The silence stretched, taut as a wire. Dust floated in the narrow beams of light filtering through broken glass above, and the low chorus of moans outside made the whole supermarket feel like it was breathing with the dead.
Fifty pairs of eyes watched Riku, waiting, some filled with hate, some with uncertainty. None with trust. Not yet.
Riku stood his ground, the sling of the M4 snug against his chest, hands loose but ready.
"From now on," he said again, voice sharper, "things change."
Murata folded his arms slowly, as though testing how much weight those words carried. His face was impassive, but Riku didn't miss the way his jaw flexed. "Go on," Murata said. "We're listening."
"You barred the dock on us," Riku said, his tone flat but cutting. "That nearly killed me. Nearly killed my little sister Hana." He inclined his head toward the little girl peeking nervously from Suzune's coat. "That won't happen again. If I'm outside that door, it opens. No excuses."
