Azure woke with a warm feeling on his shoulder.

  Not the usual warmth—not from sunlight seeping through the thin curtains, or from the thin blanket shifting in the middle of the night. This warmth was soft, steady, and rhythmic. Like something alive.

  Slowly, very slowly, he opened his eyes.

  Akari's face was only ten centimeters from his.

  Her blue hair was messy, strands falling across her cheek. Her eyes were closed, lips slightly parted, breath going in and out peacefully. In sleep, all her sharpness and sarcasm melted away. She looked... peaceful. Young. And very, very close.

  Azure froze.

  His heart, usually calm and controlled, suddenly pounded against his ribs as if trying to escape. The back of his hands tingled. His mind—usually filled with strategy, threat analysis, and revenge plans—was now completely empty, occupied only by one very strong awareness: Akari. Here. So close.

  The dividing pillow between them was gone. Perhaps pushed to the edge of the bed during the night. Perhaps kicked away. What was clear was that now, there was no barrier.

  Azure didn't dare move. Even breathing, he did as quietly as possible, afraid any slight movement would wake Akari. He could only stare, trapped in a moment too fragile and too real.

  Then, Akari's eyelashes fluttered.

  Slowly, her eyelids lifted. Those blue-green eyes, still hazy with sleep, caught the image of Azure's face right before her. It took a second for her brain to process. Then—

  Whoosh.

  Akari shot backward, rolling to the other side of the bed, nearly falling to the floor. Her face flushed red to the tips of her ears.

  "A-AZURE?! What the—I—YOU—why?!"

  "I didn't do anything!" Azure sat up immediately, hands raised like someone surrendering. "I just woke up!"

  "THEN WHY WAS YOUR FACE THAT CLOSE?!"

  "That's not my fault! I didn't move!"

  "SO YOU WERE STARING AT ME SLEEPING ALL NIGHT?!"

  "NO! I was sleeping too! I just woke up!"

  "LIES! YOUR EYES WERE OPEN!"

  "THAT'S BECAUSE I JUST REALIZED! AND YOU JUST REALIZED TOO!"

  They yelled at each other in whispers, because the apartment walls were thin and Bibi Ina downstairs had sharp hearing. Akari grabbed the pillow that had been thrown to the end of the bed and hugged it tightly, as if it could protect her from the embarrassment exploding in her chest.

  Azure looked down, staring at the bedsheet with an intensity unworthy of a plain sheet. His face was no less red.

  "I'm... sorry," he finally said, voice hoarse.

  "What are you sorry for?!" Akari shot back, still red. "YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING EITHER! THIS IS JUST A POSITIONING MISTAKE!"

  "Yeah. Positioning mistake."

  "WHERE DID THE PILLOW GO?!"

  "I don't know. Must have fallen."

  "OH."

  Silence.

  Akari buried her face in the pillow. Her voice was muffled. "I'm deleting this scene from memory."

  "Go ahead."

  "You should delete it too."

  "Already deleted."

  "LIES! YOUR FACE IS STILL RED!"

  Azure covered his face with his hands. "Because I'm hot."

  "MORE LIES! THE AC IS ON!"

  He had no answer for that.

  From outside the room, a small cough was heard. Not from a neighbor. Not from Bibi Ina.

  From Azure's phone.

  They both turned simultaneously toward the small table, where the emergency communication device given by Nox was vibrating and lighting up. An incoming message—encrypted, readable only with a special code.

  Akari immediately shifted modes. Her red face slowly faded, replaced by a wary expression. She grabbed the phone, typing a few lines of commands to decrypt it.

  The screen displayed a brief message from Nox.

  There's a contact in Asterion. A woman. Her name is Hana. Former Federation intelligence analyst, now freelancer. Specialization: system infiltration, data extraction, identity forgery. Can be trusted. Address and passcode attached. You need access to the Federation database, and she's the only one who can open the door for you without drawing attention. Meet her. Say: "The streetlights in Meridian went out three nights in a row." She'll know. Don't be late. The situation here is becoming increasingly unstable.

  Akari read the message twice, then let out a long sigh. "I thought we'd have time to adjust first. Turns out Nox is throwing us straight into the water."

  Azure took the phone, reading it again. "Hana... Do you know her?"

  Akari nodded, but hesitantly. "Long ago. When I was still active in the Zapire underground network, before focusing fully on the workshop. She's... kind of weird. A genius, definitely. But weird."

  "Weird how?"

  "Introverted. Hard to talk to. But when she gets going on codes, encryption, or security system weaknesses, she's like someone possessed. I remember her spending three hours explaining the differences between 7th and 8th generation security protocols without blinking. While I just sat there, mouth open, not understanding anything." Akari shook her head, but the corner of her lips lifted slightly. "She's also... cute. Like a doll. Really loves collecting animal keychains."

  Azure processed this information. A genius hacker with a collection of animal keychains. Sounded like a character from a fantasy novel he'd never imagined meeting in real life.

  "Is she dangerous?" Azure asked.

  "Dangerous?" Akari frowned. "Not dangerous. She's just... unusual. If you're a normal person, talking to her is frustrating. But if you need access to data protected by five layers of encryption and AI-based firewalls, she's like a god."

  "Sounds like just the person we need."

  "Yeah." Akari stood up from the bed, grabbing her brown wig. "Let's go. We're meeting her now."

  They set off to the place Nox had sent, and it took time—an hour from the apartment.

  The address Nox gave took them to the Old District—Asterion's forgotten area, on the western outskirts where glass towers gave way to worn brick buildings and narrow alleys. Here, hologram lights were rarer. Hero ads only appeared on small, cracked screens. The air felt drier, quieter.

  They stopped in front of a nearly crumbling apartment building. The paint was peeling, the iron fence rusty, and the bell didn't work. Akari pressed the code Nox gave into the worn-out intercom panel—a sequence of numbers that made no sense, but it worked. The heavy iron door opened with a long creak.

  Third floor. Room 3B.

  Azure knocked. Three fast knocks, two slow. The predetermined pattern.

  No answer. Just silence.

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  He knocked again.

  Still quiet.

  "Maybe she's not home," Akari whispered.

  Only then, a sound came from behind the door. Not footsteps, but the sound of crawling. Like someone moving on the floor with their knees. Then, the rustling of paper and something falling—thud—maybe a book, maybe a box.

  The door opened a crack, only about ten centimeters, still held by a safety chain.

  One eye peered through the gap. Hazel-brown eyes, large and round, with an expression mixing curiosity and fear.

  "...Who?" The voice was small, almost a whisper. Very soft. Very cautious.

  Akari stepped forward. "Hana. It's me, Akari. From Zapire. Remember? We were on a team together during that operation to get data from the weapons factory."

  The eye widened slightly. The safety chain shifted, then the door opened.

  The woman at the threshold was small. Not extremely short, but slender and petite, making her look like a teenager even though her age must have been over twenty. Her hair was straight, shoulder-length black, with an uneven fringe that slightly covered her eyebrows. She wore a loose shirt with a cartoon bear character, and sweatpants with one leg rolled higher than the other. Her feet were bare.

  Around her neck hung many keychains. Rabbit, cat, panda, bear, fox, and one that Azure couldn't identify—maybe an alpaca.

  She stared at Akari with sparkling eyes, then stared at Azure with a confused expression, then back to Akari.

  "A-Akari...?" Her voice trembled. "Really?"

  "Yeah, Hani. It's really me."

  Hearing that nickname, something in Hana's face melted. She opened the door wide—and suddenly,without warning, she jumped and hugged Akari.

  The hug was intense. Like a child who had lost their parent and just found them again. Her face buried in Akari's shoulder, her hands gripping the gray hoodie tightly.

  "I thought... I thought you all... forgot me..." her voice was soft. "It's been so long. So long..."

  Akari froze for one second, then—awkwardly, because Akari wasn't used to gentleness—she rubbed Hana's back. "Yeah. A long time. But I remember, okay? Wouldn't forget."

  Azure stood beside them, feeling like an uninvited stranger at a family reunion. He looked away, giving them space.

  After a moment, Hana released her hug. Her eyes were red and wet, but she quickly wiped her tears with her sleeve, as if embarrassed to show her vulnerability for too long. She looked down at the floor.

  "Sorry... got you wet..."

  "It's okay," Akari said. "It'll dry."

  Hana nodded slightly, then slowly lifted her face toward Azure. Her large eyes stared at him with a mix of curiosity and fear—like a cat seeing a stranger for the first time.

  "W-Who's... that?"

  "Azure," Akari answered. "Partner. From the... same organization. He's the one with the shadow element I told you about."

  Hana's eyes widened. "Shadow... element? Really?"

  Azure nodded, slightly hesitant. "Yes."

  Hana approached him slowly, like approaching a wild animal. Without asking permission, she extended her index finger and touched Azure's arm, then quickly pulled it back. As if testing if Azure was real.

  "Cool," she whispered, almost inaudibly. "I've never seen a shadow element before. In the Federation, it's classified as an 'unstable anomaly' and rarely documented. But from the literature I've read, its potential is actually enormous. Spatial and perception manipulation abilities, association with the shadow dimension, possible connection to—"

  "Hana," Akari cut in gently. "Breathe."

  Hana stopped, took a long breath. "Sorry. I'm... talking a lot. Usually not like this."

  "Yeah, I know. I've known."

  Hana smiled shyly. A sweet, innocent smile. "Come in. I'll make tea."

  Hana's apartment was a maze.

  Not architecturally, but in terms of items. Books were piled in every corner—not just on shelves, but on the floor, on chairs, on tables, even on the windowsill. Mostly about programming, cryptography, network architecture, and some light novels with anime character covers. On the wall hung a large whiteboard covered in code scribbles and diagrams meaningless to Azure.

  In the middle of that chaos, there was a strange order. Every stack of books had color-coded sticky notes. Every cable on the floor was neatly tied with cable ties. And at the main work desk, three large monitors displayed slowly scrolling lines of code.

  "Sit," Hana said, pointing to a small sofa that seemed to be the only spot not covered in books. She herself walked to the tiny kitchen, turning on an electric kettle.

  Akari sat first, casually tossing a pile of books to the floor. Azure sat beside her, still feeling awkward.

  "So," Akari said, "Nox said you could help us access the Federation database."

  Hana poured hot water into three cups. Her movements were careful, almost ritualistic. "Depends on... which database."

  "Project Raijin."

  Hana's hand stopped. For the first time, her expression changed—from shy and awkward to something sharper. More focused.

  She put down the kettle, then turned around. "Raijin... lightning element bioengineering project. Research base in Zapire, but main servers in Asterion. In the Federation tower, 47th floor. Protected by 9th generation quantum encryption and four-layer biometric verification."

  She stated all that in a flat tone, like reading a menu.

  "You know?" Akari raised an eyebrow.

  "I always... pay attention. The Federation has many secret projects. Raijin is one of the most... horrific." Hana shook her head slowly. "They're creating monsters. Not natural monsters. Monsters made to suffer."

  Azure clenched his fist. "We've already seen the proof. In Zapire. I photographed it."

  Hana turned to him, her hazel eyes now sharp. "May I see?"

  Azure pulled the small camera from his bag's inner pocket. Hana took it carefully, connecting it to one of her monitors. Her hands moved quickly over the keyboard—much faster and more confident than her shy demeanor earlier.

  The photos appeared on the screen. Hana enlarged every detail, her eyes moving rapidly reading the data on the console screens.

  "Raijin, phase 3," she murmured. "Control optimization. They've already succeeded in stabilizing energy output. Within six months, they might be able to control the creature remotely."

  "Can you open access to their servers?" Azure asked directly. "We need raw data. Experiment logs. Internal communications. Anything that can prove their crimes."

  Hana was silent. Her fingers stopped over the keyboard. She looked down, her fringe covering her eyes.

  "I... can," she said softly. "But it's dangerous. The 47th floor server is guarded by an AI overseer. If I enter the wrong way, they'll know. They'll trace back here. And I..." her voice grew smaller. "I don't want to go back there."

  Akari moved closer. "Hani. No one's forcing you. If you feel this is too risky, we'll find another way."

  "No," Hana cut in quickly. Her head lifted. Her eyes, previously dim, now lit with unusual determination. "I want to help. I've... wanted to do something for a long time. Not just hide. Not just be afraid." She reached for the rabbit keychain around her neck, holding it tightly. "My older sister... used to work in the Federation's research division. Until she found something she shouldn't have. Now she's gone. The Federation said it was an accident. But I don't believe it."

  Azure and Akari exchanged glances.

  "I can't bring her back," Hana continued, her voice trembling but steady. "But I can help prevent them from doing the same to others. So..." she looked at Azure and Akari in turn. "I'll do this. For my sister. For you. For Raijin."

  Silence filled the room. Azure felt something in his chest—not anger, not his usual cold determination. But a strange warmth. Respect.

  He remembered himself, a year ago, when he first found the black folder. When anger turned into purpose. When he decided not to just be a victim.

  "Thank you," he said. Two simple words, but he spoke them sincerely.

  Hana smiled. A shy, sweet smile. "You're welcome."

  They spent the next two hours in Hana's apartment, planning the approach to the Raijin servers. Hana explained the security system with astonishing detail—and although Azure only understood half of it, he could see why Akari called her a genius.

  As they finally stood at the door, ready to leave, Hana suddenly grabbed the edge of Azure's jacket.

  "Wait..."

  Azure turned. "Yes?"

  Hana looked down, twisting the edge of her own jacket. Her face was red. "I... can I ask something?"

  "What?"

  "Can... you introduce me to your shadow?"

  Azure blinked. "You mean... my element?"

  Hana nodded quickly, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. "I've never seen it directly. Only from literature. And the literature is incomplete because the Federation censors a lot of data. So I'm curious. I want to... see. Just a little. If it's not too much trouble."

  Akari laughed behind him. "Just show her. If you don't, she won't be able to sleep thinking about it."

  Azure sighed, then nodded. He raised his hand, concentrating. The shadow in the corner of the room—under Hana's work desk—moved. It crept up, forming a simple shape: a small rabbit made of dense darkness, with long ears and a round tail.

  Hana gasped. Her eyes widened. "Oh my..."

  The shadow rabbit hopped around on the floor, then sat, staring at Hana with two faint points of light as eyes. Hana crouched, slowly extending her finger.

  "Can... I touch it?"

  "Try it."

  Her fingertip touched the shadow rabbit's head. Her hand trembled slightly. "Cold... but not freezing. Like... night air. And there's a pulse. Like it's alive."

  She looked up at Azure with undisguised awe. "You really are special."

  Azure didn't know how to answer. Behind him, Akari crossed her arms, smirking—but her eyes were smiling.

  "Okay, Hani. Poor guy, he'll get even redder."

  "Oh! Sorry-sorry!" Hana immediately stood, her face flushing. "I got too excited. Sorry."

  "It's okay," Azure said. "Glad you like it."

  He pulled the shadow rabbit back, and Hana watched it go with a slightly sad expression.

  "I'll... create access to the server," she said, her voice returning to soft. "In two or three days. I'll let you know through a secure channel."

  "Thank you, Hana," Akari said.

  Hana nodded. "You two... be careful. Asterion isn't as beautiful as it looks."

  Azure looked at her. "I know. I was born here."

  Hana's eyes widened briefly, then she smiled. The same smile—innocent, sincere, and somehow, full of hope.

  "Then... welcome home, Azure."

  They walked back to the apartment. Afternoon had turned to dusk, and the city lights began to turn on one by one—not giant holograms, but window lights from thousands of apartments where ordinary people lived, without being spotlighted by cameras or admired by the masses.

  "She's amazing," Azure finally said.

  "Hana? Yeah. Small but fierce." Akari shoved her hands into her hoodie pockets. "People often misjudge her because she's quiet and nerdy. But her brain... even the Federation is afraid of her. That's why she has to hide."

  "She lost her sister."

  "Yeah. Like you."

  Azure didn't answer. They walked past the small park they'd stopped at before. The fountain was now lit with colorful lights, reflecting onto their faces.

  "Hana said you're special," Akari suddenly said, her voice trying to sound casual. "I agree too. But don't get a big head."

  Azure turned to her. "You think I'm special?"

  Akari looked away. "I said I agree, idiot. Meaning I agree with what she said. Don't make me repeat it."

  Azure smiled slightly. "Okay. I won't force you."

  They walked again. Their footsteps were in sync, without needing to adjust.

  "Akari."

  "What now?"

  "That first night. When you were sleeping and moved closer to me."

  Akari stiffened instantly. "DON'T BRING THAT UP."

  "I just wanted to say... I didn't mind."

  Akari stopped. Her face was beet red, even under the colorful fountain lights it was clearly visible. "YOU—"

  "And that divider pillow, I don't think we need it anymore."

  He didn't wait for an answer. Azure continued walking, leaving Akari frozen at the edge of the park.

  Two seconds later, hurried footsteps caught up from behind.

  "AZURE! YOU WAIT! I'M NOT DONE BEING MAD!"

  But her tone didn't sound like anger. Not at all.

  (To be continued)