Belle turned her full attention on . The sa look she’d given the campus map when calculating the fastest route to expensive buildings.
"So Aurora’s in on it."
"She knows. Yeah."
"And she’s still interested."
"Seems like it."
"Which ans either she’s insane or you’re way more valuable than you look."
"Could be both."
"Definitely both."
She ate my bacon slowly. Deliberately. Making eye contact the whole ti like she was establishing dominance through breakfast at theft.
"Here’s what I’m thinking. Aurora’s ranked twenty-three. Silver tier. If you. Do your thing with her. You get what. Four days?"
"About that."
"And you steal her ability."
"If we hit the threshold. Yeah."
"Sensory Hijack. That’s actually a really good ability."
"I know."
"Combat applications alone. Plus the psychological warfare angle. You could. ss people up with that."
She was thinking tactically now. Sa voice she used when analyzing the gate layout before entry. Calculating value and risk and optimal outcos.
"So you’re saying I should go for it."
"I’m saying it makes sense strategically. Whether you should is. A different question that I’m not qualified to answer anymore."
Belle stood. Picked up her tray. Paused.
"For what it’s worth, you still made sure I finished three tis before you did. That... ant sothing."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Most guys don’t give a shit. They get theirs and roll over. You actually tried."
Her cheeks flushed slightly. The sa pink that spread across her face when I’d told her she tasted better than Naomi.
"So. Whatever you do with Aurora tonight. Just. Rember that so of us actually like you for reasons that aren’t just survival math."
She left before I could respond.
Jordan was staring at now. Fully awake. His grey eyes were sharp despite the exhaustion.
"You’re collecting a harem."
"Now you decide to be lucid."
"You have two girlfriends. And a date with a third tonight. That’s textbook harem protagonist behavior."
"It’s a survival chanism."
"It’s wish fulfillnt."
"I will literally die if I don’t do this."
"Uh huh."
He pulled out his phone. Started typing in the group chat.
I watched the ssages appear in real ti.
Jordan: just found out Jace is dating both Naomi and Belle
Jordan: and has a date with Aurora tonight
Jordan: we’re in a harem ani
Jordan: I want to go ho
Belle responded imdiately.
Belle: it’s not a harem if everyone knows about it
Belle: it’s called polyamory
Belle: look it up
Naomi’s ssage ca slower.
Naomi: can we please not discuss this in the group chat
Jordan: why not
Naomi: because it’s private
Jordan: nothing’s private when your boyfriend’s building a rotation schedule
Naomi: JORDAN
I put my phone face down on the table. Rubbed my eyes with both hands. My shoulder throbbed where the Crawler had bitten through my suit.
This was fine.
Everything was fine.
I had eight days of life. A combat rating that just proved I could survive real monsters. Two won who’d decided I was worth their ti despite being a lottery kid with no prospects. A third woman who apparently found my amnesia about date planning charming instead of disqualifying.
And a bet with Blair Davenport that would either make her personal pet or make her mine.
Plus the small detail that my entire squad now knew I was juggling multiple romantic entanglents and would probably never let forget it.
My phone vibrated again. I flipped it over reluctantly.
Misato: arena. 11am. be there or I’m adding punishnt laps
Right. The debrief. Where we’d watch footage of almost dying and Misato would explain in excruciating detail everything I did wrong.
I finished my protein shake in three long pulls. Stood. Grabbed my tray.
Jordan watched go with sothing that might’ve been sympathy. Or schadenfreude. Hard to tell with him.
"Good luck surviving the next six hours."
"Thanks."
"You’re gonna need it."
"I know."
I dumped my tray and headed back to Building C. The morning was already heating up. California sun making everything too bright and too warm and too perfect for nine in the morning.
Students passed in clusters. Most ignored completely. A few glanced at my Obsidian trim and kept moving.
One girl actually stopped. Ruby student. Tall with dark skin and braided hair. She looked at like I was a puzzle she couldn’t quite solve.
"You’re Monroe right? From the Midnight Foxes?"
"Yeah."
"Heard you guys got an A-rank yesterday. First-year squad."
"News travels fast."
"My squad got a C. We’re ranked fourth in Ruby house. You pulled an A with a bunch of lottery kids and Blair’s assistant. People are talking."
She walked away before I could respond. Didn’t wait for confirmation or denial. Just dropped that information and moved on.
Great.
So now I was. What. Campus gossip? The fat lottery kid who sohow cleared a gate with better ranking than squads full of guild heirs?
That would definitely make things easier with Blair.
I laughed out loud alone on the pathway like a crazy person.
A passing Erald student gave a wide berth.
Back at the apartnt Hikaru was gone. Her room door stood open for the first ti all week. I glanced inside out of pure curiosity.
The space looked. Military. That was the only word for it. Bed made with hospital corners. Desk completely empty except for one closed notebook and two pens aligned perfectly parallel. Closet organized by color and garnt type. Not a single personal item visible. No photos. No decorations. No evidence that a human being actually lived here.
I backed away slowly. Like I’d just witnessed sothing I shouldn’t have.
That level of control wasn’t normal. That was soone who couldn’t afford to let anything slip. Soone maintaining a cover story twenty-four hours a day.
I knew Hikaru was actually a girl. Had known since the first day when I recognized her from the novel. But seeing her room like this. The absolute discipline required to maintain that space.
Respect. Genuine respect. Mixed with the knowledge that if she ever found out I knew her secret she’d probably kill with invisible cutting force while I slept.
My phone buzzed.
Aurora: bring dessert
sothing chocolate
and don’t cheap out
I’ll know
I typed back.
how will you know
I have a very refined palate
which ans?
which ans I’ve tasted a lot of things
and I know when sothing’s worth savoring
There was a pause. Then three dots dancing across my screen.
you’re flirting with through text about chocolate cake
is it working?
...maybe
I’ll take maybe
you should
maybes are rare from
I smiled at my phone like an idiot. Actually smiled. In my empty apartnt where no one could see.
Then I looked at the ti.
10:23 AM.
Thirty-seven minutes until Misato’s debrief. Then ranking results at noon. Then theoretically the rest of the day to figure out how to acquire decent chocolate dessert without spending my entire point balance.
And tonight. A date with Aurora that would either end with adding her to the network or completely imploding the entire situation.
No pressure.
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