Chapter 3: The Phantom Who Likes Pranks (Patreon)

Passing through the shadows, Natsuki Subaru's figure emerged in a secluded, dim alley. Tall walls blocked out the sunlight here and shut out the clamor of the street beyond — actually a rather good place to think.

Vanishing suddenly in front of other people was just the most basic of Natsuki Subaru's pranks.

Even among the collection of oddballs that made up the Stellaron Hunters, Phantom was a fairly singular case. When it came to actual work, the guy was meticulous to the point that no one could find a single fault — infiltration routes, extraction timing, even contingency plans for when things went wrong, he had it all prepared in advance.

Silver Wolf had once grumbled that his operation plans were longer than a game walkthrough.

But off duty, if you had to sum up his personality in one word, it would be — mischievous.

Growing up under his father's influence, Natsuki Subaru had picked up all sorts of skills and dabbled in every sport under the sun. He'd once worked hard to become someone as dazzling as his father — the one everyone's eyes were drawn to in a crowd.

But the older he got, the more he realized he wasn't as special as he'd imagined.

As they say — if you don't act out loudly, you warp quietly in silence — so to get attention, he started saying outlandish things and making exaggerated gestures, trying to bring his family's boisterous dynamic to people his own age. The result, more often than not, was a sudden hush falling over the room and people looking at him like he'd grown a second head.

Forcing a bit when there wasn't one to force, he usually just ended up making a fool of himself.

And then? Then, one day after stepping out of a convenience store, he found himself transported into a strange universe.

During his time with the Stellaron Hunters, Natsuki Subaru came to understand something: if you wanted to survive, you needed a gimmick. If you wanted to build a personal brand, you had to have something that set you apart from everyone else. And given the powers he'd inherited from that Shadow Master, what was the one thing he was best suited for?

Pranks!

As Kafka's very first recruit into the Stellaron Hunters, he should, by rights, have carried himself with the cold, aloof, don't-approach-me mystique befitting a senior member. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth — he was arguably the funniest person on the entire team, and not even Stelle, who loved hoarding junk, could compete with him on that front.

He'd once slip a small clump of shadow behind Silver Wolf while she was up late gaming, and right as she was about to clear the level, he'd lean in close and whisper in the faintest voice, "Babe, your HP's gone!"

The first time, she was so startled she nearly threw her console across the room, then stormed around the whole place hunting for him in fury.

"Phantom! You'd better hope I never catch you!"

By then, Natsuki Subaru had already tucked himself into the shadows on the ceiling, leaving nothing behind but muffled laughter he couldn't quite hold in.

Then there was Sam — the Glamoth's Iron Cavalry mech that always spoke in that flat, mechanical monotone — who was also one of Natsuki Subaru's favorite prank targets.

His favorite trick was to slip through the shadows while Sam was mid-sentence and quietly yank the little girl inside right out.

It would take her a moment of talking before she noticed her voice had changed.

"Phantom, you absolute menace!"

Honestly, the fact that there was a white-haired little girl inside Sam had come as quite the surprise.

As for Blade...

The guy always wore a dead-fish expression.

He didn't like talking, didn't like explaining himself, and liked being disturbed even less. Most of the time, if he was simply sitting somewhere, everyone around him would fall quiet without even being told.

Silver Wolf had once put it this way:

"Blade's face is basically the team's universal 'shut up' sign."

Stelle wholeheartedly agreed.

At first, Natsuki Subaru also figured that joking around with Blade was probably a dangerous idea.

Later, he decided that dangerous or not, it wasn't as if it couldn't be attempted.

After one mission wrapped up, the Stellaron Hunters holed up temporarily in an abandoned space station. Kafka and Silver Wolf were sorting through mission data, while Stelle crouched in a corner rifling through boxes and crates, digging up who-knew-what pile of junk that had no business being brought back.

Blade sat on a bench in the rest area, eyes closed, utterly still.

He'd just come out of an unpleasant fight.

Anyone could tell his mood was foul.

Silver Wolf lowered her voice to warn Subaru:

"I'd advise you to behave yourself today. Bother him again and he'll actually cut you."

Natsuki Subaru glanced at Blade, then up at the crisscrossing ventilation ducts overhead, and nodded thoughtfully.

"Fair point."

Silver Wolf breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she watched Subaru turn, walk into the corridor, and vanish.

Ten minutes later.

The station's lights suddenly flickered.

Blade opened his eyes.

A piece of paper had appeared in front of him at some point.

Scrawled across it in crooked handwriting:

*Urgent Notice: An Abomination of Abundance has been detected nearby.

Traits: black hair, red eyes, carries a blade, perpetually sour expression.

Recommendation: Notify Blade immediately for handling.*

Blade stared at the paper in silence for two seconds.

Then he looked up.

"Phantom."

No one answered.

The note suddenly lifted into the air on its own, as if caught by a breeze, and drifted slowly deeper into the corridor.

Blade stood and followed after it, expressionless.

Silver Wolf had meant to warn him not to fall for it, but by the time she looked up, the note had already rounded a corner and vanished.

"...He's actually falling for that?"

Kafka picked up her coffee and blew gently on the steam.

"I think he just wants to see what Phantom's up to this time."

Blade walked a dozen or so steps down the corridor.

A second note drifted out from the shadows in the corner.

*Watch out, the Abomination of Abundance is coming.

It's disguising itself as you.*

Blade stopped.

The next moment, the shadows at the end of the corridor rippled faintly.

A silhouette almost identical to Blade's in shape stepped slowly out of the darkness.

Black hair, a long blade, red eyes.

Even its gait was copied down to the detail.

The only problem was the exaggerated smiley-face mask plastered over its face.

And written across the mask in four large characters:

"我很开心" (I am very happy)

Silver Wolf couldn't hold back and burst out laughing right there.

Stelle raised her terminal and expertly started recording the whole farce.

Blade stood rooted to the spot, watching the "Smiley Blade" saunter toward him, a vein twitching at his temple.

Hidden in the shadows, Natsuki Subaru clearly sensed the danger and immediately had the shadow figure raise a hand, pointing at its own face.

Then, in a low voice identical to Blade's own, the shadow spoke, utterly without emotion:

"Today's mood: tolerable."

The air went silent for a beat.

Stelle clapped a hand over her mouth, shoulders shaking wildly.

Silver Wolf had already collapsed into a crouch, laughing.

Even Kafka turned her head away, the corners of her mouth curling up despite herself.

Blade stared at the shadow figure, slowly raising a hand to grip his sword hilt.

Natsuki Subaru's voice immediately came from the ventilation duct.

"Wait, wait, Brother Blade, let's talk this out! This is a mental health outreach program!"

"Who approved this?"

"Me. Myself."

"Wonderful!"

Blade drew his sword, and the shadow figure instantly shrank back into the ground.

Natsuki Subaru poked half his head out of a shadow dozens of meters away and gave Blade a thumbs-up.

"Looks like it worked. At least your mind's off that fight from earlier now."

Blade's movements stopped. He looked at Natsuki Subaru in silence, those crimson eyes still frighteningly cold.

After a moment, he sheathed his sword and bent down to pick up the note on the floor.

There was another line of small text on the back of the note.

*The mission's over. Stop dwelling on the ones who died.

If it's really eating at you, come find us.

Silver Wolf can at least keep you company gaming, and Stelle can dig through junk with you.

Or you could always spar with me one-on-one.*

Blade stared at those words for a long time without speaking.

Natsuki Subaru didn't push his luck further. He just stood at the edge of the shadows, scratching his cheek.

"So, uh... those last few lines were Stelle's idea. She made me add them."

"Hey!" Stelle immediately denied it from the corner. "I had nothing to do with that!"

Blade suddenly lowered his head.

His shoulders trembled, ever so slightly.

At first, everyone assumed he was holding back his temper.

But the next second, a very low, very brief laugh escaped from his throat.

"Heh."

It wasn't even the contemptuous sneer he usually reserved for enemies — it sounded like he'd genuinely, actually cracked a smile. Brief enough that you'd probably have to count it in frames, but more than enough to stun everyone present.

Kafka looked at Blade, then at Natsuki Subaru's utterly stunned expression, and finally burst out laughing.

"Now that's rare."

"Did I just hear that wrong?" Silver Wolf couldn't help asking.

"No, you didn't."

Kafka shook her head lightly.

"Phantom actually managed to make Blade laugh."

Natsuki Subaru froze for a couple of seconds, then broke into a smug grin.

"See? Told you — happiness is contagious."

"Not a bad attempt."

Blade's expression settled back into its usual dead-fish look as he turned toward Natsuki Subaru.

"But if you use my face for something like that again, I will cut you."

"Understood."

Natsuki Subaru nodded readily, then added under his breath:

"Next time I'll use Sam's face instead."

"No way!" Firefly's voice came from behind him. "Do that again and I'm never speaking to you!"

Later on, Natsuki Subaru would sometimes wonder — if not for these harmless little pranks, would Blade have just gone back to sitting alone in some corner, burying all his pain deep down again?

He couldn't fix whatever deep-rooted things haunted Blade, but at the very least, he hoped his perpetually stone-faced companion would remember —

You're not alone.

But now, he himself had become the one who was alone.

Natsuki Subaru felt a quiet pang of something wistful.