Back to the present
Seiko is in Kurai's apartment with him
Kurai looked at Seiko, confusion etched on his face. "What did you mean by that?"
Seiko chuckled. "I told you that just to catch you off guard. Actually, I have a mission for you. I need you to stay with Nao for around two days or so."
Kurai frowned. "Why would I do that?"
"Because you are both teenagers and the two of u have a special connection, not only that but the boss gave you this mission." Seiko answered.
"I wouldn't say we have a connection but did he actually give me that?" Kurai asked, skeptical.
"Yep, and you have to complete it," Seiko said with a smile.
"Do I only need to stay with her?"
"Yep, yep. Don't worry, if something sketchy happens, just come to me.
Ding ---- Ding ---- Ding ---- Ding
Seiko's expression turned sly. "And look who's here. Good luck with that. Now, cya!" she said, casually opening the window and sneaking outside.
Nao cutely opened the door and exclaimed, "New home, sweet home!" with a big smile on her face.
Kurai stared at her, his expression one of bewilderment.
"What is that look on your face" Nao said with a smirk.
"My gratitude to your dad sending you here." Kurai showing his sarcasm.
"Don't be like thissss… We are like family, we kinda grew together." Nao said, looking down sad.
It's not like Kurai hates, or dislikes Nao in anyway. Them staying together some years when they were kids really made Kurai bound to her, and care for her. But the life just made them have different personalities and life styles in the teenage years where Nao went to high school and Kurai fully committed to the Resistance.
"How about we go and eat some ice-cream?" Kurai said trying to put the smile back on her face.
Nao quickly raises her head and exited said "YES. I was waiting for you to invite me first. HEHE"
Kurai rapidly drops his smile and starts rethinking his life decisions.
Nao grabbed Kurai's wrist like she owned it, dragging him toward the door without even putting her bag down.
"Hey—wait, you just got here. Don't you wanna settle in first?" Kurai protested.
"Nope," she said, popping the 'p'. "I need sugar. You owe me emotional compensation for that dry welcome."
"I didn't know I had to prepare a parade" Kurai muttered, locking the door behind them.
—✦✦✦—
Nao practically skipped down the sidewalk, the sun beaming off the pavement as if the entire city had been put in a frying pan. A cicada buzzed somewhere close, then another. Summer in Japan had a way of announcing itself load and clear.
"You sure you're not melting in that black shirt?" Nao asked, side-eyeing Kurai while she adjusted her cute white tank top with a tiny cartoon bunny stitched on it.
"I'm used to worse" Kurai replied flatly, sweat already forming at his temples.
Nao groaned. "You Resistance guys really are allergic to fun fashion, huh?"
He didn't respond. Just kept walking.
Nao bought a lemon soda from a vending machine and shoved a second one towards him without asking. He took it.
"Wow" she said, mock-staring at him. "Kurai just accepted a gift without a sarcastic remark. Mark the date."
"I'm pacing myself" he said, opening the can. "We've still got two days to survive."
They passed by an old park, cracked swing sets, a faded slide, but still full of kids running around under the boiling sun. Nao slowed down a little, watching them. Her smile dipped just a bit.
"You remember when we used to come to places like this?" she asked
Kurai nodded once. "We used to race to the monkey bars. You always cheated."
"I called it strategy." she replied, grinning again. "You called it way."
They stopped at a bench under a half-dead tree, its shade just enough to make a sitting bearable. Nao plopped down and stretched out her arms, letting the wind play with the ends of her hair. Her nails were freshly painted -sky blue with tiny flowers-. They didn't match her rough sandals or slightly chipped phone case, but that was just her. All over the place, in the best way.
Kurai sat beside her, leaning back, closing his eyes for a moment.
Nao broke the quiet. "You still sleep with one eye open?"
"Only when I'm around you."
"Aw, you do care."
He opened one eye to look at her. "You're a walking energy burst. I have to stay alert."
She tilted her head. "You used to be like me. Talkative. Weird. You were even the one who made up that story about how the stars were just giant flashlight bugs."
Kurai cracked a smile without realizing it. "I was nine."
"You were cool when you were nine."
"I'm cooler now."
"That's exactly what someone uncool would say."
She leaned back against the bench, sipping the rest of her drink and glancing toward the sunlit rooftops.
"I missed this." she said, almost too quiet to hear.
Kurai looked over.
"Not just being with you" she added quickly. "Just...this. Talking without worrying someone's gonna scream or explode or turn into some tentacle-dog monster."
He snorted. "That's oddly specific."
She laughed "I watched the news, okay?"
They sat there for a while. No rush. The city moved around them, cars, voices, summer heat, but their bench felt like it had slipped out of time.
Eventually, Nao sat up. "Okay. Let's go buy snacks. And I swear, if you get dried quid again, I'm disowning you"
"It's protein.."
"It's a war crime." she said, already pulling him up.
Back at Kurai's apartment, Nao dropped her bag on the floor and flopped down onto his tatami mat with a satisfied sigh, kicking off her sandals and stretching like a cat.
"I call the floor." she announced.
"You can have it. I'm not arguing."
She pulled out a pack of strawberry pocky and began munching away, legs swaying as she hummed to herself. Kurai stood nearby, glancing out the window, his expression unreadable.
"What?" she asked"
"Nothing. Just...weird seeing you around again."
Nao looked up at him and smiled softly. "Weird in a good way?"
He didnt answer, but the silence wasn't cold.
She tossed him a pocky stick. He caught it.
As night fell, Nao curled up on the floor with a blanket, already half-asleep. Kurai lay nearby, silently staring at the ceiling.
The morning started slow. Sunlight pored into the apartment through half-closed blinds, casting lines across the tatami floor. Kurai was already up, shirt half-buttoned, brewing instant coffee while Nao lay sprawled under a thin blanket, one leg hanging off the mat.
"You snore" Kurai said flatly, stirring his cup.
Nao rolled onto her back and stretched with a yawn. "I sleep cute."
"Debatable."
By 10:30 AM, they were outside, the air hot and sticky. A small cafe on the corner offered some refuge, Kurai with a bitter iced coffee, Nao with a strawberry frappe she had no intention of finishing.
"I think I should redo my nails. They don't match my phone case." she said, admiring her fingers like they were sacred art.
Kurai raised an eyebrow. "That's your biggest problem today?"
"Uh, yes? I life in the moment, sir."
He took a slow sip from his cup, clearly regretting every choice that led him here.
That's when a nearby conversation caught their attention. Two people, standing by a vending machine just out of view. One voice...rough and sharp. The other...shaky, barely above a whisper.
"Do you have the money?"
"N-no...."
"I don't have time for your games. Get the money, or I'll kill you."
"Y-yes, I understand..."
"Tonight. 10:30 PM. Cinema in the north of the city. You'll earn the money you owe me there."
"No, please...we talked about this. I don't want to...please!"
"No more talking. I'm outta here."
A heavy silence lingered after the man left. The girl clutched her bag to her chest and hurried off, head down.
Nao blinked, her smile gone. "Did you hear that?"
"Yeah."
"Well?"
Kurai shrugged. "Not my problem."
Nao turned her head sharply. "Not your... what do you mean 'not your problem'? You're part of the Resistance."
"I joined for Seiko. That doesn't mean I'm running around solving random street drama."
Nao narrowed her eyes. "Hmmm. I think you're just scared."
Kurai scowled. "I'm not scared."
"Then go help her."
"It's not that simple."
He turned away, clearly annoyed. "You're not doing anything either."
"Oh, I didn't say that." Nao replied, voice light again. "I have free time. I might help her tonight. Sounds fun."
"No, you won't. You're under my protection. Anything I say goes."
Nao raised her hands in mock surrender. "Alright, Captain Authority."
Ten minutes passed. Kurai sipped his coffee, then sighed like the wright of the world rested on his back.
"Okay, fine. We'll go." he muttered. "We'll check it out. If things get ugly we step in. But this isn't for fun."
"Aghhhhhh....MEN." Nao said with a smirk, poking his side.
"I am not your buddy."
"Didn't say you were."
0:20 PM – Outside the Cinema
Kurai and Nao crouched inside a crumbling building across from the old cinema, its flickering neon sign humming faintly in the summer night. The streets were mostly quiet. From their hiding spot, they watched a trickle of strangers file into the theater. They all looked... ordinary. Too ordinary.
10:29:48.
The girl finally arrived, clutching her bag tightly as she bought a ticket. Kurai narrowed his eyes. Something was off. The paper stub had a strange eye insignia burned into it, almost pulsing.
Kurai and Nao followed, purchasing identical tickets. As they stepped into the cinema, their surroundings twisted. A wave of nausea hit them as the air vibrated strangely. A door ahead shimmered into focus, marked in gold script: One Wish.
'My body moved first, but my brain was already screaming that this wasn't a normal room.'
They entered what looked like a normal theater, dimly lit, the screen silent. Around ten people stood in the room, talking. Five of them were seated already, including the girl they followed. She was pale, her hands shaking slightly.
"Hey... where are the two guys who left earlier?" a girl asked.
"They went to scout the hallway. They didn't come back." said a teen with square glasses - Joe
"Maybe someone should go check." suggested a friendly-looking chubby guy.
No one moved. The girl that Kurai had followed turned to a buffed football-type and asked sweetly "Can you go look? Please?"
He hesitated. "Yea, sure" he muttered, clearly nervous. He stepped out. Silence followed.
Ten minutes passed. Still no return.
The fat guy offered to go next.
As soon as he exited, the lights snapped off. A voice echoed in the darkness:
"VOTE SOMEONE TO LEAVE."
The phrase repeated. Cold, flat, mechanical. The screen flickered with static.
"This is some kind of game." Nao whispered.
"Not a fun one." Kurai said, standing. "What kind of sick joke is this?"
No one had time to answer. The group began panicking, arguing. Votes were thrown. Yanari, the nervous girl, was chosen. Crying she stumbled through the door.
Kurai clenched his jaw. "We need to find a way out."
But the walls refused his attacks. Not even his sword could scratch the place. He tried again. "Maybe the voting...is the only exit. Damn it."
Round after round , more were voted off.
Then the vote came down to a tie: Kurai and Joe.
The voice repeated again: "IN CASE OF TIE...RANDOM SELECTION INITIATED."
Kurai felt a shiver down his spine. He was chosen to leave.
Suddenly, the cinema trembled.
From the moment Kurai refused to walk through the exit door like everyone else, something inside the room shifted. Not physically but in the air, in the mind. A low-pitched hum vibrated behind his eardrums. The screen flickered. His vision fragmented into glitch-like shards, and a presence crawled into his skull like a parasite drilling through bone.
It was the Youkai.
But this wasn't its body, it was only a projection. A haunting, flickering form shaped like a massive, pupil-less eye with warped, jagged wings of static. Kurai gasped, stumbled. The voice in his mind cracked through like glass.
"Disobedient soul. You resist the game."
His ears screamed. Blood seeped from his nose. Static danced in his vision. He tried to lift his sword, but his limbs spasmed. The entity laughed a screech that curled his spine.
"Kurai!" Nao's voice was distant, muffled like underwater. "What's happening?!"
"I-I'm not leaving." Kurai growled through clenched teeth. "Not on your terms!"
The Youkai invaded his thoughts completely. Screams, pulses, vibrations. A pressure built behind his eyes like his skull was being split. His hand trembled. Then madness.
Kurai's sword lit up, and he began swinging blindly. Furious, uncontrolled, wild.
His blade crashed into walls, shattered chairs, and nearly cleaved into Nao as she jumped back with a shriek. "KURAI ! Stop!!"
He didn't hear her. His mind was filled with echoes of pain and ancient whispers. His face contorted into a twisted grin as he roared "Where are you hiding, bitch?! Show yourself!!"
Nao ducked under another violent slash. A gust from the blade sliced past her cheek, leaving a think, red line.
"Stop it! It's me! NAO!"
For a moment, Kurai hesitated, eyes flickering, but then he lunged forwards again. Nao screamed and scrambled backwards, colliding with a row of broken seats.
"Kurai, please...you're scaring me!"
The words reached somewhere deep in his. Enough to freeze his sword mid-swing. His body trembled. He dropped to his knees, panting, lost in madness.
The Youkai emerged fully, now more solid, more confident. "You're broken already. You were never meant to win, no one was meant to win. My influence spreads in you, latching into your thoughts, turning your strength against you."
Kurai stared at the ghostly form, sweat and blood running down his face. "You're not even real."
"I am more than real, human. I exist outside this world."
"Then...I'll come to you." Kurai whispered.
A thought surfaced a final, desperate idea.
He gritted his teeth and slowly raised his sword to his own throat.
"KURAI, NO!" Nao shrieked, rushing towards him, but he held up a trembling hand.
"Stay back."
She froze, sobbing silently.
"Kurai took a deep breath. With a flick of his thumb, he activated his sword's untouchable form, making it pass harmlessly through flesh. But with a second, precise thought, he focused the blade on an atomic level, forcing it to solidify just enough to cut something buried deep in his nervous system.
The Youkai's virus.
The blade phased through his skull with surgical precision, slicking only the dimensional tether the Youkai used to infect him. His body convulsed violently as a dark, static mist poured from his eyes and mouth.
Then.... silence.
The pressure vanished. The glitch dissolved. The voice stopped.
Kurai's sword returned to its physical form, glowing faintly. His vision cleared. But he wasn't done.
The Youkai hovered there still smiling mockingly. "You survived my curse. Congratulations. But I'm not really here. You can't touch me."
"Wrong." Kurai said, voice cold and certain. "You assumed I fight in this world alone."
He raised the blade again. This time, the edge shimmered unnaturally bending the air around it, humming with dimensional energy.
With a cry that shook the space, he slashed forwards....not at the illusion, but through it....cutting into the veil of dimensions.
The Youkai screamed as its form twisted and ruptured mid-air, blood-like static pouring from a wound somewhere else. Its body blinked, distorted...and then evaporated.
Everything fell still.
Kurai stood there panting, hands shaking, drenched in sweat and grime. The lights flickered back to normal. The game was over.
But Nao hadn't moved.
She stared at him, wide-eyed, pale, trembling.
He slowly turned to her. "It's okay. It's over."
She flinched.
Kurai stepped forwards.
"Wait...Nao..."
"Don't touch me." she whispered, backing away. "You almost killed me. You would've...if I didn't move."
Kurai froze. "I didn't mean to-"
"But you did." she said, voice trembling. "You didn't even see me."
He opened his mouth but had no excuse. His hands dropped.
Nao looked away, clutching her arms.
"You're not the boy who saved me anymore....are you?"
Kurai looked down. "I don't know who I am either."
They stood in silence for a long, aching moment.
From the shadows, Elizabeth crept forward timidly. "Is...is it safe now?"
Kurai didn't look at her. He just reached into his coat and pulled out a wad of cash. "Take it. Two hundred thousand yen. Get out of this place. Change your life."
Elizabeth blinked in disbelief. "Why are you-?"
"Just take it and go." he muttered, without meeting her eyes.
She nodded quickly and ran.
Nao still didn't speak. Kurai looked at her once more.
"I'm sorry."
Nao turned away, her voice barely audible. "You've changed."
She walked away. Kurai didn't follow.