The damp, stale air of the basement gave way to the crisp afternoon sun as they climbed the concrete stairs. Nanami didn't look back to check if they were following.
He just adjusted the cuffs of his suit jacket and merged seamlessly into the sidewalk traffic.
Yuji scrambled up the steps a few seconds later, pulling a bright yellow hoodie over his head to cover his pink hair. He jogged a few steps to catch up, falling into place right beside Ren.
"So," Yuji whispered loudly, leaning in with the earnest energy of a golden retriever. "You're a transfer student? I didn't know Jujutsu High took transfers this late."
"Special circumstances," Ren replied smoothly, keeping his hands shoved deep in his jacket pockets.
"Oh, I totally get that," Yuji nodded emphatically, offering a bright, sympathetic smile. "I'm technically scheduled for a secret execution, so I'm trying to lay low."
Ren stopped walking for a split second. He stared at the kid. Yuji had just casually dropped his own impending death sentence like he was complaining about a difficult math test.
"Right," Ren muttered, forcing his feet to keep moving. "Good luck with that."
Up ahead, Nanami stopped at the edge of a crosswalk. He didn't turn around, but his deep, incredibly rigid voice carried perfectly over the noise of the street. "If you two are going to treat this like a school field trip, I will leave you at the station."
Yuji instantly straightened up, his mouth clicking shut.
While they waited for the light to change, Ren pulled his phone from his pocket.
He tapped open her contact.
His thumbs moved quickly over the glass screen.
Ren: Hey. Quick update. Your favorite teacher just teleported away and dumped me.
He watched the screen. The read receipt popped up almost instantly. Three gray dots appeared, vanished, and appeared again.
Maki: What? Satoru left? Where are you? Who did he leave you with?
Ren kept his pace matched with Yuji, who was walking alongside him with his bright yellow hoodie pulled up. Ren's thumbs moved quickly over the glass screen.
Ren: With a guy in a tan suit. Says his name is Nanami. though he looks like he wants to go home.
Up ahead, Nanami bypassed the ticket machines and walked straight toward the turnstiles. The sun was sitting low between the buildings now, casting long orange shadows across the pavement.
The phone buzzed in Ren's hand.
Maki: Nanami? Kento Nanami? Maki: The blonde guy with the weird goggles?
Ren: Yeah.....
Maki: ...You're actually in good hands. He's a Grade 1. Strict, but he won't use you as bait like Satoru would. Where is he taking you?
The train ride blurred into a quiet walk through the neon-lit streets of Kawasaki. By the time they reached the basic business hotel Nanami had booked, the sky was completely dark.
Nanami stopped in the narrow, fluorescent-lit hallway on the fourth floor and handed out two plastic keycards.
"We meet in the lobby at exactly 7:00 AM tomorrow," Nanami stated, adjusting the cuffs of his suit jacket. "We will investigate the cinema where the bodies were found. Eat breakfast before you come down. I will not wait for you."
"Got it, Nanami-sensei!" Yuji beamed, clutching his keycard tightly.
Nanami let out a heavy, bone-deep sigh and turned toward his own door. "I am not a teacher."
Ren unlocked his room and pushed the door open. It was a cramped, standard single with a stiff bed and a tiny desk pushed against the wall. He kicked off his boots, tossed his denim jacket onto the chair, and dropped backward onto the mattress, staring up at the popcorn ceiling.
He pulled his phone from his pocket. Instead of typing another text, he tapped the call button next to Maki's name and brought the phone to his ear.
It rang twice before it clicked open.
"You're not dead yet," Maki's voice came through the speaker. She sounded tired, but the familiar, guarded edge was gone.
"Not yet," Ren replied, shifting his weight to get comfortable against the stiff pillows. "Your guy Nanami is definitely something else. He basically told us work is garbage, handed us pictures of twisted corpses, and told us to go to sleep."
Maki let out a soft snort. "I told you. He's a Grade 1, but he treats this whole thing like a corporate desk job. Just do what he says and don't get in his way. He won't let anything happen to you."
"I'll keep my head down," Ren promised.
As he listened, a faint, echoing sound filtered through the receiver. The distinct splash of running water and the hollow acoustics of a tiled room.
Ren raised an eyebrow. "Is that water? Where are you right now?"
"The dorm bathroom," Maki replied. The sound of a faucet turning off echoed through the phone. "Just washing my face."
A slow smile pulled at the corner of Ren's mouth. He stared at the ceiling, perfectly picturing her standing in front of the mirror, likely wearing nothing but one of his oversized black t-shirts with damp hair clinging to her neck.
"In the bathroom, huh?" Ren murmured, his voice dropping just a fraction into a familiar, teasing drawl. "Shame I'm stuck in a cheap hotel in Kawasaki. I could have helped you wash your back after a long day of drills."
The line went completely dead silent.
Ren could practically hear the gears turning in her head, followed by the inevitable, brilliant red flush that was definitely creeping up her neck and painting her ears.
"I am going to hang up on you," Maki threatened. Her voice wavered dangerously, entirely lacking its usual lethal bite.
"You won't," Ren chuckled, closing his eyes. "You'd miss me too much."
"You are an absolute idiot," she muttered. A soft rustling sound came through the speaker, like she was grabbing a towel. Her tone softened, the defensive anger melting away. "But... try not to get yourself killed tomorrow. Seriously. Even with your new strength, curses don't play fair."
"I'll survive," Ren murmured, letting a lazy grin spread across his face. "But honestly, my survival chances would skyrocket if I had some proper motivation."
"Motivation," Maki repeated flatly. "What are you talking about?"