"What... what are you doing?" Gabriel noticed Kawashima Toya staring at her computer screen, and a sudden spike of fear gripped her heart.
"You can take the Trumpet of the Apocalypse if you want, just don't touch my computer!"
"And you can't have the gear! It's the only full set on the entire server!"
"Move aside." Toya simply pushed Gabriel out of the way. He took control of the mouse and keyboard, expertly stripping the equipment from Gabriel's game character.
"This gear was mine to begin with. Stop dreaming."
Not only did he confiscate Gabriel's Trumpet of the Apocalypse, but he also reclaimed the equipment she had looted from him earlier.
Then, under Gabriel's bewildered gaze, his fingers flew across the keyboard.
Click, clack, tap.
The computer screen instantly locked, displaying a password-protected interface.
Seeing the locked screen, Toya nodded in satisfaction. "That's better. Students should focus on their studies. How can you indulge in games all day?"
Before leaving, he ruffled Gabriel's head vigorously. "Study hard. When you rank first in your class, I'll come back and unlock it for you."
"You bastard! You heartless monster!"
Gabriel stared at the locked computer, tears welling up in her eyes. Fury rushed to her head, and she sprinted toward the balcony.
"Come back here, you jerk!"
In her extreme anger, she forgot a crucial detail: she had sold her halo and lost the Trumpet of the Apocalypse. Without any of it, she couldn't use her divine powers.
It wasn't until she had leaped off the balcony that Gabriel realized she had lost the ability to fly.
"Save meeeeeee!"
A terrified scream echoed through the sky.
Toya, who was about to leave, stopped and looked down at the falling angel in confusion. "What is she doing?"
"It's just a locked computer. Is it really worth jumping off a building for?"
With that thought, Toya's figure vanished from the air.
Just as Gabriel was about to splatter on the ground, Toya appeared like a teleporter and caught her mid-air.
"I just told you to study hard. There's no need to show your determination by jumping off a building."
"Eh?"
"Aren't 'hero saves beauty' plots cliché by now? Why do I feel so... safe?"
Gabriel stared blankly at Toya's handsome face, a warmth she had never felt before rising in her chest.
But that warmth didn't last long. As she looked closer at Toya's face, a sense of familiarity crept in.
"It's you!"
"You're the guy who lives next door to Kasumigaoka Utaha!"
She finally remembered where that inexplicable familiarity came from.
"I get it now! You're Trash Fox!"
"You stole my Trumpet and deliberately showed off in front of me!"
In an instant, all the warmth and safety vanished. Gabriel struggled wildly in his arms, shouting, "Kawashima! Give me back my gear right now!"
"Your first thought after being saved is to ask for your gear back?" Toya smiled calmly. "Forget it. The gear was mine originally."
"I'm not giving it back."
"Study hard. Maybe one day I'll give it to you."
With that, Toya set Gabriel down, preparing to leave.
"Hm?" Toya looked down, amused and exasperated, at Gabriel, who was clinging to the hem of his clothes and refusing to let go. "Are you really not going to let go?"
"I'm about to take off. Without your powers, you won't be able to handle the G-force."
"Give me back my gear, or I won't let go."
Gabriel's delicate face was full of stubbornness, her eyes burning with determination. "Give it back."
"Interesting." Toya chuckled. "Don't let go, then. I'll take you for a ride."
"Hold on tight!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Toya shot into the sky with Gabriel in tow.
BOOM!
Sonic booms exploded repeatedly, signaling his constantly increasing speed.
Beside him, Gabriel still clung on for dear life, refusing to let go.
Her smooth golden hair whipped around wildly in the wind, making her look absolutely terrifying.
As they flew higher, Toya had no choice but to grab onto Gabriel to ensure she wouldn't fall.
"What a mess. I wanted her to let go."
"Instead, I ended up having to babysit her."
Above the clouds, Toya looked at the silent Gabriel in confusion.
"Gabriel, is a mere set of game equipment really worth all this?"
Gabriel lowered her head, her golden hair obscuring her face, hiding her expression.
After a long silence, her soft, pleasant voice drifted over. "It's worth it..."
"Give it back to me."
Toya looked at Gabriel's pale, stubborn little hands gripping him tightly. "Fine. I lose."
"I'll take you home and give you the gear."
"Happy now? Don't look like you're about to cry. It makes me feel like I'm bullying a child."
"Idiot..." Gabriel looked up, her cheeks puffed out. "I'm not a child."
"I was the valedictorian of the Angel School! I turned sixteen this year! Strictly speaking, I'm not an elementary schooler!"
"Not a child, huh? Alright, I'll send you back." Toya sighed helplessly and turned around, flying back toward the apartment complex.
He had to fulfill his promise to Gabriel and return the equipment.
Otherwise, if she kept clinging to him, it would only bring endless trouble.
Back in the apartment, Toya logged into the game and dropped the equipment. "There. Pick it up yourself."
"I'm leaving."
Just as he was about to leave, that familiar sensation returned.
Gabriel grabbed the hem of his clothes again, stopping him. She whispered:
"The computer password..."
"So much trouble." Toya knew that if he didn't finish the job, Gabriel definitely wouldn't let him go.
He reset the computer password and turned to leave again.
Then, tug. Familiar feeling. Again.
Toya took a deep breath to calm himself, then turned to look at Gabriel. "Gabriel. I gave you the gear and the password."
"Don't even think about the Trumpet of the Apocalypse. I am absolutely not returning that to you."
The Trumpet was too dangerous. Gabriel, completely addicted to games, frequently tried to blow it whenever she lost.
If she actually blew it one day, an entire nation would perish.
He firmly refused to let Gabriel hold onto such a dangerous item.
Gabriel looked up at Toya with pitiful, puppy-dog eyes. "Take me out to play."
.....
A few minutes later, Toya flew out of the apartment with Gabriel, heading toward the mountains.
"I give up. Just one Trumpet caused so many unexpected events."
Toya shuttled through the clouds with Gabriel, his heart filled with resignation.
Initially, he had refused to take her along.
However, in the end, Gabriel's pitiful gaze—like that of an abandoned kitten—made his resolve crumble, and he agreed to take her to the resort.
Above the clouds, Gabriel looked curiously at the scenery of the Human Realm, a strange feeling rising in her heart.
"This feels weird. It's different from Heaven."
"I don't get this feeling when I'm playing games either."
"I used to fly around Heaven all the time, but it was always boring. Today feels... exceptionally different."