Seijun: A Girl's Bygone Days

A Never-ending Rivalry… Or Is It? Part 2

Ah, so Noemi had a hidden fiery side, huh?

Guess this was her way of breaking stereotypes regarding people who have the same innocent, pure-looking personality as her.

Anyway, I look forward to the continuation of the story of Noemi the fighting game prodigy... after I get through another day of school, that is.

Six o'clock then begins, and Harumi continues the tale with her usual gusto.

***

The road to become a master was not an easy one to take, as I expected.

But I didn't mind getting my delicate fingers getting all blistered or my eyes always glued to the screen all the time.

Determination. Fortitude.

And taking enough rest in between these grueling training sessions.

I carried on those sessions with only these three in mind.

In just three months, I believed I could take on pretty much everyone.

Age didn't matter. Gender didn't matter. Social status didn't matter.

What mattered were fair fights, with no hints of unethical deception.

And then, I did it.

I proved myself by winning a small informal tournament being held at the usual arcade.

People would drop their jaws at the fact that a demure woman like me rose up the ranks of the fighting game world, despite never having any prior tournament experience.

In just two months, I racked up win after win in several small-scale tournaments, while also maintaining my good academic standing.

My gradual ascension in the fighting game world continued, and I expected the attention of other notable tournament players.

Especially that one girl.

As a veteran who has mastered her chops with her favored character, a pirate named Whitebeard, I wanted to prove that pirates rule in the pirates versus ninjas debate that spilled onto the offline space – especially to a fierce rival of mine, another fighting game veteran named Yurina Ogami, whose preferred character is a ninja named Ryugamaru.

Both Whitebeard and Ryugamaru are characters in the hottest fighting game in town, Brawler's History.

Basically, fighters from different timelines bash each other's heads off for a shot of immortality granted by a higher entity, the Eternal Brawler.

Yurina and I have crossed paths several times before in tournaments – but not actually fighting against each other. We just observed each other's weaknesses in our skills and concocted ways to take advantage of them.

And eventually, in one famous tournament, we have crossed paths for the first time. We already knew each other's strengths and weaknesses, though we didn't want to expose them to each other for the sake of surprise.

The grand finals started, and we have already selected our preferred characters. It was a one-round match.

I let myself get pummeled to a sliver of health by my rival – but that was just one way of tricking her.

Since blocking any more attacks would kill me due to chip damage, I decided to exploit one less-known game mechanic: Parrying. Parrying may be risky due to the delicate timing required to successfully deflect any attack, but the reward is great.

And so, when Ryugamaru unleashed his super move, Teimetsu Ryuhazan (Empire-Destroying Dragon Wave s***h, which is a furious series of slashes), Whitebeard did the normally impossible: Parrying every hit of the super move. Whitebeard then immediately countered with the Hyper Privateer Cannon – his super move – and Ryugamaru was knocked out.

The audience roared upon seeing this unexpected comeback that I have made.

And when I was formally handed the championship prize, I whispered to my rival, Ms. Ogami the second-placer, “Heh. I prove that pirates rule! Yarr!”

“Don’t be cocky, missy. I’ve now known of your super-secret technique, so next time, ninjas will rule!” she responded.

A modest girl like me, able to spew such fighting words? Yes, I did change over the span of a few months.

And yes, I was back to the old “I take myself too seriously” self... but only in games this time.

I'm still in my usual chirpy self.

Some months later, the next tournament started, and she and I were once again pitted against each other for the grand finals.

I took heed of Yurina's advice not to become too cocky – but my overconfidence still got me in the end. Why was that? In the one-round match, I was able to whittle down her health to just less than five percent. To finish the match victorious, I resorted to a cheap tactic – projectile spamming – but my rival unexpectedly dodged the projectiles by leaping into the air, and then unleashed a continuous series of weak and strong attacks that ended in her character's Teimetsu Ryuhazan. Because I was overwhelmed, I never had the chance to parry Ryugamaru's long attack chain.

That comeback all happened in the span of fifteen seconds. And Whitebeard was knocked out, obviously.

When my rival received the championship trophy, she whispered to me, “Ninjas don't brag about their victory unlike your boisterous pirates. Arrogance led you to your doom.”

“Yeah, yeah. You won this time, so we're now even. Next time we meet... something wonderful will happen.”

Some more months later… we have crossed paths once more in another tournament, which pitted the best competitors in the entire prefecture. It was the finals, and unlike the previous two matches of ours, this one-round match bestowed a huge sum of cash to the ultimate victor.

This high-stakes match really motivated us to do our best – every trick we did in our books was fervently applied, coupled with our ultimate goals of dominance of our preferred characters, the pirate and the ninja.

In the end, our health bars were reduced to one percent each, which raised the audience's tension even higher. The audience thought that with just one teeny weenie final blow, our rivalry would be settled once and for all.

I jumped in for the kill with an aerial special move, the Lacerating Falcon – but my rival brought out a relatively unknown anti-air super move, the Akuja no Yumi (Evil Snake's Bow) in a split second.

Since the Akuja no Yumi quickly strikes at a very short range, and Ryugamaru is very vulnerable while performing this – Whitebeard's Lacerating Falcon hit the ninja. But the single yet powerful arrow from the Akuja no Yumi hit the pirate at his very unfortunate moment, because he just finished his attack. The two attacks were inflicted at exactly the same time.

The result? A double KO. A draw.

The audience couldn't believe their eyes at the turnout of the match. But still, they still cheered for the both of us, since they believed we both did our best.

Since the finals match ended in a draw, the prize money was not awarded. Instead, we were given impromptu certificates of appreciation.

My rival and I whispered to each other upon receiving the certificates:

“I guess the pirates versus ninjas debate was made moot by what we did.”

“We brought out our best and our worst, and coincidentally, they canceled each other out.”

“So… we'll let go of our rivalry. How about it, Noemi?”

“Sure, Yurina.”

And so, within our fighting game circuit – and even to the ordinary townspeople of Sango-minato – the pirates versus ninjas topic was no longer discussed out of respect for us, who carried our characters with grace.

And the former fierce rivals became the best of friends.

It doesn't matter if you're a pirate or a ninja. What matters is how you deliver your gusto, your passion – to advance through life.

***

“And before I forget, Yurina was also the woman who was the cause of Noemi's 'breast awakening'.”

“Harumi, explain.”

“Ever since that day, the two happily shared some more fun facts about themselves. Yurina explained that she was a bit shocked that the one who bumped into her and her busty mounds back at the department store was none other than the fast-rising fighting game prodigy, Noemi. She confessed that she started to stalk her – and fortunately, that stalking was no more beyond wide-eyed stares at her whenever she went to the arcade.”

“And... I recall that Noemi and Yurina also attended the same school, but they were on different levels.”

“Yes. Yurina was in Grade 12, while you and Noemi were in Grade 9. So that means she is technically the senpai of you both.”

“Yup. And then... I also recall that Noemi was aghast when she learned that right after Yurina's graduation ceremony, she mysteriously disappeared. Both from the fighting game community and this town. She wasn't warned of it beforehand.”

“And then... after a few years, Yurina posted a private message to Noemi on a social media platform. It went like this: 'Hi, Noemi. Remember me, your one-time rival at Brawler's History? Guess what, I went home and become a family woman (yeah, pretty blatant reference there). I'm now a proud wife and mother to a healthy baby boy. And now that you know the truth... please don't add me as a friend on social media. Nothing beats the feeling of us old friends actually meeting offline every now and then. And before you ask, I didn't go that far. I now live in the nearby town of Kohaku-hama. Come visit me anytime, old friend!'”

“Ha ha. Indeed, what a small world we live in. We may never know whom we bump into one day.”

“It's just fate playing its little tricks on us. And yes, it's already 6:59 pm. We might as well end our storytelling session early. So then... see you again tomorrow.”

“Yup. Tomorrow.”

That reminds me...

I might have to pay a visit to the arcade this weekend, and have my own try at the fighting games on offer there, even though I know I will suck at them.

It's one little way of honoring Noemi.