Chapter 5: Ash in Her Eyes
"Even angels wear wires when the devil tells them to."
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It had been twelve days since Airi Yamazaki last said Kaito's name aloud.
But that morning, she stood at his apartment door, hand trembling over the bell.
Behind her smile was panic.
Behind her eyes—regret.
And behind her hair, tucked in her collar, was a discreet black surveillance wire.
Kaito already knew.
He had read the signs hours ago.
The two unfamiliar cars parked across the street.
The old lady with the magazine, turning every page exactly every 30 seconds.
And the slight time shift in his mailbox lock—the kind that only happens when someone else has the key.
He watched Airi from the window before she knocked.
> "They sent her back in as bait.
But what they don't know…
is that I already chewed through the hook."
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Ding-dong.
Kaito opened the door.
Airi stood in the drizzle, clutching her schoolbag like it was armor.
> "Kaito…"
Her voice cracked like glass.
He tilted his head. Calm.
"You're early. Surveillance doesn't usually arrive until after lunch."
Her eyes widened for half a second—just enough.
> "What…? No—I just wanted to talk. About everything. What's happening. What they're saying."
Kaito stepped aside wordlessly. Let her in.
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The Reunion, and the Game
He made tea.
Airi sat at his table, surrounded by shadows—real and metaphorical.
> "I didn't want any of this," she whispered.
> "You chose it," he replied evenly.
> "I was forced!"
> "So was I. But I didn't run."
Silence. She stared into her cup, hands shaking.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
> "They're watching everything. Even now."
Kaito looked at her. Slowly.
> "Good."
Airi flinched.
> "Because I want them to hear this."
He leaned closer, eyes burning with something ancient—far older than a teenage boy should carry.
> "Tell them this:
I've seen the cracks in their mask.
I've heard the gears behind the stage.
And I will become the voice they can't mute."
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The Wire Crumbles
Airi burst into tears. Not fake. Not scripted.
> "I never stopped loving you, Kaito… I swear it. But I was afraid."
He looked at her for a long, long time.
Then spoke, quiet and cruelly honest:
> "Then love made you a coward."
He reached into his drawer, pulled out a small signal disruptor, and placed it gently beside her teacup.
> "This jammed your wire ten minutes ago. They've been listening to static."
Airi froze.
Tears stopped midstream.
> "Then why… why did you say all that?"
Kaito stood.
> "Because they're not my audience anymore. You are."
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The Second Flash Drive
He gave her an envelope.
Inside:
A flash drive.
A note: "If you truly want to help me, leak this. But if you're still afraid… burn it."
> "You have one chance to do the right thing," Kaito said.
"But not for me. For yourself."
She took the envelope like it was made of fire.
> "Kaito… what are you becoming?"
He smiled faintly.
> "I'm becoming what they forced into the shadows.
A mirror they can't break."
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Journal Entry – That Night
> Today, I looked into her eyes and saw ash.
Maybe once, she would have saved me.
But now… she's just another relic of the world I lost.
Empathy is a weapon. And today, I chose not to carry it.
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🕊️ Meanwhile… In a Room of Screens
Director Rinko Takarabe watched the silent footage from Airi's wire.
Static.
Then: signal lost.
She didn't blink.
Just turned to the agent beside her.
> "Initiate Protocol WOLF. It's time we stop watching Kaito Shiranami…
and start dismantling him."
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