The morning sun spilled through the curtains like liquid gold.
Fumiko blinked her sleepy eyes, groaning softly as she sat up on her bed. The faint scent of lavender from her bedsheet mixed with the cool air. For a second, she felt… normal again.
"Another day… I guess."
Her voice came out hoarse, half-laughing at her own exhaustion.
After all the strange dreams, after that terrifying night, waking up in her small, sunlit room felt like a miracle.
She shuffled toward the window and opened it, the cold autumn air kissed her face. Birds chirped on electric wires, and somewhere in the distance, the faint sound of a passing train echoed.
For a brief moment, she almost forgot everything, the nightmares, the blood, that eerie voice.
Almost.
But the moment her eyes fell upon her desk, she froze.
The device from yesterday still sat there, faintly blinking blue.
"Still active…?"
She muttered, walking closer.
The screen flickered once and showed a short reading–
Residual energy detected.
Type: Unknown.
Her chest tightened.
"...It's fine. It's probably just Yuki's energy from yesterday. Yeah. Just leftover traces. Guess this device is bit broken or something, nevermind.. I'll try to fix it later"
She turned it off quickly, trying not to think about it anymore.
But as she walked away, the device blinked once, not blue this time, but crimson, before turning completely dark.
---
At School
"Yo, Fumiko!"
She turned, smiling at the familiar voice. Rin was waving from the courtyard, holding a sports bag in one hand.
"Good morning, Rin!"
"Good morning? It's lunch already!"
Rin laughed, tossing a rice ball toward her.
"Eat up before Ami steals all the snacks again."
"Hey!"
Ami shouted from behind them, pretending to look offended.
"I only took two last time!"
"Two? You mean half the table?"
Rin shot back, making everyone burst into laughter.
Yuki also seems to enjoy herself in the conversation.
The group sat together on the benches near the sakura trees. The air smelled faintly of fried food from the cafeteria and the earth after a morning drizzle.
For the first time in days, Fumiko felt… light.
She watched her friends talk, laugh, and tease each other. For a fleeting moment, the shadows in her heart felt distant.
But that peace wouldn't last.
A teacher's announcement broke through the chatter:
"All students participating in the regional sports meet, don't forget today's extra practice!"
Rin's eyes lit up after hearing teacher's words.
"Oh shoot, that's me! I almost forgot."
She quickly stood up, slinging her sports bag over her shoulder.
Ami smirked.
"You always leave first, Rin."
Rin turned, smiling that same confident smile that always made the group feel safe.
"Yeah, but someone's gotta win the gold for us, right?"
She waved and walked off toward the field, the sunlight wrapping her figure in a faint glow.
Fumiko watched her go, a strange heaviness settling in her chest. She didn't know why, but something about Ami's words echoed louder than it should have.
---
In classroom
Classes passed like a blur.
Fumiko's pen tapped against the desk as she stared outside. Her mind wasn't in the room anymore.
Every time she blinked, fragments of that nightmare flashed before her, the cat, the blood, that monstrous voice.
Her hand subconsciously moved to her throat, remembering the suffocating pressure.
She shook her head violently, whispering to herself,
"Stop thinking about it… It was just a dream."
But her heartbeat refused to slow down.
The teacher's voice faded. The world blurred.
And for a split second, op just one blink, she saw something outside the window.
A figure. Standing among the crowd in streets. Wearing a dark hood. Not moving. Not blinking.
Watching her.
Her breath hitched.
Then – blink – the figure was gone.
"Am I day dreaming?...or was really someone standing there?"
She asked herself, feeling uneasy but later ignores it anyway.
---
After school
"Hey, you look tired again,"
Ami said as they left the school gates.
Fumiko forced a smile.
"I didn't sleep much. Karaoke hangover, maybe."
Yuki chuckled.
"You sang the least though! You can't call that a hangover!"
The three girls laughed as they walked down the familiar street, filled with small food stalls and the smell of grilled squid.
"By the way,"
Ami said suddenly,
"Rin texted me. She said she'll join us tomorrow morning. She's staying late for practice."
"Typical Rin,"
Yuki sighed.
"She really is unstoppable."
Fumiko smiled faintly, her eyes soft.
"That's what I like about her… She always tries her best."
The conversation shifted to lighter topics, homework, TV shows, random gossip. They stopped at a vending machine, grabbed their favorite drinks, and talked about weekend plans.
It was all so… normal.
Too normal.
Almost like the calm before something unseen.
When they finally reached their neighborhood, they parted ways with cheerful goodbyes.
But as Fumiko turned the corner toward her house, she felt it again, that faint, lingering gaze.
She spun around. Nothing.
Just the empty street, the hum of the city lights, and the moon beginning to rise.
---
At Home
The moment she entered home, she kicked off her shoes and let out a long sigh.
The house was silent except for the ticking of the wall clock.
She walked to her room, set her bag down, and glanced at her reflection in the mirror.
Her eyes looked… tired. Deeper. As if they'd seen something others couldn't.
She laughed softly.
"Maybe I really am losing it."
After a quick shower and dinner, she sat at her desk again, looking at her small collection of trinkets and charms. Among them, a small silver pendant shaped like a sun.
She picked it up, brushing her thumb across it.
"Ah! Here comes my favourite pendent...how beautiful..."
She whispered.
"Almost like it's… alive."
She shook her head, placing it back down. Then she opened her diary.
---
Diary Entry — October 20
> Today felt calmer.
I'm happy that everyone laughed again. I really missed that.
I just hope whatever's following me… goes away soon.
Rin's practicing hard again these days. She looked happy about it.
I don't want any of them to get hurt because of me.
…I still remember that dream. The voice. The cat. The blood.
It felt too real. Too alive.
But no matter what happens, I'll protect them, my friends ...and anyone else who needs my help in future. Even if fate says otherwise.
I must protect everyone, maybe that's the duty I need to fulfill.
She stopped writing, staring at the last sentence.
"Even if fate says otherwise…"
The words didn't feel like hers. They felt like they were written through her.
The wind outside shifted suddenly. The curtains fluttered.
Fumiko stood, closing the window.
"Weird… it wasn't windy a second ago."
---
The lights flickered once.
Then again.
She turned toward her desk, noticing the device blinking faintly again.
But before she could touch it, everything went black.
A soundless snap.
And suddenly, she was no longer in her room.
She stood in an endless, empty void.
Soft blue light shimmered like dust in the air. There was no ground, no sky, just infinite nothingness.
Her breath came out in trembling gasps.
"...Not again. Am I dreaming? But I wasn't sleeping..."
Her voice echoed, stretching far and wide before fading.
Then,...she saw it.
A small figure, floating midair not far from her.
It looked like a child, maybe no older than seven.
The child wore a white kimono, delicate and old-fashioned.
And over her face– a Kitsune mask, painted with faint red lines and a small crack near the mouth.
She was silent. Still.
Fumiko took a step forward.
"Who… are you?"
The child didn't move.
But Fumiko felt something, a pressure, a warmth, something divine yet sorrowful.
Then, in a soft, almost trembling voice, the child whispered:
"The threads of fate… are beginning to twist again…"
The talisman in her hand glowed faintly, symbols shifting across its surface like rippling water.
Fumiko's heart raced.
"Threads of fate…? What do you mean?"
The child tilted her head slightly.
"Light… must suffer before it shines again. But not all pain is loss."
Fumiko took another hesitant step.
"Wait– who are you? Why are you showing me this?"
Before she could reach her, the child slowly looked up, and through the mask, a faint silver tear dropped from where her eye should have been.
The void around them began to crack like glass.
"Heed this, Child of Dawn…"
The cracks spread faster, glowing gold from within.
A blinding flash erupted. Fumiko covered her eyes.
When she opened them again
She was back in her room.
Her lamp was off.
The device was silent.
And outside, the moonlight poured through the curtains like silver threads.
Her heart thundered in her chest.
"What… what was that? Who was that child now?!"
She whispered.
But no answer came. Only the soft hum of the city outside.
Fumiko looked out the window again, her reflection merging with the pale moon.
Somewhere deep inside her heart, she felt something shifting–
like a string being gently pulled by unseen hands.