The Meeting

Kairi's shoulders stiffened as she heard the door creak open.

Her gaze snapped to the entrance—and there she was.

Aiko.

The same damn maid from the hotel.

Still dressed in her pristine uniform, sleeves neatly folded, her long dark hair pulled into a ponytail. She walked in way too casually for someone stepping into an enemy's den.

For a moment, the entire room felt like it was holding its breath.

Jin, unfazed, leaned against the counter, arms still crossed. Celeste took a slow drag from her cigarette, exhaling as she flicked her gaze toward the new arrival.

Kairi?

She narrowed her eyes, tilting her head slightly. "Tch. What the hell is this?"

Aiko merely smiled, clasping her hands together. "Oh? You don't recognize me, Miss Pacifist?"

Kairi's brow twitched. She wanted to deck her right there.

Instead, she rolled her neck, cracking it as she exhaled through her nose. "I remember. Hard to forget when you tried to sneak me."

Jin chuckled. "Oh, so you two have history?"

Kairi ignored him.

Aiko giggled, covering her mouth slightly like some refined lady—except the smugness in her eyes ruined the act.

This bitch was enjoying this.

She stepped further inside, and the air grew heavier. "I'm not here to fight you."

Kairi's lips curled into a sneer. "That right? Then what, you here to fluff our pillows? Maybe dust the furniture?"

Jin snorted. Celeste rolled her eyes.

Aiko, however, just grinned.

"No. I'm here to make sure you don't get yourselves killed."

And just like that—the tension shifted.

Kairi blinked, her fingers twitching slightly. "…The hell does that mean?"

Aiko sighed, placing a hand on her hip. "Kayd's getting serious. You might've wiped out the Pacifist Destroyers, but the Arakawa household? They have an army. And guess what?"

She leaned in slightly, eyes gleaming.

"That includes me."

For the first time, Jin's smirk faltered slightly. Celeste, still eerily calm, watched the interaction closely.

Kairi?

She felt something deep in her gut.

Something telling her this was about to get messy.

The air between Kairi and Aiko remained charged, the kind of tension that was one wrong word away from turning into a brawl.

Kairi cracked her knuckles, lips twitching into a smirk. "So, let me get this straight. You're part of their little maid assassin squad, but now you wanna babysit me? That's cute."

Aiko giggled, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Oh no, no, no. Babysit? I'd rather toss you off a rooftop."

Kairi snorted. "Right back at you, sweetheart."

Before things could escalate, Celeste groaned loudly, rubbing her temples.

"For fuck's sake, will you two stop? I feel like I'm watching two stray cats hiss at each other over garbage."

Jin chuckled from his seat, clearly entertained. "Hey, let 'em cook. This is the best entertainment we've had in days."

Celeste shot him a glare. "Not helping."

Just as Kairi opened her mouth to throw another jab, the door creaked open again.

Instantly, everyone went silent.

Two new figures entered.

The first?

A girl with jet-black hair, wild and unkempt, her eyes sharp and filled with something unsettling. She had an aura of pure chaos, her grin sharp enough to cut through the tension like a knife.

The second?

A towering figure clad in dark clothing, his face hidden behind a sleek, almost expressionless mask. A katana rested against his shoulder, the blade wrapped in dark cloth. He carried himself with absolute precision, every step calculated.

His voice was deep, slightly distorted by the mask. "Hope we're not late."

Kairi's eyes flicked between the two newcomers. She had no idea who they were—but something about the girl's expression…

She reminded Kairi of herself.

That same feral energy, the thrill of chaos, the love of the fight.

The girl's eyes locked onto Kairi's, her grin widening. "So you're the famous 'Pacifist'? You know, I expected you to be taller."

Kairi scoffed, crossing her arms. "And I expected you to brush your damn hair."

Jin coughed to hide a laugh, while Celeste just sighed, already exhausted.

The masked man—Unknown—simply exhaled, his tone calm yet commanding.

"We don't have time for this. If we're taking down the Arakawa household, we need to move strategically."

Kairi clicked her tongue, glancing at Jin and Celeste. "Alright, fine. But first—someone tell me who the hell these two are."

The black-haired girl chuckled, stepping forward. "Oh, you'll love me, trust me."

Something told Kairi—this was gonna be interesting.

Kairi and the black-haired girl stood face to face, inches apart, their eyes locked in a silent battle of pure, chaotic energy.

Neither blinked. Neither moved. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a dull knife.

Aiko, never one to be left out of anything remotely entertaining, casually stepped between them and squatted down slightly, her head moving back and forth as if watching a tense final match in a championship fight.

Then—without warning—she jumped in.

"Alright, so what's this? A death stare contest? Can I play?" Aiko leaned in uncomfortably close to Kairi's face, grinning. "You're sweating, Pacifist. Nervous?"

Kairi rolled her eyes. "It's not sweat, dumbass. It's the stench of your desperation to be relevant."

Aiko gasped dramatically, placing a hand over her chest. "Oh, the audacity! And here I thought we were bonding."

The black-haired girl—who had been watching this exchange with a mix of amusement and homicidal curiosity—chuckled. "Tch. You two really are a pair of clowns."

Before anyone could escalate things further—Celeste snapped.

"Enough! I swear to GOD, if you three don't stop acting like gremlins for FIVE MINUTES—"

She exhaled so sharply that even Unknown, the most stoic person in the room, took a cautious step back.

Jin, watching from the couch, casually took a bite of his food. "Damn, she's really had it with y'all."

Celeste pointed directly at him. "And YOU. Stop instigating."

Jin raised his hands. "I didn't do anything. I was just enjoying breakfast and watching a nature documentary. This is raw, unfiltered wildlife behavior."

Celeste groaned, rubbing her temples. "I'm surrounded by actual degenerates."

Aiko grinned, throwing an arm around Celeste's shoulder. "Awww, and yet here you are, stuck with us! Doesn't that say more about you?"

Celeste twitched. "I'm about to start swinging."

Kairi smirked, cracking her knuckles. "Finally, some action."

Unknown sighed, shaking his head. "We are never making progress at this rate."

Jin shrugged. "Hey, team chemistry is important. This is just… their way of bonding."

Celeste shot him a deadpan look. "This is a headache."

And yet, despite all the bickering, there was something oddly natural about the way they all fit together—like pieces of a puzzle that had no business working, yet somehow did.

Even Kairi, for all her skepticism, felt it.

Like this was the start of something truly insane.

The black-haired girl, who had been silently observing the chaos with her arms crossed, suddenly spoke up mid-banter.

"Kasumi Ōgami."

Kairi, Aiko, and Celeste all turned toward her at the same time.

Aiko blinked. "Huh?"

Kasumi narrowed her eyes. "My name. Kasumi Ōgami. Figured I'd introduce myself now before one of you asks and makes it weird."

Kairi scoffed, leaning back on the couch. "Yeah, 'cause just blurting it out in the middle of a fight-to-the-death staring contest isn't weird at all."

Kasumi rolled her eyes. "Says the one who thinks murder is a recreational sport."

Kairi smirked. "It kinda is, though."

Aiko tilted her head. "Ōgami, huh? Sounds kinda badass."

Kasumi shrugged. "Better than being named after a flower."

Celeste sighed, rubbing her temples. "Oh my god, I already feel another headache coming."

Jin, still eating like this was just another normal day, pointed his chopsticks at Kasumi. "So what's your deal? You look like you kill people for fun."

Kasumi grinned. "Maybe I do. Maybe I don't."

Aiko whistled. "Ooooh, we got an edgy one."

Unknown—who had been listening in silence—finally spoke. "Enough. If we're done with introductions, we need to focus. The Arakawa Household isn't going to destroy itself."

The mood shifted instantly.

Celeste crossed her arms. "Right. We still have work to do."

Kairi cracked her neck, letting out a low chuckle. "About damn time."

Inside the dimly lit investigation room, the air was thick with tension. The officers of the Kurokawa Metropolitan Bureau sat around a large table, various files and crime scene photos spread out in front of them.

Chief Yuriko Matsunaga stood at the head of the table, arms crossed, her sharp gaze scanning each officer.

"We've counted over twenty bodies. The Pacifist Destroyers are finished, but Kairi Saigeru is still at large."** Her voice was firm, unwavering.**

Ryuji Liang exhaled sharply, leaning back in his chair. "She's a damn ghost. Every time we think we're closing in, she slips right through our fingers."

Mikaela Yoon-Himura tapped a pen against the table, her expression unreadable. "It's because she doesn't just run. She disappears. Like she knows exactly how to move in the shadows."

One of the younger officers, clearly still shaken by the massacre they had walked into, hesitated before speaking. "What… what if she's not alone anymore?"

Yuriko narrowed her eyes. "Explain."

The officer swallowed. "The way the bodies were positioned… some of the wounds were different from her usual methods. She's brutal, yes, but these… these felt more calculated. Like someone else was involved."

Ryuji muttered a curse under his breath. "You think she's working with another group?"

Mikaela grimly nodded. "It's possible. If Kairi has allies, we're dealing with something much bigger than just one rogue killer."

Yuriko remained silent for a moment, processing the information. Then, with a steely determination, she spoke.

"Then we find out who they are. No matter what it takes."

The officers nodded, their resolve hardening.

The hunt for Kairi was far from over.

The room remained heavy with tension, the air thick with cigarette smoke curling from an ashtray at the center of the table. The officers weren't just discussing a killer anymore—this was something bigger, something far more dangerous.

One of the senior detectives, Takeshi Igarashi, leaned forward, his scarred hands pressed against a crime scene photo. "Let's be real here—Kairi Saigeru isn't just a problem anymore. She's a goddamn epidemic."

His partner, Daisuke Hino, scoffed. "She wiped out the Pacifist Destroyers like they were nothing. You telling me we're still calling her a vigilante? 'Cause this is starting to feel a hell of a lot more like an act of war."

Mikaela, arms crossed, exchanged a glance with Ryuji. "We're not just dealing with Kairi anymore. Someone else was in that bloodbath."

A rookie officer hesitated before speaking. "But… if she's not acting alone, who the hell would be crazy enough to work with her?"

Silence.

Yuriko finally spoke, her voice cutting through the room like a blade. "That's what we're going to find out. Kairi Saigeru is unpredictable on her own. But if she's part of something bigger? This city is about to drown in blood."