Reo sat alone on the school rooftop, the wind tugging at his uniform as grey clouds rolled in. It was lunchtime, but he had no appetite. Below, the noisy clamor of students drifted up, but he barely heard it.
His victory against Caius's smear campaign had come at a price.
The public may have turned back to his side—for now—but trust was fragile. His name still tasted bitter to the media, like a bite of truth laced with poison.
And something else was gnawing at him.
Why hasn't Caius retaliated?
He was too silent. Too still.
Reo didn't believe in coincidences, especially not when he was at the center of a global game.
Suddenly, the rooftop door creaked open.
He didn't turn. He already knew who it was.
"Skipping lunch again?" a voice teased—smooth, melodic, and laced with the charm only a rising star could carry.
He turned slightly to see her—Yua Kanzaki, the young actress hailed as the "Shooting Star of Japan." She was his age, already a household name, her face on billboards and streaming platforms. She was also, to many people's shock, his closest companion.
No one knew how they met.
Even fewer knew how they grew close.
But Reo remembered it clearly.
A chance meeting at a charity gala, her eyes full of loneliness despite the flashbulbs. She wasn't dazzled by his mind or his ambition. She saw through him, like glass. And for once, he didn't have to wear a mask.
Yua sat beside him now, her legs swinging off the edge like a child on a swing.
"You look like you haven't slept in days."
"I haven't," Reo admitted.
She passed him a small wrapped lunchbox. "You'll collapse before you take Caius down."
Reo smirked faintly, taking it.
"You should be more careful," he said after a moment. "Your face is everywhere. Walking into my school like this is a PR nightmare."
"Let them talk," she said. "They already think I'm dating a mad genius. Might as well be true."
Reo glanced at her. "You're not."
Her smile was soft. "But I'm here, aren't I?"
Before he could respond, her phone buzzed. She checked it—and her smile vanished.
Reo noticed immediately. "What is it?"
Yua hesitated, then showed him the screen.
It was a message.
"Tell Reo: The next strike won't be digital. – C"
Reo's blood turned to ice.
She got the message, not him.
Caius had changed his strategy.
---
That night, Doraemon burst into Reo's room, eyes wide.
"Someone broke into the Time Storage Vault!"
Reo stood up instantly. "What was taken?"
"Two of the forbidden gadgets," Doraemon whispered. "The False Timeline Projector and the Possession Collar."
Reo's fists clenched. The Projector allowed users to simulate false futures—twisting memories, predicting choices. But the Collar?
It allowed a person to override another's will.
"Who knew about those?"
"Only me, you… and Nobita."
Reo's mind went cold.
A new theory was forming. Terrifying. Brilliant.
What if Caius wasn't just attacking from the shadows?
What if…
He wasn't outside at all?
What if Caius had found a way into someone close?
Doraemon looked up at him. "You think someone's been… taken over?"
"I think it's worse," Reo said. "I think he's been building a new identity. One we'd never suspect."
---
The next day, Yua vanished.
Her agency claimed she was filming overseas.
But Reo knew the truth.
The message, the silence, the storm brewing in his gut—it all pointed to her.
She wasn't kidnapped.
She wasn't hurt.
She was being used.
And Caius wasn't hiding anymore.
He was wearing her face.
---