Daiki.
"It's not that simple, otherwise I would have beaten the game yesterday" Mitsuru gave him an expression equivalent to calling him 'dumb'. "But it makes sense that you would come to that obvious conclusion."
"Hey..." Daiki understood the implication and looked at him angrily. "It may be obvious but didn't you try to do that?"
"No, since when you start the game you can tell they need food. Although they can last a day or more without eating and nothing happens to them, so yes it can fool the more naive. By this I mean that it is normal for one to believe that it is necessary to be feeding them."
"And can’t you beat the game on those days where the characters don't eat?"
"It's difficult, since energy is required for the characters to beat the monsters... So if none of them eat, then no one can beat them and you end up dying from starvation or by being killed by one of the monsters"
"...Hm, what about only one being the one to eat, is that possible?" suggested Daitaro.
"Yeah, that's what I'm doing actually" said Mitsuru "I'm just interested in the story so it's not like I want to make my life harder by trying to find a better way."
"Isn't that the best way then?" Masaru asked as he chewed. Mitsuru shook his head.
"In theory it's the most logical. There are six characters, so if one is the one eating to take down the monsters... The remaining five are saved and you don't get overwhelmed with food distribution and demand. You have one begging for food and it's easy to cater to his need for food, but..."
"But...?"
"Let's just say, that one gets wilder when attacking and that makes them lose life faster" Mitsuru replied turning to Daitaro. "He defeats monsters faster but his life bar drops..., so by resorting to this, you end up sacrificing one character for the sake of the others" he explained "There must be some way for everyone to survive without one as a player being overwhelmed by the demand for food..., but it's easier to sacrifice one so the others can live and I can enjoy the story" he concluded satisfied.
"Eh... So you're taking the easy way?” Daiki questioned "I thought you had more determination than that?"
"Easy? Do you have any idea of that character's noble sacrifice? It will be easy for anyone who hears about it, but it must not be easy to decide to give up your own life to defend others” Mitsuru explained satisfied with his explanation. "So I make a tormenting and difficult choice..., being more efficient with my time and getting to see the end as soon as possible. I don't want to be glued to the game all my life nor am I interested in unlocking everything 100%."
"Eh... What a lousy gamer you are," Daiki said. Mitsuru nodded.
"I can always watch the other endings on the internet or play it again months later."
"...Hm, so you do that since you're interested in knowing the ending” Daitaro concluded after hearing everything. Mitsuru nodded.
"I think anything goes as long as you get to the end and have known the story. If your choice leads you to the true ending or you find a way to resolve it that doesn't take so many sacrifices, that should be best."
"That still sounds like you're trying to justify your lazy way of playing" said Masaru "I think it's kind of cruel to sacrifice someone just to save you time."
"Masaru, it's a video game, what does it matter? I care more about not wasting my time on unnecessary things."
"You playing that is already wasting your time on something unnecessary" said Daiki. Mitsuru folded his arms and looked at him suspiciously.
"Oh yeah? What would you do if you had to play? How would you beat the game taking into account what I told you?"
"I don't know and I don't care" said Daiki "I'm just saying that your words don't make sense with what you do."
"Heh, I figured you wouldn’t come up with anything better" replied the blond with a mischievous grin. "My dumb brother doesn't even want to try to resolve the situation, haha, you're just like that character who survives at the expense of others."
"Just because I don't want to think about your stupid game doesn't make me someone that survives at someone's expense!" exclaimed Daiki annoyed. "Besides, you're the one who's saving five characters by deciding to sacrifice someone!"
"At least this way five survive, how many would you save? Surely they'd all die on you"
"...Mitsuru, I still don't think killing someone off is the answer..." said Masaru.
" Clearly it's not, as I rightly said, there must be another way but I'm not interested in wasting my time finding it."
"...So you did try but you couldn't" concluded Daitaro while looking thoughtful. Mitsuru was silent for a few seconds before looking away and closing his eyes in indignation.
"I said I don't want to waste my time thinking about it!"
"Eh..." Masaru and Daiki smirked in realization. They shared glances that contained their urge to laugh.
"So you're really just stupid," Daiki said. Masaru let out a chuckle before they both laughed loudly.
"Hey, don't laugh!” Mitsuru exclaimed as he now looked at Daitaro with complaint. The red-haired boy looked at the others laughing, for which he apologized immediately after.
"I didn't mean to rat you out... I'm sorry."
"You're not helping!"
"Mitsuru, what a sore loser you are!” Masaru exclaimed. Daiki nodded vigorously.
"I bet you were nothing but dying over and over again until you came up with hiding behind a character."
"That's not true!" Mitsuru pouted before falling silent, as he thought he was just adding fuel to the fire.
"Hey, don't laugh so hard at Mitsuru..."
"Daitaro, what would you do then?"
“Huh?"
"Since you brought this on, answer, how would you beat the game?” Mitsuru asked spitefully.
"I..." Daitaro pondered this. "Maybe I would do the same as you."
"Haha...Huh?" Daiki and Masaru stopped laughing upon hearing this. It was such a foreign answer to what Daitaro would say that they were now looking at him very strangely.
"Daitaro...would you likewise be so cruel as to sacrifice one of your own for the sake of saving yourself?” Masaru asked.
"I didn't imagine you were on the same level as Mitsuru."
"I know you are having fun saying that, but, that's not the situation” Mitsuru said. The other two ignored him while they waited for Daitaro's answer.
"Well... It's just that I would probably use the main character for that sacrifice, you’re usually allowed to put your name on them, right?” Daitaro asked. Mitsuru nodded.
"If they let you name them, I think that's what I would do. I think if anyone should be the sacrifice, it's the player."
"Hm, makes sense within Daitaro's personality" Daiki said sounding satisfied. "What about you, did you sacrifice the protagonist?"
At the question, Mitsuru averted his gaze and kept silent.
"Coward" Masaru said.
"Chicken" Daiki added.
"Alright... I don't intend to stick around for gratuitous insults..." Mitsuru stood up in an attempt to leave the kitchen.
"Where are you going? It's your turn to do the dishes along with Daiki" Daitaro said as he saw the other pick up the pace.
"Hey, don't run away!” Masaru exclaimed as he ran after him. Daiki watched the scene but preferred to keep eating. Daitaro looked at him curiously. [Story being posted on Tapas, inkspired and scribblehub by Enthriex]
"Aren't you planning to run too?"
"I'd rather finish breakfast, I don't plan to wash the dishes anyway."
"What? But..."
"Leaving that aside, you'd better explain to me why you think sacrificing the protagonist is the most appropriate thing to do."
"...?" Daitaro looked at him questioningly; however, he caught on soon after. "You mean Mitsuru's game..."
"Yes, what you said caught my attention."
"But didn't you just say that the answer was something you expected from me?"
"No, I said it made sense because of the way you are, but... I don't understand, you think it's the best because it's the easiest?"
"Not that it's easier, but...From what Mitsuru said, I got the impression that the rest of the team suffers when they are begging for food."
"Why would you think they're suffering?"
"Well…, because Mitsuru said that the ones in the team are fine without eating but the more food you give them, the more food they need" Daitaro explained "I figured that maybe they feel hungry faster, so giving them more food just makes them become a bottomless pit..."
"Hmm..., yeah, I guess that makes sense" Daiki replied as he pondered about this.
"It's like when you drink soda to quench your thirst but it only causes you to get thirstier” Daitaro said while smiling "If I put myself in the protagonist's shoes..., I wouldn't want to see my team members suffer from needing more and more food. Besides, I don't know how feasible it is to stop feeding them once you start..., but it sounded like that's not possible due to the demand."
"I see, though... Wouldn't you rather think about how to save the protagonist?"
"Hm?"
“Listening to you irritates me a bit, since it sounds like you would sacrifice yourself without much thought" Daiki said as he looked troubled at his food. "I don't like to hear you talking like that."
"Haha, Daiki, we're just talking about a game, you don't have to worry."
"I know, but... I'd like you to at least think of an alternative where you can be okay."
"Daiki..."
"No one wants you to sacrifice yourself, so don't do it."
Daitaro smiled warmly at the comment. He was touched to hear his brother worried.
"You sure took that seriously huh. Don't worry, I couldn't do that" Daitaro said "I'd have to lose my mind as to resort to something so extreme."
Daiki eyed him suspiciously before frowning and returning his attention to his food.
“Think about how the others feel, you idiot."
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to make you feel bad, Daiki" Daitaro looked a little regretful as he saw that his twin had taken what he had said very personally.
"I don't feel bad, it just makes me angry" Daiki said "So you'd better think of a solution other than that."
Daitaro thought about this for a moment before smiling somewhat mockingly.
"I will if you agree to do the dishes."
Immediately, Daiki went from looking conflicted with himself to looking at his brother in disbelief.
"...Mitsuru, wait for me!" Daiki shouted as he ran off just to avoid doing the dishes. Daitaro was taken aback for a moment. His brother sure could run fast when he wanted to.
The redhead closed his eyes seconds later and reflected on the earlier conversation. In a way he was thankful that Daiki had run off, because... Even if he mulled it over, he couldn't think of any other option. So, perhaps…
There was no other way but that.
