As the girl's voice faded, the azure butterfly shrank until it was no bigger than a pupil. It fluttered straight into her crimson left eye—then burst out from the eye of Kurayami, who was seated at her office desk, just as Seoki opened the door and stepped inside with his best friend.
"We're home," we said in unison before collapsing onto the sofa in the corner of the room.
Kurayami, still in her youth, spun her chair around to face us. "Could I have the thumb drive, please?"
Seto stood up and placed a flash drive USB stick on her desk. "Whoa, a tiny one."
While she checked the files, I picked up a guitar and started playing. Seto removed his prosthetic ring finger and tapped it against the table like a drum.
"Okay! There's a lot of useful data in here," Kurayami said. "I'll transfer the money to you tomorrow."
Even though she was only eighteen, her way of thinking was far too mature for her age. After losing everyone, we did our best to earn money to raise her like a normal kid. But she didn't want to go back to school anymore. She was ready to live like an adult.
After what happened that day, she never held a grudge against us again. We swore we'd be good older brothers if she ever needed us. To me, she was still the same cheerful little girl—only it hurt knowing she had to skip her teenage years entirely.
Lately, Kurayami had dismissed almost all subordinates under Taiyoshin. I wasn't sure whether she was restructuring things, or if it was simply because underground thieves like us had to stay hidden, quietly trying to carry on what Haruki once envisioned.
"By the way," she said, "I've prepared new masks for you to wear tomorrow."
She opened a drawer and handed us two black face masks.
"Wow, they're so clean-looking," we said as we put them on. Neon-blue target lights flickered to life on the surface.
"Hey, that's cool!" Kurayami picked up an old film camera and snapped a shot as I turned toward the lens. When Seto put on his gold-patterned target mask, we stood side by side so she could take photos for her personal profile.
Click. Click.
"Nice. Seoki-chan, could you put your arm around Seto's neck?" I glanced at him before awkwardly draping my arm over his shoulders.
"Don't squeeze my arm," he muttered. "It's bruised from the karaoke bar."
"Yeah, yeah, I know~" he replied with a nod.
Click. Click.
"Good! now lift ya leg too," Kurayami said.
"Are you trying to make us dance tango or what?" Seto joked as I raised my left thigh and let him support it.
She laughed. "Haha, just a second. Hold that pose."
"Dancing wouldn't be so bad," I said. "My leg's about to cramp."
Click. Click.
"Hehe, perfect. That'll do."
"You know how to tango?" I asked him.
"Huh? Nah," he replied. "But I can probably poke someone's butt."
Kurayami watched us banter back and forth, smiling faintly. "It's a shame they're gone before they could see us like this."
"Don't be sad, milady," Seto said, resting a hand on my shoulder. "You've still got us."
"That's right," I added. "We'll help with anything you need."
"Do I even need to thank you?" she teased, then smiled warmly."Thank you."
"So… how long are you planning to keep wearing the mask called Yurei?" Seto asked, touching on what lay ahead.
Kurayami leaned against the wall, lips curling into a small smile. "I'm planning to upgrade the Yurei server. I'm willing to spend millions expanding the database in exchange for easier control. Honestly, I don't even need Dango to run the system anymore."
Dango's voice burst through the earpiece in our right ears the moment he heard her through the CCTV. "What?! You hired a new programmer?!"
"No, absolutely not," she replied calmly. "'found my own way."
"Ah, when exactly did you even take a programmin' course?!"
Kurayami brushed aside her bangs and pointed to her left temple. Looking closely, we saw a computer chip embedded beneath the skin. She picked up the old glasses she once used to enter the digital world and stared at her reflection. She froze for a moment, dazed—until two tears slid down her cheeks.
"Milady… are you okay?" I asked.