The Hunt Begins

Suzume's Growing Suspicion

The next morning, Suzume is already waiting for me

outside my house. That's not normal.

"Morning, Nachar," she says, her voice unnervingly

soft.

I force a casual smile. "Hey, Suzume. You're early."

"I figured we could walk together," she says,

falling into step beside me.

I glance at her. She's watching me too closely, her

usual energetic nature replaced by something else.

Something cautious.

"You were acting weird yesterday," she continues.

"And I heard about that… incident last night. Twelve dead in a warehouse. Sound

familiar?"

I keep my expression neutral. "Should it?"

Suzume studies my face, and for a moment, I swear

she sees through me. "Maybe not. But you've been different lately, Nachar. And

I know something's going on."

I chuckle, shaking my head. "Suzume, you always

overthink things. You should—"

SLAP

For a second, my vision distorts. A single, haunting

word echoes through my mind:

DELETE.

No—wait! I barely stop myself from activating my

ability. My fingers twitch at my sides as I exhale slowly, forcing myself to

stay calm.

She doesn't know.

Not yet.

I offer a nervous laugh, scratching my head. "Geez,

Suzume, you scared me. What was that for?"

She doesn't answer right away. Instead, she just stares into my eyes.

Then she sighs, shaking her head. "Never mind. Let's

get to school."

I walk beside her, but my mind is elsewhere.

I almost erased her thoughts just now.

If I had, she would have realized something was

wrong.

She's too sharp. If she keeps pressing like this… I

might have to make a choice.

Detective Aizen: The First Obstacle

Elsewhere, a man in his late thirties sits at his

desk, flipping through a series of crime scene photos.

The suicide cases. The warehouse massacre.

The word Justic3 painted on the

wall.

Detective Aizen exhales, lighting a cigarette. "What

do you think, partner?"

Across from him, a younger officer frowns. "Some

psycho vigilante? A new gang trying to take over?"

Aizen smirks, leaning back. "A new gang would've

left bodies behind. This guy? He makes them kill themselves." He flicks the

ashes off his cigarette.

"This isn't a gang. It's one person."

The younger officer scoffs. "How would that even be

possible?"

Aizen shrugs. "That's what we're gonna find out."

He picks up another file—one he's been keeping for years.

This kind of case… it reminds him of something from

his past.

"Let's see if you're as untouchable as you think,

Justic3."

Francis Kuto's Paranoia

Meanwhile, Francis Kuto is furious.

He paces inside his luxury penthouse, his grip tight

on his glass of whiskey. Twelve of his men. Dead.

And no one knows how.

"Boss, we—"

BANG!

The gunshot echoes through the room. The man drops

to the floor, blood pooling beneath him.

Kuto's eyes burn with rage as he lowers his gun.

"There's a traitor among us," he growls.

The remaining men flinch, avoiding his gaze.

"Find him. I don't care what it takes."

One of them hesitates. "Boss, what if it's… an

outsider?"

Kuto scoffs, swirling his whiskey. "Don't be an

idiot. No one takes out twelve men alone. This is an inside job."

But he's wrong.

I'm coming for him.

Nachar's Next Move

I sit at my desk in class, my mind already working

through my next steps.

Francis Kuto is spiraling. He's killing his own men,

which means I've already won half the battle.

But there's a problem.

Suzume's watching me.

A detective is hunting me.

And Kuto is growing desperate.

I lean back in my chair, staring at the ceiling.

This is going to be fun.