Chapter 5: Connection

“Ellen!”

Hayato woke up drenched in sweat, tears running down his face.

“W-What was that…?” he muttered, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

A nightmare… or a memory?

His head spun, as if he’d seen something he was never meant to.

He reached for his phone—it was 5:30 a.m., and, unsurprisingly, there were no notifications.

“Perfect timing to take the train in peace…” he said with irony.

His obsession with avoiding people had forced him to wake up earlier than anyone else. He wanted to steer clear of rush hour—of people—at all costs.

As he brushed his teeth, Asley’s face flashed again and again in his mind.

“How can she be so carefree?”

“She says she’s my fiancée, but I don’t even know her…”

All he could see was that radiant smile that confused him so much.

“I’ve got a lot to think about…”

He grabbed his backpack, his earbuds, and quietly slipped out, careful not to wake his parents.

As the train carried him toward Akihabara, he saw the city as a prison—its neon lights, its constant motion, the reckless tourists, the tireless office workers…
Everything felt suffocating.

He looked at his backpack and thought about the future. He just wanted to finish school and move to some rural town surrounded by mountains and fresh air. To let his art take flight peacefully, far from Tokyo’s noise and rush.

“City people are evil…” he muttered with a sigh.

When he stepped out of Akihabara Station, Hayato walked through the quiet streets, peacefully glancing at the shop windows.

He stopped in front of an electronics store where the news played across multiple screens.

Breaking News

Yesterday, the Eagle Squadron eliminated an Invader that appeared in Ueno Park.
Civilian casualties were minimal thanks to Liberty’s swift response.

In other statements, Japanese Prime Minister Nakamura Ito announced that Russia—

At that moment, as the morning breeze swept through the streets, a warm, melodic voice accompanied by a gentle floral scent, snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Good morning, Ando-sempai~!”

He turned and saw a young girl absentmindedly twirling a strand of her light-brown hair.

“Oh, it’s you, Mizuno. What are you doing here so early? Classes don’t start for almost two hours.”

Her uniform was the same as Hayato’s, though on her it seemed to shine under the morning light.

“I was thinking of stopping by a café. Would you like to come with me? I wanted to talk about your latest painting,” she said with a bright smile.

She was like a golden retriever puppy, so eager it was impossible to say no.

“Sure…” Hayato let out a small sigh. He couldn’t bring himself to refuse her invitation.

After buying some coffee, the two of them strolled past shop windows on their way to school.
Bit by bit, the city began to come alive; more people filled the streets, and with them, his discomfort grew.

Sakura stopped in front of a café filled with Shiba Inu dogs.

“I’d love to come to a place like this sometime…” she said with a wistful sigh.

Hayato stepped closer, watching how happy the dogs looked inside.

“Seems like a nice place and pretty quiet, too. You should come with your friends sometime.”

She made an adorable pout, and that stray lock of hair on her head seemed to twist into a tiny spiral.

“I don’t have anyone to go with… would you come with me someday?” she asked, her unruly strand of hair swaying like a puppy’s tail.

He raised an eyebrow.

“Are you sure? I mean, someone as popular as you must get invited out all the time.”

“Hmph! You really are slow, senpai,” she said, crossing her arms.

“And I’m not as popular as you think…” she added, starting to walk again.

Hayato followed her, still processing the invitation.

As they continued down the street, Sakura’s rebellious lock of hair suddenly perked up like an antenna, faintly sensing something.

“Don’t panic, senpai… but I think someone’s following us,” she whispered softly.

Hayato felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. A bead of cold sweat rolled down his temple.

“Could it be Liberty…? Did I really become a Dual and now they’re hunting me?”

Sakura’s hair pointed discreetly in a direction.

“There. Behind that poster of Mirai the Magical Girl.”

Hayato turned carefully, expecting the worst… agents in black suits, dark glasses, and high-tech weapons.

But when he finally saw who it was, his expression went flat.

“Ah…”

“Eh? ‘Ah’? That’s all you’re gonna say? Do you even know who that girl is?” Sakura asked, confused.

“Yeah. Ignore her. She’s not even hiding properly…”

Both of them could clearly see Asley trying to conceal herself behind a street pole—except half her body was sticking out.

The worst part was her expression… a mix of jealousy, fury, and pure drama.

Her forehead might as well have had ‘I caught you, you cheating traitor!’ written across it.

“Fufufu… I’ve found you, darling…” Asley murmured with a chilling smile, like a vengeful spirit straight out of a horror story.

“Why is she looking at me like that!?” Hayato shouted in panic.

Sakura grabbed his hand firmly.

“Come on, senpai! We’re almost at school!” she said with the energy of a Saturday-morning heroine.

Hayato barely caught a glimpse of Asley squeezing the pole so hard it looked like she might crush it with her fingers.

“Hyahhh! She’s a terrifying Yokai!”

The two of them bolted down the street, fleeing from the furious American girl as the Tokyo sunrise filled the sky with the sound of frantic footsteps and desperate screams.