Chapter 29: — "Team Up or Shut Up" — [INTERLUDE]

I hate empty classrooms.

No, I mean, really hate them. There’s something about the echo of footsteps down the hallway, the hum of fluorescent lights above, and the cold, vacant feeling of desks staring back at me that makes my brain race. Today, Kaito and Rin were absent, supposedly on one of their “missions” again, which, by the way, they didn’t bother to tell anyone about. Typical... but made sense.

I tried to focus on my textbook, really, I did. The letters blurred together almost immediately, though, because my mind refused to shut off. Kaito. Kouji. Syntrix Umbra. Ecliptix Corp. My dad, probably oblivious in his office at the company. And somehow, me, stuck in the middle of everything, trying not to implode.

And then Jiro appeared.

Of course. Jiro. The nerd who could trip over air and still manage to look like he was auditioning for a rom-com, the same boy who had spent the last few months practically orbiting Rin like a satellite, doing his best “tech genius” impression. I don’t know why he came in today. I don’t know why I’m not running away. But here he was, leaning against my desk with a grin that was entirely too confident for someone who looked like he just fell out of a tree.

“Yuzuki,” he said, in that overly formal way he uses when he’s trying to sound serious, “we need to talk.”

I blinked. My first thought: oh, please, the universe isn’t done punishing me with awkward social interactions yet. My second thought: why does it feel like my brain just hit ‘panic mode’?

“Uh… about what?” I asked cautiously, keeping my voice steady even though my stomach decided it would be funny to start flipping itself inside out.

“About you, me, Kaito, Rin, and saving the world,” he said. Yeah. That was Jiro for you, casual about apocalypses, like he wasn’t about to blow my eardrums out with sheer enthusiasm.

“Excuse me?” I said, trying to keep my voice calm and failing miserably. “You’re… asking about the apocalypse? Again?”

He waved a hand like I was being dramatic. “Not exactly. I mean, the… situation with the AI company thingy? You know… the big bad stuff Kaito and Rin are involved in? I want in.”

I froze.

Want in?

“What?” I managed, because my brain literally refused to process anything more sophisticated. “You want to… join us? Join the team? You do realize this is extremely dangerous, right? Like, death-level dangerous?”

Jiro nodded eagerly. “Exactly! That’s why I need your help. You’ve got, like… connections, right? You know where they are. You’re smart. And I can help too! I can do… tech stuff. Hacking. Logistics. Tracking. Whatever you need, I swear I’ll make myself useful.”

Useful. He says that like I should be impressed.

“Jiro,” I said slowly, trying to keep my patience from evaporating entirely, “you do realize you don’t actually know what you’re getting into, right? Kaito doesn’t even tell me or Rin half the things he does. You have no idea what’s happening.”

Jiro blinked, then grinned like he hadn’t just been scolded. “All the more reason I should be involved! I can’t just sit here while… while… I don’t know… evil happens!”

I groaned, buried my face in my hands for a brief moment. Why did I ever think being alone in class would be peaceful? Why did my life involve a constant parade of idiots with good intentions and terrible timing?

“And besides,” he added quickly, “if I’m with them, I can help Rin! You know, make sure nothing bad happens to her while she’s, like, doing all the dangerous stuff.”

I choked on my own sarcasm before I could stop myself. “Ohhh, right. Because you’re definitely the person I’d trust to protect anyone. Not Kaito, who’s literally survived multiple life-or-death situations this week, but you. Of course. That makes total sense.”

He opened his mouth, probably to argue, but I wasn’t done. “You want to impress Rin, and that’s… fine. I get it. But this isn’t a game, Jiro. This isn’t about points or being her knight in shining armor.”

“I know, I know! I’m serious!” he said, holding his hands up. “I really can be useful!”

I sighed, realizing I was about to give a pep talk to someone who would nod at my words and forget everything five seconds later. But then… he tilted his head, eyes narrowing slightly, and smiled that stupid, irritatingly cute grin.

“You know,” he said softly, “you really like Kaito, don’t you?”

I froze. Every muscle in my body tensed. I could feel my ears heating up like the entire classroom was a spotlight aimed at my embarrassment.

“What?!” I yelped, spinning around. “I-I don’t! That’s— you— don’t even—”

“C’mon, Yuzuki,” Jiro teased, leaning against the desk again. “It’s so obvious. The way you look at him when he’s doing that… I don’t know… heroic, brooding, mysterious thing. The way you worry. The way you—”

I threw my notebook at him. Not hard, mind you. Just… enough to express my outrage.

“Stop it! You don’t know anything!” I shouted, crossing my arms and glaring like my life depended on it. “And you—” I stopped mid-sentence, realizing I’d been about to point out the biggest flaw in his argument.

“Oh, I know you’re blushing,” he said smugly. “Face like a tomato, Yuzuki. Admit it, you like him. You have a crush on him!”

I groaned, gripping my head. “You’re impossible! You’re literally impossible!”

“And you’re ignoring the fact that you’re sitting here judging my Rin-simp energy,” he countered with a grin. “You’ve never told me, but I know exactly how hard you roll your eyes every time I mention her. Admit it, you’re jealous of me.”

Jealous? Me? Of Jiro? I laughed, but it wasn’t really funny. More like a half-crazy, frustrated laugh. “Jealous? Of you? The guy who literally broke his keyboard trying to impress Rin last week? The guy who almost electrocuted himself hooking up her new drone?”

“Okay, yes. That part was… unfortunate,” he admitted, “but the principle remains! You’re jealous!”

I threw my pencil at him this time, missing entirely. “I’m not! And you are a disaster waiting to happen, and you should stay the hell out of anything dangerous, or—”

“Or what?” he said, leaning closer, ignoring the flying pencil. “You gonna stop me? I can at least try to be useful, unlike some people who only sit there staring at the ceiling and worrying.”

That… hurt. Not in a physically painful way, but in a “oh great, now my own conscience is being attacked” kind of way.

“Fine!” I finally yelled, throwing my arms up. “Fine! You want to be useful? You want to tag along? You can try. But if you so much as sneeze wrong, or—”

“I promise I’ll be careful,” he interrupted, wide-eyed and almost glowing with sincerity.

I paused. His enthusiasm was… annoying, yes, but also slightly impressive. And, well, if Kaito and Rin trusted me, maybe I could at least relay the message. Maybe.

“Okay,” I said slowly, still glaring. “I’ll… I’ll mention it to Kaito. Don’t get your hopes up.”

His face lit up like I’d just told him the world wasn’t going to explode today. “Yes! Thank you, Yuzuki! You won’t regret this, I swear!”

I muttered under my breath, probably too quietly for him to hear, “I probably will.”

Then he smirked, clearly having caught it. “You might. But hey, that’s part of the fun, right?”

I rolled my eyes. Hard. “No. It’s not fun. It’s stressful. And you’re an idiot.”

“Maybe,” he admitted, holding up his hands in surrender. “But a helpful idiot. That counts for something.”

I groaned, leaning back in my chair. My brain was tired, my heart was still racing, and my cheeks felt like they were going to combust from embarrassment. But at least… for once, someone was trying to help.

I didn’t trust him one bit. But I would admit, grudgingly, and only in the tiniest corner of my mind, maybe he could be… useful.

Maybe.