-----
-----
The next morning, Saeko woke with her face burning red, her body still trembling with disbelief.
She'd had a strange dream. In it, she'd swung her wooden sword again and again, beating people down as screams and blood filled her senses—so vivid it was as if she'd lived it.
What horrified her most wasn't the violence itself, but the rush of pleasure that surged through her body with every scream, every spatter of blood. That was the part she could never forgive herself for.
Shoving the memory away, she threw off the blanket and was about to get up—when she realized, with a jolt, that she was wet.
Her cheeks flushed deeper. She rose slowly, intending to take the bedding out to wash it, but then her eyes caught something folded neatly at her side.
A set of black clothes.
"This… this can't be real!"
The blanket slipped from her hands. Heart racing, she stumbled toward the outfit, her mind flashing back to her dream.
In that dream, she had been dressed exactly like this, clad in black and swinging her wooden sword as she cut people down.
And now the same clothes were here, right in front of her. Which meant… it hadn't been a dream at all.
"No… no, that's impossible!"
She didn't want to believe it. She grabbed the black outfit, ready to throw it away—
—but the moment her hand touched it, the fabric dissolved into liquid, a thick black fluid that slithered up her arm, winding tightly around her body.
"What is this?! What's happening?!"
The black ooze spread across her skin, smothering her vision until the world went dark.
When her sight returned, she found herself clad once again in that same skin-tight black suit, clinging coolly against her skin, almost… comfortable.
Then the dread hit. She clawed at the suit, yanking and tearing, desperate to rip it off.
But no matter how she struggled, the black clung to her like a second skin. It wouldn't budge.
"Why are you rejecting me? I can feel it—your body wants me."
Saeko froze, eyes wide, as a strange voice echoed in her head.
"Who's there?!"
She spun around. No one. Not a soul in sight.
"I am… the clothes you're wearing."
Her stomach dropped. "You're… alive?"
"That's right."
"Then why me? Why attach yourself to me?"
"Because we need each other."
Her breath steadied, her sharp features tightening back into their usual cold calm. "What do you mean?"
"I can feel it—the hunger inside you. You use me as an excuse to unleash it, to satisfy that thrill you try so hard to bury. And I need your body to move freely. You and I—we complete each other."
"Maybe… you're right."
Saeko's voice was flat, but inside she knew he spoke the truth.
Her whole life she'd been bound by the world's rules, chained between restraint and desire, constantly torn apart by the conflict inside her. It was agony.
Now, learning that the suit was alive, she almost felt relieved—like it gave her permission to lie to herself, to hide behind a convenient excuse.
"In a world filled with laughter and light, do you really think you can survive here?"
The words struck deep. Her expression dimmed. Ever since discovering her twisted side, she'd felt cut off from the rest of the world.
She couldn't make friends. Wouldn't dare. Because the moment anyone truly understood her, they'd back away.
She knew it. No one could ever accept her darkness.
"…But I can."
Her eyes widened. "You… you can accept me?"
It was the first time she'd ever heard those words. Even if it came from something not entirely human, the shock of it left her trembling.
"That's right. I'll accept everything you are. So stop fighting me."
"Thank you."
The moment Saeko Busujima heard those words, her eyes slowly filled with tears. It didn't matter what he was—what mattered was that he was willing to accept her true self. And that was enough.
She carried a deep pain inside her, one she could never share with anyone else. She couldn't bring herself to confide in the people around her.
Because she was terrified—terrified that if they knew the truth, they'd look at her differently. They'd flinch, avoid her, push her away.
And that kind of rejection would only cut deeper, leaving scars worse than the pain itself.
But now, finally, she had someone who could shoulder that burden with her.
Maybe this was what it felt like for a criminal to finally find redemption.
"Don't be afraid. Don't ever fear. I'll always be with you."
"....."