GAMERS! (ゲーマーズ！)

Some people are just in a league of their own.

Ah, good morning!

Maybe they're your favorite idol,

or an athlete that's playing at the top of their game.

Maybe they're just... pixels on a screen.

Most of the time, all we can do is admire them from afar.

I mean, it's not like we're face-to-face.

Heh.

Um, excuse me.

Uh...

That's why, when the cutest girl in school

appeared out of nowhere,

and started a conversation with me...

...your humble narrator,

Keita Amano, went into panic mode.

We haven't talked before, have we?

I'm a student at Otobuki High School, like you are.

My name is Karen Tendo.

Karen Tendo.

She's a second-year, but if popularity were Everest,

her flag would be on top.

Good morning!

Hey, Tendo!

It's such a nice day out, huh?

She's smart, beautiful, even good at sports.

How could one person have so much going for them?

That should be illegal!

Even though she's not famous, as far as school goes,

Tendo's the closest thing to a celebrity that we've got.

It's like... she's the queen of whatever she touches.

Meanwhile...

So, uh...

Uh?! I'm sorry!

I'm Amano! F my class.

Ah! No! I mean, I'm in Class F!

What is wrong with me?

I'm acting like I've got a harem of hug-pillows!

Nice to meet you, Amano.

O... kay.

Now that we've met, let's clean these up.

Wait, what?!

Seriously, what the heck is going on here?

Is this, like, "Give the Nerd a Heart Attack" Day?

Or maybe, she actually--

So, you're into this stuff?

Games, I mean.

Oh, yeah! Games in general!

Games in general are awesome!

Not that one you're holding in particular,

because I don't really know anything at all about that one!

Hm?

I, uh, didn't mean to yell.

My bad.

This is one of the games you were holding earlier, right?

What's it about?

Hm? Ahh! No, don't--!

" Golden Memories ! Va-voom!

A dating-sim filled to the brim

with blonde beauties for you to choose from!

And jiggle physics."

--I love it! --

Games in general, remember? Not that.

Games in general, of course!

Yeah! Not the one where the whole idea

is to get the blonde girls as naked as possible, right?

Orbital strike.

Target: Keita Amano.

I play a lot of stuff.

An' I heard Golden Memories actually had some

pretty cool game mechanics.

Y'know, underneath all the fan-service.

So, I wanted to take a look at the back cover,

and see what all the fuss was about.

Yeah. That makes sense.

I'm a total sucker for back covers!

You get it, huh!

It's like they're giving us this magical rectangle

they've smushed all of the game's

best selling points into,

worded and arranged for maximum hype!

Even if the game ends up sucking,

it's still an awesome way--!

Look at her...

Totally creeped out.

What'd I say...?

I'm sorry.

I didn't mean to interrupt.

You were going on about it with such enthusiasm.

Uh...

Don't take this the wrong way.

Hm?

From where I'm standing, you're basically perfect.

Huh?

Hey, I was thinking.

If you're cool with it...

...maybe you and me could...

...hang out in the school's game club?

Huh?

I win!

Yes!

Read 'em and weep!

Yeah, whatever!

I'll getcha next time!

Um, Tasuku?

Cutest kitty ever!

Sure.

If you're into derp-ass cats.

Mm-hm! When it comes to gaming, you're the bestest!

That is not a word.

That cat is my best friend.

I mean, if you're gonna keep freakin' out about it.

Cough it up. Cash?

Tasuku, why?

Really?

Good luck, Tasuku! You can do it!

Hurray! Hurray!

Move it left!

Right! More to the right! It's the stripy one!

Just quiet down.

I'm not some crane-game virgin.

What the...?!

You didn't grab the kitty at all, Tasuku!

You suck at this!

Ta-da!

Lookit how fluffy it is, Tasuku!

Lookit! It's mine.

Toldja you were the bestest!

Look, try not to burst a blood vessel.

Diagnosis? Straight-up badass.

Check her out!

My girlfriend has as much going on upstairs as that stuffed cat,

but when you're that cute, whatever!

Uh?

Oh, man.

I am so living my best life.

Right?

You've been humming since we left the arcade.

Of course I have!

Look at this adorable cat you got for me!

I'mma cherish forever!

Heh.

Huh. That guy's in my class.

Amano, or something.

He's always glued to a handheld.

Why the hell's he just standing there all randomly?

Whatcha thinkin' 'bout, Cutie?

Oh, nothin' much.

Go cry into your cartridges, loser.

You'll never land a girl as hot as this one.

Game over.

There wasn't one,

so I filled out all the paperwork and started one up.

But I haven't really gone on a big recruiting push yet.

Well, you are a busy person.

You, too?

Uh...?

It's kind of a thing.

People bending over backwards to indulge me

whenever I talk to 'em.

So, uh, that happens a lot?

Yup. Even my teachers are super understanding

when I forget my homework.

Heck, King Koopa rolled out all the stops for me,

and I was only there to jump on his head!

Whoa! Uh!

Hold on a sec! I know a lie when I hear it!

I wish! It was awkward.

That might've been a bug, you know.

Yeah, ya think?!

How did you get King Koopa to make small talk

and serve you tea?!

I had pulled three all-nighters in a row

trying to turn in a world-record speed-run.

The Koopa thing was a dream!

I should have guessed as much from the start!

You're the one who glitched out, Tendo, not him!

I'm sorry.

Kinda went off on a tangent.

That's fine.

I'm just surprised that you liking gaming so much.

You're really into it.

My friends don't know this side of me,

for the most part.

Believe it or not, the whole reason I came to Otobuki

is 'cause it had this god-tier game club.

Huh?

It fell apart before we enrolled,

so they took it off the list.

Oh. I never would've guessed.

Yeah.

That's why...

...I gave it my all behind the scenes last year to

breathe life back into the game club which is why this year,

it became an official student group again!

Uh! Congrats on pulling that off.

Oh, stop it.

So, then what exactly does a game club do, anyway?

You know, you can probably guess.

We play as a group.