Hitori opened his mouth but he could not say anything. The person standing in front of him was not someone he seems to be. The sudden expression change on the person's face creeped Hitori out.
? Hitori tried to look away, but the puppy-eyes look on a masculine and serious man was not helping at all. Fuck this shit.
He got up and said, "What are you doing here? Why are you here?" He glanced at the person, then look to the other side.
"Hitori-san… please… let us have a talk and solve this two-month-long misunderstanding."
"Get that face out of my sight. I… how the heck did you even recognize me?"
Indeed. Hitori had changed his appearance. His name was the same but there were a good number of Ryus, if not lots, then how did she recognize him?
She put a smile on her face. "I have known you for three months, we have fought together, and I remember your ID. No player would log in a game and sit in the spawn room creating a dark and gloomy atmosphere around him."
Hitori stared at her. He never knew he was making the people around him uncomfortable. Although he could not care less, he did not want to the people around him to think he is going through a heartbreak or something of that sort.
He thought about this. Then lifted his head and said, "Go away."
The smile on her face faded. She was sad, but that is all she has been for the last two months. It was the time to change. It was the time to feel anger instead of sadness.
She clenched her fists and said in the same polite and apologetic tone, "I am sorry…"
Hitori shook his head. "You have said that for enough. Keep your sorry to yourself. I am done."
But she was not. Right in front of her, he opened the log-out screen. He was going to drop the conversation like before, he was going to leave her standing, and he was going to leave the guilty feeling—
Guilty feeling. She has been sad and guilty all the time. She admitted it was her fault. Yes, she talked to herself about this. She said she should have told Hitori and Kamiya the moment it started. She knew she should have got help but she did not. And that 'did not' result in Kamiya's death.
Whenever she went into the deep side of thinking, she would think it was not her fault only. She started it, alright, but she did not kill him. And what good would telling them have brought?
Shit. Onogi would have killed her, her brother, Kamiya, and Hitori. Everyone dies. The end of the novel. Or perhaps, no one gets hurt and they continue the search. She had blamed her enough.
"Please?" She put a hand on his forearm to stop him, he jerked her hand in an instant.
"Get out of my life, Reon, I do not want a traitor responsible for a murder in my life," Hitori said.
That hit her like a bullet in the chest, but that intensified her anger too. She stared at Hitori's chest as he moved to log out.
"You will not get away this time…" she muttered. The next second, her hand went up to his chest, grabbed the cloth, and dragged him out of the hall.
The players around stood stiff and watched as Reon took Hitori near the black door and threw him, and followed him.
Hitori rolled down the stairs and fell on the dirty ground. The dirt felt so real like he could taste it.
"I am not in for this shit," Hitori said. He saw the screen still lingering above him. To select the log-out option, he went to the bottom of the screen. But he did not find the option.
"You can not run away this time. Not here," he heard Reon's voice. He saw her walking down the stairs. "You will listen to what I have to say."
The moment she threw him off the stairs, a battle started, and he was engaged in a combat. Hitori clicked his tongue and got up.
"They threatened me, you understand?" she said, walking towards him. "They had my brother and my family under their fingers. One mistake and they would have killed everyone."
Hitori patted his clothes clean. Did he care about her parents? He did… a little. Not enough to sacrifice Kamiya for the lives of three people.
"You should have told us…"
"I know! I know, alright!" she shouted.
The players around were terrified by the imposter in a male avatar.
Hitori looked into her eyes. He wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. But what were the options?
Kill her? He knew her gaming style, but her new avatar… it was already level twenty.
The only remaining option was to flee. To run from the battle. To find a chance and run away from her, get out of combat, and log out.
"Please, look from my point of view and try to understand the situation you have out me in."
Hitori shook his head. He had only one answer to everything Reon said.
"You should have told us, we would have found a way like we did. But because of your fear, Kamiya is dead!"
Then Hitori pointed at her.
"He died because of you!"
Turned and ran. He ran as fast and as far as he could with this current level.
Reon froze in fear. She could not move an inch. She never expected he would do the worst.
When he was out of sight and out of combat, he logged out.
The players around stayed petrified for a moment, but when they realised what happened and to whom it happened, they started gossiping.
"Ryu… is not he the same Ryu?"
"The one from the Midnight Battle?"
"No way… he does not look like…"
"But he is! And that was a girl… did they had a lover's quarrel?"
And they continued.