The Shimizu Sisters and the Game Center 6

“Oh no, why? Let’s try again!”

“Shimizu-san, are you still going to continue?”

A few minutes after the start of the operation, Shimizu-san continued to challenge the claw machine alone.

Initially, Shimizu-san and I were supposed to take turns with one attempt each, but Shimizu-san kept saying [one more time] and I completely lost the timing to switch.

“That was close, wasn’t it? I’ll get it next time.”

Is that so? No matter how many times she tries, the plushie quickly falls and the position doesn’t seem to change much.

“Okay, here I go!”

Shimizu-san puts a 100 yen coin into the arm again.

This time, just like before, the teddy bear plushie moved up and fell down again and didn’t change its position significantly.

“Where did I go wrong?”

Honestly, it’s a bit cruel to say this, but it seems that Shimizu-san has absolutely no aptitude for crane games.

“Let’s wrap it up soon, Shimizu-san. Ai-san must be waiting for us, right?”

“But…”

Shimizu-san looked genuinely disappointed. It seems like she really wanted that plushie.

“Alright, if that’s the case, can you let me try once? Let’s each try one more time, and if it doesn’t work, let’s go back to Ai-san.”

I don’t have much experience with crane games either, but it’s probably more likely for me to succeed than Shimizu-san.

“…Ah, okay.”

Great, it seems like Shimizu-san is willing to accept my suggestion.

“Well then, I’ll try.”

The final teddy bear capture operation by Shimizu-san and me commenced.

I put in a 100 yen coin and took hold of the controller. It is difficult to count on Shimizu-san’s disastrous improvement in skill, the only way to win the plushie is for me to capture it in one go.

I exhaled slowly and focused my gaze. Carefully manipulating the controller, I slowly moved the claw closer to the plushie from above. Just as the claw reached directly above the plushie, I pressed the button to make it descend.

(Now!).

The claw swiftly descended and grabbed the plushie. Without falling, it was lifted up all the way. I glanced to the side and saw Shimizu-san staring at the plushie as if praying.

Whether the prayer worked or not, the plushie remained stable until the end and eventually fell from the claw into the retrieval chute.

“I got it, Shimizu-san!”

I took the stuffed bear out of the slot and showed it to Shimizu-san.

“Ah…well, good for you.”

For a moment, Shimizu-san’s eyes sparkled like a child, but she quickly regained composure.

However, there still seemed to be a lingering excitement in her eyes when looking at the plushie.

“Shimizu-san, can I ask you for a favor?”

“What is it?”

“Could you take this plushie?

“Huh? Why me? …why don’t you give it to your sister?

“Teruno tends to handle things a bit roughly. I’d feel sorry for this plushie.”

This is not a lie; Teruno’s room is always a mess no matter when I visit it.

Therefore, even if I give her this teddy bear plushie, I have a feeling that in a few days, it will end up being used as a replacement for a beanbag chair.

“So, Shimizu-san, would you take care of this teddy bear instead?”

I handed the teddy bear to Shimizu-san. She reaches out her hand, then retracts it midway, and after a moment of hesitation, she reaches out her hand again and accepts the teddy bear from me.

“…then I’ll take it. I won’t return it later, though.”

Shimizu-san, hugging the teddy bear, seems happier than before.

“Fufu.”

“W-why? Why are you suddenly laughing?”

“I mean, Shimizu-san, I didn’t expect you to like teddy bears.”

“That’s because… This bear is… “

Maybe because Shimizu-san brought the teddy bear close to her mouth, her voice became quieter, overshadowed by the surrounding sounds, and I couldn’t hear it well.

Maybe I should explain why I said it was surprising, just in case.

“When I said it was unexpected, I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I just thought it was cute, that’s all.”

“Ughh… “

“Shimizu-san?”

“D-don’t call me cute all of a sudden! …anyway, let’s go. Ai is waiting for us.”

“Alright. Then let’s go to Ai-san.”

“Okay.”

The teddy bear capture operation ended successfully, and Shimizu-san and I began walking toward the area where Ai-san was waiting with the Purikura machine.

“Kei and Daiki-kun, I’ve been waiting. What were you doing… Oh, that teddy bear is adorable! How did you get that?”

When we returned, Ai-san had already finished and was waiting for us in front of the Purikura machine.

“Got it from the crane game.”

“Huh, I thought Kei was terrible at crane games?”

“I didn’t say it was me!”

She certainly didn’t say it, but it felt like she implied it was her.

“Kei didn’t win it, but Kei has it… Hmm-mmh, I see.”

Ai-san closed her mouth with her hand and seemed to be signaling that she was hiding a smile behind her hand.

“W-what?”

“No, I’m just glad you got an unexpected present.”

“Ugh…”

“And here’s a present from me to you two.”

Ai-san said and handed us something like a thick piece of paper.

“It’s a picture we took just now. I enhanced it with special effects, so please take good care of it.”

“Hey, the second picture, my face is too dark!”

I looked at the second picture we took, and sure enough, there was a brown-skinned Shimizu-san and me in it.

“Well, when I was thinking about how I could make myself look whiter, and I thought, [Why don’t I make the people around me darker?] “

Her way of thinking was devilish. As I looked at the received Purikura, I noticed that the last one, featuring only Shimizu-san and me, hadn’t been edited at all.

“Ah, Ai-san.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Why didn’t you add effects to the last Purikura of Shimizu-san and me?”

“Oh, well.”

When I asked, Ai-san chuckled happily.

“I guess it’s because I didn’t want to get kicked by a horse.”

“Huh?”

“You don’t need to understand that right now. Well, just make sure you don’t lose that Purikura.”

“Okay.”

When will I understand the meaning behind that?

Right now, I have no idea.