Shinon looked at Pitohui with utter exasperation. "Honestly… there are plenty of better examples, you know."
The tension broke as the room erupted into laughter.
"Alright, if everyone's on board, I'll be the one to reach out," Shana said.
"You're going to contact Xeceed directly?" Shinon asked, worried. "Please, try not to start a fight."
"It'll be fine. I'm going through Yukko and Haruka."
Nyangoro's ears perked up. "Wait… you're on those kind of terms with those two?"
"I don't know what 'those kind of terms' means, but at the very least, Teacher and I know them."
Nyangoro's eyes widened. "Wait… so it was them? They were actually who I thought they were?"
A few members who weren't in the loop looked on blankly. "What do you mean, 'actually them'?"
"We've met those two before," Shana explained, glancing at the others. "Right? Me, Shizuka, Teacher, and Pito—we've definitely met them."
The gears turned in Pitohui's head until she finally snapped her fingers. "Oh! You mean those little shits!" Her voice carried a edge of sudden irritation.
"Don't pick a fight, Pito," Shana warned. "They seem to have grown up a bit since then."
"Really? Whatever. Honestly, I couldn't care less."
"Good. I don't plan on being best friends with them anyway."
With the plan settled, Shana and Nyangoro headed off to find Yukko and Haruka, while the other members split up to brief the Allied Squadrons.
Shizuka and Benkei headed for the G-Women's Association. Rosaria and Musket X went to find Yamikaze and Usushio Tarako. Shinon took Dain's group, while Pitohui and M went back to their 'work,' and Ikoma remained on standby at Mount Kurama.
"Oh, there they are. And luckily, Xeceed isn't with them."
Shana sounded genuinely relieved. Nyangoro gave him a look of weary amusement.
"'Luckily,' huh? You really do despise him."
Nyangoro had dropped her cutesy in-game persona. Standing before real-life acquaintances, the act felt a bit too embarrassing to maintain.
"Yeah. I hate his guts."
"I wonder if that's true," she teased.
"It is. Anyway, let's go talk to them."
The two approached Yukko and Haruka, who were relaxing at a local tavern.
"Yo. You got a minute?"
Yukko glanced up, her expression guarded. "Look, if you're trying to pick us up, we're not interested—wait, Shana…-san?"
"And you're Nyangoro, right?" Haruka added. "What do you want with us?"
Nyangoro smiled, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "My, how cold. And here we went through the trouble of visiting you as fellow alumni."
"Eh? Alumni?" Yukko blinked. "Who… who are you?"
"Wait, Yukko," Haruka whispered, her face going pale. "That voice… I know that way of speaking."
Nyangoro's smile widened into something terrifyingly familiar. "You were both so 'helpful' during the school festival and the sports meet. I believe the last time we saw each other was back in ALO, wasn't it?"
The two girls froze as if they'd seen a ghost.
"No way…"
"There's no way we could have recognized you in that avatar…"
They immediately lowered their heads, looking like children who had been caught by the strict vice-principal.
"Hey, Teacher," Shana interrupted. "What's this about ALO?"
"These two converted their accounts to ALO a while back," Nyangoro explained. "We had a little… interaction."
"Huh. So," Shana asked conversationally, "how was ALO?"
"Oh, uh, we were only there for a little bit…" Yukko stammered.
"Right, we didn't get to see much. But… we did want to try flying," Haruka admitted.
"That's a shame," Shana said with a genuine, easygoing shrug. "If you ever get the chance, you should convert back. We could all fly together sometime—just the three of us."
His tone was so sincere, so devoid of any hidden malice, that the two girls could only nod in stunned silence. He truly just loved the game.
"Shana, the main topic?" Nyangoro prompted.
"Right. Actually, we're here to invite you to an event. Did you see the MMO Today interview?"
"Oh, yeah."
"So, it's happening again?"
Shana nodded. "You catch on quick. Look, we can't keep talking about 'Former Genji' or 'Former Heike' forever. I want to use this chance to wipe the slate clean. That's why I'm bringing this to you two—the inner circle of the Heike's de facto leader."
"I see. That's why you came to us…"
"I didn't want to talk to Xeceed directly," Shana grumbled. "Because I hate him."
Yukko and Haruka suddenly burst out laughing.
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