Calvas followed Osamu up a narrow staircase to the third floor of a worn-out apartment complex. The building wasn't exactly falling apart, but the faint smell of mildew and old food lingering in the hallway made it clear this wasn't a luxury place. The walls were scuffed, and the paint peeled in spots. A distant clatter of a TV or loud conversation filtered through the thin walls.
"This is where you'll be staying for now," Osamu said, leading him down the hall to the last door on the right. The doorknob clicked as Osamu twisted it open.
As the door swung wide, Calvas's nose was immediately assaulted by a mixture of stale food, and something he couldn't quite place. Inside, the apartment was a mess—ramen cups piled up on a low coffee table, crumpled snack bags scattered around the floor like forgotten memories, and game controllers left haphazardly on a threadbare couch.
****
Kenji lay sprawled on the floor of his messy apartment, his eyes glued to the screen in front of him. The controller in his hands buzzed. He was absorbed in his game. A half-empty bag of chips lay under his back, the plastic muffled by his weight. He couldn't be bothered to clean up—why bother when he was the only one in this place?
'School, training, and more school,' Kenji thought with a sigh. 'So boring. Why can't anything fun ever happen?'
One of his familiars, a small, ghost-like creature made of Phantom Cloud, floated over from the kitchen. Its marshmallow-soft body bobbed softly in the air. It carried a fresh bag of chips, handing it over with its soft, marshmallow-like fingers.
Kenji's eyes flickered to the familiar, and he let out a small giggle, taking the bag from its soft hands. "Thanks, little buddy," he muttered, giving it a gentle pat. He called this one "Fluff"—the smallest and cutest of the group.
The familiar hovered near him, making a soft, comforting sound as it floated in place. Kenji tore open the bag, grabbed a chip, and crunched down, his gaze still glued to the game.
"Why can't Sera ever come over?" he mused. "What's her deal?" He lazily flipped onto his stomach. Propping himself up on his elbows.
That's when the door suddenly clicked open.
Kenji's head shot up, eyes widening in surprise as Osamu stepped inside. His heart sank. He quickly scanned the mess in the apartment. Ramen cups, snack wrappers, and clothes were all over the floor. 'Oh crap, boss is here… Please don't notice the mess, please don't notice…'
But his hope was dashed as soon as his eyes landed on the person standing behind Osamu. A boy, probably around his age, stepped in, looking awkwardly around the messy room.
Kenji's brow furrowed. 'Wait… who's this guy?' Their eyes met for a moment, and Kenji felt a twinge of annoyance at the way the newcomer surveyed the place as if he had just entered a garbage dump.
'What's with that look?'
Osamu's voice cut through the moment. "This is where you'll be staying," he said, looking at the mess with a pointed glare that Kenji tried to ignore. Osamu switched to Japanese.
"ケンジ,カルバスだ.彼はチームに加わる.これから一緒にここを使うんだ."
(Kenji, meet Calvas. He's joining the team. You'll be sharing the place with him.)
Kenji blinked, his irritation quickly replacing the surprise. 'Wait, someone's staying with me? And who the hell is this guy?'
He stood up from the floor, dusting off his pants and narrowing his eyes.
"彼は誰で,なぜここに泊まっているんだ?" (Who is he, and why is he staying here?)
Osamu sighed, his expression revealing his expectation of the reaction.
"だから言っただろう,彼はチームの一員だ.それに,カルバスはまだ日本語を話せないから,その点を考慮してくれ."
(Like I said, he's part of the team. And by the way, Calvas doesn't speak Japanese yet, so you'll have to work around that.)
'Great,' Kenji thought. 'My place, and he doesn't even speak Japanese.'
He turned toward Calvas and raised an eyebrow, showing his lack of impression. "You… no speek… Japanese, yus?" He said the words slowly, stumbling through the English with a satisfied smirk. 'Take that, I can speak English.'
Calvas gave a tight-lipped smile. "Yeah, no. Not yet."
For a moment, they stared at each other, sizing each other up.
Osamu clapped his hands together, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Alright, you two figure it out. Kenji, show him around."
Kenji gave a reluctant nod, but his eyes stayed on Calvas, sizing him up. His annoyance bubbling under the surface. Still, orders were orders.
He led Calvas through the small apartment. He showed him the basics: the kitchen, the bathroom, and finally, the spare room where Calvas would stay. The whole time, Kenji could feel Osamu's eyes on him, watching carefully.
As they reached the end of the quick tour, Kenji heard Osamu's footsteps behind him. The boss grabbed his arm and pulled him to the side, away from Calvas's earshot. Osamu's voice dropped, his tone serious. "Keep an eye on him," he said in Japanese, his gaze intense. Kenji knew what that meant—watch him. Carefully.
As they reached the end of the quick tour, Kenji heard Osamu's footsteps behind him. The boss grabbed his arm and pulled him to the side, away from Calvas's earshot. Osamu's voice dropped, his tone serious."彼を見張っておけ." (Keep an eye on him.) His gaze intense.
Kenji gave a short nod, understanding.
Osamu switched back to English, addressing them both with his usual calmness. "I've got something to take care of, so I'll be heading out."
****
Osamu gave a quick nod and then headed out the door, leaving Calvas alone with Kenji. Calvas glanced at the boy in front of him—he couldn't be more than fourteen. His snow-white hair was messy, tousled in every direction like he'd just rolled out of bed. Sharp red eyes peered back at Calvas, and the glare was anything but welcoming.
Kenji clearly wasn't happy about having a new roommate.
Calvas, not wanting to start things on the wrong foot, smiled awkwardly and tried to break the tension. "So, uh… which room is mine?"
Kenji just pointed, his words still broken. "I go game." He turned and shuffled back to the living room, flopping onto the floor.
Calvas nodded, keeping his smile, though it felt a little forced. 'Great,' he thought, walking toward the room Kenji had gestured to.
He pushed the door open and was relieved to see that, at least, this room wasn't as messy as the rest of the apartment. It wasn't big, but it was enough—a small bed, a tiny desk shoved into the corner, and just enough space to move around a bit without bumping into anything.
He let out a slow breath as he sat on the bed. Aside from the clothes he had gotten from the agency and the phone Cassidy had given him, he had nothing. No personal belongings, no bags. Just… nothing. He laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, finally catching a moment to himself.
'What a day…' letting out a deep breath. The noise from Kenji's game buzzed through the walls, but Calvas tried his best to ignore it.
'Might as well check my stats.'
He mentally summoned the system, and the familiar glowing panel appeared in front of his vision.
[System Overview]
Name: Calvas Zavala
Age: 19 (15)
Height: 5'6"
Status: Normal
Level: 4
XP: 90/250
HP: 194/194
Stamina: 101/101
Health Regen: +3 HP/min
Stamina Regen: +2 Stamina/min
Vitality: 12
Endurance: 8
Strength: 20
Agility: 9
Willpower: 7
Intelligence: 6
Control: 11
Perception: 6
Available Stat Points: 5
Available Skill Points: 5
Quests
Skills: Temporal Distortion Lvl 3, Language Proficiency (Japanese) Lvl 4
Calvas blinked. 'Level 4? When did I…?' He realized it must have happened when he agreed to join the team. The XP must have been a reward for accepting Osamu's offer, along with the 3 skill points.
His eyes drifted to the skills section, where Temporal Distortion and Language Proficiency (Japanese) were displayed. Both skills already had levels—he knew Temporal Distortion leveled up from when he used it while running from Swiftstep. And it seemed like Language Proficiency was passively leveling as well, probably from him listening to everyone around him speaking Japanese all day.
'So, what do these skill points do, exactly?'
He clicked on the Skill Points section, curious. The Temporal Distortion skill flickered in response.
Tapping on Temporal Distortion to test it out.
[System Notification]
Temporal Distortion has leveled up: Level 3 → 4
+10 XP
'So, I can level up skills using these points.' He looked over at Language Proficiency, but when he tried to assign a skill point to it, the option was grayed out.
'Huh… why can't I level this one up?'
He pondered whether to use the rest of his skill points on Temporal Distortion. 'Better not blow all of them at once. I'll keep these in reserve for now…' He remembered how quickly Temporal Distortion had leveled when he was running from Swiftstep. 'It's probably better to save them in case I need a boost later.'
With a sigh, Calvas closed the system and turned his attention back to the ceiling.
'Well… at least I've got a bed,' he thought, closing his eyes. He could still hear the game in the background, but for now, he was too tired to care.