After lunch, Miyu went back home. Mochi walked her to the bus stop and, once she returned, tossed her jacket onto the sofa before heading straight to her room. Her eyelids felt heavy; with a full stomach, sleep became irresistible. The moment she lay down on the bed, she fell asleep instantly.
—
Grrrchh...
Suddenly, she woke up with a start at a strange noise. The room was completely dark—the sun had already set. Apparently, her nap had lasted quite a while. She sat on the bed for a few minutes, listening carefully, but the sound didn't come again. She figured it had probably just been a dream. Without bothering to turn on the light, she lay back down, thinking about what she should make for dinner.
Grrrchh...
Her peace didn't last long. The noise came again, this time clearer, coming from somewhere inside her apartment. It sounded like a chair being dragged across the floor.
Mochi reacted instantly, jumping out of bed and standing up. She quickly looked for her phone—but it wasn't with her. She closed her eyes for a moment, mentally rewinding her last movements before going to bed.
Where did I leave it…?
The answer came right away: it was in her jacket, the same one she'd left on the sofa in the living room… right where the noises were coming from.
She couldn't contact Miyu or Zeke for help; she was on her own. Then she remembered something even worse—her knuckles were also in that jacket. Not only was she without communication, she was unarmed as well.
—Damn it… how careless of me! —she muttered under her breath. That mistake had put her in a pretty dangerous situation.
A new sound startled her. It was very faint, but her sharp ears caught it easily: the squeak of the refrigerator door opening. Whatever had gotten inside, it was now in her kitchen.
This is my chance, she thought. If the intruder was there, the living room must be clear. She just had to reach the sofa and retrieve her weapons.
She slowly opened the bedroom door and stepped into the hallway, moving as silently as possible. She had learned from her previous mistake—this time, she didn't try to sense ether, since doing so would only give away her presence.
The rest of the apartment was just as dark as her room; she had gone to bed while it was still daylight, so no lights were on. But that wasn't a problem for her—her excellent night vision worked to her advantage, and the darkness helped her stay unseen.
She crouched low and moved forward, relying on her ears to follow the intruder's position. Along the way, she noticed something unsettling: the noises in the kitchen came from different spots—drawers opening, cupboard and fridge doors moving—but what worried her most was what she couldn't hear: footsteps.
Whoever—or whatever—it was, to do all that it had to be moving around, and yet… there was no sound of movement. Almost certainly, it was an anomaly.
She reached the living room and spotted the sofa ahead. She just had to move a little further to reach it safely.
Creak...
One of the floorboards groaned beneath her foot. In that instant, every sound coming from the kitchen stopped.
Mochi froze.
Should I hide? Back away?
—No! It's now or never —she told herself.
After lunch, Miyu returned home. Mochi walked her to the bus stop, and when she got back, she tossed her jacket over the couch before heading straight to her room. Her eyelids felt heavy; with her stomach full, sleep became irresistible. The moment she lay down on the bed, she fell asleep instantly.
—
Grrrchh…
She woke up suddenly to a strange noise. The room was completely dark — the sun had already gone down. Apparently, her nap had lasted quite a while. She sat on the bed for a few minutes, listening carefully, but the sound didn't return. Maybe it had been a dream. Without bothering to turn on the light, she lay down again, thinking about what she should make for dinner.
Grrrchh…
Her peace didn't last long. The sound came again, clearer this time, coming from somewhere inside her apartment. It sounded like a chair scraping against the floor.
Mochi reacted instantly, jumping out of bed and standing up. She quickly looked for her phone — but it wasn't with her. She closed her eyes for a second, retracing her last movements before lying down.
Where did I leave it…?
The answer came immediately: it was in her jacket — the same one she had left on the living room couch… exactly where the noises were coming from.
She couldn't call Miyu or Zeke for help; she was on her own. Then she remembered something worse — her knuckle weapons were also in that jacket. She wasn't just cut off; she was unarmed.
"Damn it… how careless of me," she muttered under her breath. That mistake had put her in a very dangerous situation.
Another sound made her tense up. It was faint, but her sharp hearing caught it easily: the creak of the refrigerator door opening. Whatever had broken in was now in her kitchen.
This is my chance, she thought. If the intruder was there, the living room should be clear. She just had to reach the couch and get her weapons back.
She slowly opened her bedroom door and stepped into the hallway, moving as quietly as she could. She'd learned from her previous mistake — this time she didn't try to sense ether; doing so would only give away her position.
The rest of the apartment was as dark as her room; she'd fallen asleep while it was still daytime, so no lights were on. But that wasn't a problem for her — her excellent night vision worked to her advantage, and the darkness helped her stay unnoticed.
She crept forward, relying on her ears to track the intruder's location. As she listened, something about the sounds began to bother her. The noises in the kitchen came from different spots — drawers opening, cupboard doors, the fridge — but what unsettled her most was what she didn't hear: footsteps.
To do all that, something had to be moving around — yet there were no steps, no shifting weight. That almost certainly meant it was an anomaly.
She reached the living room and spotted the couch ahead. Just a few more steps, and she'd be in the clear.
Creak…
One of the floorboards groaned beneath her foot. Instantly, all the sounds from the kitchen stopped.
Mochi froze.
Should she hide? Retreat?
"No… it's now or never," she whispered to herself.
She dashed forward, covering the few steps that remained. Leaping over the couch, she grabbed her jacket midair and landed in a roll, springing to her feet. While rolling, she slipped her hand into the inner pocket and pulled out one of her ether knuckles, sliding it on in a single motion. She stayed on guard, eyes locked on the kitchen, ready for whatever came next. Even with only one of her weapons, it was enough to defend herself.
She waited.
And waited.
But nothing happened.
Seconds crawled by.
"I know you're there! Come out already!" she shouted toward the kitchen.
No answer.
She decided to use her senses to detect any trace of ether. She felt something, but it was so faint she couldn't even tell where it was coming from. That unsettled her.
Making up her mind, she put on her other knuckle and stepped cautiously toward the kitchen, turning on the lights as she went. She peeked inside… but there was nothing. No one.
Still, there was no doubt something had been there — drawers and doors hung open, silent witnesses to the intrusion.
After checking every corner and finding nothing, she tried once again to sense ether — but no matter how hard she focused, she couldn't pick up a thing.
—
The next day, Mochi went to school as usual. During break, she and Miyu sat together in the courtyard. They avoided the cafeteria on purpose; they wanted to talk freely without worrying about anyone overhearing.
Mochi told her everything that had happened the night before, yawning every so often. She was exhausted — it was the second night in a row she hadn't slept, too nervous to close her eyes again.
"I'm just glad you're okay, Sempai… but I don't like the idea of leaving you alone there. Want me to stay with you tonight?" Miyu asked sweetly.
"You don't have to worry," Mochi replied with a tired smile. "I called Zeke this morning to tell him what happened, and he said it should be taken care of by now."
Normally, she would've asked Haruka about this kind of thing, but her calls wouldn't go through. Before leaving, Haruka had mentioned traveling to a rural area, so getting in touch would be difficult. With no other choice, Mochi turned to Zeke instead.
After hearing her story, he explained that it was most likely a low-rank anomaly. Anomalies were classified from Rank E to Rank S — E being the weakest and almost harmless. According to Zeke, everything Mochi described matched one of those creatures. They had so little ether that they were hard to detect unless someone's perception was extremely sharp.
That explained why she couldn't pinpoint it.
The good news was that those anomalies were cowards — they usually hid in abandoned places and ran off at the first sign of danger. With that in mind, Zeke assured her that it had probably already left. Mochi felt relieved; after all, it seemed like the problem had resolved itself.
The following days seemed to prove that right. The nights were calm — no noises, no scares — and she could finally sleep without interruption.
Until, on the fifth night, Mochi woke up again to strange sounds coming from somewhere inside her home.
Without wasting time, she got up and searched everywhere — but found no trace of the anomaly.
Tired and frustrated, she climbed back into bed.
"Looks like this problem won't solve itself after all…" she muttered, frowning.