The city was waking up slowly.
The sun barely grazed the rooftops,
while massive screens mounted on storefronts
replayed the same headline again and again:
"Dawn Massacre… Five officers found dead under horrific circumstances.
The suspect remains the unidentified serial killer."
But the people…
as always…
walked past the screens without a shred of concern.
Laughter. Coffee cups. Work bags.
Morning chatter.
The world preferred denial…
over acknowledging the existence of something like Aresu.
Aresu Saiko walked calmly through the crowd, dressed in sleek black clothing:
a loose black shirt draped over his slender shoulders,
tight fitted pants,
thin gloves hugging his fingers.
His dark hair moved with the morning breeze,
and his glassy black eyes reflected nothing alive.
His quiet, deceptive beauty made heads turn—
but no one saw what hid behind that faint, delicate smile.
On his shoulder—visible to no one—
Kinora, his second shadow,
leaned close and whispered through the air like a blade sliding through silence:
"Master… have you found the target yet?
The girl you're supposed to… date?"
Aresu paused on the sidewalk.
He blinked slowly.
Then a small, dangerous smile touched his lips—
the kind that hinted at the twisted curiosity that ruled him.
He lifted his gaze to the passing crowd:
the girls in school uniforms,
the office women,
the ones dragging travel bags…
and murmured with a dark, childlike excitement:
"Not yet…
but today, I'll look for my favorite type."
Something flickered in his eyes—
not sunlight,
but anticipation.
Like a hunter
moving through an ocean full of life,
searching for the first heart
he would break under the name of "love."
Aresu was passing by the window of a small shop that sold accessories and light drinks.
He stopped—not because he was interested in the items—but because the scene inside caught his attention like a thread tugging at his dead heart for a moment.
Inside, a young man with messy brown hair sat leaning toward a girl in front of him.
He spoke in a low voice, a sly smile on his lips, clearly flirting with her.
The girl he was with had a soft, cute look—short black hair, small gentle features—and she laughed shyly while fidgeting with the edge of her cup.
But what caught Aresu's eye wasn't the pair at the table.
It was the girl behind the glass.
A small, delicate-looking girl with short white-pink hair, and eyes so wide they seemed to hold the world… only to let it fall.
She was staring at the brown-haired boy with a look far too obvious—
Her gaze stuck to him, as if trying to memorize his face and carve it into her heart.
But on her lips—pressed tight—on her lowered shoulders—
there was aheavy cloud of sadness.
She wore very cute clothes:
a slightly puffy short skirt,
a simple white sweater with light patterns,
and a tiny pink hair ribbon.
She looked like a character torn out of a painting…
a painting ripped down the middle.
And inside her…
She was speaking to herself—words heard only by her breaking heart:
"Why… why can't he see me?
I love him… I've loved him for so long.
He laughs with others so easily…
But when I even try to step closer… the air becomes heavy…
Am I not enough?
Is it my appearance… my personality… my height… is something about me wrong?"
She swallowed hard, wiping her eyes with a small trembling finger:
"Today I wore the prettiest thing I own…
For him… just so he'd notice me.
But he's looking at her.
Always her.
Am I… just a shadow?"
She stood there like a flower watered with disappointment.
Aresu, from across the street, tilted his head slightly.
His faint smile widened—not in sympathy, but in curiosity.
A girl with a broken heart… chasing a hopeless love.
Something about her—
that gentle sadness—
was exactly his favorite type.
He lifted his hand slightly toward the glass and whispered, barely audible:
"…Found her."
The girl with the soft white-pink hair was still staring through the glass, trying to hide her trembling heart behind a faint smile, when suddenly…
Warm breath brushed against her ear.
A quiet voice whispered—gentle, smooth, and worse than anything… far too comforting:
"Are you spying on customers… in such an adorable way?"
She jumped, startled, spinning toward him.
Her cheeks exploded into red— not just from embarrassment… but from how unnervingly close he was.
"W-What?! N-No! I wasn't spying!"
She raised her hands instinctively, as if shielding herself, taking a small step back.
His smile didn't change—still gentle.
Too gentle.
Gentle enough to be unsettling.
"Oh?"
He tilted his head slightly toward her, his pitch-black eyes empty of depth.
"But you stared at him for five whole minutes. That's… passion, isn't it?"
Her mouth opened, then closed again—like a tiny fish tossed onto the shore.
"I-It's not like that! It's just… he never looks at me at all."
Arisu let out a short laugh—warm, soft… the kind a sweet older brother might make.
Not a killer.
"I see. So… you love him."
She froze.
The word love slid from his tongue with a delicate, lethal sweetness.
"Don't say that…"
she whispered, fingers nervously tugging at each other.
"He… doesn't even notice I exist."
Arisu placed a hand behind his back and stepped closer—far too close.
Then said, as if offering sincere advice:
"If you want to know whether he loves you… make him jealous."
She blinked rapidly.
"W-What?!"
He continued with a bright, charming smile, as if suggesting a cute drama trope:
"You could try it… with me. Just for one day. We make him think you're dating someone else."
Her eyes widened with shock, every cell in her body screaming: Danger.
"N-No way! That's—gross! I don't even know you!"
He tilted his head with childish coolness, as though her rejection merely annoyed him… not offended him.
"You're running away…"
Then his voice cut suddenly—sharp like the edge of a blade:
"And if it doesn't work… I'll just kill the girl sitting next to him."
Her heart stopped.
Her muscles froze.
"…What?!"
He smiled immediately—bright, innocent:
"Kidding."
But he wasn't kidding.
And she felt it.
She took a shaky step back, but he followed with that same gentle tone—
the kind that drowns the victim before it consumes her:
"I just… saw your sadness."
He tilted his head, his voice growing warmer in a disturbingly tender way.
"And it was… so enchanting. I don't want you to be sad today."
The sunlight reflected in his black eyes—eyes that swallowed the light whole.
"Let me help you… just for one day."
Keith froze in place, her heart pounding like a frantic drum inside her chest.
She knew he was wrong… that his closeness was suffocating…
that his smile was anything but normal…
But she was also desperately broken.
The words of the boy she loved—who never even saw her—stabbed her all night long…
And now Arisu stood before her, wearing that warm smile
that pierced straight through her weakness like a needle.
"Just… one day."
He said it with a softness that could melt the will of anyone fragile.
She closed her eyes for a brief moment, breathing deeply, then whispered:
"…Okay."
A slow, dangerous smile spread across his face—
the kind a child makes when he finally gets a new toy.
"Good."
She froze again when he leaned in slightly and asked:
"What's your name?"
She answered in a low, trembling voice:
"Keith… my name is Keith."
The letters barely escaped her lips.
Arisu's eyes widened with a beautifully curious glint—
a gleam that shimmered with quiet danger.
"Keith…"
He repeated the name as if tasting it.
"Such a cute name. It suits you. My name is Arisu"
She didn't know why her face flushed again.
Maybe because no one had ever told her that before…
Or maybe because the danger he carried felt like a warm, sickening comfort.
She tilted her head slightly, trying to see him more clearly…
His calm, pale face…
His soft black hair brushing the base of his neck…
Those cold, pitch-black eyes…
His elegant, all-black clothing…
He really was charming.
In a strange way.
In a way she shouldn't like… yet somehow did.
"Alright then."
He straightened his shoulders and stepped back.
"Let's start dating, Keith."
Behind him, only Kinora whispered with dull sarcasm:
"Yeah… the beginning of chaos."
But Keith didn't hear him.
She didn't even see him.
She was far too focused on Arisu…
Keith walked beside him with small, nervous steps,
as if the air around him was heavier than usual.
His voice was calm… far too gentle… almost *deceptively* gentle.
Yet something kept pressing on her chest, and without thinking, she asked:
"Why… do you want to date me?"
He turned to her slowly, eyebrows lifting slightly,
as if the question had never occurred to him.
"I told you earlier—"
"Say it again."
She cut him off, her tone weaker than she intended, but clear.
He stopped.
She looked at his hands for a moment… then into those black, depthless eyes of his.
He breathed slowly before answering in a soft voice:
"I wanted to try something new… being with a girl."
A faint smile grew on his face.
"Is that bad?"
A shiver crawled down her spine.
She didn't know if he was telling the truth…
or if something deeper—something worse—was behind those words.
She opened her mouth to ask him another question,
but he spoke first:
"Do you want to go somewhere? Anywhere you choose."
She hesitated… then said quietly:
"The park…? It's close."
"Alright."
And before she could even process it,
he reached out and took her hand.
She looked up at him in shock—
but the greater surprise came when
he slowly intertwined his fingers with hers…
as if making sure she wouldn't run away.
A light squeeze…
but tight enough to tell her he wouldn't let go easily.
His eyes were on her now—only her.
Not on the people… not the street… nothing else.
He was giving her his full attention.
Warm… frightening…
twisted in a way she couldn't tell if she should cherish
or escape from.
He spoke gently:
"Look at me when I speak to you, Keith."
Her face warmed as she lifted her gaze.
"Like that. Good."
He smiled.
"I want you to feel that I care about you… because I truly do."
But something in those words was wrong.
It wasn't the care of a boy toward a girl…
but the care of a hunter for his favorite prey.
And yet—
her heart still fluttered.
Keith continued walking beside Arisu,
her small hand resting in his unexpectedly warm grip.
He walked quietly, his steps light… almost weightless.
And instead of heading straight to the park,
he led her down a different path.
"Do you like this place?"
he asked when he stopped in front of a bookstore.
She blinked in surprise.
"Y-yes… very much."
He nodded slowly, as though engraving that information deep into his mind.
"Good. I like learning the things that put a little light in your day."
Then he guided her by the hand toward a small café.
"And this? Do you drink coffee or tea?"
She smiled shyly:
"Tea… I like mint."
"Mint,"
he repeated with a soft smile.
"Gentle, just like you."
Heat rushed to her cheeks.
It was the first time anyone ever complimented her.
They reached a flower shop.
"Do you like these?"
he asked, pointing to delicate purple flowers.
"They're… pretty."
"Like your eyes when you're surprised."
he said it casually, as if stating a simple fact.
Her heart nearly burst out of her chest.
And yet…
something in his voice, in his smile,
in the way he watched every reaction she made…
made her feel that this attention wasn't normal.
From shop to shop, he'd ask her with excessive gentleness:
"Do you like this kind of hair ribbon?"
"Do you like small animals?"
"Does rain bother you or calm you?"
"What's your favorite color?"
He was collecting pieces—
as if he were assembling a complete picture of her, piece by piece.
And through it all, he rarely let go of her hand—
in fact, each time she looked tense,
he would squeeze her fingers softly, almost reassuringly.
Finally, he smiled at her with a tenderness so delicate it felt unreal:
"I want to know everything that makes you happy, Keith."
She lifted her gaze to him…
his voice hadn't changed…
but somewhere deep inside those calm black eyes…
the truth shimmered in a terrifying way:
If he knew everything that made her happy…
he could destroy it all too.
But for now—
he was enchantingly gentle.
The city beneath them looked like a sea of lights.
The cold wind brushed against their faces as they stood on the platform of an old, popular tower—
slightly worn, but beloved by everyone.
Keith was smiling with childlike wonder.
"I didn't expect… the place you like to be this beautiful."
Arisu looked at her, his calm black eyes reflecting thousands of lights below.
And for the first time since she met him—
there was life in them.
Shy… gentle… almost human.
A faint blush warmed his pale cheeks, as if the place touched something deep inside him.
"Heights…" he said softly.
"They make me feel… light."
She looked at him, surprised.
She had never seen him this peaceful.
He stepped closer, the wind lifting strands of his long black hair.
He stared at the horizon, then slowly turned toward her—
and his expression softened completely.
"And you…"
he looked straight into her eyes.
"Having you here… makes me feel okay."
Her heart pounded.
His hand lifted effortlessly, brushing a strand of her pink-white hair behind her ear
with a tenderness she had never felt from him.
Keith froze for a moment, her cheeks turning red.
She lifted her hand shyly… placing it gently on his pale cheek.
"You look… like you're sick. Your skin is so pale."
He let out a soft laugh—
a small, warm sound she never expected.
Before she could say anything else—
he took her hand carefully… lifted it to his lips…
and placed a short, soft kiss on her fingers.
Keith went completely still.
Her eyes widened.
Heat rushed all the way to her ears.
The air disappeared from her lungs.
"A… Arisu…"
He stepped back slightly, his calm eyes widening with a childlike innocence.
"Ah… sorry."
He gave her an awkward, gentle smile.
I forgot that we are now acting... as lovers.
She was still trembling.
She pressed her hands to her chest to hide her shaking voice.
"I-… it's fine."
He smiled again—
a fragile, sincere smile, terrifyingly real, unlike anything she had ever seen on him.
And in that moment…
all of Keith's doubts vanished.
Because Arisu didn't seem like a criminal—
or a demon—
but a shy, gentle boy…
who genuinely enjoyed her presence.
This was the greatest sin she could ever fall into.
A quiet stillness settled between them.
Nothing remained but the sound of the wind, and the city's light shimmering beneath their feet—
as if they stood above a sky forged of gold.
Keith stood near the iron railing of the tower, her hand trembling slightly after that fleeting kiss.
She lifted her eyes to the horizon…
swallowed hard…
then drew in a deep breath.
"Magnificent…"
She breathed the word out softly, as if it came from the deepest part of her chest.
And after a moment, she whispered—
in a voice only he could hear:
"This is… the first time I've ever felt happiness."
Time froze.
Arisu stood a little behind her, yet he heard every word with startling clarity.
A faint shiver ran across his shoulders.
Those kinds of words…
always had a strange effect on him.
Keith gazed at the city with bright, trembling eyes, as though all the darkness inside her had suddenly melted away.
"I feel… like the world is finally embracing me."
She smiled shyly, placing a hand over her heart:
"I don't know why… but when you're here, I…"
Her cheeks flushed deeper.
"I feel like I'm not alone."
Her words faded slowly as she closed her eyes for a brief, gentle moment…
But behind her—
something subtle shifted in Arisu's expression.
His pleasant smile remained perfectly intact…
but his glass-black eyes lowered slightly, as though something inside him had begun to stir.
A quiet voice echoed through his mind—
one Keith could not hear:
"Happy… because of me?"
His inner voice overflowed with astonishment… with curiosity…
and with possession.
He stepped toward her—softly, deliberately.
She didn't even notice, as if having him beside her had become the most natural thing in the world.
He leaned in, speaking with a warmth that almost felt unreal:
"Stay like this… Keith."
She turned to him with shining eyes:
"Like this?"
He nodded slowly, moving close enough that their shoulders brushed.
"Happy."
The air was still, wrapped in a quiet chill that brushed softly around the old tower.
Keith remained close to Arisu, her cheeks still warm from the kiss earlier—
yet that small, shy smile lingered on her lips.
But then—
the silence shattered beneath an angry voice behind them.
"—Keith!! What are you doing here?! With him?! Didn't you tell me—?!"
Keith spun around, frozen for a heartbeat.
It was the brown-haired boy—her childhood friend.
His eyes were a storm of jealousy, shock, and barely contained bitterness.
She raised a brow, anger simmering beneath her voice:
"It's none of your business! I saw you with another girl first! And… you don't own me!"
Arisu rose slowly, each step quiet and deliberate, his gentle smile pleasant on the surface… unsettling underneath.
He walked toward the boy with a strange confidence, extending a hand as if nothing at all had happened.
"It's nice to meet you, I'm—"
But the boy didn't let him finish.
BOOM!
A punch landed squarely on Arisu's face.
He dropped to the ground with theatrical exaggeration*—
as if he were purposefully pretending to faint.
His eyes half-closed, his body perfectly still in a way that felt wrong.
Keith's heart lurched violently.
"Arisu!! Are you okay?! Answer me!!"
She rushed to him, kneeling on the cold ground, lifting his head carefully into her hands.
Then she glared up at the boy—Nardin—her anger igniting like a spark hitting oil.
"What is wrong with you?! Why did you hit him?!"
Nardin shouted back, pointing at Arisu with raw frustration:
"He's just playing with you! You don't understand—"
She cut him off, voice shaking with fury:
"No—you don't understand! He's… he's the first person who ever made me feel like I matter… like I'm not alone…!"
Arisu didn't move—
but he heard every syllable with a dangerous, delicious thrill.
And in the middle of their argument,
his finger twitched… just barely.
Enough for Keith to see it—
enough for her heartbeat to calm a little.
Enough to make Nardin even angrier.
Keith stepped protectively in front of Arisu, blocking him like a shield.
She took one step toward Nardin.
"Leave. I don't want to hear another word from you."
Nardin froze… then spun around sharply and stormed away, biting his lip in wounded frustration.
Keith turned back to Arisu, her voice trembling as she held his arm:
"Please… get up… you're scaring me…"
And after two long seconds—
Arisu opened his eyes slowly.
He looked up at her… and smiled that faint, fragile, unnervingly soft smile.
"Were you… defending me?"
Keith's face reddened instantly.
"Of course! Because you… because you're important…"
Arisu lifted a hand and brushed her cheek lightly with his finger.
"I'm glad you said that."
Arisu rose lightly… unnaturally lightly.
He brushed the dust off his clothes and let out a low, quiet laugh—
a laugh only the darkness within him could understand.
Nardin had stepped away, still fuming, when he suddenly felt cold fingers grip the back of his shirt—tight, unyielding.
"Leaving already…?"
Arisu whispered, his voice chilling and strangely delighted.
Nardin turned, fear flickering across his face—
but before he could speak, Arisu raised his hand.
From the shadow—almost from nothing—
a hammer materialized in his grasp, as if reality itself had bent to his will.
With a single brutal swing, Arisu struck toward Nardin's head.
The impact twisted the boy's posture unnaturally, the force overwhelming, shocking, final.
Nardin collapsed, disoriented, trembling, struggling to breathe.
He tried to speak—
to reach for help, for mercy—
but only broken sounds escaped him.
Arisu straddled him calmly.
Calm—cold—absolute.
He lifted the hammer…
and brought it down.
Once.
Then again.
And again…
The blows echoed through the air, rhythmic and frantic, like the heartbeat of madness itself.
Keith screamed:
"Arisu!!! Stop!! Please!!"
But Arisu didn't look at her.
He was lost in a quiet, methodical frenzy—
as if this violence were nothing more than a task he was obligated to complete.
At last, he lifted his head, smiling a fractured, unsettling smile.
"He was bothering you… wasn't he?"
His eyes were wide—
not the eyes of an angry man,
but of someone *utterly detached* from reality.
"Don't worry… I'll keep him away from you. Forever."
His hand rose and fell again…
long after the body beneath him stopped moving.
Keith was crying—shaking—unable to comprehend.
And Arisu…
stood slowly, breathing lightly, and looked at her as though nothing had happened.
"It's over. I hated him the moment I saw him anyway…"
The ground was stained enough to make the air feel heavy…
and Keith trembled, unsure whether to cry or simply freeze in place.
Arisu's footsteps approached slowly.
The hammer in his hand still dripped with dark traces, and he studied it with the calmness of a child who had just finished playing.
He lifted his head toward Keith…
his smile wide, serene, utterly unfitting for what had happened moments ago.
"Keith…"
he whispered—soft, gentle, and cruel.
She stepped back.
Then back again.
But he kept walking, as if he didn't see her fear…
or was intentionally ignoring it.
"If being with me makes you happy…"
He raised the hammer slightly, tilting his head.
"Then don't walk away."
Keith's back hit the railing behind her, stopping her in place.
Her heartbeat pounded violently; her breathing was broken and frantic.
Arisu stood in front of her.
Too close.
Far too close.
He lowered the hammer in his right hand…
and with his left, he touched his fingers to his own lips first—
a strange, quiet gesture—
before bringing those same fingers to her lips, brushing them lightly.
Keith's voice trembled:
"If… if you're a killer… then that expression I saw on your face earlier… what was it?"
Arisu froze for a moment.
Then his brows drew down in a childlike pout, annoyed by her question.
"Ah… that?"
He sighed, tossing his head back a little, as if complaining.
"People always look at me… all of them… all the time."
He leaned closer again.
His eyes were dark, but his smile had that disturbing innocence.
"See?"
He pointed at his own face.
"I'm very good at controlling my expressions."
A small smile returned—
gentle, unnatural.
"I thought it would make you happy… so I used a pretty one."
Then he added, voice low, soft, dangerous:
"But if you didn't like it… I can try another."
He leaned in—closer, closer—
close enough for her to feel his breath against her cheek.
Keith was trembling, tears sliding down her cheeks without stopping.
Her voice barely came out—cracked, broken, carrying the weight of everything she had seen today.
"You were… lying… the whole time…"
Her lips quivered.
She tried wiping her tears, but her hands were shaking violently.
"I thought… for the first time… that someone noticed me… that someone might… might love me—"
Her voice collapsed.
She placed a hand over her chest, as if trying to hold her heart together before it burst.
"Everything was fake… every moment… every smile…"
She lifted her head to look at him—her eyes wet, small, heartbreakingly fragile before his darkness.
"And you—you're a killer… what does that even mean? What is this nightmare? I want… to wake up…"
She was about to say something else—
something Arisu did not expect.
But before she could finish—
His glassy black eyes flickered…
not just with anger—
but with something that looked like disappointment,
as if a part of him had already predicted this.
"Exactly…"
he whispered, cold and quiet.
Inside his mind, a short, sharp, sorrowful thought passed:
Exactly… no one can live with my truth… with what I am.
I'm a killer… a criminal… and the thing I hoped for is impossible.
But his expression?
A smile.
A beautiful, gentle smile—
completely wrong.
And as Keith continued her trembling words,
as she came closer to saying something he didn't understand…
something he maybe didn't like—
Arisu suddenly lifted his hand—
and shoved her.
She fell backward with a small cry.
Her back hit the ground hard, the air punched out of her lungs.
She stared at him—shocked, unable to believe what happened.
Arisu stood above her, the shadow behind him stretching long, swallowing the space around them.
His smile was calm… childlike… beautifully terrifying.
He waved at her—
as if saying goodbye to a friend after a pleasant day together.
"I had a lot of fun today."
Then he tilted his head, the darkness in his eyes swallowing the light:
"Goodbye… Keith."
The cold air sliced through her body as she fell backward.
The dark sky above her seemed to close in…
and the lights around the tower melted away into distance.
She didn't feel pain at first—
only shock.
A terrible silence inside her…
as if her soul had fallen before her body ever hit the ground.
When her back struck the earth, a muffled breath escaped her chest.
Her eyes widened as she stared upward—Aresu stood at the edge… smiling.
And the thoughts flooded in—
fast, tangled, suffocating.
"Is… this it?"
She couldn't even cry.
Her tears had dried the moment the shock devoured her.
"But… today… felt real to me…"
Small images flickered in her mind:
His smile when he showed her something funny…
the warmth of his hand when he held hers…
that calm look on his face at sunset…
the strange feeling in her chest when she felt someone wanted her.
All of it collapsed into ash.
"I… believed it…"
Aresu's shadow wavered above her.
His smile looked farther… colder…
and beautiful in a way that made her sick.
Her heart tore apart—not from the fall,
but from the realization:
"I was… just a toy to him…"
Her lips trembled, as if trying to form a word…
something small…
maybe why?
maybe I could've loved you… even if you were dark…
But no air left her lungs.
Her chest tightened.
"Was it wrong… to feel happy?"
She felt the first thread of blood trickle from her forehead down her cheek.
Her vision dimmed.
And with the last fragment of consciousness…
she looked at Aresu one final time:
"I only wished… someone would love me."
And the world drowned in darkness.
Arisu stood at the edge without blinking.
The wind lifted the hem of his black shirt, and the sound of her fall… was light.
Too light.
As if she were nothing more than a piece of paper.
He looked at the body below—her hair scattered, her arm twisted at an unnatural angle, blood pooling around her head like a dark flower slowly blooming.
He did not move.
He felt no guilt.
No triumph.
No pity.
Only… calm relief.
He murmured softly, barely audible to anyone but himself:
"It had to happen."
His eyes did not glimmer with sorrow—
but with curiosity.
As if her fall were not a tragedy…
but an experiment.
He rearranged the strands of hair the wind had scattered, then leaned forward slightly to check something.
She was still looking at him.
Her eyes half-open, the light slowly draining from them.
A small, inhuman smile appeared on his lips.
"You liked feeling… belonged, didn't you?"
He said it as if it were a simple truth, not a cruel stab.
Then he whispered coldly, savoring it:
"But no one… holds me."
He turned.
His footsteps were impossibly quiet, as if the tower itself feared to make a sound in his presence.
Before disappearing into the darkness, he spoke one final line—
light in tone, but sharp enough to make the air tremble:
"If you were stronger… perhaps you would have saved yourself."
And he left.
As if her fall… had been merely a small detail in his day.