It was a battle of the items in the last 20 seconds of round three. Advancing to the final round, what a fucking dream…. I was shocked my heart could take so many close calls, and it was nonstop. If clawing our way to the top was a team, it was us. After the interviews and the post-game ceremony, we were teleported back home, where the festivities just began. Gun wanted to get us stupid drunk early, so we wouldn’t crash later. But Reina had plans to train with Master Hayashi, and so did I.

We were both sore from the competition, but we pushed through.

After our training rounds, I had a talk about strategy with Reina. The sun was setting, and Naomi went missing for a while. Though, when I couldn’t find her, I moved on with the team meeting. Basically, we needed to stick together more. More times often than not, we were being separated, and when we were separated, we were vulnerable. Reina agreed, but also thought that there was an advantage to being separated, too.

“It makes us look less predictable,” she said as she walked back to the dojo. “And helps us depend less on each other.”

“While that’s true, most high ranked hunters usually stick together.”

“Not in the final minutes of the game.”

“Usually in the final minutes of the game.”

“Nero, we don’t have to play the game by the books. I have an idea for our last game—I want to play markswoman.”

“Are you serious?”

“A lot of the time, we fall into our roles—you, the shield, Naomi, the defense, and me, the offense. I believe that these games are getting harder on us because our opponents are studying our pattern. We’ve fallen into a predictability that can be studied post game in the VODs.”

“They are getting harder because we are fighting against year threes that are winning their group rounds, Reina,” I insisted. “Of course we fall into our roles. That’s what the other teams do also. And they do it because it works.”

Reina stopped in her tracks, spinning around to face me. The warm dojo lights caught on the tips of her hair, making her locks look fierier. “Playing safe doesn’t guarantee us a win, Nero. It only takes us so far. We need to surprise them.”

“What you’re asking for is dangerous. Splitting up on the off chance that it’d give us an edge? When playing together has proven to work?”

“What works for others. That doesn’t necessarily mean that it will always work for us. Take the last round for example.”

“Yeah, a round which would have been easier if we’d been together.”

“I think that we won because we were separated. Higher ranks have the luxury of deciding, we don’t. Each of us have four item slots, not including the respawn tokens. And team leaders have six. So there are typically four items to use for a round that aren’t revealed to our opponents until we are in the ring. High–ranked hunters have a diverse arsenal compared to us. They can pick and choose without worrying about supply. I know this because the longer you are a hunter, the more time you have to satisfy mini assignments from sponsors. And since they are the only sources of our items, we need to be strategic about which ones we put in play. Because they tend to have better items than us, they can afford to be predictable. The same idea applies to their stats. So when you consider those two factors, it makes sense to take risks. We, on the other hand, don’t have that luxury. If we play by their rules, to our disadvantage, we are compromising ourselves.”

“There’s more to it than that. It’s not about who has the higher rank and who has the cooler items. It’s about playing to our strengths,” I tried to explain. “Naomi is the best defense player we’ve got, you’re the only one who can match her in offense, and I... I am just trying to keep us together, Reina, absorbing as much damage as I could.”

“So we just keep doing the same thing? Keep relying on the same strategies until one day it doesn’t work, and we’re all knocked out?”

“Reina, we aren’t going to—”

“We aren’t robots. We can change tactics. We need to adapt… evolve.”

“I understand. But doing something like this untested, in the biggest round thus far isn’t the way to do it. Adapting doesn't mean breaking what’s working.”

She held my gaze, and for a moment, I was taken aback by her passion and refusal to accept the way things were. Sure, we might have a sliver of a chance by playing it her way, however, that was risky. All I could think about at the moment was being separated and never getting a chance to group up again. There was so much on the line that the other teams would do anything to get the win.

I remembered Reina saying that she had never been interested in the games until now, which meant that she hadn’t watched the games religiously like I did. I’d seen shady plays, underhand tactics, and teams torn apart by their own desperation. I knew what we were up against, while she was blindly optimistic.

She didn’t see it. She couldn’t. Not yet at least. I was trying to get through to her the more I explained, though, Reina was stubborn, and always had been. She was relentless in testing out her theories.

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“Adapting isn’t just about changing our strategies,” I said, my voice steady and controlled despite the whirlpool of thoughts inside my head. “It’s about learning from our past experiences. From our defeats as much as our victories. Now, if you want to work on that, I’m all ears.”

“You said you trusted me?”

“I do. And I’m here for you. Which is why I need to step up as a leader and tell you when something is downright dangerous.”

Her stare on me went stern. “You and I… what we are fighting for isn’t very different. You’re here to put your family out of a spiraling misery of poverty, and I am fighting for my family’s stability. So know that I have a lot to prove, and I have a lot on the line. This request isn’t like any other request I’ve made since I’ve gotten here. I am well aware of what’s at stake, which is why I am so adamant about this.”

We remained silent for a while, the tension between us growing. I watched as Reina’s expression changed from sternness to determination, the fire in her eyes burning brighter than ever.

“Nero,” she began, her voice gaining an edge. “I understand your concerns. Safe is easy. Safe is proven. That’s what all other teams are doing and look where it has gotten them. Even though we’d tried it both ways, together and apart, and still managed to win by the skin of our teeth, those close calls would have been better if we were together. I stand here to tell you that we truly wouldn’t know, because it wasn’t how it happened. We are only speculating. Facts are facts, and what we can say wholeheartedly is that both options have been working for us. We are the underdogs. We can defy patterns and placements. So why don’t we use that against them?”

Despite my stance, I found myself considering her words.

“I wouldn’t suggest anything unless I thought it could work,” she said, her voice carrying a desperation that made me wince. “I need you to believe in me, Nero.”

I sighed, raking a hand through my hair as I regarded her with weary confusion. “Surprise them, right? Okay… How do you propose we do that? Your markswoman idea? So, where would Naomi and I be placed? In the frontlines? A shield and defense still spells out defense at the end of the day, and we can’t win by playing only defense.”

“Which is why you’d have to play both shield and offense.”

“That’s scary talk, Reina.”

“Naomi has items that could help. We are allowed to swap items among each other. So she can give you an HP Guard.”

“Which is only good for a few seconds.”

“A few seconds would be all we need with me behind the scope.”

“Speaking of which, have you ever shot a gun before? Most of your forges haven’t been firearms.”

She smirked. “Of course I’ve shot a gun! Do you really think I’d suggest this idea if I hadn’t?”

“My answer might shock you….”

She deadpanned me.

I chuckled. “All right, all right. So with your plan, you’re going to play hitman, and Naomi and I are going to be in the field. I am assuming you know how to spare your stamina for this to work?”

“I was fine tuning that skill with Kenji earlier. This was not my first session with him. So you have nothing to worry about.”

“We need to win this, Reina.”

“I understand that more than anyone, Nero.”

I nodded. “Then let’s do it.”

She squeaked with joy, clasping her hands together and bouncing off of her toes. She also did something insanely cute, the reaction catching me off guard.

Her ears flinched.

“Oh hey, that’s new. I don’t think I’ve ever seen your fox ears do that.” I reached behind her ear and she swatted it almost immediately, Reina’s face turning a shade of pink as she snatched the furry pokers on her head.

“Don’t touch them like that!”

“Heh, sorry. I wasn’t aware they were so sensitive,” I said with a smirk, withdrawing my two fingers that had a ladybug in between them. “You just had a bug behind your ear.”

Her face suddenly went pale.

“Don’t worry, he’s harmless,” I said, showing Reina the tiny insect in the palm of my hand. And then her ear twitched again, instantly catching my attention.

The sight was almost too cute to bear. However, the bug made Reina jerk those ears for a different reason.

She looked scared of the little fella.

Reina stood off to the side and huddled herself in her arms, then said, “While I appreciate the gesture, I’d rather you not pet them.”

“I wasn’t petting you, though.”

“You were….”

“Do you want me to put the bug back on your ear, or?” I teased. “I don’t mind demonstrating what I did.”

Just as Reina pivoted around to shoot me an earful, Naomi walked in.

I smiled. “Hey, stranger. I haven’t seen you around for a hot minute.”

“Where have you been?” Reina asked.

“What are you? My keeper?” Naomi sassed.

“We were talking about strategies for tomorrow’s game and you were off the premises for the last five hours.”

“I wasn’t aware that you out of all people were keeping tabs on me.”

Reina scoffed. “I don’t care what creepy activities you do on your time!”

Naomi arched a brow comically. “Creepy?”

“I don’t know what you goth girls do on your downtime. Maybe summon ghosts or something.”

“I had some errands to run. Is that so creepy?” Naomi retorted, tossing her long ivory hair over her shoulder.

Reina stiffened, crossing her arms over her chest. “Running errands for five hours? What kind of errands are these?”

“That’s none of your business,” Naomi snapped back, turning to me and ignoring Reina’s icy glare. “Now, what do you need from me, Nero?”

“Just a lending ear. We’re trying a new strategy tomorrow. Reina’s going to take the sniper position,” I explained.

Naomi blinked in surprise. “Sniper? You think she can handle it?”

“I’m right here you know!’ Reina cawed at her.

Ignoring Reina’s exasperated outburst, Naomi kept a piercing gaze at me. “Nero, this isn’t a test trial. One misstep could be the difference between a grand prize and no prize at all.”

Reina exploded, “I don’t need your validations! I know what I’m doing!” she hissed. “And if you have a problem with my plan, how about talking to me about it? I’m right here!”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” she interrupted, turning her glare to Reina. “You don’t have a final say in what we do in the final game. But since you insist on opening your big mouth and interrupting my every sentence, then I will redirect my concerns from Nero and address my comments to you. This is a critical game and we can’t afford any mistakes. If this request is anything like the others you’ve made thus far, then it will backfire. You play your part in the field like you’re supposed to. You don’t see any of us trying to modify a working formula. If you find yourself wanting to scratch an itch, don’t do it here. There’s nothing for you to prove, and we aren’t going to stand around and enable your stupid ideas.”

Reina simply smirked, pinning a hand to her hip. “Don’t waste your breath. Clearly, you misunderstood the words that came out of his mouth. Nero said that we will try my strategy. He wasn’t seeking your approval.”

“The floor is open, and that decision can still change.”

“It’s not changing, Naomi,” I said firmly. “Reina has done a lot for this team. I approved it, and that’s what we are going to do tomorrow.”

She snapped her head back at me, ready to retort, but Reina’s ringtone went off, and she stared at her screen contemplatively.

“I need to take this call,” Reina said, and then walked off.