Chapter 26 : Cold eyes, warmer heart

Mikuya slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry, and her body felt weak and heavy. As the world began to come into focus, she realized she was lying on an old bed, the sheets rough against her skin. Her hands were bandaged, and the faint scent of antiseptic lingered in the air.

Near her, she saw two familiar figures—Sora and Kaito—sitting close by, speaking in hushed tones. Their words reached her ears like a distant echo, muffled and unclear. She blinked a few more times, trying to piece everything together.

Suddenly, Kaito noticed her eyes moving. “She’s awake!” he said quickly, standing up. Sora turned immediately, his eyes wide with relief.

“Mikuya, are you okay?” Sora asked, rushing to her side.

“Do you feel pain anywhere?” Kaito followed, just as concerned.

“Can you hear us? Say something,” Sora urged, panic creeping into his voice.

Mikuya blinked again and slowly tried to sit up, but her arms trembled. “W-What… what happened?” she whispered. “Where are we? And… when did you get here, Kaito?”

Kaito glanced at Sora before answering. “You don’t remember?”

“The last thing I remember…” Mikuya said slowly, her brows furrowed. “We were fighting Kurogami. He attacked me and then… I don’t know. I blacked out. The next time I opened my eyes… I was here.”

Sora leaned back slightly, clearly surprised. “You really don’t remember? You—Mikuya—you defeated Kurogami.”

Her eyes widened. “I… what?”

“Yeah,” Sora said. “It was like something took over you. You were strong. Like, empty strong. You weren’t yourself. It was terrifying… and amazing.”

Mikuya shook her head weakly. “I don’t remember any of that.”

Kaito looked serious. “You’ve been unconscious for a whole week. We were worried you might not wake up.”

“A week?” she echoed, shocked. Her gaze dropped to the bandages on her hands.

Sora let out a breath. “After you collapsed, someone took Kurogami and disappeared. We don’t know who it was. We couldn’t find any trace of them.”

Kaito added, “The Agency doesn’t have any information either. It’s like he vanished.”

Outside, a cold wind howled against the walls of the building. Winter was coming, creeping in faster with each passing day. The place they were in now was an old house in the city, long-abandoned and crumbling, but it had become their new hideout ever since the Agency discovered their previous one. It wasn’t perfect—far from it—but it was safe. In one corner of the room, a fire crackled weakly, its warmth fighting against the chill that had started to seep into everything.

The three of them sat in silence. Confused. Wounded. But alive.

And for now… that would have to be enough.

Kaito gave a small sigh and smiled softly. “We were just relieved you’re okay. That’s all that matters.”

Mikuya, with her usual cold expression, glanced at both of them. “Why do you even care about me?”

Sora and Kaito blinked, a bit surprised by her bluntness. Then they exchanged a glance before both smiling warmly.

“Because you’re like a little sister to us,” Sora said gently. “And we’re always going to be here when you need us.”

Kaito nodded. “You don’t have to go through things alone. You’ve got us now.”

Mikuya stared at them silently for a moment before saying with a completely straight face, “You can’t take Saito’s place.”

Sora chuckled. “You’re really silly, you know that?”

“We’re not trying to take his place,” Kaito added with a grin. “We’re just saying… now you have two more brothers you can rely on.”

And for the first time in what felt like forever, Mikuya felt a faint warmth stir in her chest—a warmth she hadn’t felt since Saito was gone. She looked at the two of them, her expression softening just a little.

“…Thank you,” she whispered.

“Huh? What did you say?” Sora asked, leaning in.

Mikuya turned away, her cold face back in place. “Nothing.”