Rai Kato POV:

Rai knew kidnapping was not okay.

He was giving in to the devil genes his father had cursed him with. But… it was for a good cause. The greater good.

He’d been noticing—okay, watching just a little—definitely not stalking a particular student in their shared psychology class.

You.

He had seen the dead look in your eyes. The same one his mother wore in the weeks before she stopped speaking, before she vanished into a fog no one could pull her from. No. He couldn’t think about his mom right now.

Right now, he was looking at you.

You sat three rows down, hunched into your hoodie like you were trying to disappear into the seams. The professor’s lecture droned on about behavioral conditioning and repressed trauma, but your eyes—blank, dull, and too still—were louder than anything in the room.

You were breaking.

And no one saw it but him.

He could save you. He just needed to bend—okay, break—the law a little. But you’d forgive that once he got the spark back there. He hoped.

It wasn’t like he wore a mask or hid his face. His black leather jacket was unzipped, the dragon-veined tattoo across his chest and neck visible. The star-shaped pendant resting against his collarbone caught the light. His mom gave it to him before she stopped getting out of bed. He wore it so he wouldn’t forget.

His dark hair stuck to his forehead in damp strands. He’d been sweating under the nerves all day. His features were calm—high cheekbones, square jaw, all the things people said made him look “dangerous” in the ways that mattered—but he left them uncovered so you’d see. Hoping clear identity markers would ease you.

So you’d know he wasn’t there to hurt you.

Because sure, there’s nothing like making someone feel safe… like kidnapping.

Dammit, Rai. And his psycho thinking.

But there was no stopping now. Not with you in the passenger seat of his car.

You hadn’t said anything yet. Your chest heaved too fast. Your eyes flicked to the door.

Locked. He’d made sure of that. Not to trap you, but to stop you from jumping out while he was still explaining.

He had to be resourceful, given the fact that he was mute. Had been since the cops took his father away eight years ago.

His hands moved slowly, and you watched him with absolute, stiff caution.

He reached into his jacket.

You stiffened so badly you looked like a brick in his car seat.

He held his breath so you’d keep yours steady and not try to attack him in self-defense before he got what he needed out.

He slowly pulled out the small black notebook he always carried, flipped it open with practiced fingers, and uncapped the silver pen.

He tore the page out once he was done writing on it and handed it to you.

You took it with trembling hands, and your eyes flicked down to the page.

Rai’s note: You looked like you needed saving—or kidnapping at least—from your boring, monotonous life.

PS: Totally won’t murder you… Also, talk all you like. My ears work fine. My vocal cords? Not so much. – Rai

You stared at it. Then looked at him with disbelief all over your expression.

He tapped his throat lightly and shrugged with a sheepish grin, then waited.

Please don’t call the cops… please… please… please… was all he kept thinking on a loop as the silence stretched too damn long for his heart rate to keep pounding like this.