Six years later.
Year 6660.
The Ziki middle school.
The classroom buzzed with low chatter, chairs scraping, bags thudding against desks. Morning light spilled in through the windows, catching dust in the air.
At the very back of the room, Shin was asleep.
Not resting. Not pretending.
Asleep.
His head was tilted to the side, cheek pressed against his arm, mouth slightly open in a way that suggested he had absolutely no shame about it. His uniform was neat enough to avoid punishment, but that was clearly accidental.
The classroom door slid open.
The teacher walked in, clearing his throat loudly. Behind him stood two unfamiliar students.
"Settle down," the teacher said. "We have transfer students today."
A few curious heads turned.
The boy stepped forward first. He had calm eyes, dark hair, and a posture that felt… steady. Too steady for someone his age.
"I'm Vaibhav," he said simply.
Then the girl beside him spoke. She had silver hair that caught the light and eyes that seemed alert even while quiet.
"I'm… Alicia," she introduced herself softly.
A small wave of whispers rippled through the class.
The teacher pointed toward the back. "You can sit there."
They walked down the aisle.
Vaibhav stopped beside the last row, hesitated for half a second, then sat down next to the sleeping boy. Alicia sat on Vaibhav's other side.
Shin did not move.
Class began.
The teacher launched into a long explanation about basic energy theory—definitions written neatly across the board, diagrams sketched with careful strokes. Chalk scraped steadily, tapping punctuating each point as he turned to face the class.
"Focus," he said, scanning the room. "This will be on the test."
Pages turned. Pens scratched. A few students nodded along, others stared blankly at the board, pretending to understand.
At the back—
Shin slept through all of it.
The teacher coughed loudly two rows ahead.
No reaction.
The book slipped from the teacher's hand and hit the floor with a sharp thud.
Shin didn't flinch.
The teacher paused, eyes narrowing, clearly tempted to call him out—but one look at Shin's utterly peaceful expression made him sigh and continue.
Only once did Shin move.
He shifted slightly, brows knitting together, lips parting as he muttered something incomprehensible—half a sentence, half a complaint—before settling again, posture relaxing as if nothing in the world could possibly be urgent enough to wake him.
The lecture continued.
Shin remained gone.
Vaibhav glanced at him briefly, then looked forward.
The bell rang.
Next Period.
This was history period. The teacher came.
The teacher started lecturing, "So, Students… Today we are going to talk about flame emperor."
The teacher continued, "Two thousand years ago. Year 4650. This was the year when the flame emperor was born."
The lecture continued.
Shin slept through all of it.
The bell rang again, but this time it was for break.
Shin's eyes snapped open instantly.
He straightened, stretched his arms like a cat, cracked his neck once, and stood up as if he'd been awake the whole time.
"Break already?" he muttered happily.
He walked out of the classroom.
The moment he left, the atmosphere changed.
A chair scraped closer to Vaibhav's desk.
A boy leaned over, placing his foot casually on the edge of Vaibhav's table. Another stood behind Alicia, blocking her from standing up. A third watched with a grin that wasn't friendly.
"So," one of them said, tapping the desk, "new kids, huh?"
Vaibhav looked up at them, still smiling.
"Friends," he said calmly, "don't bully me."
Alicia stiffened slightly.
The boys laughed.
"Oh, listen to him," one sneered. "He's polite."
The foot pressed harder against the desk.
Shin returned just in time to see it.
He stopped at the doorway.
"Oh my," he said lightly, eyes scanning the scene. "There's a good show going on."
His gaze fixed on the foot planted on his desk.
The smile vanished.
Shin walked over slowly.
He stopped behind the boy.
His right hand settled on the boy's shoulder.
His face leaned in close, appearing over the boy's other shoulder.
His expression was completely serious.
"Buddy," Shin said quietly, "don't you think you should move your leg off my table?"
The boy scoffed without even turning around.
"Piss off, loser."
Shin smiled.
"Oh?" he said pleasantly. "I guess I have to say it once more."
His voice dropped.
"Listen, you motherf*cker," Shin said, eyes cold now. "If you don't want me to beat the sh*t out of you, get the f*ck out of here."
The classroom went silent.
The bully spun around and swung.
Shin stepped aside easily, grabbed a nearby chair, and smashed the top of it straight into the boy's face.
The impact echoed.
The second bully rushed in.
Shin kicked him cleanly between the legs.
The boy dropped instantly, gasping, tears streaming.
"Wait—!" Shin said suddenly, putting on a mock-apologetic tone. "I didn't mean—"
Then he smiled brightly.
"Well… actually, I did mean it. B*tch."
He turned, striking another bully hard enough to send him stumbling into a desk.
The remaining students backed away, shocked.
Shin turned to Vaibhav and Alicia.
He grabbed Vaibhav by the collar and yanked him up slightly.
"Oi, kiddo," Shin snapped. "Don't you have any pride? If you can't stand up for yourself, at least stand up for the girl beside you!"
Vaibhav met his eyes calmly.
"…Sorry," he said. "But I shouldn't fight."
Shin stared at him for a second, then released him.
"Dumbf*ck."
Behind them, the injured bullies tried to crawl away.
Shin's voice cut through the room again.
"Oi," he said casually, turning back toward them.
"Who said you could go?"
The bullies froze mid-step.
Shin took one step forward.
"I didn't bring my lunch," he said casually, rolling his shoulders. "So give me your lunch. And twenty U.C."
The bullies froze.
"W–wait—!" the leader blurted out, panic obvious now. "L-listen, we can give you our lunch, but twenty U.C is too much! We only have nine!"
Shin stared at him for a long second.
Then he smiled.
"Then give it to me."
No argument. No negotiation.
Hands shook as wallets were pulled out.
The leader placed four U.C. on the desk, along with fifty Bitcoins.
Another added two U.C. and fifty more Bitcoins.
The third hesitated, then handed over his remaining two U.C.
They gathered their lunch boxes like criminals offering tribute and placed them neatly on Shin's desk.
"Good," Shin said. "Now disappear."
They didn't wait for permission.
Once they were gone, Shin turned back around and dropped into his seat like nothing had happened.
He looked at Vaibhav and Alicia.
"Hey guys," he said cheerfully. "Wanna eat with me?"
They exchanged a glance.
Then nodded.
Vaibhav and Alicia took out their own lunch boxes. Shin grabbed one of his newly acquired boxes and slid it toward them.
"Sharing is caring," he declared.
Then, without shame, he opened two boxes for himself and started eating both.
Alicia stared. "You're eating… two lunches."
Shin shrugged, mouth full. "I'm a growing man."
Halfway through, he leaned back slightly and looked at Vaibhav.
"Hey, kiddo," he said. "Umm… what was your name again? Vaibhav, right?"
He snapped his fingers. "Nah. Too long. I'll call you Vyuk."
Vaibhav blinked. "…Okay, but we're the same age."
Shin chewed thoughtfully. "Yeah, whatever. So, Why didn't you fight them?"
Vaibhav paused, then answered honestly.
"The last time I fought someone… I almost killed him."
Alicia stiffened slightly.
"My big brother and my Master told me not to fight," Vaibhav continued. "If I do, I might accidentally kill someone."
Shin stopped chewing.
He studied Vaibhav with a new kind of interest.
"Oh?" he said slowly. "That's… quite interesting."
Then he grinned.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you."
Vaibhav smiled faintly.
The rest of the day passed without incident.
After school, Shin went home, dropped his bag, and immediately ended up on the floor playing with Hinata. She laughed when he made stupid faces. Shiro circled them happily, tail wagging, eventually collapsing beside Shin as if guarding both siblings at once.
Later that night, after dinner, Shin flopped onto his bed with his tablet and headset.
The screen lit up with a familiar loading logo.
It was a competitive online battle game—fast-paced, flashy, full of effects and egos. Teams of players fought in short, brutal matches, each controlling a character with different abilities. Shin picked his usual close-combat fighter, a reckless brawler type built for rushing in and overwhelming enemies.
"Alright," he muttered, cracking his knuckles. "Easy win."
The match started.
For the first few minutes, everything went fine. Shin rushed lanes, landed hits, laughed when opponents missed him by inches.
Then the other player adapted.
Hard.
Shin lunged—only to be baited.
His combo whiffed.
A counter hit landed clean.
His character staggered.
"Eh?" Shin frowned, fingers moving faster.
The opponent didn't panic. Didn't spam. Every move was precise, calculated, like they were reading Shin half a second ahead.
Shin tried again—flank, fake retreat, sudden charge.
Blocked.
Punished.
Knocked back.
His health bar dropped fast.
"What the—" Shin hissed.
A final exchange.
He went all in.
The opponent sidestepped perfectly and unleashed a full combo. The screen flashed red.
DEFEAT.
Shin stared at the screen in silence.
Then the voice chat crackled to life.
"Go cry, kid," a man sneered, voice thick with arrogance.
"Tell your mama I'll come tonight."
Something in Shin went cold.
The grin he'd been wearing vanished completely.
He didn't shout.
Didn't argue.
Didn't respond.
Shin reached forward and closed the game.
The screen went dark.
He sat there for a few seconds, headset still on, jaw tight.
Then he slowly took it off, placed it aside—
And opened a different program.
Silently.
A year and a half ago—mid-6658—his old gaming ID had been permanently banned. Someone jealous had mass-reported him for cheating. Back then, Shin had tried to make a new ID, searched online for guides, and—like any average student who get's distracted when studying, he got distracted by a video titled "Basic Hacking Explained."
He remembered enough.
Now, in year 6660, he followed the trail.
He slipped past account protections. Accessed user data. Dug deeper.
Then he froze.
On the screen was an image—his opponent, older than expected, standing far too close to a little girl. A hand where it shouldn't be.
Shin's stomach turned.
"…What the f*ck?" he muttered. "This motherf*cker is a p*do?"
He kept digging.
The more he looked, the worse it got.
Illegal transactions. Hidden accounts. Patterns that weren't accidental.
Shin understood that the man was a child trafficker.
Shin didn't hesitate.
He packaged everything—logs, images, records—and sent it directly to the cybercrime department.
Then he shut the laptop.
The room felt quiet again.
Shin leaned back, eyes unfocused.
"…Disgusting," he muttered.