CHAPTER 57: ELISS’S FINAL HOURS ON EARTH

«So, today’s the big day, huh, Aoshi?» Ayane asks — she and Aoshi are leaning against the wall of an arcade, eating ice cream while Eliss and Takuma have been playing a co-op shooter all afternoon.

«Yeah. Tonight, at midnight sharp, she’ll go back to where she came from...» Aoshi sighs.

«When you say it like that, it sounds like you’re talking about some alien going back to their home planet,» Ayane jokes with a laugh — and yet, that joke is much closer to the truth than she could ever imagine.

«Yeah, maybe I exaggerated...» Aoshi replies, forcing a smile that barely manages to hide his sadness.

«You know, I won’t deny that I’ll miss her a lot too...» Ayane says — her eyes locked on Eliss, completely focused and absorbed in the game. «...she’s really a great girl — funny, bright, always so cheerful, and able to lift everyone’s spirits. Thinking back to our afternoons before she showed up, they seem so dull now, even if I obviously didn’t notice it at the time. I don’t know how to explain it... she’s the kind of person you never realize you needed in your life until you actually meet her. But I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about...»

«Y-Yeah, I think I get it...» Aoshi murmurs — he’s definitely not in the mood to talk much today, and Ayane has noticed; it’s not hard for her to imagine why.

«Come on, how the hell can you be this trash?!» Eliss snaps at Takuma, throwing her arms up in exasperation. «I thought teaming up with someone who plays video games all day long would let us break the high score — and instead we didn’t even get remotely close! I’ve practically never touched a video game before today and I’m already infinitely better than you!»

«If the zombies were replaced by lolis, he’d be smashing every record from here to the end of time,» Ayane cuts in sharply. Then she rolls her hoodie sleeves up to her elbows. «Takuma, step aside and make room for a real gamer.»

«Hmph... I told you from the start that I’m not good with arcade shooters...» Takuma grumbles, completely crushed. «Besides, I’m an intellectual — someone who prefers games where you progress thanks to wits and strategy, not by pulling the trigger like a maniac.»

«Yeah, sure, I can only imagine how much genius it must take to platinum a game where you have to make your little sister do naughty things,» Ayane fires back as she takes Takuma’s place next to Eliss and firmly grips the gun-shaped controller.

«You’re only saying that because you’ve never played any of them!» Takuma retorts. «I bet if I made you play the easiest eroge in the world, you wouldn’t even make it past the title screen!»

«You’re right about that... since I’d smash the computer with a hammer before the game even starts!»

«Aaah... seriously, Ayane is such a weirdo — how can someone look down on the greatest invention in human history like that?» Takuma grumbles, joining Aoshi against the wall.

«W-Well... it’s undeniable that some titles kind of push the boundaries of decency — actually, probably even the boundaries of legality...» Aoshi remarks, trying to smooth things over — which is basically what he always ends up doing whenever Takuma and Ayane are both around.

«Ugh... since when did you become a prude too? Tons of paintings depict naked women and nobody gets offended — they even put them proudly on display and people pay to see them! Aren’t eroge the same thing? If nudity can be art, and eroge contain a lot of nudity, then mathematically, eroge contain tons and tons of art! But obviously someone with a birdbrain like Ayane can’t appreciate art and prefers blowing heads off with a rifle!» Takuma concludes, shaking his head in dramatic disappointment.

«Oh, so according to you, Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and My Two Temperamental Twin Sisters Always Fight Over Who Gets My Junk are the same thing, right?!» Ayane bellows — nothing escapes her ears, even while she’s absorbed in the game.

«Of course not! Eroge are interactive — paintings aren’t!» Takuma shoots back, while Ayane just sighs and shakes her head in pure exhaustion.

«Anyway, Aoshi,» — Takuma’s voice suddenly turns dead serious, as if he’s about to reveal the ultimate truth of life — «Don’t forget why we enrolled in computer engineering. Don’t forget our dream, Aoshi — the dream of creating the greatest visual novel ever conceived by the human mind! A masterpiece of programming, story, and writing that future generations will admire and study as the holy grail of ero-VNs! The non plus ultra of eroge! A work that will immortalize us as true contemporary heroes, worshipped for millennia to come!»

Aoshi is completely overwhelmed by that tidal wave of enthusiasm and expectations.

«And just like a prophet struck by divine enlightenment, I too had my revelation last night!» Takuma continues, even more fired up, turning as red as a tomato. «I dreamed of living the greatest visual novel of all time! It was so vivid, so real... it truly felt like I was inside an eroge as the protagonist! And it wasn’t any game I’ve ever played — it was something completely new! Something so perfect that only a genius mind like mine could conceive it! A dream within a dream — a story where the MC falls asleep and wakes up inside an eroge, and the only way to escape is by bedding every single girl! I’ll call it: Eroge-Trap: The Only Way Out Is Seducing Them All! So? Tell me — isn’t it brilliant?!»

Eliss flashes a pleased grin at those words — could her influence be involved here? — while Aoshi lets out a long sigh and places a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

«Takuma, I think we need to have a serious talk about your obsession with eroge — I believe things may have gotten a bit out of hand...»

But instead, Takuma grabs Aoshi by both shoulders... and starts shaking him violently.

«Who are you?! WHO ARE YOU?! What did you do with my dear friend Aoshi Toya?! Where are you hiding him?! WHERE??! Aoshi, I will save you!»

But right then, a deafening scream from Eliss snatches Aoshi’s attention — but he exhales in relief when he realizes it’s a scream of joy.

«At last! I DID IT! I finally broke the high score! And it’s all thanks to you, Ayane! You’re amazing, incredible — the best! I love you! I love you, I love you!» Eliss cheers, jumping up and down like crazy before leaping into Ayane’s arms and hugging her so tightly she nearly suffocates.

«T-Told you it takes a real gamer to get the job done!» Ayane wheezes, her face smothered against Eliss’s massive chest.

And automatically, a faint, melancholy smile forms on Aoshi’s face — his heart instantly filling with that familiar emptiness and sadness at the sight of Eliss hugging Ayane so warmly.

A scene he knows he will never see again.