Kai walked beside Saito, his thoughts racing.
The streets were quiet, the evening air cooling as the sun began to set. Everything seemed normal, peaceful, almost... too peaceful.
Saito's soft steps echoed ahead of him, her figure moving gracefully in the fading light. Every now and then, she glanced back at him, her eyes sharp, like she was watching him more closely than anyone else.
A few minutes into the walk, Saito broke the silence.
"Takeda," she said, her voice almost playful, but with an edge to it. "Do you believe in destiny?"
Kai blinked, thrown off by the sudden question.
"Uhm... I don't know," he said slowly. "I guess... I think things happen for a reason, but I don't know about destiny."
Saito smiled faintly, her eyes narrowing just a little, as though she found his answer... amusing.
"That's a good answer," she said. "But... sometimes things happen because they're meant to. Whether we want them to or not."
Kai couldn't help but feel a strange shiver at her words. They sounded more like a warning than a casual comment.
Before he could respond, Saito stopped in front of a large gate, leading to a beautifully old, almost abandoned house.
It was unlike any of the other homes around, the architecture strange, with overgrown vines crawling up the sides and a hint of neglect around the edges. The kind of place you'd see in an eerie story.
"This is where I live," Saito said, her voice softening as she looked at the house.
Kai glanced at her, then at the house. Something about the way she said it made him uneasy.
It wasn't that the house was particularly scary, but there was something about the way she stared at it, something empty behind her eyes, like a long-forgotten memory.
"Isn't it... a bit... strange?" he asked, unable to stop himself.
Saito chuckled. "It's old, yes, but it's home." She didn't seem offended by his words, but there was a sharpness to her tone now. "You don't need to worry about it."
She turned and started walking toward the gate, unlocking it with a small key she pulled from her pocket.
"Come inside," she said, her smile returning, though there was still that glint in her eyes that sent a chill down Kai's spine. "It's better to talk inside."
Kai hesitated, but something in her gaze made him feel like he didn't have much of a choice.
As they entered the house, the door creaked, and the air inside felt heavy, thick with dust and time. The walls seemed to close in around him, the dark corners of the house almost alive with their silence.
Saito led him down a narrow hallway, her footsteps light, but Kai's seemed to echo through the stillness of the house.
"Sit," Saito said, gesturing to an old sofa in the living room.
Kai sat down, his heart racing, unsure of what to expect next.
Saito took a seat opposite him, crossing her legs gracefully.
"So," she said softly, looking at him with those piercing eyes. "Tell me, Takeda... Why are you really here?"
Kai opened his mouth, but the words stuck in his throat.
Why am I here? he thought, trying to piece together his feelings.
He hadn't expected any of this.
His heart beat loudly in his ears.
Saito studied him for a long moment, as if she could see everything he was hiding.
"You know," she began, her voice colder now, "I've heard a lot of things about you, Takeda. People talk about you."
Kai swallowed hard, panic rising in his chest. "What... what do they say?"
Saito's smile faded slightly.
"Nothing too important. Just that you're different from the others."
Her eyes glittered darkly. "But I think you already know that."
Kai opened his mouth to protest, but Saito raised a hand.
"You don't need to explain," she said smoothly. "You've already shown me enough. You're not like the other boys here."
Kai didn't know what to say.
What did she mean by that? And what was it about her that made his skin crawl, yet also made him feel like he couldn't look away?
"Tell me, Takeda," Saito said, her voice now like a whisper, "do you want to know the truth? About me? About everything?"
Kai's heart skipped a beat. His mouth went dry.
But before he could answer, Saito's eyes turned cold, her smile vanishing completely.
"Because once you know... there's no going back."