Kaito's office had once again transformed into a war room. The old blueprints, smelling of dust and city archives, were spread across the central table, a stark contrast to the glowing holographic map projected above them. Kenji, Master Jin, Kaito, and Aiko were a tight, focused circle, the only people in the world who knew the true nature of the coming battle.
"The schematics are from a 1950s municipal update," Kenji reported, his finger tracing the thick, faded blue line on the paper. "The main water pipe is two meters in diameter. Cast iron. It runs sixteen meters below street level. It's a river, Ishikawa-sama. A dark, fast, cold river."
He pointed to the spot where Aiko's senses had led them. "As she said, it passes directly adjacent to the vault. The concrete wall of the vault effectively is the wall of the tunnel at that point. They built their fortress using the city's own infrastructure as a shield and a coolant."
"A river," Kaito mused, his mind racing. "Which means a breach is dangerous. We can't just blast our way in. The water pressure... the noise..."
"The physical dangers are the least of your concerns," Master Jin interjected, his voice a low, grave hum. He stepped forward, placing a thin, dry finger on the blueprint, near the vault's location.
"For years, that water has been flowing past a concentrated source of pure spiritual blight," the old man said, his eyes dark with warning. "It is no longer just water. It is a conduit. It will be supernaturally cold, charged with the corrosive, spirit-draining energy of the Chinkonshi. It will be like swimming through a river of diluted poison. It will attack your life force, your spirit, your mind. It will show you things that are not there. It will sap your will."
A cold silence fell over the room.
Kaito's face, which had been alive with the thrill of the hunt, hardened into an implacable mask. He looked at Aiko, his decision made. "No," he said, the word absolute. "You are not going. It's too dangerous. Your light, your blessing... this water will be drawn to it like a moth to a flame. It will try to extinguish you. I forbid it."
He turned to Kenji. "Prepare a single set of insulated dive gear and the plasma cutter. I will go alone. Aiko will guide me from here, using the brick as a relay."
"No," Aiko said.
The word was quiet, but it was just as absolute as his. All three men turned to look at her. She stood straighter, her fear overshadowed by a new, cold certainty.
"You're wrong, Kaito," she said, her voice steady, meeting his shocked and furious gaze without flinching. "You can't go alone. You're a warrior. You're a shadow. But in that water, you'll be blind. You're looking for a small, hidden power core in a dark, raging river, all while being psychically attacked. You'll swim right past it, or worse, swim into a trap you can't see."
She stepped forward, placing her hand on the map, on the golden light of the Kirin's blessing that only she could feel. "You're forgetting what this is," she said, her voice passionate. "The blight is a poison. But this is the antidote. That water will be drawn to my light, yes. But it will break against it. I won't just be your compass, Kaito. I will be your shield. I'm the only one who can keep that corrupting energy at bay while you work."
She looked up at him, her heart in her eyes. "You said we hunt together. This is not a mission you can delegate. And it's not one you can do alone. It has to be both of us."
Kaito stared at her, a silent, agonizing war raging behind his eyes. Every protective instinct he possessed, every lesson learned from his mother's death, screamed at him to lock her in this room. But the strategist, the clan leader, the partner... he knew she was right. He needed his blade, and she was his shield. And he, his anchor.
"You will not be more than an arm's length from me," he said finally, his voice a low, rough growl, the words torn from him. "You will not move without my signal. You will do exactly as I say. The instant I sense you are in danger, the instant your strength wavers, I am pulling you out. The mission is secondary. You are the primary objective. Is that understood?"
"Understood," Aiko breathed, her body trembling with a mixture of fear and adrenaline.
"Kenji," Kaito commanded, his voice all business once more. "Two sets of closed-circuit rebreathers. The best insulated dive suits we have. And the smallest, quietest plasma cutter in our arsenal." He turned and headed for the door, his long coat swirling behind him. "We go tonight. At 3 AM. When the city's water usage is at its lowest."
He paused at the door and looked back, his gaze locking with Aiko's. "Rest," he ordered. "You're going to need every ounce of that light you possess."