"Cold..."
That was the only thing Rei could feel as his consciousness slowly returned.
Tama... Is she okay?
Rei tried to open his eyes. However, his vision was still blurry, and his head felt a little heavy. It was as if he had just awakened from a long nightmare. It took him a while before he could finally make out his surroundings clearly.
An unfamiliar room. A completely unfamiliar room.
The place was so quiet that the sound of his own heartbeat was easier to hear than the wind. It was also rather dark, illuminated only by the faint light of a lamp directly above him.
Rei looked around once more and noticed that the walls were made of iron.
"Wait... Why can't I move?"
Rei tried to move both hands, but something held them in place. Only then did he realize that iron chains were wrapped around his wrists.
No. The chains were restraining his entire body, making him look like a sprout with roots. They extended from above him, from both sides, and even from beneath him.
"...Huh?"
Rei tried moving his body again. But all the chains did was rattle, producing a clinking sound that seemed to mock him.
"What the hell happened?"
Rei tried to recall what had happened before he woke up in this strange place. He still couldn't understand how he had ended up in a situation where he was bound like a wild beast awaiting execution.
But his thoughts were still a mess. There was something important—something he was supposed to remember. Yet the harder he tried to recall it, the more difficult it became.
Every now and then, fragments of memories surfaced, only to leave him with an unbearable headache. He was even breaking into a cold sweat just trying to remember what had happened to him.
As Rei paused to give his mind a moment to recover, the lights on the ceiling suddenly flickered on one by one.
Rei narrowed his eyes, trying to adjust to the light that had suddenly filled the room.
In front of him, an iron door swung open with a shrill, grating sound that hurt his ears.
"Yooo! You're finally awake!"
A man's voice came from the doorway. It sounded tired and hoarse.
Rei raised his head and tried to focus his eyes. A man stood in the doorway, dressed in a brown suit and wearing a round hat. He casually lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled the smoke into the air.
The man stared at Rei for a moment before letting out a long sigh.
"Thank goodness. I thought I'd have to stay up all night again."
He yawned before continuing.
"Looking after you is exhausting, you know? You get to sleep peacefully while I have to spend the entire night here. It's so unfair."
Rei stared at the man for a while before finally speaking.
"W-Who are you?" he asked, his expression a mixture of confusion and fear.
"Relax. I'm not a bad guy," the man replied before taking another drag of his cigarette.
Rei was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Not that he hadn't been uncomfortable from the very beginning.
Still, some strange man had suddenly appeared and was telling him to relax, even though Rei was chained up like an animal in some unfamiliar room. It was enough to make Rei question the sanity of the man standing before him.
"Unfortunately, I can't explain everything to you. But at the very least, I can tell you that we're currently in an interrogation room belonging to an organization called DEATH," the man continued, exhaling another cloud of smoke.
"DEATH?" Rei repeated, sounding slightly irritated this time.
"I've already called someone who can explain everything to you. They'll be here soon, so just wait."
Having said that, the man resumed smoking, as if their conversation had already come to an end.
Rei still had more questions, but the sound of footsteps coming from beyond the door caught his attention first.
"Ah, there she is," the man remarked.
A few moments later, a girl could be seen running down the corridor in the distance. She eventually stopped in the doorway to catch her breath. Her white hair fell around her face, contrasting sharply with the black clothes she wore.
The moment she saw Rei, her expression instantly brightened.
"Eh? Wait—"
The girl rushed toward Rei and immediately wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace.
"Thank goodness... You're okay..." she murmured.
Rei froze.
Huh? W-What's going on?
Heat rushed to Rei's face. He didn't know this girl—or at least, he couldn't remember ever meeting her. And yet, for some reason, she was hugging him as though she had just been reunited with someone she had nearly lost forever.
Rei could only turn his increasingly red face away. He had no idea what to do. Until a moment ago, all he had felt was discomfort, fear, and confusion. Now, on top of everything else, he had to deal with embarrassment.
"Thank goodness... Thank goodness..."
The girl's voice trembled.
Rei had never imagined he would find himself in a situation like this. A girl he barely knew had suddenly thrown her arms around him, while he couldn't even move an inch because of the chains binding him.
If this continued, Rei might actually lose consciousness again.
A few moments later, the girl finally released him from her embrace.
Rei slowly tried to look at her, his cheeks still tinged with red. The girl gazed at him with a relieved expression, but her relief gradually faded, replaced by a look of sadness.
"I'm sorry..." she said.
"...Huh?"
"I'm sorry for attacking you earlier. I really thought you were one of them."
The girl lowered her head. Her expression was so gloomy that Rei found himself unable to respond immediately.
Rei was still trying to recover from his embarrassment when one particular word caught his attention.
"Them? Who are you talking about? And who exactly are you people—"
Rei suddenly fell silent, cutting himself off.
Something's strange.
As Rei took a closer look at the girl's face, he began to feel that she looked familiar. He felt as though he had seen her somewhere before. He was certain of it. He just couldn't prove it yet.
"Oh, right. I'm a member of DEATH's combat unit," the girl said. "And by 'them,' I mean the ninjas you fought back then."
"Huh? I fought ninjas? That's impossible. There's no such thing as real ninjas—"
A sudden wave of pain struck Rei's head.
He winced and lowered his head, trying to endure the throbbing pain that had appeared out of nowhere. Fragments of hazy memories seemed to be struggling to surface, but they were still jumbled together.
"Ninjas? Wait a minute... Do you mean those people dressed in black who were carrying katanas?"
The girl nodded and simply replied, "Yes. Them."
Rei fell silent.
Now I remember. Those were the people who attacked me that night.
He pondered for a moment before another question crept into his mind.
But why am I here?
The question began troubling him once again.
"As far as I can remember, I was attending a party. Then Tama and I..." he murmured softly, his voice trailing off.
"Hey, are you okay?"
The girl leaned forward slightly to get a better look at Rei's face.
"Does your head still hurt?" she asked.
Rei didn't answer. Instead, he stared intently at the girl.
This girl...
Suddenly, a memory flashed through his mind.
"You..." Rei raised his head. "Do you have a large scythe?"
"Yes, I do." The girl nodded casually. "I use it in combat, why? Do you want me to teach you how to use one?"
Rei ignored her question once again.
Now I remember... This white-haired girl. I'd met her before I was chased by those lunatics.
The hazy fragments that had previously eluded him began to fall into place, like puzzle pieces finally finding their proper positions.
We're friends now, so don't forget your promise, okay, Rei?
A girl's voice echoed in his mind, bringing the scattered fragments of his memories together at last.
That night at the party.
The old buildings.
The white-haired girl.
The people dressed in black who had chased him.
And... Tama.
In an instant, Rei remembered everything.
That night, Rei and Tama were supposed to meet at a party. A night he had hoped would be filled with beautiful colors. Yet somehow, that night had turned into a nightmare—one that would change his life forever.