Ryuu didn't notice her at first.
He was too busy wincing with every step as he limped into class. His muscles still carried echoes of demon volleyballs and philosophical beach trauma.
But the System noticed.
[ALERT: Fate-Aligned Signature Detected Nearby]
[Stability: Degrading – Recommend Caution]
He froze mid-step. The HUD flickered faintly, like a bad signal. A wave of déjà vu hit him, followed by a chill that didn't belong in a school hallway.
"Yo, Ryuu! You good?" one of his classmates asked, snapping him out of it.
"Yeah. Just… data lag," he mumbled.
Then he saw her.
Seated at the window-side desk near the back—like she owned the sunlight—was Reika Amagiri.
Tall. Immaculate. Quiet. With that too-perfect stillness that made the room shape itself around her presence.
She didn't look at him. Didn't have to.
The pressure from her System presence alone made Ryuu's feel like it had hiccups.
[Warning: Fate Construct in Proximity – Error Calculations Rising]
He slid into his seat and opened his notebook, pretending to be chill. Very chill. Ice age chill.
But Reika spoke.
"You're the anomaly," she said simply.
No hello. No smile. Just a declaration.
Ryuu looked up. "Excuse me?"
Her eyes were a shade of silver so clear it felt like they could reflect your past *and* your future.
"Your Luck system… It doesn't belong here."
System:
[Responding is optional. Silence is also a tactic.]
He responded anyway.
"Maybe it's your Fate system that's outdated."
A few nearby students flinched. It wasn't loud, but the tone held weight—like a chess piece being moved at a championship match.
Reika studied him for a second too long.
Then… a tiny smile. Like a queen finding a mildly interesting pawn.
"This world chooses order," she said. "You're a glitch pretending to be a player."
Ryuu smirked. "Guess we'll see how far a glitch can go."
[Rival Status Initiated – Target: Reika Amagiri]
[System Integrity: Unstable (87%)]
And just like that, the duel hadn't started yet—but the war already had.
Ryuu didn't remember falling asleep.
One blink, and the classroom vanished.
He stood barefoot on a glass-like plane under a starless sky. Data flowed beneath his feet like glowing circuitry. In the distance, a throne of gears rotated in silence.
[System Alert: Duel Protocol Triggered]
[Opponent System: Fate-Class | User: Reika Amagiri]
[Status: Lucid Dream Environment – Conscious Combat Enabled]
"Well. This is new," Ryuu muttered.
Then she appeared—Reika, but altered. She floated just above the glass, wrapped in silver-white robes that shimmered with moving constellations. Her voice echoed like music played in reverse.
"You shouldn't exist."
Ryuu cracked his knuckles. "That's the second time someone's told me that this week."
She raised her hand. Fate threads unraveled around her, stretching like puppeteer wires across the void.
"Luck is noise. Chaos. Meaningless chance pretending to be power. My system brings order—certainty. Every move. Every outcome. Calculated."
The threads tightened.
Ryuu's HUD blinked erratically.
[Error: Predictive Layer Corrupted]
[Probability Engine: Off-Balance]
He staggered, holding his head. "Cool monologue, but can we not break my brain in the first five seconds?"
She stepped forward, not touching the ground. "You rely on accident. On randomness. That's not strength—it's recklessness in a costume."
"Yeah?" he shot back, straightening. "And your 'certainty' sounds a lot like a prison made of spreadsheets."
System prompt:
[Luck Core Stable – Gacha Protocol Ready]
[Combat Mindset: 63% Synced]
Ryuu smirked.
"I may not know what's coming," he said, raising his hands, "but that's why I keep rolling the dice."
A card shimmered into existence between his fingers—a glowing random pull token.
Reika's eyes narrowed. "You're going to fight me… with that?"
"Yep."
The token spun.
Reality around them fractured.
The duel was on.
The token spun in Ryuu's hand like a tiny sun. Light scattered across the glass battlefield.
[Initiating Luck Pull…]
[Reward: "Rubber Chicken of Disruption" – Rarity: ???]
Ryuu stared at it. Then at Reika.
Then back at the flopping rubber chicken now in his grip.
"You've gotta be kidding me."
Reika didn't move. Her threads pulsed, forming a blade of pure causality in her hand. "Typical."
She struck first.
The threads launched like spears. Ryuu dodged left—but one nicked his arm. His vision blurred instantly.
[Debuff Applied: Predetermined Wound – Bleeding Scheduled in 3 Turns]
"Scheduled?!" he shouted, staggering. "Even my injuries are on a planner?"
"Everything is accounted for," Reika said, voice like glass. "You've already lost."
Ryuu grinned through gritted teeth. "Yeah? Then explain this."
He swung the rubber chicken.
It squeaked.
Nothing happened.
She didn't even blink. "You're mocking the system."
"No," Ryuu said. "I'm trusting it."
She came again—this time faster. The Fate Blade curved in the air like a scripted cutscene. Ryuu ducked, rolled, threw the chicken.
It bounced off her shoulder. Squeak.
Then the air warped.
A spark of static burst in her threads. Her next move stuttered, just a blink—but enough.
Her foot touched the ground.
Reika gasped. "Impossible. My algorithm—"
[Critical Disruption: Fate Thread Desync]
Ryuu didn't wait.
He activated a follow-up:
[Unplanned Counter – Luck Triggered Chain Reaction]
The rubber chicken glowed. It multiplied.
Dozens of copies exploded around the battlefield, bouncing, honking, causing localized chaos pockets.
Reika's threads scrambled to adapt.
"Ignore the noise," she hissed, stabilizing her stance. "Return to the pattern."
But Ryuu had already closed the gap.
He didn't punch.
He tripped by accident.
Or luck.
His knee clipped hers, throwing off her balance. She staggered—and that was enough.
He landed a hit.
Just one.
A clean, unexpected jab to the core of her chestplate. Her System flickered.
[Fate Sequence Interrupted]
[Battle Outcome: Luck Override – Narrow Victory Achieved]
They both fell.
The battlefield cracked beneath them. Data rain poured from the sky.
Reika knelt, stunned.
Ryuu woke with a start, sweat cooling on his forehead.
The classroom blurred back into focus. The faint hum of the air conditioner replaced the dreamscape's digital storm.
He sat up, rubbing his aching ribs—and caught sight of Reika standing over him, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
"You're unpredictable," she said softly, voice low but steady.
"I don't like that."
Ryuu blinked, surprised by the honesty. "Is that… a compliment?"
She turned away without answering, walking back to her seat with a graceful nod.
System Update:
[Rival Subsystem Initialized: Reika Amagiri | Rank: Fate-Class]
[Luck Compatibility: ??%]
[Affinity: Growing]
Ryuu smirked despite the pain. The battle wasn't just about power anymore.
It was about understanding.
About who he was—and who she might become.
He pocketed the faintly squeaking rubber chicken token, already feeling the subtle tug of destiny and chance weaving tighter around him.