The air was biting.
Ren stirred, eyes blinking open to the dark ceiling above him. His body felt heavy, muscles slightly sore from the memories. He sat up on the mattress in his room, the dim lamp casting long shadows across the wooden floor.
Outside the window, the sky had turned an inky blue—stars faint behind the thick clouds. The streets below were mostly quiet, save for the occasional gust of wind rattling metal signs and dead leaves down the alley. Winter was creeping in. No snow yet, but the cold bit deep.
He grabbed his phone from the nightstand and tapped it to life.
[1 New Message - Hikari]
"Come to my place. Right now."
Ren stared at the message with a blank expression for a full ten seconds.
Tch. What the fuck did I tell her?
He'd made it very clear—don't call, don't text, don't reach out unless it was life or death. He wasn't here to play house or build friendships. But clearly, boundaries meant shit to her.
Still, something nagged at him. He didn't care about her—but he did care about information. And if she had something, even the smallest lead on Y or she noticed something with Itoshi…
He grabbed his coat and sword, no hesitation. Annoyed? Absolutely. But he wasn't about to let irritation stop him.
The streets were quieter now. Cold wind swirled between buildings, creeping under his collar. Lights flickered through cheap apartment windows as he walked down a narrow residential street toward Hikari's complex.
As he reached her door, he paused—faint voices came from inside.
Yelling.
He tilted his head slightly.
More than one person. Two? Three?
Arguments. Heated.
Ren narrowed his eyes, hand hovering near his blade.
What the hell is going on in there?
Then, without knocking, he leaned closer, listening…
Kenji leaned back in the driver's seat of his deep blue Nissan 300ZX, one hand on the wheel, the other adjusting the collar of his black button-down. The sleeves were rolled just enough to show a bit of forearm, paired with fitted dark trousers. The bastard looked good and he knew it.
He tilted the rearview mirror, smirked, and winked at his reflection.
"Damn, Kenji. You're sexy as fuck."
He stepped out, shoes clicking on the pavement of Kaede's neighborhood. It was upscale—clean sidewalks, trimmed hedges, and those fancy-ass lantern-style lights in the yards.
He strutted up to her door and knocked.
When it opened, he froze.
"…Holy shit," he muttered.
Kaede stood in the doorway, framed by the warm glow inside. No heavy makeup. Just soft eyeliner, clear lip gloss, hair loose around her shoulders. A snug sweater and tight jeans—casual, effortless, and yet every single curve of hers popped like she stepped off a damn movie set.
She raised an eyebrow, slightly amused. "Are you going to stare all night or say something?"
Kenji grinned, hands in his pockets. "Nah, just making sure this is real. You got a twin or something?."
She shook her head, suppressing a small smile, then stepped outside.
They drove out of the city. The engine purred low as they passed the outskirts of Osaka, streetlights giving way to stretches of open road. The sky had darkened, but not completely—clouds hung low, the wind sharper than earlier.
Eventually, Kenji pulled the car to a stop on a hill just above the city. The view was breathtaking—Osaka stretched below them in a glowing sprawl of orange and white lights, rivers of cars moving like veins through the sleeping beast.
Kaede stepped out and actually paused.
"This… is not what I expected," she said, visibly surprised.
Kenji grinned as he pulled a folded mat from the backseat and tossed it at the cliff's edge.
"Yeah, figured every guy who you went on a date with probably took you boring-ass candlelit dinners and steak you can't pronounce. Fuck all that. This—" he gestured to the city, "this is better."
She nodded slowly. "You're not like the others."
"Damn right I'm not," he said, already popping open the trunk.
From the back, he grabbed a basket filled with grilled meat, rice balls, skewers, and two small bottles of sake.
Kaede blinked. "You made all that?"
"Hell yeah I did. You think I'm just a pretty face with deadly hands?"
She chuckled under her breath as they sat on the mat, Kenji pouring sake into small cups while she eyed the spread.
"You're full of yourself. Most women would find you annoying"
"And yet here you are with me."
Kaede smirked, sipping the sake. "Mm-hmm."
For the next half hour, they ate and drank, Kenji doing most of the talking—bragging, cracking jokes, throwing in the occasional dramatic reenactment of shit that may or may not have actually happened.
Kaede mostly listened. Quiet. Soft smiles here and there. But then Kenji slowed down.
"Alright. Enough about me—your turn."
She hesitated.
He leaned in slightly, grinning. "Come on, I don't bite. Unless you ask nicely."
She rolled her eyes but said nothing.
So Kenji clapped his hands once. "Okay, new game. Magic trick."
She tilted her head. "A what?"
"If I impress you—you gotta go on another date with me. If not, I'll buy you whatever you want. Deal?"
Kaede, now clearly amused, nodded once. "Ok."
Kenji knew he could not afford to lose this, he Jared looked like the woman to spend two thousand dollars on a single dress. He pulled a coin from his pocket and stood up, facing away. "Watch closely."
He closed both hands around the coin, turned his back, and shuffled them. "No peeking, woman. That's cheating."
When he turned back around, he held out both fists.
"Left or right?"
She tapped the left. Empty.
He grinned. "Try again."
She frowned, confused. "You only had one coin—"
"Trust the process, mama."
She tapped the right. Also empty.
Her eyes widened.
"What the hell—"
Kenji suddenly leaned close, reached behind her ear, and with a dramatic "tada!" pulled out the coin.
Kaede gasped.
He laughed. "No way you're that shocked! That's like the oldest trick in the book!"
Her face softened, the surprise fading into something almost… nostalgic.
"My father never took me to magic shows," she said quietly. "Or movies. Or the zoo."
Kenji blinked, the smile fading.
She stared ahead, voice calm. "I had five older sisters. All perfect. All his pride. I was just… there. The extra one."
Kenji scratched the back of his neck. "Shit. That's rough. Your dad sounds like a real dick. He missed out though. You're the hottest one, clearly."
Kaede let out a genuine laugh—short, sweet.
Then she tilted her head. "Where'd you get this food again?"
"I cooked it," he said proudly.
That changed everything.
Her eyes glinted with something new—interest, maybe even a little heat.
She leaned in close. Very close.
"You'll cook for me again next time, right?" she whispered, lips brushing his ear. "At your place. Maybe afterward, you can show me your bedroom."
Then she kissed him—softly, just the cheek.
Kenji blinked.
Then smiled.
"I'll accept that for the first date." He pumped his fist in the air. "I'll expect more when I show you my bedroom on the next date."
Kaede was laughing now—genuinely laughing.
Kenji winked, leaned back, and threw an arm around her. "You keep flirting like that, I won't be able to control myself."
She shook her head, amused. But she didn't move away.
Instead, she rested her head gently on his shoulder as they both looked out at the city together. Osaka glowing below like a dream neither of them fully believed in.
And for just a moment, it felt like maybe, just maybe, their world wasn't all blood and shadows.