The alarm did not get a chance to finish its first beep.

  Kaito Ashen's hand moved from the blanket to the phone, silencing it in the dark. The room was quiet, save for the hum of the refrigerator and the distant traffic of Neo Ashford waking up below. He sat up. No stretching. No yawning. Just motion.

  On the desk beside the bed, fifty-two slots were carved into the wood. Fourteen of them were filled.

  The cards lay face up. Ordinary playing cards, the kind found in any convenience store, except for the way the light seemed to bend slightly around their edges. The Ace of Spades looked darker than ink. The Queen of Ice seemed to frost the wood beneath it.

  Kaito ran a thumb over the Ace. It was warm.

  "Ready."

  He gathered them. They slid into the inner pocket of his jacket like they belonged there. Because they did.

  He checked the mirror. Black hair, slightly overgrown, needed a cut he wouldn't schedule. Dark eyes that looked tired despite eight hours of sleep. Plain dark clothes. Nothing memorable. Nothing that invited attention.

  He grabbed his bag. He opened the door. He stepped out into the hallway of his apartment complex in the Grey District.

  The city outside was grey and blue in the early morning light. Steam rose from the vents in the sidewalk. People walked with their heads down, phones in hand, coffee in the other. They walked past the alleyway on the corner without looking.

  Kaito looked.

  There was a shimmer there. Like heat haze on asphalt, but it was five degrees Celsius outside. A crack. Small. Dormant.

  He counted the seconds. One. Two. Three. It didn't widen.

  He kept walking.

  ***

  Kurenai Academy sat on the hill overlooking the commercial district. It was a modern building, glass and steel, designed to look like the future. Kaito walked through the gates with his hands in his pockets.

  "Kaito!"

  The voice came from the right, loud and fast, breaking the morning quiet like a dropped plate. Ryota Hayashi sprinted across the courtyard, bag swinging wildly from one shoulder. He skidded to a halt beside Kaito, grinning.

  "You walked past me yesterday. I waved. Did you see me? I was wearing the new jacket. The blue one. You like it? My mom says it makes me look responsible, which is funny because I'm not, but she pays for it so I wear it."

  Kaito kept walking. Ryota matched his pace effortlessly.

  "Anyway, math test today. Mr. Sato said it's going to be brutal. I studied for like twenty minutes. Do you think twenty minutes is enough? Probably not. I'm going to fail. You're not going to fail. You never fail. It's annoying."

  Kaito glanced at him. "Morning."

  Ryota blinked. "Is that for the jacket or the test?"

  "Both."

  "Nice. Efficiency. I like it." Ryota slapped him on the back. "Come on, Jin's already at the shoe lockers. He's been there for ten minutes. I think he lives there sometimes."

  Jin Seok-Min was waiting by the lockers. He stood perfectly still, reading a book with a plain cover. He didn't look up as they approached, but he turned the page exactly as Kaito stopped in front of him.

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  "Ryota." Jin's voice was calm, low.

  "Jin! You're early. Again. Do you sleep here? Be honest."

  Jin closed the book. He looked at Kaito. His eyes were sharp, observant. They lingered for a fraction of a second on Kaito's jacket pocket, where the cards rested against his ribs.

  "You look tired."

  Kaito met his gaze. "Fine."

  Jin nodded once. He didn't push. He never pushed. He just knew.

  They changed their shoes. They walked down the hallway. The school was filling up with noise—lockers slamming, shoes squeaking, laughter echoing off the tiles. Kaito moved through it like a stone in a stream. The noise flowed around him.

  He felt the weight in his pocket. The Ace of Spades shifted. Kuro was restless today.

  "Too many people." A voice murmured in his head. Sarcastic. Sharp. "Smell like anxiety and cheap detergent."

  Kaito didn't react. He didn't look down. He just tapped his pocket once with his thumb.

  "Don't tap me, boy. I'm not a dog."

  "Kaito!"

  This voice was different. Softer. Warmer.

  Hana Mitsuki was waiting at the classroom door. She had a loose tie in her brown hair and a stack of papers in her hands. When she saw them, her face lit up. It wasn't a performance. She just looked genuinely happy to see them.

  "Good morning." She handed a paper to Ryota. "You forgot this yesterday."

  "Oh. Right. Thanks." Ryota looked at the paper. "It's blank."

  "It's supposed to be." Hana turned to Jin. "Seok-min, the teacher wants the attendance sheet."

  Jin took it without a word.

  Then she looked at Kaito. She didn't have anything for him. She didn't need to. She just smiled. It was the kind of smile that made people stop walking for a second.

  "You're here early."

  Kaito shifted his bag. "Routine."

  "Still?"

  "Still."

  She tilted her head. Her eyes were expressive, brown and bright. She noticed things. He knew she noticed things. The way he stood between her and the wall. The way he scanned the room before sitting down. The way he never took off his jacket, even in the spring heat.

  "Well." She stepped closer. "I'm glad you're here."

  She walked past him into the classroom. She smelled like soap and something like rain.

  Kaito watched her go. He felt the cards in his pocket settle down. Even Kuro went quiet.

  Ryota leaned in, whispering. "She likes you."

  Kaito looked forward. "Know."

  "And you say nothing. Classic. Come on, let's sit before Sato kills us."

  They took their seats. Kaito sat by the window. Third row. Best view of the street below. Best angle to see if anything came through the cracks in the air.

  He put his bag down. He took out a pen. He kept his left hand near his jacket.

  The teacher walked in. The class settled. Mr. Sato began writing equations on the board. The chalk squeaked.

  Kaito looked out the window.

  Neo Ashford stretched out below them. Millions of people. Walking. Talking. Living. They didn't know about the shimmer in the alleyway. They didn't know about the things that waited in the spaces between seconds.

  They didn't know that the boy in the third row carried gates in his pocket.

  A shadow moved across the glass of the window. Not a cloud. Not a bird.

  Kaito's eyes narrowed.

  It was a distortion. A ripple in the air, right outside the classroom window. It lasted for less than a second. Most people would have thought it was a trick of the light.

  Kaito knew better.

  "Something's poking." Kuro's voice came from the card, not his head this time. "Small. Curious."

  Kaito's hand tightened on his pen.

  "Mr. Ashen."

  The class went silent. Everyone looked at him.

  Kaito looked at the teacher. "Yes?"

  "Would you like to share the answer with the class? Or are you busy looking at the sky?"

  A few students laughed. Ryota snickered.

  Kaito looked at the board. The equation was simple. He had solved it in his head before the teacher finished writing it.

  "X equals four."

  "Correct. Try to stay with us."

  Kaito looked back out the window. The ripple was gone.

  He exhaled slowly.

  "It's gone." Kuro's voice faded. "For now."

  Kaito opened his notebook. He wrote the date. He wrote the topic.

  He kept his hand near his pocket.

  The bell rang for lunch an hour later. The class erupted into noise. Chairs scraped. Bags unzipped.

  Ryota turned around in his seat. "Food? Cafeteria? They have curry today. It's questionable, but it's hot."

  Kaito stood up. "Later."

  "Later means no." Ryota translated for Jin.

  Jin closed his book. "He means maybe."

  Kaito walked out of the classroom. He didn't go to the cafeteria. He went to the rooftop.

  The door was locked. It wasn't for him. He touched the handle. The lock clicked open. He stepped out into the wind.

  The rooftop was empty. Concrete. Sky. Wind.

  He walked to the edge. He looked down at the city.

  He took the Ace of Spades out of his pocket. He held it between his fingers. The card felt heavy, denser than paper should be. The image of the raven on the card seemed to shift, feathers rustling without wind.

  "Scout."

  The card warmed. A wisp of black smoke curled off the edge of the paper.

  "Boring day." Kuro's voice came from the card, not his head this time. "School is terrible. Why do you come here?"

  Kaito watched a pigeon land on the railing. "Protect."

  "From what? Math tests?"

  "From them."

  Kaito gestured to the city below.

  "They don't know we exist."

  "Good."

  Kaito slipped the card back into his pocket. The warmth faded.

  He stayed on the roof for ten minutes. He listened to the city. He listened for the sound of reality tearing. He heard nothing but traffic and wind.

  He went back inside.

  When he returned to the classroom, Hana was at his desk. She was holding a small carton of milk. She placed it on his desk when he sat down.

  "For you."

  Kaito looked at the milk. Then at her.

  "Thanks."

  "You missed lunch." She crossed her arms. "You need energy."

  "Fine."

  She smiled again. That same smile. The one that didn't ask questions.

  "See you after school."

  She walked away.

  Kaito picked up the milk. It was cold. Condensation wet his fingers.

  Ryota leaned over the desk behind him. "She brought you milk. That's a good sign. That's a very good sign."

  Kaito opened the milk. He drank it.

  "Quiet."

  "Rude." Ryota was smiling.

  Jin watched from the corner of the room. He wasn't smiling. He was looking at Kaito's jacket pocket again.

  Kaito met his gaze. Jin didn't look away.

  The bell rang for the next period.

  Kaito put the empty carton in the bin. He sat down. He put his hand back near his pocket.

  The day continued. The sun moved across the sky. The cracks in the city stayed quiet.

  For now.

  Kaito Ashen opened his notebook. He wrote down the lesson. He spoke three words. He hid the rest.

  He was good at it.

  He had to be.