Himari called this room the Money Maker, she earned more from renting this room out than renting her VHS tape.This is where her customers can watch her tapes since most of her customers don’t have VCR players. That means most of her customers had to pay her for using her VCR player alongside the cost of renting her VHS tapes. Brian has always thought of this as scummy but is always surprised by the amount of customers his boss gets.

This time, no one is renting the room as Himari decided to use it to help Ren get away from the young teenage fans that were harassing him. During this time, Brian the store helper chased out the teens and helped his boss and the customer into the money maker. Here Ren wandered around the room and approached the large CRT television on one side of the room.

“I know right, “ Brian started, “She could’ve at least brought in flat screens rather than this old dinosaur. Anyway I am going back out to smoke. Just yell for me if you need anything.”

“Do it outside, I don’t want your stinky cigarettes ruining my precious tapes.” Himari yelled but Brian was already out of the curtained exit of the room.

Examining the room, Ren noted that there were no chairs but instead there were three large bean bags scattered across the carpeted floor. Himari sat down on one of the bean bags and motioned Ren to sit on the other.

The room was plastered with a variety of old movie posters, some he recognized as films that came out before he was born. There were also two CCTVs installed in opposing directions, perhaps to deter people from recording with their phones.

“If we’re going to talk, this is the only comfortable place in my shop to do so. Sorry about that.” Himari beamed sweetly now that they are alone. “You mentioned you are a pro gamer, right? My shop specializes in rare VHS tapes, I am afraid we don’t have anything related to games here.”

“That is what I am here for, I am actually looking for a tape although I am sure if it exists or not.”

“If it is rare tapes then you are in the right place. What is it about?” Himari felt relieved that she could be of service to this customer; she never had a celebrity customer before, not to mention one that she considers as very handsome.

“You see, there was a secret tournament that happened ten years ago although a lot of people didn’t believe it existed since there is no proper documentation of it. I am hoping to find a recorded copy of it to prove it happened.” Ren said with gleaming eyes.

‘Uh-huh, so what kind of tournament was it? I got Olympic football, Underground boxing, amatuer fencing. I also have never even seen public copies of Ichiro Suzuki’s highschool matches. This is before he went pro of course.” Himari pointed a finger on her chin as she tried to recall from memory all of the rare sports related tapes she has.

“It’s not as impressive of those but it is amazing you even have Ichiro in your collection. The video I am looking for is a VSports tournament. Back then, Vsports was never streamed or televised and recording with phones wasn't allowed. Some fans got around this by using old VHS cameras. It was a crazy time; some people even called it the dark ages.” Ren said.

“Why do they call it the dark ages?” Himari asked.

“Ah, It’s just a time where Vsports was starting and information about the tournaments going on this time is hard to find. But the one I am looking for is special, it is actually the first World Championship for VSports fighting games. The ones who have seen it call it the legend of match 37.” Ren answered, his eyes getting bigger and his voice getting more excited the more he talks.

Feeling unsure how to respond to Ren’s excitement since she knows nothing about VSports, Himari simply nodded while doing a fake smile. “Uh-huh, so what’s so special about match 37?”

“Ah yes, so match 37 is the grand finals of the tournament of a game called Valhalla vs Ragnarok. It was the original Virtual Reality fighting game but sadly the developer of the game declared bankruptcy and the game vanished. Now the amazing thing about this tournament is all 38 players except for one went on to different games and became legends themselves. PenDragon, the semifinalist, became the first world champion of Ethereal fighters. That is the game which I am currently a pro gamer at.” Ren’s eyes glistened as he talked. while Himari continued to smile and nod at everything he said. Himari wanted to tell him to slow down for her to fully follow him but a look at the man’s giddy demeanor made her decide not to.

“Uh-huh, yeah. So who is the one who didn’t become a legend? I am guessing it is the guy that placed last, am I right?” Himari asked to show that she is following everything the man is saying.

“No-no, that man is actually the champion of the tournament. He simply vanished after winning. I heard that many teams were looking for him but they simply couldn’t find him. No one knows anything about him except that his name is Knuckle.” Ren answered, leaning closer to Himari until their faces were only inches apart.

“Aren’t you Knuckles?” Himari asked, turning her head sideways as she felt shy because of how near Ren’s face is.

“Yes and no, I was only 12 when that match happened. My older brother brought me there and that tournament inspired me to become a pro gamer myself. I became a huge fan of Knuckle ever since but sadly he disappeared. When I got the chance to become a pro player myself and no one has claimed the name Knuckle I decided to take it for myself in hopes that I would be able to recreate his legend.” Ren leaned back on his chair and had both of his arms clenched towards his chest as he continued to talk. “Anyway, the main problem is since the organizers were trying to keep the event a secret there was not a lot of documentation of the matches so except for a few amateur videos traces of the event happening are almost non-existent. But that’s not even the biggest issue, it is that no one has a copy of the final match. I’ve heard that if a video is extremely rare to find it can most likely be found here.”

Himari listened closely and tried searching in her mind if she possessed such a video. She had sought and bought the rarest videos that she can claim that no such person in the world has a better collection than hers. Her collection contained historical moments such as the most important moments in sports history or rare documentaries about the rise and fall of empires but since she never expected that there would be a market for rare Vports tapes she never once tried to seek them. She didn’t even know Vsports was a thing until today. She looked at the handsome man’s hopeful eyes and sighed. She didn’t want to disappoint him but she felt bad for keeping him here and wasting his time.

“I am sorry to disappoint you but unfortunately I don’t have a copy of said video. If you want you can give us a way to contact you-” Himari paused when she saw Ren’s sad face. “Ah! Come to think of it, I have a large box of homemade videos that I haven’t checked their contents yet. There is always this chance of one of them being the one you are looking for. But of course, it would take time for me to check that so if you give me your number…” Himari lied since she always checks every tape she receives or buys on the day she gets them.

“There is no need for that!” Ren exclaimed while bursting upwards of his seat. “Let us check all of them now!”

“But-but, don’t you have any work to do sir? Are you sure that you want to do it now?” Himari stammered as Ren started walking out the room. She stood up and followed Ren who was already halfway back to the counter. She tried to get him to come back but he wasn’t listening. They made their way back to the counter where Brian was holding a lit cigarette.

“That’s not a problem for me. I have a few months of free time before the next tournament season starts. Good sir, your boss just told me that there is a box of homemade videos ready to be inspected. Can you get them for us?” Ren patted Brian’s shoulders who was looking at him with an annoyed face.

“Hey, don’t touch me and order me around. Only my boss gets to do that.” Brian said with an angry tone.

“Ah sorry about that, I just got really excited.” Ren smiled nervously while looking down on the man in front of him. Despite being taller, one look at the man in front of him told him this guy was dangerous.

Himari’s attention went to the smoke rising from the cigarette Brian was holding.

“You! I told you not to smoke inside.” Himari said while snatching the cigarette then extinguished it on the bottom of her shoe.

“But the old lady got really angry again when I did that.” Brian pointed to a shop across the road where a small granny was giving them a deadly glare.

Scary, all three adults thought of the same thing as the granny pointed at her eyes then at them before walking away with a broom. They all felt shivers go down their spine. The trio remained motionless until the old lady was completely out of sight.

“You have some scary neighbors, boss.” Ren directed to Himari who unconsciously wrapped her arms around Ren’s. Ren gave out a cough and Himari suddenly noticed their position and immediately separated herself.

“Sorry about that.” Himari turned red out of embarrassment. Not wanting to feel this way she directed her attention towards Brian. “You! Go there and apologize this instant.”

“Now-now, there is a right time for that.” Ren interrupted immediately and turned a smile to Brian. “I am sure he is going to do that once he gets the chance, right? And besides, I am really itching to check those tapes as soon as possible.”

“What tapes? Just tell me the name and I’ll get it for you.” Brian looked at Himari who was starting to shift nervously.

“Your boss told me there is a box of unchecked tapes. I am willing to give out a hand for free if you can get the box here.” Ren said smiling while Himari started to sweat.

“I have no idea what you are talking about and besides, this lady here has a fetish for old tapes. If there was such a box she would be devouring them right now.” Brian turned an eye on Himari who was starting to shift uncomfortably.

“Ah, it is a new delivery so it’s still at home. You can just come back tomorrow or to make things easier just give me your number.” Himari laughed nervously again while both guys looked at him with suspicion.

“Just what video are you looking for anyway?” Brian asked while tapping on a computer screen in front of him.

“I am trying to track a video of match 37. If your boss doesn’t know about it, I wouldn't be surprised that you don’t as well, do you?” Ren gave a short sigh while Himari kept trying to get his attention and pointing at her phone trying to get his number.

“Sounds familiar, what is it about?” Brian asked as he swiped on his computer screen.

“It’s the Grand Finals of the world championship of Valhalla Vs Ragnarok.” Ren gave another sigh and closed his eyes. Brian took this opportunity to throw a ball of paper at Himari who kept pestering Ren. It hit her in the head and she responded by giving Brian an angry look.

“Wait, did you just say Valhalla Vs Ragnarok?” Brian asked with a surprised expression.

Because Ren’s eyes were still closed Himari took out Brian’s lighter out of her pocket and threw it, hitting its owner on the forehead. She covered her mouth to prevent her giggles from being heard, that is until Brian glared at her angrily. She returned the glare with equal disdain.

Meanwhile, Ren started walking towards the exit still not opening his eyes. The two only noticed this when they heard him speak. “It was a longshot anyway but I guess I would just try to ask again online.”

“Ah wait!” Brian called out to Ren, just as he was to step out the shop’s clear glass doors. “We have the video you are looking for!”

As soon as he heard those words Ren rushed back to the counter with an excited face.

“Is that true? Can I rent it now or buy it? I am willing to pay any amount for it!” Ren’s expression was filled with excitement that made Himari think of how young boys are when they get a new toy.

Brian let out a sly smile which Himari immediately took notice of. “It’s true, we do have it. But since it is a very rare video I must warn you that it is really expensive.”

Himari gave Brian a suspicious look as she knew that she didn't possess that particular tape. She went behind the counter beside Brian and pulled him downward until they were both squatting on the ground. She then whispered to him making sure that Ren couldn’t hear.

“Hey, I know every single tape here and I don’t have that. Are you trying to pull a scam here?”

“Of course not, it’s my own tape. You can even verify the contents if you want. Since I am donating it to the store I can get half the profits, right?” Brian whispered back to his boss. Himari placed her finger under her chin considering the offer but also worried that Brian was pulling a fast one on her.

“What are you two whispering about there?”

Brian and Himari looked up to see Ren leaning over the glass counter and looking down at them. The duo stood up immediately and apologized while laughing nervously.

“It is a new addition so we are just making sure that it is really ready for renting. We haven’t even placed a proper price on it so we might have to discuss it first.” Himari said as she scratched the back of her head.

“Money is not an issue for me, I am willing to pay any price as long as it is fair.” Ren took out his wallet which the two workers immediately noticed was really thick despite being a long wallet. The sight of it made Brian’s eyes bulge so much that it freaked out Himari.

Ignoring her employee, Himari started counting on her fingers. “In the case of rare videos that don't have extra copies, we usually charge-”

“Two hundred thousand yen!” Brian interrupted, surprising Himari who looked nervously at Ren who simply smiled.

“Perfect! Do you guys accept payment through card?” Ren answered calmly, not even bothered by the ridiculous price.

Himari stood frozen as she watched in amazement as Brian finished the transaction with a cold expression. Not even flinching as he took Ren’s credit card and charged such a ridiculous amount. Even more amazing for her was how nonchalant Ren was about the whole transaction. After giving back Ren’s card Brian gestured for him to follow him and walking to one of the aisles of tapes in the store he pulled out a VCR tape from one of the display cases. Himari noticed that it was right next to the adult video sections.

“Why did you put that there?” Himari whispered to Brian.

“It’s closer to the videos I like borrowing.” Brian handed the tape to Ren who was bouncing on the tip of his toes like an excited kid as he held the tape upwards.

“I can’t believe it’s here. It was a shot in the dark but I finally found it.” Ren’s eyes glistened as he stared at the tape then at Himari.

Himari just let out a sigh and directed Ren back to the room called Money Maker. Brian followed behind them and helped set up the television and player for viewing. Himari and Ren in the meantime positioned their bean bags in front of the large television and prepared an extra one for Brian. Once the customer was seated Brian turned off the lights, took his place on a seat beside Ren and clicked on the play button on the VCR player that was placed on a table near them. The screen lit up and the first thing they saw was the face of a man sporting a pompadour hairstyle wearing white motorcycle gang clothes. The man spinned as he finished setting up the recorder and ran back towards a kid who had the same hairstyle and clothes as him. All that were watching can read the Kanji symbol for strength plastered in bold font on the back of the man’s clothes. The young boy didn't seem to like what was happening as he was pouting the whole time and looking sideways with his arms crossed. Brian pressed a button on the VHS player and the film sped up.

“Sorry about that, let me just fast forward to the main event.” Brian said while his finger was still on the button. The other two in the room didn’t respond but simply nodded.

“This is it folks! 38 players in a single elimination match and this is the grand finals!” The booming voice of a man projected from the television and suddenly Ren had an excited look on his face. Himari simply smiled seeing how happy Ren was while Brian watched with dead fish eyes.

At first, Himari wasn’t really interested in what was being shown on the screen but as the video continued something stirred inside Himari. She watched on the screen two winged magical beings circle each other almost as if they were dancing. They punched and kicked at each other and at one point had their hands locked together in a grapple for dominance. Despite the scenes of violence Himari saw something else. She saw two beings totally insync with each other like two dancers who had been practicing together for a long time. As one moved right the other followed, keeping up with the other’s tempo. Himari looked beside her to see Ren gasp at the same time the casters of the match complimented every punch and kick the two beings did. Looking back at the screen she couldn’t see any violence but only the perfect rhythm of two expert dancers.

“Man, this brings back so many memories.” Brian said. His eyes still nonchalant as the light from the screen shone on his face.

“It sure does, I feel like I am there again.” Ren agreed, his hands were balled into fists as he gasped whenever the casters screamed.

“They look so pretty and move so gracefully like dancers.” Himari chimed in hoping to be a part of the conversation. The two boys gave him a short look then continued watching silently. Feeling offended she blurted. “Hey! Say something, you two!”

“I guess you are right that they are moving gracefully. Most of the players nowadays would pay a fortune to learn how to fight like this.” Ren replied, his face looking more serious as he continued to watch.

“Hmph! This is not fighting. It was a fun game but fighting can only be done with real fists!” Brian palmed his fist making a slapping sound.

“Mister, I understand that you must be a gangster or something in the past but don’t look down on the players of this game. Some of them are renowned boxers and sword practitioners. A lot of us train really hard to become pro players. You could even say that some of the world’s best fighters are in the game.” Ren, for the first time that afternoon spoke in an annoyed tone. He had a disapproving look on his face but his eyes were still glued to the screen not wanting to miss a second.

“Whatever, the game wasn’t that good anyway. Climbing the ranks was super easy and that just means to me that none of them are really good fighters like you are saying.” Brian said in a nonchalant voice not caring that the man sitting beside him was starting to emit a deadly aura that is starting to get Himari nervous.

“I know all the names of the top players of Valhalla vs Ragnarok before the game closed. How about you tell me your IGN if you are really a top player? Ren’s eyes shot sideways towards Brian beaming a really deadly look down at the man who was at least a few inches shorter than him.

Brian shot an equally deadly look back at Ren with a really sinister grin on his face. “My name? My father told me that a man’s name should be synonymous to their deadliest weapon. That is why I chose the name Knuckle.”