𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔⭑.ᐟ 𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐔 (✔)

chapter 11

Kabuchiko District, Shinjuku Ward

The drive to the warehouse district carried none of the quiet ease from earlier that morning, instead settling into something heavier, something that pressed subtly against the air and refused to be ignored. Even the city, alive and restless as always, felt distant from where we were headed, as if the space ahead of us existed separately from everything else.

I sat in the passenger seat, watching the passing buildings blur into muted shapes, my attention steady but alert. Beside me, Rindou drove without distraction, one hand resting loosely on the wheel while the other remained relaxed near his side, his posture calm in a way that didn't mean careless, but prepared.

Neither of us spoke for a while, not because there was nothing to say, but because neither of us needed to say it yet. The silence wasn't empty. It was deliberate, built on the understanding that whatever waited for us ahead would require more focus than words.

"What do you think it is?" I asked eventually, my voice quiet but clear.

Rindou didn't look at me when he answered. "Not random. Mikey doesn't call people in like this unless something's already moving."

I nodded slightly, my gaze shifting forward again as the warehouse district began to come into view, its dull, industrial structures standing in rigid silence. "So something either went wrong," I said, "or it's about to."

"Probably both."

The closer we got, the more noticeable it became. There was nothing visibly out of place, no obvious signs of disturbance, and yet that was exactly what made it wrong. The stillness felt staged, too clean, too controlled.

"There," Rindou said, slowing the car as his focus settled on a warehouse ahead.

I followed his line of sight, taking in the structure carefully. The doors were slightly open, just enough to suggest recent movement, but not enough to invite it.

"They're already here," I murmured.

"Yeah."

The engine cut, and the quiet that followed felt sharper than before. As we stepped out, the air carried that same unnatural stillness, the kind that made instinct sharpen without needing explanation.

We approached without rushing, each step measured, controlled, our attention shifting across every detail, every shadow that didn't quite sit right.

"This feels off," I said under my breath.

"I know."

Rindou reached the door first, pushing it open slowly. The metal creaked softly, the sound stretching into the empty space inside, and immediately, it was clear.

This wasn't a meeting.

The warehouse floor stood empty, but the structure above told a different story. Movement flickered across the overhead beams, subtle enough to miss if you weren't paying attention, but obvious once you knew where to look.

"They're above us," I said quietly.

"More than a few," Rindou added.

The realization had barely settled before everything broke.

Gunfire erupted without warning, sharp and deafening as bullets tore through the space where we had been standing seconds earlier. I moved instantly, stepping back and to the side while pulling my weapon, my movements driven more by instinct than thought as I fired upward toward the shifting shadows.

Metal sparked under impact, the echoes of gunfire bouncing off the walls as figures repositioned above us, their coordination becoming clearer with every second.