Akira (4)
"Okay, then no backsies in the middle, right?"
"Of course."
At my words, Iris nodded without a moment’s hesitation.
A spur-of-the-moment shooting bet, proposed after we’d walked into the range.
From the .38 Special all the way up to the .357 Magnum, we’d each fire one magazine of every caliber, tally the results, and the loser would grant the winner one wish.
It should have been an utterly ordinary bet, nothing special at all, and yet an odd tension hung between me and Iris.
I’d suggested it simply because it sounded fun, but Iris had apparently taken it seriously enough to wake up her competitive spirit before she’d even picked up a gun; she was already loosening her wrists and shoulders.
Was she getting like that because she was tempted by the promise of a wish?
What kind of wish was she planning?
Knowing Iris, I couldn’t imagine her asking me to give her my body or anything stupid like that.
She wasn’t that kind of lowlife.
So what on earth was she thinking of wishing for?
"Hmm..."
The thought left me with a faintly ominous feeling, and I mulled it over as hard as I could, but by the time the range staff led us to our lane, my brain still hadn’t produced an answer.
"We’ll start with the M10 in .38 caliber."
"...Does this thing even fire?"
"It’s an old gun, but there are still plenty of places that use them in service. As for the condition of this one, who knows?"
Looking at the five .38 Special rounds loaded into the cylinder, I said with a grin. Iris eyed the worn revolver suspiciously, but then just shrugged.
In other words, let’s try it and see.
"I’ll go first. That okay?"
"Of course. But you’re not allowed to use your eyes."
"Obviously. Why would we even be doing this if I could?"
I gave a light complaint to Iris as she reminded me of the bet’s rules and the thing with my eyes, then leveled the muzzle at the target across the lane.
To avoid hurting my fingers on the gas vented from the cylinder when it fired, I locked the gun into my hands with my left thumb crossed over my right.
I held my breath for a moment, lined up the front sight, and aimed for the center of the target.
The instant I squeezed the trigger, feeling the steady thud of my heartbeat in my chest—
BANG-
The recoil slammed through me like I’d been struck hard with a club.
Even with earplugs in, the sharp blast drilled straight into my eardrums.
"Puh-heh..."
It had been a long time since I’d felt that familiar sensation, and a small laugh slipped out of me as I checked the target.
The hole had landed slightly above the center point I’d been aiming for.
For an old revolver, that was a pretty decent hit.
BANG-
BANG-
BANG-
After calmly planting the remaining rounds into the target, I set the gun down and stepped back.
When I took out my earplugs and turned my head, I saw the staff staring at me wide-eyed, startled, while Iris wore a tight, tense expression.
"What are you both so frozen for?"
"..."
Now it was time to check the results.
As the target slid forward on the wire, the four neat holes clustered around the center and the slightly off-center hole from my first shot came into view.
Delighted with the result, I grinned and patted Iris on the shoulder.
"Okay, forty-nine points. Do your best, Iris, all right?"
"You can do this with an old revolver like that...?"
"After firing it, I’d say it’s in better shape than it looks. Nothing to worry about."
"Sigh..."
Letting out a breath as if she were nervous, Iris took her place in the lane and lightly loosened her hands while waiting for the staff to replace the target.
Could Iris surpass my score?
BANG-
BANG-
BANG-
After five shots rang out, the target was pulled in front of the lane.
"..."
"Oh dear."
Unfortunately, only three holes remained in the target’s center.
One of the other two had landed just above the center, while the other had drifted a little below it.
Iris wore the face of someone chewing on bitter pills, clearly unhappy with the result.
To tease her, I smiled and poked her in the side.
"Your total’s forty-eight. A one-point difference isn’t bad, is it?"
"...Let’s move on to the next gun."
Huh.
Was she seriously pouting?
I couldn’t help but feel flustered when I saw her stiff face as she asked the staff for a 9mm Glock 17.
I hadn’t expected her to take the bet this seriously.
.
.
.
.
"Ahahaha..."
"..."
The result of Seong-hyeon’s spur-of-the-moment bet was catastrophic.
His scores were 49, 170, and 90.
A total of 309 points.
Iris’s scores were 48, 170, and 89.
A total of 307 points.
By losing her precious wish by a mere two points, Iris froze on the spot, and in a half-dead daze she couldn’t say another word until Seong-hyeon led her by the hand and sat her down at a nearby café.
Looking like someone who had lost all will to live, she finally took the coffee cup he offered with an embarrassed smile.
"I had no idea you were that competitive..."
"..."
It wasn’t the competition that was the problem.
It was the reward.
Iris swallowed down the words she wanted to say and wet her throat with coffee instead.
She had no way of knowing whether the bitterness in her mouth came from the coffee itself or from the crushing sense of defeat that she’d squandered such a precious opportunity right in front of her eyes.
If it were up to her, she would have begged Seong-hyeon to let her try again just once more, but the moment had already passed.
With all hope thrown away, Iris finally forced her mouth open.
"...Your wish."
"Huh?"
"Please tell me your wish. You won the bet, so you should state your wish."
"Ah, right. I almost forgot."
At Iris’s miserable voice, Seong-hyeon scratched the back of his head as if only now remembering, and began to think.
A wish.
He’d made a bet that involved granting a wish, but hadn’t actually thought of one for himself.
What could he possibly ask Iris for?
Money didn’t really interest him.
As for clothes, he’d already bought plenty during today’s shopping trip, they’d eaten something delicious, and they’d made a good memory too.
...A memory?
"Ah!"
"...?"
Seong-hyeon’s eyes brightened as if he’d thought of something, and Iris looked at him with a puzzled expression.
What, exactly, did the man she loved want from her?
Luxury goods?
Expensive jewelry?
Still reeling from the despair of having let her chance slip away, Iris had been prepared to grant whatever Seong-hyeon asked, and wasn’t expecting anything in particular.
"Iris, next time, go out and have fun with me again!"
"...Pardon?"
That is, until those absurd words came out of his mouth.
"I misheard, didn’t I?"
"My wish! That you come out to play with me again next time!"
"...Is that all?"
Such a simple, modest wish.
Iris thought there was no way he would use a precious wish he’d won by a margin of two points on something like that, and doubted her own ears as she asked again.
"Yeah. Why?"
Seong-hyeon just nodded with an innocent smile.
"!"
Thump—
Iris felt her heart drop at the sight.
So there really were men like this in the world.
So there really were men this lovable in the world.
Thump—
Thump—
Her heart pounded so hard it hurt, and blood rushed to Iris’s face.
"Haa... haa..."
With every shaky breath she let out, a thick heat rose from somewhere deep in her chest.
"Iris?"
"Y-Yes?"
"Are you okay? Your face is really red."
"I’m fine!"
What a cruel man he was.
With the woman right in front of him all flustered and fidgeting with excitement, he had to go and show her that kind of tenderness too.
He wasn’t even tempting her to cut loose and surrender herself to instinct.
No wonder I fell for him.
"Huu..."
Iris hurriedly knocked back the coffee to wrench her mind back into place before the switch in her head flipped all the way over, but her overheated body wouldn’t calm down so easily.
"Iris, if you’re hurt or something, just say so. You look really bad right now."
"I’m fine... I’m really fine."
Under Seong-hyeon’s worried gaze, Iris forced down the urge to have him take care of her and shook her head.
She couldn’t afford to lose his trust over something as filthy as lust.
"Fine, my ass. You’re burning up."
"!!!"
She meant to keep telling herself that—until Seong-hyeon reached across the table and pressed his hand to her forehead.
Their faces were close enough that their breaths mingled.
His warm body heat traveled through his hand.
Their gazes tangled in the space between his bright red eyes and her own.
Tap—
"Leader."
"Hm?"
Iris felt the last thread of her restraint snap.
"Come with me."
"Huh? All of a sudden? What’s going on?"
"Come with me."
"...?"
Seong-hyeon, startled by the low, growling tone in her unfamiliar voice, stared at her with his eyes wide, but by then even that only fed the sadistic impulse flickering in Iris’s mind.
Grab—
"H-hey?"
"Forget the dish. Come on, hurry."
"Iris, wait—!"
Unable to wait any longer, she grabbed his wrist and yanked him roughly to his feet.
Seong-hyeon tried to resist, backing away in confusion, but this was a gender-reversed world.
A man, whose strength was naturally lower than a woman’s, couldn’t possibly win against a woman who was this worked up.
"...Stop right there."
"...?"
"Huh?"
But between women, the story changed.
A woman in black clothes appeared without warning and blocked Iris’s path.
"Long time no see, Leader."
"...And you, gloomy pervert."
Akira Arisugawa had crashed the scene.