The two of them were sitting on the sofa, a considerable distance apart. Both were silent. Outside, the rain was still falling, with not a trace of light anywhere. Her white hair moved slightly as she tilted her head to look at the gray eyes of the person beside her.
"I told you to come, and you know why. I owe you my life, but silence won't save you…"
Mizuki didn't look at Yuzuki while she spoke. Her gaze seemed slightly lost, though she did manage to glance at Yuzuki from the corner of her eye—this time simply out of respect.
"I mean… you hid it from me all these days as if nothing had happened? I know I was gone for two days, but you should have told me when I came back!"
Silence stretched after Yuzuki finished speaking. Nearly a full minute passed before Mizuki slightly raised her gaze.
"It's my decision whether I keep my secrets or not. Besides… I'd rather forget what I saw."
"Forget it? Tell that to the bastards in the department! What if right now they're already trying to force the card out of him?!"
"Cards cannot be removed without consent."
"Don't you know about torture? Or lies?!"
When Yuzuki finished speaking, she stood up from the sofa to face Mizuki directly.
"Or worse—Pandora, who wants to rebuild heaven, sea, and earth beyond—"
Mizuki suddenly stood up as well, confronting Yuzuki with a serious expression that reflected calm.
"…Do you think I don't know that? Besides, the Pandora thing is a myth. With so few Walker cards in this world… why would he be the one to have it?"
"I… I just think you should have told me. Those cards are dangerous. And besides—what are the chances that it was transferred to him as a sacrifice?!"
"None. Transferring a card from one body to another automatically results in an almost total loss of memory."
Despite her composed tone, a faint anger simmered in Yuzuki. Listening to Mizuki made her want to hit something. Her eyes scanned the room briefly, but she restrained herself and sat back down, her gaze fixed on the floor, shoulders slightly hunched, arms resting on her thighs.
Mizuki remained standing, lost in thought, before finally sitting again and staring straight ahead in silence.
Four minutes passed.
"…When someone carries those cards carelessly, according to the records, there are several possibilities."
Yuzuki listened, though her feelings were impossible to read in that moment.
Mizuki continued speaking, unconcerned about whatever internal debate Yuzuki might be having.
"One of them is memory loss caused by abusing the card. That would happen within two years… or a little longer."
Yuzuki clicked her tongue softly.
A quiet "tch."
Mizuki continued.
"Another possibility is the fastest one. They die one day without the card inside them… though it's been decades since that last happened."
Outside, a loud crack of thunder echoed. A brief flash of light illuminated the room slightly, revealing Mizuki's gray eyes as she parted her lips again.
"And lastly… they lose their sanity, and the card becomes a killer guided by its own instincts."
She turned her gaze toward Yuzuki.
"Yuzuki, you need to promise me something right here and now… if Shiro ever breaks inside himself, you must tear out his Walker essence yourself."
Silence followed.
Mizuki's eyes remained fixed on Yuzuki, refusing to look away until she received an answer.
Yuzuki slowly raised her gaze a few centimeters, looking at her with one eye completely serious—a murderous gaze she rarely showed. Her fingers partially covered her face, revealing only one eye as her hair shifted slightly.
"I swear it on my sword."
Those were the only words she could say.
Morning arrived.
Inside the house it was warm. The storm had faded with the sunrise, though the sun was already high in the sky.
Shiro felt a faint breathing in front of him, which caused him to open his eyes.
He couldn't help noticing that a strand of her hair had fallen across one of his hands—the same hand that had been hanging off the bed all night.
"Don't you think you're waking up a little late?"
Kaede was crouched in front of him, knees on the floor, her face close to his. She looked at a newly awakened Shiro whose hair was even more messy than usual.
"What are you doing here so early? This is my room…"
he murmured in a low, heavy voice.
"I was getting bored, so I woke you up, sleepyhead."
Shiro yawned and sat up. His body felt slightly sore, and when he moved incorrectly, his hand slipped off the bed and his balance tilted that way.
Kaede caught his hand with a smooth, simple motion—her bare hand this time, just as cold as Shiro's.
"I think this is the second time I've seen you without gloves…"
"Hehe… I'd say the third."
Shiro glanced around with mild annoyance before simply standing and stretching.
Kaede hopped lightly toward the exit of the room.
"Come on! I'm bored and I need your help with something!"
Shiro rubbed the back of his neck and nodded.
"Where did I leave my phone…"
He looked at the desk, searching for the only thing on it: his phone.
Turning it on quickly, he checked his messages.
"Wake up, you sleepy idiot."
He read Kaede's message aloud quietly. It had been sent two hours ago. It made sense she had eventually come to wake him.
"It's ten in the morning… I slept too much…"
Shiro was about to put the phone away when it vibrated again.
He checked it.
It was a message from the youngest Hinokami, Akira.
The messages were simple—things like "good morning" or "I hope recovering isn't too difficult."
To Shiro, they felt like the kind of messages people sent purely out of politeness.
He slipped the phone into his pocket and left the room.
Walking down the hallway, he soon entered the main area.
Kaede was sitting on the sofa. When she saw him, she waved with a bright smile.
Shiro chuckled softly and walked toward her.
A few hours later.
It was exactly noon when Mizuki and Yuzuki left the main building. Yuzuki carried a freshly sealed box in her arms.
"Sometimes I'm surprised by the people you have working in your laboratory. They look like your slaves," Yuzuki said.
"When did I ever say they weren't?"
Mizuki's response was interrupted by someone approaching them. The man raised his hand in greeting, trying to appear polite, though his dull and serious expression didn't help.
"It's me again—Calius. I don't mean to be persistent, but… have you thought about the proposal yet? I left my father's card, if I remember correctly."
Yuzuki crossed her arms and glanced at him sideways. Since she was the only one who even bothered to look at him, she spoke.
"We were planning to discuss it today, Mr. Calius. If you're desperate, you'll still have to wait."
Calius lowered his gaze slightly and scratched the back of his neck, muttering to himself.
"'Mr.'… I'm not even eighteen yet…"
He raised his gaze again and continued.
"Anyway, yesterday I told you about my father. You seem to know him fairly well. He thinks it would be a good idea if both sides traveled to Solarín once you have an answer. That includes him."
"That guy actually moves his ass out of his house?"
Yuzuki lifted her chin indifferently.
"Show a little more respect to people with money, Yuzuki."
Calius heard their brief exchange and simply sighed.
"Well, there are two numbers on the card. The one with three zeros is mine. If you have the answer tonight, even better. Father wants one as soon as possible."
"…If I remember correctly, both numbers had three zeros."
Mizuki's comment didn't seem to bother him.
Calius simply turned halfway and walked away.
A completely black vehicle waited for him nearby.
"Then call the one with more zeros."
He opened the car door and collapsed into the back seat.
"It's too cold here. My body is more used to mild climates…"
He took out his phone and started typing a message with a blank expression.
From the driver's seat, his usual chauffeur watched him from the corner of his eye, ready to drive.
Shiro stepped out of the bathroom wearing only a black towel around his waist. He briefly considered pulling it up higher before closing the door behind him.
"I forgot to bring my clothes… I think I left them in my room."
He walked down the hallway.
But the feeling of someone watching him from behind was unsettling.
"Do men really have bodies like that? From far away it looks sturdy, but… I thought you were going to die if that golem's punch hit you."
Shiro heard Kaede's voice and glanced over his shoulder.
"…What do you mean?"
Kaede leaned against the wall, fingers near her chin, her face full of natural curiosity.
"Well, during the test when we were about to finish… I felt like your body might be soft and you'd die from that hit. So… I didn't think too much about it and tried to pull you out of there."
"Oh… uh… I never thanked you for that. I mean… saving me without hesitation…"
"Then reward me!"
Shiro turned to face her fully. A few drops of water slid down from his hair as he held his towel with one hand.
"Alright. What do you want? I don't know if I have much to give."
"Let me touch you!"
"…Huh?"
Kaede smiled mischievously and wiggled her fingers.
Shiro didn't answer.
He kept eye contact as he slowly backed toward his bedroom door, as if retreating from a predator.
Kaede laughed softly.
"Come on! I want to know why the first man's body I've seen looks hard from a distance! Let me touch!"
"Hey, physical contact isn't really my thing…!"
"Wait—before you didn't complain! I'm going to take advantage of that!"
Shiro's muscles tensed. He lowered his gaze and hurried toward his room.
"Hey, that's not fair!"
Kaede ran after him.
Shiro tried to open the door quickly, but his hands were shaking. He had no choice but to dodge the fingers trying to grab him.
He slipped, nearly crashing into the floor, and fled down the hallway toward the living room.
Kaede chased him, laughing.
Minutes passed like that—Shiro trying to escape while cushions fell from the sofas, the dining table shifted, and kitchen utensils clattered to the floor.
The culprit was, of course, the relentless Kaede.
Shiro jogged around the kitchen, breathless.
"If you wanted something like this, at least let me get dressed first…!"
"Stay still!"
She jumped from the kitchen counter.
Shiro didn't have time to react.
He hit the floor face-first.
"Hey… you're heavy…"
"That's a lie! I'm not heavy—especially not for you."
Kaede slid her fingers along his ribs, trying to tickle him.
Shiro did feel it—but in an extremely sensitive way that made him very uncomfortable.
Her gloves only made the sensation worse.
The moment was interrupted by the sound of a door closing somewhere in the distance.
Shiro didn't dare lift his head. He buried his face in the floor, hiding behind his wet hair.
Kaede looked up, still smiling.
"Hi, Mizuki… I was… I was teaching him self-defense!"
Mizuki and Yuzuki stood at the hallway entrance with calm, serious expressions.
Yuzuki dropped the bag she was carrying, opened Shiro's room door, left it open, picked up the bag again, and walked away in silence.
"…Kaede. Shiro seems like the type of person who prefers comfort, at least from my perspective. Let him get dressed."
Mizuki spoke calmly as she followed behind Yuzuki.
About two hours later, at four in the afternoon, the four of them were sitting around the living room.
Yuzuki sat cross-legged, drinking some kind of energy drink. Mizuki watched her with a faint frown.
"What did I tell you about that drink?"
"Not to drink more than three a day? This is the second. I don't see the problem."
Shiro sat in the corner of the large sofa, occasionally glancing at his phone.
Kaede sat beside him, watching him more than anything else, which somehow made him uncomfortable.
Suddenly something struck his forehead and fell into his lap.
A completely white box.
"…What's this? Something for Kaede?"
"Don't be stupid. It's for you."
Yuzuki didn't even look at him when she answered.
Shiro stared at the box for a moment, swallowing.
"…Why do people give me so many things here…? Is it normal to give things to others…?"
he thought before opening it.
"Kaede, I admire your creativity," Mizuki said.
Kaede tilted her head, confused.
"What are you talking about?"
"Open it, Shiro."
He obeyed.
Inside was a metallic bracelet with intricate, almost alien details. Its matte black surface had bluish edges that seemed to glow faintly when they moved.
"It's the culmination of your idea, Kaede."
Kaede's eyes widened in surprise.
"My idea?"
Mizuki nodded.
"We borrowed your notebook. It was too good to leave on paper."
Shiro looked at the device with fascination.
"Why didn't you tell me?!"
Kaede leaned closer to inspect it.
Shiro swallowed nervously but remained calm.
"Anyway… you'll start training with it tomorrow, Shiro."
Both Shiro and Kaede turned toward Yuzuki.
Kaede proudly closed her eyes and puffed out her chest.
"This came from my idea!"
"…Yuzuki told me about it, but I didn't think it would be the very next day…"
Shiro thought, staring at the device.
"…What should I call it?"
Mizuki answered simply.
"Ring."
That day followed Shiro's new routine.
Dinner.A shower.Then his room.
It was now ten at night.
Shiro wasn't very sleepy, so he lay on his bed scrolling through his phone looking for something to entertain himself.
He sighed, about to put it down—when a message arrived.
It was from Akira Hinokami.
"Shiro, I'd like to do a small training session with you tomorrow. According to the records, you have something else in your arsenal. We're friends, right? What do you think?"
"Wait… what do you mean according to the records?"
"Oh, at the central station and Department 1 there are records of every member from Departments 1 through 10. Normal soldiers don't get this record."
"Normal soldiers?"
"You didn't know? It's like the army—or rather, it is the army. People with cards and abilities that are weaker than usual. Still, they contribute a lot when fighting in large areas."
"I see… but wouldn't you need Mizuki's authorization to come here?"
"I already have it. That's why I'm asking you."
"I don't mind. I'll mention it to Kaede…"
"I'm sure your shuffler will accept! Talk tomorrow. Rest well."
Shiro plugged his phone in beside the desk and lay back on the bed.
He had finally learned how to use the air conditioner properly here.
In other places he'd lived, nights were freezing.
Even so, he began to shiver slightly despite the warm temperature.
He swallowed and prepared to sleep.
The hallway was dark.
She walked through it in her usual pajamas, carrying two cups of coffee.
"I hope Shiro likes it with milk and little sugar… I think that's how it's made…"
She carefully placed the cups on the floor and knocked on Shiro's door.
The wood echoed softly.
But she heard faint gasps and tired breaths inside, which made her open the door instinctively.
"S-Shiro…?"
she whispered as she walked toward the bed.
Shiro was asleep, but he looked strangely exhausted. His body moved occasionally on its own as he lay with his back turned to her.
"If I ever had a family… I'm sure my mother would help me in a difficult moment…"
Kaede thought.
"I want Shiro to consider me a safe place. After all, when fighting… contact is normal. Maybe I should… practice…"
Kaede slowly slipped into the bed.
She gently stroked Shiro's hair.
Then his cheek.
"Stupid Kaede! What does a man like when he feels bad?!"
She sighed and calmed herself, continuing to stroke his hair.
"Just rest. I'll stay here for a while… I'll drink double coffee tomorrow and make more so we can drink it together."