⚬|𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐌𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐭|⚬

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 6

The next morning, she awoke at the bottom of the stairs in the very building she believed she had left behind the night before. The first sensation Y/n felt was the familiar dizziness that accompanied her rare fevers. As she opened her eyes, the world had subtly shifted. Perhaps it was the timid light of dawn creeping in, softening the unsettling atmosphere that had cloaked the streets the previous night. She remembered fainting but could not fathom how she had awakened in that very spot.

The cold steps pressed against her, and as she shifted to stand, a shock rippled through her: the sign for the "Star Religious Group" was gone, along with the white notice on the door. "What...?" Her heart stammered, a drumbeat of confusion and panic. How could she have missed this? She tried to rise, but her legs buckled beneath her, leaving her paralyzed, watching in horror. Was it because she had exhausted her cursed energy?

A shiver crept down her spine, as the situation reminded her of an old friend. A certain Maki Zenin, who had been born with the inability to see curses because of a restriction that had been imposed on her cursed energy.

So was this a variation of the Heavenly Restriction? Punishment for breaking the vow of self-containment—was she doomed to lose her innate cursed techniques, piece by piece? And if so, was the disappearance of the building a consequence of this curse?

Y/n shook her head, dismissing the speculation as the murmurs of her anxieties. Yet if it were true, she knew that at the mission's end, in order to preserve the flow of time, her fate would not be a kind one.

Had it really disappeared or could she simply not see it anymore?

A groan shattered her thoughts, drawing her attention to the left. The drunk man from the previous night lay slumped a few meters away, snoring deeply. Narrowing her eyes, Y/n reached for a nearby rock and hurled it at him. The first missed, clattering harmlessly, but the second struck true.

"Whoever it is, if you value your life, stop," he slurred, still half-asleep.

Y/n shrugged at his feeble threat. "Value it? I suppose I do. But throwing another stone means I have a task to complete—and whether I live or perish is of little concern to me."

The man furrowed his brow but didn't turn, his head swimming too much to rise. She launched another stone, and it struck the same spot. He jolted upright with a string of curses, loud enough to wake the whole neighborhood. Y/n smiled softly, undisturbed, as the insults washed over her like water over stone.

"Tell me," she said calmly, "did you help me last night?"

The curses faltered. She watched him carefully, his mind clearly weighing his answer. Was he trying to extort her? Or had someone instructed him to stay silent?

Y/n sighed as the silence stretched. Time was slipping through her fingers, and she had no idea where Suguru Geto was. Slowly, she stood, the numbness in her legs subsiding. Towering over the man, she noticed how his fingers fidgeted nervously. He was hiding something—against his will. She stepped closer, forcing him to crane his neck to meet her gaze. She smiled, but it was a hollow thing, cloaking the darkness underneath.

"Was it Suguru Geto who carried me here?" she asked, her tone cold.

"I—I'm not sure," he stammered, panic spilling into his voice. "It was dark, and—"

Y/n's eyes narrowed. Jackpot. "Interesting. What happened after that?" She gestured toward where the red arrow had once been. "Why did he leave?"

"I don't know," he whispered, trembling. "He just said he wouldn't come back for a month, like he'd planned."

A sigh escaped her lips, and with a bow, she turned to leave, discouraged. Time was slipping away. She had to find him.

Later, she wandered through Shibuya, sluggishly moving from one sweet shop to another.

"Yukiko, if you're so tired, why did you pick me up early from school? Why not just go home?" young Y/n asked, biting into her cake.

"I told you, I'm not tired," Yukiko said, staring wistfully at a hairpin. "I just feel like I'm back at square one."

"Wait, did you break up with your boyfriend or something?" Y/n teased, glancing up.

"I wish," Yukiko groaned, throwing her arms up. "At least then, my misery would be over something trivial. But this? This is serious—the world is depending on me."

"You want to be admitted to a mental hospital?" Y/n asked, exasperated. She wasn't particularly close to her older sister, yet seeing Yukiko so distraught stirred something in her.

Y/n studied her sister, who looked so much like their mother. Her soft hair, her shining eyes—she was breathtaking. Despite their differences, Y/n wished to be like her someday, in beauty and spirit.

"No way!" Yukiko suddenly stood, eyes wide with predatory delight.

"What?" Y/n asked, startled.

"Nothing." Yukiko threw some money on the table and dashed outside, as quick as lightning.

Left alone, Y/n watched the door, then burst into laughter. It had been so long since she'd felt that lightness. She finished her cake, wondering what story her sister would bring back.

Yukiko—or rather Y/n—ran because she had seen something far more important. Outside, a woman with short brown hair, a cigarette between her lips. Shoko Ieiri. She carried herself with the same calm confidence, her brown eyes bright with anticipation. Y/n followed her gaze and nearly choked.

Suguru Geto stood at the end of the road, exuding calmness and charm. He looked so ordinary—hair tied in a bun, baggy clothes—nothing about him suggested the monster beneath.

Y/n trailed them quietly, her heart pounding. She needed to find a way to approach him, to end this, yet knew she had to be careful. Shoko's presence complicated things. She had the rare ability to transform cursed energy into positive energy and heal injuries of all kind, for that, she was a valuable ally, and seeing her with Geto stung.

But Y/n had no time for sentiment. Her goal was clear: prevent the meeting, prevent the calamity that would follow.