Evening Game
Chapter 26

Chione ended up going with a full body armor with dark green camouflage on it, a strength/assault build. While the armor had dark green camouflage, once the wearer settled into a sniping position, the armor’s color would change accordingly. To add to that, she also bought a dark green cloak that matches her armor.

“Why the cloak, though?”

Ethan asked as they left the store. Chione looked at him, her eyes meeting his. Ethan was slightly taller, so she needed to tilt her head a bit.

“So we can be a match.”

She said casually, as if the answer was obvious.

“... What?”

Ethan asked, his brain failing to follow her reasoning.

“This way I look like you.”

She said as she pulled the cloak up, covering half of her head. From behind the shadow, he could see her lips turning into a small smile.

“But, why?”

“I don’t know, it just seems cool.”

To be fair, there was another reason why being similar may help them. This would allow them to switch positions and fool an enemy. The problem was that they had extremely different fighting styles, so an enemy should be able to differentiate who was who. The other issue would be the color. The cloak covered most of the wearer’s clothes, so what they wore underneath didn’t match as much, but Ethan’s cloak had a dark red color, while Chione’s was dark green.

“Well… if you say so.”

Admittedly, Ethan hoped there to be another reason for her to want matching clothing, or at least in this case, a similar looking one. He knew that the other reason was practically impossible. There was simply no way she thought about that.

But what if, just a what if…

What if she likes me as well?

The sight of her mimicking him was cute, he thought. Had he not worn his cloak, he would probably be forced to cover his face.

“Any… anyway…”

“Yes?”

“You want to go for… umm, training?”

Ethan jumbled the words, but Chione didn’t seem to mind.

“Yes!”

After their adventures, both Chione and Ethan went back to their virtual home. Chione had gone to her bedroom, leaving Ethan alone in the living room. He sat on the white-colored sofa, a virtual screen hovering in front of his face. He scrolled down the screen, looking at the words on it. He read through the article one more time, making sure he didn’t miss anything important.

He then pressed the link on the end, which opened a different screen. He slid the screen above the first one, which housed an online form. He typed in the required information for both him and Chione. Looking at the form one last time, he made sure that everything he put in was correct. He hovered his hand above the ‘submit’ button, and after a little prayer, pressed it. The screen changed and told him that his registration was successful. Ethan closed all the screens and lay down on the living room sofa, one that had become his for the last couple of days.

He felt slightly bad for Mason, who had his weapon sold to buy him this roof. Considering that he had a hotel, he probably had more than enough money to buy it again, but he couldn’t shake that slight guilty feeling. He mumbled a little sorry and closed his eyes. A window appeared behind his closed eyelids, asking him if he would like to enter sleep mode. Using his mind, he selected yes. After not long, he felt his virtual body lighter.

See you tomorrow.

A week passed, and soon, it would finally be time for the qualifications. Ethan sat on the sofa, Chione sitting on his left. A timer counted down the seconds before their deployment, asking players to be ready. Chione glanced at him. She reached out her hand and gripped Ethan’s. The sudden warmth of her skin shook Ethan, who brought his attention away from the clock and toward her.

“You scared?”

“A bit.”

“Don’t worry.”

Ethan thought for a second, before bringing his right hand up to her head. He stroked the cloak that she wore over her head very slowly.

“In the end, it’s just a game.”

Chione was surprised by the sudden contact, but she nodded modestly.

“You’re right…”

“But, I won’t let it end that way.”

Ethan flashed a grin barely visible from behind his cloak.

Back when we were facing mid-term, you reached out to me and helped me.

You didn’t give up on me.

So I won’t give up on you.

“Just remember to help me on final exams as well.”

Chione chuckled at his words. She looked at him, her red eyes looking deep and endless.

“Of course.”

An alarm warned them of the countdown, the timer showing the last ten seconds. The two went back to their previous positions, looking ahead at the TV that occupied the other end of the living room, its black screen reflecting their image. The two took a deep breath, and a second alarm blared in their ears.

“Five. Four. Three. Two. One.”

“Game start.”