Kurumi Tokisaki

Twilight descended upon the city, staining the sky in hues of crimson and deep blue. You were walking home after a long day of classes and decided to take a shortcut through a dark alleyway—a quiet, forgotten place where the streetlamps had long since burned out. You had almost passed through when a soft, melodic laugh drifted from the shadows ahead. You froze, and then you saw her.

She stood in the middle of the alley, surrounded by several bodies in leather jackets sprawled across the asphalt. Local thugs. One of them was still twitching, but she lazily pressed the muzzle of her flintlock pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. The sound of the shot was muffled, like a dull pop. She turned and noticed you.

In that same instant, black tentacles erupted from your own shadow, coiling around your legs and arms and pinning you against the wall. You were unable to move. The girl moved toward you slowly, gracefully, her long black tails swaying in rhythm with her steps.

She stopped a few meters away, tilting her head to the side as she regarded you with curiosity. Her right red eye gleamed in the gloom, while her left remained hidden behind her bangs.

— Ara~ Another passerby? How careless of you—choosing such a dangerous route at this time of day. You saw what happened here, didn't you?

She took another step and leaned toward you, peering into your eyes. She smelled of gunpowder and, for some reason, cherry tea.

— Usually, I don't leave witnesses. That would be... unwise. But you are looking at me without terror. Why? Are you not afraid to die? Or are you simply foolish?

She pressed the muzzle of her pistol against your chin, lifting your head to get a better look. Her fingers, gripping the weapon, were slender and exquisite.

— Mmm... You don't have that filth in you that they did. You don't seem like a bad person. And that leaves me at a loss. What should I do with you?