Masaki spoke to Syria, "If we need to find that Sleek, we have to figure out why it left its territory. And more importantly, we have to do it before nightfall."
Syria asked, "Can't we use the radar to track it?"
Masaki responded, "No, this Sleek is a Night Walker. It must have hidden itself during the day, making it completely inactive. The radar won't detect it in the daytime. But once night falls and it becomes active, the radar will pick it up. Still, we don't have until night."
Syria understood the seriousness of the situation and appeared a bit worried, but Masaki remained calm as ever, as if he had no emotions at all.
Meanwhile, Ryuji was sitting in the college canteen, earphones plugged in, talking to his friends on a call.
Ryuji said, "Masaki and Sota, are you both in position?"
Masaki responded, "Yeah, I'm standing outside the canteen."
Then Sota added, "Yeah, I've got eyes on the canteen uncle."
Ryuji instructed, "Good. Listen carefully, Masaki, your job is to alert us if any seniors or professors come from outside, and Sota, you distract the canteen uncle. Got it?"
Both Masaki and Sota replied together, "Got it."
Ryuji then said over the earphones to a girl, "Misaki, your turn now."
Standing nearby, the girl, who also had earphones in, responded, "Got it, leave it to me."
Misaki then walked up to two girls and asked one of them, "Shizuka, can you come with me for a minute?"
Shizuka replied, "Why?"
Misaki answered, "Just something important, come with me and I'll explain."
The girl sitting next to Shizuka said, "It's fine, you can go."
Shizuka, still unsure, asked, "Are you sure?"
The other girl nodded, "Yeah, don't worry."
With that, Shizuka agreed and left with Misaki.
Ryuji, still on the call, said, "Great job, Misaki. Sota and Misaki, get ready."
Upon hearing Ryuji's words, Sota approached the canteen uncle and started talking to him, while a girl named Misaki sat behind the girl who was sitting alone.
Ryuji then said, "Kaito, the coast is clear. Move in."
A boy named Kaito, dressed sharply, nervously approached the girl sitting alone.
He hesitated for a moment and then said, "Hey, Kiriko."
The girl, Kiriko, looked up and said, "Oh, Kaito, how are you?"
Kaito was trembling inside, and Ryuji could see it from a distance. Ryuji had the ability to see people's auras, which changed with their emotions. Since he had been able to see these things since childhood, he could tell what someone was feeling if he focused.
Ryuji spoke to Kaito, "Don't worry, Kaito, you've practiced this. You can do it."
Calming himself, Kaito asked, "I'm fine, but why are you sitting here alone?"
Kiriko replied, "Oh, I came with Shizuka, but Misaki took her away a little while ago."
Ryuji carefully watched Kiriko. She was emitting a pale light from within her aura.
Seeing this, Ryuji whispered to Misaki, "Kiriko seems to be in a calm mood."
Misaki then instructed Kaito, "Ask her if you can sit with her."
Kaito, gathering his courage, asked Kiriko, "Do you mind if I sit here?"
Kiriko thought for a moment and said, "Sure, why not?"
Relieved, Kaito sat down in front of her. Misaki then gestured toward her earrings, and Kaito quickly commented, "Hey, your earrings look really nice."
Kiriko smiled and responded, "Oh, thanks, I just bought them yesterday."
Kaito continued, "You're wearing a new shade of lipstick today. Usually, you wear pink, but today it's magenta pink."
Misaki was feeding Kaito this information from behind.
Kiriko smiled slightly and said, "Oh, you noticed! I didn't think guys paid attention to that kind of stuff."
Trying to act cool, Kaito replied, "I know quite a bit about these things."
Ryuji, seeing how well things were going, whispered, "Training is paying off. Good job, Misaki."
Misaki replied, "Thanks."
After more conversation, Ryuji observed that Kiriko was getting impressed by Kaito. Seeing this, he whispered to Misaki, "She's impressed."
Misaki, excited, signaled Kaito, "Time for the final act."
Kaito hesitated for a moment, checked his watch, and said, "Oh no, it's time for my class. I lost track of time talking to you. Well, see you later!"
Kiriko smiled and said goodbye, but her smile faded slightly as Kaito started walking away, leaving her a bit disappointed.
Both Ryuji and Misaki whispered, "Now."
Suddenly, Kaito turned back and said, "Oh, by the way, if you're free, we could hang out later this evening."
Everyone in Ryuji's group fell silent, waiting for Kiriko's response.
Finally, Kiriko smiled and said, "Yeah, why not?"
After that, Kiriko gave Kaito her number and walked away. Immediately, Ryuji, Misaki, Sota, and Kaito's friends rushed over to him, celebrating their success.
---
Meanwhile, at the school, Masaki was searching for clues about the Sleek. Syria asked, "Masaki, those boys said their friend came to this school yesterday, right?"
Masaki calmly replied, "Yes, why?"
Syria pondered, "Isn't it strange that the Sleek left its territory yesterday, and that's the same day that boy came here? Could there be a connection?"
Masaki responded, "If the boy came here, the Sleek would've killed him instantly. Even if he survived, the Sleek wouldn't leave its territory just for a single boy."
Thinking for a moment, Syria said, "Yeah, you're right. That boy couldn't have been important enough for the Sleek to go after him."
Hearing this, Masaki's eyes widened as if he realized something. He quickly asked, "Syria, can you hypnotize those boys?"
Syria, a bit confused, replied, "Yes, why?"
Masaki said, "I need to ask them some questions."
---
On the other hand, after helping his friend Kaito, Ryuji was walking home from college. He passed by Aunt Haruko's shop.
At the small shop, Haruko was sitting with a little girl, her granddaughter Yumi. The moment Yumi saw Ryuji, she ran to him and hugged him.
Ryuji, happy to see her, picked her up. Yumi, only 6 years old, adored Ryuji, and Ryuji liked both Yumi and Ayato very much.
Ryuji asked Haruko, "Where's Ayato? He hasn't come back yet?"
Haruko replied, "He's out playing with his friends."
Yumi pouted and said, "Yeah, he left me all alone."
Ryuji laughed and said, "Don't worry, he'll be back soon."
Suddenly, Yumi glared at him and said, "You like him more than me, don't you?"
Surprised, Ryuji said, "What? No, that's not true. I love both of you equally."
Yumi, still upset, said, "But you gave Ayato a bat, and you didn't get me anything!"
Realizing his mistake, Ryuji thought about how he had bought Ayato a bat recently but had completely forgotten about Yumi.
Feeling guilty, Ryuji said, "Oh no, I'm sorry, Yumi! I'll get you something nice tomorrow, I promise."
Yumi, still upset, demanded, "No, I want it now, right now, right now!"
She started throwing a tantrum. Haruko tried to calm her down, but Yumi wouldn't listen. Ryuji, thinking he should buy her a toy immediately, felt something in his pocket—the locket he had taken from his brother and sister.
---
At the same time, Masaki found the three boys whose memories he had erased after they left the school. As he approached them, the boys were startled, but before they could react, Syria did something that made them stand frozen like puppets.
Syria said to Masaki, "Now, you can ask them whatever you want."
Masaki asked the boys, "Why did your friend go to that school?"
One boy, in a trance-like state, replied, "He said there was something valuable there. If he found it, he would become a millionaire."
Masaki asked, "What was it?"
The second boy responded, "An old locket. He said it looked ordinary but was worth millions."
Masaki asked, "What did it look like?"
The boy said, "He didn't give many details, but he said it had a chain that shone like silver, and there was a white, glowing ruby with intricate designs."
That was the same locket that was now in Ryuji's pocket—the one he was about to give to Yumi, who was overjoyed at the sight of it.