Chapter Text
On this side of town, neon ads flickered against rain-slick pavement, their colors bleeding into every puddle and cracked stretch of concrete. Security drones drifted overhead, lenses turning silently as they tracked each movement below, ensuring every citizen stayed obedient, efficient, and accounted for. Government slogans flashed across towering screens in bright, polished letters, some promising safety, others demanding compliance.
“Wait! Stop!”
Tsukasa’s breath came hard and fast as he tore through the back alleys, his boots striking puddles hard enough to send water splashing up his legs. He dodged overturned bins, broken crates, and stacks of discarded wiring, barely slowing as he forced himself forward. Every obstacle Rui left behind felt deliberate, placed exactly where Tsukasa would have to stumble over it.
Rui Kamishiro.
The name burned in Tsukasa’s mind with every step.
“You’ve gotta run a bit quicker than that, you know~”
Tsukasa groaned under his breath, though his expression hardened as he vaulted over the tower of boxes Rui had sent crashing into his path. A simple cat-and-mouse chase wouldn’t be enough to catch someone like him. Rui was too quick, too clever, too comfortable turning the city itself into part of his escape.
The bounty on Rui Kamishiro was absurd, six digits and climbing, but Tsukasa wasn’t chasing him for the money. Not tonight. Not after the last government transport Rui had sabotaged. Not after the three security towers he had brought down in a single week.
Rebels, people called them. Tsukasa had always thought the word sounded too noble. To him, they were vandals with a cause, people who made it their life’s mission to tear down every advancement the city tried to build.
Rui had become a thorn in the government’s side, slipping into restricted zones, ruining construction schedules, and setting back projects that had taken years to approve. That was why Tsukasa had taken it upon himself to find Rui and have what he insisted would be a perfectly civil conversation.
Unfortunately, Rui did not seem especially interested in being civil. Or in stopping long enough to talk to anyone.
“Please! I just want to talk!”
Rui did not even glance back. If anything, he seemed to pick up speed, his coat snapping behind him as he rounded another corner.
Tsukasa clenched his jaw. “That means stop running!”
The gap between them only widened.
Rui had speed, but Tsukasa had routine.
He had patrolled these alleys every evening for months, memorizing every blocked gate, every broken stairwell, every shortcut between the neon-lit service roads. Rui took the left passage exactly like Tsukasa expected him to. From the entrance, it looked open. Inviting, even.
Tsukasa knew better.
Three turns down, the alley narrowed into a fenced-off delivery yard.
Tsukasa cut right, taking the narrower path beside an old maintenance building. His legs burned, his lungs ached, but he forced himself faster, counting the turns in his head. One left. One straight passage. Then the delivery yard.
Rui appeared just where Tsukasa knew he would.
Tsukasa lunged before Rui could turn back, slamming a hand against the wall beside him and driving him into the damp brick. He pressed one arm across Rui’s chest, pinning him there as he fought to keep his breathing steady. With his free hand, he reached for the knife at his belt and brought the blade up, holding it carefully against Rui’s neck.
“Caught you.”
Rui looked at him with a smile, but Tsukasa could see the tension in his jaw. His eyes moved quickly, analyzing the knife, the wall, Tsukasa’s stance, the narrow space between them.
Both of them were breathing hard after the chase. Tsukasa hated that Rui noticed.
Rui’s gaze dragged over him, slow and assessing, before he let out a soft, amused sigh.
“Looks like someone’s out of shape.”
Tsukasa’s face burned because it was true. Not that he would ever admit it out loud.
He glared harder, as if that alone could make up for the way his chest heaved. Beads of sweat slid down his temples, gathering at his jaw before dripping onto the pavement below.
“You’re the one who got caught,” Tsukasa shot back.
Rui’s smile widened.
Tsukasa smiled too, certain he had the upper hand.
Then Rui moved.
His hand snapped up around Tsukasa’s wrist, twisting the knife away from his throat before Tsukasa could react. Rui pushed off the wall with sudden force, using Tsukasa’s own grip against him. In one fluid motion, he caught Tsukasa by the shoulder, spun him around, and shoved him back against the opposite wall.
It happened so quickly that Tsukasa barely had time to gasp before his back hit the wall.
Suddenly, the high bounty made sense. Rui Kamishiro was not just fast. He was trained, precise, and far stronger than his lanky frame suggested.
Tsukasa glared at him, trying to look offended rather than startled. Rui only tilted his head, his smile fading into something colder. Then he leaned in close, close enough for Tsukasa to feel each word brush against the side of his neck.
“Did the government send you?” Rui asked softly. “Or do you have some other reason for chasing me?”
Tsukasa’s breath hitched. For once, he kept his mouth shut.
Rui waited.
When Tsukasa still said nothing, Rui tightened his grip around Tsukasa’s wrist. Pain shot up his arm, sharp enough to tear a cry from his throat. For one terrifying second, Tsukasa thought Rui might actually break it.
“Okay! Okay, I’ll tell you!” Tsukasa choked out, his pride crumbling under the pressure. “Just please… stop.”
Rui’s grip loosened, though he did not let go completely.
“Well then,” Rui said, “speak.”
Tsukasa’s chest rose and fell as he tried to manage the pain. He turned his head as much as he could, meeting Rui’s eyes from the corner of his vision.
Then he smirked.
Rui’s expression shifted, but too late. Tsukasa drove his heel into Rui’s leg and shoved forward with everything he had. Rui stumbled, his grip breaking just long enough for Tsukasa to tear himself free.
Tsukasa did not waste the opening.
He ran.
He sprinted out of the alley, boots skidding over wet pavement, one hand clutched tight around his aching wrist. His heart hammered so loudly he could barely hear the distant hum of drones overhead.
Only after several turns did he dare to look back. Rui had not followed.
Tsukasa slowed, though his shoulders remained tense and his eyes kept flicking toward every shadowed corner. A breathless laugh escaped him before he could stop it. Maybe Rui Kamishiro was not as terrifying as the reports claimed. Dangerous, yes. Annoying, definitely. But if he had truly wanted to hurt Tsukasa, he could have.
And he hadn’t.
For some reason, that bothered Tsukasa more than it reassured him.
Rui remained where he was, watching Tsukasa disappear into the maze of alleys. He made no move to chase him.
For a long moment, his expression was unreadable. Then, slowly, his eyes softened.
“Tsukasa Tenma…”
Rui glanced down at his hand, the one that had held Tsukasa’s wrist. He smiled to himself.
Then he slipped back into the shadows.