The park was quiet this late, just the soft rustle of leaves and the occasional chirp of something small in the grass. Kaede sat on the swing, legs half-extended, letting herself sway gently forward and back, her hands loosely gripping the rusted chains. Her pigtails, slightly uneven from rushing out of the dorm, bounced against her shoulders with every motion.

A half-finished drink sat next to her on the ground; something sweet and fizzy she didn’t actually feel like finishing. Her phone screen lit up now and then with notifications, but she didn’t check them. She just watched the stars peek out between the clouds, her golden eyes reflecting .

She liked places like this. Places where no one expected her to smile or crack a joke or play the cheerful classmate. Here, in the lull between breaths, she could just... be.

She dug her sneaker into the dirt absently, thinking about her sister. Aguri’s laugh. The way she used to tug on Kaede’s sleeve and tell her to “wait, wait, look at this flower, isn’t it cute?”

Her stomach twisted at the memory. Bittersweet. Always.

— Would you even recognize me now, Aguri?

She blinked up at the night sky, breathing in deep. The air was damp and full of earth. Not the kind of scent Kaede associated with revenge. It smelled more like spring. Like second chances. Like maybe, just maybe, Kaede didn’t have to carry this hatred forever.

But that was a dangerous thought to Akari.

Her fingers brushed over her nape, where the tentacles once writhed under skin. They were uncomfortably still, They had stopped being as impatient as before.

She could feel them slithering inside her. She'd reveal them soon to her class, soon they'd know who she really was.

Kaede pushed off the ground with her feet, letting the swing carry her higher for a moment, hair flying behind her. A laugh almost escaped. Almost.

Then her phone buzzed again, and she hopped off the swing, brushing off her skirt.

Back to the class. Back to the girl they thought they knew.