Most of the city was asleep when Shadow Hunk returned to his chamber.
The hidden door slid shut behind him.
He pulled off his mask and dropped it onto the table. His hair was damp with sweat after hours of patrolling. Screens glowed across the room, displaying live footage from different parts of the city.
Finally, a quiet night.
He sat down and reached for a bottle of water.
His phone vibrated.
A message from Aarohi.
"I had completed every functioning of the device through which we can track danger, but at the last moment I don't know what happened but it burst…"
Shadow Hunk nearly dropped his phone.
Then he typed:
"What?!"
A reply came almost instantly.
"Yeah."
He sat up straighter.
"What do you mean "yeah"?! The whole thing burst?"
"Yes."
Shadow Hunk closed his eyes for a second.
Weeks of work.
Gone.
Then something else caught his attention.
The time.
1:30 A.M.
He frowned.
"And you texted me this at this time! Are you crazy?"
"Why? Were you sleeping?"
He looked around the chamber.
Every screen was on.
The lights were on.
The surveillance system was running.
Still, he typed:
"Yes. Obviously."
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Finally:
"Then open the window of the place where you're sleeping."
Shadow Hunk paused.
"...What?"
A strange feeling settled in his mind.
Slowly, he stood up.
He picked up his mask and put it back on before walking toward the only window he has there.
He opened the window.
Aarohi was standing outside.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Aarohi smiled.
"Good evening."
Shadow Hunk stared at her.
"You."
"Me."
"You are standing outside my chamber."
"Excellent observation."
"Aarohi."
"Shadow Hunk."
He sighed.
She stepped inside before he could stop her.
"Nice sleeping arrangement, by the way."
Shadow Hunk closed the window.
"Why you came here at this time?"
"My wish."
"That isn't the point."
She looked around the chamber.
The rows of screens.
The control panels.
The blinking lights.
Shadow Hunk folded his arms.
"I should never have told you about this place."
Aarohi turned toward him.
"Oh, please."
"I mean it."
"No, you don't."
"I absolutely do."
She pointed at him.
"Who told you to tell?"
"You forced the information out of me."
"I did not."
"You practically conducted an investigation."
Aarohi looked offended.
"That is a very dramatic version of events."
"You were the one who was desperate to know."
She immediately gave him an annoyed look.
"There you go again."
"Because it's true."
"You bring that up every time."
"Because every time it remains true."
Aarohi clicked her tongue and walked farther into the room.
"What an irritating person."
She pretended not to hear that.
Shadow Hunk watched her wander around for a few seconds before asking,
"Why are you here?"
Aarohi shrugged.
"To see the chamber."
"The chamber."
"Yes."
"You came here at one-thirty in the morning to see the chamber."
"Yes."
"Just the chamber."
"Yes."
Shadow Hunk waited.
Aarohi waited.
Neither said anything.
Finally he spoke.
"That makes no sense."
"It makes perfect sense."
"No, it doesn't."
"I haven't been here for days."
"So?"
"So I came."
"That's your explanation?"
"That's a very reasonable explanation."
Shadow Hunk looked at her for a long moment.
Aarohi looked completely serious.
That somehow made it worse.
"You shouldn't come here whenever you want."
She stopped walking.
"Why not?"
"Because this place is a secret."
"So?"
"So people aren't supposed to casually visit secret headquarters."
Aarohi frowned.
"I am not people."
"What?"
"I am your friend."
Shadow Hunk opened his mouth.
Then closed it again.
Unfortunately, she looked very pleased with herself.
"See?" she said. "You don't have an answer."
"I have several answers."
"Name one."
"You crossed half the city in the middle of the night."
"Minor detail."
"You appeared outside a hidden facility."
"Minor detail."
"You interrupted my work."
"You were drinking water."
"I was taking a break."
"Exactly."
Shadow Hunk rubbed his forehead.
Criminals were easier to deal with.
Aarohi, meanwhile, had already made herself comfortable in a chair.
"You know," she said, looking around the room, "for a secret headquarters, this place is surprisingly welcoming."
"It is not welcoming."
"It has chairs."
"Every room has chairs."
"Not every room has me in it."
Shadow Hunk looked away.
Aarohi grinned.
Aarohi was still looking pleased with herself.
Shadow Hunk, meanwhile, had reached the stage of exhaustion where arguing required too much effort.
"Just don't touch anything."
"Why does everyone always say that?"
"Because the last time you touched something, it exploded."
"That was one time."
"The device literally exploded an hour ago."
Aarohi decided not to respond to that.
Instead, she continued wandering around the chamber.
Shadow Hunk sat down in his chair and finally picked up the bottle of water he had been trying to drink for the last ten minutes.
Peace at last.
Then—
Beep.
His eyes slowly lifted.
Aarohi was standing in front of a control panel.
One finger rested on a glowing button.
Shadow Hunk froze.
"Aarohi."
"Hm?"
"What did you touch?"
"Nothing."
"The button is glowing."
"It was glowing before."
"Aarohi."
"I barely touched it."
A second beep echoed through the chamber.
BEEP.
BEEP.
BEEP.
Both of them looked at the panel.
Then the entire chamber suddenly lit up in flashing red.
A loud alarm exploded through the room.
WARNING. WARNING. WARNING.
Aarohi jumped.
Shadow Hunk nearly dropped his water bottle.
"What did you do?!"
"I DON'T KNOW!"
"YOU PRESSED SOMETHING!"
"IT LOOKED PRESSABLE!"
The alarm grew even louder.
Red lights flashed across every wall.
Several screens switched on at once.
A robotic voice filled the chamber.
EMERGENCY DEFENSE PROTOCOL ACTIVATED.
Shadow Hunk's eyes widened.
"Oh no."
Aarohi pointed at him.
"Why are you saying 'oh no' like that?"
"Because that protocol isn't supposed to activate!"
"Then why does it have a button?!"
"IT'S NOT FOR RANDOM PEOPLE TO PRESS!"
"I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS THE RANDOM PEOPLE BUTTON!"
The robotic voice continued.
SCANNING FOR THREATS.
SCANNING FOR THREATS.
Suddenly a mechanical arm unfolded from the ceiling.
Aarohi looked up.
Shadow Hunk looked up.
The mechanical arm looked down.
A laser sight appeared.
Aarohi immediately hid behind Shadow Hunk.
"Why is it looking at me?!"
"You activated it!"
"I ACTIVATED IT BY ACCIDENT!"
"THE MACHINE DOESN'T CARE!"
The laser followed them.
Aarohi grabbed his arm.
"Fix it!"
"I AM TRYING!"
"You literally built this place!"
"And you literally broke it!"
"I BREAK THINGS WITH LOVE!"
"THAT IS NOT A VALID DEFENSE!"
Another mechanical arm unfolded from the ceiling.
Aarohi's eyes widened.
"There are two now."
Shadow Hunk looked exhausted.
"There were supposed to be zero."
For the next few seconds, the greatest hero in the city and his most troublesome friend stood in the middle of the chamber while alarms blared around them.
Neither of them had any idea what to do first.
And somehow, that was entirely Aarohi's fault.
Five minutes later, the alarms finally stopped.
The flashing red lights disappeared.
The mechanical arms retreated into the ceiling.
And for the first time in what felt like forever, the chamber became quiet again.
Shadow Hunk leaned against a console and let out a long breath.
Aarohi stood a safe distance away, as if none of this had anything to do with her.
The silence lasted exactly three seconds.
"So..." Aarohi began.
Shadow Hunk looked at her.
"Don't."
"I was just going to say—"
"Don't."
"It wasn't entirely my fault."
"It was entirely your fault."
Aarohi sighed dramatically.
"No one appreciates me."
Shadow Hunk chose not to respond.
He was too tired.
After a moment, Aarohi glanced at the large digital clock mounted on one of the walls.
2:17 A.M.
"Oh."
"What?"
"It's really late."
Shadow Hunk stared at her.
The realization had apparently arrived two hours behind schedule.
Aarohi cleared her throat.
"Since it's this late..."
"No."
"I haven't even finished."
"I know exactly where this is going."
Aarohi pointed around the chamber.
"Can I stay here tonight?"
Shadow Hunk looked at her.
Then at the chamber.
Then back at her.
Aarohi smiled hopefully.
"No."
Her smile disappeared.
"Why not?"
"Because absolutely not."
"But it's late."
"You should have considered that before activating emergency defense protocols."
"That was an accident."
"It was a disaster."
Aarohi folded her arms.
"I'll sleep on that couch."
"No."
"That chair?"
"No."
"This floor looks comfortable."
"It does not."
Aarohi looked around again.
"You know, this chamber is actually quite nice."
Shadow Hunk narrowed his eyes.
"Ah."
"What?"
"Now I understand."
Aarohi immediately became suspicious.
"Understand what?"
"The real reason."
"There is no real reason."
"There is."
"There isn't."
Shadow Hunk pointed around the room.
"You want to stay because this place is comfortable."
"What? No."
"It has air conditioning."
"That is irrelevant."
"It has giant screens."
"I don't care about those."
"It has comfortable furniture."
Aarohi looked away.
Shadow Hunk nodded.
"I knew it."
"Stop acting like you've solved a mystery."
"You have been exposed."
"I have not."
"You have."
Aarohi huffed.
"This is character assassination."
Shadow Hunk walked toward the exit.
"Come on."
"I am not leaving."
"You are."
"I refuse."
"You don't have a choice."
Aarohi planted her feet firmly on the floor.
Shadow Hunk waited.
Aarohi remained where she was.
Shadow Hunk waited again.
Aarohi remained where she was.
Finally he sighed.
Then he walked over, grabbed her by the wrist, and started pulling her toward the door.
"Hey!"
"Let's go."
"Shadow Hunk!"
"Let's go."
"This is unfair."
"Let's go."
"I am being oppressed."
"Let's go."
"I have rights."
"Not in my chamber."
Aarohi gasped.
"I can't believe I trusted you."
"You activated military-grade defense systems."
"By accident!"
The hidden door slid open.
A cool breeze drifted in from outside.
Aarohi made one last attempt.
"Just one night?"
"No."
"Half a night?"
"No."
"One hour?"
"No."
"Thirty minutes?"
"No."
"Five minutes?"
"No."
Aarohi groaned.
"This friendship lacks generosity."
Shadow Hunk ignored her and guided her outside.
The door began to close.
Aarohi pointed an accusing finger at him.
"I am telling everyone how rude you are."
"You can't."
"Why?"
"Because then you'll have to explain how you know where my secret chamber is."
Aarohi froze.
Shadow Hunk smiled.
For the first time that night, he had finally won an argument.
The door slid shut.
Silence returned.
Shadow Hunk stared at the ceiling for a moment.
Then he walked back toward his chair.
Finally.
Peace.
His phone vibrated.
He looked down.
A new message from Aarohi.
I reached home.
A second message arrived immediately.
Also, you're still rude.
Shadow Hunk closed his eyes.
The peace had lasted approximately twelve seconds.