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Sometimes, I wonder if my grandpa has gone senile. Like today. He said, "Akira, I know you don't like playing with others, but can you spend some time with Eira-chan? Teach her how to play that tennis sport."

First of all.

"It's table tennis, not 'that tennis sport.'" I corrected him.

And secondly, haven't you already answered your own question, Grandpa? You should know by now that I'll say no to a side-quest like that.

Who is this Eira character anyway?

"Eira-chan is the Ocean Oasis's owner's cute granddaughter. You've seen her."

Oh. That little kid with the weird eyes and hair.

I didn't get a good look since I was busy playing on my Gameboy, but you call that cute?

She looks like a young grandma with her white hair. Or a vampire with her red eyes.

"I will give you extra pocket money if you play with her—"

"It's a deal!"

Cute or not, it doesn't matter now that there's money on the line.

I asked Grandpa to give me more details.

"So, when will she come? Today? Tomorrow? In the morning? Or are we the ones coming to her? That means we'll have to bring the table but how are we gonna do that—"

"Calm down, Akira. Eira is coming here, and she's coming soon." Grandpa Tonma pulled up the sleeves of his coat, revealing a watch underneath. "You will have enough time to play after I'm done with her check-up."

"Okay. But... how much money are you giving me exactly?"

Doctors like Grandpa Tonma earn a lot. He should be giving me plenty, but I still wanna know how much.

"Cheeky little boy. Ask me more questions and I'll lower your pay."

"Nevermind boss! I'll handle everything!"

I stopped bothering Grandpa Tonma.

To prepare for my upcoming playdate, I lightly wiped the dust off the table tennis table. When it reached a satisfactory level, I moved on to my racket, using a sponge to clean it until it felt like new.

Wait, I don't have another good racket like mine. Eira will have to use Grandpa's old and cheap racket. I guess I'll use another old racket when playing with her to keep things fair.

I cleaned all the other rackets. I don't want, uhh, what was her name again? Eira! I don't want Eira to whine about losing because her racket wasn't as good as mine. If she cries too much, Grandpa Tonma won't give me my money.

For Grandpa to resort to my services, this kid must have no friends.

Fine. I'll be this poor Eira's friend.

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*****

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Grandpa Hiroshi and I arrived at the doctor's clinic. I brought with me a Tupperware full of tuna onigiris. I made them myself and plan on eating them later. I'll give some to Doctor Tonma too.

The grandpas said their hellos upon seeing each other. Then, Doctor Tonma gestured to the girl beside him. Her dark hair and dark, maybe brown, eyes accentuated her fair complexion.

"This is my grandson. Introduce yourself."

...grandson?

No way. Isn't that a girl?

"Real life trap..."

I muttered in sheer awe of how something like him can exist in real life.

"Did you say something, Eira?"

"Nope, nothing important."

I've seen her—Ehem, him before.

Dr. Tonma and this kid ate in the Ocean Oasis twice. He was always looking down, too focused on playing games on his Gameboy as he absentmindedly shoved sushi rolls in his mouth.

The boy offered his hand to me.

"I'm Akira."

"Eira." I replied, shaking his hand.

However, Akira didn't let my hand go even after some time. Instead, he doubled down and grabbed me with his other hand as well...?

"Let's go."

"Woah?!"

Akira yanked me off my feet.

"Oi! Stop!"

I swallowed the urge to whack him in the head with my Tupperware. Where the hell was he taking me?!

Before he could drag me out the exit, Grandpa Hiroshi saved me by grabbing Akira by the scruff of his neck.

"Hey there, little fella. Where are you taking my granddaughter?"

"To the garage to play games," answered Akira with little delay.

"Well, have you asked her if she wants to play?"

"...no." Akira finally released his grip.

Is that what this was all about? Sheesh. So eager.

"Haaah... Sorry about that, Sasaki." With an audible sigh, Doctor Tonma offered an apology. "Don't mind Akira too much."

Smiling sheepishly, the doctor led us back to the clinic. I saw Akira sit in a nearby chair, staring at me like a hawk. Grandpa Hiroshi was in turn staring at him like a hawk.

What is up with that kid?

"Akira is eager to play with you. He doesn't have many friends. He's visiting the countryside, just like you are, so he doesn't know a lot of people." Dr. Tonma added with a helpless smile. "Maybe too eager..."

I see. Seeing how lonely he is, I don't really mind being this poor kid's friend since I have nothing to do.

Today's another weekend. The restaurant is closed, and Grandpa is gonna do his own thing again after my check-up. I don't have access to the internet nor is it as developed as the modern world so I have time to kill.

"It's okay, Grandpa Doctor. I want to play with Akira."

It'll probably take a few decades until I can watch some of the anime I know, and that's if they do get made since this is a different world... I basically have none of the entertainment I used to have.

I don't even know what the year is right now. Gameboys exist though since Akira has one, and those consoles were made after the two world wars, so at least I know I'm safe from a nuke jump scaring me...

"Grandpa Doctor, are we in Hiroshima?"

"Hiroshima? No, we're pretty far from there."

I just had to make sure.

...

..

.

..

...

A large table, with a net in the middle going from left to right, separated Akira and me. He wanted to play ping pong, so here we are in what I can only guess to be the garage. I just finished my check-up, so it was finally time to accompany Dr. Tonma's lonely grandchild.

Despite calling him a child, I think he's older than me. Physically, I mean. Girls usually grow earlier than boys, but Akira is a head taller than me, so we must have a few years between us. Mentally, I'm a decade older.

He twirled the wooden racket in his hand, revealing the contrasting, opposing sides of red and black rubber. I held a similar table tennis racket.

"Are these things supposed to be heavy?" I said.

"Nope. It must be your first time is all. Or you're just weak."

No need to rub it in. I know how weak I am compared to my prime. Sigh...

Akira pulled out a small, white ping pong ball from his pocket.

"Hit this ball to my side of the net with your racket to play."

"Okay. Easy enough."

"Let's warm up before we play a match. Let the ball bounce once, but don't let the ball bounce twice. Don't miss the table either or you lose. You ready?"

I nodded.

Akira hit the ball over the net and onto my side.

*Ping*

The ball was quite slow and high. I didn't find it a problem to slap it back.

*Pong*

However, I missed my shot. The ball hit a nearby wall before bouncing underneath the table.

"My bad. I'm not used to it yet."

Akira went on his knees to get the ball. When he got up, he pointed to his hand. More specifically, his hand holding the racket.

"Hold the racket like I do. Gives you better control."

I adjusted my grip to match his. Indeed he was right, my wrist had greater flexibility.

*Ping*

Akira served the ball again, and this time, I reciprocated. Before the ball could bounce a second time, I slid the racket under it and flicked my wrist.

*Pong*

I didn't miss this time. So did Akira. He easily returned my shot.

I just kept doing the same thing.

*Ping*    ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎    *Pong*  ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎      *Ping*    ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎    *Pong*  ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎      *Ping*    ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎    *Pong*    ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎    *Ping*  ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎      *Pong*    ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎    *Ping*      ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎  *Pong*    ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎    *Ping*      ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎  *Pong*  ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎      *Ping*    ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎    *Pong*‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎        *Ping*  ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎      *Pong*      ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎  *Ping*    ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎    *Pong*    ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎    *Ping*    ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎    *Pong*

The sound of the ball getting hit was kinda nice to the ears.

"You're not bad at all."

Out of nowhere, Akira complimented me.

"Thanks," I replied.

"I'll get more serious."

"Wha—"

Suddenly, the ping pong ball started landing near the edges of the table. It would land near the left edge, then on the next, it would land on the opposing side.

I had to run around chasing after the ball since my short kiddy arms had limited range. Not gonna lie, this is making me all winded up.

*Pong*

Finally, I messed up. With a hit too strong, the ball flew over the table.

Akira snatched the ball from mid-air. He then said, "Really not bad. Are you sure it's your first time playing? You lasted longer than I thought."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"I guess." Akira expressionlessly said.

See, when you say things while looking like your face doesn't mean it, people won't think that you mean it.

We had a few more backs and forth, falling into a nice rhythm. I grew accustomed to the sport. The trajectory of the ping pong ball became easier to predict with each return I made. I didn't need to frantically chase after it like I did just minutes before.

Reaction versus Proaction. Something like that.

Akira didn't make his shots harder to return either. Our game sort of stagnated.

Before Akira once again served the ball (I messed up because I started daydreaming), I asked him a question.

"Is this the best that you can do?"

"Huh?"

My sharp eyes caught the moment his expression cracked the slightest bit. I didn't mean to sound rude, but like, wasn't ping pong an Olympic sport? This slow-paced back-and-forth is getting boring.

But, then again, even though I described what we're doing as child's play, we are literally two children playing.

Akira's eyelids uncontrollably twitched, but they soon calmed down. In their place came narrowed eyes that looked mildly annoyed.

"You aren't that good yet," he said.

'So I'm holding him back?'

"Help me get better," I said.

But Akira crossed his arms. "...it's a waste of time."

Is that a challenge?

'Hoh? Are you challenging me? I might not have my Omniversal Body, but it doesn't mean my learning speed is inferior to that of any normal person.'

I verified it with my chopping skills. I've been helping with food prep in the Ocean Oasis for the past week despite having no prior experience.

I am kind of like a genius. As someone who used to be a normal 25-year-old otaku, I know for a fact that the way I am now, even without my Omniversal Body, is still pretty mind-blowing.

For crying out loud, I didn't cut myself with a knife, and I've never handled one in my life! I didn't have my cheat body to learn that skill! It's all thanks to Protogenoi-K. Even though it's been nerfed by a lot, the mental enhancements are still pretty useful in a normal world.

"That's fine. But why won't you do harder shots? I won't get better if you don't play harder," I added.

"...no."

"Tsk."

'I'll die of boredom if nothing changes,' I thought. My newfound motivation to escape this perpetually boring back-and-forth laid the foundation for the plans I started cooking in my head. I need something that will make Akira take me more seriously...

Hmm...?

I just had a great idea.

.

The two of us said nothing further. I waited for him to serve the ball.

*Ping*

As expected, the ball was far above the net and slow enough to predict. It was much higher than I could reach no thanks to you, stupid kiddy arms and legs.

Usually, I needed to wait for gravity to take hold and drag the ball down to enter my range. It's only then that I could slap it back. But instead of waiting for the ball, I bent my legs and jumped into the air.

The ball finally entered my range. It was within arm's reach.

*PONG!*

And with a massive swing, I slapped that bad boy as hard as possible!

The ball became a white smudge that traveled faster than I could follow. Since I smacked the ball at its highest point, the chances of it hitting the net are low.

However, it was my first time making such a shot. My chances of landing it were even lower.

"!"

But luck was on my side! The ball loudly bounced on Akira's side of the table.

'There's no way he can hit that back! It's my win!'

Everything was going according to keikaku!

*Ping*

"Eh?"

Before my feet could even touch the ground, the ping pong ball landed back on my side...?

I looked at my opponent. Akira wore a smug look on his face.

"Why so serious? We're just warming up," he said, nonchalantly.

"You hit the ball back?!"

"It's not that hard."

What do you mean by "It's not that hard?!"

'I hit it like I was spiking with a volleyball! It's a miracle it even went in! But you hit it back?!'

Lucky shot. That must be it. Akira got lucky.

"Anyway, it looks like I'm not the only one bored out of my mind by playing so slowly." He continued. "Eira-chan, can you please serve the ball?"

Since Akira returned my shot, the ball was on my side, closest to me.

Uhh, why does it feel like he's about to get more serious than he already was?

I should be feeling good about myself since Akira is finally getting serious, but why do I feel like I'm in danger...

Oh. I get what he's trying to do.

"I don't wanna serve."

He's going to copy what I did and smash the ball.

No thank you. If he smashed the ball, I don't have a System to automatically block it in case it headed straight for my face. It will definitely leave a mark.

"But it's part of the game. You'll have to serve eventually," insisted Akira with a pout.

"I don't feel like playing anymore."

"...calm down. Just think about money, think about the money..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing," said Akira. "You win. I'll serve. Pass the ball over."

"Phew."

Crisis averted.

"As long as you promise to keep playing with me, I'll serve the ball as much as you want."

Hah! Kids these days! Are you that desperate for a friend?

"I'll promise that if you also won't smash or hit me with the ball."

"Okay."

"Then I promise. I'll be your playmate."

"Every week?"

"Yup. Why not? At least until summer break is over."

"No matter what?"

Uhh, this took a weird turn. But sure...?

"Yup."

Then Akira extended his hand, revealing his pinky.

'Oh, he wants me to pinky swear on it. Alright then.' With those thoughts, I locked pinkies with him.

"Pinky swear, whoever lies will be made to swallow a thousand needles."

Akira, that's a bit too ominous for my taste.

"It's just a saying," he added. My bewilderment must have shown on my face.

Anyway. Crisis averted.

I passed the ball to him since I didn't need to serve anymore.

Akira caught it, his face taking on a far more serious look.

"...?"

He used to stand up straight, maybe a little slouched, but now his knees were slightly bent, feet far apart, arms steady and stern.

"Warm-up is over. Let's start the match."

My instincts flared. Akira tossed the ping pong ball up.

*Ping*

The ball bounced to my side. When I was about to smack it, I noticed that something was off.

I didn't have much time to think about what it was.

*Pong*

I received the ball the same way I've been doing from the start.

But the ping pong ball that should have gone forward inexplicably bounced to the side.

"..."

The ball fell to the floor, bouncing up and down before coming to a stop near Akira's feet.

"...How did you do that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb! How did you do THAT?"

"I dunno what you're talking about..."

Wow.

You're kinda petty, huh.

...

It took a while, but I eventually managed to return one of his so-called "spin serves." By then, it was lunch, and I felt super hungry.

*Nom nom*

I munched on the tuna onigiri I had brought with me. The cool, crispy texture of the seaweed, the soft rice, and the toppings were just right.

"Here. Have some."

Since I made eight, I offered one to Akira.

"Thanks."

He took a bite.

"Blegh!"

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"It's so salty! How can you eat this?!" Akira's face seemingly went green.

Ah. I probably messed up the ingredient ratios. Well, it's not like I can adjust the taste through trial and error.

"Oops."

"Are you trying to poison me?!"

"That's taking it a bit too far. I wouldn't poison anybody!"

I took another bite from my food. Akira stared at my actions in disbelief.

"Crazy," he muttered, before leaving the garage and walking into another section of the house. For a bit of time, I was left to enjoy my own company. It was after a few minutes that he returned with an item in hand.

It was his Gameboy.

Akira started playing, clearly enthusiastic. He wasn't that lively when he was playing table tennis with me.

"Are you playing Tetris?"

"Yeah. Do you have a Gameboy too?"

"No, but I've played this game before."

I watched Akira build a tower of blocks and demolish it into the ground. As he kept repeating the same actions, his score rose higher and higher and so did the difficulty.

He died on the 12th level, achieving a score of around 120,000. If I'm remembering correctly, my high score on an online Tetris website without hold was around 40,000. Achieving three times that amount is seriously impressive.

"Can I play too?"

"No. Get your own."

Akira started another round of Tetris, this time with a higher starting level. His points rapidly rose.

"Where can I buy a Gameboy?"

Money wasn't the problem. Grandpa Hiroshi gave me a salary of 5% of how much money we make in a day. Since we've been getting a lot of customers, and those customers also give me some pocket money, I'm basically loaded (for a child).

"...I don't know. Grandma Miki gave it to me as a gift."

Grandma Miki? She sounds familiar...

"Where's your Grandma Miki right now?"

"With my uncles. They do food delivery or something for a living. Ask her where she got my Gameboy from when she comes back later."

"Hmmm..."

I can buy a Gameboy once I meet Akira's grandma. Since I don't have one right now...

"Akira, let me have a turn too."

"No."

"Come on. Don't be selfish. Just for one round?"

"No. Keep eating your onigiri and watch."

Akira was adamant. I was even more so.

While pestering the little game addict, Doctor Tonma strolled into the garage. "Hey there kids. Everything alright?"

"Hello, Grandpa Doctor. We're resting. Ping pong is much harder than I thought."

"Ohoho, I know the feeling. Akira is really good, isn't he? He's being coached by this famous ping pong group near his house every week. It's near where he lives in the city though, not out here in the countryside. "

"That explains a lot." I nodded in understanding. "Grandpa Doctor, do you want an onigiri? I made it myself."

Doctor Tonma smiled. "Oh, sure! Thank you, Eira-chan..."

"Wait, Grandpa don't eat that—" Akira tried to warn him. He was too late.

"Bleghiuohegjd!"

I confirmed that Akira wasn't being a picky eater. I just had to make sure.