Chapter 7 – A Trickster’s Shadow

Hikaru had learned three things in the past week.

One: The guild didn't care about rankings. You were strong if you proved you were strong.

Two: Winning people over was more valuable than winning fights. A good trick was worth more than a sword.

Three: Someone was watching him.

It had started subtly. A feeling at first. That odd sensation of being observed, but whenever he turned, no one was there.

At first, he dismissed it.

But then the signs started appearing.

A half-eaten meal left next to his seat when he wasn't looking. A deck of cards placed on the guild counter—not his, but similar enough that it felt deliberate. And then, the most obvious clue:

A single wooden mask, left at his bedside one morning.

Not just any mask.

A Javanese warrior mask, intricately carved.

Hikaru turned it over in his hands, expression unreadable.

He knew only one person who would leave something like this.

Budi.

The realization sent a small thrill through him.

His old friend wasn't dead. He was here.

And more importantly—

He was playing a game.

Hikaru didn't react immediately.

If Budi was testing him, the worst thing he could do was act like he had already figured it out.

So instead, he played along.

For the next few days, Hikaru left small counter-clues. A shuffled deck left on the guild bar counter, arranged just slightly out of order. A coin flipped onto the windowsill of his rented room, tails up—a silent message of challenge.

And then, one night, he got his answer.

A single playing card, placed in the middle of his table.

Face-down.

Hikaru picked it up, heart beating faster. He turned it over.

The Joker.

A wide grin spread across his face.

You want to play, huh?

Then let's play.

The next day, Hikaru was out in the city, pretending to browse through a fruit stall.

He knew he was being watched.

So he did what any good trickster would do.

He put on a show.

He let his pace slow, made himself an easy target. He let his fingers brush across a merchant's pouch, let a coin slip into his sleeve—subtle, easy to miss.

Then, he turned a corner into an empty alley.

And waited.

Seconds passed.

Then—

A masked figure dropped down from the rooftop.

Hikaru barely dodged as a wooden staff came swinging toward his head. He rolled back, adjusting his glasses, grinning.

"Now that's a dramatic entrance."

The figure didn't speak.

Instead, they charged.

Hikaru flicked his wrist.

[Skill Activated: ♠3 – Shadow Step]

His body flickered—an illusion. The staff passed through where he had been an instant ago.

The masked figure landed smoothly, unmoved.

Hikaru sighed. "No reaction? You've gotten boring, Budi."

Silence.

Then, a chuckle.

The figure slowly reached up and pulled off the mask.

And there he was.

Budi.

His dark hair was slightly longer, his usual easygoing expression replaced with something unreadable. His stance was different too—tighter, sharper.

More dangerous.

Hikaru tilted his head. "You alive, or am I talking to a ghost?"

Budi grinned. "Depends. You believe in ghosts?"

Hikaru flicked a card into the air. "I believe in tricks."

Budi spun his staff once. "Then you should've seen this coming."

And just like that—

He attacked again.

Budi was fast.

Not like before. Not like the high schooler Hikaru had known.

His movements were refined, flowing—a mixture of Pencak Silat and something else, something unnatural.

Hikaru dodged again, barely keeping up.

"You've been training," he noted, sidestepping a leg sweep.

Budi smirked. "So have you."

Hikaru flicked another card.

[Skill Activated: ♦9 – Fortune's Favor]

He took a step without thinking—and by pure luck, dodged just in time as Budi's staff slammed into the ground where his knee had been.

Hikaru exhaled. That would've hurt.

He took another step back, adjusting his glasses. "Alright. I get it. You're alive, you're strong, you're mysterious. What do you want?"

Budi twirled his staff, expression unreadable. "Just wanted to see if you're still worth playing against."

Hikaru smirked. "And?"

Budi grinned. "I think I'll stick around."

Hikaru sighed. "Of course you will."

Budi tilted his head. "What, you didn't miss me?"

Hikaru flicked a card at him. Budi caught it easily.

On it, Hikaru had drawn a simple symbol—a question mark over a mask.

Budi chuckled. "Clever." He tossed it back. "Then let's make it interesting."

Hikaru caught the card and raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Budi grinned.

"First to fool the other wins."

Hikaru's smirk widened.

Now that was a challenge.

"Fine," he said, slipping the card back into his deck. "But don't cry when I outplay you."

Budi laughed, stepping back into the shadows.

"We'll see."

Then, in an instant—

He was gone.

Hikaru exhaled, shaking his head.

Budi was back.

And more importantly—

The game had finally begun.