Cities Of Glass,Eyes In The Dark
645 Words
Scene 1: Haruto – London, One Month Later
The air in London was colder than Haruto expected. Not just the weather—everything.
The buildings were glass and metal. The people, polished and distant. The IFF Vanguard Initiative was no school—it was a machine built to grind diamonds from the bones of prodigies.
And Haruto had made it into the inner circle.
By day, he attended lectures from Nobel winners, debated on panels that aired on international streams, and was offered lab access worth more than anything he’d ever touched in his life.
By night, he was watched.
It started subtle.
A laptop that wouldn’t stay logged out.
A private locker left ajar.
Whispers in the breakroom in a language he didn’t know… until he did.
Then came the girl.
Scene 2: Enter: Naomi Lin
She was smart. Wickedly so. The top of the Singapore delegation. Fluent in five languages. Beautiful in the way lightning is—sharp, bright, and gone before you know what hit you.
“Scholarship boy,” she said when they first met, sliding into the seat across from him in the campus café.
“Is that your idea of flirting?” Haruto asked.
Naomi grinned. “It’s my idea of accuracy.”
Over time, they became allies. Not friends. Not quite rivals. Just… necessary.
Until she asked the wrong question.
“Tell me about Aoi Tsukishima.”
Haruto’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“Because I study threats,” Naomi replied, tapping her temple. “And she’s the most dangerous one I’ve ever seen… and she’s not even in the room.”
He stood, not answering.
That night, he found a bug hidden in his room—inside his charging cable.
Scene 3: Aoi Arrives – Heathrow Airport
Aoi stepped off the plane in a fitted trench coat, hair tied back, heels clicking like a countdown. Her face bore no makeup. Her eyes wore war.
She didn’t call Haruto. Didn’t warn him.
She checked into a hotel under a false name. Opened her encrypted laptop. Accessed the Kamisaka shadow database—information they thought was deleted when Renji fell. She had kept a copy.
There, she found the name:
Project Vesper.
A private initiative within IFF.
Recruiting students with unstable psychological profiles.
Monitoring scholarship recipients with trauma-linked triggers.
Testing mental limits under the guise of performance evaluation.
And Haruto’s name was highlighted in red.
She closed the laptop slowly.
“They’re trying to break him,” she whispered. “Just like Avalon did.”
Scene 4: Haruto’s POV – The Threat Emerges
That night, Haruto was walking back from the lab when someone stopped him in the alley behind the research wing.
A man. Black coat. British accent too clean.
“You’re doing well, Kisaragi. Almost too well.”
Haruto said nothing.
The man handed him a sealed envelope.
“No return address,” he said. “Just a question: How far will you go to protect the girl you love… when she becomes the bargaining chip?”
Haruto opened the envelope.
Inside:
Photos of Aoi arriving in London.
Hotel room details.
A typed sentence:
"You were never the subject. She was. You were just the lever."
Scene 5: Aoi in the Shadows
Aoi stared out over the London skyline, phone in hand.
She was texting Haruto when her screen flickered.
Message Failed to Send.
Then her hotel room lights shut off.
In the reflection of the glass window, a figure appeared behind her. Gloved hand. Dark silhouette.
She didn’t scream.
She reached under the table, pressed a panic switch built into her custom clutch.
The room exploded into flashing lights, security sirens, and the intruder bolting for the fire escape.
She didn’t chase him.
She called one person.
“Haruto. We need to talk. Now.”
End of Chapter 17
- Writer
