<Narattor's POV>

The gamers were trying their best to get back to Tsurugi's mansion as fast as possible but the chances weren't cooperating.

"Damnit!" Tsurugi said, opening the car's door, unable to wait anymore.

"Wait, Tsurugi!" Tenma called, "What are you doing?"

"I can't afford to just get stuck in this traffic while my home is burning to ashes. If I have to run, then I will."

"You know, you shouldn't underestimate the stamina of the Raimon's former forward, Shindou."

With that, Tsurugi got off the car and sprinted. He was so fast that he left everyone's sight in mere seconds.
(Y/N) decided to follow him after that.

"I'll go after him."

"Now, you can't be serious, (Y/N)-chan. Can you run for about half a kilometer?" Fei asked.

"I can't but... I'm sure I'll catch up. Tsurugi must have someone to help and support him in that situation, right?" She reasoned.

"In that case, I'll come too!" Tenma volunteered.

"Alright, you can go, but be careful in your way. The rest wait here." Shindou decided.

"Thanks, senpai!" Tenma and (Y/N) choruses before running.

"Geez, you guys are so impatient," muttered Kirino.

It took 20 minutes for them to reach his mansion. (Y/N) was really worn off, but Tenma seemed fine. They found the place noisy as the firetrucks came to put out the fire.

"Tenma! (Y/N)!" Someone called.

"Yuuichi-san!" They rushed to his side, "Are you and Emiko-san alright?"

"Yeah, but Emiko inhaled some smoke, she's struggling to breath earlier."

Emiko coughed then smiled, "Don't worry, I'm okay now."

"Thank goodness!" (Y/N) sighed in relief but her eyes wandered in search of Tsurugi.

"If you're looking for him, he's right there." Yuuichi pointed.

Tsurugi was staring at something written on the mansion's fence while she walked to him. He looked very distressed and a frown remained in his face.

"Tsurugi?" She called.

He glanced at me, then brought back his sight to the graffiti in a red spraypaint.

"Who... Who the hell are you?"

He asked, referring to the person who wrote it. (Y/N) read it too, and the message made her a little nervous.

𝕴 𝖋𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖉 𝖞𝖔𝖚 ^^

—

It was declared fire out after almost 2 hours of bombarding the house with water. The large mansion became the remains of ashes. The others arrived an hour ago and started to search for something usable left in the scene.

"Man, all of these are garbage!" Kariya blurted, holding a piece of burnt metal that he tossed away somewhere after.

"To think that these were expensive things we just saw the last 2 weeks ago, how sad," Aoi commented.

"What else we can do? Accidents happen anytime." Shindou sighed.

"It wasn't an accident," Tsurugi informed, "Its arson."

"Arson? Who would've wanted to burn the house of the son of Lancelot's director?" asked Fei.

His question was so rhetorical that the tense silence can answer.

"Oh..."

"There's no mistaking it. The virus perpetrator targets you, Tsurugi." Kirino stated.

"I'm not fully convinced when it goes down to that. But, whether its luck or intended, I'm glad that the gaming base wasn't burned down."

"It isn't?!" Exclaimed Tenma.

"Its in underground and separated to the main mansion if you remember. That bastard spared all of my important things."

"Right. That basement is almost your whole room after all." (Y/N) commented.

"But without a bed." He added.

"Still, what are you going to do about your house, Tsurugi-kun? Where would you stay?" Aoi questioned.

"I don't know. I can't stay with my parents' or nii-san's place, since their manors are too far away, and if it's true that I'm the target, I might just endanger them."

"Well, you have a point."

"Oi, Kyousuke!" Yuuichi shouted behind us, waving his phone, "Dad's calling."

"Toss it." His brother obeyed and threw his phone to him, which he caught.

"Whoa, dude, you can't just throw an Iphone 7 in the air! I was scared for the damn phone!" Kariya panicked.

"No problem. There's no way I couldn't catch a valuable thing like this." He replied.

He turned his attention to the phone and talked to the other line, "Dad?"

"Kyousuke! I'm glad you're okay! Why aren't you picking up your phone?"

"Yeah. Thank for the concern and I'm sorry, my phone died. How're you and mom?"

"Don't worry, we're safe. We're in the US right now."

Tsurugi's eyes narrowed, "US? You didn't tell me you're leaving for US."

"I'm sorry for not informing both of you sooner, but it was for the urgent safety issues. Our messenger's HQ was bombed, your house was burned, and I have no idea on who could possibly plan this to us."

"Me neither. But my friends and I are working hard to find out whoever's starting this ruckus, because its not only us, dad. The asshole is also destroying a game company."

"Really?" Yukio chuckled, "So you're finally using your knowledge after graduating from ICT course?"

"A little. At least your money isn't wasted on me. Anyways. Where can I stay, now that the house I inherited from you is gone?"

"I have no nearby properties in your current place, so I'll send you money for you to buy another one or rebuild your mansion if you want."

"That still doesn't answer my question. I can't find a mansion or house in sale in the remaining 11 hours of this day."

"Why don't you stay at your friends' place instead?"

Tsurugi paused for a moment, "Even if I don't want to disturb their lives, you leave me no choice. I'm hanging up. Bye."

"Be careful. Bye."

The call ended. Tsurugi called his brother to return (throw) his phone back to him. Kariya almost fainted.

"So, have you started any business yet?" He asked his game companions.

"Actually, we received an email from Admin Endou a little while ago, so why don't we discuss it in the base?" Shindou suggested.

-Gaming Base, 2pm-

"So, what this is about?" Kirino fretted.

"This must be important since it came from the MC Admins. If it is, then shouldn't we discuss it on where we are earlier right away?" Tenma concluded.

"Yes it is, but Endou-san said that it's classified information, so we must be careful about who will hear this."

"Can we just start the discussion?"

"Okay. According to him, the virus infiltrated not only Minecraft but the other games as well. The management of Mobile Legends, HearthStone and Starcraft contacted Endou-san and Gouenji-san this morning," reported Shindou.

"What?!" Aoi gasped in surprise.

"Why the fuck would they hack other games this time?" said Kariya.

"For fame and influence, perhaps." (Y/N) sighed.

"Is that all of the affected apps, though?" The pink-haired boy questioned.

"Actually, the admins gave us the list." Shindou sent a copy to the group.

"Wait, whoa! Isn't this too many to be hacked for just a day?" (Y/N) said as she scrolled on her phone.

"Fortnite, Arena Of Valor, Clash of Clans... why are all of my favorite games are here?!" Fei exclaimed.

"So are mine! No wonder I couldn't open Rules of Survival and Mortal Kombat earlier. I thought it was only a crash!" Kariya replied too.

"Did the owners of these games told this incident to the media already?" asked Aoi.

"They did, and if you'll open the FB and IG right now, the news is scattered everywhere."

"That's probably the best thing they can do for now. As long as the players know this, they won't open the corrupted app, thus preventing their linked data and accounts from being stolen." Tsurugi explained.

"Still! Isn't this very alarming? We should do something right now!"

"Tenma, calm down. It's not like we can do something too at this moment, so it'll be better to wait." Kirino advised.

They all sighed in distress.

"This is the worst, its a pain in the arse!" The prankster complained again, "What will they hack next? The World Wide Web?"

"Let's hope that it won't turn out like that."

"In either way, we must reveal the motive of the hacker. If possible, their identity as well, so we could stop whatever they're trying to do." Shindou noted.

"Leave the decoding to me. Also, I have an update on the codes from the virus the admins sent us." Tsurugi said.

"What does it mean?"

"The jumbled binary code means 'ago'."

The gamers exchanged glances in confusion, "We still don't get it...?"

"Of course you won't. I haven't solved the 2nd code yet, idiots." he deadpanned.

The meeting continued until they decided to end it after an hour, but almost forgetting something.

"Wait, Tsurugi. Where will you stay?" Kirino questioned.

Tsurugi hesitated, deciding whether he should tell them or not. He doesn't want them to see him in this pathetic situation after all, but there was no point to hide it.

"I don't know. I'll rent an apartment, for now, I guess,"

"I hear that the apartments near here are already sold." Fei tapped his chin.

"I'll find that out myself."

"But you'll go off alone when you're the hacker's target? We won't let you!" Tenma insisted.

"Then what do you want me to do, you stupid brunette?!" He replied, irritated.

"Hm... let's see." Tenma thought, "Oh! Why don't you stay on our place?"

Tsurugi rolled his eyes upon hearing the same thing twice this day, "Hah, why would I stay over your house? You fucking dog hates me. Kill him first."

Tenma cried chibi tears, "Tenma wouldn't do such cruel thing to Sasuke! And how dare you speak of him like that..." He sobbed.

Aoi patted his back, "Its okay, Tenma. Its so good of you to offer your place to a devil."

"What did you just say?"

"Oh, I mean 'a prick'."

"Aoi, you're being to savage." Shindou chuckled.

"Wait, why don't Tsurugi stay at Shindou's? His mansion is wide and large!" Fei suggested.

"Ahh, my house is off limits this time. My parents are hosting a grand party for our relatives."

"Does that mean that you'll be available for this week?"

"No, I'll find a way to sneak out of it. I'm not close with my relatives anyway."

"What about your place, Fei!" (Y/N) asked.

"I doubt we'll even fit there. My house is small and contains a lot of things."

"My family runs a bread and pastry shop, so I'm in the same case with him." Aoi added.

"Wait, where did you get the idea of me staying at your damn places? I didn't even agree." Tsurugi retorted.

"Well, its mush safer than leaving you alone. You're a trouble maker, and look, you have someone targeting your ass." Kirino answered.

"You shits must understand that I'm not a kid—"

"And if that hacker sets up a bomb for you, I'll set up a bomb for him as well. Leave that to me!" Kariya declared confidently.

"That's Kariya for you."

"Oh, right." Shindou made a fist and slammed it lightly to his palm, "(Y/N)-chan, you live in a house by yourself, right?"

"Yeah?"

Upon realizing what Shindou meant, she protested, "W-Wait, my house isn't that big! U-Uh... its still messy! I'll have to clean it this week!"

"But I came over yesterday to borrow a book. Your house isn't that messy." Aoi commented.

"ITS DIRTY RIGHT NOW, OKAY?"

"Please, (Y/N)!" Tenma kneeled to the floor and bowed to her, "Let Tsurugi stay over your place until he finds a decent shelter!"

"Don't make my situation sound so desperate!" Tsurugi yelled.

"Please, (Y/N)!" The rest of them bowed to her too.

(Y/N) blushed in embarrassment while Tsurugi barraged them with swear words.

"Get the fuck up, you assholes! You're fricking shaming my name, bullcrap!"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" (Y/N) gave in, "H-He can stay over... if he wants to, though."

"Yay! Thank you, (Y/N)-chan!" Tenma hugged her.

"You're welcome, I guess?"

"Isn't Tsurugi the one who's supposed to be thankful?" Kariya wondered.

"Piss off, no. As if I've accepted your funny ideas."

"C'mon, Tsurugi! This is for your sake! We wanted you to rely on us just a little! We want to help you, even if just this time!" Tenma blurted out.

"He's right, Kyousuke." Yuuichi butted in, opened the door and entered the base.

"Yuuichi-san!"

"Have you been listening to us all this time?" Kirino asked.

"Nah, happened to pass by because you guys are taking so long. Anyway, learn to count on your friends during these times, you little shit." He said as he jokingly hit the younger Tsurugi in the head.

Shindou, Aoi, Kariya and Kirino laughed, amused to see the relationship of Tsurugi brothers.

"Ow, that wasn't necessary, you stupid 'older brother'!"

"Yeah it was, to wake you from your 'embarrassment'. Accept it already, they're doing this because they're worried for you."

"Definitely!" The group agreed.

He looked at them for a while before softening a little and clicked his tongue, "Well, fine. I didn't say I'm going to reject it, so be thankful that I accepted this ridiculous offer."

"Your pride is fuckingly amazing, but I'm glad." Shindou muttered.

"To be honest, this idea was also suggested by dad earlier in our talk, so I'm considering it by this time." He admitted.

The others exchanged hi-fives.

"Now, it'll be shameful of me to stay on (Y/N)'s house to watch over my brother, so I have one request. Hey, (Y/N)."

"Yes?"

"Please take care of Kyousuke."

There was an awkward silence, which made (Y/N)'s face even more red, so she bowed and answered.

"I-I will!"

Yuuichi smiled, "Thank you." He turned his back and walked towards the door, "Well then, I'll be taking my leave."

"Where are you going?"

"I will be spending the week in Emiko's and I'll probably help dad resolve the issues in Lancelot. You kids all rest easy and don't pressure yourselves, alright?"

"Alright!"

"Great, goodbye!"

He slammed the door. "He sure was fast." Kariya commented.

"I guess our agenda is discussed thoroughly, so let's finish this meeting." Kirino said.

"Let's just chat if we received news about these matters, okay?" (Y/N) said jubilantly.

"Oooookay!"

They waited for a few minutes for Tsurugi to pack his things up before moving to (Y/N)'s house temporarily. He locked the base and made sure its hidden as everyone made their way out of it.

Tsurugi took the last glance to his home. What a shame. He thought. This place isn't even comparable to money...

"What is it, Tsurugi?" (Y/N) disturbed his thoughts.

"Nothing." He coolly replied.

"What do you mean 'nothing'? Your face earlier was filled with desiderium."

"Was I really that obvious?" He covered his mouth to chuckle a bit.

"A little, but I noticed it anyways."

"To be frank, I felt kind of sad, because this mansion was my graduation gift from my parents after I finished college. Now it disappeared and turned to this in a matter of minutes."

(Y/N) lowered her head as she listened, "U-Uhm... I'm sorry..."

He looked at her and raised a brow, "Idiot. Why are you apologizing?"

"I just felt the need to apologize! I mean, you lost something important to you, so I don't know what to say."

Tsurugi sighed, "You're not the one to blame, don't ask for forgiveness."

"Yeah..."

"Let's go." He turned to the opposite direction and walked away.

"Hey, uh... you've been to my house once, right?"

"Never been there before."

"Eh? Didn't you came there when you were about to retrieve your stolen TV?"

"Its been just 3 months and your memories are messed up. It wasn't me, it was Shindou who retrieved my TV, not in your house but on a street near you. How can you memorize a computer language with that memory?"

"Is that so? I'm sorry!"

"Sorry, huh," Tsurugi flicked her forehead hard.

She winced in pain, "Ow! What was that for?"

"You keep apologizing. I told you a while ago that its annoying. Stop it."

"But you don't have to do that, jeez. You're mean as ever."

"Yes, I am. Get used to it, now that I'll be in your place for the meantime."

(Y/N) blushed and looked away slowly, "You don't need to tell me."

Tsurugi looked at (Y/N), who's gazing on the other side to hide her reddening cheeks. He observer her appearance. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, but there were stray strands and loose hair all over that moves with the cool breeze of wind. He found it cute and as much as he wanted to tuck them behind her ear, he doesn't want things to get awkward between them at the same time.

She noticed him, "Why are you staring?"

He returned his sight to the road, "Your hair is still messy even if its tied."

"Really? Then, maybe I should redo it."

She was about to remove it, but Tsurugi stopped her, "Don't."

"Why not?"

"Its better that way. I like it."

"Baka." She pouted. "If you say so."

Their little chat went on until they reached (Y/N)'s house before the night falls.

☆×☆×☆×☆×☆×☆×☆

>>StarsightGalaxy has logged on.

Well there! As I promised, I updated again, although a little late, sumimasen!

Author-chan has a question for today!
>In your opinion, is Inazuma Eleven/Go still popular today? What do you like about the series?

The next chapter might take a while since I would like to focus in it, cuz you know, the two of you are sharing a roof together!

Now I officially rename Shindou "Shindou the Matchmaker"

I made some small edits in some chapters to fix the flow of events since I changed their ages. I think that they were way too old when I first wrote information disclosures (Shindou being 25-26, the oldest of them) so I adjsuted it to a younger range. Read the said chapter again for the latest edits.

Also, I appreciate if you leave comments (criticism included) in the chapters to let me know what you guys think, so that I can improve my grammar or plot for this story. Your comments also fill me with a warm, fuzzy feeling called inspiration.

I guess that's it for today! Please keep reading everyone! ^^

>>StarsightGalaxy has logged off.