The official reports from the Chiba coastline hailed the instantaneous collapse of the Rift as a resounding, textbook victory for Commander Masato Aoi's Kōrin Assembly. Sanae Kinoshita received the bulk of the public credit.
Kenji, meanwhile, was back in the cold, analytic heart of the Seimei Initiative's Tokyo headquarters. He was confined to a single, windowless analysis room, preparing for the political fallout.
Akari Hoshina entered, her expression colder than usual. "Your analysis was correct, Ikeda," Akari stated. "The Rift closure was too clean. The official ruling is that the Kyojin's core was fragile. My analysis says you injected a foreign compound."
"Sounds like your analysis needs to be kept in a locked vault, Hoshina-san," Kenji countered, utterly exhausted but refusing to break. "I closed the Rift. That was the mission. Now tell me what's next."
"The risk is that Aoi is not stupid. He's demanding a full, personal debriefing of every asset involved. You are scheduled to be interviewed tomorrow at Jieitai Central Headquarters," Akari stated. "Aoi won't ask about the mission; he'll ask about your character and your methods. If he finds the slightest crack, he will discredit your B-Rank status and use the custody documents against you to punish Volkov."
The Warning and the Visit
Later that evening, Kenji was working on his hidden subcutaneous armor when his comm unit buzzed with a message from an untraceable, secure channel. It was Naomi Sato, using a frantic, distorted voice.
"Kenji! Don't answer—just listen," Naomi pleaded. "Aoi is setting a trap. Kaito Jin is testifying at your debriefing. They are going to use the custody hearing testimony against you, painting you as psychologically unstable. They are trying to strip your rights to Hikari permanently. You have to disappear."
"I will not run," Kenji said quietly, his eyes cold and resolute. "I will not let Aoi win this way."
He knew he couldn't win the debriefing by running, but he couldn't face it without seeing his daughter.
Using his new B-Rank Field Technician access—a privilege he would likely lose tomorrow—he bypassed the curfew protocols. He changed into non-descript civilian clothes, his movements fluid and silent, amplified by the minute Kuro-Tetsu fragments now fused beneath his skin. He needed to be quick and undetectable.
He reached the small, quiet apartment where Hikari was staying with his parents. The neighborhood was dark and peaceful, a world away from the war zone he inhabited.
Kenji slipped through the back entrance. He didn't knock; he simply used his technician's skill to open the lock silently. He moved through the small apartment like a ghost.
Hikari was asleep in her small bed, clutching a worn-out stuffed animal. She looked small, fragile, and perfectly innocent.
Kenji knelt beside her, his chest aching with a raw, fierce emotion that was both his salvation and his downfall. He gently brushed the hair from her forehead, careful not to wake her.
I am doing this for you, he thought, letting the silent promise settle over him like a prayer. No Sentinel, no General, and no Kuro-Shogun will ever take you from me.
He noticed a new drawing tacked to the wall—a stick figure Kuro-Tetsu Taitei towering over two tiny, fleeing figures labeled 'Mommy' and 'Shiny Man' (Kaito). The drawing was a stark reminder of the monster he was becoming, seen through the pure lens of her love.
He spent only two minutes there, memorizing the rise and fall of her breath, grounding himself in the quiet reality of being a father. He had to be perfect tomorrow, not for Volkov, but for this little girl.
He pressed a small, perfectly carved, non-metallic charm into the palm of her sleeping hand—a piece of purified scrap titanium he had made.
Then, just as silently as he arrived, he left.
Preparing the Final Defense
Kenji returned to the Seimei lab, his resolve now ice-hard. He knew exactly how to confront the trap.
He completed the final preparations on his subcutaneous armor, fusing the final fragments. This wasn't for defense; it was for control. If the pressure got too high, he would use the Yami-ishi energy not to attack, but to focus his mind and suppress his body's natural panic response. He would appear preternaturally calm.
He also formulated a plan for Kaito Jin. Kaito's weakness was his arrogance and his dependence on his pristine, pure image.
"I'm going to give Commander Aoi the performance of a lifetime," Kenji muttered, looking at the scarred reflection of the technician. "And I'm going to make Kaito Jin regret ever challenging the scrapper."