We were back inside the bustling Blithis mall. Instead of Ana walking me across the place, it was Ayako who stood beside me. Her help was needed, for she had one more significant thing to buy for me. Yet, unlike Ana’s fond of the so-called ‘fashion’, Ayako led me to the emporium filled with shimmering screens, each showing a dazzling array of flat slates in various sizes, shapes, and colours. The air hummed with the soft whirr of futuristic slates, and the scent of cold air. As we stepped inside, the ambient lighting shifted, casting an otherworldly glow upon the sleek surfaces of the smartphones, transforming the space into a sanctuary of high-tech marvels amidst the age of gears and circuits.

First, she studied the contents on the card beside every slate. I followed her skimming eyes, attempting to decipher the text. Alas, these contents were a thorny brew of words and numbers—neither a riddle nor a song to my grasp. Grand and fancy, it was. Again, technology enthralled my curiosity, and for this time thousand years forward from mine, the myriad knowledge here could be way beyond my level of thought.

Looking at the glimmering screen again, the title already came across the sequence.

“Sunsong, Life’s Unlimited Discovery,” I read, then remarked. “So these bizarre-looking slates were… one of the so-called ‘technologies’, right?”

“They’re called smartphones,” Ayako clarified. “Also known as everything that everybody is worth dying for.”

“Smartphones,” I took one of the smartphones, then followed her way of touching the screen. There, it changed… or rather, moved according to my flick. Thus, I gasped. “Oh my, that’s rather… bizarre.”

My eyes snagged on a square, its colours bursting with life. Curious, I reached out and tapped it. To my surprise, the surface split open like a cloth pulled from a narrow jar, revealing a dark space within. A jolt of shock ran through me, making me recoil. Sensing my unease, Ayako placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder before gently urging me forward, her touch a silent instruction to explore further.

“Now now, that’s just a thing,” said Ayako, then continued touching the screen. “What you see here is you opened an app called Space.”

“Space…,,” I paused, tilting my head as I heard that word before. No, not even that, but at the same time when two of them were holding these smartphones. Upon figuring it out, I asked, “Is that the same thing you both had mentioned before?”

“Before what?”

“Before…,” I stuttered. “Or rather, after I did what you had asked me to… stick a tongue out.”

“Oh,” her lips clasped, holding its burst of laughter back. She even tried to speak, but her mouth puffed beyond her control. Calming herself down, she turned her head behind and covered her lips.

Still, it never worked.

After a few seconds trying her best to make peace inside her lips, she patted my shoulder and lay her head slightly down, then whispered, “You’d rather see it for yourself after this because… heh ha ha.”

“What?”

“That’s all I can say,” she shook her head and sighed, then pointed her eyes at the smartphone, notably the one that read ‘Sunsong W8 - Magick’. “And I think I’d consider choosing this.”

Drawn by curiosity, I grasped it and gave a few touches upon it. Almost everything felt the same as the last, so…

“Why?” I asked.

“This one has quality specs,” she faintly grinned, her finger pointing at the card. “Totally worth a stan.”

“Specs?”

“Hardware… uhh… how do I explain this to you?....”

Silence loomed around us; only a bustling clamour rang throughout the emporium. Looking around, I counted a dozen people engaging in this trade. Face after face, they never intrigued my sight.

Until…

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Leanne.

Truly, she was, after a mere five seconds of gaping. Her long pink hair and fair Wallic skin remained true to my eyes even from a slight distance. Yet, as my gaze fell upon her face, the wideness of her eyes and the subtle frown struck me as peculiar. The poise she exuded from the last at the nightclub was no more in this glowing emporium. What could be weighing on her mind at this particular time?

“It’s something more like how—”

My sudden tap on her shoulder halted her speech. Instead she caught my touch, then followed where I was staring at. There, her eyes narrowed and locked, tracing Leanne’s drop of sweat.

“Not surprised,” murmured Ayako. “Seems like I’m right all along.”

“Huh? Whatever do you mean?”

To bolster her claim, she summoned a practised, reassuring smile. Approaching Leanne, she bestowed a light tap on her shoulder. Leanne flinched but relaxed slightly, seemingly soothed by our friendly facade. I trailed behind, mirroring her movements with the practised grace of a trained shadow. However we could get out of her was up to our play.

“Oh… it’s you,” said Leanne, stuttering whilst her faint smile abided. “What brings you here?”

“We’re buying a phone for my… best friend here? How about you?”

“Same purpose. My phone before was… broken for heaven-knows-what reason,” she shook her head. “I couldn’t comprehend why my old phone had gone insane like that, so there I am… costing another arm and leg for this.”

“I see,” she nodded. “By the way, last night’s performance was amazing.”

“Merci. Monsieur Mason must’ve been pleased by it, too.”

More like…he succumbed to his filthy fantasy.

“Besides,” continued Leanne, looking at me. “You had quite an… enchanting scent, if I must say.”

“… Thanks”

Leanne's gaze lingered on me, her scrutiny meticulous. She leaned close, her nose brushing against the delicate fabric near my chest, then followed the aroma to my hair. A warm smile bloomed on her face, confirming the alluring fragrance's lasting presence. Heat crawled up my neck, a blush blooming under her keen look.

Meanwhile, Ayako squinted her eyes—doubts forming her crimped lips.

“Indeed,” she giggled. “I envy your blessing.”

“So…,” interrupted Ayako, putting up a faint smirk. “Uhh… did you have your phone checked up?”

“Oui, but I checked it all on my own. Turns out that my battery got… fried up, then blazed every inch of it like hell, it was. Literally damned, too, I am.”

“I see… including your SIM card?”

“Oui, I have to buy a new one after I’m done with this. It’d be another pain in my arse for such a process.”

“Did you report to the authorities about your damaged SIM card?”

“Uhh…,” she stuttered, her brows furrowed, and her eyes slightly shifted—appearing to search her words. “... I’ve to report… later. Almost forgot about it.”

"Good," Ayako tucked her hand into the pocket, then pulled out a small, weathered parchment, bearing her portrait, the seal of the IL-LEA, and the authority of the league. “Because I’m gonna cover it up for you.”

“Putain de merde…” she lurched back, her eyes widening in shock and her heart racing with the impulse to flee. Then she chose to follow it.

“Wait!”

However, her frantic sprint was abruptly halted, her motions frozen as if bound by invisible chains, a testament to the might of her crimson-black Kusengan. Curious bystanders shifted their focus to her frozen body, enthralled by the sight of a would-be escapee becoming a firm statue amidst a bustling crowd.

“Zut!”

“Nobody can escape from me,” chuckled Ayako. “I’m always cutting the chase.”

Then we approached her, now intrigued by her sudden act.

“So… you’ve been suspecting me ever since the first time we met, n'est-ce pas?” stuttered Leanne.

“Ever since we had our eyes crossed,” Ayako corrected, her finger pointing at her eye. “Besides, I never need to ask who you really are.”

As her lips came closer to Leanne’s ear, she whispered, though devoid from my hearing range.

Isabelle Fourier-Stone, as she had already told me then.

Leanne shook her head and heaved an exasperated sigh, perhaps soothing away from a turmoil brewing within. Either regret or peace, a faint chuckle was the only thing she could do.

“How about we’ll discuss this in a cafe somewhere rather than a jail?”