04 - Spicarie, the Unexpected Legendary and ..

For a moment, Shouka's brain short-circuited. He stared at the name, "Spicarie," glowing ominously on the enemy team list. It had to be a coincidence, a copycat. The real Spicarie wouldn't be in his promotion match. It was statistically improbable.

"No way..." Shita whispered, her face pressed close to the monitor, her eyes wide with a mixture of terror and excitement. "Brother, that's her! That's her official account!"

The match loading screen appeared, displaying the player banners. There it was: Spicarie's signature emblem, a stylized scorpion tail dripping with starlight, a limited-edition reward for winning the first-ever Delta Strike Global Championship. This was no copycat. This was the real deal.

The match started, and chaos erupted. Shouka, usually a calm and tactical player, found his hands slick with sweat. Every move he made felt clumsy. His opponent was a phantom, a blur of impossibly fast reflexes and pinpoint accuracy. He'd peek around a corner and his screen would instantly flash red. He'd try to flank, only to run straight into a perfectly placed trap.

It wasn't a fight; it was a masterclass. Spicarie moved with a grace and lethality that Shouka had only seen in tournament highlight reels. She single-handedly dismantled his team, her kill-feed announcements stacking up relentlessly. It was brutal, efficient, and utterly demoralizing.

The word "DEFEAT" splashed across his screen in bold, unforgiving letters. He had lost. His promotion match, his chance at Marshal rank, was gone, snatched away by the very pro his sister idolized. He slumped in his chair, a wave of frustration washing over him.

"She's... she's a monster," Shita breathed, completely star-struck.

Before Shouka could even process the loss, a small notification pinged in the corner of his screen. A private message. His brow furrowed as he clicked on it.

Spicarie: gg. you played well.

Shouka stared at the message, dumbfounded. The legendary Spicarie was messaging him? He typed a quick, slightly bitter reply.

MrJanitor: gg. you're too good. crushed my promo match lol.

He expected that to be the end of it. A simple exchange of sportsmanship. But another message popped up almost instantly.

Spicarie: MrJanitor... that name is so nostalgic. Is that you, Shouka? The clumsy kid who always scraped his knees at the playground?

Shouka's heart stopped. He read the message again, and then a third time. How? How could she possibly know his real name? And that specific, embarrassing memory? No one called him that except...

His mind raced, flipping through faded memories of his childhood, of a small girl with pigtails who was always trailing after him, a girl he hadn't seen in over a decade.

MrJanitor: Who is this? How do you know me?

Spicarie: I can't believe you don't remember me. I had the biggest crush on you, you know. You were my hero back then.

Shouka felt his face flush. A crush? A childhood friend he'd forgotten was now a world-famous gamer who apparently used to have a crush on him? The situation was too surreal. His brain couldn't compute it. He was completely and utterly lost.

MrJanitor: I... I'm sorry, I have no idea who you are.

There was a pause, a few seconds that felt like an eternity. Then, the final message came through, a simple request that sent his world spinning even further off its axis.

Spicarie: This is hard to do over chat. Let's meet up. How about the cafe near our old elementary school tomorrow afternoon?