“Even though I did give you the choice, I was hoping you’d head back toward your own house.” Kaito glanced at the brown-haired girl who was keeping pace beside him as they wove their way through the light crowd.

“Sorry.” Mika forced a small smile to her lips. “I just don’t think I could move on without some sort of explanation.”

The brief conversation ended there as Mika gazed at the scenery around her. It was a Friday night, but even so, most of the small-scale family restaurants in the residential area were closing. She supposed the majority of the night life was in downtown Shibuya.

From the main highway, Kaito took a left, leading her down a narrow, two-lane road. It dead-ended at another street where they turned left. Mika was vaguely aware of where she was, only because she recognized the massive apartment complex that seemed out of place amongst all of the other houses.

Come to think of it… “Um, when you said your apartment, you don’t mean in that complex right?”

“Yeah, it’s that one.”

Mika’s eyes traveled up the building. It was high-end, not something that just anyone could afford. She found the interior was just as nice as the exterior as the automatic sliding glass doors opened for them. There was an assistance desk situated to the right and an elevator to the left. The lobby area was large, with leather seats and a red rug that covered about half of the marble-tiled floor. All in all, it looked more like a five star hotel than an apartment.

“Mika.”

Kaito’s voice pulled her attention away from the scenery and toward the open elevator doors where he was standing.

“I’m coming!” she said, dashing through the gap before they closed.

The button that Kaito pressed was for the 18th floor, the second floor from the top. Their ride was completely silent, save for the automated voice on the elevator which called the floor numbers, and a ding which announced their arrival at the 18th.

Kaito stepped out first and took a right down the hall, stopping at the end next to a large window. They were high enough up that Mika could easily see the sky-rises and brilliant lights of Shibuya in the distance. It took Kaito’s call of her name once more for Mika’s attention to shift to the left where Kaito held open a polished wooden door. They both slipped off their shoes, stepped past the entryway… and for the second time that night, Mika had to surpass a gasp.

She knew the complex was for those with money. She knew the rooms would be spacious, but still, to see it in person was something else. The small entryway opened into a wide room. To the right was a black leather couch which could seat three, a coffee table, and a cabinet which had a flat screen TV balanced on top. At the back of the right wall were glass doors which lead to a balcony. To the left was the kitchen, outfitted with an oven, sink, dishwasher and a plethora of cabinets and drawers. The kitchen area was tiled, while the rest of the room was covered in a light, sea-green carpet. Situated at the back of the room, near the kitchen was a low, traditional Japanese table with four black cushions., and ahead on the far wall was a staircase that presumably went to a bedroom on the second floor.

“You can sit wherever,” he said waving his hand in the general direction of the kitchen table. “I’ll make tea.”

Mika did as she was bid and situated herself at the back of the table, facing toward the door. This really is an amazing place, she mused as her eyes glanced around the room once more. “Um, do your parents live here also?” The place was quiet and completely clean, which gave her no clue as to the other residents.

“It’s just me,” he answered, leaning back against the counter to face her.

“Does… that mean you’re rich?” Kaito never gave Mika that impression, but certainly only a wealthy individual could afford such a place. Even the cheapest apartments would be difficult for just a high schooler to rent.

“I wouldn’t say that,” he answered slowly. “But I manage somehow.”

“Does your family send you money?”

He gave a shake of his head before turning back around to the stove and pouring the tea into two cups which he brought over to the table.

Mika picked up the one nearest to her and held it, letting the warmth of the cup seep through both of her cold hands. She took a slow sip. She knew what she wanted to have answered, but no matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn’t quite form the words into a proper sentence. A part of her was also afraid of the answer, but she’d come all this way and wasn’t about to turn back now without satisfying at least some part of her curiosity.

“The color is coming back to your face.”

The casual remark from Kaito brought her back from her pondering. “Eh?” She set the tea down to bring both hands to her cheeks. “Was I pale?”

“A bit. Well anyway, if we’re doing this let’s get it over with.”

“Oh… Um…” The sudden prompt caught her off guard and she spit out the first words that entered her mind. “That boss guy didn’t seem normal...” Mika slowly raised her eyes to meet Kaito’s, but his expression was completely blank.

Mika was hoping he would elaborate from there, but instead he merely gave a non-committal grunt.

With a small sigh to collect her ideas back together, Mika chose to switch tracks somewhat. “Why do you think he came after me?”

“Probably because you’re an easy target. The new girl in school. Still uncertain, not very familiar with the town, not a lot of friends and beautiful on top of it all.”

Mika felt a blush rising to her cheeks, though his tone was entirely casual, so she figured he didn’t mean anything significant by the last phrase. It was merely an objective opinion. “And it was easy to use Hattori to get to me I guess,” Mika said, mostly to herself. “After that, he disappeared…” Again Mika prompted him, hoping he would explain further, but again, Kaito only gave a grunt in response. So he’s not going to bother answering unless I actually ask a straightforward question?

“Um… did you make him disappear?”

“I guess.”

“You guess? Isn’t that a yes or no question?”

“Yes.”

“’Yes’ to which question?” Mika demanded as her eyes narrowed on his face.

A hint of a playful smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Next.”

“Fine,” Mika murmured through gritted teeth. “I think he mentioned something about territory? What did he mean by that?”

“Actually I’ll answer the previous question more clearly,” he commented, ignoring the girl, who appeared to be getting gradually more frustrated. “Yes, he vanished because of my doing.”

“Will he come after me again?”

“No.”

“Is he… Did you…” the words stuck in Mika’s throat. She took a long sip of tea and then tried again in a quieter voice. “Did you kill him?”

“Did you see a body?”

“No but –”

“You don’t have to worry about it. He won’t come after you again.”

This vague answer left her with even more questions. Even more so than anything, seemed to indicate that the guy was indeed dead, but as Kaito pointed out, there was no body. Either the boss guy, or Kaito, likely both, definitely weren’t just average people.

“Was he, the boss… he wasn’t just a normal person right?”

At this point, Kaito appeared to become particularly interested in his tea. He finished his cup in one gulp, rose to refill it, and took his time getting back to the table. “Next question,” he prompted with a wave of his hand.

“I know you didn’t already forget about the previous one,” Mika grumbled.

“It’s somewhat difficult to answer. So let’s move on.”

“Are you… a normal person?”

Kaito placed his elbow on the table and rested his head on his hand. “Is anyone really ‘normal’?”

“You know what I mean! And when you avoid it like that it makes you look all the more suspicious!” Mika retaliated. When Kaito made no move to comment, Mika tried a new method.

“You took down all those guys that were guarding the hotel right?”

“Yeah.”

“And knocked the door off its hinges.” He shrugged in response. “Do you have fighting experience?”

He nodded.

“How many years have you been fighting?”

“More than you can count on both hands.”

“How many kilograms can you lift?”

“I don’t know.”

“More than 100?”

“Probably.”

“How do you get onto the roof at lunch? Do you jump?”

With a sigh, Kaito broke off the eye contact he’d been holding with the girl.

“How acute is your hearing?”

Kaito fell backwards onto the floor and crossed his arms behind his head. “Even if you put it like this, it doesn’t make it any easier to answer you know.”

Mika scooted around the side of the table so that she could continue to watch him for any change of expression on his carefully controlled face. She had drawn a breath to continue the interrogation, but Kaito cut her off.

“Let me ask you a question instead. What’s your impression of it all? How would you answer your own questions?”

“I think you can jump onto the top of the roof without using a ladder, and I think your hearing is really good,” she answered promptly. “So I don’t think you’re average, but I’m not sure how you’re different either. I don’t know what kind of environment you were trained in, but even so, some things you do seem like more than what even a trained person could accomplish. Could you be genetically modified or something?”

At this Kaito laughed. “I suppose in this age that would be the first thing to come to mind. But, no. My genetics haven’t been altered in the way you’re thinking. What other theories do you have?”