Aomori Prefecture, airport.
A young man and woman dragged their luggage out of the airport doors. The man was tall and handsome, the woman petite and beautiful, and passersby kept turning to look at them.
"I wonder if Rin-chan's getting impatient waiting for us."
Minamoto Kaori said softly, surveying the city she had never visited before. As expected, its age and decline were apparent even from the airport.
Kamikawa Takumi dragged his luggage along and scoffed. "She got herself into this much trouble. What's wrong with making her wait a few more days?"
When it had first happened, he'd worried only about his sister's safety. But afterward, he'd become deeply unhappy with the way she handled things.
Especially the fact that she'd planned to die alongside her enemy, while tricking him—her own older brother—into leaving.
As her older brother, he had to give her a proper scolding.
Minamoto Kaori heard the anger in Kamikawa Takumi's voice and tried to talk him down. "A few words should be enough. Whatever you do, don't hit her."
"What's wrong with hitting her? Do you really think I wouldn't dare?"
Kamikawa Takumi said irritably, then pointed at Minamoto Kaori. "And you, too. You actually helped her trick me."
Minamoto Kaori's cheeks flushed. Kanzaki Rin had tricked her, too, into secretly hiding Kamikawa Takumi's phone.
The two of them hailed a taxi outside the airport and headed to the meeting place they'd arranged with Kanzaki Rin.
All the way there, Kamikawa Takumi kept grumbling, while Minamoto Kaori gazed at the passing scenery through the car window.
Afraid the government might be monitoring them, they'd gotten new phones, and they hadn't contacted Kanzaki Rin very often.
Still, she had already told her over the phone about Fang Cheng's decision to settle in Machine City.
Kamikawa Takumi