In the distance, two figures emerged from the shadows: Mori and Yasuke. They were talking in low tones, unaware of the three intruders hiding just out of sight.

  Yasuke, leaning casually against one of the crates, let out a small chuckle.

  “Man, you’re really working overtime tonight, huh?”

  Mori didn’t respond. He was used to Yasuke’s incessant need to fill silence.

  Yasuke let out a sigh and gnced at the floor.

  “So? What’s the move? We gonna stand around staring at lights all night, or are we actually dealing with this Akira problem?”

  At that, Mori’s fingers paused slightly over the panel. It was barely noticeable—but Yasuke caught it. His smirk widened.

  “Ahhh. Don’t tell me you’re hesitating again, Mori.”

  Yasuke tilted his head, eyes gleaming with something close to amusement.

  “Or maybe, just maybe—this is another one of those ‘let’s wait and see’ moments of yours?”

  Mori finally looked up, his gaze sharp.

  “Hn.”

  Yasuke took that as an invitation to keep going.

  “I mean, you had every chance to deal with him before, right? But now Akira’s running around, still alive, still causing problems. You let him slip through your fingers years ago, and now he’s out there getting stronger. Imagine that—one of your own little experiments, and you let him off the leash.”

  Mori’s expression remained unreadable, but his shoulders tensed just slightly.

  Yasuke, seeing it, let out a low whistle.

  “Man… that’s gotta sting. You talk a big game about control, but it’s looking more and more like the only thing you’ve really mastered is procrastination.”

  Mori exhaled, slow and deliberate.

  “Shigure will handle him.”

  Yasuke raised an eyebrow, then let out a ugh.

  “Shigure?”

  He cpped his hands together, grinning.

  “Now that is a name I didn’t expect.”

  His smirk widened.

  “That guy’s got a short fuse. You sure he won’t just burn down half the damn city trying to kill one guy?”

  Mori’s gaze flickered toward the containment units again, voice as cold as ever.

  “If that’s what it takes.”

  Yasuke let out a slow hum, watching him. He was still having fun, but there was something else—something calcuting—in his expression now.

  “Y’know,” Yasuke mused, tapping his chin, “you sure talk like someone who wants Akira dead, but something tells me it ain’t that simple.”

  Mori didn’t answer.

  “Mm. Yeah, thought so.”

  Yasuke smirked again.

  “You see, you might be convincing everyone else that you’re just cleaning up a mess, but me? I know a man with an agenda when I see one.”

  He turned, stretching zily as he walked toward the exit.

  “But hey—not my business.”

  He gnced over his shoulder.

  “You keep pying your little chess game, and I’ll keep making sure I don’t end up as one of your pawns.”

  He paused, then added, almost as an afterthought,

  “Just try not to screw up again.”

  ?Yasuke, his senses sharp, paused mid-conversation and looked around suddenly.

  “I sense something… someone’s here.”

  He took a few slow steps forward, his eyes scanning the shadows.

  He hovered over a spot and lingered.

  But he found nothing.

  On the other side of the spot, sweat dripped from Watari’s forehead.

  Yasuke’s frown deepened as he continued walking without a second thought, the moment passing without anything more.

  Watari, holding his breath, gnced at Yumi, who was trembling slightly from the tension.

  “We’ve been made.”

  Yumi’s voice was barely a whisper.

  “We need to leave. This is too dangerous.”

  As the trio slipped quietly back into the shadows, their minds raced with what they had just witnessed.

  Whatever was happening in this building, it was far worse than they could have imagined.

  ?Back outside of their rooms ter, Watari and Yumi exchanged a few words, but there was a heaviness to the air.

  “I don’t think they’re just pying games anymore. They probably know why we’re here.”

  Yumi sat down, looking out the window. Her voice was quiet, but there was an intensity in it that Watari hadn’t heard before.

  “Then we’re going to have to be very careful from now on.”

  Meanwhile, Kaito sat in his room, staring at his own wrist where the Tamashkii bracelet was supposed to form.

  He thought about the night’s events, a deep sense of longing in his chest.

  He had no idea what was happening, but he knew it had only just begun.

  “I’ve got to be ready… for whatever comes next.”