As for the time Tenshi and Asahi reached the apartment, the hallway lights had already dimmed to their evening setting. The air smelled faintly of rain and old wood.
Asahi unlocked the door, stepped in, and spoke without turning around:
"Shoes off neatly. Don't block the doorway."
Tenshi nodded and obeyed.
Inside, the apartment was exactly the way Asahi liked it:
clean, quiet, everything lined up like a photograph. The folded laundry on the couch, the arranged cups by the sink, the floor spotless.
Tenshi let out a small breath of relief.
Finally, a peaceful night.
BANG— BANG— BANG—
Someone pounded the front door so violently that Tenshi jumped.
Asahi froze mid-step.
"…Tenshi, did you invite someone?"
"No!"
The knocking got louder.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"TENSHI! OPEN THE DOOR!"
Tenshi whispered, horrified, "…Kaito?"
Asahi closed his eyes slowly.
"…Open it. Before he breaks it."
Tenshi opened the door a crack.
Kaito stood there.
Two duffle bags.
Breathing hard from running.
Hair messy.
Shirt hanging off one shoulder like he didn't finish putting it on.
"Tenshi," he said flatly, "I'm moving in."
Tenshi blinked. "Huh—?"
Kaito pushed his way inside, dropping both bags with heavy thuds.
"Himari sent me. She said I should stay with you for a while."
Asahi shut the door behind him with a sharp click.
"For how long?" he asked.
Kaito shrugged.
"She didn't say."
Tenshi's soul silently left his body.
Kaito looked around the apartment quickly.
"It's clean. Too clean. It feels like no one lives here."
Asahi immediately shot him a cold look.
"Rule one," he said. "Do not comment on my cleaning."
Kaito raised his hands slightly. "Alright, alright."
Asahi continued:
"Rule two: No loud noises after nine."
"Got it."
"Rule three: You cook nothing. Ever."
Kaito looked offended.
"I'm not that bad—"
"You burned instant ramen."
"That happened once!"
"And rule four," Asahi said, ignoring him, "pick up after yourself."
Kaito inhaled deeply.
"…That one might be hard."
Tenshi whispered, "Then try harder…"
Asahi sighed.
"Fine. I'll cook tonight. Curry."
Kaito perked up immediately. "With meat?"
"Yes."
"And vegetables?"
"Yes."
Kaito groaned.
Tenshi watched the exchange and quietly thought: I'm trapped.
Dinner Chaos
Asahi cooked quickly — efficient moves, silent focus, no wasted motion. The apartment filled with the warm smell of curry and onions, something Tenshi only smelled on good days.
Kaito set the table…
kind of.
He placed plates unevenly, forks upside down, and spilled water once.
Asahi corrected everything without speaking.
When the curry was served, Kaito immediately began eating like he hadn't eaten in three days. But the moment he tasted a carrot, his entire expression soured.
He reached into his bowl and picked out every vegetable with practiced skill.
Carrots.
Potatoes.
Onions.
Green beans.
He flicked them to the side of his plate one by one.
Tenshi stared.
"Kaito… what are you doing?"
"Getting rid of the gross parts."
Asahi's eyebrow twitched.
"No wasting food," he said sharply.
"I'm not wasting," Kaito said. "I'm just not eating that."
He picked up a chunk of potato with chopsticks like it was a deadly weapon.
Tenshi leaned closer.
"Give it to me."
Kaito paused.
"Huh?"
"Don't throw it away. Put the vegetables on my plate."
Kaito blinked at him for a good three seconds.
Then shrugged.
"Okay. If you want it."
He tilted his plate slightly, sliding all the vegetables into Tenshi's curry.
Asahi watched the exchange silently, expression unreadable.
Tenshi felt awkward but tried to smile.
"I like vegetables," he said quietly.
Kaito nodded as if this was extremely important information.
"That's good. I'll give you all of mine forever."
Asahi exhaled.
"No. You will learn to eat them."
Kaito pointed at Tenshi. "He can eat them!"
"Tenshi is not your trash bin," Asahi replied.
They argued lightly while Tenshi kept eating.
The curry was warm.
The room was loud.
And despite the chaos…
it felt livelier than usual.
Kaito finished first, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and stretched out on the floor beside Tenshi's futon.
"So I sleep here, right?"
Tenshi choked.
"Wait— THAT close!?"
"Yeah," Kaito said casually. "So I can wake you up if something happens."
"Nothing happens when I sleep!"
"You never know."
Asahi walked out of the kitchen holding a towel.
"Tenshi, you shower first. Kaito, unpack later. And if you touch Tenshi's futon again, I'll throw you off the balcony."
Kaito raised a hand.
"Wouldn't kill me."
"That's why it's tempting."
Tenshi hugged his bowl.
"…My life is over."
Kaito smiled like this was the greatest thing in the world.
After dinner, the apartment felt strangely warm. Tenshi stacked the empty bowls in the sink while Asahi wiped down the table with practiced precision. Kaito didn't help at all — he wandered the living room shirtless, poking at random objects and muttering things Tenshi didn't understand.
"Don't touch that," Tenshi said as Kaito picked up a small plant on the windowsill.
Kaito blinked at the plant like it was suspicious.
"Why not? It looked at me funny."
"It's a plant."
Kaito narrowed his eyes. "You don't know that."
Tenshi opened his mouth to respond, but Asahi stepped in, pulling the plant away from Kaito without a word. He placed it back in exactly the same spot.
"Stop touching things," Asahi said flatly.
Kaito made a confused noise and backed away.
With cleaning done, Asahi returned to his private bedroom at the end of the hall — the one neither of them dared enter. The moment his door clicked shut, Tenshi felt like air returned to his lungs.
Kaito, however, felt free in an entirely different way.
He walked to the center of the room and stretched like he owned the place. His muscles flexed in a proud display that Tenshi did not ask to see.
"Ahhh~ finally home," Kaito said.
"You've lived here for two hours," Tenshi reminded him.
Kaito shrugged. "Feels longer."
Tenshi unrolled his futon neatly in the corner beneath the window. He smoothed out the blanket, arranging it carefully. This was the one peaceful corner he had in the world.
Then he turned around.
Kaito was dragging his blanket directly beside Tenshi's.
"Eh—? No no no, move that," Tenshi said immediately.
Kaito looked down at the overlapping futons.
"Why?"
"Because it's my personal space!"
"But we're teammates."
"That doesn't mean we sleep touching shoulders!"
"It's warm here," Kaito argued.
Tenshi threw his hands up. "Warm is not the issue!"
Kaito lay down like a rock. "I already put it here. Too much work to move."
Tenshi stared at him, defeated.
He was convinced Kaito's soul was powered entirely by stubbornness.
The quiet of the apartment held for only a moment — then Asahi's door slid open.
"What are you doing?" he asked, eyes narrowed.
"Sleeping," Kaito said simply.
"Too close," Asahi replied.
"Kaito doesn't listen," Tenshi whispered.
Asahi didn't respond. He stared until both boys went silent. Then he slid the door shut again.
Tenshi lay on his futon and pulled the blanket up.
Kaito lay on his side, facing Tenshi. Too close. His breath was warm.
Five seconds of quiet passed.
"Tenshi," Kaito whispered.
Tenshi groaned. "…What."
"You think Asahi sleeps?"
"No."
"But his door is closed."
"That means nothing."
Kaito stared up at the ceiling.
"He's strong… He scares me a little."
"Same," Tenshi whispered.
Silence.
Then—
"Tenshi."
"Kaito please," Tenshi begged quietly, "I'm trying to sleep."
"I'm thinking."
"Stop thinking."
"I can't."
"That's the problem."
Kaito turned toward Tenshi again.
"What if tomorrow's devil eats people whole?"
"It might."
"Do you think it can break a car?"
"What is with you and cars?"
"Just asking."
Tenshi pushed the blanket over his head. "Please, Kaito. Please."
A moment later, the door to Asahi's room opened half a hand's width.
Both froze.
From the darkness came one word:
"Sleep."
The door closed.
Tenshi whispered, "See? He doesn't sleep. He lurks."
Kaito pulled his blanket up to his nose.
"Okay… okay… goodnight…"
Finally, the room fell silent. Tenshi drifted off slowly, exhausted but comforted. The faint moonlight through the window painted the tatami floor silver.
For the first time in months, he felt safe enough to dream.
⸻
Morning — Mission Day
A sharp knock on the wall jolted Tenshi awake.
"Tenshi. Kaito. Up."
Asahi's voice.
Tenshi blinked groggily, hair sticking up in all directions. Kaito lay face-down on the floor, half tangled in his blanket, looking like he'd been thrown down a hill.
"Kaito," Asahi said from behind his bedroom door, "shower."
A muffled groan escaped the Spino hybrid.
"No…"
"Yes."
"Nooooo…"
Tenshi nudged Kaito's shoulder. "Just do it. Before he comes out."
Kaito pushed himself up like a newborn buffalo and stumbled toward the bathroom. When the door shut, Tenshi exhaled quietly.
He changed into his mission uniform:
white shirt, sleeves folded up a little uneven, black dress pants slightly long, and a black tie he could never straighten properly.
Asahi stepped out of his room fully dressed — black suit jacket, white shirt neatly tucked, tie perfect. He took one look at Tenshi.
"…Fix your tie."
"I tried…"
Asahi fixed it in two seconds.
Kaito emerged from the bathroom, hair dripping, shirt halfway buttoned but clean.
Asahi stared at him a long moment.
"…acceptable."
Kaito grinned.
They grabbed their gear — Tenshi with his katana, Kaito with nothing but his fists, Asahi with a neatly organized black case — and stepped out into the cold morning air of the 3rd-floor hallway.
Fog flooded the street below. The sky looked pale, like the sun hadn't decided whether to rise yet.
Tenshi held his katana tight.
Kaito cracked his neck.
Asahi locked the apartment door.
"We move," Asahi said.
Tenshi swallowed and nodded.
Kaito rolled his shoulders.
The three walked side by side toward headquarters, their footsteps echoing softly through the quiet morning.