Aiko stared at Kaito, a mixture of shock and deep affection swelling in her chest.
"Kaito, no," she said, her voice soft but urgent. "We can't. It's a beautiful thought, but you said it yourself, they're watching the building. It's a suicide mission for a tea set."
A rare, confident smile played on Kaito's lips. It transformed his entire face, erasing the weary clan leader and revealing a flash of the reckless man beneath. "They are watching the building for soldiers," he corrected her gently. "They are watching for cars and Yakuza thugs trying to force their way in. They are not watching for the wind."
He was serious. He was actually going to do this.
"I will go alone," he stated, leaving no room for argument. "At the darkest hour of the night. Their watchers are human. They will be tired, their senses dull. They look for brute force. I will give them none."
"But how will I know?" she whispered, the fear for his safety a cold knot in her stomach. "I can't just sit here, not knowing if you're..." She couldn't finish the sentence.
Kaito walked back into the hidden library and returned a moment later. He pressed a small, smooth, dark stone into her palm. It was cool to the touch.
"This is from the mountain shrine where the first pact was made," he explained. "It holds an echo of my family's bond. Now that your senses are open, you can feel it. You won't see me, you won't hear me. But if you hold this and concentrate, you will feel a connection to the spirit within me. A faint, cool flicker, like a candle flame in the distance. As long as you can feel that flame, you know I am safe."
It was a lifeline. A fragile, supernatural thread that would connect them while he was gone.
Hours later, in the dead of night, he was ready. He wasn't wearing his suit, but simple, dark clothing that seemed to melt into the shadows. He stood before her at the door, a silent specter ready to dissolve into the night.
"I'll be back before sunrise," he promised. And then he was gone.
Aiko locked the door, her heart pounding. She went to the sofa, curled up with Mochi, and clutched the small, cool stone in her hand. She closed her eyes and concentrated, pushing away her fear, searching for him in the darkness.
At first, there was nothing. Then, she felt it. A tiny, faint flicker in the back of her mind. It was cool and steady, like a single firefly in a vast, dark field. Kaito. He was out there.
She followed his "flame" for what felt like an eternity. She felt it move steadily through the city. Then, the feeling faltered for a half-second, and Aiko's heart leaped into her throat. A guard? A sensor? The flame wavered, then steadied again, continuing its path. He had bypassed it.
She felt him move upwards, a slow, silent ascent. The fire escape, she realized. The flame grew still, and she pictured him outside her old apartment window, a ghost on the side of a building. The flicker vanished completely for a full, terrifying minute, and Aiko had to choke back a cry. He's inside, she told herself, her knuckles white as she gripped the stone. He's shielded.
The flame returned, steady as ever. He was coming back. She followed the cool, constant flicker all the way through the city, feeling it grow stronger and closer with every passing minute.
Just as the first hint of grey light touched the horizon, she heard the softest click from the front door.
She opened her eyes. Kaito was standing there, a silent shadow in the dim light. He was completely unharmed, not a single hair out of place. In his arms, he carried a dusty, cloth-wrapped bundle.
He walked to the table and gently placed the bundle down. With a surgeon's care, he unwrapped the faded silk. Inside, nestled in the cloth, were four small, delicate green teacups, a perfect match to the lonely teapot.
He carefully arranged them on the table next to the teapot, completing the set.
Aiko, still holding the stone, reached out with her mind to the Tsukumogami. The response was immediate. The faint, sleepy warmth she had felt before was now a wave of pure, profound joy. A feeling of completeness. A soft, spiritual hum of contentment that filled the entire room.
A family, reunited.
She looked up from the happy tea set, tears blurring her vision. Kaito was watching her, a small, tired, but deeply satisfied smile on his face. He hadn't just fought a war for her. He had faced a building full of his enemies and slipped past them like a ghost, all for the happiness of a tiny, forgotten spirit.
All because it mattered to her.