The classroom was quiet except for the scratching of pencils and the faint hum of the ceiling fan. Hiro sat halfway down the row, tapping the end of his pen against his notebook, more interested in the shapes he was doodling than the math problems in front of him.

A few seats ahead, a commotion broke the stillness. Takeshi, famous for making troubles for others, was leaning over another boy’s desk, his tone low but sharp. The smaller boy — thick glasses, hunched shoulders — was gripping his notebook like his life depended on it

“Hand it over your assignment you shrimp” Takeshi muttered, smirking.

No one said anything. This sort of thing happened often enough. Most students kept their eyes on their work, pretending not to notice. Hiro glanced toward the back row.

There, sprawled across his desk with his arms folded like a makeshift pillow, was Kaito — the rugby club’s star forward. His eyes opened slowly, brow furrowed, as if waking from a deep nap.

“Oi…” Kaito’s voice was low and lazy. “Shut it, will you? You’re too loud.”

Takeshi stiffened. For a moment, it looked like he might talk back. Instead, he clicked his tongue, grabbed his bag, and returned to his seat. The boy with glasses exhaled, relief evident in his shoulders.

Hiro turned back to his notebook, feeling a mix of admiration and frustration. If only he could tell someone to stop like that.

By lunch break, the scene had already made its way into Hiro’s conversation with his friends. They sat in their usual spot under a tree by the edge of the schoolyard, bento boxes open.

“You should’ve seen it,” Hiro said, picking at his rice. “Takeshi was hassling Kenji again, but Kaito just told him to shut up, and he listened. Just like that. I wish I could be like Kaito”

Daichi, sitting cross-legged, snorted. “Yeah, well, you’re five-six. He’s five-eleven. Not exactly an even match.”

Ren shook his head. “Size isn’t everything. You need guts to step in like that. And let’s be honest…” He gave Hiro a sideways glance. “We’re not exactly the gutsy type.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Hiro muttered.

The three of them laughed, the tension from the earlier topic quickly fading into their usual lunchtime chatter.

After classes ended, Hiro walked home, phone buzzing in his pocket. It was a string of messages from his twelve-year-old cousin.

Cousin Xave: “Dude!! VR set is on sale!!”

Cousin Xave: “And there’s a new game launching tomorrow!!”

Cousin Xave: “You HAVE to get it. Don’t be lame like last time.”

Hiro smirked as more voice messages came in, his cousin’s excited voice practically shouting through the speaker. This wasn’t the first time he’d been nagged about VR games, but the offer sounded… tempting.

When he stepped inside his house, the smell of simmering miso soup greeted him. His mom poked her head out from the kitchen.

“Oh, Hiro, here’s your pocket money for the month.” She placed the bills in his hand. “Don’t spend it all at once. And remember, we’re having dinner with your father at the hotel tonight.”

“Yeah, I know,” Hiro replied, heading toward his room.

His mom called after him about changing his clothes before dinner, but he was already thinking about the messages on his phone and whether that VR set might actually be worth it this time.

By evening, Hiro was just about ready to leave when he heard the doorbell.

Standing on the doorstep was his younger cousin, Xavier — eyes sparkling, grinning like he’d just won the lottery.

“I’m here to make sure you don’t waste your money,” Xavier declared without even a hello. “We’re going to get you the best VR headset and games. Budget-friendly but top quality. Trust me.”

On the way, Xavier chattered non-stop about his “life as a gamer” — all the tournaments, all the nights he’d pulled, the thrill of high-score glory. He ended his speech with a dramatic sigh.

“Honestly, Hiro, your life’s probably been so boring till now—”

Hiro didn’t let him finish. With one swift motion, he reached over and twisted Xavier’s ear.

“OW! OW! OW!” Xavier yelped, trying to pry Hiro’s hand away.

That was when Hiro noticed something strange. Xavier’s grip was… strong. Stronger than he’d expected from someone who spent most of his time in front of a PC or VR screen. And under his hoodie, the kid was more built than he had any right to be. Sure, Xavier was still four inches shorter than him now, but if he kept growing like that, Hiro might be looking up at him sooner than he thought.

When they reached the electronics store, Xavier didn’t browse — he made a beeline straight to one of the stalls and grabbed a sleek VR headset like he’d already picked it out days ago.

“This one,” he said, shoving it into Hiro’s hands.

Before Hiro could even pull out his wallet, Xavier had already sprinted off toward the game section. Moments later, he came running back, breathless, and grabbed Hiro’s arm.

“Come on, you’ve gotta see this!”

Inside the game store, he presented a box with a grin: Size Sphere.

The store manager, noticing their interest, stepped in. “It’s a metaverse RPG,” he explained. “Players can do quests, interact freely… and the twist is, after each quest, your avatar’s size changes. You might grow, you might shrink — it all depends on your performance.”

Xavier’s excitement doubled. “It’s like some of the games I’ve played in Roblox, but way better!”

By the time they left the store, Xavier was practically bouncing on the sidewalk. “Size Sphere’s global launch is the day after tomorrow,” he said. “Until then, you can mess around with the inbuilt games on your headset. But trust me — once the servers go live, it’s gonna blow your mind.”

They parted ways at the corner, Hiro headed home with the headset box under his arm.

In his room, Hiro unboxed the headset carefully, following the manual step by step. Once it powered on, he connected the copy of Size Sphere he’d purchased… only to be met with a glowing countdown on the interface: 33 : 42 : 57. The seconds ticked down — 57, 56, 55, 54… — before he sighed and logged out.

Before he could try out the inbuilt games, he heard the front door open. His father had come home early from the office, and soon the three of them were heading out together to a hotel for dinner