Kaito didn't feel the presence at first.
That was intentional.
He was in the lower courtyard, late evening, spear resting against the stone beside him. Dex lay nearby, half-asleep. The academy lights glowed softly overhead. Everything felt… controlled.
Too controlled.
"You're improving faster than predicted."
The voice came from behind him.
Kaito was on his feet instantly, spear in hand, stance tight despite the lingering ache in his body. Dex leapt up, snarling.
A figure stood near the archway.
No hood. No disguise.
Just a tall man in dark, unremarkable clothing, hands visible, posture relaxed—as if this were a scheduled meeting.
"Don't," the man said calmly, noticing Kaito's grip tighten. "If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't have heard me speak."
Kaito's jaw clenched. "You're bold."
"Yes," the man agreed. "Because I don't need to be careful with you. Not anymore."
The words landed heavier than a threat.
Aria wasn't here. Neither were the others.
Of course not.
"You're the one behind it," Kaito said.
"One of several," the man replied. "But I'm the one tasked with you."
Kaito didn't lower the spear. "Say what you came to say."
The man smiled faintly. "Straight to it. Good."
He took a step closer. Not aggressively. Casually.
"Our plan is simple," he said. "We do not defeat you in battle. We remove the conditions that make you hesitate."
Kaito felt his pulse spike.
"We hurt your friends," the man continued evenly. "We let the city see you bleed. We let you survive. Because a cornered protector becomes predictable."
"You nearly killed them," Kaito growled.
"And you nearly erased us," the man replied. "Balance."
Dex growled louder. The man didn't even glance at the husky.
"You see," he went on, "if we attack openly again, you'll restrain yourself. You'll protect civilians. You'll choose defense."
He stopped a few steps away.
"But if we hide," he said softly, "if we take one life here, threaten another there… if we make every moment uncertain…"
Kaito felt it now. The pressure. The pull.
"…then eventually," the man said, eyes locking onto Kaito's, "you will choose efficiency."
Silence stretched.
"You want me to hunt you," Kaito said.
"Yes."
"You want me to stop holding back."
"Correct."
"And then what?" Kaito asked. "You die?"
The man chuckled. "Some of us, perhaps. But not before the city sees what you really are."
The words were surgical.
"Once you cross that line," the man continued, "you don't get to uncross it. The academy won't shield you. The Circle won't recognize you. And the city will fear you more than it ever feared us."
Kaito's hands trembled—not from weakness.
From rage.
"You're trying to turn me into the villain," he said.
The man tilted his head. "No. I'm giving you the chance to choose."
A pause.
"Protect them forever," he said quietly, "or protect them once."
The pressure in Kaito's chest surged, heat threatening to rise.
"Think carefully," the man added, stepping back toward the archway. "Because we'll move again soon. And next time, we won't miss."
He vanished into the shadows as calmly as he arrived.
The courtyard was silent.
Dex pressed against Kaito's leg, whining.
Kaito stood there long after, spear shaking slightly in his grip.
Because now he understood.
The wrong choice wasn't losing control.
It was deciding that restraint cost too much.
And for the first time since his reincarnation, Kaito wasn't sure which choice terrified him more.