Rin reached the house.
And stopped.
His hand hovered over the door.
He wasn't afraid of monsters.
Not anymore.
What terrified him was something worse—
seeing his friends with those smiles again.
Seeing those empty eyes wearing the faces he knew.
A few minutes later, Kito arrived beside him, breathing hard.
Neither of them spoke.
They just stood there.
Looking at the door.
As if stepping inside meant stepping into a nightmare they were trying to delay.
Kito finally muttered, "...On three?"
Rin nodded.
"One."
"Two."
"Three."
They opened the door—
and ran.
Straight to Rin's room.
Neither looked left.
Neither looked right.
They slammed the door shut behind them and shoved against it, breathing heavily.
Silence.
Rin let out a shaky breath.
"...See? Maybe we're just parano—"
He stopped.
Kito slowly looked up.
Rin followed.
And both of them froze.
Five figures stood inside Rin's room.
Waiting.
Smiling.
Wide eyes.
Tilted heads.
As if they had been there the whole time.
Rin's soul nearly left his body.
"...Nope," he whispered.
Both of them spun around and yanked the door.
It wouldn't open.
Rin pulled harder.
Nothing.
It was as if someone on the other side was holding it shut.
Or something.
Kito slammed his shoulder into it.
Still nothing.
Behind them—
giggles.
Soft.
Broken.
Rin turned.
Too late.
Shina launched herself at him.
"WHAT THE—"
She tackled him to the ground with unnatural force, pinning both his wrists above his head.
Her face lowered close to his.
That smile.
Those wide eyes.
And then she asked, in a disturbingly cheerful voice—
"Do you love me?"
Rin blinked.
His brain stopped.
Even Kito—currently getting punched around by Sam and Alex—looked over in utter disbelief.
"...What?"
Shina leaned closer.
"Do. You. Love. Me?"
Rin stared at her for one full second.
Then his expression went completely cold.
"Not in a million years."
For the first time—
Shina's smile twitched.
Almost offended.
Rin shoved upward and threw her off him.
At that same moment—
Daniel rushed in from the side, knife in hand.
Rin turned too late.
STAB.
The blade pierced through Rin's palm and pinned his hand to the floor.
Rin sucked in a sharp breath.
"...Ow! Daniel, what is wrong with you?!"
Daniel only smiled wider.
Rin gritted his teeth, ripped his hand free, and kicked Daniel away—
careful.
Too careful.
Just enough to throw him back.
Not enough to really hurt him.
That hesitation nearly cost him again.
Yuri stood at the door.
Blocking it.
Still smiling.
Kito, after barely shoving Sam and Alex away, sprinted toward her.
Yuri intercepted him instantly.
The two crashed into the wall.
Kito managed to lock her arms.
For now.
"Kito shouted, "RIN!"
Rin understood immediately.
The door.
He ignored the blood running down his hand and charged.
BANG!
One kick.
The room shook.
The others lunged at him.
Sam grabbed his shoulder.
Daniel grabbed his leg.
Shina clawed at his back.
But Rin kept kicking.
BANG!
The wood cracked.
"Move!" Rin shouted.
BANG!
Another crack.
The smiles around him were starting to break.
Starting to twitch.
Starting to become angry.
And somehow—
that looked even worse.
Kito tightened his grip on Yuri and yelled, "FASTER!"
Rin stepped back.
Blood dripping.
Breathing ragged.
Then drove his foot forward with everything he had.
BOOOOM!
The door gave in.
Rin and Kito burst through the broken door and ran.
Neither looked back.
Behind them, the distorted screams of their friends echoed through the night—half human, half something else.
"JUST RUN!" Kito shouted.
"WAY AHEAD OF YOU!" Rin yelled back.
They sprinted through the streets.
Past smiling faces.
Past dark houses.
Past shadows that seemed to lean closer as they passed.
Then—
the lights vanished.
Rin turned a corner.
Kito turned another.
"WAIT—KITO!"
No response.
Rin skidded to a stop.
Silence.
He was alone.
"...Great," he muttered between breaths. "Lost, bleeding, and probably haunted. Fantastic night."
He looked around.
Nothing looked familiar.
For the first time—
he was genuinely lost.
The streets here were narrower.
The buildings older.
And the darkness—
deeper.
Not just absence of light.
Presence.
Like the night itself had weight.
Rin swallowed and moved forward carefully.
Each step felt wrong.
His instincts screamed at him to turn back.
Then he saw it.
A place ahead.
A large open courtyard hidden behind ruined stone walls.
For some reason—
that area looked darker than the rest of the night.
As if moonlight refused to touch it.
Rin slowed.
"...That's definitely not suspicious."
He crouched and moved closer.
Voices.
People.
Rin peered through the broken wall.
And his eyes narrowed.
Ronan.
Standing there.
Along with several of his accomplices.
And civilians.
Dozens of them.
All lined up quietly.
Heads lowered.
Smiling.
Rin hid himself further in the shadows and followed from a distance.
No one spoke.
Only footsteps.
Soft.
Uniform.