The Collab That Changed Everything

It had been only 2 days since the summer festival. The day of the tournament… another big collab.

A different game, but the same organizer as last time.

8 teams each with 5 players.

40 names total. Every single one of them big.

Names I recognized instantly, creators everyone knew. The kind you didn’t need an introduction for.

And towering above all of them, the eyes were once again drawn to the top guest, LunaZero.

The lobby music echoed through my headset as I adjusted my mic and leaned back in my chair.

Please not LunaZero…

Just… not today.

I knew that thought was selfish, maybe even childish.

But after the festival… after the fireworks, the fox bib, the quiet moment under the trees… I didn’t want pressure, or expectations.

I just didn’t want to think. Playing with LunaZero meant thinking. Thinking carefully about the words I use.

But thinking was the last thing I was capable of right now.

Because my thoughts kept drifting, no matter how hard I tried to anchor them to the screen.

To Yuna.

To the way she’d frozen under the fireworks, like time itself had stopped around her... Or her reaction when I gave her the fox bib as a gift.

But especially… to that strange, tight feeling in my chest that hadn’t left since that night.

You can’t fall for someone in 3 weeks…

Not under circumstances like these. Not with someone who’s pregnant…

The thought felt logical. Like something an adult would say.

And yet it didn’t make the feeling go away. If anything, it just made it louder.

Since the festival, I’d gone back to bad habits.

I’d started leaving food at her door again.

Ring the bell, place the food infront of her door, and leave immediately.

The same routine as before.

I knew it was cowardly behaviour. I didn’t even try to justify it anymore.

But every time I thought about standing there, about seeing her face again… my chest tightened.

So I ran.

—---------------

The teams were assigned.

I leaned forward instinctively, eyes snapping back to the screen.

5 names appeared beside mine.

No LunaZero.

Relief washed over me.

Okay, safe… Just a normal tournament.

I don’t have to worry about how I come across.

The 1st game started, and of course…

The enemy lineup popped up:

LunaZero.

I couldn’t help it, I laughed automatically.

I tried to focus… I really did. But every time I heard the voice of my female teammate in comms, it pulled my attention towards Yuna again.

“Damn.” one of my teammates laughed. “She’s cracked today.”

He was talking about LunaZero.

I died to her… Not just once, not twice… but multiple times.

“Yeah. She actually is…” I said, forcing a chuckle.

Then, mid-game, I finally had my chance.

LunaZero was low. Quarter HP, and alone.

I was full health, pushing with one teammate at half-life.

“Now we got her.” my mate said confidently.

And then… everything went wrong.

LunaZero moved like she’d predicted our every move. Like she’d already seen this whole thing play out and adjusted accordingly.

Perfect timing, perfect aim, perfect positioning.

She downed my teammate first.

I hesitated for half a second…

… and that was enough.

She turned… and in a single, clean sequence, the clutch was already over.

Chat went insane:

“BEST CLUTCH OF THE YEAR.”
“LUNAZERO BUILT DIFFERENT!”
“NOOOOOOOOB.”

I laughed weakly, leaning back in my chair.

“Alright. We should probably just surrender and preserve our dignity.” I said into the mic.

My team laughed.

And then…

CLAAAAANG–KLRAAAAAANG–CLATTER—!!!!

A sound exploded through my apartment.

It wasn’t just loud, it was violent.

Like something very heavy, metallic, had been dropped right outside my apartment door.

My body reacted before my brain did.

I ripped the headset off and rolled my chair backward hard, wheels screeching as I nearly crashed into the table behind me.

“What the–?”

In-game, my character stood motionless… and died.

Chat spammed instantly:

“HOLY… MY EARS.”

“WHAT WAS THAT SOUND?”

“BRO THAT WAS LOUD AS HELL.”

“ARE YOU OKAY?”

I grabbed my headset with shaking hands and put it back on, pulse still racing.

The 1st thing I heard:

“Yes! Let’s go! I finally got her. LunaZero DOWN… She was totally brain-dead right now.”

I blinked, disoriented.

“...Hello? Can you guys hear me?” I said.

Instant chorus:

“YEAH… WHAT WAS THAT?

“Dude, that sound was something.”

“Are you okay, brother?”

“I… I don’t know. Something fell? I think? I’ll check later.”

The match ended shortly after.

We lost.

Eliminated in the 1st round.

I didn’t even care.

“Sorry, guys.” I said, already standing up. “I’m gonna end stream and check if everything’s okay. That noise was weird.”

I ended the stream before it hit an hour. I’d never done that before.

The apartment felt too quiet for what had just happened 10 minutes ago.

I stepped into the hallway.

Nothing.

No broken pipes or fallen objects, no complaining neighbors…

I went back inside, locked the door, and collapsed onto the couch, staring at the ceiling.

“What the heck was that?”

My thoughts drifted immediately.

To Yuna.

Is she okay?

I sat up, considering going next door.

Then didn’t.

I hadn’t slept much the night before… and before I knew it, I’d fallen asleep.

—--------------------------------

I woke up 2 hours later to my phone vibrating.

My sister's name lit up the screen.

I groaned, and answered the call.

“HELLO???” Yui shouted immediately. “WHY AREN’T YOU ANSWERING MY MESSAGES?!”

“...I was asleep.”

There was a pause.

“You mean…” she said slowly. “... you haven’t checked your phone since the tournament?”

“No. Why?”

Another pause.

“O–Okay… Uh. Let’s just say… I knew.”

“...What are you talking about?”

“Just check Y.” she said smugly. “...Or anywhere, really.”

The call ended.

I frowned as I unlocked my phone, only for notifications to immediately flood the screen… far more than I was used to seeing. Something felt off.

I opened Y.

Trending #1:

#LunaRen

My stomach dropped at the sight of it.

“...W-- What?”

I tapped on the hashtag, my thumb suddenly feeling heavier.

The top Yeet read:

OK LISTEN. SAME METALLIC SOUND. SAME SECOND. WHAT IS GOING ON? #LunaRen

Attached was a split clip.

My VOD and LunaZero’s VOD.

The same match… the match we played against each other.

The same moment, shortly after her clutch of the year moment.

…The exact same explosive, metallic sound.

Both of us freezing mid game… me rolling back in my chair, her avatar suddenly twitching before locking into an unnatural, frozen pose.

The comments scrolled endlessly beneath it.

“THEY LIVE TOGETHER??? YOU CAN'T CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE!”

“THIS FANDOM IS DOING FEDERAL-LEVEL INVESTIGATIONS, I RESPECT IT.”

“BROOO, that’s too perfect. I ship them since the last collab!!”

My mind went blank as I stared at the screen, my thoughts refusing to line up.

Then…

Everything connected.

Yuna gaming late at night.

LunaZero’s late streaming hours.

Yuna’s room. The 3 monitors… the high-end setup.

The way she’d reacted in the car when Yui played LunaZero’s song… her discomfort, her embarrassment.

And most importantly…

That bastard of a boss.

My chest tightened painfully as the realization settled in, heavy and inescapable.

“...No.” I whispered under my breath.

Yuna.

My neighbor.

The shy, pregnant girl next door.

The Yuna I’d carried in my arms on the way to the hospital.

The Yuna who apologized too much, even when she was the one hurting.

The Yuna who laughed softly at dumb jokes... who listened more than she spoke... who always seemed to be afraid of taking up too much space.

The Yuna who let me help her.

Who trusted me.

All of that…

All of her…

Was…

…LunaZero.

“...You’ve got to be kidding me.”