A few moments after Kagetsu and I got seated, the door to the theater swung open with a sharp creak. Two familiar figures entered — Yuki and Hana.
Their eyes scanned the dark room for a few seconds before they began walking in our direction.
Kagetsu wasn't fazed in the slightest. He kept lazily shoveling popcorn into his mouth, completely unbothered. The two girls took their seats — Hana ended up right beside Kagetsu, while Yuki sat a little farther down the row.
I glanced at them, then at Kagetsu, who was blissfully enjoying his snack, expression blank.
Lucky bastard. He's not even enjoying the privilege of sitting next to two beauties.
A few minutes passed before Hana turned her head slightly toward Kagetsu. Her perfume drifted faintly in the air as she whispered, "Hey."
Kagetsu turned to face her, his cheeks puffed with popcorn. "Hmm?" he mumbled.
"You wouldn't mind going and getting me some popcorn, would you?" she asked, her tone smooth and sweet — almost too practiced, like she was used to that voice getting her anything she wanted.
Kagetsu blinked once. He swallowed forcibly, punching his chest a little as the popcorn went down.
"Nah," he said flatly.
Hana froze, eyes widening slightly. For a second, I thought she hadn't heard him right.
"I don't think I heard you correctly. Would you mind repeating that?" she asked again, her voice soft, expectant.
"I said nah," Kagetsu replied, his tone perfectly casual. "I'm not your butler."
Then he turned back to the screen, like she'd just asked him the time.
Her face twitched. For someone who clearly thought the world bent around her beauty, it must've felt like a slap.
She went silent for a moment before reaching into her purse, pulling out a neat stack of bills. The faint rustle of money echoed between us.
"How about now?" she asked, waving it lightly in the air — a smirk tugging at her lips. No one can resist money, she was probably thinking.
Kagetsu let out a low sigh, annoyed. "I'm not your puppy," he said. "Go get it yourself."
I saw her jaw tighten. For a moment, she looked ready to explode. Then her anger melted into something else — a sly, predatory smile. She crossed one leg over the other, leaning slightly toward him.
He doesn't even realize how lucky he is, she was thinking. Sitting next to me… most guys would be thanking the heavens.
She tilted her head, a strand of her dark hair falling across her cheek. "You really don't know how luc—"
"This movie's actually pretty good," Kagetsu said suddenly, cutting her off mid-sentence.
Her smirk faltered. I nearly choked trying not to laugh.
On the screen, the movie had reached a tense point. A man with brown hair and a long coat was arguing with another man in a dimly lit lab.
"We were never supposed to discover time travel! We need to stop this!" the man in the coat shouted.
"With this… I could save them all!" the other man yelled back, desperation cracking in his voice.
"You don't get it, do you?! It was because of this that they all died!"
"I hear their voices every night," the other man whispered. "They scream into my ear — 'Why didn't you save us?'... 'Why did you run away?' With this, all those people could be saved."
The man in the coat hesitated. A tear slid down his face. "You really don't get it do you? I'm sorry…," he said — and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The gunshot echoed through the theater, followed by silence.
Beside me, Hana was visibly fuming. For the rest of the movie, she tried every trick in the book — leaning closer, fixing her hair, soft glances — but Kagetsu never even looked her way again.
When the credits finally rolled, the lights came back on, and the heavy atmosphere faded. I stretched my arms with a yawn as we exited the theater.
Behind us, I could hear Hana's angry muttering. Yuki walked beside her, calm as ever.
"That guy pissed me off," Hana said, crossing her arms with an exasperated sigh.
Yuki gave her a sidelong glance. "Why do you even care what he thinks? I heard about him — Hitoshi Kagetsu. Apparently, he's the lowest rank in the academy. He's a nobody." Her voice was cool, detached.
Hana's irritation slowly softened. "You're right. All he is, is a nobody," she said quietly, though the frustration still lingered in her tone.
Meanwhile, I was trying not to lose my mind. How come he gets to talk to a beauty, and I get nothing? A small vein pulsed on my forehead.
Kagetsu sighed beside me. "That girl pissed me off," he muttered, his voice carrying that same calm annoyance.
I shot him a glare that could've melted steel. You lucky bastard… you don't even know it.
By the time we made it back to the academy, the sun was dipping below the horizon. The sky was painted in strokes of orange and pink, bleeding into the encroaching night. Shadows stretched long across the streets as the air cooled.
We entered the dorms, saying our goodbyes before heading off in separate directions.
Inside my room, I tossed my bag to the floor, took a quick shower, and slipped into my pajamas. The room was quiet — the kind of quiet that presses on your ears.
As I lay in bed, my eyes drifted to the ceiling.
I wonder what happened to Zane after I stole his body…
That was the last thought that crossed my mind before sleep claimed me.