"So," Yuki said, pulling her hand back with a slight blush. "Tell about basketball. I didn’t see the match, but I’ve seen clips online. You were incredible."
"Thanks. It’s been good for . Gives sothing to focus on."
"And Mia seems... very attached to you."
"Yeah, she is."
"Are you two...?"
"It’s complicated."
"Ah." Yuki smiled knowingly. "The ’complicated’ answer again. You’re full of those."
"My life is full of complications."
"Well, maybe I can be an uncomplicated part of it. Just two old friends catching up over coffee. No drama, no expectations."
"She’s genuine," Ai observed. "No hidden agendas, no manipulations. Just a girl trying to make ands."
"I know."
"And she’s attracted to you. The thread is forming fast."
"I know that too."
As Yuki launched into a story about her current school’s drama club, Akira couldn’t help but try to get a read of her out of habit. The first few seconds showed nothing unusual... just Yuki laughing, taking a sip of her latte, the café continuing its quiet afternoon rhythm.
But then he felt it.
A tingle at the edge of his awareness, like static electricity building in the air. His Essence Cloak automatically flared slightly, and through it, he detected sothing wrong.
"Ai, do you feel that?"
"Already scanning, darling. There’s... holy energy. Very faint, but it’s here."
"Where?"
"Under your table. Give a second..."
Akira shifted slightly in his seat, pretending to adjust his position while his supernatural senses swept the area. There... tucked beneath the table’s center support beam, was a small object about the size of a coin.
It pulsed with holy energy, a miniature beacon designed to agitate demonic auras.
"That’s a Holy Beacon," Ai confird. "Low-grade, probably mass-produced. It’s ant to irritate entities with demonic essence, force them to react and reveal themselves."
"Aya."
"Most likely. She’s been watching you, and this is her next test. If you were a normal demon, this would make you uncomfortable enough to either leave abruptly or show visible signs of distress."
"But my Essence Cloak?"
"Is protecting you completely. You’re reading it, but it can’t affect you. However..."
Akira’s blood ran cold. "However what?"
"These beacons don’t just detect demons. They attract them. Specifically, low-level strays looking for a fight or feeding opportunity. It’s like ringing a dinner bell."
"Akira-kun?" Yuki’s voice cut through his thoughts. "Are you okay? You kind of zoned out there."
"Yeah, sorry. Just... thought I heard sothing."
"Probably just the espresso machine. So anyway, like I was saying about the spring musical..."
She continued talking, but Akira’s attention was split.
He scanned the café, looking for any sign of Aya. The windows showed the street outside, pedestrians passing by normally. The other custors seed ordinary: students, couples, an old man reading a newspaper.
But then he felt it again. That sa thin, frost-colored thread he’d noticed before through Heart Strings. It was active now, pulsing with attention.
Aya was watching. He couldn’t see her, but she was definitely nearby.
His phone buzzed again, and he pulled it out.
Mia: "It’s been 20 minutes. Still at the café?"
He quickly snapped a photo of the table, careful to include Yuki in the fra but making it look casual, and sent it.
"Still here. Everything’s fine."
Mia: "Who’s that with you?"
"Yuki. I told you about her."
Mia: "She’s prettier than I thought."
Akira grimaced. Through the Heart Strings bond, he felt Mia’s jealousy spiking hard. Even without seeing her, he was already imagining the GREEN thread thickening and coiling tighter around her.
"Everything okay?" Yuki asked again.
"Yeah, just my friend checking in."
"The possessive girlfriend?"
"She’s not my..." He stopped himself. "It’s complicated."
"Right. Complicated." Yuki smiled, but there was sothing knowing in her expression. "You know, you can tell to back off if I’m stepping on soone’s territory. I don’t want to cause problems."
"You’re not causing problems. We’re just having coffee."
"Just coffee," Yuki repeated, her smile widening. "Okay. Then tell more about this complicated life of yours. What else has changed since middle school?"
Before Akira could answer, his Combat Precognition flared... a full 0.5-second warning blast that made his entire body tense.
Sothing was coming. It wasn’t human... neither was it normal. He stood abruptly. "Excuse . I need to use the restroom."
"Oh, sure. It’s..."
"I’ll find it."
He moved quickly toward the back of the café, away from Yuki and the other custors. His supernatural senses were screaming now, the holy beacon’s pull growing stronger as sothing approached.
"Darling, we have company," Ai warned. "Low-level Sli-Type demon, probably drawn by the beacon. It’s coming from the sewers."
"Here? In the middle of the shopping district?"
"Strays don’t care about location. They follow the call. And that beacon is screaming ’free al.’"
Akira reached the back hallway where the restrooms were located. Through a small window, he could see the alley behind the café. A manhole cover was shifting, dark, viscous ooze beginning to seep around its edges.
[SYSTEM ALERT: LOW-LEVEL STRAY DEMON DETECTED]
[TYPE: SLI VARIANT - GRADE F]
[THREAT LEVEL: MINIMAL TO AWAKENED INDIVIDUALS, LETHAL TO CIVILIANS]
[PROXIMITY: 15 TERS AND CLOSING]
The manhole cover flew off with a wet CRACK, and sothing erged.
It was roughly humanoid in shape but made entirely of translucent, greenish sli. Its body constantly shifted and reford, pseudopods extending and retracting as it moved. Where a face should have been, there was only a gaping maw filled with dissolving teeth.
The demon’s "eyes", dark spots in the sli, locked onto the café window. It had sensed the holy beacon. And beneath that, it had sensed sothing else.
Prey.
"Akira, that thing is about to co through the front door," Ai warned. "You need to deal with it now, before it reaches Yuki and the civilians."
"Shit."
He glanced back toward the main café. Yuki was still at their table, scrolling through her phone. The other custors were oblivious. No one had any idea what was about to happen.
And sowhere out there, Aya Shinomiya was watching.
Waiting to see what he would do.
The sli demon lurched forward, heading straight for the café’s entrance.
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