Ren lay on the rooftop as the sun rose, staring at his phone. On the screen was a message from the Guide app.
His red eyes narrowed as he stared at the screen without blinking. For a few seconds, his eyes almost appeared to glow.
' I wonder how it will all play out, ' He put his phone in his pocket and rested his head on his hands.
' So the key item is the drug. Everything happening is connected to it. Does Rick know about it? Well, his quest didn't really require him to know that… But I'm certain Tatsuya has already connected all the dots. So, is it time to make a move? '
As Ren stared at the sky, a cool breeze passed by, followed by the sound of footsteps and the rooftop door shutting.
The breeze brushed through Ilya's purple hair as she approached where Ren lay.
She stood next to him without saying anything, just glaring.
They stayed like that for seconds. Ren thought to himself, ' More than five seconds without saying anything did that mute function finally work? '
The rooftop remained quiet. Then, out of nowhere, a slight cough came from Ilya.
Ren stayed quiet.
Again she coughed, louder this time.
Still, there was quietness. Finally, she gave up with a defeated growl. " Ugh, this is frustrating. Aren't you going to say something? "
" What's there to say? Personally, I prefer the quietness, " he replied without looking at her, his red eyes fixed on the sky.
" Who'd be surprised? You're always in your own stupid world, acting like the outside world doesn't matter. " Her purple eyes narrowed as she looked at him.
She tilted her head slightly, folded her arms across her chest, and walked closer to the edge of the building.
" You know, I've noticed something. The president seems to rely on you more than me these days. "
" Oh, is that so? "
" Don't 'is that so' me! I hate it. Why don't you just disappear? "
There was a short pause, Ren's expression remaining neutral. ' I really don't care for this conversation, but let's play along. Sticking to one playstyle always leads to certain destruction. '
He moved his upper body up, his black hair covering his eyes. " The president is a logical person. Obviously, she'll choose capability over connection. You're supposed to be good at adding things together… so why doesn't that add up? "
As he finished, her eyes looked at him with pure disgust his calm face reflected in her purple eyes. Her breathing began to quicken.
" Isn't that why she sent you to find me? Because I'm more... "
" Don't say it, " she interrupted before he could finish. Then she let out a deep breath.
She turned and started walking toward the door. " I know your type. Always giving the perfect responses, stuck in your own world where you're always right and everyone else is wrong. Because of that, you won't hesitate to betray someone if it doesn't serve your interest. "
Ren stayed quiet, maintaining his calm expression, his red eyes looking at her for the first time that day.
As she walked past him, she stopped. " Just don't forget. If anything even a single inch of the president's hair gets hurt, I'll… "
Without finishing the statement, she walked off, leaving the words hanging in the air.
All the while, Tatsuya and Rick were walking to school.
Tatsuya was looking at his phone. Aina was calling, and he didn't answer he just watched until the call ended.
Rick observed the whole thing without saying anything. Right after the call ended, a smirk appeared on his face.
" You know, you look more terrible than usual. I mean, usually you look terrible, but today it's bad, " Rick took a jab at Tatsuya in a low, smug tone.
" You're just repeating the same word. Why am I not surprised you said something dumb? Just shut up, " Tatsuya's voice sounded tired.
Rick let out a chuckle, his sky blue eyes looking sharp. " Hahaha... did you get my message? "
" What message? " Tatsuya replied in a calm tone, his blue eyes slightly narrowed. " I didn't see anything. "
" Oh, is that so? I guess I'll let someone elsehave the anime mech i mentioned about, " Rick said, running a hand through his hair.
" There was no mech mentioned in the message. Stop playing with me, " Tatsuya mumbled to himself as he looked down.
" Have you made any progress yet? "
" Yes, kind of. " Tatsuya rubbed his eye. " Things are going well to the point where something feels… off. "
" Huh? If everything's going well, why would you feel like something's off? What are you thinking? " Rick asked, side-glancing at Tatsuya.
Tatsuya didn't say anything. His eyes narrowed as he put a hand over his mouth. " There's still something I don't know yet… Wait "
Tatsuya's eyes widened as he saw a girl pull on Rick's sleeve. She had brown hair.
Rick turned around, and upon seeing the girl's face, his eyes narrowed momentarily before returning to their usual look.
" Hmmm, Hayase. How… may I help you? " he asked calmly.
" How are you? " she said, her eyes shaking slightly as she looked at him. " Please, just give me a moment. I just want to talk to you, " she pleaded.
" Sure, I can talk. But make it quick. "
Tatsuya stood silently, watching the scene unfold, his eyes focused on Hayase.
' This girl… She looks oddly familiar. Have I seen her somewhere? ' He observed her face before continuing to walk. ' Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'll focus on my part. Besides, I'm sure Ren will make his move soon. '
As Tatsuya walked off, there was a wide smile on his face, and his eyes were just as wide almost as if they were glowing.
Later that same morning, in the school's crowded second floor hallway, three students chatted near a window.
" I wonder why we're still having classes like nothing happened, " one student complained.
" I know, right? Can you imagine? With everything going on, I'm surprised some teachers still come to teach," another added. He opened his hands before continuing, " I mean, shouldn't they be busy explaining the whole situation to the parents? "
The third boy pushed his glasses back into position as he explained, " I know it might not look like it, but they have the situation pretty much under control, especially with her involved… Besides, classes won't be canceled for anything unless someone dies. "
" Yeah, it sucks, " the first boy added in a disappointed tone as he looked down.
As the boys continued their discussion, Rin walked past them with a book in hand.
She walked slowly, her hazel brown eyes looking down, her short brown hair slightly covering her face.
As she looked up, she saw Ren approaching from a distance, his red eyes looking hollow.
Immediately upon seeing him, a smile appeared and her eyes lit up. She increased her pace.
She walked as fast as she could, her eyes focused on him, the lenses of her glasses reflecting an image of his face.
Just after taking a few fast steps forward, she blinked and the next moment he was nowhere to be seen, it was like the people passing erased him.
She just stood still without moving in the middle at the crowd as the people walked past her.
Because the very next moment, Ren was out of sight.
Rin's eyes widened as she looked around, only to see other students walk past her.
In that same moment, Ren was already taking the stairs up to the third floor, hands in his pockets.
Coming down the stairs was a girl with short dark purple hair and black-colored eyes it was Shiori.
For a short moment as they were about to pass each other, it was like the world slowed to a crawl. Their eyes met both side-glanced at one another.
Ren's red eyes met her black ones, and in his mind
' It's like I unlock new characters every day. His eyes narrowed slightly. But this one might be more than your ordinary NPC.'
As Shiori walked down the stairs, a smirk appeared on her face, while Ren's eyes returned to their usual state.
A few moments later, he opened the door to Horikita's office. Everything in the room was neatly in place.
The table was the only thing piled high with loads of documents. Horikita was sifting through them, her emerald eyes focused on the desk.
Without looking up, she stated, " You kept me waiting. Has your timing started to fail you? "
Without hesitation, Ren replied as he leaned against the table, " This feels like the right moment to me. What better time to start the game than when all the players are on the board? "
Upon hearing Ren's response, a smirk appeared on Horikita's face for a moment and disappeared just as fast.
She then looked up into his eyes. " Interesting. You've got my attention. Now, let me start seeing results. "