"Mia?" Of all the people he could bump into, Akira wasn't expecting Mia; though it wasn't a surprise. After all, she's been kinda stalking him for some time now; he just pretends not to be aware.

"Akira-kun? I said, what the hell were you doing coming out of my aunt's apartment?"

Akira met her gaze evenly, keeping his calm. He couldn't afford to panic, not with Mia's unpredictable tendencies, as she'd displayed in the gym earlier today.

"Mia," he said, using his most controlled, reassuring tone. "It's nothing for you to worry about. Mei-san needed to talk about some administrative stuff… you know, rent payments and cleaning schedules for the building. She's the manager, remember?"

Mia didn't move. Her eyes flickered from his face to the door, then down to the front of his jeans, then back to his eyes. She was conducting her own silent, terrifying inspection.

"You smell different," she stated flatly. "Like lavender and strong soap. Not like the gym."

"I just took a shower," Akira said smoothly. "I got sweat all over me during the workout, and I felt grimy after the tailor and barber. I borrowed her shower to clean up before coming home."

"And you couldn't just come inside our apartment? It's right next door."

"I was already talking to Mei-san, plus I got pressed and had to use her bathroom, so I used the opportunity. Like I said, there's nothing to worry about. Absolutely nothing."

Mia clenched her jaw, but the way he looked at her and the plausibility of the explanation stalled her aggression for a bit. She didn't like the answer, but she couldn't immediately prove it was wrong either.

"You better be telling the truth, Akira-kun," she hissed, taking a slow step forward until she was right in front of him. "Because if I find out you were doing anything with anyone else... especially my aunt... I swear, neither of you will have a good night."

She leaned in, her eyes boring into his. "Don't forget who you belong to."

"I won't," Akira assured her, giving her a brief, dismissive nod. He wasn't going to engage in an argument right now. "Now, I need to go check something."

He stepped past her, heading toward their shared apartment.

Mia watched him go, still looking suspicious, but she didn't pursue him. The Yandere bond had enough trust and obsession to accept the lie… for now.

—

Akira climbed the stairs to the rooftop, feeling the cool evening air hitting him instantly. When he got there, he saw Ayaka already waiting by the railing. Her figure stood out against the darkening sky. She seemed tense, and he could faintly see the demonic markings under her skin.

"Took you long enough," Ayaka said, turning to him. "Were you busy?"

"What's the emergency, Ayaka?"

Her expression darkened. "I felt three new signatures enter the city today. Beta-class, maybe Alpha-class or higher."

"Have you encountered any or just sensed them?"

"Just sensed them. But that's not the issue." She crossed her arms. "I can tell they're hunters, and they're hunting for the one who closed Shirayuki's Gate."

Akira's stomach tightened. "They're looking for me?"

"They don't know who you are yet. But they're investigating. And Akira-kun..." She hesitated. "There have been more casualties. Different from the frozen victims at the financial district."

"What kind of casualties?"

"Drained. Completely dried out. Like mummies. Five bodies were found downtown, near the old industrial zone. The signatures match high-level demons, not like Shirayuki's ice attacks."

"So we have multiple threats now."

"Exactly. And the human authorities are starting to notice. This isn't something they can cover up much longer."

"So what do we do?"

"Stay quiet."

—

The next morning, Akira walked toward school with his new look, drawing immediate attention. Students he'd never spoken to turned to stare. Some whispered.

"Is that Kanzaki?"

"No way. He got hot."

"When did that happen?"

Ai's voice chimed in his head. "Enjoying the attention, darling?"

"It's useful," Akira thought back. "But Ayaka's warning last night... we have hunters looking for me and new demons causing problems. This is getting complicated."

"Indeed. The frozen victims from Shirayuki's gate were bad enough, but now we have drained corpses? That's a different demon entirely. And the fact that Beta or Alpha-class entities are hunting you specifically means word is spreading in the supernatural community."

"Great. Just what I needed."

As he approached the school gates, he noticed the unusual atmosphere immediately. Police cars were parked outside, and security guards were checking student IDs more carefully than usual.

Inside, the main hallway was packed with students clustered around their phones, watching something on social media.

"Did you see the video?"

"Those lights downtown were insane!"

"My dad works for the city. He said they're calling it 'unexplained phenomena.'"

Akira made his way to his classroom, where a news broadcast was playing on the TV mounted in the corner. Students watched in hushed fascination.

The reporter stood in front of the cordoned-off financial district. "Authorities still have no explanation for what locals are calling 'supernatural phenomena.' Three victims were discovered frozen from the inside out two days ago. Now, five more bodies have been found completely desiccated, drained of all bodily fluids."

Aerial footage showed the frozen destruction at the commercial district… ice patterns spreading across buildings like crystalline spiderwebs.

Then the feed switched to the industrial zone: bodies covered with white sheets, surrounded by investigators in hazmat suits.

"Creepy as hell," someone muttered behind Akira.

"My uncle works at the hospital," a girl whispered to her friend. "He said the first victims' bodies were frozen solid from the inside. But the second set? They looked like they'd been dead for years. Completely dried out."

The principal's voice crackled over the intercom. "Attention, students. Due to recent unexplained incidents in the city, we are implementing new safety protocols effective immediately. No students are to leave campus during school hours without explicit permission. After-school activities will end by 5 PM, and all students must travel in groups of three or more. These measures are for your safety. Please cooperate with staff and security."

The announcement ended with a sharp click.

Students erupted into conversation.

"This is ridiculous!"

"What do they think is going to happen?"

"Maybe they know something we don't."

Akira sat at his desk, processing everything. Three frozen victims from Shirayuki's gate. Five drained victims from a different demon. And now the government was getting involved.

This was escalating fast.

—

Government Meeting Room - Same Morning

In a conference room in a plain government building, six officials sat around a shiny table, looking serious. On a large screen, security footage showed images: the frozen commercial district and the lifeless bodies in the industrial area.

"We can't keep calling these 'gas leaks' and 'freak weather," one official said, slamming a file folder on the table. "The public is losing trust. Social media is exploding with conspiracy theories."

"What do you suggest?" another asked. "Tell them it's witches? Aliens? Demons? That'll cause mass panic."

"We don't need to tell them anything." A woman in a sharp suit leaned forward. "But we do need to investigate properly. Form a task force. Something official."

"The Special Phenomena Investigation Unit," another official suggested. "SPIU. Keep it vague. Scientific-sounding. Deploy them to monitor high-activity zones."

"And if they encounter... witnesses? Individuals with information?"

A long pause.

"We contain them. Quietly. No media, no trials. National security protocols."

"You mean detain anyone who knows too much?"

"Exactly. This stays buried until we understand what we're dealing with."

Nods around the table.

"Motion passed. Deploy SPIU immediately. I want boots on the ground by tomorrow morning."

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