The rusted hinges groaned as Yuki slowly pushed the door open. The air inside was warm, filled with the scent of miso and aging tatami mats. Quiet.
Aoki was there—kneeling on the floor, her hands folded, praying in front of a small family shrine. Her back was to them. Her voice trembled with hope.
"Let them come home safe," she whispered. "Please… just let them come home."
Yuki froze.
Kodai's hand brushed her shoulder. She didn't move.
Aoki turned at the sound of the door.
Her eyes lit up. "Did you find them?"
That single sentence cut through Yuki like a blade.
Yuki swallowed hard, but the words refused to come. Her throat burned.
Aoki stood slowly, her hands clenched into fists. "Where are they?" she asked again, eyes darting behind them. "Where are my babies?"
Kodai looked away.
"I'm sorry," Yuki finally managed. Her voice cracked.
Aoki didn't understand at first. "Sorry? Sorry for what? You said you'd find them. You promised."
"Aoki…" Yuki stepped forward. "We found… one."
The light in Aoki's eyes flickered. "One?" she whispered.
"There was nothing we could do," Yuki said. "We're still looking. We won't stop—"
"No."
Aoki backed away, shaking her head violently.
"No. No. Don't say that. Don't you dare say that." Her voice broke. "You said they were just lost."
Yuki tried to reach for her, but Aoki slapped her hand away. "Don't touch me!"
The grief hit like a flood. Aoki collapsed to the floor, wailing. Not crying—wailing. An animal sound.
Yuki fell to her knees beside her, tears streaming silently. She didn't try to speak again.
Kodai stood by the door, hands clenched at his sides, jaw tight. He wanted to look away. But he made himself watch. This was what failure looked like.
This was the cost.
Yuki slowly stood up her face firm in determination
" I'll find whatever did this Aoki, I will"
Aoki didn't answer she silently dropped she looked up into yuki's eyes
"Let me see the body" she said
Kodai stepped in " I don't think that is a good idea, it's not pretty farthest thing from it" he said in a pleading voice
Aoki frowned "I don't care I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes"
Kodai stared into her eyes and nodded
The sun had begun to dip behind the trees by the time they returned to the agency. The world felt colder.
Yuki walked ahead, silent, her face unreadable. Aoki followed behind, her steps unsteady but determined. She hadn't said a word since insisting on seeing the body.
They unlocked the morgue located in basement of the agency building
The door creaked open.
The room was sterile—too clean. The hum of fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, indifferent to grief. A single sheet-covered body lay on the cold steel table in the center.
Yuki hesitated, hand hovering just above the cloth.
"You don't have to—"
"Show me," Aoki said.
Her voice was hollow. Not angry. Not pleading. Just… empty.
Yuki nodded once and pulled back the sheet.
What remained of her son was barely recognizable—his small frame torn and gnawed, the soft curve of his face warped by violence. His eyes were gone. His ribs visible through shredded flesh. The only reason they could identify him was the tiny bracelet still clinging to his wrist.
Aoki didn't scream.
She didn't cry.
She stepped forward slowly, like a sleepwalker, and dropped to her knees beside the table. Her hand reached out—trembling, hovering—before gently brushing the boy's matted hair.
"My sweet boy…" she whispered.
Yuki looked away, but the sound of Aoki's breath hitching caught her.
And then the sobs came.
They were silent at first, her body shaking as she hunched over him. Then they grew—deep, broken sobs that shattered the quiet room. She clutched her son's hand, rocking slightly, whispering things only a mother could say.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there… I should've been there. I should've—"
Yuki's heart splintered. She stepped back, her hands trembling at her sides, fists clenched.
Kodai stood outside the room, watching through the glass. He didn't need to be inside. He knew that kind of pain couldn't be touched by words.
Inside, Aoki lifted her head, eyes red, face soaked in tears. She stared at Yuki.
"Find it," she said. "Find whatever did this… and make it suffer."
Yuki met her gaze. There was no hesitation.
"I will."
————————-
Night had finally fallen, my eyes slowly opened my cat like irises dilated as I sensed the familiar tremors
They're back
my body sprung up eager to to see them for my own eyes
They were nearly a kilometer away, tracing a path dangerously close to the creek. They were coming here. Straight to me.
I stood, bones shifting beneath my skin as I readied myself. I slid along the cave wall, stepping into the shadows, silent as breath. The moonlight was faint, bleeding silver through the trees. Just enough to move beneath.
Soon, I saw them—cutting through the underbrush. The woman led, I then noticed something truly peculiar her hands were casting long beams through the darkness. The pot bellied man followed close behind, weapon drawn.
I guess it would be crazy to assume I'm the only one in this world with strange abilities, I thought to myself I brushed it off my mind as I focused on the task at hand.
I crept parallel to them, moving low and fast. My body melded with the trees, my skin pale and blood-specked in the moonlight. I could hear their conversation.
"No signs of tracks yet," the big man muttered.
"They've been covered," the woman replied. "We're close—I feel it."
I crept parallel to them, moving low and fast. My body melded with the trees, my skin pale and blood-specked in the moonlight. I could hear their conversation.
She was right.
I waited until they crossed the final bend in the trail—the one that curved past the dead creekbed and led straight to the mouth of my cave.
Then I moved.
I dropped from a branch like a phantom, landing just behind grizzly man. The earth barely noticed me.
I struck fast.
My arm blurred forward—my fingers like spears—crunching into the back of his knee. His leg buckled with a sickening pop as he roared and collapsed, gun firing into the dirt.
Yuki spun, eyes wide.
"KODAI!"
She raised her arm, trying to shine the light, but I was already in front of her. My hand clamped around her wrist like a vice. I squeezed until I felt bones grind. The light when out
What a fascinating toy you are," I whispered.
Then I slammed her head against a tree. Not hard enough to kill—just enough to shut her up.
She dropped to the forest floor, gasping, blood running from her temple.
I hit her with a swift kick to the stomach as I watched the breath eject out of her.
The man struggled to rise, his body shaking as he reached for his radio.
"No," I growled.
I stepped on his arm, shattering the radius with a single press. He howled, rage and pain mixing in his voice.
I leaned close to his face.
"You should've brought more friends."
She screamed and kicked, lights sparking around her free hand—I leaned in, teeth bared, letting the glow of her light illuminate my face.
"Boo!"
I smiled a devilish smile as she looked at me in horror
With both of them squirming and gasping on the forest floor, I bent down and grabbed their collars, dragging them like carcasses across the dirt. Their blood painted the roots. The big man tried to fight—so I broke his other knee
Snap.
Silence.
The girl was half-conscious, groaning with each bump against the ground. It was almost pitiful.
I loved it.
The cave loomed ahead—dark and wet and waiting.
I tossed them both inside, their bodies hitting the stone with dull thuds. Then I blocked the entrance with a massive boulder I found a few meters away, sealing us in together.
Just the three of us.
I turned to face them in the darkness, their breathing ragged, their fear beginning to rise.
I crouched, licking a smear of blood from my hand.
"Now then," I said with a crooked grin. "Let's have a little chat