Aymar and Daya moved off to the side, lowering their voices as if they were about to have a private conversation.
It was pointless.
Yuma could still hear them arguing.
For a long while, the two went back and forth about whether they should help. Daya's voice stayed sharp, while Aymar's kept dipping between defensive and tired. Then, suddenly, both of them went quiet.
Aymar turned back toward the boys.
"You guys should head home," he said. "It's getting late now."
Keisuke blinked.
"How can you tell?"
He had a point. There was no sky in this place. No sun. No windows. Nothing that should have let anyone know what time it was.
Yuma glanced around the strange space again, wondering the same thing.
Aymar didn't answer.
"Just do it," he said, already stepping closer to usher them out. "Go. I'll find you guys once I've settled this."
There wasn't much else they could do.
The boys walked toward the black veil that had brought them inside and crossed through it one by one.
On the other side, the mall was already shutting down. Customers passed by with shopping bags in hand while shopkeepers pulled down shutters and locked their doors. The ordinary scene felt strangely distant after everything they had just learned.
Yuma looked at Akira, only to find him walking in silence, lost in thought.
Without saying much, the three of them made their way out of the mall and headed back toward Akira's house beneath the dim evening sky.
***
Night wrapped the outside world in darkness.
Inside Akira's house, Keisuke stood by the window, staring out at nothing. He had been quiet for a while now, his expression distant.
Yuma approached and stood beside him, mirroring his stance.
"What's going on in your head?" Yuma asked, nudging him lightly.
"Nothing…" Keisuke answered without much hesitation. "Just weirded out by everything."
Yuma turned his head slightly, raising an eyebrow.
Keisuke kept looking outside.
"It wasn't that long ago that we were normal kids," he said. "Maybe not Akira, but still. We shouldn't be doing this."
Yuma looked forward again.
He was right.
Not even two months ago, all of this had been a secret Yuma had no involvement in. Conduits, Ikons, resonance, Killian—none of it had been part of his life.
Now he was in the sights of a deranged man and being hunted by desperate people with powers he barely understood.
For now, he had been lucky enough to gather strength. Lucky enough to survive. But knowing what was coming still made his stomach tighten.
Fighting people he didn't even know, people who might be stuck in the same kind of impossible situation as him, was not something he could take lightly.
His mind drifted back to Aymar.
Then a loud bang echoed through the house.
Yuma and Keisuke both snapped toward the sound.
They rushed down the hall toward the office Akira had locked himself inside. The door was already half-open, and when they pushed it wider, Akira sat at his desk with his computer open, looking up at them with one eyebrow raised.
"Wasn't me," Akira said before either of them could ask.
Keisuke stared at him.
"Aren't you concerned?" he whispered.
Akira's eyes shifted back to the screen.
"I have a feeling it's nothing we shouldn't expect."
Then he continued typing.
As if summoned by those words, another presence joined Yuma and Keisuke in the doorway.
The darkness of the hall hid most of his body, leaving only a pair of eyes floating behind them.
"What's going on?" Aymar whispered softly near Keisuke's ear.
"Something is banging in the house…" Keisuke replied without turning around.
Yuma turned first.
A chill ran down his back.
Aymar stood directly behind them, half-swallowed by the dark hallway like some kind of ghost.
The guy was seriously starting to freak him out.
"Oh," Aymar mumbled, a little embarrassed. "That was me."
Keisuke slowly turned around.
For one quiet second, his face went blank.
Then he screamed.
Yuma barely had time to react before Keisuke stumbled backward and shoved him straight into Akira's office. Yuma hit the floor as Keisuke nearly tripped over him, both of them scrambling away from Aymar.
Aymar stared at them, genuinely confused.
Then he stepped into the office like nothing strange had happened.
"Hey, guys!"
Yuma looked up at him, baffled.
The audacity of this guy was almost impressive.
Before anyone could respond, the doorbell rang through the house.
Aymar perked up.
"Oh."
Then he casually turned and walked away, as if he hadn't just broken into someone's house.
Akira looked up from beneath his eyebrows, irritation practically radiating from him. Then, with a quiet sigh, he returned to his computer.
Yuma slowly pushed himself up.
"Aren't you disturbed?" he asked.
"I am," Akira replied flatly. "This guy is annoying."
A moment later, Aymar returned with Daya behind him.
She wore baggy gray jeans and a loose white hoodie. Her expression was calm enough, but every time her eyes landed on Aymar, irritation flashed across her face.
"I told him to knock," she said sternly. "He had other ideas."
No one needed more explanation than that.
They had clearly come to accept the offer.
Aymar had simply decided the front door was optional.
"You didn't break a window, did you?" Akira asked without looking up.
Aymar placed a hand over his chest in mock offense.
"Whoa. Relax. I would never do that." He grinned. "I used my shadows."
Keisuke's fear slowly shifted into curiosity.
"Your shadows?"
Aymar turned toward him and nodded eagerly.
"Yep!"
"It's probably like how I skate around when I move," Akira said, still typing. "At least, that's what I assume he means."
For half a second, Aymar froze.
His expression went dull.
Then he smiled wide and nodded.
"Exactly."
Daya stepped up behind him and smacked the back of his head.
"Exactly no manners," she grumbled.
Aymar rubbed the spot she hit, but the playful look on his face faded as he turned back to Akira.
"Oh, right. If you couldn't already tell, we're here to agree to help." His voice grew more serious. "We'll take down Killian with you."
Then his gaze sharpened.
"My only condition is that Daya doesn't get hurt."
"I can handle myself, idiot," Daya snapped immediately.
Aymar ignored her.
His eyes stayed on Akira.
Akira finally looked up, his expression cold and unreadable.
"Is she your lover or something?"
Aymar froze.
Behind him, Daya's glare burned into the back of his head.
"No," Aymar answered after a pause. "But if it comes down to her or me, you pick her."
Yuma caught the slight shift in Aymar's face.
It was subtle, almost hidden by his darker complexion, but there was no mistaking it.
He was blushing.
Yuma wasn't sure if he had always been able to notice details like that or if his enhanced vision was making it easier. Either way, he could tell Aymar cared about Daya far more than he wanted to admit.
Then Yuma glanced at Daya.
His assumption shattered instantly.
She was blushing too.
Or trying not to.
A faint brightness flickered across her skin, just enough to cover the warmth in her face. She was using her own ability to hide it.
Aymar, of course, noticed nothing.
Yuma sighed and rolled his eyes.
He left the office before the awkwardness could get any worse.
The moment he sat down on the living room couch, the doorbell rang again.
Yuma stared toward the front door.
Of course.
Grumbling under his breath, he stood back up and went to answer it.
When he opened the door, Kae stood outside with a suitcase held upright in front of her.
"Hey, Kae?" Yuma said, his eyes dropping to the suitcase.
Kae looked up from the handle.
The second she saw him, her face turned red.
"Y-Yuma!"
"Hey."
"Um—Akira invited me to stay over while we stop Killian!" she blurted out. "I swear that's the only reason I'm staying over!"
Yuma stared at her.
He had not been about to ask.
The suitcase had already explained enough.
Still, he stepped aside and let her in.
Kae took a few tentative steps past him, moving like she was afraid the floor might reject her. Once she had put enough distance between them, her walk steadied. She leaned her suitcase against the wall and headed straight for the couch.
Yuma sighed and closed the door behind her.
Or tried to.
The door caught on something and slowly swung back open.
Yuma turned, confused.
A familiar, friendly-looking giant stood in the doorway with a backpack over his shoulder.
Hiroshi looked down nervously.
"H-Hey…" he whispered.
Yuma blinked.
"Hey…"
Now he was really lost.
"Um… A-Akira told m-me to come…" Hiroshi explained quietly.
Yuma looked at the backpack, then back at Hiroshi.
Somehow, Akira had not only convinced him to come here, but to stay over too.
"How did he…" Yuma began, then trailed off.
Hiroshi swallowed.
"H-He, uh… filled… me on everything."
Yuma went completely still.
For a second, his face stayed stone-cold.
Then he smiled and moved out of the way.
Hiroshi walked in, unaware of the real reason Yuma had frozen.
Yuma closed the door properly this time, biting back a laugh.
'Filled… me… pause.'
It was so unserious that it almost broke him.
Before he could recover, a loud crackle echoed through the house.
"Everyone, go to the living room," Akira's voice said through the intercom. "I'll join you shortly."
Yuma looked up.
He had an intercom system?
For the first time, Yuma actually paid attention to the size of Akira's house. It wasn't just big. It was a mansion, sitting in a scenic area with every sign of luxury imaginable.
Yuma shook his head.
He could admire Akira's wealth another day.
For now, he headed back to the living room.
When he passed through the large archway, everyone else had already settled into place.
Aymar leaned near the back of the room beside a window, peeking outside every few seconds. Daya stood against the wall near the arch, arms crossed. Kae sat on the left side of the couch, while Keisuke sat in the middle. Hiroshi had taken the single-seat sofa to the right, looking far too large for it.
Yuma sat beside Keisuke and glanced around the room.
It was starting to feel like the beginning of a party.
Like, at any moment, even more people would walk in and crowd the place until the room became a cramped mess.
Then Akira entered.
He stepped in front of the massive flat-screen TV and faced everyone with a serious expression.
"I'm glad you all arrived safely," he began, directing his words mostly toward the four who had just arrived.
The room quieted.
"As you all know, we're in the middle of a greater fight. As much as I wish we could call someone more experienced to handle this, no conduit was available to help, even with Rouge Arrow's assistance."
Akira sighed.
"That means we're on our own. If we want to survive, we need to be able to rely on each other. No one can afford to weigh the group down."
His eyes swept across the room.
"So, please try to get familiar with each other and build some trust."
Yuma's mouth twitched.
Akira noticed.
"And yes," Akira added, glancing at him, "I'm aware of how I sound."
Yuma's smirk widened.
Akira ignored it.
"Which is why I'll start."
He straightened slightly, though the reluctance on his face was obvious.
"My name is Yukigami Akira. I am the current holder of the Ice Ikon, Cheino. I have attained Perfect Echo, but I haven't learned the true extent of my abilities."
He let out a quiet sigh, then opened his arms slightly, gesturing for the others to follow.
For a moment, everyone looked at one another, waiting for someone else to speak.
Not wanting the moment to die, Keisuke cleared his throat.
"Hello, everyone," he said with a polite smile. "My name is Furuhashi Keisuke. I'm the current Crystal Conduit. My Ikon is Carina, and my resonance is sitting at forty-seven percent."
He finished with a small nod.
Yuma took that as his cue.
"Hey. I'm Kanzukuri Yuma. I'm the Frostfire Conduit, and my Ikon is Serapheria." He hesitated for a second before continuing. "My resonance went from five percent to fifteen percent in about a month."
He added the last part on purpose.
He didn't want anyone thinking he would be dead weight.
Next, Hiroshi bit his lip.
His hands tightened around each other, and for a moment, it looked like his anxiety might swallow his words. Then he forced himself to speak.
"H-Hello… M-my name is Yama-m-moto Hiroshi. I-I'm the Glass Conduit, and m-my Ikon is… Marilyn."
He gulped.
"My r-resonance is eighty-nine percent."
The room went still.
Yuma's eyes widened slightly.
Eighty-nine?
Even Akira's attention sharpened.
Hiroshi shrank into himself the moment everyone looked at him, clearly regretting every word that had left his mouth.
After a long moment of fiddling with her fingers, Kae raised her hand like she was in class.
"Um…" she began softly. "My name is Tatsuya Kae. I'm a first-year student at our school. I'm the Ash Conduit, and my Ikon is Jeane D'Arc."
She glanced down.
"My resonance is thirty percent."
Then she went quiet immediately.
As soon as Kae finished, the rest of the group turned toward Aymar.
Aymar looked back at them, surprised by the sudden attention.
"Uh… what?"
Yuma tilted his head.
"We're revealing our Ikons here, man."
"Oh."
Aymar scratched the side of his face.
"Well, y'all can call me Aymar. I'm the Darkness Conduit. My Ikon is Kamori."
Akira's gaze narrowed.
"Your resonance?"
Aymar blinked.
"Resonance?"
He stared for a second, then slowly mouthed an exaggerated "oh."
"Ah, right. My, uh… resonance…"
He paused.
Yuma noticed it.
So did Akira.
Aymar smiled.
"It's at forty-four percent."
Most of the others seemed to accept the answer.
Akira didn't.
He sent Yuma a quick look of skepticism.
Yuma returned it, though not with the same intensity.
Something about that answer was off.
The group's attention shifted to Daya, who had her eyes closed as she leaned against the wall.
"Daya," Aymar called.
She opened her eyes and looked at everyone.
Then she sighed.
"My name is Daya," she said flatly. "I'm the Light Conduit. My Ikon is Daggett. My resonance is fifty-one percent."
Straight to the point.
Akira seemed slightly less suspicious of her because of it, though the doubt didn't fully leave his face.
Aymar, however, was a different matter.
Akira turned back to him.
"Do you mind showing us your marks?" he asked.
His wording was polite.
His tone was not.
Aymar stared at him for a moment, clearly thrown off. Then he tilted his head and forced an awkward smile.
"A bit intimate, isn't it?"
Akira didn't react.
He simply kept glaring.
"It's fine," Akira said. "I wouldn't mind showing mine if you asked."
Aymar looked at him for a long second.
Then he nodded.
"You first, then."
Yuma looked between them, disappointment settling over his face.
'So much for trust.'