{Yumi}
"Nakashima-san, I need results."
Yumi Nakashima kept her expression neutral as her boss, Editor-in-Chief Hayashi, tapped his pen against his desk.
"The mystery rescuer story has some legs," he continued. "But we need way more before that story's interesting. A face. A name. Something concrete before NHK or TV Asahi beats us to it."
"I understand, sir. My sources are—"
"Your sources have given us grainy security footage and witness accounts. That's not enough." He leaned back in his chair. "You wanna keep wasting time on this? Fine. Find this person, Nakashima-san. Get me an exclusive. Otherwise, drop it."
"Yes, sir."
She bowed and left his office, jaw clenched.
Three weeks of chasing after whatever few leads she could, and all she had were blurry images of a girl in tactical gear pulling civilians from dungeons.
"Yumi!" Kenji, her perpetually exhausted cameraman, jogged over. "You need to see this!"
"Unless it's our rescuer's face, I don't care."
"It is."
Her head snapped toward him.
"What?"
He held out his tablet.
This was new security footage from this morning's incident in Setagaya. Another unstable E-rank dungeon, another miraculous rescue from the anonymous lady. But this time, the camera angle caught her profile as she emerged.
"Holy shit." Yumi grabbed the tablet. "That's... that's actually her face."
Admittedly, there wasn't much to see. The girl had plain features. Short black hair, brown eyes, and tactical gear that looked like it had been cobbled together by a schizophrenic. The girl that gear belonged to was moving through the chaos confidently, guiding three terrified salarymen to safety before vanishing into a narrow alley seconds later.
But this one snapshot may have been all Yumi needed.
"Run facial recognition?"
"Already did. Nothing." Kenji shrugged. "She's a ghost."
[That's impossible. Everyone's in the system nowadays.]
"What about my contact at the Player Association?"
"Called him. He says no registered Player matches her description. And get this, she's not using any System abilities that they can detect."
Yumi frowned. A non-Player, rescuing people from dungeons? That should be suicide.
Her phone buzzed. Unknown number.
"Nakashima here."
"Yumi? It's Takashi. From university? Listen, I think I found something about your mystery girl."
Takashi. Photography major turned paparazzi.
He'd made a career stalking Players for tabloids, selling pictures of Players at, well, unfortunate moments in their daily lives. Shameful work? Maybe, but nobody could deny there was a demand for it these days. People wanted to know what their heroes looked like when they put their swords and spears down, after all.
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"I'm listening."
"Remember that Shibuya dungeon disaster? The one that killed Aoi Akane?"
"The Phoenix Guild prospect? Yeah, terrible tragedy. That girl had real talent. What about it?"
"I've been going through old photos for a retrospective piece on her. And, uh, I found this from her high school graduation."
Her phone pinged with an image. Akane Aoi, radiant in her uniform, holding her diploma. Behind her, in the crowd...
"Oh my god." Yumi's eyes widened.
A plain girl with short black hair, clapping. Same face shape. Same posture. Younger, but uncannily similar to the person from the security footage.
"Your mystery girl? It seems it might be Aoi Suzume. Akane's younger sister."
"You're sure?"
"Not completely, no. There are millions of girls with these features, and this body type in Japan. But I think it's a lead worth pursuing."
"Send me everything you have on her. Now."
"Already did. Check your email."
Yumi opened the files while walking to her desk.
Aoi Suzume, age 18. Accepted to Tokyo University for biology. Dropped out around six months ago, about a month after her sister's death. Current address: supposedly, a studio apartment in Shibuya. Current employment: unknown.
"Kenji! We're going to Shibuya!"
"Now? It's almost 8 PM."
"Now."
---
{Suzume}
Suzume peeled off her tactical vest, wincing at the bruise forming on her ribs. That last goblin had gotten lucky with a rock.
[Three salarymen saved. Should've been four, but that one ran deeper into the dungeon instead of following me.]
She'd tried to go after him, but the other monsters in the dungeon quickly started collapsing on her position. She had to cut her losses.
[Stupid. Why do people panic and run deeper instead of toward the exit?]
Her phone rang. Unknown number.
She ignored it.
It rang again.
And again.
"What?" She answered, irritated.
"Are you the girl who's been saving people from dungeons?"
Suzume hung up immediately.
The phone rang again five seconds later.
"How did you get this number?" Suzume asked instead this time.
"My name is Nakashima Yumi. I'm a journalist with Channel 7. And if I could find you, others can too."
Suzume's blood went cold.
Attention. Something she absolutely did not want right now, in her life.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Aoi Suzume, age 18, formerly a biology student at Tokyo University. Sister of the late Aoi Akane. Currently living alone in a studio apartment in Shibuya. Should I continue?"
[Shit. Shit shit shit.]
"What do you want?"
"Just to talk. Learn more about what you're doing. Why you're doing it."
"Not interested."
"Wait! Before you hang up, others will come looking. Players. Government officials. Maybe even some people who won't just want to talk. Unregistered Awakened are somewhat of a point of stress for our government, you know?"
Suzume paused, phone pressed to her ear.
"You're the first person to successfully rescue civilians from unstable dungeons. Do you understand what that means? How many people want to know how you're doing it?"
"I said I'm not interested."
"Your address is 2-15-7 Shibuya, Apartment 305. Your parents live in Meguro. Your mother works at—"
"Stop."
"I'm not threatening you. I'm explaining that if a journalist can find this information in a few hours, imagine what the Player Association could do. Or the guilds. Or the government."
Suzume sat on her bed, head in her hands.
[... This was inevitable. I knew someone would eventually figure it out.] She sighed. [So... What do I do about it?]
The best answer she had to that question was...
"What exactly do you want to talk about?"
"Your rescues. Your methods. Why you're doing this when no one else will."
"And in exchange?"
"I protect your identity. No names, no photos showing your face clearly. Just the story of someone trying to make a difference."
"How do I know you won't just expose me anyway?"
"Because a mysterious unnamed rescuer makes for a better ongoing story than a one-time exposé. I need content. You need anonymity. We can help each other."
Suzume looked at her tactical gear piled in the corner. At the knot-tying guides still open on her laptop. At the System window only she could see.
[Current Level: 2]
[EXP: 108/150]
[Civilians Saved (Lifetime): 9]
[Players Saved (Lifetime): 3]
"Fine. One meeting. That's all."
"Tomorrow? There's a café in Harajuku—"
"No. Somewhere public. Crowded. Yoyogi Park, near the fountain. 2 PM."
[If I'm going to get kidnapped, I want there to be witnesses.]
"That works. See you then," Yumi replied.
Suzume hung up.
[Great. Now I'm going to have to deal with media attention on top of everything else.]
She flopped back on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
Six months ago, she'd been a normal student worried about exams. Now she was some kind of underground rescue operative being hunted by journalists.
[Akane would probably find this hilarious.]
Her phone buzzed. A text from the unknown number.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet. I promise to be respectful of your boundaries. - Nakashima"
Suzume deleted the message and turned off her phone.
Tomorrow she'd have to figure out how to handle a journalist without revealing too much. Tonight, she had a MeTube video on "Advanced First Aid for Dungeon Injuries" to finish.
Being a secret hero was getting complicated.
[At least the EXP is good.]
