The wooden floor creaks under my feet as I slip through the open window, the stale scent of incense still clinging to the air. The house is dark, quiet save for the faint rustle of wind through paper screens. My stomach gnaws at me, hunger biting deeper with every breath. I came here hoping for a midnight snack…if you know what I mean.

I creep through the narrow hall, sharp eyes scanning for sleeping humans. But I find none, dammit. I bare my teeth in frustration, the gnawing hunger twisting into something uglier.

Then I hear it. The soft shuffle of fabric, a breath catching in surprise.

I whirl around, instincts sharp, ready to silence whoever it is—

And then I freeze.

Her.

The dim light from the window catches in her hair, and for a moment, it’s like nothing’s changed. She’s the same girl who’d press warm leftovers into my hands, smile soft even when the world was cruel. The same girl who once wrapped a thick blanket around Daki’s shivering shoulders without a word. My throat tightens, a part of me clawing at the memory of who I was before.

I can’t breathe. Can’t move. She shouldn’t be here. I should’ve stayed away.

Her lips part, wide eyes filled with shock—no, recognition.

“…Gyutaro?” Her voice is soft, fragile, like it might shatter if I touch it.

I don’t know what to say. I can’t be the boy she knew. That boy’s gone, burned away the night I sold my soul. I’m a monster now, skin cracked and grey, teeth sharp and strong fitting for a apex predator. She should be screaming. Running.

But she isn’t.

Her hand lifts, trembling but steady, reaching toward me as if I’m not the nightmare I’ve become. “Is it really you?”

I want to tell her to stay back. To look away. But my voice fails me, and all I can do is stand there, caught between who I was and what I’ve become.