Natalia paced her room. Four hundred and seventy-five thousand credits. She could buy the Cryo-Lich Ring catalyst and still have plenty left over.
She stopped at her window, staring at the moon hanging over New Vein City. The distant humming of patrolling drones and the occasional flash of a Guild airship punctuated the night sky.
"This is insane," she muttered to herself. "I can't seriously be considering this."
But she was. Of course she was.
The fact that Satori had found the posting and offered it to her was suspicious in itself. What game was he playing? Three weeks ago, he was a disgusting slob who could barely climb a flight of stairs without wheezing. Now he was working out daily, cleaning up after himself, and proposing they team up for a Gate run?
It didn't add up.
Yet the money was real. The opportunity was real. And most importantly, the Cryo-Lich Ring was real—a perfect complement to her telekinetic powers that would give her the edge she needed at the academy.
"Screw it."
Natalia grabbed her tablet and marched across the hallway to Satori's room. She didn't knock—why start now? She'd barged into his room countless times before to yell at him for one thing or another.
She pushed the door open, words already forming. "Alright, I'll do it, but—"
The sentence died in her throat.
Satori stood in the middle of his room, shirtless, back turned to her. A small set of dumbbells lay at his feet. His shoulders rose and fell with deep, controlled breaths. Sweat glistened on his skin, highlighting the surprising definition that had begun to replace what had once been nothing but soft, untoned flesh.
He turned at the sound of the door, eyes finding hers.
"Damn, you ever heard of knocking?" His voice was calm, almost amused.
Natalia felt heat rush to her cheeks. She covered her momentary discomfort with a scowl, forcing her eyes away from the unexpected sight of her transformed stepbrother.
"Put a shirt on," she snapped, thrusting her tablet toward him. "I've made a decision about the contract."
He didn't move to cover himself. Instead, he picked up a towel from his bed and wiped his face, then draped it around his neck.
"And?" He stepped closer, taking the tablet from her hands.
Natalia crossed her arms, creating a barrier between them. "I'll do it. But I have conditions."
"I'm sure you do." His lips curved slightly as he scrolled through the contract details.
"First, we split the Porter's share. I'm taking the risk of bringing an untrained Zero into a Gate, so I deserve compensation for the extra danger."
Satori shrugged. "Fine by me."
His easy acquiescence threw her. She'd expected an argument, or at least some negotiation.
"Second, you follow my orders exactly. No heroics, no improvising. You stay behind me at all times."
"Already agreed to that." He was still reading, brow furrowed in concentration.
"And third—" She paused, watching his expression change as he reached a particular section of the contract.
"Hang on," he said, tapping a clause on the screen. "Did you read this part?"
Natalia moved closer, leaning in to see where he was pointing. She could feel the heat radiating from his skin, smell the lingering scent of sweat and something else, something like cedar or sandalwood.
"What about it?" she asked, squinting at the fine print.
"'Participants must be licensed Hunters aged 22 or older, or operate under the direct supervision of a fully licensed Hunter,'" he read aloud. "You only have a Provisional License. And neither of us is 22."
Natalia snatched the tablet back, scanning the text herself. "That can't be right. They wouldn't list it for Provisional License holders if—" She stopped, realizing the truth. "It's not restricted to Provisionals. It just said Provisionals are accepted. But we'd still need supervision."
"Which we don't have," Satori finished her thought.
The contract was technically illegal for them to take on their own.
She should walk away. The smart move was to forget the whole thing.
But that ring...
"We could still do it," Satori said quietly.
Natalia looked up at him sharply. "Are you crazy? It's illegal."
"Only if we get caught."
"Of course we'd get caught! My hair is purple, for crying out loud. Anyone from the academy or the major guilds would recognize me instantly."
Satori leaned against his desk, arms crossed over his chest. The position emphasized the new muscle definition in his shoulders and arms.
"So we disguise ourselves," he said, as if it were the most obvious solution in the world. "Masks, different clothes, maybe even a wig for you. We go in looking like scrappy indie Hunters, do the job, get out, collect the money."
Natalia stared at him. "You want us to... play dress-up?"
"I want us to get what we both need," he countered. "You need that ring for the academy. I need real Gate experience before the entrance exam. This contract gets us both those things."
She started pacing again, mind racing through the possibilities. "If we're caught—"
"We won't be," he interrupted. "It's an E-Rank Gate in the Industrial Sector. The big guilds wouldn't waste their time, and the academy instructors will all be busy with preparing for the exam." He pushed off from the desk and approached her. "Think about it, Natalia. Four hundred and seventy-five thousand credits. Your ring."
The way he said her name—not "stepsister" or some crude nickname, but her actual name—caught her attention.
"Why are you so set on this?" she asked, studying his face. "What's your real angle?"
"I told you. I need the experience."
"And I'm supposed to believe you suddenly care about passing the entrance exam? After eighteen years of being the laziest person I've ever met?"
"People change." His voice was steady, unwavering.
"Not that much. Not that fast."
Satori sighed, running a hand through his damp hair. "Look, if you don't want to help me, fine. I'll find another way."
She looked down at the tablet.
"We'd need really good disguises," she said finally.
A slow smile spread across Satori's face. "So that's a yes?"
"It's a 'I'm considering it and need more details,'" she corrected, but they both knew she'd already made up her mind.
"We'll need to go shopping," he said, moving to his closet and pulling out a shirt. "Hunter gear that doesn't look too new, but isn't falling apart either. Something authentic but unremarkable."
Natalia watched him slip the shirt over his head, obscuring the evidence of his transformation. "Where would we even get stuff like that?"
"I know a place in the Lower Market. Secondhand Hunter gear, no questions asked."
She raised an eyebrow. "How does someone who never leaves the house know about secret Hunter shops?"
"Internet research," he replied smoothly. "I've been planning for the entrance exam for weeks now."
She wasn't sure she believed him, but she also wasn't sure it mattered. The plan was taking shape in her mind, a dangerous but thrilling proposition.
"We'd need names," she said. "Fake identities to go with the disguises."
"Already thought of that." Satori grabbed his phone from the desk. "I can register us under aliases. The system only verifies the license number, not the name attached to it."
Natalia ran a hand through her purple hair. "I'll need a wig. Maybe something black or brown, nothing flashy."
"And I'll need a mask that covers most of my face," Satori added. "My eyes are... distinctive."
They were. She'd noticed that change too—how his previously dull, cowardly gaze had transformed into something sharper, more penetrating. Sometimes when he looked at her now, she felt like she was being assessed, measured in some way she didn't fully understand.
"When do you want to go shopping?" she asked.
"Tomorrow."
"Fine," she agreed. "But we meet at the Lower Market separately. No one can see us leaving the house together dressed for shopping."
"Agreed." He extended his hand to her. "Partners?"
Natalia looked at his outstretched hand, then back to his face. The word 'partners' hung in the air between them, loaded with implications. This wasn't just a one-time arrangement; it was a conspiracy. A secret they would share.
She took his hand. His grip was firm, his palm calloused from weeks of training—another physical reminder of how much had changed.
"Partners," she echoed, the word feeling strange on her tongue. "But if anything goes wrong—"
"It won't," he assured her, still holding her hand. "Trust me."
Trust. That was asking a lot. But as she pulled her hand away and headed for the door, Natalia realized she was already trusting him more than she ever thought possible. The very idea of entering a Gate with Satori would have been laughable a month ago. Now, it felt... possible. Maybe even right.
At the doorway, she paused and glanced back. "Meet me at Sector 7 transit station, platform C, 11 AM. Don't be late."
He nodded. "I'll be there."
As she closed his door behind her, Natalia leaned against the wall of the hallway, letting out a long, slow breath. What was she doing? This plan was reckless, potentially ruinous to her academic future, and relied on trusting someone she'd despised for years.
But the thought of that ring, of securing her place at the top of her class, of finally stepping out from under her father's shadow... those desires outweighed the risks.
And there was something else, something she was reluctant to admit even to herself: a flicker of curiosity about this new Satori. About who he was becoming, and why.
She pushed off from the wall and returned to her room, mind already racing through what she would need for their illicit adventure. Disguise components. Basic Hunter gear. A story prepared in case they were questioned.
For the first time in years, Natalia felt a thrill that had nothing to do with training or academic achievement. This was different—dangerous, forbidden, exciting.
She was about to break the rules, with the last person on Earth she'd ever expected to be her accomplice.