Shintarou Kisaragi & Takane Enomoto

Let's Play

Author's Note: This was a request I received on tumblr for a ShinTaka RPG AU that became much more involved than I had originally planned. I am not sure how long it will be, but I am assuming it will just be a two part thing. Thank you for reading!

"Shut up already! You're so annoying!"

"Like you're one to talk, you arrogant asshole!"

"There they go again…" Ayano sighed, deciding it was too noisy to concentrate on her barely started math homework. She had given up her forced smile for the moment, figuring there was no point trying to calmly settle whatever argument the two of them were in today. They were as fiery and unnecessarily loud as ever, and whatever they were disputing over was remarkably trivial.

"They certainly are lively," Haruka laughed quietly, amused by how similar they were and how much conflict that brought between them.

"Tch! Whatever, I don't need to be here anyway," Shintarou grumbled, grabbing his bag and leaving.

"Wh- Shintarou, w-wait!" Ayano called out, quickly gathering her things and leaving after him, knowing she wouldn't be able to convince him past his own stubbornness to come back. "I'm really sorry, you two. I guess the study session ends early today." And with that she followed after her angry classmate.

Takane sighed loudly as she plopped down in her chair. Her head was pounding from getting so upset, and by this point she didn't exactly remember or care what the fight had been about. She was just glad Shintarou left. Just his presence got her blood boiling, and even the slightest thing could set the two of them off.

"You and Shintarou fight a lot," Haruka finally mentioned, ending a rather long silence that Takane didn't even notice.

She sighed loudly. Just the mention of his name ticked her off. "Yes, isn't that rather obvious?"

"It's sort of sad is all," he muttered, almost as if he wasn't speaking to her anymore and was just speaking his mind.

"What do you mean by that?" While she would have loved to change the topic to anything other than the bane of her existence, she couldn't help but be curious.

"Well, you two have so much in common. You're both very stubborn and hot headed-"

"Hey!" she quickly snapped.

"See?" he added with a giggle before continuing. "You both very good at games, and you're both pretty smart. It's kind of sad that you don't get along because you would probably be good friends if you did."

"Hmph, yeah right," Takane scoffed, leaning back and sliding on her headphones that had until now been hanging around her neck. "Haven't you heard the saying 'opposites attract'?"

"Hmmm, yeah, but in math and science two negatives make a positive, and you and Shintarou are good at both of those subjects!" He smiled at her, causing a quick blush to hit her cheeks. She couldn't believe he was actually implying her and Shintarou would be good together. The very idea was so ridiculous she forgot to laugh about it. Without another word, she turned on her music and tuned him out, though by now he was finished talking anyways and had returned to his drawing.

"I'm home," Takane called out, entering through the front door of her house and taking off her shoes.

"Welcome home," her grandmother called back from the kitchen.

She went to her room as soon as she arrived. Upon entering her room, she threw herself onto her bed. She was exhausted, but she didn't intend to sleep like she did so often in class. Instead she reached for her laptop and hastily turned it on. She needed something to distract her from her current frustration, and there was really only one thing calming enough that she could think of at the moment. Within minutes, she was online and in her game, LunaCraft.

Takane was never really one for rpg games, being more accustomed to shooters and stuff of that sort. She thought of this as her little guilty pleasure. She hadn't actually tried them, thinking they were pointless and boring, but after tons of ads appearing everywhere she browsed on the web, she finally caved and joined this one, and honestly, it wasn't half bad. She got to make a nice looking character and sign on every now and then to take on new quests. She even made herself an archer, which almost went hand in hand with her love for first-person shooters.

KisSh30: yo

Takane blinked, impressed by the speed of the message appearing right after she had logged on.

EnoDeta: hey

She wasn't a socialite in any way, shape, or form, but she assumed it was natural to make one or two friends after playing an rpg for a on and off few months like she had. She didn't know much about KisSh30 outside of knowing he was a good player. A knight character, a rather plain choice, but he strategized well and was pretty strong. She wasn't sure how they became friends – or really acquaintances – but they didn't get on her nerves. In the short and to the point conversations they had, she realized they had quite a bit in common personality-wise.

KisSh30: been awhile since you've been on
EnoDeta: school
KisSh30: I see

And with that, they were on their way, the rest of their conversation consisting of strategies and different game related dialogue.

Quest Complete!
KisSh30: good job
EnoDeta: if you hadn't had that extra potion, I would've been toast wwww
KisSh30: www
EnoDeta: ah. I have to go now—
KisSh30: ok. can I ask you something real quick?
EnoDeta: sure
KisSh30: will you be online tomorrow?

Takane was a bit surprised. He had never asked her something like this before, and it felt a bit out of place from their usual chatter. Though it didn't bother her. It was kind of nice knowing that they didn't just see her as just her character that helped them in quests. Err—She shook her head, wondering why she was overthinking such a simple question.

EnoDeta: probably
KisSh30: ok
EnoDeta: see you then?
KisSh30: yeah

Then she signed off and went to eat dinner. As much as it bugged her, she occasionally kept thinking back to her rpg friend. She thought it was dumb to mull over something so insignificant, but she wasn't really accustomed to someone enjoying her company – if that's actually what it was – besides Haruka and her grandmother, and she just considered those two to be circumstantial. Her grandmother loved her and enjoyed her presence mainly because they were family, and Haruka just spent time with her because she was in the same class. But in this case, whoever this KisSh30 person was had thousands of other players in the server to talk to but he still chose to accompany her on her quests. She'd be lying if she didn't say she appreciated that, and, really, enjoyed it.

Takane's glare sharpened on the figure that sat only a little distance away from her. She didn't bother saying anything, hoping that would limit the amount of times she would have to hear his annoying voice.

"What?" Shintarou hissed, noticing her brief glance his way. It was unbelievably obvious that these two were so hot and bothered by the other's presence that they purposely looked for reasons, no matter how pointless, to get at each other's throats.

"Nothing," she snapped back in response, returning to eating her lunch. Honestly, she had no problem specifically with this occasional shared lunch time, seeing as she did enjoy Ayano's company, but she dreaded them simply because of him. Ayano nervously ate her meal, tasked with having to sit in between the two, lest they lunge at each other and go for blood. They had not actually fought physically, but it seemed like it was only a matter of time before one of them killed the other.

The group study continued the same. Same arguments over nothing, and the same interventions from either Haruka or Ayano. It was remarkable anything actually got accomplished when those two were in the same room.

Ruffling her hair out of her usual pigtails, Takane was relieved to be finally home and away from the headache named Shintarou. The only thing that made dragging herself through another school day bearable was knowing she could come back home and log onto her game. Of course, she would never admit that. It wasn't in her style. Nonetheless, in the back of her mind, she really looked forward to it.

EnoDeta: hey!
KisSh30: hi

Completely out of her normal character, she decided to add more to their usual conversation.

EnoDeta: how are you?

She let out a shaky sigh. She wasn't sure why it made her nervous to talk to this guy like he was an actual friend, but it did, and it was troublesome. Even the brief pause he took before responding made her nervous, and Takane wanted to kick herself for feeling that way. It felt so stupid.

KisSh30: I am fine I suppose
KisSh30: I kinda have a headache
EnoDeta: is it wise to be playing then?
KisSh30: probably not, but I don't really care www
EnoDeta: I see
EnoDeta: honestly I kinda have one too www
EnoDeta: perhaps it's the weather
KisSh30: perhaps

While her headache was really caused from having to deal with Kisaragi, she wasn't just going to rant to him about that.

KisSh30: so about this new quest—

And the status quo followed afterwards until she had to leave again for dinner.

EnoDeta: good game!
EnoDeta: I'm sure we will be able to finish the quest tomorrow!
KisSh30: yeah

Takane wondered if perhaps she was being too optimistic now, considering she didn't even know if he'd be online tomorrow, but his next message eased her worries.

KisSh30: see you tomorrow

With her fears were put to rest, she happily logged off and closed her laptop. Even her grandmother noticed her good mood, but she just lied about it being because she got some extra sleep the night before. Being happy about an online friend seemed a bit childish to her, so she figured explaining it would only sound as idiotic as she thought it did.

Weeks passed, and while school became more troublesome, she always had her rpg to fall back on, which somehow managed to make the long school days just a bit more tolerable.

"You seem happier lately, Takane," her tall classmate brought up suddenly one day.

"Eh?" she wasn't quite sure what to think.

"You just seem to be less grumpy," Haruka continued, smiling that goofy smile he always had on his face.

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about. I feel the same as usual." That was an obvious. It didn't take her long to realize why he would have this impression, but she'd rather play dumb than explain that she was happy because she had made a new friend online.

"Ah, maybe it's just me, but something does seem different, haha," he smiled again before going back to his scribbling. Takane buried her face in her sleeves, pretending to be taking a nap while actually hiding the blush slowly appearing on her cheeks. Was it really that obvious? Happiness wasn't something she normally showed, so maybe it was. If so, she was going to seriously kick herself for it later.

"Hello, hello!" Ayano chimed, walking through the door of the classroom. Haruka waved at her, and even Takane bothered to come up from her moping to greet her, another thing normal, grumpy Takane wouldn't bother to do. The surprise from this was evident on the taller girl's face, but she shook it off. "I think I completely failed the test in English we took today," she grinned sheepishly, pulling out her English textbook as a sign that she needed help studying for it.

"Maybe if you actually used these study sessions for studying instead of chatting away you would've done better," Shintarou stated as he took his usual seat. Takane narrowed her eyes at the dead eyed stain on her otherwise blissful day before turning back to her cheerier kouhai.

"I could help you with it if you want. My English skill isn't the best, but I know a few good tricks for remembering some things," Takane happily offered. She could feel the large smile radiating off Haruka's face from behind her, but she decided to ignore it.

"A-ah... R-really!?" Ayano beamed loudly, her naturally beautiful smile becoming almost blinding to her shorter senpai. Takane would usually nap through these study sessions, so her offer was completely unusual but more than welcome.

"Sure, I don't have much to do during these things anyway." She gave her own little smile which paled in comparison to Ayano's but still looked very natural on her face, seeing as she didn't do it often or at all really. She couldn't help but smirk inwardly at the apparent look of confusion on Shintarou's face at her strange change of demeanor. Really Takane didn't see anything wrong with being a bit nicer. She was usually grumpy due to lack of sleep, and while she was still as tired as ever, she felt in a good enough mood to at least attempt to be nicer.

"Thank you very much!" the taller girl almost shouted, pulling Takane into a sudden hug. The pigtailed girl wasn't sure how to react to the sudden hug, but allowed her kouhai to do so nonetheless. It helped that it gave her a nice view of the still present bewildered look on her favorite headache's face in reaction to her better mood. Perhaps she could make it through the study time without even arguing with him. She doubted it, but it seemed more possible now than before.

"Are you supposed to be Enomoto's peppier twin sister or something?" Shintarou finally spoke up. Well, she tried.

"Ha! Are you upset that I'm not taking any of your bait today?" Takane snapped back. Ayano fidgeted, hoping the two wouldn't start fighting again.

"It's just surprising to see you getting along like an actual pleasant human being, is all," he muttered. Takane suppressed the urge to lash out at him, instead taking a deep breath and pausing to collect herself.

"And it's not surprising to see you as unpleasant as you always were," she finished, adding in another one of her unnaturally natural smiles, to which Shintarou could only react with another look of uneasiness before looking away and ending the argument there.

Looks like she had won.

EnoDeta: hello!
KisSh30: hey
EnoDeta: how are things?
KisSh30: I've been better
EnoDeta: oh
EnoDeta: may I ask what's wrong
KisSh30: just this annoying person I have to deal with
KisSh30: gives me a headache
EnoDeta: aah, I can understand that
EnoDeta: there's this really aggravating person that always bugs me
KisSh30: it's the worst
EnoDeta: definitely

Takane wasn't sure when their conversations had become so casual, but she enjoyed talking to them. Of course, she wouldn't ever have the nerves to tell him that directly, but in a way she hoped it was implied. As they went on simple side quests together, they continued talking to each other about any little thing that came to mind, mainly things related to the game, but also other games. She tried to avoid the topic of first-person shooters, simply to avoid discussing her more famous title. All she did was state that she was interested in them and nothing more.

EnoDeta: oh. I have to go now
EnoDeta: dinner again
KisSh30: before you go, can I ask you something?
EnoDeta: sure
KisSh30: would you mind exchanging emails?
KisSh30: you don't have to, but I wouldn't mind talking outside of lunacraft every now and then

She certainly didn't expect this. In fact, she would've expected herself to ask that before he did. Her heart beat hard in her chest. Was she seriously getting flustered because of this person? Her heart continued pounding. She was.

EnoDeta: oh uh
EnoDeta: sure ok!

She steadied her breathing as she tried to type with her shaking hands. She didn't understand what was wrong with her. Why was she acting so giddy all of a sudden? Just because he asked for her email. That was it. Just her email. Because they were friends. Just friends.

KisSh30: alright
KisSh30: I'll send you mine in a DM later
EnoDeta: alright
EnoDeta: talk to you later then

She quickly logged off and closed her laptop, falling back onto her bed. A noticeable blush burned on her cheeks. She couldn't believe herself. A person she had known for maybe five months now had her like this. Just because he asked for her email. She felt so pathetic, but she had no time to wallow in self-loathing. Instead she was too busy drowning in her own stupid feelings over this completely innocent question.

By the time she finished dinner, she had barely calmed down at all. Plopping back onto her bed, her fingers busily signed into her LunaCraft account to check her DM's. As anticipated, the notification for a new message appeared, and she found her heart beating as hard as it was earlier. She found herself clicking even faster than she would have preferred, but there was no point pretending to not be a little excited when she was alone. It's not like she could actually fool herself.

Message from KisSh30:
Hello. Obviously you already know what this message is about. My email is KisaragiShin _. I figure if we'll be messaging each other I should tell you that my name is Shintarou."

It felt like she had been punched in the gut. Her eyes quickly reread the message over and over again. There had to be a mistake. There NEEDED to be a mistake. Had she actually spent all this time talking to Shintarou? Had she really been in this good of a mood because of him? Shintarou Kisaragi, the person she loathed more than ever. The person whose very presence made her want to flip a desk. The person who had been the cause of the majority of her stress throughout the school year. He was KisSh30? She could scream. She could rip her pillow in half. She could throw her laptop out the window. This was unbelievable! ….yet, now that she thought about it…. It was incredibly obvious!

She screamed.