[Shinjuku, 25th August 2016
2:00 PM, Afternoon – Kavei’s House]

The air inside Kavei’s house carried a strange weight, thick with the scent of freshly brewed coffee and the faint traces of dust settling under the afternoon light. The team stood clustered near the entrance, their expressions ranging from confusion to outright suspicion.

"Welcome home, you all," Kavei greeted, his voice light, almost cheerful. A sharp contrast to the man they had come to know—calculated, serious, and rarely one to waste energy on unnecessary pleasantries.

Himeko hesitated in the doorway, exchanging a glance with Kai, who stood beside Kavei with his arms crossed. Benio shifted uncomfortably, his sharp eyes scanning the living room as if expecting some kind of elaborate trap to spring at any moment. Sebiki raised an eyebrow, her usual nosiness getting the better of her as she tilted her head at Kavei’s sudden warmth.

Kai was the first to break the silence. "Uh… what are you planning?" His voice held an edge of caution, his instincts unwilling to accept Kavei’s behavior at face value.

Kavei simply smiled, the corners of his lips quirking upward in a knowing smirk.

Kai sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "You didn’t tell me this time," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper but Himeko managed to hear him as she past him.

As they all sat around the coffee table, Himeko leaned in slightly, her long pink hair falling over her shoulder as she whispered to Kai, "You mean you don’t know either?"

Kai shook his head. "Not a clue. He’s keeping it from me too."

Before they could speculate any further, Kavei cleared his throat, a sharp sound that immediately commanded the room’s attention. The murmurs died down, and all eyes snapped toward him.

He sat with one leg crossed over the other, arms folded across his chest, his gaze sweeping over each of them before he finally spoke. "Why are we looking for a ninth grader with green eyes?"

A tense silence followed. The question lingered in the air like an unspoken challenge.

Kai was the first to respond, exhaling slowly as he leaned back against the couch, resting an arm on the backrest. "The criminal tried to kidnap both Daichi and his older brother Hentai but failed. Both of them have green eyes. So, in that sense, he still needs to get his hands on a boy with green eyes… right?"

Kavei’s smirk deepened. He raised a finger, pointing at Kai like a teacher acknowledging a particularly bright student and winked at him. "Bingo."

Himeko frowned, her hands on her hips. "But why a ninth grader? Wouldn’t the pattern suggest that he should be targeting a sixth grader with green eyes instead?"

Benio, who had been listening intently, nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that’s what doesn’t add up. If he’s following a pattern, it doesn’t make sense for him to jump ahead like that."

Kavei let out a slow breath, tapping his fingers against his arm. "You’re both right. But what we’ve overlooked is his intention," he said, his voice firm yet thoughtful.

Miyasi, standing by the window next to the front door with her arms loosely crossed, frowned. "His intention?"

Kavei nodded. "Detective Seitsuki was guarding Hentai. When Hentai was taken, the detective found him quickly. Daichi, however, wasn’t a part of the original plan—his kidnapping was done out of a personal grudge. The criminal has subordinates who follow orders, and one of them took Daichi simply because they were ordered to."

Sebiki narrowed her eyes, arms folded. "A grudge kidnapping?"

"Yes," Kavei confirmed. He leaned forward slightly, his gaze darkening. "This criminal is obsessed. He wants to collect his victims in succession. Two per year. But no matter what, the two victims must always be of the same age. If you remove Daichi from the mix, it all makes sense."

Kai exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. "That’s true, but you didn’t ignore Daichi when you mapped out the criminal’s target cities."

"I did," Kavei admitted. Then, with a small smirk, he added, "And I didn’t."

Sebiki’s brows furrowed. "What?"

Kavei tilted his head slightly, his voice calm but assured. "Daichi was a grudge kidnapping. And the reason I’m sure of it is because of the pattern. All the other victims were followed for a while before they disappeared. But not Daichi. His case was different. Hentai was kidnapped, but the criminal got unlucky because someone like Detective Seitsuki was guarding him."

Kenma, who had been silent until now, nodded in understanding. "So Daichi wasn’t even supposed to be part of the plan. That makes sense."

Miyasi exhaled, shaking her head. "So the criminal was just annoyed that someone got in his way and took Daichi to get back at them?"

Kavei nodded. "Exactly. It’s such a simple thing, but we were so focused on why Daichi was taken that we missed how he was taken. Daichi wasn’t a loner, he didn’t have suspicious adult friends, and he didn’t follow any set daily routine. He doesn’t fit the pattern. His kidnapping was purely a grudge move."

Kai sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "So that means… he still needs a ninth-grade boy with green eyes to complete his twisted collection."

Kavei’s expression darkened. "Yes. And we need to find him before the criminal does."

The team sat gathered around the coffee table, their postures ranging from cautious to outright agitated. The late afternoon sunlight streamed through the window near Miyasi, casting long shadows over the couches and chairs arranged around the table. Kavei sat there, a smirk playing on his lips as he watched his friends wrestle with the information he had just laid out.

Kenma, sitting beside Sebiki, Ryu and Saira, leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees as he eyed Kavei with skepticism. His sharp gaze then flickered to Kai, and he couldn’t resist. “What are you planning for that? And if your theory is true, then Kai’s answer contradicts.” His voice was even, but there was an unmistakable edge to it.

Kai, who had been reclining on the opposite couch with his arms crossed, narrowed his eyes at Kenma. His jaw clenched. “Excuse me?” he snapped.

Kenma glared right back, neither willing to back down. But after a few tense seconds, they both scoffed and looked away, their irritation simmering in the silence. Kavei exhaled heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose before waving his hand dismissively.

“What contradiction?” Kavei asked, his patience wearing thin.

Kenma straightened his back, his expression hardening. “Kai said that since Daichi and Hentai both had green eyes and were kidnapped, the criminal must be targeting green-eyed boys specifically. But if that were the case, wouldn’t that mean Daichi’s kidnapping was planned and not just a grudge?” His voice was laced with quiet challenge, his arms now folded across his chest.

Kai scoffed again, rolling his eyes, but Kavei merely smirked. “Nope,” he said smoothly, brushing off the argument with a wave of his hand. “Kai is right in what he said.”

Kenma’s brows furrowed, a flicker of irritation crossing his face. “How so?”

Kavei didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he pushed himself off the couch and began pacing, circling the behind the couches and chairs where they all sat. His arms were crossed over his chest, his head slightly tilted as his sharp gaze flickered over each of them before landing on Miyasi, who sat near the window. His voice dripped with sarcasm as he finally spoke.

“That is called coincidence,” he stated flatly. “It’s because of how the man who kidnapped Daichi showed himself so easily. How Daichi doesn’t fit in with the facts that match all the other victims.”

The others remained silent, their eyes following Kavei’s every move. The rhythmic sound of his footsteps against the porcelain floor only added to the thick atmosphere in the room.

“And these facts,” he continued, his tone darkening, “are as follows. The victim must be a loner. Someone who is friends with shop owners. Someone who has a reason to be alone most of the time. And someone who has special eye colors.”

Miyasi shifted slightly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she listened intently. Ryu, sitting beside Sebiki, clenched his fists in his lap, his knuckles turning white.

Kavei stopped walking for a brief second before resuming, his voice sharp and calculated. “Now then, let’s take Ayumi, who had purple eyes. You would assume that the next person he needs is a boy with purple eyes, right? But no. Purple in eyes is just a variation of blue, a trick of melanin levels. Hence, his blue collection is complete. But the green? That’s been incomplete for a while now.”

Sebiki exhaled sharply, shaking her head as she leaned back against the couch. “So he’s going to target another green-eyed boy just to complete his sick collection?”

Kavei nodded, his expression grim. “Exactly. And then there’s Samantha nee. Why did he target her?” He paused for dramatic effect, glancing around the room before answering his own question. “Because his pattern shouldn’t be disrupted. Every year, he must have a new eye color in his collection.”

Silence filled the room, thick and suffocating. Ryu’s hands trembled as he curled them into tighter fists. His voice was low when he finally spoke, barely restraining the rage beneath it. “He did all this… for such a sick joke?”

Kavei’s expression softened for the briefest moment as he stopped behind Ryu, gripping the back of the couch tightly. Leaning down, he spoke just above a whisper, his voice reaching only Ryu’s ears. “You were close to Samantha-nee, and I was close to Aroshi-san. You know what’s best for people like us?” His voice darkened, thick with something venomous. “Seeing the criminal cry in fear when even death doesn’t come easy to him.”

Ryu’s breath hitched. His fists, which had been trembling with rage, slowly relaxed. He gave a single nod, his jaw tight as he exhaled through his nose.

Kavei straightened, stepping back before continuing his pacing. The weight of his words settled over the room, unspoken agreement reflected in the faces around him.

Then, his next words shattered the tension like glass.

“And what I found out,” he said, his voice unwavering, “is the person who will be targeted by the criminal next.”

The effect was instant.

Everyone sat up straight, eyes wide as a collective breath was held.

“You found out the target?” They all asked in unison.

Kavei nodded once, the smirk returning to his face.

Kai leaned forward slightly, his brows furrowed. “So who is it? Who is the next target?” His voice cut through the silence like a blade.

Kavei exhaled, rolling his shoulders back as he finally spoke. “Green eyes have more melanin than blue eyes but significantly less than brown eyes. They result from a combination of moderate pheomelanin, a yellowish pigment, and low eumelanin, the brown pigment. Lighter green eyes contain even less eumelanin, making them appear brighter, almost yellowish-green due to the way light scatters.”

The group sat in varying postures of anticipation. Miyasi, standing near the window, watched Kavei with sharp eyes. Kenma leaned against the couch, arms folded, his expression unreadable. Ryu, seated next to Sebiki and Saira, had his hands clenched into tight fists.

Kavei continued, his voice measured, his pacing slow and deliberate. “From how the criminal kidnapped Hentai and then Misa, there’s one conclusion. Misa had emerald green eyes—higher pheomelanin, moderate eumelanin. The deeper color came from how light interacted with the pigments, scattering in a way that made the green appear more intense. Hentai, however, had lighter green eyes, a shade that held less eumelanin. Based on this, the next target has lighter green eyes.” He paused, glancing at each of them. “And hence, the next target for kidnapping is Arasa Hashi.”

A collective murmur spread through the group. The weight of his words sank in, and a sense of urgency settled over them.

Miyasi narrowed her eyes. “There were twenty-five people in the ninth grade boys’ list with green eyes. Many of them could have had lighter shades. So why this Hashi kid?” Her tone was sharp, questioning, but not dismissive.

Kavei turned his gaze to her, nodding slightly before addressing the group. “I compared the colors of their eyes and found that this kid’s are the most similar to Hentai’s.”

Ojiro, seated on one of the two chairs opposite the coffee table, leaned back, his eyebrows raised in disbelief. “Oh damn. You sat and compared their photos?”

Kavei shook his head. “No. Photo checking wouldn't be enough. I did a real-time scan.”

A hush fell over them. Saira tilted her head, clearly puzzled. “What? What does that mean?”

Before Kavei could answer, Kai, still lounging against the couch with his arms crossed, smiled and spoke up. “He omitted all those who had slightly darker green eyes using photos. For the remaining ones with lighter shades, he used a 3D printer to create comparison models and matched them to Hentai’s real-time appearance.”

Himeko, sitting beside him, glanced sideways at him and whispered, “Thought you didn’t know anything?”

Kai, without looking at her, muttered back, “I know what he did. Not what he’s planning.”

Kavei smirked slightly, acknowledging Kai’s words with a nod. “As he said.”

Silence stretched before Kavei sat back down between Kai and Benio. The weight of the conversation still loomed over them.

“Ren-nii will track this boy. If we see any danger, we go in immediately and save him,” Kavei added.

Narito, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest of his chair, frowned. “How do we quickly get to him?”

Kavei sighed, rubbing his temple. “Well, one of us needs to stay nearby for some time. But I’m sure the kidnapping will happen soon.”

Benio, beside him, tilted his head. “How are you so sure?”

Kavei turned his gaze to him. “The previous cases all had their kidnappings done before summer break ended.”

Benio nodded in understanding, while the rest of the group let the reality of the situation sink in.

Saira suddenly groaned, throwing herself back against the couch dramatically. “I’m so hungry.”

Kavei rolled his eyes as he stood up, heading toward the kitchen. “I told all of you to have lunch before coming here.”

Saira muttered something unintelligible before responding, “I did. A little less though.”

He waved a dismissive hand as he reached the fridge, pulling out some food to heat up.

Kai, now slumped further into the couch, stretched his arms before letting them drop. “I’m thirsty. And lazy,” he muttered before dragging himself up.

He trudged toward the kitchen, grabbing a glass from the overhead shelf. His movements were sluggish as he filled it with water from the jug on the counter, his head bent forward. As he did, the cabinet door he had left open began closing slowly, the metallic mechanism pulling it shut with a faint creak.

Just as it was about to close, Kavei’s sharp eyes darted up. Without a second thought, he reached out, placing his palm flat above Kai’s head to prevent him from hitting it.

Kai, startled by the sudden presence so close to him, faltered. His grip tightened around the counter with one hand, while the other still held the glass. He turned quickly, his face slightly flustered. “Gosh! Don’t suddenly come at me like that!”

Kavei chuckled, leaning in slightly, his breath warm against Kai’s face. His voice was teasing yet low. “Well, you and I are both tall. You could have hit your head as the door closed. I helped you. A ‘thank you’ would be better.”

Kai stiffened slightly before looking away, his grip still firm on the counter. “Thank you,” he muttered under his breath, his voice quieter than usual.

Back in the living room, the rest of the group had been watching the entire exchange. Benio, a smirk tugging at his lips, shook his head before letting out an amused chuckle. “At this rate, Kai is going to get Kavei even though his feelings for him aren’t even clear.”

The others sighed almost in unison, while Kenma scoffed, clearly unimpressed.