Rapid Fate Online Chapter 27: Exposed

“Yes you,” you said cheerfully, “you and I will make a good team.”

“H-How can you be so sure?” he asked shyly. 

“I have a feeling, that’s how,” you said with a smile, “come on, let’s chat about how best to work this test.”

You motioned for him to follow you and he did, trailing behind you to the back of the room with his head down and hands in pockets like he usually did. 

You talked a little about how you would signal each other if anything was going to go wrong and then came up with other basic plans of attack. 

Tamaki seemed to be more relaxed when talking about attack strategies and was quite thoughtful when it came to putting together a plan that would work AND keep the two of you as safe as possible. 

“I guess he’s used to this, having had a lot of experience on the front lines in RFO as Butterfli3… if he IS Butterfli3, that is.”

All too soon the teacher returned and announced that time was up and you were directed to change into your hero costumes and head to the indoor battle arena. 

You almost gasped when Tamaki arrived in his ‘suneater’ costume. The resemblance of his outfit to Butterfli3’s cloak was uncanny and he even seemed to exude that same confident aura.

“You ready?” you asked him as he came up beside you. 

“Let’s do this,” he replied lowly and your heart skipped a beat. 

“Oop, there it is!” 

You nodded and waited for further instruction from the teacher. 

The teacher gave a brief talk and introduced Gang Orca, who walked in from a side door, dressed in his own hero costume. 

Everyone clapped politely and he bowed in greeting.

“I look forward to working with you all today,” he said in a loud voice, “you are the future heroes and I am excited to see what you have in store for today’s exercise.” 

The teacher then gave the rules before exiting from the arena, and everyone took their positions. You watched as Tamaki walked around to the other side of Gang Orca so he could see you and you nodded at him which he returned, signaling that you were both set. 

There was a loud buzzer sound then Gang Orca attacked without warning, sending out a straight line of hypersonic waves and paralyzing a number of your classmates instantly. 

“Shit! No warning! That was a quick start to the test,” 

You looked over to Tamaki again and your heart skipped a beat. He was standing in a slight attack position with his right arm across his body, hold, what looked like, an imaginary sword. 

Your mind did an immediate comparison to Butterfli3 and instantly matched to two as the same image.

As Gang Orca turned towards Tamaki, he threw his arm out and released his quirk- octopus tentacles erupting from his finger tips. 

Again, your mind compared his movements and quirk, with Butterfli3 and his sword technique, and it came up as a match. 

“He’s Butterfli3! I knew it! They move the same, the quirk and sword skill are the same. Everything is the same! It HAS to be him!”

You watched him fight a little longer, convinced you had enough evidence that he and Butterfli3 were the same person, before putting your plan in motion.

Shifting your weight, you turned to your left and ran, keeping your eyes on Tamaki before activating your quirk and switching places with him. The minute you switched, Tamaki attacked Gang Orca from his other side. 

The giant hero was confused for a second and spun around to look for Tamaki. So far, the plan was working perfectly. 

Over and over again, you were able to place Tamaki right in the perfect attack spot and his skills from fighting in RFO came to the forefront. 

Just towards the end of the test you found yourself in a sticky situation and tried to switch out but the surrounding classmate’s quirks hindered you from doing so and you froze in a panic.

Right before you got hit, a tentacle came out of nowhere and Tamaki whisked you out of harms way. Just then, Gang Orca was defeated and the buzzer announced the end of the test.

“Are you ok, Y/N?” Tamaki asked as he pulled you into his embrace and held you close so you had a chance to catch your breath. 

“Yeah,” you panted, “that was close, thank you for saving me there.” 

“It’s no problem, can you stand?” he asked, feeling you resting your weight against him. 

“Umm, I think so?” you huffed, chest still rising and falling rapidly, “I can sit down though, I’ll be ok.” 

“No, it’s ok, I can hold you,” he said softly.

You looked up at him. “Thank you… Butterfli3.” 

He froze and his eyes darted down to yours.

“W-what did you just call me?” he asked, the anxiety in his voice becoming evident. 

“You’re Butterfli3,” you said softly, “I know you’re Butterfli3.”

He stumbled back and let you go, his chest rising and falling rapidly as panic set in.

“Tamaki, it’s ok…I—,”

He turned and fled, running for the arena door. 

“TAMAKI!” You called out after him but he had gone. 

“Ah shit…now what?” you thought as you collapsed onto the ground, “he doesn’t know who I am, though, so I need to tell him at some point.” 

You tried to find him after you had changed back into your school clothes but it looked like he had left the school grounds already. ga

“What do I do now? Do I tell him who I am in the game tonight or should I tell him in real life?” 

You thought about your options as you walked home that evening, deciding to woman up and tell him who you were in real life.

“Man what a day though! I need a drink of some kind!”

You were headed past a small cafe and decided to stop in and grab something before heading home to play RFO.

Pushing the doors open, you looked around the small cafe and nearly died.

Tamaki was sitting at a booth at the back of the shop, engrossed in his phone.

Your heart started pounding in your chest. Should you run? Or face him now?

You stood frozen.

Almost as if he sensed you were there, he looked up and you saw him jump nervously when he recognized you.

“Tamaki…” you said in an even tone as you walked towards him. 

He stood up, looking around wildly as if he wanted to make another run for it, like a cat caught in the corner of a room.

“Tamaki, wait! Can we please talk?” 

He quickly sat down and sank down in the seat, covering his face with his hands.

You walked over and sat down across from him. 

“There’s no need to be shy, Tamaki, can we please talk about this though, it’s important…”

“H-how did you know?” he asked in a quivering voice from behind his hands. 

“Know that you’re butterfli3?” you asked, “because I’ve spent a lot of time around you… in RFO…” 

“Y-you have??” he asked, removing his hands so he could look at you, “who are you then?”

“Umm…” Your heart started beating faster. “Ummm, well, we meet… everyday… at 4pm…” you said, almost breathlessly as your vision pounded from the sudden spike in your heart rate. 

“4pm?….” His eyes suddenly widened. “O-O/N?!?!” 

You nodded slowly. “Hi…”

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Rapid Fate Online Chapter 28: Crushed >>>