The warehouse smelled of dust, old wood, and faint smoke. Outside, the city was quiet, but inside, the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. Haruya flipped open his sketchbook again, tracing the faint, unfamiliar lines that seemed to appear overnight.
"They weren't there yesterday," Kaito muttered, leaning over Haruya's shoulder, eyes wide. "Who drew these?"
Haruya shrugged, tapping his chin with a smirk. "Either someone's sneaky… or we're sleepwalking and somehow drawing our own doom."
Kaito glared at him. "Don't joke. This isn't normal. Look at the arrows, the circles… it's like a map. A very detailed map."
Haruya leaned back, letting his grin fade just slightly. "You think it's connected to her?"
Kaito's fingers tightened around the strap of his bag. "Of course it is. She keeps saying 'lines'… she's not talking about road lines. She means these. These are the lines."
Just then, Riku stepped forward, his voice low but tense. "I don't like this. Whoever left these lines… they're planning something. And it's bigger than just 'The Hunt' gang."
Haruya tilted his head, his playful smirk returning. "Bigger than 'The Hunt'? Then I guess we're in for a really long night."
Before Kaito could respond, a faint glow shimmered from one of the lines on the sketchbook. Both boys froze. It wasn't ink. It wasn't pencil. It was light—tiny, soft, almost like a heartbeat on the page.
"What the—?" Kaito whispered, leaning closer.
Haruya's grin faltered. "Did you see that?"
The glow pulsed, tracing one of the arrows, then stretching across the page, forming a circle that looked strangely like a clock. The hands of the clock spun fast, then stopped at a strange time.
Kaito swallowed, his voice barely a whisper. "This… this isn't just a map. It's a timer. Or… a portal?"
Haruya's eyes sparkled, half-excited, half-worried. "A portal? You mean… like time travel?"
Kaito's jaw tightened. "I don't know, but whatever it is, it's pointing us somewhere. And we need to follow it."
From the shadows of the warehouse, the girl stepped forward again. Quiet. Calm. Her eyes, as always, were unreadable.
"You're beginning to see it," she said softly. "The lines don't just show you places. They show moments. Moments that need to be corrected… protected… or erased."
Haruya tilted his head, confused. "Corrected? Protected? Erased? What does that even mean?"
The girl knelt down, opening her notebook. The same faint glow began on her pages, mirroring Haruya's. "Every action leaves a trace, every choice leaves a line. Follow the lines wrong, and you'll be stuck in a timeline that isn't yours."
Kaito's eyes widened. "You mean… if we go to the wrong place at the wrong time, we could… be stuck?"
She nodded. "Exactly. And you two—especially him," she said, pointing at Haruya, "have a role in fixing what others broke."
Haruya rubbed the back of his neck, trying to process it. "And let me guess… you won't tell us exactly what to do, right?"
The girl smiled faintly. "You must discover it yourselves. The lines guide, but they don't answer. Not yet."
---
Later that night, the gang gathered outside the warehouse. The city lights reflected off broken glass and puddles, the streets quiet but for the faint rustle of wind. Haruya and Kaito led them, sketchbook in hand, following the first glowing line.
"This is insane," Kaito muttered. "We're literally walking into the unknown because some girl said so."
Haruya laughed, swinging the bag over his shoulder. "Come on, Kaito. Where's your sense of adventure? It's dangerous, yes… but it's also exciting. Don't tell me you're scared."
Kaito's jaw tightened. "I'm not scared. I'm careful. There's a difference."
They moved through narrow streets and alleys, the glowing line leading them deeper into the city, away from familiar paths. Every step felt like walking through a dream, one that might suddenly shatter.
From behind, the gang followed, some whispering nervously, others staying silent. All eyes were on Haruya and Kaito, trusting them to lead, yet fearing what awaited them.
Finally, they reached an old, abandoned shrine at the edge of town. The line glowed brighter, almost urging them inside.
Haruya looked at Kaito, a serious glint in his eyes for the first time. "Ready?"
Kaito nodded. "Let's see where this takes us."
The moment Haruya stepped onto the shrine's worn stone floor, the glow enveloped them. Light, warmth, a strange pull that tugged at their very souls.
And then… they were gone.
Gone from the warehouse, gone from the city, gone from the present.
Haruya opened his eyes first. He blinked rapidly. The city was gone. The air smelled different. Crisp, clean, almost like the past itself.
Kaito staggered beside him, looking around. "Haru… where are we?"
Haruya's grin returned, small and nervous. "I think… we just jumped through time."
From the corner of his eye, the girl's figure appeared again, faint, like a shadow caught between two worlds. She pointed forward, her eyes sharp and commanding.
"Then begin," she whispered.
—