A weight settled on my shoulder.

I flinched slightly at the unexpected touch, my mind snapping back to reality. The lingering haze of shock dissipated as I turned to see Ayanokouji watching me, his hand resting lightly against my shoulder.

"You spaced out," he remarked.

I sighed, realizing only now how tense I had become. "I… I was just thinking."

His gaze flickered past me, toward where Ryuen had walked. "Do you know him?"

"Know him?" My voice came out sharper than I intended, a mix of exasperation and frustration. I took a half-step back, crossing my arms. "That's not the right word."

I hesitated for only a second before I continued, voice dropping into an urgent whisper.

"Ryuen Kakeru was one of the antagonists in the game. He was always standing in the way of the player, making it impossible to win Special Exams easily." My words came faster, as though saying them aloud would help me process the situation better. "Every time you thought you had everything under control—every time you were sure you'd win—somehow, at the very last moment, he'd pull something and you'd end up second place instead!"

I clenched my fists at my sides, the sheer memory of it enough to frustrate me. "He was infuriating!"

Ayanokouji remained quiet, absorbing my words. Then, after a beat, he gave a slight nod.

"Hmm," he looked thoughtful. "So he's the kind of person who exploits small oversights to claim victory."

I blinked at the casual way he summarized it.

"Always lurking beneath the surface, waiting for an opportunity," he continued, eyes briefly glancing back down the hall where Ryuen had disappeared. "He doesn't need to be the strongest himself, nor does he need to follow the rules. As long as his opponent believes they have the advantage, he can wait until the moment they drop their guard."

A shiver ran down my spine.

It was exactly that.

I shook my head. "As usual, you manage to say more with my own words than I do."

Ayanokouji tilted his head slightly, "Ever since you told me what the game was like, I've had plenty of time to think about it." His voice was light, "So, of course, I've considered it quite a bit."

I found myself staring at him, impressed despite myself.

He's always like this.

I hated how natural it felt for him to put things into perfect order, how effortlessly he pieced together thoughts I hadn't even had the time to fully form yet.

Not that I couldn't have figured it out myself. It's just a normal deduction, after all.

My thoughts spun in circles until Ayanokouji's voice cut through them.

"So," he said simply, "what do you plan to do?"

The question caught me off guard.

What did I plan to do?

I had no answer.

My hesitation must have been obvious because Ayanokouji studied me for a moment before speaking again.

"Do you think Ryuen has bad intentions?" he asked. His gaze flickered down the hall again, but his tone remained calm. "We're in Keyaki Mall, so I doubt he's here for anything too sinister. But if you think otherwise—" He glanced back at me. "—we can act accordingly."

His voice was even, almost reassuring.

"I trust your judgment, after all."

The moment those words left his lips, something inside me wavered.

It was such a simple phrase, spoken so effortlessly, yet it wrapped around my heart in a way that left me feeling like jumping. Ayanokouji trusts me.

My thoughts immediately turned messy, spiraling into something far too soft for the situation at hand.

N-No, wait. Don't get ahead of yourself. He's just saying that.

...But what if he actually meant it?

Would that really be so bad?

A part of me wanted to linger in that warmth just a little longer.

Stop. Pull yourself together.

The voice of reason cut through my thoughts like a knife. It was sharp yet embarrassed, and laced with something that almost felt like exasperation.

G-Get on track already.

I took a breath, grounding myself. Right. This wasn't the time to get lost in my own emotions.

I turned my attention back to Ayanokouji, focusing on what actually mattered.

"…We should follow him," I decided finally, my voice steadier now. "Even if his intentions aren't anything bad, there's no way he's here for something completely normal."

I crossed my arms, frowning slightly. "I mean—it's not like I think he has some kind of evil mastermind plan or anything, but…" I hesitated, searching for the right words. "…It just doesn't sit right with me."

I glanced up at Ayanokouji, expecting him to question me, but instead, he only gave a small nod.

"Alright," he said, as if my decision had been the most natural thing in the world. "Let's go, then."

That was it. No skepticism, no objections.

Just trust.

And somehow, that made my heart waver all over again.

Navigating through Keyaki Mall without drawing attention wasn't particularly difficult. It wasn't as though we could skulk around corners or blend into the shadows—this was a public shopping center, after all. Instead, we kept a comfortable distance, moving at a natural pace, our gazes shifting just enough to make it clear we weren't directly following him.

Ryuen himself walked like he owned the place, his hands in his pockets, his usual smug confidence practically radiating off him. If he had any idea he was being followed, he didn't show it.

Still, something about him felt off.

Normally, when you saw someone like him in a setting like this, you'd assume he was just hanging out, but there was an underlying sense of purpose in the way he moved. He wasn't just wandering. He was going somewhere.

It was only when he suddenly changed directions that I stiffened, instinctively slowing my steps.

Ayanokouji, walking beside me, adjusted his pace to match.

I expected Ryuen to lead us somewhere shady—some quiet, out-of-the-way location where he could make trouble. Instead, to my complete disbelief, he walked straight into a café of all places.

A café.

I stared, half-expecting him to be dragging someone out of there, but no, he simply strolled in, picked a table near the window, and sat down.

"What," I muttered under my breath, "is he doing?"

Ayanokouji didn't answer but I could tell he was analyzing the situation.

There was something wrong about seeing Ryuen in a normal setting. He looked wrong sitting there, his lazy posture contradicting the way his sharp eyes scanned the room. The dim lighting of the café made his usual smirk look even more sinister than usual as if he belonged in the shadows rather than in the middle of an establishment that sold overpriced coffee.

"…Maybe we're overthinking it," I said after a moment, crossing my arms. "Maybe he really is just here for coffee."

Ayanokouji tilted his head slightly but didn't reply. Instead, he guided us toward a nearby table—one in direct view of Ryuen's table.

We took seats, kept him in peripheral vision, and ordered drinks.

A few minutes passed, and nothing happened.

More minutes.

Still nothing.

I felt my frustration building.

Was this really it?

I had been expecting something, but all I was getting was a guy drinking coffee in the most unsettling way possible.

This was a waste of time.

"Wait."

I was just about to sigh and suggest we leave when Ayanokouji's voice stopped me.

Following his gaze, I turned back toward Ryuen's table—just in time to see someone new approaching.

A girl with blue hair.

Her sharp, piercing gaze was unmistakable.

My breath caught.

That was—

"Ibuki Mio," I murmured, my voice almost instinctive.

"Do you know her from the game?" Ayanokouji glanced at me.

I turned to him, my mind racing. "She's one of his allies," I whispered quickly. "In the game, she was always working with him. She wasn't manipulative as he was, but she was dangerous—strong, relentless, and never backed down from a fight."

Ayanokouji nodded.

As we both watched, Ibuki walked up to Ryuen's table.

She didn't sit down immediately.

Instead, she stood there, arms crossed, her expression tense.

She looked… irritated.

Annoyed, even.

I frowned. "They're not on a date or anything, that's for sure."

Ayanokouji hummed in agreement. "You're right. She doesn't look too pleased to be here."

That was an understatement.

Ibuki's body language practically screamed I don't want to be here, and yet—she was here.

Which meant whatever was going on between them wasn't casual.

Something was up.

And I was going to find out what.

Ayanokouji suddenly shifted his gaze toward me. "Can I ask you something?"

I blinked, caught off guard. "Uh… sure?"

His voice was light, almost casual. "You mentioned that Ryuen was dangerous, manipulative, and able to work around players… so how did the player even stand a chance against him?"

It was a fair question.

Ryuen was relentless, cunning, and completely unpredictable. The game made sure he was a constant threat—someone who could always turn the tables when you least expected it.

I exhaled, leaning back slightly. "Well… it's not exactly that simple."

Ayanokouji watched me, waiting.

"There were players who managed to outplay him," I admitted, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "But those were the ones who were, like… really smart. The kind of people who could think three steps ahead."

He gave a small nod because that made sense.

"But for everyone else," I continued, "there were guides. The fanbase basically broke him down piece by piece, writing up detailed explanations of all his strategies." I held up my fingers. "In total, he had around thirty different tactics, and if you memorized them all, he wasn't that scary anymore. You'd know exactly what to expect."

Ayanokouji hummed in understanding. "So it wasn't necessarily about being smarter than him—just knowing the mechanics of how he operated."

I nodded.

There was a short pause.

Then, to my surprise, he asked another question.

"What kind of player were you?"

"W-well, I..."

My first instinct was to deflect, to brush off the question entirely.

But when I glanced at him, I hesitated.

Something about the way he looked at me made it hard to dismiss.

My fingers curled against my sleeve.

This was so embarrassing.

I swallowed. "...I—uh—"

I still felt weirdly reluctant to say it.

"...I wasn't really smart or anything," I finally muttered, shifting uncomfortably. "I just… memorized a lot of things. Like, really. I knew most of the mechanics, of the possible outcomes—I played through it so many times that I could go through the motions without even thinking."

I exhaled, lowering my gaze slightly. "...That's really the only reason I managed to beat it."

Another pause.

I forced a weak smile. "S-Sorry if that's disappointing."

I kept my eyes down, expecting—well, I wasn't sure what I was expecting.

Judgment? Indifference?

But instead, Ayanokouji spoke.

"You must have worked really hard."

H-Huh?

H-Huh?

I lost my breath, my heart skipping a beat.

My head snapped up before I could stop myself.

Ayanokouji was watching me with that same unreadable expression, but his words carried a weight that settled uncomfortably deep in my chest.

"Not many people would have the patience to memorize everything that thoroughly," he continued, "It takes dedication to play a game so many times that you can clear it effortlessly."

I felt warmth creeping up my neck, and I quickly looked away.

"Th-That's not really… it's not a big deal," I mumbled, trying to downplay it.

"Maybe not to you," he said, voice steady, "but I think it's impressive."

My stomach flipped.

I clenched my hands against my lap, my heartbeat embarrassingly loud in my ears.

Why—why did he always say things like this so naturally?

I reached for my drink, more as an excuse to do something rather than out of actual thirst. But as I picked it up, my grip faltered slightly, and the cup almost slipped from my fingers.

Ayanokouji's gaze flickered toward my hands.

I quickly steadied them, pretending nothing had happened.

Sometimes, I wondered if I was a little stupid.

I should've known by now.

Ayanokouji had always been like this—calm, unreadable, and strangely understanding in a way that caught me off guard every single time.

And yet, every single time I said something embarrassing, there was still this irrational part of me that braced for the worst.

Like he'd say something cruel. Like he'd look down on me.

But he never did.

And I...

I couldn't even trust him not to hurt me with his words?

That realization sat uncomfortably in my chest, leaving a dull ache behind.

I let out a slow breath and lowered my gaze, my thoughts growing hazy, tangled.

My eyes drifted toward Ayanokouji's hand resting on the table.

I stared at it.

Longer than I should have.

The shape of it, the way his fingers rested against the smooth surface, completely still, completely composed—just like him.

Something about it felt almost surreal.

I wasn't sure why, but it was suddenly hard to focus.

My heartbeat pressed against my ears, loud and unsteady.

My own hand trembled slightly as I pulled it away from my drink, my fingers twitching with something I didn't quite understand.

A strange, weightless sensation settled over me, making my surroundings feel distant, dreamlike.

It was quiet.

That thing—that persistent voice at the back of my mind, the one that always whispered doubts, always held me back.

It was gone.

For the first time in a long time, there was nothing stopping me.

No hesitation. No second-guessing.

Just this strange pull, this beautiful warmth.

I exhaled shakily, my fingers barely brushing the edge of the table as I hesitated.

The thought flickered, almost too quietly.

What if I just—

I swallowed.

My fingers inched closer, barely a breath away from his.

The world felt strangely muted like I was standing at the edge of something uncertain, something terrifyingly fragile.

My heart kept pounding, urging me forward.

"Kukuku."

A low, amused chuckle cut through the haze in my mind, shattering the fragile moment like glass.

The warmth that had settled over me vanished in an instant, replaced by a cold jolt of awareness.

I frowned, my focus snapping back—first to Ayanokouji, who was looking at the intruder, and then to the figure standing just beside our table.

The smirk was the first thing I noticed.

Sharp. Mocking.

The kind that sent an immediate warning through my body.

Ryuen Kakeru.

His eyes flickered with amusement as he tilted his head slightly, his voice dripping with something that felt both playful and predatory at the same time.

"Well, well." He glanced at me, a smug grin curling at his lips. "This is a surprise. And here I was thinking I only had one shadow following me."

His gaze darted toward Ayanokouji briefly before settling back on me, his smirk widening as he'd already figured out something I didn't want him to.

"Tell me—" he leaned in slightly, his tone all too casual, all too knowing, "—are you two playing detective, or is this just some very unlucky coincidence?"

I felt my entire body tense.

He noticed us.