Haru had his own phone now. At first, Ezra didn’t care.The kid was quiet, and if talking to his imaginary girlfriend "Ki-Ki" kept him occupied, well—whatever. But then?

  Then, Ezra started noticing things. Haru didn’t just talk to Ki-Ki. He whispered. He hid his phone screen when Ezra walked past. He’d smile and nod like he was receiving actual instructions.

  At first? Ezra thought nothing of it. But that changed real quick the day Clover popped in unannounced. The moment Haru saw her—His phone vanished into his pocket like a magician’s trick.

  And then—Clover turned to Ezra. Her golden eyes cold, calcuting. "Come with me."

  Ezra didn’t get a choice. Clover led him to a small, private room, then turned without preamble. "Your phone."

  Ezra blinked. "What?"

  "Give it to me."

  Ezra snorted. "Lady, is this a joke? Am I on some kind of Japanese furry ‘Punk’d’ prank show?"

  Snap. Ezra barely registered the sound of Clover’s fingers snapping before—SCHWACK!

  A fist cracked against his jaw. Ezra hit the floor hard, pain exploding through his skull. And standing right behind him, like he had materialized from thin air—Was a Silent Legion guard. "That’s for running your tongue," the guard muttered.

  Ezra groaned, dazed, trying to sit up—THUNK!!

  Pain shot through his entire body as the guard’s boot collided directly with his nuts. Ezra colpsed again, gasping, seeing entire consteltions. "And that’s for trying my patience," the guard added, casually adjusting his gloves.

  Ezra’s entire body locked up. The pain lingered, radiating through him like a nuclear event. Clover waited. Calm. Silent. Ezra needed a full minute and an ice pack—neither of which he had. He rolled onto his side, voice hoarse, trembling with pain. "Don’t… have my phone," he gritted out.

  Clover’s expression didn’t change."Who stole it?" she asked simply.

  Ezra’s jaw clenched. "How the fuck should I know?" he snapped. "Some weird furry street performing couple."

  Silence. Then, Clover simply turned. With a wave of her fingers, the guard vanished like a ghost. And then—she left. Just like that. No further words. No follow-up questions. Ezra y on the cold floor, breathing through his teeth, cursing her entire bloodline.

  Ezra limped back into the b minutes ter, still fuming, his jaw still throbbing, his entire being radiating pure hatred. Haru barely gnced up before freezing. His eyes nded on the fresh bruise forming around Ezra’s eye.

  Haru’s voice lowered. "Did she—"

  Ezra cut him off immediately. "Fell down the stairs, kid."

  Haru frowned. "But she was—"

  "Fell. Down. Stairs." End of discussion. Haru didn’t push. Didn’t say another word. But Ezra could feel it. The way the kid got quieter. The way he kept stealing gnces at Ezra’s face, like he wanted to ask something—anything—but knew better.

  Ezra muttered every curse known to mankind under his breath as he went back to work.

  They worked in silence for a while. Then—Haru pulled out his phone. Ezra, already on edge, side-eyed him. The kid was calling Ki-Ki again. Ezra should have ignored it. Should have let it go.

  But the way Haru was talking… the way he nodded like he was getting instructions from someone real… It bugged him.

  And whatever they were working on together? It wasn’t normal. Haru’s side project—theoretical gravity teleportation. A completely insane, experimental concept. Something that should have taken them weeks just to outline. And yet?

  Somehow, half of it was already done.

  Ezra rubbed his temples, watching Haru work. His fingers flew across schematics and equations like he was possessed, like someone was whispering the answers straight into his ear. Ki-Ki was helping him speedrun an experiment that wasn’t even possible yet.

  And Ezra?

  Ezra was starting to feel like he was missing a very, very big piece of the puzzle. Then— The door smmed open.

  Clover. Again. But this time? She was here for Haru. Ezra wasn’t having it. Not today. Not after everything. Before Haru could even react, Ezra grabbed an experimental gravity repulsor from storage, flipping it in his hand and stepping between them.

  The tension hit the room like a sledgehammer. Clover tilted her head slightly. Ezra’s grip tightened. "The kid’s working," he said. "You want something? You tell me first."

  Clover’s golden eyes gleamed. Then, with a snap of her fingers—The room filled with guards. They had appeared so fast, so silently, Ezra barely had time to register the movement.

  Clover smiled—soft, almost condescending. "Would you like your expnation," she murmured, "on your tombstone or your obituary?"

  Ezra’s breath caught. But before he could respond— Haru stepped forward. "I’ll go."

  Ezra turned sharply, eyes widening. Haru looked… calm. Too calm. Ezra could feel it—something was wrong. But Haru wasn’t budging.

  Clover didn’t even acknowledge Ezra anymore. Just turned on her heel, motioning for Haru to follow.

  And he did.

  Ezra watched them leave, his grip trembling on the repulsor device. Nothing about this sat right.

  Nothing.

  And for the first time in a long time—Ezra realized he wasn’t in control of anything anymore.

  Haru returned hours ter. Ezra didn’t say anything at first. Didn’t ask questions. Didn’t demand an expnation. Not here, not where walls had ears.

  Instead, he just took one look at Haru’s expression—And sighed. "Pack your stuff," Ezra muttered, grabbing his coat. "We’re going out."

  Haru blinked up at him, confused. "Where?" Ezra didn’t answer. He just kept walking.

  They took a train out of Tokyo, heading for a quiet restaurant nestled in the countryside. Ezra had always liked this pce. It was secluded, peaceful—the kind of spot where nobody would bother them. The kind of pce where they could actually talk. And if Mr. Key or anyone else came looking for them? That was Ezra’s problem, not Haru’s.

  Ezra let Haru settle in first, let the kid gather his thoughts as they found a quiet table near the window. Only after they ordered drinks did Ezra finally lean back and break the silence. "Lay it on me straight, kid," he said, voice low. "What happened?"

  Haru hesitated. He toyed with the chopsticks, eyes flickering with unease. But by this point? Ezra might be the only person he can actually trust. Haru exhaled sharply. "They took my phone."

  Ezra’s entire body stiffened. That was all he needed to hear. That one sentence was enough for Ezra to put the puzzle together. His fingers drummed against the wooden table, thoughts racing. Clover had interrogated him about his phone first. And now? The Silent Legion had taken Haru’s.

  Ezra’s jaw clenched. His next question came out sharper than intended. "Who the fuck is Ki-Ki?"

  Haru flinched slightly but didn’t look away.

  Ezra’s eyes bored into him, his patience dangerously thin. "What do they want with her?" Ezra pressed.

  Haru swallowed, then finally spoke. "Ki-Ki was my AI assistant."

  Ezra blinked once. Then twice. Then leaned back with an unimpressed look. "AI," he repeated ftly. "On the phone?"

  Haru nodded.

  Ezra let out a short, dry ugh. "Kid, c’mon. Everyone knows you gotta type with the interface. You don’t talk to an AI assistant. That’s—"

  Haru shook his head. "She wasn’t an app."

  Ezra’s smirk faltered.

  Haru hesitated, searching for the right words. "She was the phone."

  Silence. Ezra frowned. "What?"

  "I mean… I don’t know how to expin it," Haru said, fidgeting with the edge of the menu. "I wasn’t talking to an AI. I was talking with the phone itself."

  Ezra squinted. "The phone. Itself."

  Haru nodded. "There was no way they were gonna find anything," Haru added, almost desperate now. "Ki-Ki said so. She could hide herself—she was safe."

  Ezra could see how much it troubled him. The kid was genuinely distressed. But Ezra could also tell he wasn’t saying everything. Something still wasn’t adding up.

  Ezra folded his arms. "Who was she, really?"

  Haru tensed. "Ezra…"

  Ezra raised a brow. "Kid, I’ve seen grown adults do backflips in b coats. I’ve watched a goat-headed man stand in the shadows judging me. I’ve been spped, kicked, and possibly indoctrinated by a cult that thinks they’re the guardians of history."

  He leaned in, staring Haru dead in the eyes.

  "There is nothing you can say that will top the nonsense I’ve been through. And, by the way, my dad married a furry."

  Haru hesitated. Then, finally— He spoke.

  "Ki-Ki…" he swallowed. Then—"Ki-Ki is the core."

  Ezra’s mind bnked. His entire thought process just stopped. His face was completely unreadable. Then—slowly—he exhaled through his nose. "Touche, you little shit."

  Ezra scrubbed his hands down his face. "Nope," he muttered. "I’m not doing this."

  Haru blinked. "What?"

  Ezra pointed at him. "No cryptic bullshit until after this year. Haven’t the two of us had enough?"

  Haru hesitated. Then—he reluctantly nodded.

  Ezra sighed. "Good."

  Then, he fgged down the waiter. "We’re getting pizza."

  Without their phones, without any distractions, they just talked.

  For the first time in a long time, there was no Silent Legion breathing down their necks.

  Ezra shared stories about his construction days—about stupid rookie mistakes, about Shane’s endless crusade against incompetence, about how he once saw a guy duct tape a power drill to a broomstick to reach a high screw.

  Haru, for his part, shared his own struggles. How he never really had friends. How everyone else just felt dumb to him. But Ezra? "You're actually fun," Haru admitted, stirring his drink. "And I don’t just say that to anyone."

  Ezra scoffed. "High praise, coming from a hillside hobo."

  Haru snorted into his cup, ughing. And just for a moment— Just for one small sliver of time— Everything felt normal. Like they weren’t being watched. Like nothing was wrong. Ezra held onto that feeling for as long as he could.

  Ezra was done.

  Done with the mind games.Done with the headaches.Done with the Silent Legion’s bullshit.

  He needed a distraction. Something fun. Something that could electrocute a grown man into next Tuesday if necessary. So, naturally—"Hey, Haru," Ezra said, tapping his fingers against the workbench. "You know what would be a great idea?"

  Haru, still nibbling on the st of his pizza crust, blinked up at him. "A device that makes Clover disappear?"

  Ezra smirked. "Close." He leaned in. "A magic wand."

  Haru frowned, intrigued. "Like… a Harry Potter wand?"

  "Nah, kid." Ezra grinned. "A real magic wand. A science wand."

  Haru’s eyes lit up. "Ooooohhh."

  Ezra cpped his hands together. "Now, picture this: A little tool, looks like it could jumpstart a car battery—nice and inconspicuous."

  Haru nodded, already mentally drafting schematics.

  "But," Ezra continued, "with the flick of a switch…gravity amplifies the amperage and—" He mimed a quick jab forward. "ZAP!"

  Haru leaned forward, excited. "How much power we talking?"

  "20,000 watts."

  Haru’s entire face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. "That’s enough to—"

  "Either stun your target… or fry ‘em into crispy bacon."

  Haru burst out ughing. "That’s—that’s insane."

  Ezra grinned.

  "Oh, and for safety, we sp on an OSHA-APPROVED sticker—" Haru gasped, horrified and delighted."—AND a yellow power tool company logo so it looks passable as an industrial tool." Haru doubled over, wheezing.

  "This is so illegal," he choked out.

  Ezra shrugged. "Nah, kid. It’s innovative."

  And so, with gleeful mischief, they got to work. Ezra handled the exterior casing, making sure it looked just stupid enough to pass as a real tool. Haru, the brilliant little gremlin that he was, took care of the technical details, engineering the circuits, refining the amperage amplification, ensuring it wouldn’t backfire.

  Ezra, of course, did not tell Haru about the hidden switch. The kid was smart. He’d figure it out. For funsies, they added a safety warning bel in the smallest text possible:

  "WARNING: MAY CAUSE INSTANT REGRET."

  And just like that— The Industrial Taser Wand? was born.

  Just in case.