"I went home for a bit." Akuto opened the fridge, took out two bottles of Coke, and tossed one to Akira.
"Right, there's also this."
Akuto tossed over a bag. "A souvenir."
Akira's mind was in a mess. She sat nearby, looking at Akuto and then at the paper bag in her hand.
After a moment's thought, she opened it.
Inside was…
"A phone?" Akira was stunned. When she opened the box and saw the futuristic phone, which didn't even have a single button on its screen, she was completely dumbfounded.
Most phones nowadays have buttons.
Even the most high-end phones would have a 'home' button below the screen.
A perfect screen, a smooth back cover. The entire phone exuded a sense of technology that felt completely disconnected from the current era.
Akuto wasn't at all surprised by Akira's shock.
After all, the two worlds were separated by about ten years. In the era of exploding electronic products, every year brought rapid changes.
Akira clumsily turned it on. After completing the setup according to the prompts, she immediately opened the phone's settings page.
When she saw the system version was August 2018, she swallowed hard. "You... can travel through time?"
"No." Hearing Akuto's answer, Akira had just breathed a sigh of relief when she heard him explain nonchalantly:
"I travel through worlds, not time."
That's even worse than time travel!
"Alright." Akuto didn't want to waste too much time on this issue. He took out a key and tossed it to Akira.
"This is the key."
"Don't pick the lock next time."
Her fingertips instinctively caught the key. The cold metallic sensation came through, still carrying Akuto's body heat.
Akira's pupils instantly contracted, and the tips of her ears turned bright red in a flash, with heat spreading to her cheeks.
"Who—who picked the lock!" She hurriedly clenched the key in her palm, her knuckles turning white. Her tone was urgent and sharp, carrying obvious panic.
"It was the Inspector who accidentally broke it while checking the scene. It has nothing to do with me!" She argued with her neck stiffened, but her eyes didn't dare look directly at Akuto, quickly glancing elsewhere in an attempt to hide her guilt.
She had brought an Inspector to break down the door because she hadn't found Akuto for a month and was worried he was in danger.
Now, holding his key, it felt as if her little secret had been exposed. She was so ashamed and angry that she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
Akuto looked at her duplicitous behavior, the amusement in his eyes impossible to hide, and his tone was teasing. "Second Class Investigator Mado, it's not a crime to just say you were worried about me."
"I was not!" Akira immediately raised her voice, but it only made her lack of confidence more apparent.
She stuffed the key into her pocket as if afraid it would be snatched away, her pale cheeks held tight.
"Who wants your key! I'm just keeping it for you for now, so I don't have to go through the trouble the next time I come to check for clues!"
She grumbled inwardly. 'How does this guy know everything? With his key in hand, wouldn't their relationship become very strange?'
But the words that came out were stiff excuses; she couldn't bring herself to say 'take your key back' at all.
She gave Akuto a fierce glare. "I was worried you'd die at home, and the smell of rot would affect everyone else."
"If you dare to disappear suddenly again, I'll use this key to move everything out of your house, so you'll be homeless when you get back!"
With that, Akira put away the phone and hurriedly left Akuto's home.
It was as if a dog were chasing her.
Outside, a misty rain was falling.
Akuto drove through the streets. CCG members were everywhere.
They were holding folders, checking them against pedestrians on the street one by one.
Meanwhile, at the Anteiku Coffee Shop.
"Mom, I've learned all the words in this book!" Hinami excitedly showed off to Ryouko.
"I want to memorize even more words so I can give Dad a big surprise!"
"And Mom, Dad's birthday is coming up in a while, right? I want to..."
Ryouko looked at Hinami tenderly, "Do you want to buy a book to give to your father?"
"Yes!" Hinami nodded heavily. Ryouko was a bit hesitant, as things weren't looking good outside lately.
However, seeing the expectant look in Hinami's eyes, she agreed. "Then let's go to the bookstore to buy a book in a little while."
"Okay!"
Mother and daughter went out hand in hand, arrived at the nearest bookstore, bought the book for the father, and walked out.
It was still raining outside.
"Mom, Kaneki-nii says this is called a downpour!"
"Kaneki knows a lot of things." Ryouko opened her umbrella and led Hinami back the way they came with a smile.
"Yeah! Even Dad doesn't know, so Hinami knows things Dad doesn't!"
"Isn't that impressive?" Hinami was quite excited, skipping through the puddles as she walked forward.
"It's been a long time since I've been out with Mom." Ryouko, who was smiling, suddenly froze.
Not far away, two White Doves were holding documents and inspecting passersby one by one.
Ryouko saw from a distance that the things in those folders were photos of the clothes she and Hinami wore daily!
Lady Ryouko immediately pulled Hinami and started walking in the opposite direction.
"Mom, what's wrong?"
"Mom suddenly remembered I have something to do."
The abnormal behavior of the two immediately caught the CCG's attention.
However, the crowd was dense and it was raining, so everyone was walking quite fast.
Hinami and Ryouko quickly put some distance between themselves and the CCG White Doves.
Just as Ryouko breathed a sigh of relief, Hinami suddenly stopped. "Hinami?"
Ryouko looked back at her daughter in shock. The White Doves behind were still trying to push through the crowd; if they didn't leave now, they wouldn't be able to escape.
But Hinami took a deep breath and said with joy. "It's Dad!"
With that, Hinami ignored Ryouko's attempts to stop her, broke free from Ryouko's hand, and began to run wildly.
"Hinami! Wait!"
Ryouko was frantic, chasing after her. "Wait! Hinami! Come back!"
Ryouko saw Hinami running faster and faster, her heart as anxious as an ant on a hot griddle.
Soon Ryouko was hindered by the hurried passersby, while Hinami ran faster and faster, shouting "Dad."
"Hinami! It's dangerous! Come back!"
Ryouko didn't even bother to pick up her umbrella, stumbling along behind.
At that moment, Hinami ducked into a small alley.
In the alley, two people, one tall and one short, were waiting quietly.
When Hinami saw the two complete strangers and the scent belonging to her father emanating from them, her pupils gradually shrank.
"Hinami!"
Ryouko also arrived right behind her.
When she saw the two people standing in the rain curtain not far away and the cases in their hands, her heart gradually grew cold.
"This scent... what is it?" Hinami looked at the two people in front of her in terror.
At this moment, Akuto's voice couldn't help but echo in Ryouko's mind.
"This brat is clearly used to being willful."
"The kind of brat who will get the people around her killed because of her own selfishness."
"Then your education is truly a failure."
"I'll give you a suggestion: go up now, catch her, and give her a severe beating. Beat her until she begs for mercy, beat her until she never forgets it."
"That way, you might still live."
"Otherwise, not only will you be killed by her, but everyone here will be killed because of her." Ryouko's lips trembled, and her heart beat like a drum.
She even wondered, if she had listened to Akuto back then, would the situation be different now?
But it was too late for everything.
The entrance to the alley was also blocked by two White Doves.
With wolves in front and tigers behind.