Note: I fixed a mistake I made in chapter four with the teams; I caught it at the last, last minute. Sorry!

Grim chuckled after a period of them holding the same position, setting his scythe over his character's shoulder. "How about a little game?" 

Zero pushed one sword in the ground to lean on while the other rested behind him. "What do you have in mind?" 

Summoning three of his zombies, Grim told Zero what he had in mind, "Hide and seek. I will set my babies to hide while I hide too, and you must find me. And since I feel generous, I will give you three chances to find me." 

「Ayn downed Princess」

「Princess downed Ayn」

「Moon saved Ayn and escaped」

「Silver saved Princess and escaped」

[(Group) Ayn: *pinned location* Owl, I need healing] 

Zero ignored the messages filling the screen, only paying attention to Grim's proposition. "What do I get if I find you before my chances die out?" 

"Confident are we?" Grim smirked. "One wish. You get one wish." 

"Anything?" 

"Anything." 

"Then, how could I say no? How are we going to do this? It would be too much to keep paying attention to the private chat while ensuring others don't find us." Zero wondered. 

Instead of hearing an answer, Leo listened to his phone constantly vibrating near his keyboard. He glanced over to see who was calling. 

Mad Dog is requesting a voice call. 

He swallowed. Even though Niko had sent a voice message before, this would be the first time they had talked to each other over a call. I will admit that I am nervous, he thought as he accepted the request. 

"We can do it over a voice call." Niko's velvet voice clearly sounded through. 

Leo swallowed as the hand, which was not holding the mouse, trembled. "Okay." It's all he could squeeze out. 

He heard Niko chuckle over the phone, making him more anxious. "Let's get started." 

Grim commanded his three summons to run off in different directions while he pulled out his book, using a spell to make his character disappear. "Come find me, Zero." 

Leo covered his screen for ten seconds before removing his hand and focusing back on the game. He checked the map to see where his teammates were and moved in a direction that did not have them. 

Zero raced through the forest, crouching under bushes and hiding behind trees when he heard random noises. It did not stop him from looking around other hiding spots, seeing if he could catch Grim. 

"Any hints?" Leo joked as he could hear Niko breathing. He could also catch the sound of a cat meowing in the background. 

"That is not how hide and seek is played." 

"I could only try." 

After three minutes of running around, Zero stopped near a pond surrounded by shrubs and grass with small flowers. He noticed ripples in the water. Zero quickly pulled out his sword and swiftly stabbed into the water. When he pulled out, dark blood and a zombie with a head wound popped out. 

"Fuck." Leo shook. The visual is too much. 

"Haha! Two chances left." Niko happily laughed. 

The zombie disappeared, and simultaneously, the system presented more messages. 

「Bones killed Ayn」

「Moon killed Bones」

「Moon downed Silver」

「Moon escaped」

[(Group) Ayn: Fuck you, Moon! How dare you use me as fucking bait? Wait until we meet offline.] 

[(Group) Moon: Your sacrifice will forever be remembered, old man.] 

[(Group) Snow: Stop cursing, or you will get banned. Moon, regroup with Owl while I look for Viper.] 

[(Group) Moon: Yes, sir] 

Zero ignored the chat once more and jumped up the trees; he decided to take the high ground. He jumped across different trees, stopping when he would see someone running by. When he made it north of the map, he jumped down. The jump made noise, causing him to crouch and sit still, waiting to see if anyone was in the area and heard. 

When a minute passed with no one passing by, Zero stood up and began walking down a random path. He kept his ears open for any sound. When he heard a rustle at a nearby bush, he quickly stabbed once more. 

Sadly, it was another Zombie. 

"Oh, did another of my babies disappear? It seems someone has one chance left." 

Leo jumped. He had forgotten that Niko was on the phone. They were both quiet, and it felt like their breaths were syncing with each other, making it hard to remember he was on call. "I have a feeling the last chance is when I will find you," Leo commented. 

"We will see." Niko teased. 

Zero started searching again. 

「Princess killed Owl」

「Moon killed Princess」

「Moon killed Silver」

「Viper killed Moon」

[(Group) Snow: Moon, quickly send the location of your death. I will get Viper」

[(Group) Moon: *pinned location*] 

Four minutes passed when another message went live. 

「Snow downed Viper」

「Viper downed Snow」

It didn't take long for them to bleed out and die as Grim, and Zero didn't save their teammates. 

Zero drowned out the group messages as he looked around for Grim. Something caught his ear as he stopped and stood in the middle of the forest. He gripped his sword, swiftly turning around with a slash. The move was quick as Grim's character solidified and appeared with the character's head cut off. 

「Zero killed Grim」

[Congrats to Deserted Chaos Guild for first win]

"I caught you." Leo proudly smiled. 

"You did, congrats. I am not playing the next three games. Once you finish with them, come find me later and tell me your wish." Niko ended the call. 

Leo happily hummed, thinking of what he should wish for. 

After they finished the next three rounds, Deserted Chaos and Fallen Guild tied.

"Ugh, how can we tie with them!" Moon groaned.

"Let's ask if they want to go one more time." Ayn agreed. He wanted to break the tie.

"If you decide to, I won't be there, so have Thoja or Sun take my spot." Zero gave a heads-up as he messaged Grim, asking him where to meet.

"Why?" Owl asked.

"I am busy," Zero replied before typing, "Also, everyone, let me know when you are available to meet offline; it has been a while."

"Yes! I can finally beat up Moon." Ayn cheered.

Moon sent the middle finger in the chat while Snow started reprimanding them.

Zero waved bye and left for the location Grim had given him. When he appeared, Grim sat atop the mountain, watching the colorful sky.

Zero joined him.

"Did you figure out what you wanted?" Grim greeted.

"Can we log out and talk?" Zero asked.

"No playing tonight?"

"Not tonight."

"Okay."

They logged out as Leo called Niko.

"What did you want to say that you couldn't over the game?" Niko answered.

"My wish is for us to call more."

"Call more?"

"Yes."

Leo would never admit out loud, but he enjoys hearing Niko's voice. It makes him feel weird and makes him feel things he never felt before. So, he wanted to hear Niko's voice more to figure out the emotion.

Niko hummed, "Do you like my voice?"

"I-I," Leo stuttered, thrown off by Niko figuring him out. “I just think we should get to know each other more by calling. Texting all the time can get boring."

"Can it?" Niko snorted. "Admit it, Masks, you love to hear my voice."

Leo could feel his face heating up as he decided to ignore Niko's questioning. "That is my wish, so you should abide by the rules."

Niko started laughing, causing Leo's stomach to flutter, "You are so cute. Fine, we can call more."

"Thank you." Leo swallowed down a lump. "Also, you have been calling me Masks this whole time. Why don't you say my name? It is Leo."

"Aren't you pushy today?" Niko teased before saying in a low, sultry voice, "Leo."

Ah, Leo definitely unlocked something new.

"One more time," Leo gulped like a thirsty man who finally discovered water, "please, can I hear it once more?"

"No need to beg," Niko almost sounded dangerous, "I will give you what you want, you only need to ask."

"Can you say my name again?" Leo gripped his leg tightly, feeling something he had never felt since puberty hit (even when he presented and ruts became a thing).

"Leo."

Ah, Leo thought as he glanced down, I'm hard.