The night felt longer than usual.
Not because the walk home was particularly far.
Not because the streets were crowded.
And certainly not because anything around him had changed.
The difference was entirely inside his head.
Ruko walked beneath a row of aging streetlights, their pale orange glow stretching his shadow across the empty pavement. The city around him was settling into its nightly rhythm. Convenience stores remained brightly lit, bicycles rolled past occasionally, and distant conversations drifted from open apartment windows.
Ordinary sounds.
Ordinary scenery.
Yet none of it managed to distract him.
His thoughts remained trapped inside the storage room.
Inside that conversation.
Inside that voice.
A cool breeze brushed against his face as he shoved both hands deeper into his pockets.
"If you can figure out who I am by the time we graduate..."
The words echoed again.
Clear.
Soft.
Almost playful.
The same tone that had haunted him throughout the entire walk home.
"I'll answer everything."
Ruko let out a long sigh.
The sound disappeared into the empty street.
"You really haven't changed."
His gaze lowered toward the pavement.
For a brief moment, the years seemed to blur together.
Three years.
Three years since he had last heard that voice.
Three years since he had buried everything related to Nervanox.
Three years since the night he convinced himself to move on.
And now she had suddenly reappeared.
Not with an apology.
Not with an explanation.
Not even with a proper greeting.
Instead she had challenged him.
A game.
Exactly the kind of thing Mitsuru would do.
A small smile appeared despite himself.
"You always did like making things difficult."
The memory surfaced naturally.
Late-night ranked sessions.
Tournament scrims.
Hours spent discussing strategies no one else cared about.
He remembered staring at his monitor at three in the morning while she argued with him over positioning.
He remembered the way she'd mock him whenever he overextended.
The way she'd predict his mistakes before he made them.
The way she'd laugh whenever he proved her right.
It was never loud laughter.
Never dramatic.
Just a quiet sound that always carried a hint of amusement.
"You rely too much on instinct."
Her voice seemed almost alive inside his memory.
"You say that every game."
"Because you keep doing it."
"And it keeps working."
"One day it won't."
The memory faded.
Leaving only silence.
Ruko stopped walking beneath a streetlight.
The glow illuminated his face while the rest of the road remained swallowed by darkness.
"...You still stayed."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
For years they had played together.
Win or lose.
Good days and bad days.
Arguments and victories.
None of it mattered.
At the end of every night she was always there.
Until she wasn't.
The smile disappeared.
"...So why did you lie?"
No answer came.
Only the distant sound of traffic.
Only the wind.
Only the lingering frustration that had never truly disappeared.
Ruko stared toward the dark sky.
Then his thoughts shifted.
Toward the present.
Toward the club.
Toward the four girls sitting in that room.
His eyes narrowed.
"Your voice didn't match."
The realization had bothered him since leaving the storage room.
The voice he'd heard wasn't identical to any of them.
At least not on the surface.
Kazuha spoke calmly and confidently.
Risa spoke precisely.
Kana spoke with energy and emotion.
Hikari spoke sharply and directly.
None of them sounded like Mitsuru.
At least not normally.
Which meant there was only one possibility.
She was hiding it.
Deliberately.
Adjusting her tone.
Softening certain words.
Suppressing habits.
Creating distance between herself and the person she used to be.
A surprisingly sophisticated deception.
One that would fool almost anyone.
Almost.
Ruko's eyes sharpened.
A faint grin appeared.
"Fine."
He resumed walking.
"If this is a game..."
The smile widened slightly.
"...Then I'll play."
The next morning arrived far sooner than he wanted.
Sunlight streamed through the classroom windows as students filled the room with the usual chaos.
Desks scraped across the floor.
Conversations overlapped.
Someone was arguing about homework.
Someone else was already asleep.
The atmosphere was so normal it felt almost irritating.
Ruko sat near the window, resting his chin against his hand while staring outside.
His notebook remained untouched.
His teacher's lecture barely registered.
His attention was somewhere else entirely.
Specifically, inside a storage room.
And inside a voice.
"...Oi."
Nothing.
"...Ruko."
Still nothing.
A book suddenly smacked against the top of his desk.
Ruko blinked.
Kana stood beside him with an unimpressed expression.
"You alive?"
"Barely."
"Wow."
She placed a hand over her heart dramatically.
"How tragic."
Ruko already regretted acknowledging her.
Kana leaned closer.
"Did your 2D wife leave you?"
"She would never."
The response came instantly.
Without hesitation.
Without shame.
Kana stared.
Then burst out laughing.
"You actually answered that seriously."
"Because it's a serious matter."
"You're impossible."
From across the room, Risa looked up from her textbook.
Her blue eyes studied him for a moment.
"You've been distracted since yesterday."
Ruko blinked.
"Have I?"
"Yes."
The answer came immediately.
No hesitation.
No room for argument.
Kazuha, seated nearby, turned around slightly.
Her gaze lingered on him.
"Did something happen?"
For a brief moment their eyes met.
Ruko immediately looked away.
"...Nothing."
Kazuha didn't look convinced.
Before she could continue, another voice entered the conversation.
"If you're going to be useless today, at least don't drag the team down with you."
Hikari hadn't even looked up from her phone.
Her expression remained completely indifferent.
Ruko clicked his tongue.
"Relax."
He leaned back in his chair.
"I'll carry you."
Hikari finally glanced up.
Their eyes met.
"Try it."
The challenge was immediate.
Cold.
Direct.
Exactly as expected.
Then the bell rang.
And class finally began.
Practice started immediately after school.
The gaming club room buzzed with the familiar hum of computers.
The moment everyone settled into place, Ruko spoke.
"I have a question."
The room quieted.
Kana spun her chair around.
"What now?"
Ruko crossed his arms.
His gaze swept across the room.
"How many of you know how to play I:B?"
The reaction was immediate.
Kana groaned.
Hikari visibly frowned.
Risa adjusted her glasses.
Even Kazuha looked surprised.
"...You're joking."
Kana sounded genuinely concerned.
"That hero is cursed."
"High mechanical requirements," Risa added.
"Extremely punishing mistakes."
"Not worth learning unless you're insane," Hikari concluded.
Kazuha nodded.
"It's one of the hardest heroes in the game."
Ruko listened quietly.
Everything they said was true.
I:B wasn't just difficult.
It was infamous.
A dual-form hero that required near-perfect decision making.
The first form specialized in control and pressure.
Patient.
Methodical.
Calculated.
Then came the transformation.
Once certain conditions were met, the character shifted into a completely different role.
A ruthless assassin but somehow Mitsuru manage to turn it into her signature Roam Hero.
Fast.
Explosive.
Merciless.
Most players failed because they transformed too early.
Or too late.
Only a handful mastered the timing.
Mitsuru had been one of them.
No.
She had been the best.
Ruko had never seen anyone pilot I:B the way she could.
Not even professionals.
"...Let's play it."
The room fell silent.
Kana pointed at herself.
"Us?"
"All of you."
The suspicion was immediate.
Ruko ignored it.
Because this wasn't practice.
This was investigation.
And one of them didn't know it yet.
The match began.
Ruko remained standing behind them.
Watching.
Observing.
Analyzing.
Kana played first.
Within minutes he saw the problem.
Too aggressive.
She chased kills before building momentum.
Forcing fights she didn't need.
Trying to accelerate the hero's power curve through brute force.
Exactly the opposite of how I:B was meant to function.
Next came Risa.
Her mechanics were clean.
Technically impressive.
But she hesitated.
Overanalyzed.
Delayed transitions.
Missed opportunities.
The hero's tempo collapsed every time she paused to think.
Then Hikari.
Ruko immediately rubbed his forehead.
She skipped entire setup phases.
Ignored conditions.
Attempted to force transformations through raw confidence.
Predictably, everything exploded.
Mostly her.
Finally—
Kazuha.
Ruko watched carefully.
Perhaps more carefully than he intended.
Missed timings.
Delayed reactions.
Poor transformation windows.
She struggled more than expected.
The results were impossible to ignore.
She couldn't even consistently reach the hero's second form.
The match ended exactly as predicted.
In defeat.
Kana immediately threw her headset onto the desk.
"Told you."
Nobody disagreed.
Ruko stepped forward.
"Show me your winrate statistics."
Collective groans filled the room.
But eventually they complied.
One by one.
Kana.
44%.
Risa.
45%.
Hikari.
42%.
Then—
Kazuha.
32%.
Ruko stared at the number.
Longer than necessary.
Too long.
Because if these statistics were genuine...
Then she couldn't possibly be Mitsuru.
Not with this hero.
Not with I:B.
Not with those numbers.
Unless—
His eyes narrowed slightly.
She was hiding it.
The possibility remained.
But it felt less likely now.
"...Forget it."
Kana blinked.
"What?"
"We'll continue normal practice."
No explanation followed.
No one understood what he had been looking for.
And Ruko intended to keep it that way.
The rest of practice continued normally.
Matches.
Strategies.
Corrections.
Adjustments.
But throughout the entire session, one thought remained fixed inside his mind.
Somewhere in this room...
Mitsuru was watching him.
And she knew exactly what he was trying to do.
Hours later, the clubroom finally emptied.
Kana left first.
Followed by Hikari.
Then Risa.
Kazuha lingered near the doorway.
"You've been thinking too much lately."
Ruko didn't answer.
She smiled slightly.
"We still have plenty of heroes left."
A pause.
"Don't rush."
Then she left as well.
The door clicked shut.
Silence filled the room.
Darkness slowly settled outside the windows.
For several hours nothing happened.
Then—
A voice broke the silence.
"Why did you lie to Ruko earlier?"
The question hung in the air.
Calm.
Measured.
Someone else answered.
Not immediately.
Not defensively.
Just carefully.
"I'm not asking for details."
The first voice continued.
"But I've seen you play I:B."
A long pause followed.
Then came a quiet reply.
Soft enough to almost disappear.
"Who knows..."
A faint laugh followed.
Gentle.
Melancholic.
"...Maybe I'm just too guilty"
The room became silent again.
No further explanation came.
No names.
No answers.
Only another layer added to the mystery.
And somewhere beyond the clubroom walls
Unaware of how close he truly was
Ruko continued searching.
While the girl known as Mitsuru continued waiting.
Watching.
And smiling from the shadows as the game she created slowly began to unfold.
The following morning arrived far too quickly.
Ruko barely slept.
Every time he closed his eyes, the same voice returned.
Soft.
Familiar.
Regretful.
"I'm sorry."
The words echoed through his mind like a song he could never quite forget.
He had imagined countless scenarios over the past three years.
Sometimes he imagined finding Mitsuru and demanding answers.
Other times, he imagined ignoring her completely.
There were even moments when he convinced himself he didn't care anymore.
But reality was far less convenient.
Because the moment he heard her voice again—
everything came rushing back.
The betrayal.
The loneliness.
The countless nights spent staring at an empty friends list.
The stupid hope that never truly disappeared.
And now she had given him a challenge.
A game.
A game he had every intention of winning.
The morning bell rang throughout the school building.
Students hurried through the hallways while teachers prepared for class.
Ruko sat beside the classroom window, staring absentmindedly at the blue sky beyond the glass.
His notebook remained completely blank.
Normally he would have been reading manga on his phone or looking through announcements for upcoming anime releases.
Today, however—
his mind was occupied by four entirely different problems.
Four girls.
One of them was Mitsuru.
The challenge sounded simple.
Find her.
The reality was anything but.
Because if yesterday proved anything—
it was that whoever Mitsuru was, she had prepared herself.
The voice he heard in the storage room was different.
Subtle.
But different.
Not enough to sound fake.
Just enough to create uncertainty.
Which meant she was actively hiding.
And if she was actively hiding—
then she expected him to investigate.
That realization alone made him narrow his eyes.
"You're enjoying this."
The words slipped from his mouth.
A folded piece of paper immediately struck his forehead.
"Who's enjoying what?"
Kana appeared beside his desk with perfect timing.
Ruko sighed.
"You know, normal people don't throw things at others first thing in the morning."
"Normal people also sleep at night."
Kana pointed accusingly at the dark circles beneath his eyes.
"You look like a zombie."
"That's because I died."
"Tragic."
"Thank you."
"I wasn't sympathizing."
"I know."
Kana pulled a nearby chair and sat down backwards.
"You've been weird since yesterday."
"That's impressive considering I'm always weird."
"Fair point."
She leaned forward slightly.
"But seriously."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Something happened."
Ruko immediately looked away.
Bad move.
Very bad move.
Because Kana's expression instantly changed.
Like a shark smelling blood in the water.
"OH."
"No."
"Ohhhhh."
"No."
"You definitely have something you're hiding."
Ruko rubbed his forehead.
"This conversation is exhausting."
Kana grinned.
"Good."
Before she could continue interrogating him, the classroom door opened.
Several students immediately reacted.
Whispers spread through the room.
Not because a teacher entered.
Because Hikari had arrived.
The school idol looked completely unbothered by the attention.
As usual.
Long silver hair.
Perfect posture.
Perfect appearance.
Perfect public image.
She moved toward her desk while completely ignoring the admiring looks surrounding her.
For a brief moment—
their eyes met.
Hikari immediately looked away.
Cold.
Indifferent.
Like yesterday never happened.
Ruko frowned slightly.
Interesting.
Most people who got angry stayed angry.
Hikari seemed different.
More controlled.
More deliberate.
Like someone who hated wasting emotional energy.
That wasn't enough to identify her as Mitsuru.
But it was worth remembering.
A few minutes later, Kazuha entered.
The classroom atmosphere shifted again.
Not because she was famous.
Because she was respected.
Student Council President.
Honor student.
Reliable.
Dependable.
The person everyone trusted.
Kazuha greeted several classmates before taking her seat.
Then she noticed him.
Their eyes met.
A small smile appeared.
Brief.
Natural.
Then she returned to organizing documents for a council meeting.
Ruko stared for a moment before looking away.
Childhood friend.
Club captain.
The most obvious suspect.
Which was exactly why he couldn't trust that conclusion.
The easiest answer was usually wrong.
Especially in games.
And right now—
this entire situation felt like one giant strategy match.
The final suspect arrived moments before the bell.
Risa.
White hair.
Sharp eyes.
A genius whose academic scores regularly terrified teachers.
She quietly sat down and opened a textbook immediately.
No greetings.
No small talk.
No wasted movement.
Efficient.
Methodical.
If Kana was chaos—
Risa was order.
Which made her difficult to read.
Very difficult.
The bell rang.
Class began.
And Ruko spent the entire lesson doing something he hadn't done in years.
Analyzing people.
By lunchtime—
he had exactly zero useful conclusions.
"Fantastic."
He stabbed his bread with unnecessary force.
Across the rooftop, the gaming club members stared at him.
Kana blinked.
"Did the bread insult your family?"
"Possibly."
Risa adjusted her glasses.
"Your concentration today has been abnormally poor."
"Thank you for the diagnosis."
"It wasn't a diagnosis."
"It sounded like one."
Kazuha sighed.
"You barely answered any questions in class."
"I answered one."
"It was a math question."
"Exactly."
"That isn't helping your argument."
Kana pointed dramatically.
"He's definitely in love."
Ruko nearly choked.
"WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?"
Kana looked proud of herself.
"The energy."
"What energy?"
"The suffering."
"That's not a real thing."
"It absolutely is."
Hikari looked up from her drink.
"...You're all idiots."
"Thank you, Hikari."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"I know."
The rooftop descended into familiar chaos.
And for the first time since hearing Mitsuru's voice—
Ruko relaxed slightly.
Just slightly.
Then a thought suddenly occurred to him.
A dangerous thought.
If Mitsuru really was one of them...
Then she was sitting here right now.
Listening.
Watching.
Waiting.
The realization sent a strange feeling through his chest.
Because for the first time—
this wasn't about finding a ghost from the past.
These girls weren't usernames.
They weren't avatars.
They weren't voices through a headset.
They were real people.
People he laughed with.
Argued with.
Practiced alongside.
People he was slowly getting to know.
Ruko looked around the rooftop quietly.
Kana was arguing with Hikari again.
Kazuha was trying and failing to stop them.
Risa was reading while pretending not to listen.
A normal scene.
A peaceful scene.
Yet hidden somewhere inside it—
was the answer he had been searching for.
His gaze narrowed.
Fine.
If Mitsuru wanted a game—
he would give her one.
But unlike three years ago—
he wouldn't play by her rules.
This time he would create his own.
And somewhere nearby—
one of the four girls noticed the change in his expression.
A tiny smile appeared on her lips.
Gone before anyone could see it.
The game had officially begun.