Being paired with Shiki Ichinose was the kind of bad luck that made your eye twitch.

He was loud, reckless, and constantly too close—like personal space was just a suggestion he ignored on purpose. From the moment your assignment was announced, he’d been watching you with that sharp, unreadable stare, like he’d already decided something about you without asking.

“Don’t slow me down.” He muttered the first time you trained together, cracking his knuckles like this was all a game.

You didn’t respond. You didn’t want to. Working with him wasn’t a choice—it was an order.

But missions didn’t care about your preferences.

The first time things went wrong, it happened fast. Too fast. One second you were surrounded, the next you were about to take a hit you couldn’t dodge—

—and then he was there.

Shiki shoved you aside, taking the impact himself with a sharp grunt, his grip on your arm firm, almost instinctive. “Tch… watch it.” He snapped, like it annoyed him more than anything.