The Wrong Kind of Silence
Leo was… different.
He didn't bark insults in class anymore. Didn't puff his chest out in the halls. Didn't even look at Keon.
Just sat there, hunched in his seat like he was trying to disappear.
And Fuyu noticed.
Because Leo didn't shut up. Ever.
Until now.
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Fuyu's Journal
Fuyu always kept a notebook — not because he liked writing, but because he liked tracking things.
He flipped back through recent pages:
Keon avoids fights, but drops a senior with one hit.
Keon hangs with Nova — someone who never talks unless it's about protection protocols.
Kira's been acting strangely ever since Keon started talking to him.
Leo goes silent after a "mugging" no one reported.
Fuyu underlined Keon's name.
Then circled it.
Then wrote:
"This guy isn't normal."
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The Shadow
That afternoon, Fuyu followed Keon.
Not openly. Not obviously.
He was good at this. Better than most.
Keon walked like someone pretending not to listen — like someone trained to notice a tail, but used to ignoring them.
He took a strange route home. Looped around the park. Checked reflections in windows.
Fuyu stayed low, ducking behind fences, listening from rooftops.
Then he heard it.
Keon, stopping in an alley, answering a call:
> "No, I didn't kill him. I just scared him. If I'd wanted blood, I'd have brought Nova."
Fuyu's eyes narrowed.
Then came the voice on the other end — distorted, but clear enough.
> "You're starting to sound more like Mai. Careful, Keon."
Mai.
Fuyu's breath caught.
The Mai.
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A New Target
That night, Fuyu rewrote the name at the top of his notebook.
Not "Keon."
Not "Nova."
Not even "Leo."
He just wrote one word, underlined twice:
"Uncle."
Then below that:
"Mai — underground name: Bakugami."
And under that:
"Find out who the hell Keon really is."
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