Kaien's POV
This girl was so pretty she looked exactly like that pretty boy I met that day and I don't know why but when she leaned in, all I could see was his face and I went straight for the kiss, "fuck off bitch", Shion had saved me once again, this bitch was definitely going to eat me up. How did I even fall for this, that boy had to be a demon, no one had messed up with my brain for a while. They were becoming too undetectable so we decided to retreat to the base , but just as we were about to arrive these demons were on it again.
The first thing I remember was the sound of my own breath: ragged, scraping my throat like I'd swallowed fire. The second thing was Shion's hand clamping around my sleeve, yanking me sideways just as a branch snapped above us. We were already running like hell, but she had this instinct for danger, like the world whispered to her two seconds before it bothered telling the rest of us.
"Left, idiot!" she hissed.
I stumbled after her, my sandal catching on the roots, nearly face-planting into a mossy log. Daichi was behind us, his heavier steps pounding the ground like drums, while Takechi's voice carried from up ahead.
"Don't scatter! They'll pick us off if we split!"
Right. Easy for him to say. He hadn't just watched a demon's face peel back from a girl's smile to something that belonged in a nightmare. I could still smell it sweet, cloying, like perfume spilled over rotten fruit. It was in my hair, in my lungs.
We broke through the tree line, stumbled down the slope, and there like a miracle was the crooked roof of my house. Our house, really. It had become the place we always regrouped, mostly because I lived closest to the edge of every disaster zone. Lucky me.
I slammed the door shut behind us, chest heaving. The slam rattled the paper screens.
"Report," Takechi barked, already bracing himself against the table like he was our commander. Which, technically, he wasn't. He just liked the sound of it.
"Still breathing," I muttered, sliding down against the door until my legs gave up. "Thanks for asking."
Shion shot me a look, one brow raised, damp strands of hair sticking to her cheek. "You're lucky you didn't get yourself kissed to death."
"Yeah, I'm irresistible. What can I say." My laugh came out harsher than I meant, like I'd swallowed gravel. Humor was safer than admitting how close I'd been how that girl's lips had been inches away, her breath soft as a lover's, and how my body had frozen because every part of me had wanted to believe she was human.
Daichi pulled his haori straight and dropped down onto the tatami with a grunt. His face was pale, jaw tight, but his hands didn't shake. That was the thing about him he always looked carved from stone, even when he was rattled.
"They're evolving," he said finally. "They didn't just pass for human. They felt human."
That silenced us. Even Takechi's usual cool fell away as he dragged a hand through his damp hair, staring at the floor like it had answers written on the grain.
I closed my eyes, the image flashing back the demon's face leaning close, the faint sheen of her lips, the smell of plum blossoms. My pulse kicked hard just thinking about it. She hadn't looked like a predator. She'd looked like someone's daughter, someone's sister.
"Do we even know what they're feeding on?" Shion asked. She had her knees drawn up, arms wrapped around them, her voice sharper than usual. "It's not blood. I didn't see wounds. Just… people collapsing."
"Life force," Takechi guessed. "Essence. Whatever you call it, it leaves them hollow. Kiss as weapon it's psychological. Makes you hesitate before striking."
I barked a laugh. It came out wrong, almost bitter. "Worked on me."
Shion's gaze flicked to me, unreadable, before she looked away again.
The fire crackled in the pit, throwing faint warmth against my back. The base house wasn't much: two sleeping rooms, a good living room for planning ome bathrooms and a mini kitchen. But at that moment, it felt like a fortress. The sound of the rain starting outside sealed us in, wrapping us in a cocoon of quiet. I let my shoulders ease.
And that's when the arguments started.
Takechi paced. "We can't go in blind again. One almost slipped through because Kaein hesitated."
I lifted my head, bristling. "I didn't hesitate. I was evaluating, what if she was human?."
"You stared at her like you were considering a proposal," he shot back.
Shion snorted. "Don't flatter him. No one's proposing to Kaein."
Daichi actually cracked the ghost of a smile, which was rare enough that I counted it as a win.
"Listen," I said, trying to scrape back some dignity, "if demons are going to start looking like humans, it's not just my problem. You want to cut down a girl who looks like she just came back from temple prayers? Go ahead. Swing first, think later. See how long it takes before you can't sleep at night."
The silence after that sat heavy. Shion's fingers tightened on her sleeves. Takechi looked away.
We all had our ghosts. Mine just had plum-blossom breath.
After a long pause, Daichi said, "We need a plan. A way to trap them, keep them from slipping into the crowd. Last time, three got away."
"Three too many," Shion murmured.
I pulled myself up, legs protesting, and crossed to the low table. "Fine. We trap them. But how? They look human. They act human."
"They smell wrong," Shion said quietly. "Too sweet. Like overripe fruit. I noticed when one brushed past me."
I blinked at her. Trust Shion to pick up something subtle while I was too busy being nearly kissed into the afterlife.
"So," I said slowly, "we bait them. Force them to show themselves. Then…"
"Then," Takechi cut in, "we strike fast. Together and no hesitation."
My jaw clenched. He meant me.
We stayed there, hunched around the fire, each of us lost in our thoughts. Shion tapped her thumb against her knee, Takechi muttered strategy under his breath, and Daichi just stared at the flames like he could will them into answers.
Then: knock, knock, knock.
Three sharp raps at the door.
We all froze.
The rain hushed, as if the world itself was holding its breath.
"Kaein," Shion whispered, eyes wide. "Who…?"
Another knock. Softer this time. A voice, muffled through the paper wall:
"Please… help me."
A girl's voice. Frag
ile and human.
But underneath it, faint and sickly sweet, came the scent.
Plum blossoms.