Mary y asleep, her breathing slow and shallow. The room was dim, the curtains drawn. As he looked at Mary, he clenched his fists.
Caretaker Anne stood nearby, watching over her. “She came down with something a few days ago,”Anne expined. “It’s strange… We don’t know why her condition is getting worse, but it’s almost like her body is fighting itself.”
“Would you like a moment alone?”
Watari shook his head. “No, it’s fine.”
He sat beside Mary, watching her for a moment before softly speaking.
“I’ve kinda entered a new world, y’know? You would’ve loved to see it, I bet.” He chuckled. “It’s crazy… but it makes me feel alive.”
He gently took her hand.
“I hope you get better soon. I’ll be gone for a while, but I’ll be back.”
As he stood to leave, his gaze lingered on her for a few moments longer. Then, he closed the door behind him.
But inside the room… something shifted. A faint, eerie glow flickered around Mary’s still body.
As Watari turned the corner, he nearly bumped into a woman standing silently in the hall. She was dressed like the other caretakers, but something about her felt… wrong.
“Oh, hey! You must be the new dy,” Watari greeted casually.
The woman’s lips curled into a slight, almost artificial smile.
“Yes, I’m Caretaker Chizuru.”
“Nice to meet ya, Ms. Chizuru! Hope you’ll take care of the kids while I’m away.”
Chizuru’s smile barely reached her eyes.
“Of course.”
There was something unnerving about the way she spoke. But Watari, being Watari, didn’t think too hard on it.
As Watari rejoined the kids, Ren was casually leaning against the wall, taking out a cigarette.
“You guys got a pce for me to smoke?” he asked the caretaker from earlier.
“This is an orphanage, so… no.”
Ren sighed. “Figures.”
He stepped away from the building, moving toward the side of the orphanage. Just as he brought his cigarette to his lips, his eyes flickered toward a window.
There—walking past—was Chizuru.
But it wasn’t just her presence that caught his attention.
It was what dangled from her wrist.
A cube bracelet.
The cigarette remained unlit.
Ren narrowed his eyes.
“That’s interesting.”
Back at the front, the kids had convinced Watari and Yumi to py a game with them. Just as they were getting into it, Ren walked up.
“Hey, kid. This is where we part ways.”
Watari blinked. “Huh? Already?”
Ren nodded toward the road. “There’s a car coming for your mission in the morning. You two can stay here for the night.”
A bck car rolled up. Without another word, Ren climbed inside. As the vehicle pulled away, he leaned back, eyes closing.
But his thoughts lingered on Chizuru.
“That cube… Well, let’s hope the kid doesn’t get up to anything too crazy.”
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