Anteiku Café – Upstairs Bedroom
Kirishima Touka sat silently in the bedroom above the Anteiku café, staring at the group chat screen.
Messages poured in—shock, pity, even fear.
She watched as Rei Ao revealed the brutal reality of her world, exposing it openly for everyone to see.
She bit down on her lip, the taste of blood spreading across her tongue.
It felt like being stripped bare—vulnerable, raw.
And yet, deep in her chest… there was something else. A strange sense of release.
So even in other worlds, people found the fate of ghouls just as absurd… just as tragic?
She closed the glowing chat window, hugged her knees to her chest, and buried her face.
The room was silent, save for the faint sound of her breathing.
Through the gap in the curtains, the cold flicker of neon lights spilled in, casting sharp, lonely shadows across her.
…
Itomori – Miyamizu Mitsuha
Back in Itomori Village, Miyamizu Mitsuha was just as shaken. She couldn't say a word.
This was the first time she truly understood that other worlds carried pain far heavier than her own—far more than the isolation of her small town or her duties at the shrine.
In the face of such raw, visceral suffering… even the gods felt distant and blurry.
…
French Restaurant – Private Room
Rei Ao exhaled quietly, closing the chat interface.
He looked up to find Utaha and Sonoko watching him closely, concern written all over their faces.
They hadn't read the messages, but they could feel the shift in his energy—the sudden weight of it all.
"The new girl… she's really a ghoul?"
Utaha asked, her burgundy eyes filled with disbelief.
"Yeah," Rei Ao nodded. "She's someone born into a cruel fate… trying to escape it, but never really able to."
He didn't say more.
Even Sonoko, normally the one cracking jokes, turned serious.
"If she needs help," she said softly, "we could probably do something, right?"
Rei Ao just smiled faintly and picked up his utensils.
"Let's eat. In the end, only she can decide how to face what's ahead."
…
That Night
Dinner ended, but the three didn't head home.
Instead, they went to a hotel.
The bathroom door creaked open, the sound sharp in the still room.
Steam spilled out like mist, followed by Rei Ao.
A loose white towel hung low on his hips.
His damp black hair dripped, water tracing down his sharply defined chest and abs before disappearing into the edge of the towel.
The soft glow of the room's lighting caught the water on his skin, making every line of muscle shimmer subtly.
With a towel draped over his shoulder, he lazily rubbed at his hair—every movement relaxed but in control.
To him, this body—intimidating to most—was just another day.
But to the two girls watching, it was like someone had thrown a stone into a still lake.
Utaha and Sonoko, sitting on the edge of the bed, froze like they'd been electrocuted.
They'd just finished their own showers and were wrapped in the hotel's soft white robes.
Their damp hair clung to their shoulders, the ends still dripping.
Utaha's signature jet-black hair looked thicker wet, and her already pale skin glowed with a blush so light it almost looked translucent—like the petal of a spring bloom.
She instinctively pulled her robe tighter, fingers whitening from the grip.
It felt like the only barrier between her and the humid, lingering warmth of his presence.
Her head lowered, thick lashes trembling.
She locked her eyes onto her own knees, pretending they were the only thing in the room.
The air felt thick and heavy, sweet with the scent of body wash—and charged with something unspeakable.
"Ahem."
Sonoko cleared her throat gently, finally breaking the suffocating silence.
She raised her hand to her lips, putting on a casual front.
Turning, she glanced at Utaha—who looked like she wanted to disappear into the mattress.
In her eyes, the tension was replaced with a familiar teasing glint.
A subtle smile tugged at her lips.
"Utaha-chan?"
Her voice was light, playful.
"You seem a little nervous?"
"Wh—What?!"
Utaha jolted, like she'd just been zapped.
Her wine-red eyes went wide with alarm, reflecting Sonoko's teasing grin.
The blush on her cheeks spread fast—ears, neck, everything lit up.
"N-Nervous?! Sonoko-san, what kind of nonsense is that?! I have no idea what you're talking about!"
Her voice cracked from how fast she was talking—high-pitched and completely flustered.
"W-Who would get nervous over something like this?! That makes no sense at all!"
She kept rambling, eyes darting around like a panicked deer.
Anywhere but at Sonoko. And definitely not at Rei Ao, who now stood a few feet away, calmly watching.
"Oh~?"
Sonoko's smirk widened.
She looked like a fox that had just cornered a rabbit.
Instead of backing off, she leaned in closer.
The mattress dipped slightly beneath her weight.
A wave of post-shower warmth and subtle perfume floated with her.
Their arms brushed slightly—skin against fabric.
Utaha flinched but didn't pull back. Sonoko's gaze had her frozen.
"Since you're not nervous at all…"
Sonoko leaned in, whispering right beside Utaha's flushed ear—just loud enough for the two of them… and for Rei Ao to catch every word.
"Then why don't you go first later? I'll sit back and watch… maybe take a few notes. Sound good?"
Her voice was silky smooth, laced with wicked amusement.
She drew out the words "watch" and "take notes" just enough to spark every possible implication.