The weight of Ayane's words still lingers in my mind.
"You can't stop this unless someone dies."
She meant it. Every word.
The school board incident was proof of that. The way it fell—too precise, too well-timed—was no accident. She planned it. If I hadn't been there, someone would've died.
But… she knew I'd be there.
She counted on it.
And that's what bothers me.
If she truly wanted blood, she could've made it unavoidable. She didn't.
I try to push the thought away, but it lingers like a shadow at the edge of my mind.
By morning, something else happens.
The school is buzzing with rumors. A teacher is missing.
No one knows the details. Left his apartment last night. Never came back.
I don't need to guess.
By lunch, I find the note in my locker.
"Come alone. Midnight. The abandoned factory. Or he dies."
No signature. No explanation.
But I know exactly who sent it.
Ayane.
I exhale slowly, staring at the words.
This is it.
The moment I knew was coming.
No more games. No more avoiding it.
I close my locker and walk away.
---
Midnight.
The abandoned factory looms ahead, rusted beams jutting into the night sky like broken bones. The air is thick with dust and metal, the scent of damp concrete clinging to my skin.
I step inside.
And she's waiting.
"You came," Ayane says, her voice smooth, unreadable.
The moonlight from the broken roof casts her in silver and shadow, making her seem almost unreal. A ghost of someone I used to know.
Behind her, the missing teacher is tied to a chair, unconscious but unharmed.
I take that in before speaking. "What do you want, Ayane?"
She tilts her head slightly, like she's studying me. "I already told you, Ken."
Her voice drops, turning colder.
"You die, or he does."
Silence.
The air is heavy, suffocating. But my heart stays steady.
She's pushing me. Forcing me to make a choice.
But… she didn't kill him.
She could have.
If she truly wanted to break me, if she wanted to drag me into this fight without hesitation, she would've spilled real blood.
Instead, she gives me a choice.
Just like before.
The board. The teacher.
She's going too far—far enough that I can't ignore it.
But she's not completely lost.
Not yet.
I exhale slowly, meeting her gaze.
"You really want me dead that badly?"
Ayane doesn't flinch. "It's the only way to end this."
A part of me wants to believe she doesn't mean it. That she's just saying what she's been taught to say. That whoever pulled her out of the past fed her a version of events where I was the villain.
But that doesn't change the truth.
She won't stop.
I could keep dodging. Keep trying to reason with her.
But it won't work.
There's only one path left.
I have to fight.
Because dying isn't an option.
Not when I know that the man who "saved" her is still out there.
I don't know who he is, or what he wants, but he didn't do this out of kindness.
And that means I can't let Ayane win.
Not because I'm trying to save myself.
But because something bigger is at play.
I take a slow step forward, watching her carefully.
She's waiting. Expecting something.
"You want to end this?" My voice is calm. Steady.
Ayane smirks, but there's something behind it. Something flickering, unreadable.
I slowly roll up my sleeves.
"Fine," I say.
"Let's end this."
The moment hangs between us, thick with finality.
No more hesitation. No more running.
This is it.