Chapter 4: The First "Date"

“Yuki, focus! He’s casting Annihilation Wave!”

Rina’s voice, tinny and frantic through his headset, snapped Yuki out of his trance.

On the glowing screen of his monitor, the chaos of Aethelgard Online was unfolding in high definition. Their dual-avatar strategy, a nimble Shadowmancer he controlled and Rina’s heavily armored Paladin—was about to be engulfed by a swirling vortex of purple, pixelated energy.

Yuki’s character, normally a whirlwind of precise commands and strategic positioning, was standing completely still. A digital deer in the headlights of an apocalyptic spell.

He cursed, his fingers flying across the mechanical keyboard in a desperate attempt to salvage the fight.

Shift + Q. Alt + 4. Panic button.

He triggered their ultimate ability, a ‘Phase Shift’ that was supposed to make them invulnerable for three seconds. But his timing was off. The command registered a fraction of a second too late.

The Annihilation Wave hit. The screen turned white. Their combined health bar evaporated in a single frame.

The words YOU DIED flashed across the screen in brutal, dripping crimson letters.

“Aww, man! We almost had him,” Rina sighed, the disappointment clear even through the audio compression. “That was the Shadow Lord of the Seventh Umbra! He only spawns once a week, Yuki!”

Yuki slumped in his ergonomic chair, rubbing his face. “My bad,” he typed into the guild chat, the words feeling woefully inadequate. “I zoned out. Lag in my brain.”

He leaned back, the adrenaline of the failed boss fight doing little to clear the fog in his mind. For the past three days, since the rooftop ‘proposal,’ his brain had been running a background process he couldn't kill. It was constantly trying to reconcile the existence of magic with the laws of thermodynamics, eating up all his available RAM.

It left very little processing power for things like calculus homework or, apparently, dodging telegraphed boss attacks.

A private message from Rina popped up in the corner of his screen.

LunarPaladin (Rina): Hey, you okay? You’ve been kinda quiet lately. And you missed two raids! That’s not like you at all. (´• ω •`)

Yuki hesitated, his fingers hovering over the keys.

How do I explain that I’m currently under contract with a teenage witch to fight a magical terrorist organization?

VoidRunner (Yuki): I am fine. I have just been preoccupied with a complex project.

LunarPaladin (Rina): Ohhh, is it a school thing? Or… something else? I saw you on the rooftop the other day. With Lefebvre-san. You two seemed pretty… intense.

Yuki’s blood ran cold. He had completely forgotten Rina was there. He frantically tried to formulate a plausible, non-magical explanation that fit their cover story.

VoidRunner (Yuki): She was asking for help with her laptop. It had a virus. A very complex one. I was explaining the quarantine procedure.

LunarPaladin (Rina): Her laptop? On the roof? And she had you hold her hand to fix it? And exchange numbers?

Yuki winced. She saw that? Rina was observant. Too observant.

VoidRunner (Yuki): It is a very persistent virus. It requires ongoing tech support. And hand-holding is… just a handshake.

He hit enter and immediately wanted to slam his head into the desk.

LunarPaladin (Rina): Uh-huh. Sure. Well, if you need a break from your… ‘tech support’… we should study together! My mom makes the best snacks! My place, this weekend?

It was a lifeline. A return to normalcy. A chance to be just Yuki the nerd, not Yuki the reluctant spy.

VoidRunner (Yuki): Yes. That seems like a logical and efficient way to prepare for the exams.

For a long moment, there was no reply. Then, a single, explosive message appeared.

LunarPaladin (Rina): YES!!! (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ\*:・ﾟ✧

They logged off soon after. Yuki sat at his computer desk, his personal sanctuary of organized chaos. It was a world of logic, circuits, and predictable outcomes that no longer felt entirely real.

His new black phone, resting on a wireless charging pad, buzzed.

A message notification appeared. No name, just a string of encrypted characters that resolved into text as he unlocked the screen.

Handler: Our date is scheduled for 22:00 hours. The target is the ‘Aura Wellness Group’ headquarters in Shinjuku. It is a front for the Order. Your objective is to breach their digital security and provide remote support. My objective is data extraction from their primary server. Meet me at the 24-hour cafe opposite the target building at 21:45. Dress appropriately.

He stared at the message. Then he leaned back in his chair and looked up at the plain, white ceiling of his apartment.

What is my life now?

He was a high school kid who was now part of a covert operation against a magical death cult, orchestrated by his new, fake, witch girlfriend. He should be terrified. Correction, He was terrified.

But another, more insistent part of him is the part that lived for a challenge, the part that had cracked the school’s firewall just to see if he could, was buzzing with a nervous, electric energy.

He stood up and went to his closet. Dress appropriately.

He pushed aside his school uniforms and pulled out his favorite black hoodie. It wasn't tactical gear, but it was comfortable, and it had a lot of pockets.

“We ball,” he whispered to the empty room.

At 21:50, Yuki sat at a small, wobbly table in the corner of the ‘Midnight Bean’ cafe in Shinjuku.

His laptop was open in front of him, running a custom version of Linux he’d compiled himself. A half-empty cup of lukewarm coffee sat beside it, vibrating slightly.

Yuki’s leg was bouncing under the table in a frantic, jackhammer rhythm. He checked his watch for the tenth time in a minute.

Across from him, Aya Lefebvre sat perfectly still.

She was a picture of calm. She sipped a cup of black tea with the elegance of royalty. She wasn't wearing her school uniform. She was dressed in dark, fitted jeans, heavy combat boots, and a sleek, black leather jacket over a grey tactical turtleneck. She looked like she had walked off the set of a spy movie.

Yuki, in his hoodie that read “I use Arch Linux, btw” in small print comic sans, felt like a child playing dress-up.

“You’re vibrating,” Aya observed, setting her cup down. Her violet eyes were like chips of cold amethyst under the cafe’s harsh fluorescent lights. “It is counterproductive to the mission. Shaking hands make for typos.”

“Sorry,” Yuki muttered, forcing his leg to stop. “First time being an accessory to… magical corporate espionage. I’m usually the guy who fixes the printer”

“Think of it as a date,” she said, her tone utterly flat. “It may help your nerves. Normal teenagers go on dates to cafes, do they not?”

“Right. A date,” Yuki said, deciding to lean into the absurdity to distract himself. “So… dating... What’s your favorite color?”

Aya blinked slowly, like a computer processing a corrupted line of code.

“Infrared,” she said after a pause. “It is useful for detecting residual heat signatures from recently cast spells. And for tracking targets through walls.”

“Okay…” Yuki regrouped. “Favorite food?”

“Nutrient paste bars,” she answered immediately. “They are nutritionally complete, shelf-stable for ten years, and require minimal preparation time during field operations.”

“You are impossible to talk to,” Yuki sighed, slumping in his chair. “You know that, right?”

A flicker of something unreadable crossed her face. For a second, she looked less like a super-soldier and more like a lonely girl.

“My apologies,” she said softly. “My social interaction are… underdeveloped. The mission has always taken precedence.” She looked away, out the window at the glass and steel building across the street. “I do, however, enjoy Earl Grey tea. With a drop of honey.”

It was the most human thing she had ever said to him.

Before he could respond, she checked her watch. “It’s time.”

She stood up, sliding a small earpiece into her ear. “Sync comms.”

Yuki typed a command on his laptop. “ synced. Audio is clear. I’m into the building’s external camera feed. The lobby is quiet.”

“Wish me luck?” Yuki asked, looking up at her.

Aya paused. She looked down at him, her expression unreadable.

“Luck is a statistical anomaly, Yuki,” she said. “I rely on preparation.”

And with that, she turned and walked out of the cafe, moving with a predator’s grace into the neon-lit night.

***

[POV: Aya]

The night air of Shinjuku was a web of intersecting energies.

To the mundane eye, it was just lights and noise. But to Aya, it was a cacophony. The chaotic thrum of a million human lives, the steady, rhythmic hum of the electrical grid, and the faint, shimmering ley lines that ran beneath the pavement like veins of silver.

She moved through it all like a ghost, her senses attuned to a reality layered on top of the one Yuki saw on his screen.

She approached the ‘Aura Wellness Group’ headquarters. It was a sleek, modern building of glass and steel. To Yuki, it looked like a corporate office. To Aya, it looked like a fortress.

Shimmering, translucent walls of purple energy—wards—encased the structure. They were designed to detect magical intrusion.

Sloppy work, she noted. They focused on strength, not subtlety.

She walked up to the glass doors. The guard at the front desk looked up. He was a variable. A simple obstacle with predictable patterns.

He reached for the intercom. “Sorry, miss, we’re closed for the—”

Aya met his eyes through the glass. She didn't need a weapon. Her will was the only tool required.

She gathered a thread of ambient aether, weaving it into a simple, elegant pattern in her mind.

“Imago Fallax,” she whispered. A Deceitful Image.

She pushed the completed spell gently through the glass and into the guard’s consciousness.

His eyes went wide. His jaw slackened. He wasn't seeing Aya anymore. He was staring at a spot on the ceiling where, in his mind, a breathtakingly beautiful flock of phosphorescent butterflies had just materialized. He smiled, completely mesmerized.

Aya pushed the door open. The bell chimed softly, but the guard didn't blink.

“I’m in,” she whispered.

“Copy that,” Yuki’s voice came through her earpiece, jittery but clear. “I’ve looped the camera feed in the lobby. You’re invisible to the digital eye. The stairwell door is to your left. It has a magnetic lock.”

Aya approached the door. She could feel the magnetic seal. She could blast it open, but that would trip the alarms.

“Can you open it?” she asked.

“Give me three seconds,” Yuki replied. She heard the frantic clicking of keys. “Brute-forcing the keypad… and… done. Green light.”

The lock clicked.

Aya slipped inside the stairwell. “Good work.”

“Thanks,” Yuki breathed. “Now go up. Server room is on the 4th floor.”

She ascended the stairs, her soft-soled boots making no sound on the concrete. She reached the 4th-floor landing. The door to the server room was heavy, reinforced steel.

But the real problem wasn't the steel. It was the glowing red glyph burned into the metal—a Sigil of Warding. If she touched the handle with magical intent, it would detonate a silent alarm that would alert every mage in a five-mile radius.

“Problem,” Aya whispered. “There’s a magical ward on the door. I can dispel it, but it’s tied to the electronic keypad. If I break the magic, the electronic lock will seal permanently.”

“And if I hack the keypad?” Yuki asked.

“The magic will sense the electronic intrusion and trigger the alarm,” Aya said. “It’s a hybrid lock. We have to break both simultaneously.”

There was a pause on the line.

“Okay,” Yuki said, his voice steadying. “I’m looking at the lock’s schematic. It has a three-second reset window. On my mark, I’ll crash the keypad’s logic board. The moment it goes dark, you have to... dispel the magic thingy before the backup system kicks in.”

“Understood,” Aya said. She raised her hand, her ring glowing faintly as she prepared the counter-spell. “Ready.”

“Three,” Yuki counted down. “Two. One. Mark!”

Aya didn't hesitate. “Solutio!”

She thrust her palm forward. A pulse of white light hit the red glyph. At the exact same second, the keypad’s LED screen flickered and died.

The red glyph hissed and evaporated into smoke. The lock clicked open.

Silence. No alarms.

“We did it,” Yuki exhaled.

Aya permitted herself a small smile. “Sync successful. Entering target area.”

She pushed the door open. The server room was freezing, kept at sub-zero temperatures to cool the massive banks of machines. The air smelled of ozone and cold metal.

She walked to the main terminal. She pulled a custom device from her pocket—a USB drive she had modified herself. The casing was carved with runes of absorption, while the internals were high-speed flash memory.

She inserted it.

“Initiating transfer,” she said.

On a small screen on the drive, a progress bar appeared. 10%... 20%...

It was agonizingly slow.

“Yuki, monitor the perimeter,” she said, her eyes scanning the dark corners of the room.

“I’m watching,” Yuki said. “Cameras are clear. Elevators are stat—”

His voice cut off abruptly.

“Yuki?”

“Spike!” Yuki yelled, the volume making her wince. “Massive energy spike on the thermal sensors! Two floors down! They didn't take the elevator they’re noclipping- I mean, They are moving through the floor!”

Phasing magic, Aya realized. Elite Enforcers.

“How long?” she asked, watching the bar tick to 85%.

“Seconds!” Yuki screamed. “They’re moving fast! Get out of there!”

“Not without the data,” Aya hissed. 90%...

She felt it then. A drop in temperature that had nothing to do with the A/C. A cold, oily sensation slicked against her mental shields.

The door handle behind her began to turn.

98%... 99%...

Click.

Aya ripped the drive from the port just as the door flew open.

Two figures stood there. They wore the white robes of the Order’s inner circle, their faces hidden behind porcelain masks. Magic crackled around their hands—black and red energy that smelled of rot.

“Intruder,” one of them intoned, his voice sounding like it was coming from a deep well.

Aya didn't wait for them to monologue. She spun around, facing the heavy server racks lining the wall.

“Vis Repulsa!” she screamed.

She thrust both hands forward. A concussive wave of pure kinetic force erupted from her palms. It slammed into the heavy steel server racks with the force of a bomb.

Three tons of metal and electronics were ripped from their floor bolts. They flew across the room, smashing into the doorway, crushing the Enforcers back into the hallway and creating a twisted, sparking barricade of steel.

“Yuki! Exit strategy!” she yelled, sprinting toward the reinforced window at the far end of the room.

“The window!” Yuki shouted. “It’s reinforced plexiglass! You can’t break it!”

“Watch me!”

Aya reached the window. She didn't slow down. She drew a jagged, sharp glyph in the air with her glowing finger.

“Fractura!”

The spell hit the glass and the molecular bonds simply dissolved.

The window turned into a cloud of fine, glittering dust.

Aya vaulted through the hole, diving out into the cool night air.

She was four stories up.

As she fell, she twisted her body, aiming for the narrow gap between the buildings. She gathered the wind around her, shaping it into a cushion.

“Ventus Mollis!”

An updraft caught her, slowing her descent just enough to turn a fatal impact into a hard landing. She hit the alley pavement in a practiced roll, the impact jarring her teeth but breaking no bones.

She scrambled to her feet, clutching the USB drive.

“Status?” she gasped.

“Clear!” Yuki’s voice was breathless. “They’re stuck behind the barricade. Run! South exit!”

Aya ran.

***

[POV: Yuki]

Yuki slammed his laptop shut, shoved it into his bag, and threw two thousand-yen bills onto the table.

“Keep the change!” he yelled at the confused waitress as he bolted for the door.

He sprinted across the street, dodging a taxi, and ducked into the dark service alley Aya had designated as the rendezvous point.

His heart was hammering so hard he thought he might pass out. This was not a video game. There was no respawn.

He saw a shadow detach itself from the darkness.

Aya stumbled out, bracing herself against the damp brick wall. Her hair was windblown, her leather jacket scuffed, but she was alive.

“You okay?” Yuki gasped, rushing over to her. It was a stupid question, but his brain was misfiring.

Aya nodded, pressing a hand to her side as she caught her breath. She held up the black USB drive. It glinted in the moonlight.

“Mission… successful,” she wheezed.

Yuki slumped against the wall opposite her, sliding down until he was crouching. He started to laugh. It was a hysterical, breathless sound.

“We did it,” he said. “We actually robbed a magical cult.”

Aya looked at him. In the dim light of the alley, the hard lines of her face softened. She looked exhausted, but her eyes were bright.

“That was… closer than my calculations predicted,” she admitted, her voice unusually quiet.

She pushed herself off the wall and walked over to him. She offered him a hand up.

Yuki took it. Her grip was firm.

“Your warning,” she said, looking him in the eye. “The thermal spike. If you hadn't seen that… they would have caught me while the drive was still mounting. I would be dead.”

Yuki swallowed. “I… I just watched the screen. You did the jumping out of a window part.”

Aya shook her head. “No. You broke the lock. You watched my back.”

She squeezed his hand once, then let go. She straightened her jacket, the professional mask snapping back into place, but it felt thinner now. Less like a wall and more like armor.

“You are… adequate, Yuki" She said.

Yuki grinned, his fear finally fading into a buzzing high. “Adequate huh?, I'll take it"

“Come,” Aya said, turning toward the street. “We need to decrypt this data. And…” She hesitated. “I believe standard dating protocol dictates that after a successful event, we get food. I require calories.”

“Food?” Yuki blinked. “Like… a second date?”

Aya looked back over her shoulder. A ghost of a smirk played on her lips.

“Don’t push your luck, Amano. I’m just hungry.”

Yuki grabbed his bag and followed her out of the alley.

“Ramen,” he suggested. “There’s a great place two blocks from here.”

“Acceptable,"

As they walked side-by-side down the neon-lit street of Shinjuku, fading into the crowd, Yuki realized two things.

First, he was definitely failing his calculus exam on Monday.

And second, being Aya Lefebvre’s fake boyfriend might actually be the most exciting thing that had ever happened to him.