The apartment remained silent after Yume shut off the laptop screen.
No one spoke immediately.
The image from the hallway camera still lingered in all three of their minds — Kyouya had left only minutes before they arrived. No panic. No rush. As if he had already known this would happen.
Ginji leaned against the doorway, lit a cigarette, and clicked his tongue.
"This guy seriously pisses me off."
Kairi slowly walked around the room. Too clean. Too organized. No personal photos, no unnecessary belongings, not even a single trace that suggested someone had truly lived here for long.
It felt more like a hideout than a home.
"It's like he's always ready to disappear at any moment," Kairi muttered.
Yume didn't answer. She was checking the drawer beside the laptop when she suddenly stopped.
"Look at this."
In her hand was an automatic locker keycard.
B2 — 117.
Ginji frowned. "Left for us?"
"Or it's a trap," Yume replied flatly.
"Or he wants to meet," Kairi said.
Silence filled the room again for a few seconds.
Finally, Yume stood up.
"Let's go."
…
Axis Shopping Mall was still packed even late at night.
Advertisement lights covered every floor while promotional music echoed through the massive atrium. Endless streams of people passed one another without paying attention to anyone else.
Kairi stopped in front of the lockers on B2 and inserted the card into the scanner.
Click.
The small locker door opened.
Inside was only an old cellphone.
No SIM card.
No contacts.
The screen displayed a single message:
"7th Floor."
Ginji stared at the phone for a few seconds before letting out a dry laugh.
"I seriously hate this mysterious bullshit."
"At least he didn't run again," Kairi replied.
"Or he knew we'd keep following him anyway," Yume said.
…
The seventh floor was almost closed for the night.
The massive food court only had a few stores still lit. The sound of the air conditioner echoed through the quiet space loudly enough that even footsteps became noticeable.
Kyouya sat in the farthest corner.
Gray jacket.
White earbuds resting beside a cup of coffee.
The seat he chose allowed him to see every entrance and emergency exit.
Kairi noticed that immediately.
This guy never allowed himself to be cornered.
Kyouya looked up as the group approached. Not surprised. But it was obvious from his eyes that he had been watching them for a while already.
"I thought it would take you people a little longer," he said first.
Ginji pulled out a chair and sat across from him.
"And I thought you'd keep running."
Kyouya smiled faintly, though the smile barely existed.
"If I wanted to disappear, I wouldn't have left the locker."
Kairi sat down, his eyes never leaving him.
"Then why meet us?"
Kyouya stayed silent for several seconds, as if carefully weighing his answer.
"Because you managed to find the apartment."
He slowly rotated the coffee cup in his hand.
"And that means… sooner or later, other people will too."
Yume narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Other people?"
This time Kyouya didn't answer immediately. He glanced toward the crowd in the distance before lowering his voice.
"You've encountered them before, haven't you?"
"The one who distorted space in Minato."
The atmosphere around the table instantly became heavier.
Kairi remembered the twisted alleyway from that night. Bullets veering off course. Space itself rippling like water.
"Nostra," Kyouya said.
It was the first time that name had appeared.
Yume reacted immediately.
"You know them?"
"Not much," Kyouya answered. "Just enough to understand that it's better not to attract their attention."
Ginji leaned back in his chair.
"Sounds like personal experience."
Kyouya didn't deny it.
That alone made the silence around the table last even longer.
Finally, Kairi spoke.
"You're a Time Breaker?"
Kyouya stared at him for a long moment.
His eyes didn't resemble someone cornered into confession. If anything, he looked like someone calculating exactly how much truth he should reveal.
"…Even if I denied it, you people wouldn't believe me anyway."
Ginji let out a quiet laugh.
"So that's basically a yes."
Kyouya exhaled softly and leaned back in his seat.
"…I guess you people would call it Seer."
Yume kept staring directly at him.
"Guess?"
"Classes are just labels," Kyouya replied calmly. "I don't really care about them."
The answer was incredibly vague.
But it was just enough to reinforce the group's assumptions.
Kairi frowned slightly.
"So you really can see the future?"
Kyouya stayed silent again for a few seconds.
"I just don't like betting my life on luck."
Not a confirmation.
But not a denial either.
Ginji clicked his tongue.
"You're seriously irritating."
Kyouya ignored him completely.
Yume immediately followed up.
"When did you realize we were following you?"
"Around noon."
Kairi froze slightly.
"…That early?"
"You gave yourselves away too much."
Kyouya answered casually.
"The reflections on the store windows. The spacing between your footsteps. And you stared at me for a little too long."
Kairi frowned.
This guy observed everything far too carefully.
Then Kyouya turned toward Yume.
"And you were the one watching the station cameras, right?"
Ginji immediately frowned.
"Wait… you noticed that too?"
"Then why didn't you shake us off?"
"Because I wanted to know who you people were."
This time, Kairi was the one left silent.
Kyouya was far calmer than he had expected.
Not like someone who could see the future and felt absolute confidence.
The opposite, actually.
He looked more like someone who lived in a constant state of extreme caution.
Yume rested both hands on the table.
"At the moment, we have no intention of fighting you."
"And I think you understand this too… if you keep acting alone, eventually Nostra will find you."
Kyouya gave a faint smile.
"So this is a proposal for cooperation?"
"I'm proposing survival," Yume answered.
The atmosphere sank once again.
Kyouya didn't respond immediately. He lowered his gaze toward the table, fingers lightly tapping against the surface as if calculating something in his head.
Then suddenly—
THUD.
Every light on the seventh floor went out at once.
Screams erupted from the lower floors.
A second later—
BOOOOOOM—!!
A massive explosion shook the entire shopping mall.
Glass shattered somewhere below.
Emergency lights immediately flooded the hallway in red.
Kyouya shot to his feet.
It was the first time since they met that his expression visibly changed.
"…Impossible."
Kairi turned toward him.
"What?"
"Impossible."
Kyouya's voice dropped noticeably lower.
"They shouldn't be appearing here."
At that exact moment—
the space at the end of the hallway began to distort.
Like water being violently twisted.
Red emergency lights reflected across the spreading layer of spatial interference.
A figure slowly stepped out from the warped space.
And the instant Kyouya saw him—
he instinctively took half a step backward.
For the first time—
he showed genuine fear.