After drying his clothes, Hikari made his way back to the guest room, his body weighed down by exhaustion. The events of the day swirled in his mind, each moment folding into the next. From the fight at school to his unexpected stay at Mitsumi's house, it had been a whirlwind of chaos and discovery.
What he needed now was rest. Tomorrow, he would ask Master Ryu about Shadow Bind. That technique had been lingering in his thoughts ever since Mr. Yukine had demonstrated his knowledge of it.
His steps slowed as a question resurfaced—how exactly did Mr. Yukine know about a Shadow Manipulator's technique? He had mentioned encountering one in the past, but the way he spoke about it carried an air of familiarity, as if he understood the intricacies of the power itself.
Hikari exhaled sharply, pushing the thought aside. It didn't matter right now. He would learn more eventually, but for now, there was only one priority—train, train, and train. The answers would come in time.
His hand grasped the doorknob to the guest room, but just as he turned it, another thought flitted into his mind—schoolwork. Everything that had happened made something as mundane as homework feel almost dreamy, detached from reality.
The line between fantasy and reality had blurred, leaving him in an odd limbo where supernatural abilities seemed more tangible than quadratic functions.
Wait... had Mitsumi done her homework? The question surfaced before he could stop it. Why was he even thinking about that? He shook his head, dismissing the thought as irrelevant, and opened the door.
And then—
Kyaaaa!
His pulse jumped at the sudden exclamation, his eyes snapping to Mitsumi, who sat at the study table, books and notebooks spread out before her. Unlike her usual energetic self, she appeared fully engrossed in her work, pencil moving swiftly across the page.
"Hi, Hikari! Have you done your homework?" she asked cheerfully, her eyes sparkling as she turned to face him.
"Um, not yet, but—wait, hold on. Why are you..." His words trailed off as she suddenly beamed at him.
"Oh, that's great! Let's do it together!" Before he could protest, she slid out a small table from underneath the bed and set it in the center of the room. The way she moved was so fluid, so natural, as if she had done this a hundred times before.
Hikari blinked. Small table? Where did that even come from?
She patted the floor beside her, urging him to sit. Hesitation gripped him for a moment, but eventually, he let out a defeated sigh and sank onto the floor. Mitsumi wasted no time, flipping open her notebook and continuing with her work as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Aren't you going to do it, Hikari?" she asked innocently.
Something about the situation didn't sit right with him, yet he found himself unable to refuse. As he took out his own materials, Mitsumi shifted beside him, her expression suddenly turning bashful.
"Hikari, could you help me with my homework?" she asked softly, her fingers tapping nervously against the edge of her notebook.
Ah, so that's what this was about. Hikari exhaled, shaking his head with a small smile. "Which part?" he asked, leaning in slightly.
She pointed to a problem on the page, the tip of her pencil resting beside a string of equations. He studied it for a moment before realization struck. A quadratic function. It was straightforward enough to solve.
Yet, even as he prepared to explain it, his mind wandered as he saw the shadows casted by the pencil he was holding.
If there were multiple lights in a room, and the angle of an object was just right, the object could cast multiple shadows. If that principle applied to physics, could it also apply to a Shadow Manipulator?
Was it possible to create multiple shadows at once? If so, how would one control them? Could they act independently?
"Hikari? Hikari? Are you okay?" Mitsumi's voice snapped him back to the present.
He shook the thoughts away and refocused on the problem before him. "Oh, yes, I'm fine. Let's see... This one uses the quadratic function formula. All you need to do is—"
As he began explaining, he heard faint footsteps ascending the stairs. They were cautious, deliberate. Without shifting his focus from the homework, he subtly honed his enhanced senses, detecting the presence lingering just outside the room. His lips curled into an amused smile.
He continued teaching Mitsumi, unbothered.
"Thanks for helping me, Hikari!" Mitsumi said brightly, stretching her arms above her head. "I wouldn't have been able to finish that quickly if it weren't for you."
"No worries," he replied casually, leaning back slightly.
Mitsumi gathered her books, neatly stacking them on the table. "Good night, Hikari! See you tomorrow. I'll be heading to my room now."
"Good night, Mitsumi."
Just as she opened the door, she froze. Hikari didn't even need to turn around to confirm what she had just discovered—her parents, standing in the hallway, blatantly eavesdropping.
Mitsumi's jaw dropped, her eyes wide with shock. "Mom, Dad, what are you doing here?"
Her parents, on the other hand, looked completely unbothered by being caught. Mr. Yukine coughed into his fist, attempting a nonchalant stance. "Oh, we just happened to pass by here. Don't worry about us, just continue whatever you were doing."
Mrs. Yukine, on the other hand, made no effort to suppress her amusement. "Yes, we just happened to pass by." A soft giggle escaped her lips, her eyes twinkling with mirth.
Hikari merely smirked to himself. He had sensed them the moment they lingered outside the door, but he had let them be, knowing Mitsumi would eventually catch them on her own.
And now, she was absolutely mortified.
"Mom! Dad!" Mitsumi exclaimed, flustered beyond belief. "You were totally eavesdropping!"
"We were not," Mr. Yukine countered smoothly. "We were just admiring how hardworking you two are. That's all."
"Exactly! It's not every day we see you so motivated with homework," Mrs. Yukine chimed in, placing a hand on her cheek.
Mitsumi let out a groan, covering her face with both hands. "This is so embarrassing…"
Hikari fought the urge to laugh. Seeing her like this was admittedly entertaining, though he made sure to keep his amusement hidden behind a composed expression.
"Well, we'll leave you two alone now. Good night!" Mr. Yukine gave a hearty pat on Mitsumi's shoulder before turning away. Mrs. Yukine followed, still grinning as she waved over her shoulder.
Mitsumi turned towards Hikari, her face turning a nice shade of red as she did so. She then let out an exaggerated sigh. "I can't believe them…"
"At least they care," Hikari pointed out.
She rolled her eyes before shaking her head with a defeated smile. "Yeah, I guess."
With that, she turned toward her own room, leaving Hikari alone in the guest room once again. He sat in silence for a moment, reflecting on the absurdity of the situation. It had been an eventful night, but he knew it wasn't over yet.
Master Ryu was waiting.
His gaze shifted to the window, where the night stretched beyond the glass, dark and endless. Pushing himself up, he prepared to leave. It was time to find out what his master had to say.