Chapter 71: The Rivals Receive Their Orders

We are in the war room. My bedroom.

The plan is set: Operation: Cherry Blossom Chaos.

But Rika is right. We cannot just show up. We need a signal. We need intel.

"I am still saying my plan is better," Toujo mutters, re-drawing his grappling hook on the whiteboard. "Simple. Elegant. Hook. Zip. Punch. Save."

"You would be shot before you even got over the wall, Toujo," Rika sighs, sorting through a pile of snacks.

"I am a star! I will simply dazzle them with my smile!" Hiroto declares, practicing a pose in my mirror.

"You are all morons," Daiki grunts from his corner.

He has been silent for an hour, hunched over my secondary gaming monitor. He is not looking at the Imperial website anymore. He is logged into Cyber-Blade Online. My dad's game.

"What are you doing, Daiki?" I ask. "We do not have time for you to raid a dungeon."

"I am not raiding," he says, his voice strange. He is looking at an in-game mailbox. "I got a message. On my professional account. But it was forwarded to the guild."

"What guild?"

"Silver Vanguard," he says, his eyes narrowing. "It is one of the top guilds on the server. I have fought against them. They are precise. Annoying. Their Guild Master is a tactical genius. And a total jerk."

A cold feeling crawls up my spine. "Daiki... what did the message say?"

"It was from him. The Guild Master. He said his account is locked. His guild is trapped. And the Summer Siege is next week."

"So?" Toujo asks, confused.

Daiki looks at me. His face is a mixture of fury and respect.

"He named me interim Guild Master. He gave me command of his entire guild. He gave me the password."

"What was it?" I whisper.

Daiki takes a deep breath. "RivalBeatMeBy1."

I drop my soda.

Rika gasps. Toujo's jaw hits the floor.

"No way," Toujo breathes. "FujiJerk is a Guild Master?"

"He is not just a Guild Master," Daiki snarls, half-angry, half-impressed. "He is Vanguard. The guy who counter-raided my team last season and stole the Leviathan's Core. I hate that guy! He is brilliant!"

"He is calling for help," I say, my heart pounding. "He is locked out of his own life. He is telling you he is trapped."

"He is telling me," Daiki says, his fingers flying across the keyboard, "that his rival is the only one he trusts to command his army. This is the ultimate sign of respect. And the ultimate insult. He thinks I am his errand boy!"

"So... what are you doing?"

"I am logging in," Daiki growls. "And I am preparing his guild for the Summer Siege. Because nobody... nobody... beats my rival except me. And he is not losing his top-rank status just because his stupid dad locked him in a tower."

He is in. A new, complex screen fills the monitor.

"He is a jerk," Daiki mutters. "But he is my jerk rival. We are getting him back."

"AHEM!"

We all turn. Hiroto is holding his phone, his face pale.

"My... my agency just forwarded me a... a very strange fan email."

"From a stalker?" Rika asks.

"No..." Hiroto says, his eyes wide with theatrical awe. "From... the Main Lead."

He clears his throat and reads.

"Subject: URGENT SCRIPT REWRITE - SEASON 2. Message: The Main Lead is trapped in the Ice Castle. He needs a distraction. The Cherry Blossom Festival. The Wildcard (Hiroto) needs to create a public scene. Something the press cannot ignore..."

"He is calling you a 'Wildcard'!" Toujo laughs.

"Shh! This is genius!" Hiroto continues, "Tell Angel the penguin apron is still my favorite memory. She will know this is real."

I clap my hand over my mouth.

The penguin apron.

My face is on fire.

"He... he wrote that?" I stammer.

"He did!" Hiroto is crying tears of joy. "He is writing his own script! He is directing from inside the prison! This is the most beautiful, most chaotic plot twist I have ever been a part of! This is not just a 'reality show' anymore, Angel! This is art!"

"Okay," I say, grabbing my jacket. The doubt is gone. The anger is focused.

"The plan is on. Rika, you are on makeover duty. Hiroto, you are getting us press passes. Daiki, you are our tech support. Toujo..."

"Grappling hook?" he asks, hopeful.

"You are carrying the snacks," I say. "And you are the distraction."

"I... I am the distraction?"

"Yes," I say, my Bloody Twilight grin returning. "You are going to be the most annoying, most idiotic, most distracting human being in Japanese history."

Toujo's eyes... they fill with tears. "I... I will not let you down. I will be... The Distraction."

This is the stupidest plan ever.

We are going to win.