Ever since meeting Yuda, Aya's life had spiraled into a chaos deeper than anything she had ever known. Yet, somehow, she knew she had to survive the trials raining down upon her; she had to be strong.
Used to the comfort of companionship, she now found herself constantly vigilant, living in the shadows of malice. In this strange land, she felt forced to guard herself against everyone—even her own bodyguard.
"But if I don't trust anyone, how can I expect others to trust me?" Aya wondered. While that philosophy had worked with some creatures, it wasn't a universal truth.
She walked beneath the midnight sky. A breeze brushed past her from behind, cool yet piercing. Her steps faltered when she found herself standing before a pair of leather shoes. Had they stood side-by-side, they would have looked like a couple in matching footwear.
"Tell me... are you interested in me?" the man asked. A familiar face reflected in Aya's pupils.
His rich brown hair and those ruby-red eyes left Aya spellbound, frozen in a silent trance. She didn't know what kind of sorcery held her, but it felt different from anything else.
"Yes, Yuda." The girl behind the glasses offered a small, thin smile. Her expression seemed happy to see him, but her eyes were hollow and void of life. This was not the Aya Kruger he knew.
Life always walks hand-in-hand with good and evil. No one knows when the darkness will finally lift. It is as difficult to let go as it is to reclaim what was lost. As if another soul had taken her place, "Aya" answered him.
"Come with me, Aya." Yuda extended his hand, and she took it with a hollow joy.
Together, they walked toward a place hidden from the world. The night grew old, and the streets were deserted. D-Dance City had fallen into a deathly silence.
Meanwhile, in the distance, a man with thick, ash-gray fur on his ears and tail stood watching. He stared intensely at the stiff, rhythmic movement of the pair's backs.
"Strange," Ficky muttered. He was Aya's bodyguard, yet also the "master" of her slave brand.
Unable to grasp the situation, Ficky began to trail them from the shadows, a silent ghost in the night.
They arrived at the venue Aya and Yuda had visited before—the place that hosted dances during the day. It was now deserted and locked tight. Yuda didn't care; he forced his way in, shattering the door handle in an instant.
"Aya, will you stay with me?" Yuda asked.
"Yes, of course. Aya will stay with you... until you are satisfied," she replied with that same vacant smile.
Yuda let out a soft hum. He pulled her close, embracing her gently as if he feared she might evaporate from his arms.
"Aya, do you know? You look exactly like my past lover. Or perhaps you are her, just with different memories?" he mused, his mind wandering into delusion.
"Aya doesn't understand. Aya only wants to stay for the coin."
The mention of the coin startled Yuda. He broke the embrace slightly, cupping her face and examining every inch of her features to ensure she was still under his spell.
"What is it, Yuda?"
She was completely under his influence. Her gaze and her touch were no longer rigid, yet her back was trembling.
"I didn't think a fox could be this resilient. But with only three tails, what can you really do? I'll never let you go, even if I have to kill that your bodyguard," Yuda hissed, his brow furrowing at the thought of the nuisance lurking outside.
Yuda was obsessed. He had no intention of honoring his promise to release her. His conviction that she was his lost lover had crossed the line into madness.
"Aya, do you know who I am?"
"You are... Yuda. The man who enchanted me." Her gaze was mournful, her smile beautiful yet hollow.
"Exactly. I enchanted you so you would stay. I won't have you by anyone else's side. You are my lover. I'm certain of it," Yuda insisted.
He removed her glasses. Without them, the resemblance to his lost love was even more striking, despite the different hair color.
"But Aya... if I leave it like this, the spell will break. I won't let you leave me. So, forgive me."
He buried his face in the crook of her neck. He tilted her head back, his hair brushing against her shoulder.
You bastard, let me go! Aya screamed in her mind. She was a prisoner in her own body, unable to lift a finger to resist.
Yuda's words echoed in her mind like an inescapable curse. Wrapped in an embrace that left no room for even a breath of air, something shifted within Yuda. His ruby eyes flared with a brilliant, predatory light. Small fangs began to descend, lengthening into lethal points.
Aya couldn't see the fangs, but she felt the sudden chill as the fabric was pulled away from her shoulder. She felt the impending strike.
"So, you've already been marked," Yuda whispered, eyeing the slave brand on her skin.
"Yuda... what are you doing?" Her mind begged to push him away, but her limbs remained frozen.
"I prefer my steak well-done, but I suppose medium-rare is just as sweet," Yuda rambled darkly.
CRASH!
The back wall of the stage exploded inward, leaving a gaping hole. A figure with long, lethal claws emerged through the billowing dust and debris.
"Hey. What do you think you're doing with my slave? No—my master?!"
The question was hurled at the man with the protruding fangs. Yuda turned his head slowly, glaring at Ficky.
"Why are you here? Even if she is a slave, she's still your master because you're her 'bodyguard.' But didn't you hear her request earlier?"
Yuda dropped Aya carelessly. She slumped to the wooden floor, semi-conscious. Yuda stood tall, squaring his shoulders as he faced Ficky.
"I didn't expect you to show up here... wolf."
"Didn't you hear what I asked, you disgusting fanged freak?" Ficky snarled. He paused for a moment.
His eyes were locked on Yuda, but his heart was with Aya, lying broken on the floor. He was seething with rage at his own failure to protect her sooner.
"I'll ask you one more time. What did you do to my master?"
Ficky's heterochromatic eyes darkened with a cold, murderous light. His claws extended further, and with his ears and tail fully exposed, his presence was overwhelming. Ficky let out a low, guttural growl that shook the room.