Brisk wind rattled tree branches, and waves of yellow leaves glided onto the sidewalk. Taking a step on the rustling carpet of fallen leaves, the short lad carried two big boxes on his arms with ease. A cord was tied around his torso, with the other end hooked on a decent-sized wagon. The transport staffs mumbled about this strength to size ratio behind him while random pedestrians spent a few seconds to look at the scene.

Kyoya carefully placed the last box inside the house, before thanking the transporter for his hard work. Kura was busy unboxing their newly bought appliances in the kitchen. After a lot of thought, Kura finally accepted one of Tatsuya`s previous compensation offer. Since their old apartment was located in the rough part of town, Kura wanted to move away. But she would only take the house and some furniture, nothing more.

A fancy black BWM pulled over in front of their new house. A middle-aged man got out, followed by a young blonde girl. They knocked on the door and were greeted by Kyoya. Tatsuya went to check the house with Kura, leaving Kyoya and Emiko in the living room.

Sitting on the newly assembled sofa, Emiko fidgeted around. Then their gaze randomly met. Kyoya avoided it instantly, standing up from his seat.

“Sumimasen.” [Excuse me]

“Chotto… Kyoya-kun” Emiko pinched his shirt. [Wait]

He stopped, but didn`t look at her.

“Uhm… Those pictures, I deleted them all. I destroyed the hard drive too. There`s no way that anyone can see them now.”

“…”

“An-and… Has the injury healed? N-no I don`t mean to see your back, I just wanna know…”

Kyoya took a deep breath, and with calm eyes he looked at her.

“You don`t have to worry, onee-sama. And thank you, so much. I`m glad you did it.”

“Ie [no], it`s me that has to thank you… Will… Will you forgive me?”

“I already have, onee-sama. Your family gave us this apartment, I can`t thank you enough.”

“That`s nothing! There must be something more you need, right? Only this much…”

“Then please make your mother happy. Please allow her to fulfill her role once again, to make it up for you. And just live a better life in general.”

“Uh-Uhm. I will…”

“Thank you, onee-sama.” Kyoya looked at her eyes, and smiled. Emiko couldn`t remember when was the last time she saw such an expression on her little brother`s face.

10:00 pm [or 22:00]. Takumi controlled his character to jump from a cliff. He threw an axe onto his last opponent, killing him before the fall killed his avatar. It was another win in his impressive win streak. As he looked away from the screen to go to the restroom, his stomach growled. Takumi checked his fridge, only to find it empty. Letting out a sigh, he went for his wallet. Throwing a jacket over his big shoulders, Takumi got out.

“This will be 400 yen… Arigatou gozaimasu”

Having bought his convenient store food, Takumi walked home.

(Brrr, cold. I should`ve put on something thicker. Ha…autumn is such a pain.)

But then the air got even colder. From nowhere, gusts of wind channeled across the road. The wind blew sharp but silently, leading into an obscured alleyway. Takumi`s curiosity got the better of him, and he walked towards the dark path. A sudden burst of wind blasted his face, and then everything became calm.

The concrete floor underneath echoed his steps as he went deeper into the small alley. From afar, blurry images entered his tired eyes. An electric beam, and some indistinguishable object. Not wanting to get any closer, Takumi reached for his phone. The flashlight shone brightly, and Takumi`s pupil expanded.

An office woman, age around 30, brutally killed and tied onto the pole with strings. Blood was still coming out of her mouth, while broken bones protruded from her limbs. Takumi`s stomach convulsed, but there was nothing to vomit out. All of a sudden his instincts went into overdrive, as he saw another figure closing in.

Sougo Kyoya, holding a dented baseball bat in his hand, was stepping towards him. The wood scraped against the concrete floor, making ominous sounds. Kyoya`s long fringe covered his eyes, making him look like a grudge in horror movies. Takumi`s leg felt weak, his throat got stuck, and terror slowly engulfed his mind. He had never experienced this much killing intent emitted from a human being before.

“What are you doing here?” Kyoya spoke

Takumi`s instincts told him to run away as fast as possible, but his nerves weren`t weak. He looked at Kyoya, calming himself down from the fact that the guy was much smaller than him. Swallowing the huge cube of air that blocked his throat, Takumi coughed:

“Out buying dinner. What the fuck is this?”

“She was already gone when I got here. Couldn`t save her…” Kyoya gritted his teeth

“The bat… Where did you get it?”

“Trash can, over there.”

“We should stop messing around. Leave the scene pristine for the police. I`ll call them now.”

“Who did this?!” Kyoya snapped “What sort disgusting trash did this?!”

Takumi sighed. He took some pictures of the surroundings, and scanned the body into his mind while avoiding her face.

Later that night, both of them could not stop hearing the shrieking sound of wind in their ears.