Bonus Round 2: Make Him Laugh Silently
The cafeteria was alive with heat and tension, the crowd now fully invested in this increasingly chaotic, fanservice-heavy competition. Mei-chan strutted forward, her magical girl outfit somehow even more revealing under the overhead lights. She bent over, hands on her thighs, giving the front row another nosebleed-worthy peek as she grinned at the audience.
"Everyone! It's time for Bonus Round 2: Make Akashi-Kun Laugh So Hard, He Can't Even Make a Sound!" she sang, twirling her mic like a wand.
Shin blinked from his seat, Ai comfortably settled in his lap, half-asleep now with her arms loosely around his neck.
"I'm serious, Mei-chan," he said flatly. "Where did you get that outfit from?"
"Don't worry about it, darling," she winked. "Anyway! You all know the rules! Make. Him. Wheeze! Let's start!"
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Yuki's Turn
Yuki stood, still looking traumatized from the prevous rounds, and now extremely cautious. He glanced at Shin, then at Mei-chan, then pulled something from behind his back.
A sock puppet.
"Yes," he whispered to himself, "it's time."
The sock puppet—crafted poorly with button eyes and messy felt hair—squeaked in a nasal voice, "Yuki-samaaaa, I have come to protect your purity from this oversexualized tournament!"
He made it jump and flail, spinning wildly.
"Yuki-samaaaa!! Run while you still have dignity!!"
Then he turned the sock around to reveal a second puppet head—Shin's face scribbled on it in black marker.
"Yuki, you're mine," it said in a low, over-the-top voice.
The Yuki puppet squealed dramatically and threw itself off the table. "KYAAA!!"
Shin's expression twitched—his lips curled slightly, but he suppressed it.
Then Yuki flopped onto the floor himself, limbs splayed, screaming, "Too late! I've been claimed!"
The sock puppet slapped him.
That did it.
Shin clutched his stomach and silently convulsed—his mouth wide open, but no sound came out. His eyes squeezed shut. His body shook violently, Ai bouncing on his lap.
He was laughing. Silently. Helplessly.
"BINGO!!" Mei-chan shrieked, spinning around like a game show host. "SILENT LAUGH ACQUIRED!! POINT TO YUKI!"
The crowd erupted in laughter too, half because of the puppets, half because Shin looked like a fish out of water trying not to breathe.
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Aiko's Turn
Not to be defeated, Aiko walked out with something behind her back. Everyone leaned in.
She pulled out…
A recorder.
"A flute?" Shin asked, still wiping tears from his silent fit.
"No," Aiko smirked. "A cursed instrument."
Then, with the intensity of a battle theme swelling in her heart, Aiko raised the recorder to her lips and began to play…
The Titanic Theme.
Poorly.
So. Very. Poorly.
It squealed, it howled, it honked like a dying goose under a car.
Everyone winced. People cried. One guy fainted.
Shin froze. His hand instinctively reached for Ai's ears to protect them.
Then Aiko, still blowing with furious determination, started walking toward him like Jack on the Titanic deck.
The last note screeched so loud the mic glitched. The crowd gasped.
And Shin—
Fell over.
This time, it was a silent wheeze again—he couldn't make a sound. He kicked one foot on the ground, his face red, chest shaking uncontrollably.
"DOUBLE K.O.!" Mei-chan howled. "ANOTHER SILENT LAUGH! POINT TO AIKO!"
---
Final Score:
Yuki: 22
Aiko: 22
Shin: Suffocating.
Ai: Still napping cutely.
Mei-chan: Probably shouldn't be showing this much thigh in a school cafeteria.
Shin slowly leaned back into his chair, Ai rolling into his arms as he laughed soundlessly behind her head.
Mei-chan waved toward the scoreboard. "Well well well, it seems we're tied again! The war for Shin-kun's heart continues! Stay tuned for… BONUS ROUND 3!"
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Bonus Round 3: Make Him Say "That's So You"
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The cafeteria buzzed with excitement, though it had long ceased to resemble a normal lunch hour. Phones were still recording, people were still shouting, and some poor student who had missed school today would live in eternal regret.
Mei-chan flipped her hair, her costume still pushing school dress code violations to biblical proportions, and leaned into the mic with a teasing glint in her eyes.
"Bonus Round 3… will be Make Him Say… 'That's So You'!" she purred, adjusting her top unnecessarily. "It's time to see who can be so undeniably themselves that it makes Akashi-kun say those three little words. Not those ones. These ones."
Ai, snuggled in Shin's lap and playing with the collar of his shirt, tilted her head up at him. "Onii-chan, this sounds fun."
He gave her a soft smile and rubbed her back. "Yeah. Let's see what they've got."
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Yuki's Turn
Yuki stepped forward with a sigh, his face still slightly red from earlier rounds. He looked at Shin—really looked at him—and then just… flopped down on the floor cross-legged, pulling out a thermos and his favorite egg sandwich.
Then, calmly, he began eating it in front of everyone, entirely ignoring the crowd.
Mei-chan blinked. "Um… Yuki-kun?"
Yuki didn't even look up.
Then he mumbled with a full mouth, "You said I could act like myself… This is me. Just let me eat in peace."
He sipped from the thermos, eyes avoiding Shin's gaze, even as his cheeks puffed out slightly.
A soft chuckle came from Shin's chest.
"…That's so you."
The crowd cheered, and even Mei-chan clutched her heart. "Waaah! That was actually wholesome! That was actually him!"
Yuki blinked slowly, his eyes flicking up toward Shin with a tiny smile.
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Aiko's Turn
Aiko popped up with a fan in one hand and sparkles in her eyes. "My turn!"
She struck a dramatic pose. "Taa-kun! Your childhood friend, the dazzling and dependable Haa-chan, is ready to serve up nostalgia and chaos!"
She twirled, pulling out an old, tattered notebook from their elementary school days.
Shin blinked. "Wait… Is that—?"
"Yes! The one where you made our imaginary guild and assigned me the role of 'chaotic magic queen!'"
She flipped it open, revealing scribbles and doodles from years ago. "You made me draw our monster battles every day."
Then she held up a crudely drawn picture of Shin falling off a cliff while she flew with sparkly wings above him.
"I wrote 'lol noob' next to your stick figure."
Shin stared.
A slow, crooked grin formed across his face.
"That's so you."
---
"DOUBLE WIN!" Mei-chan shouted, doing a high kick that caused three male students to faint in the front row. "That's right, both contestants have captured Shin's essence! His memories! His feelings!"
Ai clapped adorably from his lap, giggling. "You're really enjoying this, Onii-chan."
Shin gave a soft laugh, arms wrapping gently around her. "Can't lie. This has been pretty entertaining."
---
Scoreboard Update:
Yuki: 23
Aiko: 23
Shin: Smiling nostalgically
Ai: Hugging his neck and whispering "I love you" now and then
Mei-chan: "We're reaching the final stretch, people! Next up… the last round!!"
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END OF CHAPTER : 23 : BONUS ROUND : 2-3 : MAKE SHIN LAUGHT SILENTLY : MAKE SHIN SAY "THAT'S SO YOU" : PART : 13
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