Tokita's eyes stayed on the bite mark.
It wasn't fresh.
No swelling. No black veins. No twitching muscle beneath the skin.
Old.
"…How long?" he asked again, quieter now.
Nezuko's fingers trembled as she let her hair fall back into place.
"Three days," she said. "Almost four."
Tokita exhaled slowly.
Three days was impossible.
The news said minutes. Hours, at most. Anyone bitten turned fast—violently. He'd seen it himself from his balcony. He'd seen people screaming, convulsing, losing themselves.
And yet here she was.
Standing. Breathing. Thinking.
"…You should've turned," Tokita said before he could stop himself.
Nezuko laughed softly—not amused, not offended. Just tired.
"Yeah. That's what everyone said."
She leaned back against the school gate and slid down until she was sitting, hugging her knees.
"I was with my brother. And some other people. When it happened."
Her voice wavered, but she kept going. "We ran. I got bitten protecting someone else. I waited for it. The fever. The pain. The change."
Tokita stayed silent.
"It never came," she continued. "I passed out once. Woke up normal. Still hungry. Still scared."
She looked up at him then.
"Still me."
Tokita stared at her for a long moment.
"…And no symptoms since?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Nothing. No urges. No voices. No pain."
That made his chest tighten.
This wasn't luck.
This was something else.
"There's a lab," Nezuko said carefully. "CBC. They have branches in Tokyo. My brother thought… maybe if my blood's different, it could help. A cure. Or at least answers."
Tokita felt something cold settle in his gut.
A cure meant attention.
Attention meant danger.
"…Where's your brother now?" he asked.
"Alive," she said quickly. "Hiding. With others. I ran ahead to check if the school was safe."
Tokita closed his eyes briefly.
His parents' message echoed in his mind.
Stay inside.
Don't get involved.
We'll come for you.
He opened his eyes and looked at Nezuko again.
She was watching him carefully—like she was afraid of the answer.
"…You're not scared of me?" he asked.
She hesitated. Then shook her head.
"No. You stepped back when you saw the bite."
A small smile. "Monsters don't do that."
Tokita looked away, jaw tightening.
I shouldn't be here.
I shouldn't be involved.
But his feet didn't move.
"…We'll go inside," he said at last. "Just to rest. Then I'll leave."
Nezuko nodded quickly. "That's fine. Really."
They entered the school building together.
Inside, the halls were empty. Blood stains marked the floor in places—old, dried. Lockers hung open. Classrooms stood abandoned, desks overturned like the students had fled mid-lesson.
Nezuko glanced at Tokita as they walked.
"You're… my first real friend," she said suddenly.
He blinked. "What?"
"I was homeschooled too," she admitted. "Family stuff. I'm bad with people."
Tokita let out a short breath that almost sounded like a laugh.
"…Same."
They stopped near a classroom window, the dying sunlight painting the floor orange.
Tokita looked at the door.
Drop her here, his mind whispered.
Leave. Forget this.
But something told him that once he walked away—
Nothing would be simple again.
He turned slightly toward her.
"Nezuko," he said.
"Yeah?"
"…Let's just survive tonight."
She smiled.
"Okay."