"The noise stopped."
They waited in silence for a minute or two. The knocking didn't come again. The tension in their hearts finally began to subside.
"Arata, hurry up and fry the steaks! I'm starving to death!" Power shouted, her torso poking out of the kitchen, blissfully unaware of the knocking.
"I'll teach you how, so you won't go hungry when you're home alone." Arata headed into the kitchen to give Power a cooking lesson.
"Aki, don't worry about it; it was probably just someone knocking on the neighbor's door." Denji headed back to his room, dismissing the incident entirely.
Aki Hayakawa remained on the sofa, watching TV.
"Anyone else want steak? Aki, Denji, you two eating?" Arata asked after the steaks were done.
"I'll pass. I'm not used to eating at night," Aki replied.
"Don't even ask! Denji definitely won't eat, it's all mine." Power snatched all the steaks back to her room, locking the door behind her just to ensure Denji couldn't steal any.
"Let's sleep. Tomorrow the 'Protect Denji' campaign continues." Arata headed into Denji's room. A moment later, Aki followed, carrying his quilt and pillow.
"Aki, you're in the wrong room, aren't you?"
Aki didn't answer immediately. He used his foot to kick the door shut. "Denji could be in danger at any moment. It's better if we stay concentrated when we sleep—if the enemy attacks at night, we won't be separated."
"We should've called Power, too," Denji said.
"I already tried. She's locked her door and won't let anyone in, so just leave her be for now."
"Aki, why don't you take the bed? I don't sleep anyway," Arata suggested from the desk, where he was reading the Dark Scripture.
"Alright." Aki agreed instantly and jumped up.
"Aki, I was just being polite, you really took it?"
"You don't need to sleep, so you don't need the bed." Aki laid his bedding out on the mattress.
Seeing both of them settled, Arata threw himself between the two men. Three grown men crammed into one bed.
"What are you doing!" Aki frowned deeply.
"It's not often we get to sleep together; we should take a commemorative photo." Arata raised his phone, snapping a selfie of the three heads. In the photo, Denji was sticking his tongue out, Arata had a standard smile, and Aki looked utterly miserable, as if he wanted to kick them both off the bed.
"Tomorrow when Division 4 is all here, we'll take a group photo."
"Boring. Memorials like that are best left undone—nobody knows who might lose their life in the next operation." Aki had never taken a group photo since joining the Special Division.
"Don't worry, nobody is going to die. Everyone in Division 4 will live until retirement."
"Enough, go to sleep." Aki turned to the side, forcefully ending the conversation.
"Master, let's take a few more!" Arata and Denji huddled together, making various funny faces.
Midnight passed unnoticed. The lights went out, and the house fell into darkness and silence.
Creak~
A faint sound emerged from the dark. It sounded like someone twisting a doorknob.
Creak~
"Who is it!!"
The room's light flickered on as Power threw her door open.
"Nobody?"
"Impossible. I clearly heard someone trying to open my door just now."
"It must be Denji, trying to steal my steak while I sleep."
Convinced it was Denji, Power marched toward his room to issue a warning. Opening the door, she found only Aki and Denji lying in bed. Arata was missing.
"Did Arata sleep in Aki's room instead?" Power walked straight toward the sleeping Denji and stepped directly onto his face with her bare foot. "Hey, was that you trying to open my door?"
The pungent smell of feet and the sensation on his face woke Denji up instantly. He thought an enemy had struck, but seeing Power standing there, he raised his fists. "What are you doing!!!"
"Just telling you: don't you dare try anything naughty while I'm asleep."
"What are you talking about?"
"I don't need to explain. You know what you did." With that, she turned and left, leaving Denji behind, bewildered and smelling like rotten cheese.
"Damn you, Power! That stinks!" Denji held his nose and got up to wash his face, but found the bathroom door locked from the inside.
"Hey, Power, open up!" he knocked impatiently, convinced Power was inside.
"What do you want now?" Power stepped out from her own room.
"Who's in the bathroom?"
"Maybe Arata? I didn't see him."
"Fine."
Denji stood by the door, yawning, his eyelids heavy enough to make him fall asleep standing up.
Creeeak~
The door cracked open. Too tired to check who came out, Denji pushed the door and walked in. He turned on the faucet and lowered his head to splash water on his face. The open bathroom door slowly drifted shut behind him.
THUD!
The sound of a skull colliding with metal. Denji felt a massive blow to the back of his head. Before he could react, he face-planted into the sink and collapsed onto the floor.
"These two are never going to quit!!"
Aki, woken by the repeated noises, walked out of his room in a rage. Seeing the living room empty, he noticed the lights were on in Power's room and stormed in. Power was lying on her bed, choosing which breast pads to wear tomorrow.
"Aki, what are you two doing, not sleeping in the middle of the night?"
"It's Denji's fault! He tried to open my door in the middle of the night, and now I can't sleep."
"Where's Denji?"
"Don't know. Probably in the bathroom."
Understanding the situation, Aki glanced toward the bathroom, ignored it, and headed back to his room. A while later, the door to Aki's room was pushed open. Aki lay half-awake on the bed.
"Denji, have you seen your Master?"
There was no reply. The door remained ajar. Aki felt something was wrong. He grabbed his long sword and approached the door slowly. After scanning the hallway and finding nothing, he called out.
"Arata! Denji!!"
He shouted loudly, but there was no response. He noticed the bathroom door was slightly ajar. He moved toward it, his guard up.
Pushing the bathroom door open, Aki's heart skipped a beat. Denji was lying on the floor, his head covered in blood.
Swish!!
There was movement behind him. Aki crouched instantly, swinging his long sword forward.
CLANG!!
He felt the blade strike something metallic. He swung again and again.
"What's the matter? Stop bothering me while I'm picking my breast pads!"
The clanging outside drew an annoyed shout from Power, who stepped out of her room.
"Power, watch out! There's an enemy hiding in the house!"
"An enemy!!" Power tensed up immediately, slammed her door shut, and the sound of a lock clicking echoed through the hallway.
"..." Aki was speechless. But he couldn't afford to be careless. Whoever had attacked him was very likely an invisible man.