[karegare_(kagami,_rei)]_doukyusei_fuuzoku_hook... 💯

"You're late," Rei said, her eyes never leaving the screen. "And you're still in your uniform. We talked about keeping a low profile."

Rei finally looked up, her expression serious. They were bound by a secret more complex than any school project—the shared goal of competing in a high-stakes world that their teachers and parents would never understand. In the quiet of the night, as they prepared to navigate the challenges of the circuit they had entered, the boundary between their school lives and this hidden world vanished. [Karegare_(Kagami,_Rei)]_Doukyusei_Fuuzoku_Hook...

Their eyes met, and for a moment, the tension of their double lives felt palpable. There was no room for the usual "Doukyusei" (classmate) pleasantries. "You're late," Rei said, her eyes never leaving the screen

Kagami stepped further into the room, away from the window. "Practice ran late. Did the data come through?" They were bound by a secret more complex

When the door creaked open, the familiar hum of vintage arcade machines and the smell of ozone filled the air. Sitting at the far end of the dimly lit room, illuminated by the glow of a dozen monitors, was Rei. She was his classmate, the quiet girl who sat two rows behind him in history class. In school, she was invisible; here, she was the legendary strategist for their underground gaming league.

Kagami nodded, knowing that while the world saw them as ordinary students, they were the only ones who knew the truth of what happened after the sun went down.

"One rule," Rei whispered, leaning back in her chair. "Tomorrow, in homeroom, we are strangers. You don't acknowledge this place, and you don't acknowledge me."