Chapter 188: The Interrogation of Haruka (and Rui's Desperate Escape)

The "Maybe" heard 'round the world hangs in the air between us like the stench of burnt toast. Haruka Ito, the queen of cool logic and calculating gazes, stands frozen on the sidewalk, her entire worldview having just been short-circuited by a single, infuriatingly ambiguous word from Izumi Sato.

Izumi/Ichigo/The Crimson Troll, or whatever her name is, has strolled away, leaving me alone with a temporarily stunned Haruka. My own brain is a chaotic mess of 'I knew it! She admitted it! Wait, she admitted nothing! She just said 'maybe'! That is not a confession! That is psychological warfare!'

Haruka is uncharacteristically silent for the entire walk back towards our neighborhood. She is not delivering condescending critiques or analyzing my posture. She is… thinking. Deeply. I can practically see the smoke pouring out of her ears as her brain tries to process the new data: Izumi = Ichigo? Probability: 95%. Motive: Unknown. Level of Danger to 'Operation: Win Rui': Critical.

When we finally reconvene with the rest of "Team Rui" (who Rina had clearly summoned via frantic group text to an emergency meeting at our apartment), the atmosphere is tense. Rina, Aiwa, Kenji, Miki, and Hana are all waiting, their expressions demanding answers.

"Well?" Rina demands the second we walk in. "You cornered the blonde snake! What did she say? What is her weakness? Did you get her to confess her evil plans?"

Haruka just walks past her, sits elegantly on the sofa, steeples her fingers, and stares into the middle distance. "She is… more complex than anticipated," Haruka finally says, her voice quiet and thoughtful.

"Complex? What does that mean?" Rina presses, clearly frustrated by the lack of juicy, incriminating details. "Did she confess to being Ichigo or not?!"

Haruka purses her lips. I can see the internal struggle. Admitting that Izumi might be Ichigo also means admitting that she, Haruka Ito, was played. That she was trolled by a superior manipulator. Her pride cannot allow that. But her strategic mind knows she needs to share the threat level.

"She is… slippery," Haruka settles on, her eyes narrowing. "She neither confirmed nor denied the Ichigo connection. She is deliberately ambiguous. She is playing a game."

"So you got nothing?!" Rina throws her hands up in exasperation. "Useless! This is why I should have handled the interrogation! I would have gotten it out of her!" (Rina's interrogation method usually involves yelling and possibly light shoving, so I am glad she was not there).

"On the contrary," Haruka says, her voice turning cold. "I got everything I need. She confirmed her intelligence. She confirmed her confidence. And she confirmed," her gaze flicks to me, "that her interest in Rui-kun is a key part of her strategy. She is not just a rival for LUNA. She is a rival for all of us."

Rina and Aiwa both stiffen at this. The 'Rui Harem' (Kenji's official term, much to my horror) is now facing an external threat.

The meeting devolves from there. Rina and Haruka begin a high-level strategic debate about how to handle the "Izumi Variable." Kenji keeps insisting that Ichigo/Izumi is probably a tragic hero who needs our help. Miki just looks tired and starts drafting a new budget for "Counter-Espionage Supplies." Hana nervously passes around cookies.

I am suffocating. My life is no longer my own. It is a series of strategic meetings, surveillance plots, and emotional analyses conducted by a panel of teenage girls and Kenji. I am not a person; I am a tactical objective. My every move, every word, every glance is logged and dissected.

I cannot take it anymore. I need a break. I need to escape.

"I have to go," I interrupt suddenly, standing up.

All eyes snap to me. "Go where?" Rina demands, her suspicion instantly dialed up to eleven.

"To the… library," I lie, my mind scrambling. "Major history report. Due tomorrow. Very… historical."

"But it is Saturday night," Haruka points out, her eyes narrowing. "The library is closed."

"The… 24-hour university library!" I improvise desperately. "Special access! For… advanced students! Gotta go!"

Before they can poke any more holes in my flimsy, ridiculous alibi, I grab my jacket and bolt out the door, ignoring Rina's shouts, Haruka's analytical gaze, and Kenji's enthusiastic "Good luck with the history, buddy!"

I do not go to the library. I go to the one place my soul is craving. The one place where the chaos of my life feels distant, manageable. The one place where I can just be StarlightKnight01, Slayer of Ogres, and not Rui Hinamata, the Human MacGuffin.

I flee to the cybercafe. I need to process the "Izumi is Ichigo" bomb by shooting virtual monsters until my fingers go numb. It is the only sane response.