The room was bright—almost too bright.
Izumi found himself standing alone, confused.
"W-What? Where am I?" he muttered, blinking at the light.
A soft, familiar voice echoed in the distance.
"Izumi…"
He turned toward it, and saw Kenji and Asahi standing in front of him.
"Huh?"
Before he could move, the light shattered like glass.
He gasped awake—deep breaths, drenched in sweat.
"Ahh… I must be tired from studying physics all night…" he said to himself, rubbing his eyes.
But something felt off. It was dark. Too dark.
Before he could fully sit up, a hand covered his mouth.
Aoshi, crouching beside him, whispered, "Don't make a sound."
Ana's voice came from the corner, also hushed.
"He's not here anymore… The weird guy ran. I think he noticed us watching."
Izumi's eyes widened, mind snapping into focus. No hesitation.
He darted to his feet and whispered, "Kiyoshi, follow me!"
Kiyoshi barely had time to react, but trusted him immediately. They both slipped out of the house, careful not to alert anyone.
"Where are we going?" Kiyoshi asked as they jogged through the empty street.
"Just follow. I'll explain later," Izumi replied, eyes locked ahead.
They turned a corner, following the shadowy figure in the distance.
By the time they reached a wide, empty hallway behind an old building, Kiyoshi suddenly caught up to the strange man. Without warning, he grabbed the man by the collar, yanking him backward. The man stumbled in panic, eyes darting around like a cornered animal.
Izumi caught up a few seconds later, panting.
"Damn, how are you so fast?"
"I was born leg-first," Kiyoshi smirked, trying to lighten the mood.
The man looked terrified now. But Izumi noticed something—a strange device strapped to the man's back, blinking rapidly.
"…Wait. What is that?" he whispered.
The beeping sped up—panic set in.
"KIYOSHI MOVE!"
Without thinking, Izumi tackled Kiyoshi out of the way just as the device exploded, engulfing the man in smoke and a burst of blue light.
The body collapsed—lifeless.
Kiyoshi stared in disbelief, frozen.
"What the hell…" he whispered, unable to find words.
Izumi dropped to his knees, trembling.
He had never seen someone die—especially not like that. He turned and vomited behind a wall.
The weight of what they just witnessed crashed down on them.
A minute later, Ana and Aoshi caught up. Before they could ask anything, Izumi looked up, pale.
"Don't look… Just—let's go back to Kiyoshi's house. Now."
Back at the house, silence filled the air. Izumi explained what happened, voice flat and shaky.
Ana and Aoshi sat frozen, unable to respond. Aoshi looked sick. Ana's hands trembled in her lap.
Trying to break the tension, Kiyoshi awkwardly joked,
"Well… if this is what after-school clubs are like, count me out."
Izumi wasn't amused.
"I… I think you two shouldn't get involved in this anymore," he said quietly, standing up and grabbing Kiyoshi's arm. "Come on."
They left the room, the mood heavy.
"I don't want anyone else's eyes stained with blood," Izumi muttered as they walked down the hallway.
"I understand…" Kiyoshi said.
"…But hey—there's something we need to check at that hallway."
—
Meanwhile…
Raidon sat behind his desk, utterly drained.
The day had been a whirlwind of nonstop meetings, project reviews, and deadlines. Nothing had gone smoothly, and by the end of it, he felt like collapsing.
The sun was already setting when he finally returned home.
He walked in, tossing his bag to the couch and calling out,
"Do the laundry, please. I've got one last meeting."
As he turned on his computer for a final virtual call, his maid entered nervously, holding a tag in her hand.
"Sir… I found this in your jacket pocket."
Raidon took the tag—and froze.
His face went pale. He stared at it, mind racing.
Without saying a word, he shoved his laptop into a bag, grabbed a coat, and walked straight out of the house.
No hesitation. He drove straight to a luxury hotel and checked in under a fake name. Until things felt safe, he wouldn't return.
—
Back in the hallway from earlier, Izumi and Kiyoshi crouched near the scorched floor.
"Look at this," Kiyoshi said, pointing. "There's… blue rocks? Scattered everywhere."
Izumi narrowed his eyes. The memory clicked.
"Wait… I've seen these before. They look just like the gem displayed at Raidon Hiroshi's expo… He said it was the 'future of tech.'"
The two collected some of the glowing fragments, placing them in a small bag before heading back.
—
Back at the house, only Ana was there.
"Where's Aoshi?" Kiyoshi asked.
Ana looked upset.
"We… had a fight. She wanted to follow you after Izumi told us not to get involved. I tried to stop her but… she ran off. I don't know where she went."
Both Izumi and Ana looked anxious, but Kiyoshi offered a small, hopeful smile.
"Don't worry. Aoshi might be impulsive… but she's not reckless. She won't do anything stupid."
Still, no one could shake the feeling that a line had been crossed—and there was no turning back now.