That Same Night
Rina Kurosaki's Room:
Silence blanketed the room, broken only by the soft rustle of turning pages and the steady movement of a pen.
Rina Kurosaki sat at her desk, her back straight, her eyes focused behind her glasses as they dove into equations and notes.
Rina was not an ordinary girl.
She was one of the most diligent students in her school—
undisputedly the smartest in her class,
and widely popular, not because she was arrogant…
but because she was always first, always outstanding.
Her phone rang.
She glanced at it briefly before picking it up.
"Hello?"
"Ri—na! You finally answered!"
The voice on the other end belonged to her friend, Hinata Aoi, sharp and excited as always.
"What is it? I was studying."
"Didn't you hear the news?!"
Rina frowned.
"What news?"
A brief silence followed… then Hinata burst out:
"Your brother! Kurosaki Koichi! The whole school is talking about him!"
Rina's hand froze above her notebook.
"…What about my brother?"
"They're saying he suddenly became a genius!"
"He challenged the math teacher!"
"He solved a university-level equation in front of the entire class!"
"And—" Hinata lowered her voice slightly,
"—he beat the bullies who used to torment him."
Rina's eyes slowly widened.
"…Beat them?"
"Exactly! On the rooftop!"
"Everyone says they couldn't believe their eyes!"
"Even the teacher almost broke down!"
Rina ended the call without realizing it, her gaze fixed on nothingness.
A genius?
Koichi?
Her thoughts raced.
Was my brother a genius before?
No… I don't think so.
I know my brother well.
Since yesterday… he's been acting strangely.
His eyes.
His words.
That unnatural calm.
Rina clenched her pen tightly.
This… isn't Koichi.
For the first time in a long while,
a faint shiver ran down her spine.
At the Same Time
Boxing Gym – City Outskirts:
The gym door opened with a dull thud,
and Kagami Mizuki stepped inside with quick strides.
The smell of sweat, leather, and iron filled the air.
The sound of punches echoed with brutal rhythm.
In front of a heavy bag stood a tall man with broad shoulders,
his body tightly packed with defined muscles.
His fists were wrapped,
his strikes heavy… calculated.
His name was Ryoji Takahara.
Leader of the gang known as "The Black Hand."
The strongest gang in the area.
A gang that didn't merely control the streets—
its operations extended into drug and human trafficking,
hidden deep in the shadows, far from the eyes of the law.
Ryoji stopped punching, turned toward her, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Mizuki?"
"Why are you here now?"
Mizuki clenched her fists.
"We have a problem."
"That bastard… Kurosaki Koichi."
Ryoji's expression changed instantly.
"…What did you say?"
She told him everything.
The rooftop.
The beating.
How her gang collapsed before him.
And how he looked at her… without fear.
Ryoji slammed his fist into the bag, sending it swinging violently.
"Damn it… that's annoying."
"He beat all three of them by himself?"
"Don't tell me he died," he added.
"I thought so too… but it turns out he's somehow still alive," she replied.
"And someone knew about it—recorded everything and uploaded it online."
"It seems someone was trying to set us up…"
"But their plan failed once that bastard came back to life."
Ryoji suddenly stopped, frowning.
"But not now."
Mizuki turned toward him angrily.
"What do you mean, not now?!"
Ryoji exhaled slowly.
"We have a bigger problem at the moment."
"The Red Vipers are moving."
"They're planning to invade our territory tonight… or tomorrow."
Mizuki's eyes widened.
"And that's more important than me?!"
A brief silence followed.
She turned away in frustration…
then stopped.
"…Fine."
"I'll wait."
She said it while barely holding back her anger.
As they spoke,
a small fly rested on the gym's window.
Motionless.
Silent.
Tiny eyes observed everything.
It was no ordinary fly.
It was created by Gluber.
Just as he created clones…
he created it.
Through it, he could see… and hear.
Koichi's Room
Gluber sat in front of his computer,
the surveillance screen reflecting in his eyes.
Ryoji's image appeared clearly.
His name.
His location.
His affiliation.
A cold, cunning smile spread across Gluber's face.
"I found you…"
"Let's play a little, Ryoji Takahara."
He slowly closed the window.
And that night,
the threads began to intertwine.
Without anyone realizing it…
the hunt had already begun.
Government Building – Tokyo:
On an underground floor absent from all maps, where steel doors sealed tight and signals were isolated, several men gathered around an oval table illuminated by cold white light.
They were not ordinary politicians.
They represented the Special Scientific Security Agency,
a government branch whose name was never spoken publicly,
intervening only when threats exceeded the boundaries of human understanding.
On the wall, a three-dimensional image of a small spacecraft was displayed—
partially damaged, buried in coastal soil.
A man in his fifties, wearing thin-framed glasses, pointed at the image.
"We analyzed the alloys. The atomic structure is unknown… it doesn't match any registered element."
Another man, broad-shouldered and rough-voiced, replied,
"Our scientists spent seventy-two consecutive hours in the lab.
The conclusion is the same…"
"We don't understand how this technology works."
Silence fell for a moment.
Then a third man spoke, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"That means only one thing…"
"There was someone inside the craft."
All eyes turned to him.
"Someone?"
"Yes. There's no fully automated control system. There's a seat. Control interfaces."
"But… no trace of a body."
He smiled faintly and added,
"What if it wasn't human?"
"Just imagine it… an extraterrestrial being, technology centuries ahead of us."
"It would be the greatest discovery in human history. Our research would advance by leaps and bounds."
The broad man slammed his palm against the table.
"Enough nonsense."
"I don't believe in aliens."
He continued firmly,
"It's far more likely to be an experimental craft belonging to another government."
"It crashed into our waters by accident."
"The Americans, the Russians… or even a country we know nothing about."
Tension filled the room.
At the head of the table sat a man who had yet to speak.
His features were calm… an unsettling calm.
He was the agency's leader.
He raised his hand quietly, and the voices stopped at once.
He spoke in a low yet penetrating voice:
"Whether it was a human…"
"An extraterrestrial being…"
"Or a weapon belonging to another government…"
He paused, then continued,
"There is one fact that cannot be ignored."
He pressed a button, and a map of the coastal region appeared.
"Something came out of that craft."
Eyebrows rose.
"And therefore…"
"We will monitor the area with extreme caution."
"Electronic surveillance. Human surveillance. Indirect surveillance."
He turned off the display and stood slowly.
"If the hypothesis of its existence is correct…"
"We will discover it sooner or later."
Elsewhere…
In a quiet room, Gluber sat before his computer,
unaware that other eyes…
had begun to open upon him.