"My name is Haraksae from Tokyo News Team, and today, ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to show you the devastation that occurred only hours ago. Buildings destroyed, unidentified entities in the sky, humanoid creatures flying as well, all caught on camera. Not to mention several main buildings, including one of the larger Spire towers, have been attacked. Which we can only presume are the acts of terrorists."

Akio sat slumped in the high-back chair of her office within Cradle's main HQ, the faint glow of the broadcast washing across her pale face. She had only just returned from her personal mission against the Alberline Icebreaker, and exhaustion clung to her like a second skin. The city was in chaos. Spire had moved boldly, and Cradle's silence in the matter weighed on her shoulders like lead.

Her jaw tensed, teeth grinding as shaky, civilian-captured footage filled the screen. Shards of the night replayed before her eyes: Spire Operators, Cradle countermeasures, and the Null rampaging in between. Each scene bled into the next, a symphony of violence and fire. And still the reporter droned on, words like daggers in her ears.

"As you can see from what we've gathered, it seems some sort of conflict or multi-scale civil war occurred. Who started this remains unknown, but we can trust the Cradle Police Force will restore order. That's it for now, folks. We will be airing more footage as the day continues."

The segment shifted to raw street interviews. Civilians, shaken, frantic, telling their side of the nightmare. Akio almost shut it off, her eyelids heavy, her patience gone. But then.

Her heart stopped.

Her body jolted upright, blood rushing so violently she felt her pulse hammering in her ears. The weariness vanished, burned away in an instant by a wildfire of fury.

On the screen, blurry and almost hidden in the background, was a figure she knew far too well.

Kentaro Takamiya.

Alive.

Behind him were two familiar girls, Yura and Serica. Dominance and Icebreaker. Walking freely. Laughing. As if nothing had happened. As if Tokyo wasn't still burning.

"DAMN IT, HOW DID HE SURVIVE?!" Akio roared, slamming her fist into the desk so hard that the glass ornament at its edge cracked. She rewound, froze the frame, staring at Kentaro's face until her knuckles went white. The rage in her chest felt poisonous, boiling her veins.

It wasn't possible. She had seen what had happened. Her plan should have erased him, erased them. And yet, there he was. Alive. Mocking her with his very existence.

Questions tore through her mind like knives. Should she deploy a team right now? Could they even reach him? Why hadn't Spire finished the job? Should she sit back and wait for Reiden's true hand to reveal itself? Or act now and risk everything?

Her nails dug into her palms until they nearly drew blood. The screen flickered silently before her, the frozen image of Kentaro's smirk burning itself into her brain.

Finally, slowly, Akio leaned back, forcing herself to breathe, forcing her rage into something colder. Something useful. She turned her gaze from the screen to the towering window behind her, the sprawling city of Tokyo still bruised under the rising sun.

Her voice came out low, bitter, but calm.

"Kentaro Takamiya… You're going to be troublesome, aren't you?" Her eyes narrowed, reflecting the faint light of dawn. "Just how… Did you crawl out of death itself?"

The city outside stirred with life again, but inside her office, the silence was suffocating. Akio remained still, her shadow stretched long across the floor, her mind already racing with the pieces of Reiden's plan… And where it had gone wrong.

For the first time in years, doubt crept into her thoughts.

*

After reaching the hotel, Kentaro and Aria somehow found themselves alone in the mixed bathing area.

"How the hell did I end up here… DAMN YOU, SHOGO!!!" Kentaro whispered to himself, his voice cracking in panic.

Right next to him sat the red-haired Alberline. She wasn't tall, maybe around 5'2, but her body… Her body was far more mature than her height suggested. Her breasts, though not as massive as Serica's nor as modest as Yura's, had the perfect shape, just enough to catch the eye and make Kentaro's brain short-circuit. Even the towel clinging to her body struggled to contain her curves, the faint outline of her figure glowing under the steam.

Kentaro's face burned hot, the warmth of the spring nothing compared to the heat rising inside him. He fought with every ounce of his soul not to get caught looking.

Aria herself wasn't doing much better. Her cheeks were tinted red, and a towel wrapped around her hair as well as her body. She had been told by Haruka that this was a "test" she had to undergo… But she hadn't realised it meant sitting nearly naked in the same water as Kentaro. The towel barely covered her chest, threatening to slip with the slightest movement.

She kept her posture tense, shoulders stiff, legs closed tightly beneath the water. Kentaro gulped. He knew exactly whose idea this was, Haruka and Shogo's ridiculous plan to "seal" Aria. He just hadn't expected it to involve this.

"So, uh… Hey, Aria," Kentaro said, voice awkward, trying not to stutter.

Aria flinched, startled by his sudden words. She adjusted her towel, pressing it closer against her chest.

"Y-Yes… Kentaro?"

Kentaro forced himself to look forward, though his eyes kept betraying him, flicking to the side, catching the curve of her shoulder, the way her collarbone glistened with droplets of water, the faint swell of her chest above the towel line. His gentlemanly heart was under siege.

"I-I was just… Hoping to ask about your past. Before you became an Alberline."

Her eyes widened slightly. She hugged the towel tighter across her chest, water rippling softly around her as she shifted.

"M-My past… It's not… Very interesting," she said softly.

"Please," Kentaro said, his voice carrying a rare cry of sincerity. "I just want to know more about you."

The room fell silent, the only sound being the steady drip of water echoing from the taps. Then, slowly, Aria began to speak.

Aria's hands trembled as she clutched the towel tighter, her voice wavering as though even speaking stripped her bare.

"B-Before I became what I am… My life was… Normal. At least, that's what I thought. Everything changed when I picked up the guitar."

Her eyes softened, remembering.

"It was amazing. I felt like I was on top of the world. People loved my singing, my playing. By the time I was in high school, I even had big labels looking at me. It felt like… Maybe my dream could really happen."

For a moment, her lips curved into a smile, then the light vanished, replaced by a pained shadow.

"But… It all ended because of one label. A man and a woman came to me with a contract. They offered money, fame, everything I thought I wanted… But at a cost. They wanted me to work like a dog, cut off from my family, and…" Her voice lowered, shaking. "…They wanted more. Horrible things. Things my peers, who worked for them, could barely tell me. Things that scarred them forever. So I said no."

Her hands gripped her towel so tight her knuckles went white.

"I thought that was it. I thought they'd leave me alone. But they didn't. They hounded me and my family every single day. And when I didn't break… They destroyed me."

Her voice cracked, tears gathering in her eyes.

"Rumours spread. Headlines appeared. They said I had slept with directors, that I sold myself for fame. I was still just a kid, and suddenly… Everyone hated me. My fans turned on me. My friends abandoned me. But the worst… The worst was when my own parents told me I wasn't welcome anymore."

The tears slipped free now, rolling down her cheeks.

"I thought they'd understand. I thought they'd believe me. But they looked at me like I was a stranger. Like, I was disgusting. Why would they do that? They knew what I was going through, but from that day… I lost everything."

The words hung heavy in the steam-filled air, her body trembling as though each memory cut fresh into her skin.

Kentaro's chest tightened. Without thinking, he reached forward and pulled her close. Her small body pressed against his, the towel soft but flimsy between them. Her shampoo-scented hair brushed against his face, and he could feel the warmth of her skin through the thin fabric.

Aria's eyes went wide at first… But then the tears fell harder. She couldn't stop them. She buried her face into his shoulder, sobbing quietly as her towel shifted dangerously.

Kentaro held her gently, rubbing her head softly, careful not to undo the towel around her hair. His hand brushed against her back, and every time he felt the delicate curve of her figure through the damp cloth, his brain screamed at him not to lose it.

"Listen, Aria…" He said softly.

She looked up at him, teary-eyed, cheeks flushed from both the bath and the embarrassment. The way she gazed at him, so vulnerable yet so trusting, made his heart squeeze.

"What you went through was horrible. No one deserves that. And it makes me so angry… So angry at those bastards who ruined your life, all because you said no to their shitty offer."

"Angry… For me?" Aria whispered, almost disbelieving.

Kentaro nodded, his voice steady. "But even if I can't change your past… From now on, I'll stay by your side. I'll listen to your music. I'll make you smile. And I'll watch over you no matter what happens."

Her breath caught. Her heartbeat pounded in her chest, so loud she was sure he could hear it. She wanted to believe him… She wanted to believe this wasn't another dream.

Her tears flowed again, but this time from happiness. "Y-You… Really mean that, Kentaro?"

"Of course," he whispered.

He leaned forward, pressing his forehead gently against hers. His hand slipped instinctively to her chest, right over her heart. He felt it hammering beneath his palm, fast and fragile. The warmth spread through him, and he knew without Tenka's voice that the seal was working.

Aria gasped as light surrounded her. For that fleeting moment, she felt loved. Truly loved.

But then her strength gave out. Her body slumped forward, and her towel, too small, too loose, came undone as she collapsed onto his lap.

Kentaro's eyes exploded wide as everything spilt into view.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

In a blind panic, he tried to wrap the towel back around her, but slipped on the wet floor and fell backwards.

BOING!

Landing face-first into the soft, jiggling "pillows of heaven."

His soul left his body.

"SHIT SHIT SHIT, IF SERICA OR YURA SAW THIS I'M DEAAADDDDD!!!"

"KENTAROOO! I HOPE YOU'RE NOT TOO TIRED. I'VE COME TO WASH YOUR BA-"

Two voices rang out.

Kentaro froze. Slowly, he lifted his head. Standing at the entrance were Serica and Yura, both in swimsuits, both staring at him on the floor with Aria sprawled naked with Kentaro's head on her chest.

Their faces went scarlet. Steam practically erupted from their heads.

"You… YOU DIRTY DOGGGGGGGGGGG!!!" They screamed in unison.

Tenka, watching from afar, smirked. "Hehe. Great job, Kentaro. You sealed Aria's powers… And got yourself a beating."

"HEYYY, WHY IS THE SCREEN OFFFF?!" Riku and Shogo shouted at the same time from the monitoring room.

"SHUT IT, YOU PERVERTS! OF COURSE IT'LL BE OFF, THEY'RE IN THE BATH!" Yumi barked back.

"HOW'S KENTARO ALLOWED TO LO-" Riku started, but before he could finish, Yumi launched one of Drone's toys straight into his forehead.

"HEY, MY DRONE!!!" Drone cried as Riku toppled, little cartoon stars spinning over his head.

Yumi, face pink, turned away with a flustered huff. "Perv."

Tenka let a tiny giggle slip and clicked the feed off. "Alright. Drama over. We'll debrief later. For now… Let them have Tokyo for the day."

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