"So Shiki, what have you been up to lately?"

That was the first question Mirei asked Shiki as they were walking home. As Shiki was eating some melon bread, he was trying to think of how to answer Mirei. He didn't want to lie to her, but he can't exactly tell her the truth or else he would be putting her in danger.

"Well, i'm doing some volunteer work for a church. We had a trip we needed to attend to but needless to say, it was an experience."

"Hmm. Shiki........just how dumb do you think I am?"

The moment Mirei said this, she performed a karate chop on Shiki's head as the boy screamed in pain. As Shiki was rubbing his head, he turned around to see Mirei staring at him with her hands on her hips.

"We've known each other since middle school. You think I can't pick up when you're acting strange or when you're hiding something?"

The moment Shiki heard this, he froze in place. In his mind, he was frantically panicking on what to do or say. If she asked him, telling half the truth won't work again. If he says nothing, he would just look more suspicious and worry her. Right now, he wanted to find the right words to get him out of this situation.

"Mirei, I-"

"You can't tell me for a reason, right?"

"Huh?"

"You're pretty open when we talk together. So if you're trying this hard not to tell me something, it's probably too important or not any of my business. So instead of interrogating you like some forceful, crazy chick, I'll just trust you. Everyone has a few skeletons in the closet that they'd rather not show anyone, you aren't any different."

A slight smirk could be seen on Mirei's face when she saw the surprised expression on Shiki's face. Just as the boy smiled back, he used his right hand to karate chop Mirei on the head in retaliation. As Mirei let a slight squeak escape from her mouth, she held the top of her head with both hands as she pouts at Shiki.

"What the heck?! I was being considerate and you hit a delicate girl on her head?!"

"Delicate girl? Where?! You gotta show me where she is Mirei", Shiki said as he began to run foward. Soon Mirei chased after Shiki with a look of annoyance on her face. However, her ears soon picked up the sound of laughter from Shiki. With a small smile on her face, Mirei simply chased after Shiki.

"This is the right choice. Instead of forcing him to talk and making him worry, i'll simply trust in him instead. After all, he's my best friend!"

While Mirei was thinking to herself, Shiki was merely smiling as he felt a sense of relief. Hearing Mirei's words helped put his mind at ease for the moment. While he still feels a bit guilty for hiding something from Mirei, he was happy that she trusted him enough to not get mad about keeping a secret. However, just as his guard was down, Shiki heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"It seems like you're having fun. How adorable."

Shiki's run was brought to a halt as his smile vanished from his face as quickly as it appeared. When Mirei caught up to Shiki, she saw the person that called out to Shiki. They were very pretty as they had long black hair and cold blue eyes, but they also had the look of a well established adult as they had on a business suit.

"Shiki, who is this.....woman? Man?"

"Oh, so he hasn't mentioned me yet. Nice to meet you, miss. I am Shiranui Ouma, Koritsu-kun and I are acquaintances."

As Shiranui said this, they looked at Shiki to see what kind of reaction he would make. Truth be told, they were surprised to see the boy trying his hardest to restrain himself. Soon Shiki grabbed Shiranui by their right wrist as he looked at Mirei.

"S-sorry, Mirei. I forgot I had an important meeting and needed to meet up with Shiranui-san here. Can you make it back to your place without me?"

"Sure thing, just be careful, Shiki."

As Mirei nods her head at Shiki, the girl began to walk ahead as she was heading towards her apartment. While this happened, Shiranui felt themselves being pulled as Shiki was dragging them to an alleyway. Shiranui noticed that while they were walking, Shiki was crushing their right wrist with his bare hand. The moment they reached their destination, Shiki suddenly slams Shiranui's body against a brick wall and holding them by the neck as he took off his Mystic Eyes Killers.

"What the hell do you want you two faced bastard?"

"Oh, when we first met you were bewildered by why you were wanting to kill me. Look at you now, taking the initiative. It seems you've grown a little bit."

The moment Shiranui said this, they swiftly pried Shiki's right hand off of their neck and kicks Shiki towards a wall behind him. As Shiki's body collided with the wall, Shiranui held both of the boy's wrists above his head using their left hand. With a smile on their face, Shiranui reached into Shiki's pocket with their right hand and placed his Mystic Eyes Killers back on his face.

"First of all, I wanted to congratulate you on your previous mission. You managed to protect the Tokyo Branch and acquired Asuramaru."

"Get to the point already. You wouldn't go out of your way just for formalities like this. What are you afte-"

"Come out, Asuramaru."

The moment Shiranui said this, Shiki noticed that Shiranui's eyes glowed a bright purple unlike their usual blue color. Suddenly, Shiki felt his consciousness slowly slipping away from him. Before Shiranui realized it, Shiki's green eyes from beneath his glasses no longer held light in them. In that light's place was a cold stare as the boy clicked his tongue.

"So you figured it out, huh. Forcing me and the brat to trade places like this, just what the hell are you doing?"

"Heh, it's quite simple. Tell me, Asuramaru, would you like to see just how far you can go with this vessel of yours?"