What he didn't understand was why the place was empty when he got there. He had gotten there at the exact time that Mira told him but there wasn't anyone there.

Kato: Where is everyone?

Kato looked around and the place was too quiet and after waiting for a few minutes, Kato turned to leave but that's when he saw Isaiah approaching.

Kato immediately felt tense because of the stern look he gave him.

Kato: Oh… hey. 

Isaiah: Hey.

Kato: Uh… do you know where everyone is? Mira told me we were all hanging out today and…

Isaiah: We're all at the tree house. We made changes at the last second. 

Kato: Oh I see…

Isaiah: If you understand, then get moving and follow me. 

They both walked on in silence and as they did, the memory of his first meeting with Isaiah flashed in his mind. It was definitely not a good way to meet someone and suddenly Kato realized why Mira had Isaiah be the one to get him.

Kato: Um…

Isaiah: (irritated) What is it?

Kato: I’ve been thinking about what you said that night. I’ve always been taught that all Shadows were evil. But in the past few days, I've seen things that are different from what I've been told and after all of it, I realized that I've been naive this whole time.

Isaiah: So what are you saying? 

Kato: I’m changing my perspective. Since my previous beliefs were wrong, I want to learn what's right from you all and do what I can to put an end to all this. So…

Kato suddenly bowed his head.

Kato: I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being so ignorant and arrogant back then. 

Isaiah, hearing all this, sighed and tapped Kato on the shoulder. 

Isaiah: It's fine. As long as you understand. Let's go.

Kato raised his head and followed Isaiah until they reached a giant tree and on top of the tree was a house that was carefully built on its wide and thick branches. 

And at the top of the house was Yamato, who threw down a rope ladder for them to climb up. The rope ladder swayed as Kato climbed into the treehouse. The inside was wider than he expected, with soft pillows scattered across the wooden floor and sunlight filtering through the leaves above. Everyone turned to look at him.

Mira’s face immediately lit up.

Mira: You made it.

Kato: Yeah.

Kenji gave him a small nod.

Kenji: Took you long enough.

Cookie was lying on her stomach, kicking her feet lazily in the air.

Cookie: We were starting to think Isaiah scared you off.

Isaiah: I didn’t do anything.

Uta signed something with his hands, and Mira interpreted with a small smile.

Mira: Uta says you look like you’re expecting us to jump you.

Kato blinked.

Kato: …Was it that obvious?

A few of them chuckled.

Mira patted the pillow next to her.

Mira: Sit. You’re safe here.

Kato hesitated, then slowly sat down beside her. His shoulders were tense, like he was bracing for something to go wrong.

Kenji studied him for a moment.

Kenji: You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to. But if you’re here, that means you do want to be here.

Kato: I do. I just… I don't really know how to be around people like you.

Cookie: People like us? You're a shadow now, you know that right? 

Kato flinched as the realization hit him again. 

Kato: You’re right. But it's just I haven't been around shadows who don't have bad intentions before. So, I'm kinda nervous. 

Kato paused.

Kato: What's it like… to live like this?

Yamato leaned back on his hands.

Yamato: It's really hard. Sure we have our own space but we can't really express who we truly are out there, because of the bad apples amongst us. 

Isaiah crossed his arms.

Isaiah: That's how messed up it's been.

Uta signed again.

Mira: He says, “You’re already ahead of where I was. You’re asking questions instead of pretending.”

Kato looked down at his hands.

Kato: I spent most of my life thinking everything was simple. Shadows are bad, Clarions are good and regular humans are stuck in the middle. But now everything is still kinda jumbled up in my head. 

Mira’s voice softened.

Mira: You're going to be fine Kato.

There was a small pause.

Kenji: You apologized to Isaiah earlier, right?

Kato nodded.

Kenji: Figured. Mira probably made Isaiah come get you so you'd have an opportunity to apologize. 

Isaiah: I figured that was the case.

Yamato: Mira would make a perfect couple match maker.

Isaiah: Shut up.

Kato looked up, surprised.

Kato: You really don’t hate me?

Isaiah: No. Sure, you said something I hated, but you've apologized for it and you're making an effort to change, so it's fine.

Kato heaved a sigh of relief.

Kato: Thank goodness. 

Everyone smiled and then Cookie rolled onto her back.

Cookie: Plus, if you were really awful, Mira wouldn’t like you this much.

Mira's face Imma turned red. 

Mira: COOKIE!! 

Kato suddenly wore a puzzled look..

Kato: What? She—

Mira suddenly turned to Kato and she began to look like a demon in his eyes which spooked him. 

Mira: You don’t get to finish that sentence.

Kato: Eh? What did I do? 

Everyone laughed as the tension in his chest eased just a little.

Yamato reached into a bag and tossed Kato a bottle of juice.

Yamato: Welcome to the treehouse. Rule one: no lying to yourself.

Mira: Why are you the one saying the rules? It's my tree house, you know. 

Yamato: Yeah well, you didn't say it fast enough, so I called dibs on it. 

Kenji: You're supposed to say out loud first before you actually do it.

Yamato: For real?

Cookie: How about we just let everyone else have a turn saying it? 

Mira sighed and waved her hand surrendering to their demands. 

Kenji: Rule two: if you’re hurting, you say it.

Uta signed again.

Mira: Rule three: If you’re lost, we don’t leave you behind.

Kato stared at them as the sense of belonging began to feel his very being. He cracked a small smile which only Mira seemed to notice.

Kenji: As Ervin told you when your training is going to start?

Kato: Yeah. Mr Ervin said it starts tomorrow morning.

Yamato: Then get ready for an early start.

Kato: Earlier start?

Isaiah: Ervin has this habit of always starting training early in the morning. 

Kato: Why? 

Isaiah shrugged.

Isaiah: Beats me.

Yamato: But the training is always intense. 

Kato: Intense?

Kenji: You'll see it tomorrow. 

They spent the rest of the day talking, trading stories, and slowly peeling back the layers around Kato. What started as cautious conversation turned into something warmer, more natural. 

Kato found himself opening up in ways he hadn’t expected, sharing pieces of his life, his fears, and the things he never said out loud to anyone but Takimo. 

In return, they told him about themselves too, where they came from, what they believed in, and why they kept fighting in a world that never made it easy. 

Laughter slipped in between the heavy moments, easing the tension that had followed Kato for so long. By the time the sun began to dip and the sky burned with orange and gold, it felt less like strangers sitting together and more like the beginning of something he hadn’t realized he needed.

Connection.