The cold air bit at Yui's cheeks as the group lingered near the bench outside the small shop. Kaito sat hunched forward with the Jester's Clock in his hands, examining the tiny gears one last time while the borrowed tools lay scattered beside him.
After a few careful adjustments, he tightened the final screw and slowly closed the casing. The small mechanism inside gave a faint click, and the second hand moved forward again. The clock was working.
Haru leaned over his shoulder to look at it. He squinted at the face of the clock like he expected it to explode. "You say that like you didn't just fix a literal time device with tools from a convenience store," he muttered. Kaito didn't respond. He was still watching the clock carefully, making sure the gears stayed aligned.
Yui sat at the end of the bench, hugging her jacket tightly around herself. Her eyes drifted across the street without really focusing on anything in particular. People passed by in the distance, cars rolled through intersections, and the city hummed quietly around them. For a brief moment she noticed something strange across the street. A woman and a man were walking together with a small girl between them. The girl had black hair and dark eyes with a hint of gray in them, and she waved cheerfully in their direction.
Without thinking, Yui lifted her hand and waved back.
The family kept walking and quickly blended into the crowd of strangers on the sidewalk. Yui frowned slightly. Something about them had felt oddly familiar, but the thought slipped away before she could grab onto it.
"Yui?" Airi asked softly from beside her.
"Nothing," Yui said quickly, shaking her head.
Before anyone could say anything else, a voice spoke nearby.
"Hey… you kids alright?"
All four of them stiffened immediately. A man stood a few feet away on the sidewalk, looking between them with a concerned expression. He looked like a normal adult—maybe in his thirties—with tired eyes and a grocery bag hanging from one hand.
"You shouldn't be out here alone," he said gently as he stepped closer. "Where are your parents?"
No one answered. Haru glanced sideways at Kaito. Kaito remained silent, watching the man carefully. Yui looked down at the ground while Airi forced a polite but uncertain smile.
The man rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Did you get lost or something?" he asked.
Still no answer came.
The silence stretched long enough that the man's expression shifted from confusion to concern. "It's getting pretty cold out here," he said softly. "Listen… why don't you guys come to my place for the night? Just until we figure out what's going on."
The group exchanged hesitant looks. Haru leaned slightly toward the others and whispered under his breath, "This is exactly how horror movies start."
Yui quietly elbowed him.
Kaito studied the man carefully again. There was no strange energy around him, no hint of Limbo or anything tied to the Watcher. He just seemed like a normal person. After a moment, Airi spoke.
"…Okay," she said quietly.
The man's shoulders relaxed with relief. "Great. Come on."
The house wasn't far away. It was small but warm, with soft yellow lights glowing from the windows. The moment they stepped inside, the warmth wrapped around them after the freezing air outside. Haru immediately wandered toward the kitchen, looking around the room with open curiosity.
"Whoa," he said quietly. "This place is nice."
The man chuckled. "Sit down. I'll make you something to eat."
Soon bowls of soup and plates of rice were sitting on the table. Haru didn't hesitate and began eating immediately like he hadn't seen food in days. Yui ate more slowly, occasionally glancing around the house. Airi thanked the man politely for the meal while Kaito kept the Jester's Clock close to him, resting near his arm on the table.
After a while the man sat down across from them and tried to make conversation. "So… you kids go to school around here?"
No one gave a real answer. Haru simply shrugged with his mouth full of food.
The man laughed awkwardly and raised his hands slightly. "Alright… you don't have to talk if you don't want to."
Dinner ended quietly, and eventually the man stood up and stretched his arms. "You guys must be exhausted," he said. "I set up some futons in the guest room."
The room was dim and quiet, lit only by the faint glow of streetlights coming through the window. Four futons were laid out across the floor. Haru didn't even try to stay awake. He dropped onto one of them and pulled the blanket halfway over himself.
Within minutes he was asleep.
Yui curled up on her side not long after, one arm tucked beneath her head while the other rested near her ankle bracelet. Her breathing slowly evened out as she drifted off to sleep.
The room grew quiet.
Airi stared up at the ceiling for a while, unable to fall asleep yet. Across from her, Kaito was still awake too.
After a moment she spoke quietly.
"Kaito."
He blinked and turned his head slightly. "Yeah?"
"It was cool what you did today," she said softly.
He frowned slightly. "What?"
"The clock," she replied. "Fixing it."
Kaito looked away a little, suddenly embarrassed. "…Thanks," he said quietly.
A moment of silence passed between them., Airi turned slightly in her futon so she was facing him now. "You're really good at that stuff."
Kaito felt his face warm a little. Then the words slipped out before he could stop them.
"…You're pretty—"
He froze immediately.
Airi blinked in surprise.
Kaito's face turned bright red. He quickly rolled over so he was facing the wall instead.
"I mean—uh—goodnight."
Airi watched him for a moment before smiling quietly to herself.
"…Goodnight, Kaito."
Across the room, Haru and Yui didn't move at all. Both of them were completely asleep.
Down the hallway, the man stood in the kitchen with his phone pressed to his ear.
His voice was low.
"Yes… I found them."
He glanced toward the hallway that led to the guest room.
"All four.
Then a calm voice spoke on the other end of the line.
"Good."
In a dim office across the city, a counselor sat behind a desk illuminated only by a small lamp. The rest of the room was dark.
"Bring them tomorrow," the counselor said calmly.
The call ended.
The counselor slowly placed the phone down on the desk. For a moment they sat perfectly still.
Then their smile stretched just a little wider. The skin along their jaw twitched faintly, like something beneath it shifted slightly out of place.
They folded their hands together and leaned back in their chair.
"Finally," they murmured softly.