Shin'ya leaned back in his chair.
"Well, since we're apparently comparing abilities..."
He reached into his clothes and slightly pulled Ketsugai out.
Aki's eyes immediately went toward the blade.
"Wait."
He leaned forward.
"Is that the sword you were carrying?"
"Yeah."
Shin'ya pulled it back slightly, just enough for Aki to see it.
"It's the one."
He tapped the hilt.
"It's called the Ketsugai, and my powers are bound to it."
Aki stared at the sword.
"So what is your power specifically?"
He thought for a moment.
"I saw one of your feats earlier. You were able to create a small wall."
"Oh, that?"
Shin'ya nodded.
"My powers are shadows."
Aki waited.
"Basically, I have some fixed abilities in my kit."
He raised a finger.
"My most personal favourite, my very first, and probably the best one..."
Shin'ya grinned.
"Shadow Slip."
Aki raised an eyebrow.
"What does it do?"
"It lets me enter my own shadow and move around through it."
Shin'ya paused.
"Or teleport."
Aki stared at him.
"...WHAT THE GENUINE FUCK?!"
Shin'ya smiled proudly.
"I know, right?"
Aki pointed at him.
"THAT'S OP!"
"Anyway."
Shin'ya raised another finger.
"I also discovered that Shadow Slip can be used as storage."
"Storage?"
"Yeah. I call it Shadow Storage."
Shin'ya shrugged.
"The space is pretty limited, but it can carry most things I need."
He glanced down at himself.
"Although I don't really have much stuff on me anyway."
Aki nodded slowly.
"Alright."
Shin'ya raised another finger.
"Then there's my only offensive ability."
"Shadow Slash?"
"Exactly."
Shin'ya looked at him.
"Self-explanatory, right?"
"Pretty much."
"Well, that wall I created earlier?"
Aki nodded.
"I manipulated Shadow Slash so it spread out more."
"You manipulated it?"
"Yeah."
Shin'ya scratched his head.
"I don't really know how I do that."
He shrugged.
"I just... do it."
Aki stared at him.
"You can modify your own abilities?"
"Apparently."
Shin'ya smiled.
"Shouldn't I be able to modify my powers however I like?"
Aki didn't answer.
Shin'ya continued.
"I launched a low-powered Shadow Slash with less destructive force, but spread it out over a wider area."
He gestured vaguely with his hands.
"That's how I made the wall."
Aki slowly nodded.
"...I see."
"Then lastly—"
Shin'ya raised one final finger.
"Bind."
Aki blinked.
"Bind?"
"Shadow Bind."
Shin'ya leaned back.
"It lets me stun an enemy."
Aki was silent.
He looked at Shin'ya.
Then at Ketsugai.
Then back at Shin'ya.
"...Shin."
"Hmm?"
"Bro."
Aki pointed at him.
"That's broken."
Shin'ya blinked.
"Really?"
"Your powers are better than mine."
Shin'ya looked down at his hand.
Then at Ketsugai.
Then back at Aki.
"You think so?"
He thought about it.
"Actually..."
He shrugged.
"Nah. Reasonable."
Aki stared at Shin'ya.
"Reasonable?"
"Yeah."
"You can teleport."
"Technically."
"You have pocket storage."
"Shadow Storage."
"You can attack from a distance."
"Yep."
"You can bind people."
"Yep."
"And you can apparently modify your abilities."
Shin'ya nodded.
"Sounds about right."
Aki slowly turned toward Koharu.
"Koharu."
"What?"
"Do you hear this?"
Koharu sighed.
"Unfortunately."
Aki pointed at Shin'ya.
"This guy has an entire skill tree."
Shin'ya raised an eyebrow.
"An entire skill tree?"
"Teleportation. Storage. Offensive attack. Binding. Customization."
Aki counted each one on his fingers.
"I have an ability that requires me to remember an entire dream perfectly."
Shin'ya gave him a sympathetic look.
"That's rough, buddy."
"Don't 'rough buddy' me!"
Koharu shook her head.
"Meeting Shin was probably the worst possible scenario."
Shin'ya looked at her.
"Why me?"
"Because now there are two of you."
Aki nodded.
"Fair."
"HEY."
The three of them fell silent for a moment.
Aki suddenly leaned back in his chair.
"Man..."
Shin'ya glanced at him.
"What?"
Aki smiled faintly.
"It has been so long since I've felt this at ease."
His voice became quieter.
"I'm actually laughing and talking like someone normal."
Shin'ya noticed the change in his expression.
"Without worrying about an organisation chasing me."
Shin'ya's expression immediately changed.
"Organisation?"
Aki looked at him.
"Oh."
He paused.
"Those people."
"Yeah."
Shin'ya leaned forward.
"So, Aki... don't mind me asking, but what exactly are they trying to do?"
Aki hesitated.
"Well..."
He looked down at the table.
"They're an organisation called Accord."
Shin'ya waited.
"They hunt people with supernatural abilities who arrive in this world."
Shin'ya's expression slowly became serious.
Aki continued.
"And they discovered that these abilities are stored within the organs of people like us."
Silence.
Shin'ya didn't respond.
"...And?"
Aki looked away.
"They harvest the organs."
Shin'ya stared at him.
"..."
Koharu remained quiet.
For once, Shin'ya had nothing to say.
Messed up, right?
The voice was distant.
He couldn't even properly process it.
Hunting people down...
Harvesting their organs...
Just to obtain their powers?
His fingers slowly curled against the table.
For what reason?
Why do they want them?
What's the point?
He wanted to ask Aki.
He really did.
But something stopped him.
It felt inappropriate.
Aki had clearly been running from these people for a long time.
Some questions weren't meant to be asked simply because you were curious.
So Shin'ya stayed quiet.
His thoughts, however, wouldn't stop.
I would've really liked to help.
He looked at Aki.
I really would.
But then another thought surfaced.
But I can't stay.
Can I?
Shin'ya lowered his gaze.
Or should I force myself to stay?
His mind immediately went back to everything he had already experienced.
Yuki's world.
The deserted world.
The sci-fi world.
Sera's world.
The parallel world.
And now this one.
He had never been able to choose when to leave.
Sooner or later, sleep would take him somewhere else.
But for once, he actually wanted to choose.
Can I help you guys end it?
Shin'ya clenched his fist beneath the table.
He didn't know.
And that uncertainty bothered him more than he wanted to admit.