The air was cold and heavy in the silence after the attack.
Kurai sat with his back against the cracked cell wall, blood from the wolf's claws staining the side of his shirt. Anna was curled up beside him, staring down at her knees. Her breathing was uneven, shallow and trembling, but she wasn't crying. Not anymore.
He should've said something.
But words felt like dust in his mouth.
Then she broke the silence.
"I love you."
Her voice was quiet. Fractured. Like she was still testing if it was okay to speak.
Kurai blinked. "...What?"
"I don't know," she said quickly. "I just...felt like saying it. That's all."
He turned his head away. "That's not something you say without meaning it."
"Then pretend I didn't say it." she whispered, her voice cracking. "Please."
Kurai sighed. "Are you hurt? Did the thing touch you?"
"No," she murmured. "Just tired..."
He nodded and sat beside her.
A long pause.
Then, still staring ahead, he asked: "How long were you here before I met you?"
She hesitated, then gave a bitter laugh. "Long enough to forget what freedom smells like."
Kurai glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "You were a foreigner, right? How'd you end up in a Japanese prison camp?"
"My father is Spanish," she said softly. "When the Sin started destroying cities, Spain offered 'support teams' to help. I knew some Japanese, so I volunteer. Thought I'd be useful."
She paused.
"Then came the explosion. It wiped out half of Japan. I barely survived. A group found me... said they'd protect me. That they had food, safety, a shelter. I trusted them."
She looked down at her own hands, her knuckles pale from clenching too hard.
"I ended up here. A body. A shield. A toilet."
Kurai didn't speak. Could't.
"Funny," she added, her voice breaking. "I survived the blast just to die a little every night."
He exhaled slowly. "The explosion...is that why everything looks like hell out here?"
Anna gave him a confused look. "You didn't know? You were there when it happened."
He looked away. "I don't remember much. I was...hurt."
A half-truth. Enough to keep her questions from digging deeper.
Anna frowned, then softened. "Then you're lucky, in a way. To forget."
"No." he muttered. "I remember the parts that matter."
She turned toward him. "Like what?"
He didn't answer.
She shifted closer. "I've seen the way you act. You jump in front of others without thinking. You threw yourself into that fight today. You chopped your fingers off for Novva. You protected me when I didn't even know it. You're strong, Kurai."
Kurai shook his head. "No. I just know how to lie."
"To who?" she asked.
He stared at the ground. "To myself."
Another silence passed. Then she whispered, "You think I'm weak, don't you?"
"...No," he replied. "I think you are trying."
Anna's voice cracked. "Every day I let them touch me, use me, threaten me with exposure. I do it to protect the others. I don't tell them. I smile. I let them believe I'm special. But I'm not. I'm just afraid of what will happen if they find out the truth. That I have Itsuko. That I can't control it."
She began to cry. Quiet tears.
Kurai finally looked at her. "You're stronger than you know."
"I don't feel strong."
"That's what makes you human."
Anna wiped her face with her sleeve and gave a weak laugh. "You talk like you're not."
Kurai turned away.
"I had friends once," he said. "People I'd die for. People I thought would never leave."
A long breath.
"But I did leave. Or maybe I just got left behind."
She reached out, gently touching his hand. "You'll find them again. I know you will."
Before he could answer, the wall behind them shattered. Another wolf burst through, howlig.
Kurai reacted on instinct. He lunged in from of Anna, slamming his elbow into the beast's snout mid-air, twisting its head until it cracked. Blood spreayed against the stone as it fell limp.
He grunted in pain, the claws had slashed his side.
"You okay?" he asked, panting.
"I should be asking you that." she whispered.
He looked down at the would. Deep, bleeding fast.
"That's not gonna be a good thing."
Then the floor beneath them shifted.
Kurai narrowed his eyes. "Move!"
But when they stepped outside the cell, they couldn't. Their feet locked in place.
"What...?" Anna struggled, but it was like her leg had vanished.
Kurai tried too. But nothing.
He looked up. Every cell was empty. Silent. The world shimmered, bleding like heat above asphalt.
Then came the tremor.
And the walls melted.
The prison dissolved into black mist, revealing a single long hallway, stretching endlessly.
A figure stood at the far end, slow clapping. The sound echoed like mockery.
"Well, well." said a voice, amused and dark. "I was wondering when you'd finally get here."
He stepped from the shadows. Thin, tall, wearing a grin too wide for his face.
"I'm Eita." he said casually. "Your next mistake."
Kurai narrowed his eyes. "You're not a guard."
"Nope." Eita replied cheerfully. "But I am your next executioner. Heard you're hiding something juicy. Itsuko users, right? Can't have that."
Anna's breath caught in her throat.
"You..." she whispered. "You weren't supposed to know..."
"Oh, sweet thing," Eita said, tilting his head. "We've always known. You just made it easier for us by playing bait."
Anna crumbled to her knees.
"No...no...they promised me..." Her voice cracked into sobs. "They said they wouldn't tell if I just kept doing it... I did everything they said..."
Eita laughed. "And they still sold you out. Isn't that adorable?"
Kurai's fists clenched. "You're disgusting."
Eita turned to him. unbothered. "And you're lying."
Kurai flinched.
"Three years under rubble and you survived? Bullshit." Eita said. "You've got something in you. I can feel it."
He stepped closer, smiling. "Too bad it's broken."
Kurai stood silently.
Anna glanced at him, realization dawning.
"You lied." she whispered.
He didn't respond.
"You LIED!" She screamed.
Eita laughed. "Oh, this is delicious. Trouble in paradise?"
He vanished in a blink, then reappeared in from of Kurai, slamming a fist into his stomach.
Kurai doubled over, choking.
"Slow," Eita chucked. "Pathetic."
Another hit, this time a knee to the face.
Blood flew from Kurai's mouth.
Anna screamed. Kurai didn't move.
Eita dragged him up by the hair, sneering. "Nothing left in you, huh?"
Kurai, dazed, whispered: "...Purple Hazard..."
"Huh?" Eita leaned in. "You still talking to your imaginary friend?"
More punches. More blood. Kurai coughed, wheezing, mumbling the name like a prayer.
Then... silence.
Eita threw him to the ground and spat. "I'm bored."
He turned to Anna. "Maybe you'll scream better."
He walked toward her. He stops, looks back at Kurai that was on the ground and throws a knife. Kurai reached out weakly. His fingers touched the knife Eita had tossed near him.
"Try to kill me," Eita mocked. "Go on. One shot."
Kurai barely lifted the blade. His arm trembled. It fell from his grip with a dull clang.
Anna cried, trying to crawl away. Eita grabbed her and slapped her across the face.
Kurai couldn't even watch.
"Please..." Anna sobbed. "Kurai...help me... at least look at me..."
Kurai stared at the ground.
"I SAID LOOK AT ME!" she screamed.
He didn't move.
Eita smiled, then disappeared into the shadows.. taking her with him.
Silence.
Kurai sat alone, his vision swimming.
"I... am just a breath away..."
He picked up the knife.
"...losing my faith today."
He pressed it against his throat.
And pulled.