Chapter 1: Winter, Before the Sirens
"Ah…"
A low moan slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it. Warmth spread through me, heavy and overwhelming, pooling in my body in a way that left my thoughts hazy.
The girl below me moved slowly, carefully, like she was savoring something precious. Her tongue traced me with devotion, like this was the most delicious thing she'd ever tasted.
For her, maybe it was.
"Ouch…" A sharp sting shot through me and I groaned, instinctively pulling back a little.
"Sorry!" she panicked, lifting her head immediately.
"It's fine," I said quickly, forcing a smile onto my face.
I reached down and gently patted her head, like reassurance was part of the service. "You're really good at this."
She relaxed instantly, cheeks flushing, pride blooming in her eyes.
That sentence—polite, practiced, meaningless—was worth money.
I'd learned how powerful simple words could be.
---
"Thank you, Shou…"
She waved as I pulled on my coat, the door closing behind me with a quiet click. No hugs. No promises. No names exchanged beyond the one I rented out like a costume.
I smiled back, gentle and practiced.
"Bye..."
The door closed behind me.
---
The street outside was empty, wrapped in winter silence. Shinjuku at dawn felt like a city holding its breath—neon lights still buzzing faintly, sidewalks damp from melted frost, the air sharp enough to sting my lungs.
I walked slowly, hands buried deep in my pockets, breath puffing white. My fingers brushed against the envelope inside my bag.
I stopped beneath a flickering streetlamp and opened it.
"One… two… five…"
The sound of paper sliding against paper grounded me.
"Twenty… twenty five." I grinned despite myself.
"All good."
I slid the envelope back into my bag like it was something fragile.
My phone buzzed.
I glanced at the screen and laughed under my breath.
Jun.
I answered without thinking. "Hey, loser."
"Fvck it," he groaned dramatically. "You steal my princess and insult me now?"
"You're really annoying," I said, smiling.
"You done?"
"Yeah. Just finished counting my money."
"I really hate you, bro."
I laughed, the sound echoing oddly in the empty street.
"Come here now," Jun said. "Ten minutes. If you're late, you pay everything."
"Then I'm just going home," I replied casually.
He laughed, then paused. "You sure?"
My steps slowed.
"Already made up with your parents?"
The world tilted.
I stopped walking.
The words echoed in my head.
I lifted a hand to my lips, touching them lightly. A sharp sting responded instantly.
Pain.
I remembered my father's fist. The sound it made when it connected. My mother crying, clutching my arm, begging me to stop talking, begging him to stop hitting me.
Why had I asked Jun if I could sleep over last night?
Why...
"Shion! Hey!"
Jun's voice snapped me back.
"It's eight minutes left," he laughed. "Hurry up."
"Fvck it, Jun." I ended the call and started running.
---
I arrived at the bar panting, lungs burning, chest tight.
"Hahaha!" Jun burst out laughing the moment he saw me. "You look like shit."
"Screw you, I—" My lungs gave up on me mid sentence.
"Chill, chill," Jun said, pushing a cup toward me. "Sit first. Drink some tea."
I collapsed into the chair across from him.
He leaned closer and whispered, "You're two minutes late, by the way."
He laughed again.
Jun had been my best friend since high school. Loud, shameless, carefree. He was also the one who introduced me to this world.
It hadn't been complicated.
I graduated from college and couldn't find a job.
One month passed.
Then six.
Then a year.
Rejection emails piled up. Silence followed every application. My parents asked me every morning if I'd found anything yet.
One day, Jun asked me to substitute for him. "Just once," he said. That was three months ago. Now I was more booked than him.
"Something happened?" Jun asked, his voice quieter now. "You sounded desperate last night, asking me for a place."
I stared into my tea.
"I lied," I said.
Jun didn't interrupt.
"I told my parents I worked at a good company," I continued. "Every morning I left the house like I was going to work. Same suit. Same time."
"They didn't know," I sighed. "Until yesterday..."
"How...?" Jun frowned.
"One of my client," I replied. "She's my dad's acquaintance. Worse—his ex coworker."
Jun froze. "That's messed up."
"I know."
I rubbed my face.
"I feel guilty," I admitted. "But this job..." I sighed. "At least, it pays well. Flexible hours. No boss screaming at me."
Jun scoffed. "Clients scream sometimes."
"That's different one," I said quietly.
Jun shook his head. "You're insane."
"I was desperate," I snapped quietly. "Almost two years without a job. Every day they asked if I'd found one. Every day I lied. It was killing me..."
Jun looked at me for a long moment, he didn't joke this time, then reached out and patted my shoulder.
---
I ended up drank too much.
Morning turned into something blurry and unreal. Jun had an arm around me as we stumbled down the street.
"I never saw someone drunk in the morning," Jun muttered. "You're really something."
I laughed weakly. "Glad to be the first in something for you."
"Shou...?" A woman's voice.
I turned slowly.
Was it one person?
Two?
Three?
Jun sighed. "Who is she?"
I walked closer, squinting. Then I recognized her. "Ahhh… Miss Reira," I said, forcing a cheerful tone. "Hi. Hello."
Her expression was twisted with anger.
"Why are you ignoring my texts and calls?" she shouted. "I'll pay double for you."
One of the worst parts of this job. Dealing with obsessive clients.
"Sorry... I was full booked," I slurred. "Really."
Truth is, I didn't want to meet her again. Her husband had threaten me once when he found out. Still, she kept chasing me.
She screamed something... I couldn't even understand what.
Then... I felt it.
A sharp, impossible pain exploded in my chest a couple times. Warmth spread instantly, soaking through my clothes.
I looked down.
Blood.
So much blood.
Jun screamed my name.
Reira's face went pale. She pulled the knife out of my chest and ran.
I collapsed.
The sky above Shinjuku looked pale and distant.
Cold.
I tried to breathe.
Failed.
The sirens came too late.
---
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Report — Shinjuku Ward
At approximately 6:22 AM, a male victim was found collapsed on a side street near Kabukicho. Emergency services responded immediately.
The victim was identified as Shion Kitayama, male, 23 years old.
Cause of death: stab wound to the chest.
The suspect fled the scene and remains at large. Witness statements are under investigation.
I died before the city fully woke up.
And just like that...
My lies, my sins, my desperation...
ended in winter silence.
---
Somewhere deep beneath the cold, beneath the fading pain, beneath the darkness closing in from the edges of my vision, something stirred.
My consciousness twitched, like a dying ember refusing to go out.
…
Sound returned first. Not sirens. Not voices.
Something else...
Clear and artificial.
A voice that didn't belong to the city, didn't belong to this world.
[Welcome to Arcanum Vanguard Academy!]