Hiyori Tomoe - Games With Old Friends

Writer: Suika

Season: Winter

(Location: Starmony Dorms Common Room)

Hiyori: Hm? Nagisa-kun, what are you doing over there?

Nagisa: …… I’m looking at the tabletop games on this shelf.

…… I got interested after listening to Yuuta-kun’s circle talk about it a little while back.

Hiyori: Ah, you’re talking about the ASOBI club? I’ve heard Jun-kun talk about it sometimes.

Since they left them in this common room, it means that anyone can play with these tabletop games, doesn’t it?

Nagisa: …… It seems to be what Yuuta-kun’s group intended by leaving them here.

Hiyori: In that case, Nagisa-kun, let’s play together! I just happen to be free right now!

Nagisa: …… Fufu, thank you Hiyori-kun. However, there’s a small problem.

Hiyori: What problem?

Nagisa: …… You need three or more players to play the games put out here. There’re not many games we can play with, since it’s just Hiyori-kun and I right now.

Hiyori: Then it’s just a matter of calling up someone else! I’ll contact Jun-kun immediately……

Is what I thought I’d do, but I think he’s away for a photoshoot today?

Nagisa: …… Mm. It seems that Ibara also has a pre scheduled meeting in ES today.

Hiyori: Well, since it’s work it can’t be helped. We’ll get them to hang out when they’re back.

Tsumugi: Oh my. What are you two doing with all those things spread out on the table?

Hiyori: Tsumugi-kun as well as Eichi-kun, you’ve come at an excellent time! We’re just looking for people with time to spare♪

Eichi: Hiyori-kun, even if this is a shared open space, you shouldn’t leave things all scattered about like that.

Hiyori: How rude! I haven’t made a mess!

Nagisa: …… I planned to play some games here with Hiyori-kun, but we’re a bit troubled since we don’t have enough people.

…… Do you two have any plans after this? If you’d like, how about playing together?

Eichi: Thank you for the invitation. However, I only meant to rest here for a bit before going back to work. Tsumugi is the same way too, right?

Tsumugi: Yes, but I’m okay with it.

I had some sudden work earlier today, but I somehow managed to finish it all by mid-morning.

I’ve just been working for a while, so this would be a nice change of pace♪

Hiyori: Fufu, then let’s play together, Tsumugi-kun. Look, come over here.

Nagisa: ……. What about you, Eichi-kun? If you’re busy with work, I won’t force you.

…… Yuta-kun said games are a lot more fun when there are more people to play with.

Eichi: …… Well, as Tsumugi-kun said, a little bit of it could be a nice change of pace.

Hiyori: You could have just earnestly said that you wanted to play.

Eichi: This and that are…… So this is a balancing game where you take away wooden blocks from the board, and the person who drops the board loses.

Nagisa: …… I know about the game where you put things down in turns, but for this one, you have to take them away, I see.

Tsumugi: It seems that what I heard about this game is true; this game needs quite a bit of preparation. I can’t seem to balance them on the board.

…… There. It seems that we managed to have the wooden blocks balanced on the board. Should we decide on the playing order now?

(Slight time skip)

Hiyori: Ahaha. The board fell down when it’s Eichi-kun’s turn, so this means it’s Eichi-kun’s loss.

Eichi: That move ruined the balance. It seems I miscalculated.

Nagisa: …… You need to consider the distance between the wooden blocks and the fulcrum, the shape and arrangement of the wooden blocks still left behind, before making the choice of which wooden block to take. This seems to be a game that requires one to use their head a lot more than I imagined.

Tsumugi: Yeah. The board tilts a lot whenever you take away a wooden block, so it makes my heart beat rapidly every single time.

Eichi: Yes. I’ve got a firm grasp on the balance between the wooden blocks and the board. Well then, shall we play again?

Hiyori: Hey, Tsumugi-kun. Is this small box another game we can play together?

Tsumugi: Yes. That’s a game where each player has to bring back treasure from the depths of the sea.The final rankings would be decided on the points of the treasures brought back.

It seems that since everyone is sharing the same oxygen tank, if even one person messes up, he will end up dragging everyone down and it’ll be game over.

Hiyori: So he said. It sounds a little difficult for someone greedy like you, right, Eichi-kun?

Eichi: That’s my line. If it’s a game that tests cooperation, wouldn’t it be a bad fit for Hiyori-kun?

Tsumugi: You two, let’s get along~

Eichi: Well then, do you want to play that game next?

Hiyori: Since we have so many games here, I thought it’ll be more fun if we play with a variety of them.

Nagisa: ………

Hiyori: Could it be that you already know this game, Nagisa-kun? Is there any other game you want to play?

Nagisa: …… No, that’s not it. I think I want to try playing this game too.

…… Sorry, I really enjoyed the balance game from just now, I wanted to play it one more time.

Hiyori: What, if that’s the case, you should have said that faster! Come on, Tsumugi-kun. Let’s get that game from earlier prepared one more time!

Tsumugi: Fufu, knowing that Nagisa-kun is enjoying it is making me happy too.

This is the game that Sora had told me he enjoyed♪ I’ll get it set up now.

Eichi: Ha…… You guys really are so free.

Hiyori: Good for you, Eichi-kun. You got your chance to get revenge on us.

Well, I’ll win the next round though♪

Eichi: …… Fufu, thank you. I’m looking forward to outwit Hiyori-kun starting from now♪

Don’t throw an unsightly tantrum just because you lost to me, okay?

(About one hour later)

(Location: Starmony Dorms Common Room (Evening))

Hiyori: Ahaha! You can have a lot of fun with commonfolk games too!

Nagisa: …… Mm. They have a charm that is completely different from chess and the likes. All the tabletop games were brimming with humour and were deeply interesting.

Eichi: Though, it takes up a lot more time than expected.

Tsumugi: I’m sorry, Eichi-kun. Everyone had so much fun, that I even lost track of time on when to stop playing.

Eichi: No, you don’t have to apologise, Tsumugi. I accompanied you for this long because I enjoyed myself too.

Hiyori: Mmhm. You should thank Nagisa-kun and I; who had invited you!

Eichi: I don’t really feel like thanking Hiyori-kun.

Hiyori: We’ve played quite a bit, but there are a few that we haven’t tried yet. We really can’t not call Jun-kun to come with us the next time we play.

Nagisa: ……I’ll try asking Ibara too.

Tsumugi: Seems like it’ll be a huge group. Then, I’ll ask Sora-kun if there is a game that can be enjoyed together by a lot of people.

Can I join you again when the time comes?

Hiyori: Of course. Better yet, let’s hold a game tournament in Starmony Dorms. That’ll be good weather……☆

Nagisa: …… Each individual has their own style of thinking. Rather than playing with just one person all the time, playing with a lot of people might serve to widen your range of strategy.

Eichi: I see. It’s a good idea for something like recreation.

It might be a good idea to take videos of idols on their days off to distribute them.

It just so happens that I was in the middle of formulating the details of my next project. I thought I should connect this to the plan.

Hiyori: Eichi-kun always likes to fill the gap in his free time with work. That’s just like Ibara.

But, I’ll forgive you. When the time comes, make sure to capture my gallant figure in the video♪

TL NOTES:

1. A nice little easter egg in the title; the title has a kanji in reference to the ‘ex’ in ex-fine. However, since ‘ex-friends’ does not entirely convey the dynamic between these characters, Mod decided to go with ‘old friends’.
2. Mod went on a little rabbit hole of tabletop games categorization on the internet due to this story. The games played in this story seem to be Bamboleo and Deep Sea Adventure.