This boy, Subaru, had spent the best part of a year in this room playing video games. One was in ninth grade, the other in eighth, and despite all the hours they’d spent together, laughing and exclaiming over the games, it was still hard to believe that Subaru came from a different age – that he was a junior high student from 1985.

He is now twenty-nine years older than me, thought Masamune.

He plucked the ruined PlayStation 2 from the mountain of rubble. Damn it, he thought, what’re ya gonna do with this? He still had a PlayStation 3 at home, and 4 was launching soon; he knew his dad would buy it for him if he pestered him enough.

He decided he wouldn’t bother lugging back the broken TV. It was an old Braun tube TV his father had forgotten about. Masamune had discovered it in their storage shed, and compared to an LCD TV it was unbelievably bulky and heavy. It was no better than some antique.

‘Masamune, you mentioned earlier that you had an even newer game console at home? But that it didn’t fit the TV terminal. What do you mean?’

‘Ah – that’s this one, PlayStation 2.’

So I even have to explain that, eh? Masamune chose his words carefully. ‘At home I have a more advanced version of this, PlayStation 3, and that’s the device I really wanted to bring over, but they have more sophisticated TVs now and if you don’t have one, the plugs won’t fit. This retro TV isn’t compatible. This PlayStation 2 was actually used by my dad back in the day.’

‘Really?’

He probably still doesn’t get it, Masamune thought, but Subaru was humming, with a smile on his face.

‘Do you really understand?’ Masamune couldn’t help asking.

‘Not completely, but it’s cool to think that the future will turn out like that,’ he said. ‘So your father liked video games too, did he? Is that why you like them so much?’

‘Maybe that’s partly why.’

He and his father rarely played games together any more, but ever since he could remember he was used to seeing his father collect games. Even now, if he badgered his dad he’d usually buy him whatever games he asked for, since he understood the appeal himself. That’s the kind of father he was – and Masamune was thankful.

‘You know …’ Subaru said, as he rummaged through the scattered games.

‘What now?’ Masamune said.

‘I’m thinking of becoming one,’ Subaru said.

‘One what?’

‘Someone who designs games.’

Masamune was on his hands and knees on the floor at this point, but he stopped searching and fell silent. Subaru stopped rummaging too, and caught Masamune’s eye.