Volume 2: Chaotic Mystery
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Rikuu shut his door with a soft click, clutching the materials Takeshi had given him. He set the items down on his desk, eyes narrowed with determination.
The fingerprints. The passcode.
"If I can crack this…" Rikuu muttered under his breath. "Then maybe I'll finally understand who we're up against."
He booted up his terminal, the glow from the screen painting sharp shadows across his room. His fingers flew across the keyboard, testing code after code, layering encryption on encryption, trying to map impossibilities into possibilities.
But every attempt dissolved into failure.
"No… that's not it either." Rikuu leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. The patterns made no sense. No words, no names, not even coherent numbers emerged. Whoever designed this wasn't merely clever — they were operating on a level beyond his current reach.
"How could anyone… even make this?" The question looped in his head, growing heavier with each failed attempt.
Hours passed. The screen remained stubbornly silent. Rikuu's desk was littered with hastily scribbled notes, crossed-out formulas, half-baked theories. His eyelids drooped, but he forced them open, refusing to give in.
Click. Click. Click. His keyboard echoed relentlessly through the night until, finally, exhaustion dragged him under. He slumped forward, cheek pressed against the desk, still clutching a pen in his hand.
⋯
Morning light crept in through the blinds. Rikuu didn't stir.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Rikuu? You awake?" Ichika's voice rang from the hallway.
"Big brother, let me in! But don't do drugs in here!" Akari added teasingly, her laughter spilling through the door.
Despite their noisy banter, Rikuu didn't move an inch. His breathing remained steady, lost in deep sleep.
Takeshi came around the corner, spotting both girls at the door. He sighed. "You shouldn't force him awake. He spent the whole night working on encryption. His keyboard clicks kept me up too."
"Well… I suppose," Akari muttered, though disappointment flickered in her eyes. She and Ichika clearly needed him for something.
Ichika, however, wasn't one to give up easily. She plopped down cross-legged in front of the door. "I'll wait here then!" she announced loudly, determination etched on her face.
That shout finally stirred Rikuu awake. His eyes fluttered open, head heavy, and he stumbled toward the door.
Click.
It swung open, revealing his three companions staring at him expectantly.
"What do you need?" Rikuu asked groggily, rubbing his eyes.
"We must celebrate," Ichika said firmly, her grin infectious. "Even if we can't be seen by the public!"
Rikuu frowned. "Celebrate? It's not New Year's."
Akari stepped forward, hands on her hips. "It's your birthday, Rikuu. November 18th!"
Takeshi added softly, "You've been under too much pressure lately. All this vengeance, all this tension… You can't make it your whole life."
For a moment, Rikuu winced. He wanted to reject them, to say now isn't the time. But then he saw their faces — their tenderness, their persistence. They weren't just trying to celebrate him. They were trying to keep him from sinking.
"…Fine," Rikuu muttered.
Ichika beamed. "Yes!"
⋯
They piled into a car and headed toward Minato. Though Rikuu tried to mask it, sweat dampened his palms as he stared out the window. Memories clawed at the back of his mind — the smoke, the massacre, the screams.
Beside him, Ichika noticed. She gently reached over and slipped her hand into his. "It's alright," she whispered. "Just don't think about it too much."
Her warmth steadied him. The panic eased, if only slightly.
"…How is she doing this?" Rikuu thought to himself, glancing at her hand in his.
But Ichika froze. A sudden wave of false memories, impossible flashes of a past she never lived, washed through her mind. She quickly let go, forcing a smile. "Ah—sorry. Thought a spider crawled on me."
Rikuu raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Really," she said quickly. Then, with a faint blush, she took his hand again.
⋯
They spent the afternoon in a small karaoke room tucked away in Minato. Laughter filled the air as Ichika belted out off-key songs, Akari teased Rikuu relentlessly, and Takeshi quietly hummed along.
For the first time in weeks, Rikuu allowed himself to smile.
By the end of it, they were exhausted, collapsing onto the couches in a pile of laughter.
"Let's take a picture!" Akari suggested, pulling out her phone. They huddled close, smiling and making silly poses. The shutter clicked.
"Can I print this before going home?" Akari asked eagerly.
Rikuu shook his head. "We'll do it at home."
"But we can't go out in public that much anymore," Akari countered. "Just this once… I want to do it outside."
Rikuu paused, her words cutting through his usual resistance. His heart softened. "…Alright. Just this once."
Akari grinned, rushing off with Ichika and Takeshi toward the small print shop around the corner.
Rikuu stayed behind in an alleyway, waiting for them. But as he leaned against the wall, something caught his eye — two men at the far end of the alley, exchanging small packages.
Rikuu's eyes narrowed. He knew that look. Drugs.
He turned away to give them space, but when he stepped into another alley, he found the same thing. And then another. And another.
"…This isn't coincidence," Rikuu whispered. His chest tightened as he noticed the sheer number of transactions happening around Minato. Scattered drug packaging littered the ground. The smell of chemicals clung to the air.
And then he saw it — stamped onto the side of one of the packages.
The insignia of Kaosu.
His stomach dropped.
He spun on his heel and sprinted back toward the others, heart pounding. He reached them just as they stepped out of the print shop with their framed photo.
"Come on, we need to go. Now." His voice was sharp.
"What? Why?" Ichika asked, startled.
"Too many of them," Rikuu said quickly. "There's a drug empire operating here, and it's tied to Kaosu. We can't stay."
Takeshi's expression darkened. "If we fight, we'll be crushed. We need to warn the higher-ups."
Rikuu nodded grimly. "Agreed. This time, we'll cooperate — even if I wanted to keep it a secret."
They didn't linger. With their framed photo clutched tightly, the four of them slipped out of Minato, the weight of a new threat pressing down on their shoulders.
And though Rikuu said nothing, his heart was already racing ahead.
Kaosu's reach… was wider than any of them imagined.