"So," Yuki said, pulling her hand back with a slight blush. "Tell me about basketball. I didn't see the match, but I've seen clips online. You were incredible."

"Thanks. It's been good for me. Gives me something 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 amends."

"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 something wrong.

"Ai, do you feel that?"

"Already scanning, darling. There's... holy energy. Very faint, but it's here."

"Where?"

"Under your table. Give me 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 confirmed. "Low-grade, probably mass-produced. It's meant to irritate entities with demonic essence, force them to react and reveal themselves."

"Ayame."

"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 something."

"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 Ayame. The windows showed the street outside, pedestrians passing by normally. The other customers seemed ordinary: students, couples, an old man reading a newspaper.

But then he felt it again. That same thin, frost-colored thread he'd noticed before through Heart Strings. It was active now, pulsing with attention.

Ayame 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 frame 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 something knowing in her expression. "You know, you can tell me to back off if I'm stepping on someone'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 me 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.

Something was coming. It wasn't human… neither was it normal. He stood abruptly. "Excuse me. 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 customers. His supernatural senses were screaming now, the holy beacon's pull growing stronger as something approached.

"Darling, we have company," Ai warned. "Low-level Slime-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 meal.'"

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: SLIME VARIANT - GRADE F]

[THREAT LEVEL: MINIMAL TO AWAKENED INDIVIDUALS, LETHAL TO CIVILIANS]

[PROXIMITY: 15 METERS AND CLOSING]

The manhole cover flew off with a wet CRACK, and something emerged.

It was roughly humanoid in shape but made entirely of translucent, greenish slime. Its body constantly shifted and reformed, 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 slime, locked onto the café window. It had sensed the holy beacon. And beneath that, it had sensed something else.

Prey.

"Akira, that thing is about to come 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 customers were oblivious. No one had any idea what was about to happen.

And somewhere out there, Ayame Shinomiya was watching.

Waiting to see what he would do.

The slime demon lurched forward, heading straight for the café's entrance.

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