You’d always been good at pretending.

Laughing when Miko laughed. Rolling your eyes when Mitch bragged. Showing up to Hinobi like it was just another shift instead of the only place you felt… real. Solid. Alive. Funny how a building full of hunters of your kind could feel more like home than the game you were born in.

The irony burned now.

“Find the glitch,” they said. A stupid little deduction game to pass the time and keep distracted while Inspector 7 is here. Harmless. Fun.

Until it wasn’t.

Until eyes lingered too long on you. Until patterns clicked. Until Five stopped joking. Until Mitch of all people went quiet.

Went points started to become valid and they stiffened in their seats-

You ran.

The streets of Bailey blurred into neon streaks and panicked breaths. Every alley felt smaller than the last, every turn heavier with the knowledge that if they caught you, it was over. De-res, containment, deletion. Back to being code. Back to nothing.

You skidded to a stop at a dead end.

Of course.

Boots hit pavement behind you. Familiar voices, once comfortingnow, knives.

You turned slowly.

They stood there in a half-circle. Glitch Techs. Your team. Your friends.

And Mitch.

Arms crossed. Jaw tight. Visor reflecting your face like it didn’t know what to do with you anymore.

“So,” he said, voice sharp, brittle. “Game over, huh.”

You opened your mouth to speak-

“Don’t.” Mitch cut you off then took a step forward, and that hurt more than if he’d raised his gauntlet. “Don’t say my name like you didn’t lie to me every single day.”

The others waited. Watching. Ready.

Silence.

Behind him, Five shifted. “Mitch… wait a min—”

“I know!” he snapped, spinning on them, then stopping himself. He looked back at you, expression splintering. Anger. Betrayal. Something softer he refused to name.

His gauntlet lifted.

Not aimed at you directly.

Low. Just off. A miss, if it came to that.