Just as I was considering fake-napping to escape this night, the living room door slid open fast—
"I brought five controllers!!"
Mitsuri marched in triumphantly, her arms full of pastel-colored gamepads tangled in cords like a tiny tech warlord.
Ryusuke looked up. "...We're being invaded."
"Play with me," she demanded, already crawling over the edge of the carpet like a puppy on a mission. "You three look like you've got reaction time."
I sat up. "Mitsuri, they're not staying—"
"I already set up the game. It's loaded. It's the new 'Hero Showdown: Team Flash'! You can play as Shuriken Shark or Laser Alpaca—!"
"She's not kidding," Kiro murmured, already eyeing the TV where a pixelated menu screen with flashy music was bouncing. "This is… surprisingly new."
"Laser Alpaca?" Ryusuke repeated, stunned. "You can play as Laser Alpaca?!"
"Yes, but you can only unlock his final move if you beat Round 5 without taking damage!" Mitsuri threw a controller directly into his hands. "You're Red Player."
Ryusuke caught it like it was fate. "I have never been more ready."
"Wait," I said, staring. "You're actually—?"
Zay reached down, picked up a controller, and tested the buttons with one thumb. "Controls feel light."
Kiro gave the faintest smile. "I'll go Blue."
"What is happening," I whispered.
Mitsuri turned to me, beaming. "You're Green! Big sis always picks Green!"
"Oh my God, I'm not playing—"
Too late. She shoved the controller in my lap.
And somehow—somehow—within three minutes, we were all sitting on the floor, backs hunched, eyes fixed on the screen as a tiny cartoon alpaca screamed laser beams at a robot octopus.
Zay didn't say much. Just quietly mastered the parry system in under a minute.
Ryusuke yelled "SHURIKEN COMBOOOO!" so loud Ray yelled back from upstairs to shut up.
Kiro calmly played support, healing the team with the smile of a peaceful monk.
And me?
I died in the lava level because I was still trying to figure out if this was a dream or an actual fever hallucination.
Mitsuri was in heaven.
"You guys are cooler than her dumb school diary made it sound!" she yelled, hitting a special move and cheering.
I facepalmed. "You read my diary?!"
"Nooo," she sang innocently.
Zay smirked.