Aika lay on top of her car, basking in the sun while playing a game on her phone. Then she dropped her hands to the sides, clearly bored.
"Seriously… how long is he gonna be in there?"
She turned her head lazily. In the corner stood a large coffee shop.
"I need a mocha."
She jumped down and walked inside, settling at a table in the back.
People glanced her way, whispering and pointing, the way you would if a celebrity had just walked in. She didn't care. She tapped the screen by the table to place an order, then leaned back to wait.
Just then, an unexpectedly chipper voice spoke beside her.
"Is that you, Silence?"
She turned her head to see a guy with red hair, holding a hip flask. His jacket was splashed with too many colors, and he wore a mask etched with the word Dawn in crimson.
"Ha… It's really you. What a surprise!"
Aika frowned behind her mask, clicked her teeth, and turned away.
'What the hell is this walking paint bucket doing here?'
Dawn slumped into the chair across from her.
"Ouch. You hurt my feelings every time, you know that?"
Aika glanced at him. "What do you want, Dawn?"
Dawn leaned in closer. "Come on, can't a teammate say hi to a fellow teammate?"
Aika tilted her head, then waved a hand dismissively. "Hi… now shoo."
Dawn chuckled, lifted his flask, and as it touched his mask, the mouth section opened like a piece of nanotech. He took a sip, and it sealed again.
"Ahh… that hit the spot."
He offered the flask to Aika.
"Here. I know you prefer this to whatever you ordered."
Aika studied him for a moment.
"Fine… you can stay here just a tiny bit longer."
She took the flask. When she brought it to her mouth, her own mask opened the same way, and she drank deep.
"Aisshh… where do you get this stuff? It hits exactly where I want it."
"I knew you'd love it… you can keep that one," Dawn said, pulling another flask from his pocket. "I've got more."
"Really?" Aika asked, her voice tinged with playful excitement.
"Sure." Dawn took another sip.
"Mmm…" Aika's tone softened, almost teasing.
"Careful… I might actually start liking you."
Dawn pointed a sharp finger at her.
"That has always been the plan."
Aika didn't say anything else, just took another sip.
Dawn spoke again. "Our last mission over in District Thirteen was really tough. And since we didn't incur any…" he lifted two fingers in a parenthesis, "…casualties in the team, I and a few others thought it'd be a good idea to have a party at the end of the month."
He glanced at Aika, who was downing the alcohol like it was plain water.
"So… will you join us? We'd love for you to come."
Aika set the flask on the table and shook her head, as though the alcohol was finally catching up to her. Then she raised a finger and wagged it side to side.
"No."
"Huh?" Dawn leaned forward. "Why not?"
"Because I'll be busy. I don't know what I'll be busy doing yet. Maybe busy sleeping, maybe busy watching TV. But yeah, busy."
Dawn grabbed her hand on the table.
"Come on, please… you can't always be the outlier of the team. We only ever see you during missions. Just this once, grace us with your—"
He was still talking when Aika started poking his hand with her hip flask.
"Get this sack of bones away. My answer is no. And the next time you touch me with these nuggets of yours, I'll use a knife."
Dawn withdrew his hand, leaned back with a sigh, and stared at the ceiling. "Ahhh… I tried." A few seconds later, he snapped upright again and pointed his flask at her.
"Don't think I've given up. You're our team leader, remember? What good is a party without the captain? I'm gonna keep pinging your phone every… single… day until you cave."
Aika sighed, her tone flat with exhaustion. "Do I need to call a priest to cast you far away from me?"
Dawn grinned and sat forward again. "I must say, though, you surprised everyone in the team. No, everyone in the entire Authority."
Aika tilted her head. "Huh?"
Dawn spread his hands. "Come on, don't play dumb. The top ten rarely pick up Trial Shadows. Before now, only two ever did. It would be surprising enough if anyone else even tried. But you? You? What possessed you?"
Aika leaned back slightly, not even looking at him as she lifted the flask. "Oh… that."
She took another long sip, like it was nothing worth talking about.
Dawn tilted his head. "Huh? That's it?"
Aika shrugged. "Stop acting like it's such a big deal."
Just then, the waiter came by and set the coffee she ordered on the table with a polite nod and smile.
Dawn, still staring at her in disbelief, finally spoke.
"Well… I will say I'm impressed with him though. His moniker is really awesome. Plus, challenging Taurus the Raging Bull on his first day? That's—"
"What? What did you say?" Aika cut him off, her voice sharp.
"Huh? Oh… about his moniker? I said it was—"
"No… not about his moniker." Aika leaned forward, her tone colder. "…the other thing."
"Taurus? Yeah." Dawn gestured loosely toward the corner of the café. "A while back, I spotted two guys watching a match to the death at the Gauntlet arena on their V-Comm. Apparently…" He pointed at her. "Your Trial Shadow, Abyss, claimed he could defeat Taurus, the King of Brawls, in a match to the death. Crazy stuff, considering you need a really powerful derivative or law as an Initiate to take down a Stage One creature like that…"
He trailed off. The air inside the café had shifted. The temperature dropped in an instant, and thin strands of mist coiled out from the corners.
Dawn froze. His senses screamed a warning as a wave of murderous intent rolled off Aika.
"Uhh… Silence? You okay? Did I… say something wrong?"
But Aika didn't look at him. She was muttering beneath her breath.
"He would never do something like that on his own accord. Those Judicium bastards… How dare they mess with him!"
Mist hissed out from the edges of her mask. Her hair, black only a moment ago, began to bleach into stark white.
Dawn tensed immediately. He'd worked alongside Aika long enough as part of her team to know what that meant. When Silence's hair turned white, it was never just annoyance or irritation. It was the prelude to slaughter.
And the killing intent pouring out of her right now was already suffocating.
But then, as if a switch had been flipped, Aika leaned back and drew a long breath. Her hair bled back to its usual jet black, and the mist around them thinned before vanishing completely.
She exhaled, loud and sharp, then stood. Sliding her hands into her pockets, she turned and walked for the door.
Dawn shifted in his chair, uneasy. "Uhm… where are you going now?"
Aika didn't look back. "To my Trial Shadow."
And just like that, she was gone. The café door swung shut behind her, and the patrons who had been frozen in their seats finally let out the breaths they'd been holding.
Dawn remained where he was, eyes fixed on the exit.
"What was that about?" he muttered.