The morning after the flood was quiet. Kenji had arrived before Aiko was even awake, a silent whirlwind of efficiency who had the power restored and the electronics rebooted in under an hour. When Aiko emerged from her room, the apartment was back to its pristine, sterile state, as if the chaotic J-pop dance party had never happened.
But something had irrevocably changed. When she and Kaito sat at the small table for breakfast, the silence wasn't a wall between them anymore. It was a shared space. It was almost comfortable.
After they ate, Kaito went back to his laptop, his expression growing grim as he scanned whatever information was on the screen. The fragile peace of the morning began to evaporate, replaced by the familiar hum of tension. Aiko found she couldn't just sit and watch anymore.
"Is it them?" she asked, standing a few feet behind him. "The Kageyama?"
Kaito didn't turn around. "They are making moves. Testing our borders. Looking for weaknesses." He finally turned his head, his dark eyes finding hers. "They are looking for you."
Aiko's blood ran cold. "But you said this place was safe."
"It is," he said. "But you cannot stay in this apartment forever. Sooner or later, you will have to step outside. And ignorance is no longer a viable defense. You need to learn how to see."
He stood up and walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, gesturing for her to join him. Below, the city of Tokyo hummed with its usual relentless energy. A river of people, cars, and commerce. It looked perfectly normal.
"The world is not what you think it is," Kaito began, his voice low as he stood just behind her. Aiko was acutely aware of his presence, the warmth radiating from his body. "Most humans are blind. They see only what they expect to see. Their minds automatically filter out what doesn't belong. But you... when you fed the Inugami, you opened a door. The connection you made has permanently changed your perception. You just don't know how to use it yet."
"What am I supposed to see?" she asked, scanning the crowds below.
"Everything," he replied. "Stop looking for things. Just look. Let your eyes go unfocused. Notice the details that feel wrong. The man walking just a little too fast. The shadow that's a little too long. The reflection in a window that doesn't quite match." He placed a hand lightly on her shoulder, his touch sending a jolt through her. "Relax. And see."
Aiko tried. She stared at the people below until her eyes burned, but she saw nothing out of the ordinary. Just a city full of strangers. "I don't see anything."
"You're trying too hard," he said, his voice a patient murmur next to her ear. "Look at that street corner. The man waiting for the light to change. The one in the grey suit."
She focused on the man. He looked completely normal.
"Now look at his shadow," Kaito instructed.
Aiko looked. The sun was high, so the shadow should have been short. But this man's shadow was long, stretching out behind him like it was late afternoon. And as she stared, she saw it twitch, the shape momentarily twisting as if it had an extra joint in its leg. She gasped and took a step back.
"What was that?"
"A minor spirit. A Gaki, probably. Harmless. Drawn to the greed of the financial district," Kaito said, his tone as casual as if he were pointing out a type of bird. "Now look at the woman with the red umbrella."
Aiko found her. A stylish woman walking down the street. "What about her?"
"Count her reflections in the shop windows she passes."
Aiko watched. The first window, one reflection. The second, one reflection. The third... there were two. Two identical women in red walking side-by-side in the glass, while only one walked on the pavement.
A cold horror washed over Aiko. The entire, normal-looking city was a lie. It was a stage, and hidden among the actors were real monsters. She felt a wave of dizziness.
"This is the world you live in now, Aiko," Kaito said, using her first name again. It made the moment feel even more intense.
His gaze then shifted, hardening. He pointed to a black car parked across the street, half-hidden by a delivery truck. "And that is a different kind of monster. They've been there for an hour." He then tilted his head towards the roof of the building opposite them. "And there's another one on the roof. Human. Kageyama's men. They're not trying to get in. They're watching. Waiting for a mistake."
The fear returned, sharper than ever. The hidden spirits were one thing, but the human threat felt so much more immediate. The cage was safe, but it was also a fishbowl.
"How can you fight all of this?" she whispered, her voice trembling. "The monsters, the men... They're everywhere."
Kaito turned her from the window, his hands resting firmly on her shoulders. He made her look at him, his dark eyes burning with a terrifying intensity she had never seen before.
"They made a mistake," he said, his voice a low, vicious promise. "They think you are my weakness. A piece they can take off the board to hurt me."
He raised one hand and gently brushed a stray strand of hair from her cheek, his touch surprisingly soft.
"They are about to learn that you are the reason I will burn their entire world to the ground."