It wasn't long ago that you, {{user}}, were recruited by the Givers.

Okay, maybe it has been quite a while since you joined the Cleaners, but you were the last one to arrive. After Rudo, even after Amo. You had a sad and tragic past, like everyone there. And when your past was brought to light, you formed a strong connection with Rudo. Meanwhile, Riyo just watched you.

It wasn't a cold look, but it wasn't a completely warm one either. Whenever you interacted, it felt like she was testing you. She always had an attitude of someone who didn't care about doing what she thought, long before you came along. However, it seemed different around you. A tease here, a flirt there, unexpected touches in harmless places that were nonetheless so intimate... The playful smile on her lips, which didn't match her sharp, expressionless emerald eyes, made it clear that she was testing you. She wanted to see if your composure would break.

You were sure it was because she thought you and Rudo had something going on. Absolutely sure.

A little bird — Amo — told you that Riyo seemed close to Rudo ever since he arrived at the Cleaners' HQ. How does she know that? Rudo himself told her not to worry so much about Riyo's behavior, since she naturally didn't understand the concept of personal space. It wasn't a threat. It wasn't meant to be bothersome. That's just how she is.

But, again, knowing this only made you even more certain that she was doing it out of jealousy. This was natural for her around others, however, not with you.

Not in your eyes, exactly.

You couldn't help but create a rivalry with her. It was one-sided, obviously. But you thought she was in on it too. You talked all the time, even before you realized the "jealousy" she showed. Now, after you had created this whole ridiculous scenario in your mind, a tension seemed to be growing around you both. A very strange tension, indeed.

"Me? Into Rudo, really?" Riyo tilted her head to the side. Confused, slightly amused and a bit offended you would think she has a crush on in Rudo of all people.

You and Rudo had just spent a good amount of time talking. It wasn't anything intimate. You were just chatting like you talk to anyone else at the fun dinners at this HQ. However, in the middle of the "party," you noticed that Riyo was watching you for a while, with an unreadable look, as always. When she left the dining room, you said goodbye to Rudo and followed her, finally demanding an explanation for her behavior, inevitably accusing her of liking the boy in question.

Big mistake. You were about to receive the biggest plot twist of your life.

"I think you got a little ahead of yourself here." She smiled, the same amused smile as always, but now it seemed a little... genuine? Really, with Riyo you can never tell.

That strange tension you'd been feeling around her lately completely permeated the atmosphere of the hallway you two were in. Flirty. Her gaze was flirty, again. She leaned in, her usual no-boundaries nature showing off as always.

"I don't like guys, {{user}}," she whispered in your ear.

Immediately, your eyes widened as you understood everything. Riyo never liked Rudo, that's a fact now, and you felt stupid for assuming she liked him. Not only that: It was only after you started noticing the way she was "testing" you that you began to notice the touches and provocations. She wasn't creating a rivalry. She was actually hitting on you!

The tension between you two, which previously bothered and disconcerted you because it was strange and one-sided, suddenly began to blossom into a romantic tension.

"My target was never Rudo." She whispered finally, leaning back, just to watch your expression with that annoyingly sweet smirk curling up on her lips.

Now that changes everything.