"How long are we going to wait here?" one of the boys muttered, clearly growing impatient. "It's already 9 PM."
The group of students, four guys, all wearing parts of the school uniform, stood in a loose circle near the old dorm building. They were whispering among themselves, but their voices still carried in the quiet night.
They had flashlights, a few odd-looking gadgets.
I glanced at Ren, still crouched beside me under the bush, calm as ever.
Meanwhile, I was already starting to regret not bringing a jacket.
The night air was getting colder.
Wait...
A soft glow flickered in the distance.
From the edge of the forest, a faint orb of light floated into view. It hovered gently in the air, far from where we were hiding and slightly off from where the other group of students stood.
Even from this distance, I could see it.
It wasn't bright—but it gave off a faint, bluish luminescence, like moonlight captured in a bubble.
"There!!" one of the students shouted.
"Get your tools ready!" another called out.
The group scrambled into position, adjusting their equipment and moving as quietly as they could toward the orb.
Beside me, Ren glanced sharply in my direction, eyes serious.
"We cannot let them capture that thing!" he said urgently.
And without another word, he shot out from the bush like a missile.
"Stop it!!" Ren shouted, charging into the group of students and pushing at them with surprising force for someone his size.
I blinked, completely thrown off.
What the hell is going on?
I stayed crouched, confused and unmoving.
Why am I even here again? I thought, rubbing the back of my neck.
This felt like some kind of prank—a kid's weird fantasy brought to life. And now he expected me to help stop a bunch of students from catching... what, exactly?
What even is that floating orb?
It's probably a drone. Or maybe some science club experiment.
Still...
If I think about it… it's kind of amazing to witness something like that with my own eyes.
Before I could come to a conclusion, things escalated.
"Oi, kid! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" one of the students barked.
"Ahh—stop it!" Ren yelled, struggling as two of them grabbed his arms.
"Hold him down! You—shoot the thing with the net gun!"
Wait, net gun?
Then I heard Ren shout:
"Senpai, stop them!!"
One of the students took aim—
Click.
A sharp sound rang through the air as a net shot out with precision, striking the floating orb directly.
With a soft flash, the orb wobbled in mid-air... then fell.
It descended slowly, like a dying firefly, and hit the ground with an almost tragic weightlessness.
"I got it!" the student shouted triumphantly. "Go grab it!"
He waved for one of the others to move in.
But before any of them could take a step.
I moved.
I didn't think. I just ran.
Not even sure why maybe it was something in Ren's voice, or maybe it was the flicker of guilt in my chest but my body reacted faster than my thoughts.
My legs pushed forward, and I darted past the bush, past the stunned students, straight toward the fallen orb.
"Who the hell—?"
"Wait—who's that?!"
"Damn, he's fast!"
I managed to reach the object just before the other guy, who was still panting and trailing behind me.
My heart pounded. Sweat dripped down my forehead as I slowed to a halt, eyes locked on the thing lying on the grass.
At first glance, it looked like some kind of experimental flying device—maybe a high-tech drone.
But as I crouched closer…
My breath caught in my throat.
It wasn't just a machine.
It had a head. A human-like head.
Long, black hair flowed behind it, strands tangled and glinting faintly under the moonlight. Beneath the head—where a body should've been—were strange, fleshy structures. Almost like… organs, exposed and pulsing lightly.
"What… the hell is this?" I murmured, eyes wide.
Slowly, I began untangling the net from around it.
My fingers trembled as I reached out and touched it—first the hair, then the head.
It was a girl's head.
Pale skin. Soft. Warm.
Not cold or metallic like I'd expected. And beneath it—those strange, slimy organ-like appendages were warm too. Alive. Breathing.
'Is it some sort of human experiment?'
As I examined it, the eyelids suddenly twitched, Then snapped open.
The girl's eyes darted around, wide with panic, it turned to me and froze in place.
The others were catching up fast—Ren still tangled in a scuffle behind me, shouting something I couldn't make out.
I didn't know what came over me, but instinct took over.
Quickly, I unbuttoned my shirt and pressed the head against my chest. It was warm—almost soothing, like a living heating pad. Her breath, if that's what it was, tickled against my collarbone.
My heart was racing.
I could hear footsteps approaching fast.
"Where did that thing go?" one of the guys shouted, panting as he ran up behind me.
I straightened up, forcing a calm expression… then bent forward just slightly, pretending to catch my breath. The lump hidden beneath my shirt shifted subtly, but I kept my arms crossed to steady it.
"…It went back into the forest when I got here," I lied, placing a hand on my knee like I was completely winded.
The guy looked at me suspiciously, then glanced toward the forest.
"Tch. You let it escape?" he muttered, irritated. "Figures…"
He turned back to call his friends.
I stayed hunched over, head down, praying the girl's head wouldn't make a sound—or worse, move.
Honestly, the only reason I shoved her inside my shirt was because I didn't want my school jacket getting stained with… whatever those organ things were. Slimy, warm, and very much not normal.
It was gross. Creepy.
And way too real to be a prank.
Once the guy gave up and returned to his group, the area grew quiet again.
Ren quickly ran over to me, still catching his breath.
"Senpai, is everything alright?" he asked, his eyes scanning me for injuries.
"All good," I replied, forcing a grin. "Anyway… what is this thing?"
Without waiting for a reply, I slipped off my school jacket and hung it over a low tree branch. Then, slowly, I began unbuttoning my shirt.
Ren tilted his head, curious.
I carefully opened the fabric, revealing the girl's head nestled against my chest—pale, soft, and unsettlingly human. Her long black hair draped over my arm, and the strange organ-like structures beneath her head pulsed rapidly.
Honestly, I was bracing myself. I expected Ren to freak out, flinch, or at least make a face.
Ren leaned in closer, his voice calm and reassuring.
"It's alright now. We're Guardians," he said gently. "You're safe."
The head stirred ever so slightly in my arms. Her eyes slowly shifted, turning toward Ren. Her lips moved, and then—
"...Thank... you."
My body stiffened.
"Heh?!" I yelped, almost dropping her right then and there.
I held the head out at arm's length, like it was a ticking time bomb.
"Ren! That—that thing just talked!!" I said, completely thrown.
Ren, on the other hand, didn't even flinch.
He looked up at me with a grin.
"Wait… don't you know what that is, Senpai?" he asked, tilting his head with a look of disbelief.
I stared at him.
This kid… seriously?
He actually expected me to know something like this?
If he asked me to do calculus or explain Newton's laws, sure—I'd be on it. But instead, he's looking at me like I was supposed to recognize a floating girl's head with organs attached in the middle of the night.
What the hell is wrong with this kid?
I glanced down again.
Yup. Still just a pale, floating female head with long hair and very real, slimy-looking organs dangling where a neck and body should be.
Nope. Definitely not in the physics textbook.
"What even is this…?" I muttered, still holding the head a cautious distance away.
"It's a Krasue," Ren replied without missing a beat.
Krasue? What the hell is that supposed to mean?
My mind drew a blank. Was that a type of ghost? Some weird folklore? A Southeast Asian cryptid? It definitely wasn't on any biology chart I'd seen.
Ren looked at her and gave a small nod. "Why don't you tell him yourself?"
The girl's head stirred again. Slowly, almost shyly, she turned toward me. Her glowing eyes met mine, soft but tired.
I froze, half-expecting her to lunge at me or say something horrifying.
Instead, in a faint, wavering voice, she spoke.
"Hmm... I am a Krasue... There are many forms of us across Southeast Asia," she said softly, her words slow and delicate like each syllable took effort to form.
She paused, her eyes lowering just slightly.
"My parents told me… I was the last of my kind."
There was a silence between us—heavy, delicate.
Then Ren spoke up, his tone soft but factual.
"According to the records, she's from Thailand. Her parents enroll her here as refuge at the academy for her safety."
He glanced at me, then back at her."The letter we received today—it was a request from the support team. A minor task. She reported that some students had been wandering around this area lately… and she was afraid they might harm her."
Ren let the words settle, his calm gaze returning to the Krasue.
"Hmm… so we're done here, right?" I asked, still trying to process everything.
"Yes," Ren nodded. "At least until she's satisfied with our help. Then the task will be marked complete."
The girl's head turned slightly toward me again. Her glowing eyes met mine, hesitant and uncertain.
"Would you… take me back to my dorm?" she asked softly, her voice trembling a little.
She was probably still shaken from earlier—being hunted, caught, and nearly taken by force. Honestly, I didn't blame her.
"Don't worry!" I said, smiling gently. "We'll make sure you get back safely."
Her eyes widened in surprise, as if kindness was the last thing she expected.
"Here, Ren—carry her," I added, shifting my arms.
I carefully placed her into Ren's hands.
For a second, everything seemed fine—until I noticed her cheeks puff slightly.
She was… pouting?
Her expression was subtly sulky, her glowing eyes flicking between me and Ren with a clear sense of dissatisfaction. She didn't say anything, but it was obvious she wasn't too happy about being passed off.
Still, I cleared my throat and adjusted my shirt, casually checking for any suspicious stains.
"I'll walk beside you," I said, giving her a reassuring nod. "Just… needed to make sure my uniform stays wearable."
She blinked, then gave a small, reluctant nod—though the pout lingered on her face like a silent protest.
Ren glanced between the two of us, clearly trying not to laugh.
And just like that, we started walking, me, a confused transfer student; Ren, an overenthusiastic underclassman; and a floating head with long black hair and a personality, apparently.
I hadn't even been at this school for a full week.
And yet… I had just completed my first, and possibly wildest, mission as part of a secret club I never meant to join.