The lantern burned low, its light struggling against the heavy dark. The storehouse smelled of sweat and tears, and the silence was heavier than steel.
Rin lay on the floor beside Imura, her body trembling, her breath still ragged from what had just passed. Her eyes were swollen, her lips red and bruised, her skin marked by his hands and mouth. She should have felt disgust. Shame. Fury. Anything but this unbearable emptiness and heat that still clawed at her chest.
But she couldn't let go of him. Even as tears streaked her cheeks, her fingers clutched his shirt like she'd drown without it.
Saya sat across the room, knees hugged to her chest, her face buried against her arms. Her shoulders shook with every broken sob. Her eyes were red, but the tears kept falling, unending.
"You promised…" she whispered into the fabric of her sleeves. "You promised I was enough…"
Her voice cracked, but it was loud enough to cut the silence.
Imura's gaze turned toward her. Calm. Unbothered. He didn't move, didn't speak, just watched her with the same inevitable patience as before.
Rin flinched, shame flaring in her gut. "Saya, I—"
"Don't." Saya's head lifted, her face streaked with tears, her eyes raw with betrayal. "Don't say a word. I don't want to hear it."
Rin's mouth opened, but no sound came. Her chest ached with guilt she didn't know how to name. She wanted to scream that she hadn't meant to fall, hadn't meant to let him break her—but the marks on her skin, the ache in her body, told the truth for her.
Natsumi leaned against the far wall, arms crossed tight, her knife forgotten at her feet. Her eyes were narrow, her lips pressed in a thin line. She'd seen a lot in this ruined world, but what she'd just witnessed unsettled her in ways she couldn't admit.
"You're tearing yourselves apart," she muttered, voice low but sharp.
Saya snapped her gaze to her. "You don't understand! He—he's mine—" Her voice cracked into a sob. "He was supposed to be mine."
Imura finally spoke, his voice deep, measured. "Saya."
She froze. Her sobs hitched.
"You were the one who clung to me first. Who begged me to protect you. Who said you'd die without me." His eyes narrowed. "Did you think you could keep me for yourself when others crave me just as much?"
Her lip trembled. "But… but I love you…"
Rin winced at the words, her heart twisting painfully.
Imura leaned back, one arm behind him, casual. "Love, fear, need—it's all the same. You don't want me. You want what I give you. Safety. Power. Purpose." His smirk returned. "And you'll keep wanting it. Even if you hate me for it."
Saya shook her head violently, tears flying. "That's not true! I love you! I—" Her voice broke, collapsing into sobs again.
Rin's eyes squeezed shut. Her chest ached with a gnawing pain she couldn't name. She hated him. She needed him. And worst of all, she understood exactly what he'd said.
Natsumi's jaw tightened. She looked between the three of them, her stomach twisting. A dangerous thought rooted itself in her mind: If I don't choose, I'll be swallowed too.
The night stretched, suffocating. Rin's shame festered. Saya's jealousy boiled. Natsumi's doubts grew sharp.
And through it all, Imura sat calm, collected, his smirk never faltering.
Chains bound them tighter with every passing moment.