◇ Kluang ◇
"Haahh! Why does it have to suddenly rain like this?!"
My voice was almost drowned out by the roar of rain pouring down on the streets that night. I—Aliff, 17 years old—ran quickly along the already soaking wet sidewalk.
The green plastic bag from 7-Eleven in my right hand swung wildly, containing canned cat food and some snacks. I tried to raise my left hand to cover my head—a futile effort considering I was already drenched from head to toe.
"Damn it! My clothes are all wet!" I grumbled while continuing to run.
The streets that night were deserted. The streetlights cast yellowish light reflected by the wet asphalt surface. A few vehicles occasionally passed by, their wheels splashing water to the roadside. Fortunately, I was already far enough from the edge.
After running for almost ten minutes from 7-Eleven, I finally arrived at my apartment building—a five-story structure.
I immediately entered through the automatic glass door that opened slowly. The cold air-conditioned air greeted me.
"Good evening, Aliff," greeted Uncle Rashid, the night guard sitting at the reception desk reading a newspaper.
"Evening, Uncle. The rain just came out of nowhere," I replied with a wry smile, pointing to my wet clothes.
"This season is always unpredictable. Hurry upstairs, or you'll catch a cold," he said while shaking his head.
I nodded and walked toward the elevator in the corner of the lobby. I pressed the call button, and within seconds the steel door opened.
I stepped in, then pressed the number three button.
The elevator vibrated slightly as it began to ascend. I stared at my own reflection in the somewhat blurry elevator door surface.
I lived alone here. My mother and father lived in different places. There was a reason why I wanted to live here. By living here, I could walk to school, unlike when I lived at my mother's house where I always had to wake up early and wait for the bus to come. Of course, there was no way my mother would let me live here alone. My older sister also lived in this place. My sister had been living here for a long time with her husband. Because my sister also lived in the same place, my mother and father allowed me to live here.
Ding.
The elevator door opened on the third floor.
I stepped out, my wet feet leaving water trails on the long white ceramic floor of the corridor.
The third-floor corridor stretched straight, with rows of brown doors on the left and right. The apartment units lined up neatly, mostly occupied by office workers or small families. Tonight the corridor was quiet as usual—at ten o'clock at night, most residents were already asleep or resting inside their units.
I walked while taking out the key from my pants pocket.
But as I approached my unit door, my steps halted.
"...Huh?"
In front of my apartment door, a woman lay there.
I froze in place.
*Who... is this person?*
The woman was lying on her side, her body curved as if sleeping soundly. She wore a long robe in dark blue.
Her hair was long, colored dark blue.
I approached slowly.
I knelt beside her, placing the plastic bag gently on the floor.
Carefully, I moved aside the strands of hair covering her face.
And when her face was clearly visible—
*...Beautiful.*
*Wait... why is someone sleeping in front of my door? Is she homeless? But her clothes look too good for a homeless person.*
I took a deep breath, then decided to wake her. I couldn't leave her lying here all night—especially since tonight's temperature was cold because of the rain.
"Hey," I called softly while gently shaking her shoulder. "Wake up... why are you sleeping here? You'll get cold if you keep sleeping in a place like this."
No reaction.
I tried again, this time a bit harder. "Hey! Wake up!"
Several seconds passed.
Then—her body moved.
I immediately backed away slightly, giving space. Her eyelids slowly opened, revealing a pair of dark blue eyes.
She sat up slowly, blinking several times. She looked left and right, observing the corridor with a confused gaze.
Then her gaze fixed on me. Her eyes narrowed sharply. In a quick movement, she immediately stood up—and her right hand raised to the side.
"—?!"
I jerked backward.
From her hand, something appeared.
Ice crystals began forming from empty air. Within one second, an ice sword materialized in her grip.
She immediately swung the sword toward me—its blade stopped just a few centimeters from my neck.
"Who are you?!"
Her voice was cold.
"C-calm down..." I said softly. "I was just... trying to wake you up. You were lying in front of my door earlier. If you kept sleeping there, you could get sick. My name is Aliff. This... this is the corridor of the apartment where I live."
Her eyes narrowed, examining me with full suspicion. The ice sword was still pointed at me.
"...I was lying there?" she murmured, more to herself. Her brow furrowed. "Wait... wasn't I in my room at that time? How could I... be here?"
She looked left and right, staring at the corridor with a confused expression.
"Where exactly am I right now?"
"We're currently at an apartment in Kluang. You... you really don't know how you got here?"
She didn't answer. Her eyes kept looking around with a mixed expression.
*Okay, this is clearly not a normal situation.*
I took a deep breath. "Hey... I don't know who you are, but... how about we talk inside?"
Her gaze immediately returned to me, sharp and suspicious.
"I mean," I continued quickly, "if we keep making noise here, other residents might get angry. It's already ten o'clock at night. If they wake up and see... uh... that ice sword, it could become a big problem."
She stared at me in silence. The ice sword in her hand hadn't lowered yet.
Then she spoke, her voice cold and full of wariness. "You... are you planning to do something to me if I go in there?"
Of course she would think that. A guy inviting a strange girl into his apartment in the middle of the night—who wouldn't be suspicious?
I shook my head quickly. "If I do anything weird, you can immediately kill me with that sword, right?" I said while pointing to the ice sword still pointed at me. "Besides... you can create a sword from ice. Clearly I'm no match for you. And one more thing—please make that sword disappear. People here have never seen anything like this, including me!"
She fell silent. After a few seconds, the ice sword slowly began to crack. Its crystals shattered into small fragments that flew about like snow, then evaporated into cold mist that disappeared in the air.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Alright," she finally said, her voice still cold but not as hostile as before. "I'll go in. But I want to ask you one thing—and you must answer everything I ask. Understand?"
"Sure," I answered quickly.
She stared at me for a moment, then nodded slowly.
"My name is Haibara," she said. "Before we talk further, you need to know my name first."
"Haibara..." I repeated.