Waking Shadows

The room was quiet.

Faint beeping echoed from a distant monitor. Sunlight filtered through white blinds, casting pale stripes across the sterile walls. The air smelled of antiseptic and warm linen.

Jack Monroe lay in the center of a hospital bed, no bandages on his body. His chest rose steadily — calm, unconscious.

Until his eyes snapped open.

Gasp.

Jack bolted upright, panting, chest heaving, his shirt clinging to sweat. His hands gripped the sides of the mattress. For a second, his eyes darted wildly — looking for the golden mask, for a blade, for blood.

None of it was there.

He blinked hard. His heart still thudded in his chest like a war drum. But the only thing surrounding him now… was silence.

And curtain dividers.

A rustle came from the other side.

"Ah, you're awake."

From around the curtain stepped Ryo Saito, in his usual casual elegance — blue-tinted circular glasses, blazer half-buttoned. In one hand, he held a wicker basket full of Japanese snacks: mochi, rice crackers, melon bread, and small red bean sweets wrapped in sakura paper.

He nodded politely.

"Okaeri, stranger."

Jack stared.

"Ryo—?"

Ryo lifted a candy to his mouth. Crunch.

"I was gone for, what, eight hours? And you nearly destroyed my assistant?" He smiled behind the sweet. "Not bad."

Jack's eyes widened again. "Wait—what—what happened to me? What was that? I—my body—my hands—I couldn't stop—"

He trailed off, overwhelmed.

Then:

"Is Adam okay? Did I hurt him? What happened after? Did the building—did that creature—what the hell is that mask?"

Ryo took another bite. The wrapper crinkled gently.

He chewed slowly, savoring the flavor like he didn't just walk into chaos an hour ago.

"Adam's alive," he said casually. "Sleeping. Drooling a little, probably."

Jack whipped his head to the left — and saw him.

Adam, in the bed next to him, bandaged across the chest and arms like a well-mummified champion. His hair messy, beard untouched. He was flat on his back, mouth slightly open, snoring like a tired bear.

"See?" Ryo gestured toward him. "Resting like a guy who got kicked halfway across a warehouse." He popped another snack in his mouth. "By a friend, no less."

Jack looked back down at his own hands. They were clean. Normal. No golden hue. No tremble of power. But he remembered how they felt — how they burned with energy… how they crushed a weapon like it was made for him.

His voice was quieter now.

"Ryo… I wasn't in control. It felt like I was floating. Like something inside me was… gripping everything. Too tight."

Ryo watched him for a long second, expression unreadable.

Then he reached into the snack basket and held one out toward Jack — a small mochi rice ball, lightly dusted with sugar.

Jack blinked. "I—what?"

"Eat. You're thinking too hard on an empty stomach."

Jack hesitated, then slowly took it. His fingers trembled.

Ryo turned and walked over to the windowsill, setting the basket down. He leaned back against the frame, arms crossed.

"What happened wasn't your fault. You awakened something old — older than this city, older than most maps. Something buried beneath steel and asphalt. And when things like that wake up…" He tapped his temple. **"…they sometimes want to drive."

Jack swallowed hard. "So the mask...?"

Ryo shrugged. "Found you. Latched onto you. Chose you." A pause. "Not uncommon for cursed artifacts, honestly."

Jack looked up again, narrowing his eyes. "You say that like it's normal."

Ryo looked at him and smiled slightly. "Well, in our business, it kind of is."

Jack opened his mouth, hesitating.

"…Did you save me?" he asked.

Ryo's smile didn't change.

"Me?" He tilted his head. "I just got back from Japan. Landed maybe twenty minutes before everything went sideways. Lucky timing, that's all."

Liar. But he said it with such charm, Jack couldn't even argue.

Jack looked over again at Adam, who let out a snort and rolled over in bed.

Ryo sighed and muttered, "Even snoring, he sounds like a wrestling match."

He picked up the snack basket again, walking toward the door.

"Rest up, Monroe. You've got a Second Shift coming… and next time, it's not just gonna be vines and gorillas."

Jack called out, unsure. "Wait—what do I do when it happens again?"

Ryo stopped at the door.

He didn't turn around.

But his voice was calm, almost amused.

"Try not to kill anyone."

Click. The door shut behind him.