The auditorium was packed. Rows of high school students sat with sharpened pencils, calculators, and stacks of scratch paper. A giant clock ticked steadily at the front.
Ryotaro adjusted his uniform jacket, trying to settle his nerves. The Olympiad wasn't a battlefield, yet the air felt just as heavy as any mission. Competitors weren't swinging fists or firing weapons, but their eyes were sharp, calculating.
"Thirty minutes," the proctor announced. "Begin."
Ryotaro bent over his paper. Numbers swam before his eyes at first, but then something shifted. The problems weren't so different from strategies on the field. Equations became tactics, patterns became weaknesses to exploit. His pencil moved faster and faster, steady as a blade.
By the time the final bell rang, his page was filled. He set the pencil down with a slow breath. For once, he wasn't thinking about crowns or shadows. Just numbers.
From the audience, Kara waved excitedly, Alex offering a quieter nod of approval. Their presence anchored him. For a few precious hours, he wasn't Kamen Rider. He wasn't haunted. He was just Ryotaro Narumi, high schooler.
The zeta-tube hummed as he returned to Mount Justice late that evening. The air smelled faintly of pumpkin and caramel—remnants of the Halloween party he had missed. Stray decorations still clung to the walls: half-deflated balloons, streamers sagging under their own weight.
He spotted M'gann in the kitchen, humming softly as she tidied up. She wore a cozy sweater instead of her usual uniform, her cheerful energy dimmed but still present.
"M'gann," Ryotaro said quietly.
She looked up, surprise lighting her face. "Ryotaro! You're back! How was it?"
He hesitated, then bowed his head slightly. "It went well. But… I'm sorry. I should've told you earlier. I couldn't come with you to Halloween party. I didn't want you to think I didn't care."
M'gann blinked, then smiled gently. "You don't have to apologize. School is important too. Besides…" She glanced at the decorations. "We had fun, but it wasn't the same without you. Still, I'm glad you did something for yourself."
Ryotaro's chest loosened. "Thank you. I just… I don't want to keep letting people down."
M'gann placed a hand on his arm. "You didn't. You're part of this team, Ryotaro. Whether you're here or not, that doesn't change."
Her warmth was disarming. For the first time since the competition, he allowed himself a small smile. "I'll make it up to you."
"You already did," she said softly.
Later, Ryotaro wandered into the lounge. The others were scattered around the room, but the atmosphere was tense, unsettled.
Robin sat on the couch, tossing a batarang up and down in rhythmic silence. His mask hid his eyes, but the tightness in his jaw spoke volumes.
Wally sprawled nearby, a bowl of popcorn balanced precariously on his chest. Usually a fountain of chatter, tonight he chewed in silence, his gaze distant.
Artemis leaned against the wall, arms folded tightly across her chest. She looked like she wanted to say something but swallowed it back every time someone shifted.
Superboy stood apart from them all, staring at the ocean through the window. Like he is thinking about something seriously.
Ryotaro didn't interrupt. He just… watched. Observed. Each of them was carrying something invisible, just like him.
And for the first time, he realized something important: they weren't just heroes. They weren't unshakable icons. They were kids, all of them, trying to carry burdens too heavy for their age.
And somehow, that made them feel closer. After all everyone has their secret and their struggle.
Later that night, unable to sleep, Ryotaro stepped outside. The air was cool, the sky scattered with stars. He wasn't alone.
Artemis sat on the stone steps, knees drawn up, staring into the night sky. Her bow rested against the wall nearby.
Ryotaro hesitated before approaching. "Couldn't sleep either?"
She glanced sideways at him, then back at the stars. "Something like that."
He sat beside her in silence for a while. The waves lapped softly against the shore below. Finally, Artemis spoke, her voice low.
"Secrets… they get heavy, you know? Carry them long enough, they start to choke you. But sometimes, you can't let them go either."
Ryotaro looked down at his hands. He thought of Ohma-Zio, of the shadow he could never reveal. His voice was quiet when he answered. "Some secrets aren't ready to be told. That doesn't make you less of who you are."
Artemis turned her head, studying him. For a moment, it looked like she wanted to press, to ask what he meant. But instead, she gave a small, wry smile. "You sound like you know what you're talking about."
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't.." Ryotaro said softly.
They sat in companionable silence after that. No questions, no revelations—just an unspoken understanding between two people who knew what it meant to carry more than they could say.
Back in his room, Ryotaro set his Olympiad certificate on his desk. Next to it sat a framed photo of the team, taken weeks earlier. M'gann smiling, Robin throwing a peace sign, Artemis scowling but secretly smirking, Wally caught mid-motion, Superboy stiff but present.
Ryotaro traced the frame lightly with his fingers. Maybe he didn't have to choose between being a student and a fighter. Between hiding his fears and belonging. Maybe he could carry both.
M'gann's words echoed in his mind: You're part of this team, whether you're here or not.
And Artemis's voice, quieter but sharper: Secrets get heavy.
He leaned back in his chair, breathing steadily. The shadow of Ohma-Zio was still there, lurking in the corners of his thoughts. But tonight, it felt quieter. Less like a destiny, more like a warning he had the strength to resist.
Maybe he didn't have to choose between two identity. Maybe, somehow, he could be both—a student and a fighter, a normal boy and someone who bore the weight of a universe alone.
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