I opened my eyes and it seemed to be already morning. Ayane still asleep right there.
"Hey you too, I don't think we have time to rest all day"
That was his voice, annoying like always.
"What the hell, it's already another day"
Ayane woke up still half asleep.
"Come out you too we need to make preparation "
Well, it's finally time.
We prepared ourselves and finally sat together. The map Kaito brought earlier still spread out between us. Half-empty cups of tea had gone cold, untouched. Outside, the sky was grey but calm—the kind of quiet that comes before something breaks.
Ayane leaned back, arms crossed, scanning the map with the same intensity she used when staring down a blade.
"So?" she said. "What's the move?"
Kaito exhaled, tapping a mark near the city's northern sector. "I've got whispers. Movement. One of Satarou's inner lieutenants resurfaced near here. Could be a lead."
"We go in?" Ayane asked.
"Too soon," Kaito replied. "We're two people against an entire network. Maybe three if you count me. We need more."
I spoke then. "Then maybe it's time we tangled ourselves in the past."
Ayane looked at me. "That's cryptic, even for you."
I glanced between the two of them. "There might be people who can help."
Kaito raised an eyebrow. "People?"
Ayane mirrored him. "What people?"
I leaned forward, voice low but steady. "Before everything fell apart, there were individuals in the Fushiguro clan who didn't stand with Satarou. They didn't disappear because they were weak—they vanished because they wanted no part in what was coming."
"You're saying they left?" Kaito asked.
I nodded. "Years ago. When I was still a kid. They didn't rebel openly—they just vanished. Quietly. Completely. My father hated them for it."
Ayane narrowed her eyes. "And you think they're still alive?"
"I do," I said. "Because if he found them, he would've made a statement. That's how he works. But there was never a word. Not even a whisper."
Kaito frowned. "And you think they'd help us? Just like that?"
"No," I said. "But they were survivors. They didn't side with him. And if we offer something they care about—protection, a shot at freedom, a way out—they might listen."
Ayane leaned forward slightly. "Who are they?"
I shook my head. "They never had real names. Not ones anyone used. Just call signs. Disappearing was part of their skill set. But they weren't nobodies."
"They were high-ranking?" she asked.
"Very," I said. "Trained. Trusted. Dangerous. If they're still out there, they know more about my father's reach than we do. And if they've been hiding all this time, they're definitely aware of what's coming."
Kaito sat back, arms folded. "How do you even plan on finding them?"
I glanced toward the window, the rain starting to tap again. "I don't need to find them. Just need to send a message."
Ayane's voice was cautious. "And if they answer?"
I met her gaze. "Then maybe, just maybe, we won't be outnumbered."
Ayane's eyes were fixed on a crack in the table.
Kaito finally broke the silence. "Even if they're alive, how do you plan to reach them? It's not like they're waiting by the phone."
I looked up. "I'm not sending a message."
Both of them glanced at me.
"I'm going to them," I said. "Or at least… where I think they might be."
Ayane frowned. "You know where they are?"
I paused, letting the words settle before I spoke.
"There's a place. A cave—more like a buried outpost. It's outside the city. Remote. Hidden in the rocks past the eastern ridge."
Kaito leaned forward slightly. "How do you know about it?"
"I found it when I was a kid," I said, voice low. "I was following them. High-ranking, dangerous. The kind that didn't talk, didn't train others. Just... moved like ghosts."
"They saw you?"
"No, maybe. I was quiet back then. Smaller. They slipped out after midnight. I followed them all the way past the old boundary line. Thought I lost them until I saw one of them vanish behind a rock face."
"And?" Ayane asked.
"I went back. Alone. Found a crack in the stone, a trail leading downward. Inside—it wasn't just a cave. It was reinforced. Quiet. Cold. Stocked with weapons and supplies, like it was waiting for someone to come back."
Kaito folded his arms. "And you think that's where they've been hiding all these years?"
"If they're alive, yes."
Ayane tilted her head. "And you're sure your father didn't know about it?"
I shook my head. "If he did, they wouldn't still be breathing."
She glanced down. "So we just show up and hope they don't kill us?"
Kaito's tone was even, but the caution behind it was clear. "We're talking about former Fushiguro elites. If they see us as a threat—"
I smirked, cutting him off. "They won't be able to kill me."
Kaito blinked.
Ayane looked up, unimpressed. "Wow. Modest."
I shrugged. "They're good. I'm better."
She rolled her eyes, but there was the faintest trace of a grin on her lips.
Kaito exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Alright then. Guess we're going cave diving."
I stood. "We leave at sunrise."
No one argued.