Nikolai had always been captivated by birds. Their elegant wings, the way they soared effortlessly through the sky-it was a kind of beauty that never ceased to amaze him.
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He often watched them from his window, imagining what i...
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FIVE
As the early morning light filtered through your curtains, you sat up in bed, already feeling the weight of the day pressing down on you. Your phone buzzed softly in your hand, and you stared at the blank message screen, hesitating. You needed a believable excuse—something simple enough to not raise any suspicion. After a brief moment of contemplation, you typed out a quick message to Kunikida.
"Hey, Kunikida-san. I'm feeling under the weather today. I won't be able to make it to the agency. I'll keep you posted if I feel better tomorrow."
A simple lie. It felt strange, almost wrong to be deceiving them, especially since you had only recently joined the agency. But you had no choice. Nikolai had insisted that today was important—your first real meeting with the Decay of Angels. Nikolai had spoken about Fyodor and some "other guy," who you now remembered him calling Sigma. You'd heard the name once or twice, though you hadn't thought much of it at the time. Now, you couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in your gut.
Nikolai had said that Sigma was 'sensitive.' You wondered what that meant. With Nikolai, everything came wrapped in layers of mystery and riddles. You couldn't tell if he meant that Sigma was shy or emotionally volatile. Either way, you were about to find out. You glanced at your reflection in the mirror, taking a deep breath before heading out the door.
The streets were quiet as you made your way to the meeting spot, your steps growing more hesitant with every block. The familiar landscape of your usual morning commute to the agency now felt distant, as though you were straying into unknown territory. In a way, you were. The thought of meeting Fyodor, a figure who even Nikolai seemed to hold in high regard, made your heart race with anticipation and dread.
It wasn't long before you arrived at the agreed-upon place—a dimly lit, nondescript building at the edge of the city. The entrance was obscured, blending in with the shadows of the early morning fog. You felt a shiver run down your spine as you approached. Nikolai's playful voice echoed in your mind, telling you not to worry and to trust him.
Trust. A dangerous word in a world filled with deception.
You pushed the door open, the soft creak of the hinges barely audible in the still air. Inside, the space was sparse but elegant, with a large wooden table at its center. Fyodor was already seated, his sharp gaze locking onto you the moment you entered. His presence was as overwhelming as you had imagined. There was an unsettling calm about him—like the eye of a storm, ready to swallow everything in its path.
"Y/N," Fyodor said in his smooth, velvety voice, inclining his head slightly as a gesture of acknowledgment. "I'm glad you could make it."
You nodded, trying to calm the anxious thrum of your heartbeat. "Of course. I... I wanted to meet everyone."
Before you could say anything more, Nikolai appeared from behind you with his signature grin, twirling around you like a mischievous spirit. "And here she is! My lovely dove! I knew you wouldn't miss this for the world." His energy was infectious, though it did little to ease your nerves.
