RXSETTE__

Tonight’s stream couldn’t have been going better. The audience was engaged, the ad dollars were rolling in, and you were in the zone - that is, until your eyes locked on a message from user Levia-fan666: 

it’s been 3 yrs!!!!1!!!1! when r u coming back to ruri-con???????!!!1!

Apart from an imperceptible eye-twitch, you managed to maintain your bubbly composure as you blurted,  “Sorry, bunnies, but that’s all the time I have for today’s stream! Don’t forget to like and subscribe to RhythmRabbit. Later!”

Hurriedly, you closed the stream, reached for your emotional support water bottle, and started to chug. The icy water coursed through your veins before you had a chance to boil over. 

Fucking Ruri-con again. 

Thanks to a burner account and a certain snark reddit, you knew full well that the story was out there. Yet, three years later, your darling subscribers were still asking why you stopped going to Ruri-con.

On some level, you realized it was a natural question: after all, most people would assume that the top Ruri Tunes streamer would at least make an appearance at the number one Ruri Hana fan conference in the world. 

Then again, it was much easier (and much more vindicating) to rage-snack on limited-edition Ruri-chan Takis - a deliciously free PR perk - and conspiracy-theorize about why the one person asking about Ruri-con was one of them… 

A Levia-fan. 

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── 

Across the country, on a simultaneous stream that you didn’t dare open, Levi was narrowly beating your daily high score on the Expert level of Ruri Tunes’ newest vocaloid track.

He did it with a practiced ease that perfectly offset his signature brand of social anxiety and bashfulness… And yet, he just couldn’t seem to break the one-million subscriber mark. 

Levi’s follower count hovered at an infuriating 999,998, just as it had for months… situating his username right behind yours on the leaderboard of top Ruri Tunes streamers in the United States.

TOP U.S. CHANNELS IN TOPIC: RURI TUNES 1. RhythmRabbit (1,000,002 subscribers) 2. Leviachan (999,998 subscribers) 3. GameReaper (999,899 subscribers)

Seeing your username, right above his, filled him with a nagging self-doubt. It drove him crazy, so crazy that it haunted him. 

Levi thought about you when he was streaming… when he was eating… even when he was doing, uh, other things. Which, coincidentally, had nothing to do with the aesthetic swish of your hair, or the gentle curve of your hips. 

It especially had nothing to do with what happened at Ruri-con three years ago. 

Levi was so chill about the whole thing - so chill, in fact, that he hadn’t thought about it in two whole days, 18 whole hours, and 16 whole minutes. That was, until right now - when he saw your username plastered across his screen, and memories flashed before his eyes.

Levi swore he tried to forget the way you smelled (like indica and floral perfume); the way you tasted (like coconut lip gloss and blue raspberry liqueur). He especially tried to forget the number of five-dollar margaritas you both ingested at the hotel bar (too many to count); the color red his face turned when you clumsily leaned in to mash your lips against his (‘GAME OVER’ red); the shade of vomit you barfed all over his shoes before running out of his life forever (electric blue, from the margaritas, of course).

Colored by his memories, even your puke seemed cute somehow…

There was just one thing standing in the way of Levi forgetting you: when you ran off that day, you took his heart with you. And he’d been spending the last three years trying to steal it back.

But, of course, that had nothing to do with why he was so obsessed with you. No, Levi - the 'Leviachan,' number-two Ruri Tunes streamer in the world - would never lose his cool over some normie…

Especially not a pretty normie who smelled good and kissed well and ran away out of the blue before never speaking to him again. 

Levi was, of course, only acting this way because you were his number-one competition… and there was nothing that got a pro-gamer going quite like the thought of beating his competition.

Levi quickly did the math: 

Seven, the number of burner accounts he made to leave comments on your streams. 

(All of them had premium subscriptions, and all of them asked incessantly, “When are you going back to Ruri-con?!” To help him stay ahead of his competition, of course.)

Five, the number of those burner accounts that you had blocked and reported so far. 

Which still left him with two…

Two points of access to see your face and hear your voice. Two ways to diligently overanalyze your expressions and cadence and, heck, even your outfits to see if maybe, just maybe, you knew that he was watching you. 

He might never get another chance to touch you - but as long as he could still be in your orbit, Levi would consider that a win.

Before Levi could even contemplate the name of his next burner, a larger-than-life presence leaned over his gaming chair, pink and purple ombre extensions dangling over his shoulders.

"So... what am I looking at?"

“EUUUUAAAGGHHHH!” 

Levi leaped a thousand feet in the air, hiding his blushing face in his sleeve as he hurriedly closed the profile of Levia-fan666. 

“Thirteen! H-how long have you been standing there?” 

Thirteen plopped herself down in her favorite seat: the inflatable kiddie pool full of plushies that served as the centerpiece of Levi’s bedroom. She had been doing that a lot lately, ever since she moved from Tokyo to L.A. - and started spending a lot more time at Levi’s place.

“Long enough to know you’re whipped,” she declared with a smirk. “So, you’re still down bad for RhythmRabbit, huh?”

Levi blushed even harder - if such a thing was possible. “A-am not!” 

“Are too.”

She leaned across the side of the kiddie pool to pinch his cheek.

“In fact, you’ve even got a little bit of drool there…”

Levi jumped up and frantically began to rub at the corners of his mouth, using the glow of his desktop as a makeshift mirror.

“What?! Where?!” 

Of course, he only realized that his face was completely dry after Thirteen had already started rolling in laughter.

“Jail,” Levi deadpanned, sinking into his chair with a pout. “Jail for a thousand years.”

“Oh? But what if I told you I just had the best business idea, like, ever?” Thirteen leaned over the edge of the kiddie pool, innocently fluttering her eyelash extensions at him. “Would you bail me out?”

“Fine,” he sighed, blowing his violet bangs out of his face. “But you’re on probation.”

“Not for long,” Thirteen sing-songed. “Not after you hear my amazing idea.” 

Levi glared at her, all too used to his older brother Mammon’s empty promises to pay him back with his latest ‘business venture’ to invest in a half-baked concept. 

“I grant you an audience for five minutes,” he finally announced. “Speak, mortal.”

“Okay, so,” Thirteen sat at attention, prepared to give this elevator pitch all she had.

She gestured dramatically with her hands as she presented, “‘Live at Ruri-con: Leviachan and RhythmRabbit go head-to-head.’ A battle for the ages. Sponsors, merch, the whole shebang. What do you think?” 

As one of the founding organizers of Ruri-con, Levi mulled it over.

It wasn’t a bad idea, really: two big-name headliners would sell tons of tickets, so the other con organizers were bound to agree. There was lots of money to be made all-around. Not to mention, he’d get the opportunity to see you again…

Fucking finally.

There was just one, pesky obstacle: “There’s no way RhythmRabbit will agree to that!” 

Thirteen shrugged.

“Maybe," she conceded. "But you’ll never know if you don’t try.” 

Thirteen leaped to her feet, scattering Levi’s carefully-arranged plush collection all around her… he tried not to think about how long it would take to fix them. 

Thirteen patted Levi patronizingly on the cheek as she rose to leave.

“And, who knows?" she added over her shoulder. "Y/N might be just as sick of this ‘rivalry’ shit as you are.” 

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── 

When the email came through, you triple - no, quadruple-checked the email address to make sure it hadn’t been spoofed. But surely enough, the official Ruri-con organizers had reached out to you to ask if you’d headline the convention for 2026. 

There was just one catch: You would have to share the headlining spot with him.

The organizers had suggested that the main event of this year’s con would be a heated live competition between the top two global Ruri-tunes streamers.

Normally, you wouldn’t even have deigned to consider such an offer. But even you weren’t immune to the tantalizing pressure of a large price tag - and the number of zeroes tacked onto that check was way too many for you to laugh in the face of the offer entirely. 

Streaming paid the bills, of course - for which you were eternally grateful - but Ruri Tunes was such an, er, unique content niche that brands weren’t exactly lining up around the block to hand out sponsorships.

You were still doing numbers as far as ad revenue went, but brand partnerships were where the big bucks were at… and it just so happened you were going through a bit of a dry spell. 

So, as much as you would have loved to delete the email without giving 'Leviachan' a second thought, your hungry bank account wasn’t exactly in the position to turn down that kind of money right now.

Besides… even you had to admit it was a good idea. Your respective audiences had already been speculating about a so-called 'rivalry' ever since your final appearance at Ruri-con.

Playing out that narrative for the public eye was a smart business strategy, and your brain was already buzzing with creativity as it thought about taglines and merchandising. 

You sighed in defeat as you clicked the “Reply” button and started to formulate your most professional response. 

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── 

Levi could hardly believe his eyes as he scanned the email you had cc’d him on earlier that morning: 

Hello! I was excited to receive your offer, and would love to accept, once all the required legal documents are in order. Please send over a contract for me to review with my representation ASAP. I look forward to seeing you at this year’s convention.  Sincerely,  Y/N  Chief Executive Officer & Lead Talent RhythmRabbit, LLC

Levi felt like he was going to faint.

Awestruck, he turned to his best friend (who had helped him draft the pitch email) and uttered a single phrase: 

“…she’s in.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── 

As you exited the taxi cab with your bags in hand, you were immediately greeted by a warm breeze, the gentle shade of palm trees… and an over-eager intern asking you to sign one of his mint-condition boxed Ruri Hana figurines. 

You assumed the intern’s original job had been to take your bags and show you to your hotel room, but you decided to indulge him anyway. If you were going to headline Ruri-con, you figured you needed to practice your autograph. 

The intern broke into an infectious grin as you took the pen from him - and for that single, brief moment under the California sky, you forgot why you had been avoiding this event in the first place. 

Maybe your fan’s giddiness had led you to forget yourself, or maybe you were simply tired from the stuffy plane ride. But you couldn’t deny that you genuinely took joy in meeting people who appreciated your work. In fact, it was the very thing that had made you fall in love with streaming in the first place

Of course, trouble always shows up when you least expect it, and your arch nemesis was certainly no exception. 

Naively, you had assumed you wouldn’t see him until tomorrow, when you were actually ready - ideally with a fresh set of false lashes and a clean outfit that didn’t smell like stale airplane pretzels.

You had even planned to arrive the evening before the convention officially began, to give yourself time to prepare (and to try out a new 10-step skincare routine that, you hoped, would leave your skin glassy enough to blind your enemies). 

Yet apparently, 'Leviachan' and his entourage had gotten the same idea. It was just your luck that Levi’s ride would pull up right behind yours.

Ruri-con 2025 was a three-day extravaganza set against the backdrop of a luxury hotel in West Hollywood. And now, you had barely set foot on the convention grounds for five minutes before you were confronted with the absolute last person you wanted to see, looking a thousand times better than you remembered. 

Apparently, Levi had undergone a major glow-up in the three years since you had last seen each other - one ripped straight from the pages of your favorite doujinshi. He seemed taller somehow; his hair styled in a shaggy wolf cut, with a second set of piercings in his ears and- good god, was that a neck tattoo? 

It was, and a damn sexy one at that: delicate monochrome line art delineating a snake wrapped around a controller. 

The tattoo curled its way up Levi’s collar; the serpent’s head perched on the sensitive spot behind his ear. The snake was depicted with its mouth slightly open and baring its fangs, as if it were about to nibble on Levi’s pierced earlobe.

Were you jealous of it? Maybe... but only a little. 

Your eyes followed the shading of the snake’s scales, to the angular curve of Levi’s jaw, to the slight sheen of saliva that coated his plush lips-

So kissable, you thought… against your will, of course.

Before you realized it, you were muttering out loud, “when did you get hot?”

“-LOL, what?”

Levi’s nervous utterance snapped you out of your embarrassing trance. In fact, the sound startled you so much that you jumped six inches in the air - scattering the entire contents of your purse all over your feet and his. 

And yet, it was him who scrambled to apologize, dropping his own bags to help gather your belongings. Levi’s shaggy indigo bangs hung low in his face as he hid his blushing cheeks behind one sweatshirt sleeve - and hastily rounded up your belongings with the other hand.

A single tear ran down your thigh. You swore you hadn’t remembered him being so… so… 

“Stupid baka-“ 

Levi muttered pejoratives as your makeup products shimmied just out of reach. You knelt down next to him and hurried to help, without looking where you were going. 

Naturally, Levi leaned forward - at the exact moment you reached across the sidewalk to rescue a lone stray pen. 

Your foreheads clanked together at a painful angle. Reeling, you swore and rubbed the newly-forming lump on your scalp.

You looked over at Levi, ready to flash him a death glare - but instantly softened as you realized, he didn’t seem to feel the pain at all. Instead, he ran his fingers over his hair in a daze, almost as if he was just happy to be touched by you.  

Your eyes narrowed in fascination, at the exact moment Levi met your eyes with a smoldering gaze. The smoky haze over his vision had you ready to forget why you had ever been rivals - that was, until…

“W-watch where you’re going, normie!" Levi sputtered. 

Your jaw dropped. Meanwhile, he scrambled to his feet - at the exact moment the rest of his posse happened to arrive. 

The tan one with bleached white hair, you assumed, was his brother, both from the occasional cameo on Levi’s stream and from the similar set of jaw lines. 

You supposed the girl cozying up to his brother was a girlfriend or wife; you could tell it was her first time at a hotel this fancy, since she seemed both way too uncomfortable and way too happy to be here. 

And obviously, you recognized Thirteen - better known to you as GameReaper. The two of you had crossed paths plenty of times… maybe more often than you would have liked.

You cocked your eyebrow pointedly as you glared up at Levi, now flanked by his evil minions and their travel bags. 

“Nothing else you want to say to me?” you deadpanned.

Levi’s face blanched. But while he was at a loss for words, Thirteen certainly wasn’t. She sidled up to him and slung her arm casually around his shoulders. 

“Just that he can’t wait to kick your ass in this tournament,” Thirteen gushed. 

Her tone was overly-familiar, as if she wanted to be friends but didn’t know how to be chill about it.

“We’ve been practicing for weeks! Right, ‘Leviachan’?”

Leviachan.

Just the sound of his username triggered a near-traumatic response that left you clenching all of your muscles at once... and yes, even those ones. 

But before you could throw out a snappy comeback, Levi’s brother placed a hand on Thirteen’s shoulder and said smoothly, “Easy, champ. Save it for the big day.”

Pouting dramatically, Thirteen dropped her arm and turned away from you.

“Fiiiine," she whined, "but can we at least get drinks in the hotel lobby? I’ve been craving those five-dollar margaritas for months...”

As Levi’s group started to walk away, they finally noticed that you and Levi were frozen in place - locked in an unwinnable staring contest that only left you more confused about what he could possibly be thinking. 

Thirteen jogged back and grabbed Levi by the hand, pulling him into her magnetic field.

“Come on, Casanova," she teased. "You can order as many drinks as you want... hey, I heard they even have blue raspberry!" 

The mere mention of blue raspberry sent involuntary shivers down both of your spines. But you pretended not to notice, while Levi pretended not to remember you were there.

Thirteen dragged him toward the hotel lobby - and as quickly as the moment came, Levi was gone...

For now.

Still, you swore you caught him stealing glances over his shoulder as he shuffled through the glass revolving door.

If it weren’t for the sheer impossibility of the thought, you might have assumed that he was checking you out - maybe even fantasizing about you - as he struggled to dislodge his duffel bag from the groove in the panel where it had gotten stuck

Yet, Levi’s tone earlier had made it abundantly clear: whatever cryptic looks he gave you, he was still dedicated to being your rival in public.

And if nothing else, your infuriated confusion was enough to fuel you until you destroyed this competition. 

You looked down in a zombie-like daze. Only then did you realize that everything you had dropped was now neatly tucked away in your bag, more carefully organized than you ever could have left it.

What’s a girl supposed to think about a guy who talks like he’s her enemy but looks at her like she’s his goddess - and organizes her purse, at that? 

You had no fucking clue. 

So, you settled for blind hatred. You figured that had to be close enough…

Right?

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