Sora prided himself on two things:
Information and invisibility.
He was the kind of student no one noticed — not because he tried to fit in, but because he was too forgettable. Average height. Average looks. Transferred twice. Teachers never remembered his name, and classmates never remembered if he was in their group projects.
That was intentional.
While other students crammed for tests or obsessed over love triangles, Sora was building databases. Surveillance routes. Facial pattern AI. Phone tap simulators.
People trusted data. He trusted secrets.
And lately… all roads led to Keon Rintarou.
It started with a blip. A bodyguard attending high school classes like she belonged there. Nova Sakamoto — not in any public registry, but with movement patterns that screamed elite security.
Then there was the weirdness:
A fight at the arcade no one reported.
Keon leaving campus after hours with no permission slip.
A Mr. Mai who signed off on it all but couldn't be reached, couldn't be traced — except by whispers.
Sora didn't like mysteries without leverage.
So when he spotted Keon and the quiet, sharp-eyed boy Fuyu leaving campus in a car driven by a suit? He followed.
From a distance. Just close enough to listen in.
He didn't expect Nova to turn around mid-alley.
He realized too late: he wasn't watching her.
She was watching him.
By the time he slipped down the adjacent rooftop for a better shot, she was already behind him.
Something hard slammed into his back.
He hit the gravel with a sharp gasp, the wind knocked from his lungs, and a gloved hand slammed his wrist to the ground.
"ID," she demanded.
Sora coughed. "You first."
Nova looked unimpressed. "Information broker? You're young."
"You're early," he muttered.
She smirked. "That's because I don't sleep when someone tails my kid."
He glanced sideways. "So he's your kid now?"
She twisted his wrist slightly. Not enough to break. Enough to warn.
"Who do you sell to?" she asked.
"I don't sell," he replied. "I trade."
"Wrong answer."
Nova raised her hand.
But her earpiece crackled — a voice cool and unbothered.
"Nova," said Mai. "Let him go. He's not important… yet."
Nova gritted her teeth. "You sure?"
"Oh, absolutely. Sora's not foolish. He'll run home, delete his files, and pretend he never saw anything. Right?"
Sora froze.
He hadn't told anyone his name.
Nova stepped back, slow and deliberate. "If I see you near him again, I'll break both your knees before you can crawl."
Sora didn't respond.
She was gone in two heartbeats.
But Sora didn't run.
He went straight home, locked his doors, and booted up his encrypted archive.
He wasn't scared. He was intrigued.
Mai knew his name.
That meant Keon wasn't a low-level player. He was being protected. Monitored. Valuable.
Sora sorted through the footage. The car ride. The building. The way Fuyu didn't even flinch as they disappeared into the Lucky Neko Lounge. Photos. Voice samples. Cross-matched with earlier sightings. A pattern was forming.
He opened a new folder.
Subject: K.R. / Mai Family.
He typed in the header:
Potential heir?
And just as he hit SAVE—
The alert blinked on his second screen.
Data Skimmed. Port 2. Unauthorized Duplicate Detected.
He froze.
Someone was in.
He shut down the port. Too late.
A packet had already been copied.
One file. One image. One phrase:
> K.M PROJECT — "Mai's Nephew?"
Elsewhere, in a room lined with screens and silence, a man reviewed the file.
He wore no expression. No name. Just an old suit and gloves.
He sipped cold coffee.
Then leaned forward.
"So," he murmured.
"Mai has a successor."