Usually, in certain maps, there were only two or three arrows at once since the game was usually played with two legs. However, the song that Tatsuki chose was the most difficult song in the game, and there were instances when four arrows should be pressed at once.
The only way one could finish the song with a perfect record was if they use their hands. However, there were certain steps that should be met before doing so because if one were to use their hands at the wrong timing or placement, they would lose the entire streak and instantly get a game over.
Tatsuki was well aware of this. That's why he studied the map until he found the best way to clear it. Some people could clear it with just their legs while hanging onto the bar so they could have balance. However, no one could finish the map without using his or her superpower. That's how difficult it was.
However, Tatsuki was going to attempt the song without utilizing a shred of his superpower. Adding to that, he would do it without hanging onto the bar which would give him enough leverage to use his legs to their full potential. He didn't need it anyway since he'd be using his hands in the game.
The first row of arrows was already difficult enough with two and three arrows coming at weird intervals. Nevertheless, Tatsuki swept through it without difficulty. He knew the song like the palm of his hand. In fact, he had studied every available song in this game so there was no way he'd miss the first couple of notes.
At the very least, there was no way he would get a game over on every song in the game.
When the beat of the drums played, the people who surrounded him hung their mouths open in shock when Tatsuki moved like mad. He was nailing every arrow, pressing on the pad below him and timing it perfectly.
Even though what he was doing was impressive enough as it is, there were a number of people who weren't impressed at all since they could do the same thing. Everyone who's an acclaimed expert on the game could at least do what Tatsuki was doing.
Of course, it was pretty commendable since this was Tatsuki they were talking about. With newfound eagerness, these game connoisseurs continued watching, observing every step that Tatsuki was doing.
The elite players totally forgot that Tatsuki wasn't using his arms to support himself. Usually what he was doing should be easy for a regular player, but doing it with free hands is twice or thrice as hard.
Then the pre-chorus or build-up of the song started hitting, and Tatsuki went hard mode. For the first time in the history of the game, Tatsuki did something that was never done before.
One of the most insane perfect clears of this song involved two people. And as for the single players, they used their superpower to increase their speed and reaction time. However, Tatsuki didn't have any of that. Instead, he tried a new technique that would enable him to clear the song without any external or internal help.
Tatsuki crouched and did a little break dance with his arms and legs. He timed it perfectly and he never missed a beat. He even spun around and rolled and his perfect streak still remained. At this point, everyone in the audience went silent, and they continued watching Tatsuki in awe.
"Whoa, that's awesome." One of the pro players muttered under his breath, to which the other players also nodded their heads in acquiescence.
There was no doubt about it. Kazuichi was really killing the song.
When the song reached the final chorus, everyone still had a shred of doubt since the last chorus was the most difficult part of the entire song. And yet, Tatsuki just somersaulted and spun while flailing his arms around. And yet even with his insane movements, he still hit all the notes without fail.
Ti-ring!
Before they knew it, Tatsuki was done with the song, and he was already sweating a little bit. With a sigh of relief, Tatsuki managed to get himself on the leaderboards as one of the perfect scorers on that song.
"Awesome! Tatsuki-san's so cool!" Emma exclaimed, breaking the silence in the vicinity as she clapped her hands. Aira joined in on the compliments as well, excitedly jumping up and down in glee as she heartily laughed.
"I want to try it too! I want to play that one!" Aira called out, smiling from ear to ear as she tugged at Ayumu's sleeves.
As for Ayumu, she couldn't help but blush a little when Tatsuki jumped down the platform. He knelt down in front of Aira with a smile, offering to pay for tokens so she and Emma could play together. Upon saying that, Tatsuki looked up, maintaining his smile as he addressed his wife.
"Do you want to play too? We could play together, just like old times." He offered. Honestly, he just wanted to play again but this time, with his wife.
"How many times did you practice that?" Ayumu couldn't believe that Tatsuki really went out of his way to master that song. There was no way he could play that well if he didn't know the song and its map by heart.
"Geh~" Tatsuki let out, refusing to answer the question. He actually practiced a couple of these songs in the superhero lair whenever he had free time. Of course, how could he say that out loud when his wife knew that he always does his training in the lair?
Coughing to divert the topic, Tatsuki then put both his arms on Aira and Emma's shoulders, urging them to try it out.
In the end, Aira and Emma enjoyed it, and they tried out most of the booths in the arcade. Ayumu had a great time as well. Inwardly, she felt like she was back in her high school days, spending time with her friends at the arcade. She actually didn't meet Tatsuki in her school days, but when she was already on the field as a superhero.
"All right then! Now let's go to the cinema! The movie's about to start!" Ayumu softly announced as she held both Aira and Emma's hands. They were just as excited as her, and they hopped happily when Ayumu came up to them.
"Wait! Before that!" Emma called out. This time, she grabbed Ayumu and Tatsuki's hands before pulling them towards the photo booth. "You two have to take another picture! To commemorate your date!" Emma grinned as she pushed them inside the same old photo booth they used more than a decade ago.
Filled with embarrassment and a hint of surprise, Ayumu and Tatsuki found themselves in the closed confines of the photo booth. They were too close to each other that they couldn't help but notice the redness on each other's faces, so much so that they had to turn away in surprise.
But before they could dwell on their embarrassment, they realized that they were already married. What were they embarrassed for?
With a light chuckle, Ayumu and Tatsuki leaned in towards the photo booth. "Which filter do you like?" Tatsuki asked. Since this was a picture to commemorate their date and all, he didn't want to mess up the photo.
"How about we go with the one we used back then? Those big eyes look good on you, you know." Ayumu teased.
"Shut up."
Meanwhile, Aira and Emma were lightly chuckling outside the photo booth. Although they weren't inside, they could feel the light atmosphere emanating from within. "Let's get a photo as well after them, and show it to Satoshi once he gets back," Emma said, to which Aira happily nodded.
...
A couple of minutes later,
"Ah, that was fun." Emma exclaimed, letting out an exhale of satisfaction as the four of them headed out of the arcade. They never had so much fun in a long time, and their visit to the mall was just getting started.
Next stop was the cinemas, but before that, they had to grab some snacks.
"Off to the cinemas!" Tatsuki hooray'ed.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The four of them suddenly stopped short when they suddenly heard a couple of gunshots from the first floor of the mall. And it wasn't even that far from the arcade, according to Tatsuki's estimate.
"An incident? In a mall, no less?" Tatsuki let out, heaving a sigh. "Whatever, I'll go. Ayumu, can you buy the tickets and reserve some seats for the four of us? I'll be back soon"
It was a small setback, but Tatsuki wouldn't let it cancel their plans for the day. For the first time in so long, they finally had a day-off, and Tatsuki decided to enjoy every second of it.
"I'll be back soon!" Tatsuki calmly called out, heading to the nearest escalator. Instead of riding it, however, he jumped to its side, landing on the floor below before anyone could react.
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