January 18th.
The bathroom faucet cut off. Liam stepped out, toweling his hair. "I'm getting breakfast. What do you want?"
Shizuku's voice came muffled through the doorway. "Same as you."
When he returned with bags of food, Shizuku was already deep into her morning training. She sat cross-legged on the floor, Blinky flickering in and out of existence as she practiced instant summoning.
Liam had challenged her: make Blinky work like proper inventory storage. Suck things in, spit them out on command, no delay.
She was getting there.
At noon, they checked out.
Jaku and the two crows settled on a nearby rooftop to keep watch. Liam pulled up a map of Cosmo on his phone and traced a line from their current hotel to the airport on the far side of the city.
The plan was simple: train hard, change locations every few days, work their way closer to the airport. By the time they were ready to leave, they'd be right there. No wasted time.
Over lunch, Liam scrolled through news articles about the marathon bombing. His and Shizuku's names didn't appear anywhere. Neither did Kanzai's or Slohe's. Good. The fewer people looking for them, the better.
They spent the afternoon wandering toward the airport, scoping out hotels along the route. By 3 PM, they'd checked into a new place.
Training. Rest. Repeat.
January 20th. Hotel Room 1007.
"Okay, Shizuku. I'm coming."
Liam and Shizuku stood barefoot on the carpet, facing each other. Both were wrapped in Ken, aura thick and stable.
Liam threw a punch in extreme slow motion. As his fist moved forward, the aura around his body shifted like water, flowing into his arm. By the time his fist reached Shizuku, it glowed with concentrated Nen.
Shizuku activated Gyo, eyes focusing on the distribution. She raised her palm and redirected her own aura to meet his fist. Their hands touched gently.
"Eighty percent?" she guessed.
"Eighty-five. Wrong." Liam grinned. "In a real fight, your hand would be broken right now."
Shizuku stuck her tongue out.
They were both the same distance from Enhancement on the Nen chart. Manipulator and Conjurer. Equally bad at punching people. Which made them perfect sparring partners.
"Again," Liam said. "Your turn."
Shizuku raised her leg slowly, bare foot glowing with concentrated aura. About seventy percent.
Liam matched it with Gyo, lifted his own leg, and tapped her foot gently with his.
Her skin was cold.
January 23rd. 9 PM. City Park.
The park was nearly empty. Liam and Shizuku sat on a bench, feeding the birds and discussing training theory.
"Do you think we could combine aura types?" Liam asked, tossing birdseed to Jaku. "Like, mix Emission and Manipulation into one technique?"
Shizuku thought about it. "Maybe. You'd need restrictions."
"Yeah." Liam leaned back, staring at the sky. "Imagine throwing an aura bullet that plants a Star Mark on impact. Instant control. That'd be broken."
"Probably impossible," Shizuku said.
"Probably."
But Liam filed the idea away anyway.
January 25th. 8 AM. Hotel Room 2020.
Liam flicked a tiny aura bullet across the room. It arced through the air, rolled across the carpet, and popped harmlessly against Shizuku's knee. She didn't even flinch, deep in meditation.
He pulled out a strand of his own hair and wrapped it in aura, twisting it into shape.
If I could launch Star Marks from a distance...
January 26th. 4:41 PM.
Liam lay flat on his back, scrolling through his phone. His Ken had given out twenty minutes ago. He was bored, sore, and waiting for Shizuku to finish so they could eat.
Thud.
Shizuku collapsed beside him, breathing hard.
Liam checked the timer. "135 minutes. That's 8,100 aura."
He grinned. "I'm catching up to you."
Shizuku wiped sweat from her forehead. "You're progressing too fast. You'll pass me eventually."
"Damn right I will."
January 28th. 5 PM.
They finished training early. Both showered, changed into clean clothes, and headed out into the city.
"What are we buying?" Shizuku asked, still drying her hair with a towel.
Liam tapped his phone. "Custom order. Has to be made."
"What is it?"
"You'll see."
They navigated to a bustling commercial district. The streets were packed with people, neon signs glowing in every language Liam didn't recognize. It felt like walking through a foreign city on Earth. Familiar but alien. Real but wrong.
After a few turns, they found the shopping complex: a towering glass building with luxury brands on every floor.
Liam led Shizuku inside and hit the button for the 10th floor.
The elevator rose smoothly. When the doors opened, they stepped out into a jewelry store. The Batra Consortium logo gleamed on the wall behind the counter.
"Welcome." The attendant smiled professionally, then blinked in surprise. The two customers were kids. Teenagers, maybe. Definitely not the usual clientele.
Rich family? No, look at their clothes. Thrift store basics.
"I made an appointment online," Liam said, holding up his phone. "Custom ring order."
"It's a ring!" Shizuku's eyes lit up. "You asked me what I liked before. Is this for me?"
"Of course."
The attendant's smile tightened. Oh no. Puppy love. He's going to blow his savings on—
"I'm also getting one for myself," Liam continued. "And eight others."
The attendant's brain short-circuited. "Eight?"
Shizuku understood immediately. Ten rings. One for each member of their organization.
Liam spent the next half hour designing the rings with the store's artist. Mixed metal. Minimalist style. Engravings on the inner and outer bands.
Inside: a crescent moon symbol.
Outside: two sets of engravings. On one side, Kanji representing the Heavenly Stems: 甲, 乙, 丙, 丁, 戊, 己, 庚, 辛, 壬, 癸. On the other side, custom code names.
The first two rings, marked 甲 and 乙, would have their names engraved immediately: "Tendō" and "Dora."
The remaining eight would stay blank until they recruited more members.
"These specifications will take about three days," the attendant said, jotting down notes. "You can pick them up on the 1st of next month."
"That works."
"And here's the deposit, Mr. Tendō, Miss Dora..."
In the elevator afterward, Shizuku looked at Liam with mild confusion. "Why is my code name 'Dora'?"
"Why aren't you asking about mine?"
"Okay. Why is your code name 'Tendō'?"
Liam held his palm out dramatically toward the closing elevator doors. "Because... my pain is far greater than yours..." He trailed off, grimacing. "Okay, that sounded way cooler in my head."
The doors shut. The elevator descended.
When they reached the ground floor, Liam stepped out and grinned. "For you it's because you're Doraemon. 'Dora.' Get it? It's perfect."
"What's Doraemon?"
"Doraemon, what's the first rule of our organization?"
Shizuku adjusted her glasses. "Listen to the boss."
"Exactly. End of discussion."
"What's for dinner?"
"You tell me. You're the one who actually remembers restaurants."
They wandered back through the commercial district. The neon lights looked even brighter now that night had fallen, painting the streets in electric blues and pinks.
Just before they reached the restaurant, Shizuku spoke quietly. "Someone's following us."
"I know," Liam said without breaking stride. "Let's eat first."
Across the street, half-hidden behind passing cars and pedestrians, a tall figure in a hooded jacket watched them enter the restaurant. When they disappeared inside, the figure pulled out a phone.
Above the figure, perched on a traffic light pole, one of Liam's crows tilted its head.
Watching.