Video Battle! A Super Lazy Day in Zenless Zone Zero
A silly kind of peace has arrived in New Eridu. It all started with a single poster brought in by Billy. "First Annual Pair Video Grand Prix! Grand Prize: 5,000,000 Dennies!" With stars in his eyes, Billy is promptly dismissed by Nicole, who sighs, "Yeah, right, you're thinking of something stupid again." But when she hears the prize money could clear their debts, Anby silently presses the 'enter' button. Thus begins the laziest, most chaotic video battle in history, starring the oddballs of the
Video Battle! A Super Lazy Day in Zenless Zone Zero - Big Trouble in Nyaguru Alley! A Rival Appears and a Boopun Surprise Attack
[excited]Alright! Today's the day we shoot a viral video!"
Billy's voice echoed through the Torino Street shopping district just before noon.
His messy brown hair swaying, he cradled three high-end phones in both arms. The latest models Amby had ordered online just yesterday. The smell of new machinery from opening the boxes still lingered in his nose.
"With three of these, we can capture any angle we want!"
Behind him, Nico followed with a heavy-looking camera bag slung over his shoulder. His short black hair was neatly styled as always, but the furrow between his brows was three times deeper than usual.
"...You did come up with a plan, right?"
[laughing]Of course! We'll film cats in Nyaguru Alley! That's it!"
"That's not a plan!"
The rapid-fire retort flew out. A faint vein pulsed at his left temple.
"Film cats how? Running? Sleeping? Playing with a cat teaser? Be specific!"
[laughing]It'll work out! If there are cats, it'll be a good shot!"
"No, it won't!"
Nico readjusted the camera bag in his arms. Inside, alongside the high-end phones, he'd secretly stashed that dark history—the fish phone. Yesterday, after Amby had tucked it into her pocket, he'd quietly gotten it back.
(*Today, I'll film something properly.*)
Nico silently resolved this in his heart.
Bringing up the rear, Amby walked. Her waist-length dark gray hair swayed softly with each step. Silent, she held one of the new phones carefully in both hands, as if it were precious. Her deep purple eyes were fixed intently on the screen.
[whispers]...The camera's beautiful."
Amid the surrounding noise, her voice was as faint as a finger brushing paper.
Eight minutes on foot southwest from the Torino Street shopping district.
"Oh, so this is Nyaguru Alley!"
A narrow alleyway snaked its way deep into the distance. Small signs and shop curtains hung here and there throughout the winding passage. A cat café called "Goronyaago," a seafood stall named "Shippotei," a general store selling charms shaped like forked tails said to ward off evil.
And above all, nekomata beastfolk were everywhere.
Children hopping across rooftops, an old person curled up napping in a sunny spot, young people chatting in the alley. All of them had cat ears and forked tails swaying gently.
"Whoa! Real cat ears! Can I touch them!?"
Billy tried to dash over to the nearest young nekomata woman, but Nico grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.
"Stop! You'll get arrested!"
"But they're real!"
"Of course they are! This is Nyaguru Alley!"
Nyaguru Alley. An area on the border between the surface and the underground of New Eridu City, home to many nekomata beastfolk. About 3,500 members of the Nyaguru tribe lived here.
When Nico finally let go, Billy collected himself and held up the three high-end phones.
[excited]Alright! Filming starts now!"
"...So, what are we filming?"
Billy's hands stopped dead.
Silence.
"...Uh."
Nico fell silent too.
Amby had already started silently filming the alley cats with her phone.
[excited]I've got it! We'll have a passing cat-eared beastfolk run while holding a phone!"
"That's asking for unpermitted on-location cooperation."
Billy was already dashing over to a nekomata man passing by.
[excited]Excuse me! Could you sprint at full speed while holding this phone!?"
The man's cat ears stood straight up.
"...Huh?"
[excited]It's for a video! We want to go viral!"
"Uh, well, this is so sudden... I've got shopping to—"
Nico flew in and smacked Billy on the head.
"I'm so sorry! This idiot has no sense! Please don't mind us!"
Nico dragged Billy away by the collar.
[angry]What was that for!"
"That's my line!"
Just then, Amby, who had been crouching nearby, murmured quietly.
[whispers]...Got it."
On her phone's screen was a stray cat, curled up and sleeping in the alley. A short ten-second clip.
The three of them huddled together and pressed play.
The cat twitched an ear once, then kept sleeping.
The playback ended.
None of them could say a word.
"...Well, it's not bad, maybe?"
"That cat didn't move a single millimeter."
[cold]...We'll fix it in editing."
"You're underestimating editing."
As the three stood at a loss in the middle of the alley—
[laughing]Nyahaha! What's all this, nya? So lively, nya!"
A high-pitched voice fell from above.
They looked up.
Someone was standing on the roof of a two-story house.
Against the backlight, silver hair sparkled. Tied up high in twin tails, it swayed in the wind. Golden eyes with vertical slit pupils, like a cat's, looked down at the three of them, narrowing with amusement.
And a forked tail curling at the tip.
She leaped lightly from the roof. Landed without a sound.
"I'm Nekochan! Eighty thousand channel subscribers, nya!"
From behind her, another figure descended the stairs politely.
"...Nekochan, please don't climb onto roofs without permission. It bothers people."
This one was also a nekomata beastfolk with cat ears and a forked tail. But she wore a loose hoodie and had a gentle expression. Her partner, Nenneko.
"We're called Nenneko. We're also participating in the Pair Video Grand Prix. Nice to meet you."
Billy's eyes widened.
"...Huh."
"Wait, you're not—"
Billy peered intently at the phone screen Nekochan was holding.
There, the Millvie channel page.
Followers: 80,234.
[excited]E-Eighty thousand!?"
His voice cracked.
[laughing]Told you, nya! I'm viral, nya!"
Nekochan swayed her tail proudly. The tips of the fork curled in different directions.
[serious]I get it."
Billy's face suddenly went dead serious.
[serious]You two are our—greatest rivals!"
"Huh?"
[excited]We absolutely won't lose! The winners of this Pair Video Grand Prix will be Random Phone Shop!"
Billy pointed at Nekochan and declared war.
Nekochan yawned.
[sarcastic]Hmm. Good luck with that, nya."
Disinterested, she crouched down in a sunny spot in the alley.
Billy's finger froze, cutting through empty air.
"...Huh?"
"I'm just not feeling it today, nya."
Nekochan curled up, hugging her tail.
[laughing]Filming's canceled! I want taiyaki!"
[angry]Again!? We're in the middle of the competition!"
Nenneko raised her voice in a fluster.
"But I'm hungry, nya. Taiyaki. Red bean paste sounds good, nya."
Billy's face lit up.
[excited]Taiyaki!? The taiyaki from next-door Karimochido is the best!"
"I know, nya! Granny Tae's taiyaki is exquisite, nya!"
[excited]Red bean paste? Or custard?"
"Red bean paste, obviously, nya! Custard's good too, but the classic is red bean, nya!"
[excited]I know, right! I'm a red bean paste guy too!"
The two had hit it off before anyone knew it.
"Wait, wait, wait!"
Nico hurriedly cut in.
"You two just declared each other rivals! So why are you getting all excited about taiyaki!"
Amby watched the three of them with an expressionless face.
And then—quietly, she pressed the record button on her high-end phone.
Nekochan, trying to curl up in the sun but failing because her tail got in the way. Nenneko, looking troubled. Billy, getting worked up about taiyaki. Nico, desperately trying to stop him.
Amby's finger unconsciously kept the record button pressed.
The air in the alley felt somehow brighter than before.
—That's when it happened.
"Hey, you lot."
A gruff voice rang out.
From the shadows of the alley, three men appeared. Matching grimy knit caps on their heads, wearing tattered coats. On the sleeves of their coats, a patch with the letter "B" stitched in red thread.
Members of the Bomp gang.
"What's this, brats? Got some fancy-lookin' phones there."
The leader of the group grinned.
"Come on, let us have a look at those."
And he reached out to snatch the high-end phone from Amby's hands—she was the closest.
Amby, expressionless, clutched the phone to her chest and didn't move.
[scared]...No."
"Hey, I said hand it over!"
The man grabbed Amby's arm. Her slender body swayed roughly.
[angry]Give it back, now!!"
Billy shouted and lunged at the men.
"You little—stay out of this!"
The man shoved Billy.
Billy stumbled, his foot catching on the uneven cobblestones of the alley.
—Thud!
He fell spectacularly.
"Ow!"
And to make matters worse—
Riiip!
The dull sound of tearing fabric.
[laughing]Whoa, those pants are done for, nya!"
Nekochan lifted her head from her sunny spot and laughed.
Billy's pants were torn clean through at the knee. His bare knee was painfully scraped and red.
[angry]Dammit...!"
Billy couldn't move, clutching his knee.
In that instant—
"Now!"
Nico had pulled out from his camera bag—not the fish phone, but a proper high-end phone.
Camera app launched. Without hesitation, he aimed it at the three Bomp members.
His fingertips, adjusting the focus, were precise and fast, like a different person from usual.
—Click.
A quiet shutter sound.
The three men's faces were caught in the frame for just a moment.
"Did you just get evidence!?"
The men turned around in a panic.
[angry]Don't you take evidence!"
The leader tried to grab Nico, but Nico stepped back and held up the phone.
[cold]Don't move. I'll send this to the police right now."
Nico's voice was so low and calm it surprised even himself.
The men exchanged glances.
"...Tch. Remember this."
Clicking their tongues, the three of them fled deeper into the alley.
Nenneko rushed over to Billy, who was still on the ground.
"A-Are you okay!?"
[laughing]Oww... but hey, it'll work out!"
Billy stood up with a silly grin, his pants still torn.
Amby, still clutching the high-end phone to her chest, let out a small breath.
[whispers]...Thank you."
Her voice was so small, it was hard to tell who it was meant for.
An indescribable atmosphere hung in the alley.
"...How's the footage?"
Nico checked the photo he'd taken of the Bomp members on his phone. It was blurry, their faces barely discernible. Still, the "B" patch on the coat sleeve was just barely visible.
Meanwhile, he played back the video Amby had been recording on her phone.
The alley cat, ten seconds.
Nekochan's yawn, three seconds.
That was it.
"...Hah."
Nico's sigh echoed heavily through the alley.
"We didn't get a single usable shot."
What had they even been doing all day?
Amby looked around at everyone's faces in turn. Billy's torn pants, Nico's pale face, Nekochan's smile, Nenneko's apologetic expression.
Then, she murmured quietly.
[gentle]...We can just come back tomorrow."
A short sentence.
But it was surprisingly direct and gentle.
Billy's face brightened instantly.
[excited]Amby...! Yeah, you're right! There's always tomorrow!"
Nico felt the tension leave his shoulders too.
"...Yeah. Today was a total failure, but it can't be helped."
[laughing]Nyahaha! You guys are funny, nya! If you're coming back here tomorrow, I'll come too, nya!"
"Huh? You feel like it now?"
"Because I want taiyaki, nya!"
Laughter echoed through the alley.
And so, the third day of the competition's filming ended with no results.
But it felt like something had moved forward, just a little.
—Night.
The second floor of Random Phone Shop, the break room.
The street outside was quiet, and the neon lights of the Torino Street shopping district flickered into the room through a gap in the curtains.
On the sofa, Billy lay sprawled out, a compress on his knee.
Amby had already gone home.
Nico alone sat in the darkened room, staring at his phone screen.
Playing back was the photo of the Bomp members he'd taken during the day.
An out-of-focus image where you couldn't even tell if it was a person's face.
But the "B" patch stitched onto the coat sleeve—that alone was faintly recognizable.
"...Bomp."
He muttered quietly and left a note in his phone's memo.
Bomp. A group of troublemakers based in the underground old city. Their official name was the "Bomp Rally Gang."
(*Those guys didn't just happen to get in our way.*)
Nico took the fish phone out of the camera bag.
As
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