Vol. 1 Chapter 23 – Points of Tangency O and P

The following Saturday, Asahi-san came over to my room as promised.

“A-Are you sure this is okay…?” (Hikaru)
“Yeah… Totally fine. Doesn’t bother me at all… If anything, it helps me concentrate more.” (Reiya)

I replied to ease someone who whispered apologetic words from behind me.

Right now, she was playing the low-priced downloadable title, ‘Fruit Game’.

It was a puzzle game that had become massively popular thanks to game streamers.

The rules were simple: drop various fruits into a box and stick fruits of the same kind together.

When fruits stick together, they become the next level of fruit, eventually turning into a giant jackfruit.

If the fruits overflow from the box, it’s game over. The goal is to score as many points as possible before that happens.

It looks easy at first glance, but it’s surprisingly difficult when you actually play it.

It tests your thinking skills as you carefully consider how to place different-sized fruits without wasting space.

Combined with a moderate element of luck and exquisite physics calculations, it results in a highly addictive game.

“Place the strawberry here… but then, I’ll be in trouble when the next bigger one comes…” (Hikaru)

As expected, Asahi-san was already quite hooked.

Meanwhile, next to her, I was studying for the mid-term exams starting next Thursday.

Math, my weak subject, was undoubtedly heading for a failing grade if things continued like this.

I absolutely had to focus my efforts on it.

“Okay… The equation of the line that passes through this coordinate Q and is tangent to this circle is…” (Reiya)

But now, my calculation skills were as terrible as those in the ads for mysterious games involving adding and multiplying numbers that flow across video sites.

Just staring at the formulas made my head hurt.

I wished only fruits would touch each other.

“The points of tangency are O and P… The intersection R of the two tangent lines is… How’s the cushion feel?” (Reiya)

Hitting a wall, I spoke to Asahi-san as a change of pace.

“It feels pretty good. Being able to rest my elbows is super comfortable. Want to try it later, Kageyama-kun?” (Hikaru)
“Ah, yeah… Maybe I’ll borrow it later then…” (Reiya)

Cutting the conversation short, I turned back to the workbook.

“Simplify this derived formula using the equation… translate it parallel to the X-axis… How’s it going? Did you make a jackfruit?” (Reiya)

Turning back again, this time I asked Asahi-san about her game progress.

“Yeah, I’ve made one a few times, but making the second one is proving pretty difficult…” (Hikaru)
“Making two pushes the capacity to the limit. I haven’t managed it even once yet either.” (Reiya)
“Ehh… It’s that hard? But that actually makes me want to try harder…” (Hikaru)

Confirming Asahi-san’s high level of challenging spirit, I faced the workbook once more.

“Okay… where was I…? Oh, whatever… I’ll just look at the answers once…” (Reiya)

I opened the separate answer booklet and read the explanation.

Ah, I see.

This is the kind of solution method. I knew it, I knew it.

I basically had this solved already.

“Asahi-san, want something to drink?” (Reiya)

Closing the perfectly understood workbook for a moment, I spoke to Asahi-san yet again.

“Eh? Hmm… I’m not particularly thirsty right now, so I’m okay.” (Hikaru)
“Okay, just let me know anytime if you want something, I’ll get it ready.” (Reiya)
“Thanks for that, but… am I really not bothering you…?” (Hikaru)

She stopped her hands holding the controller and looked at me apologetically.

“Not at all, not at all! Really, not even slightly!” (Reiya)
“But, playing next to you while you’re studying… I do feel a bit bad about it…” (Hikaru)
“No, no! If anything, I’m making about thirty percent more progress than usual! Maybe that relaxed BGM is having a good effect on my biorhythms.” (Reiya)
“R-Really…?” (Hikaru)
“Really, really… But, could I maybe play just once as a little break?” (Reiya)
“Yeah, of course. Here.” (Hikaru)

I took the controller from Asahi-san, who had just gotten a game over.

Just once, just once.

Taking a break while studying isn’t bad.

In fact, a puzzle game should be good brain exercise and have a positive impact.

“Okay, just one game…” (Reiya)

I pressed the confirm button and retried.

——————

———

—

Three hours later…

“Aargh!! So close!! If that had been a loquat, it would’ve been a double jackfruit chance!!” (Reiya)
“Okay, my turn next! I’m definitely making two this time!” (Hikaru)

I handed over the controller, switching turns.

Asahi-san, now completely used to it, skillfully connected the fruits and built up the early game shape.

“I’ll save this blueberry for later… Maybe I should build towards the bottom-right jackfruit formation after all…” (Hikaru)
“For that, where you make the coconut becomes important too, so be careful.” (Reiya)
“Right. I need to be careful not to let small stuff get underneath by the time I make the durian…” (Hikaru)

Asahi-san carefully placed each fruit, one by one.

There wasn’t much time left until the hour she usually went home.

I could feel her strong determination to achieve the double jackfruit today.

“Alright! First one, anyway!” (Hikaru)

With that momentum, she completed the first jackfruit in the blink of an eye.

The position was good, and there were few obstructing fruits.

Plenty of space remained to aim for the second one.

However, just as my hopes swelled that this might be it—

“Make a quince here… Ahh! It bounced!” (Hikaru)

Due to the physics calculation upon merging, the blueberry resting on top was sent flying.

She couldn’t hit it down in time, and since it went out of the box, it was game over.

She had been doing so well, but the scary part of this game is how it can suddenly end due to these unintended behaviors.

“Okay, guess it’s my turn.” (Reiya)
“Ughh… So frustrating…” (Hikaru)

I took the controller from Asahi-san, who looked reluctant to let go.

“Alright, let’s put an end to this battle soon…” (Reiya)
“Good luck…!! I know you can do it, Kageyama-kun…!!” (Hikaru)

Receiving cheers worth a hundred men, I rapidly merged the fruits.

I managed to complete the first jackfruit about as smoothly as Asahi-san had just done.

“Phew… Got one, anyway, but the real problem starts now…” (Reiya)
“Seriously… It gets so cramped and difficult…” (Hikaru)

Visualizing the ideal placement, I aimed for it and built the shape.

Even when I occasionally got unlucky draws, I managed to improvise and get through.

And so, I somehow managed to reach the verge of completing the double jackfruit.

“The problem is from here on… Now it’s a battle of luck…” (Reiya)

There was almost no space left to discard useless fruits.

Drawing a large fruit now would make things instantly difficult.

What I had in hand now was a blueberry.

If I stacked two of these to make an acerola, I could stack it with the nearby acerola and chain reaction all the way to jackfruit.

However, there was no guarantee the next draw would definitely be a blueberry.

If the opposite happened and I drew an acerola, I’d regret it more than words could say.

“Asahi-san… Do you think it’ll be a blueberry or an acerola?” (Reiya)
“Ehh… Which one could it be~…” (Hikaru)

The probability was even.

Having come this far, it was purely a matter of luck.

It felt bad to put the pressure on her like this, but Asahi-san was undoubtedly luckier than me.

More than anything, I also wanted the two of us, who had worked on this together today, to complete it together.

“…Okay, blueberry! Because it’s good for the eyes!!” (Hikaru)
“Blueberry it is… Roger! Come on!” (Reiya)

Trusting her, I dropped the blueberry without hesitation.

And what appeared in my hand next was—

“Yes! It’s a blueberry!!” (Reiya)
“Yay! Are we actually gonna do it!?” (Hikaru)

We high-fived in joy.

“All that’s left now… is to trust the placement I’ve built up so far…” (Reiya)
“Ahh… I’m getting super nervous…” (Hikaru)

All I had to do was drop the blueberry and let it merge.

No thought or skill required.

“Go!!” (Reiya)
“Goooo—!!” (Hikaru)

The fruit carrying our hopes fell.

The first merge triggered the next, and the chain reaction proceeded smoothly, just as imagined.

However, just a little bit more… just before everything went perfectly according to plan, the chain stopped.

“Are you serious… No way…” (Reiya)

A loquat that had rolled between two papayas was obstructing the merge at the perfect spot.

The fruit I thought I’d discarded in a harmless position had rebelled at this crucial moment.

Is it impossible…? Even after all this, is it impossible…!?

Just as a feeling of resignation began to surface against the too-high wall,

“Ah! But look, look! Isn’t it moving, little by little!?” (Hikaru)

Asahi-san stood up and pointed at the screen.

The gap between the papayas that seemed like they would touch but didn’t.

“Y-You’re right…! Could this actually work…!?” (Reiya)

That space, though only slightly, was gradually shrinking, and point of tangency P was about to be born.

“Push!! Push harder!!” (Reiya)
“Ughh… Move~…!” (Hikaru)

We prayed together, concentrating our minds.

On the screen, the gap was truly, truly shrinking little by little.

Should I drop something from above to push it…?

No, doing something unnecessary might make it bounce up like before.

I had to trust their power here.

Go!! Be born, point of tangency P!!

The moment I screamed that in my mind, the papaya and papaya made contact.

That triggered a chain reaction, one after another, and the container became empty, leaving only a few small items behind.

“W-We did it…!!” (Reiya)
“It’s empty…!!” (Hikaru)

Double Jackfruit—the phenomenon where jackfruit and jackfruit merge, resulting in nothingness.

We had finally achieved it.

The moment we recognized our victory, immense joy surged from the bottom of our hearts.

“Yes!! We did it!! Haha!! Awesome!!” (Reiya)
“Yay!! We did it, we did it!! We’re amazing!!” (Hikaru)

We stood up, hugged each other, and expressed our joy as if dancing.

I had built it up, and Asahi-san’s heavenly luck sealed the deal.

Together, we had put an end to this long and difficult battle.

The victory banquet lasted for three days and three nights… not really; the excitement cooled down in less than a minute.

When it did, I first felt a strange sensation around the left and right sides of my solar plexus.

—Squish…

Not quite jackfruit-sized… but an object about the size of a well-shaped apple.

The surface had a slightly stiff roughness, but the inside was soft, yet possessed a mysterious elasticity that tried to return it to its original shape.

As my head cooled further, I realized I was somehow hugging Asahi-san.

My palm, wrapped around her back, could feel the sensation of bare skin through her thin shirt.

So then, what was pressing against my chest…?

I knew without needing to plug it into a formula.

Points of tangency O and P.

“DAAAAAHH!! S-Sorry!!” (Reiya)

Regaining my senses, I hastily pulled away.

“R-Really sorry! I got too carried away and did it in the heat of the moment… but it was soft and smelled nice… I mean, anyway, sorry!!” (Reiya)
“N-No! It’s totally fine! Actually, I think I might have gone in for it too… Besides, Kageyama-kun, you’re surprisingly well-built… So this is what a boy feels like… Wait, what am I saying… Aww…” (Hikaru)

We were both too excited; neither of us remembered who initiated it.

All I remembered was the sweet scent drifting from her hair and the softness felt through my whole body, incomparable to just holding her arm.

My face must have been bright red, and there was no way I could meet her eyes.

A long period of silence flowed through the super awkward atmosphere.

“Sh-Should we continue…? We still need to beat the high score…” (Reiya)
“Y-Yeah… Maybe we can make two again…” (Hikaru)

Without meeting each other’s eyes, we returned to our fixed positions.

Perhaps because the earlier sensation still lingered, I found myself strangely conscious and keeping more distance than usual.

It was a chance to significantly increase the high score, but needless to say, it ended quickly due to a series of simple mistakes.