Ayaka groaned as her phone buzzed violently against her pillow. She barely cracked an eye open before—
"AYAKAAAAAA!"
Yuki's high-pitched scream exploded through the speaker.
Ayaka jolted upright, her heart nearly stopping. "W-What?! Is someone dead?!"
"No! You won't believe this—KAITO'S PLANNING A CAMPING TRIP!"
Ayaka blinked, pressing the phone closer to her ear as she rubbed sleep from her eyes. "A… camping trip?"
"Yes!!" Yuki squealed. "That's why he's been so weird lately! I totally thought he was cheating but NO—he's just planning something sweet and quiet and ugh, he's the cutest idiot alive!"
Ayaka let out a soft, amused breath. 'So the plan's finally in motion.' "That's… great, Yuki."
"He said you're all invited! Kazumi, Takeshi, Keiko and Haruto, Miura, even that ice cube Nakamura. Can you believe it? This is going to be chaos and I love it!"
Ayaka chuckled. "I guess it'll be fun."
"Oh, it better be. I'm dragging you to a lake, and we're roasting marshmallows whether you like it or not. And you'll finally get time with your boys."
Ayaka choked. "What boys?
Yuki snorted. "Please. Half of Tokyo's population knows your love triangle is about to implode. I'm just here for the popcorn."
"I'm hanging up now." Ayaka muttered, face burning.
"No, wait! One more thing—I think Kaito's planning something BIG. Like diamond-big. I saw a ring on his tablet!"
"Yuki. Stop snooping."
"But what if I accidentally open it again?!"
Ayaka sighed, her smile gentle but conflicted. 'You have no idea, Yuki. Not yet.'
"I'll see you soon." Ayaka said softly, already dreading and anticipating the trip all at once.
"I'll see you in 3 days! By the way wear something cute! You never know which prince might finally grow a pair and confess!"
*Click*
Ayaka tossed the phone beside her and fell back against the pillows.
Sunlight slipped through the curtains, warm and golden, and yet her chest felt anything but light.
She already knew what Kaito was planning.
She had promised to help.
She was supposed to be excited.
But she's so nervous...
"How the hell am I going to ask Akihiko now?" She let out a sigh of frustration.
As Ayaka opened the door and left her room she was startled Akihiko was still there.
"Good morning." He greeted while drinking a cup of coffee.
"Y-you're still here?!" She asked.
"We're writing a book aren't we?" He raised his eyebrow while looking at her.
"I-I mean don't you have work today?" She asked.
"Dr. Yamamoto gave me a week off since he kept asking me to cover for him." Akihiko replied not bothered.
"I-I see." Ayaka said.
"Now we have more time together." He said while looking at Ayaka with a teasing grin on his face.
"More like you have more time to torture me." Ayaka whispered above her breath.
"What was that?"
"N-Nothing!" she blurted, spinning on her heel. "I'm going to change!"
She practically slammed her bedroom door shut behind her, pressing her back against it. Her pulse was racing. 'Why does he say things like that so easily?!' she thought, covering her face. "How am I supposed to survive a week of this?"
Several hours later…
Ayaka groaned, slumping forward over her desk, her head buried in her folded arms. "We've been writing for hours and I think my brain is melting."
Akihiko leaned over from his side, poking her cheek lightly with the end of his pen. "Hey. Pay attention. We're in the middle of plotting the climax."
"My brain is the climax." she mumbled. "It's combusting."
"What do you want to do then?"
She peeked at him from her arm. "Can we take a break?"
He nodded. "Sure. What do you want to do?"
A spark flickered in her tired eyes. "Celestial Conquest: Divine War?"
Akihiko paused—then smiled. "Let's play."
Ayaka sat up abruptly, eyes wide. "You still remember how to play?"
He smirked. "Want to test my skills?"
"Oh, you're confident now?" she said, raising an eyebrow.
"Afraid of a little challenge?"
Ayaka scoffed. "Please. You're going down."
------
They arrived at Tanaka's Gaming Cafe fifteen minutes later.
"Ahhh! Ms. Yamamoto! Mr. Nakamura!" Taichi beamed behind the counter. "It's been a while since I've seen you two together!"
"We'll take the usual, Mr. Tanaka!" Ayaka chirped.
"You got it!" he said cheerfully.
They settled into their usual booth in the corner, the familiar scent of coffee, fried snacks, and electronics in the air.
Ayaka powered on her monitor, choosing the 1v1 match mode.
"Ready to lose again?" she teased, grinning at him.
"I was born ready." Akihiko replied with a chuckle as he cracked his knuckles.
The game loaded—Celestial Conquest: Divine War.
The screen glowed, casting a soft blue light over their faces.
Ayaka chose her usual Valkyrie class. Akihiko selected a dark knight—one she didn't remember him using before.
"Let's begin."
The match exploded into fast-paced action.
Ayaka clicked rapidly, issuing commands, launching magical barrages, and dodging Akihiko's strikes.
But something was different this time.
He was good.
Really good.
"Whoa." she muttered. "You've seriously improved."
Akihiko smirked as he struck her down. "I told you. I don't forget what matters."
They started another round.
She lost...
Again.
Ayaka stared at the screen in disbelief. "The tables really just turned…"
"It's just pure talent, Ms. Midnight." he said smugly.
Just then, Taichi arrived with two iced coffees and set them down with a friendly grin.
He patted Akihiko on the shoulder.
"You've gotten strong, Nakamura. I guess coming here every day finally paid off."
Akihiko froze mid-sip.
Ayaka blinked. "Wait. Every day?"
"Oh, yeah!" Taichi laughed. "After you two played that all-nighter, he came back every day. He told me he wanted to get stronger so he could play beside you. Then he said something like, 'If she's going to save the world, I better not slow her down.'"
Akihiko looked away, ears tinged red. "I don't remember saying that."
"Really?" Ayaka whispered, staring at him, eyes wide and shimmering.
"Anyway..." Taichi laughed, walking off, "you two have fun!"
Ayaka kept staring at Akihiko, her heart pounding.
She hadn't known.
She never knew he cared that much.
That he had come back just to understand something that mattered to her.
"Can you stop staring—" Akihiko began, voice tight.
"I'm not—" Ayaka blinked rapidly, realizing a tear had slipped down her cheek.
She turned away, wiping it with the back of her hand. "D-Don't mind me! I'm just—ugh—emotional from losing. That's all."
Akihiko reached over gently, brushing a thumb across her cheek.
"Ayaka… are you okay?" he said quietly, his voice unusually soft.
"I said I'm fine." she murmured, flustered. She forced herself to look at the screen. "Let's just keep playing."
But inside, her thoughts swirled chaotically.
'Why did my heart feel so light after hearing that…?'
They played in silence for a few minutes.
Then, Ayaka bit her lip.
Now or never.
"…Hey. Akihiko?"
He didn't look away from the screen. "Hm?"
"…There's this camping trip. With everyone. Yuki's boyfriend planned it. It's in three days."
"Hmm. And?"
She hesitated. "Do you… want to come with us?"
That finally made him pause. He turned his head slowly, meeting her eyes with a faintly amused expression. "…Am I the first one you asked?"
"…Y-yes."
He blinked. "How about Miura then?"
"Miura is easier to ask than you... I can ask him anytime." she blurted, then winced.
Akihiko raised a brow. "Easier than me?"
"You're… complicated!" she said, flustered.
"You glare and smirk and say weird cryptic things, and it's hard to know if you'll say yes or laugh in my face."
He tilted his head slightly, lips curling. "So you thought I'd say no?"
"I didn't say that—"
"Too late."
Ayaka groaned and dropped her forehead against the desk. "So… is that a yes or no?"
Akihiko leaned closer, his voice soft but edged with something unreadable. "Of course I'll come."
She looked up, startled.
He gave her a slow, teasing smile. "Wouldn't miss a chance to see you attempt to build a tent. Or maybe fall into a lake."
She threw a napkin at him.
But her heart? Her heart was soaring.
------
Ayaka leaned back in her chair, the glow of the monitor reflecting in her eyes, fingers still twitching from their last intense match. Her lips were curled in a stubborn pout, brows furrowed in defeat.
"I still can't believe you won again." she muttered under her breath, arms folded as she stared at the results screen.
Akihiko let out a quiet chuckle from across the booth, the low, smug kind that always made her want to throw something at him. "You're just mad your goddess build couldn't keep up with my divine assassin."
"Only because you memorized the frame data." she shot back, her tone half-whine, half-impressed. "Who even does that for fun?!"
"You'd be surprised what a man will do when he wants to impress someone." Akihiko replied smoothly, sipping from his now lukewarm coffee.
Ayaka's ears tingled at that, but she quickly turned her face away, pretending to be fascinated by a crack in the wall.
She didn't want to get into that—not now, not with the warm, dangerous way he was looking at her, like he knew exactly how flustered she really was beneath the sarcasm.
Just as she was about to retort, Akihiko stood up and stretched, the hem of his dark sweater rising just a bit above his belt as he raised his arms. "Anyway, let's go. We've been here for hours. Time to head home and continue writing."
Ayaka blinked and snapped her head toward him. "Wait, already? But we just got here!"
He gave her a pointed look. "We've been here for three hours."
"That's not long enough!" she argued. "We still haven't played enough!"
Akihiko quirked a brow. "You asked me to play 1v1 a lot isn't that enough?"
"I want to play a 5v5 match now!" Ayaka huffed.
Akihiko smiled faintly, clearly enjoying the way she puffed up in protest.
But his tone remained firm. "Ayaka. You still have a deadline, remember? We made real progress this morning. If we don't finish that scene tonight, your editor will appear in your dream like a demon editor from hell."
Ayaka groaned, letting her head fall dramatically onto the table. "Can't you just carry me out in your arms like last time? I'll pretend to be unconscious. You'll get pity points and everything."
Akihiko gave her a flat look. "You're tempting fate."
She peeked up at him through her arms. "C'mon, just a little longer? Ten more minutes?"
Akihiko didn't budge. "You said that twenty minutes ago. And ten minutes before that."
"That's because you're impossible to beat now." she mumbled.
"Is that a compliment?"
"It's a complaint disguised as one."
He crossed his arms and leaned forward, just enough to enter her personal space and make her heart skip. "I'm giving you two options." he said slowly. "You can walk out of here like a responsible adult… or…"
Ayaka narrowed her eyes. "Or what?"
"Or I'll carry you again."
She froze.
The words were soft, but they hit like a lightning bolt.
Her entire face heated up so fast it felt like steam might come out of her ears.
"You wouldn't." she whispered.
"I would."
"I dare you."
He smiled wider. "You've forgotten how shameless I can be."
"No way." she muttered, scooting her chair back so fast it made a horrible screech across the floor. "I-I'll wait for you in the car!"
Akihiko watched, amused, as she bolted from the booth, nearly bumping into Taichi who gave her a startled wave on her way out.
She didn't stop until she was at the door of the cafe, her heart pounding, cheeks on fire.
From behind, Akihiko's chuckle echoed softly.
"Still running away, I see." he murmured under his breath, gathering their things with a faint, unreadable smile.