Grief.

Four months ago**

"Hey, Vonn. What'll you have?" Akari asked casually, glancing at the menu.

She was seated opposite Vonn in an eatery.

"Huh? Just get me whatever you're having," he replied with a shrug, not really paying attention.

"Haa? That shit won't cut it today. It's your tenth birthday, remember?" she said, raising an eyebrow, a hint of disbelief in her voice.

"Ah, I know, I know. Just get me anything that ain't too pricey," Vonn mumbled, looking a bit sheepish as he shifted his weight. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"That still won't do, Vonn. Today's supposed to be a special day for you. Ain't that why your mom said you shouldn't work today? You need to decide on what you really want to eat. Y'know, something like your dream meal. Something you'd like to eat at least once before you die," she insisted, her tone playful but firm.

"Won't that be too much for you, though? I mean, I really like where this is going, but do you really insist?" he asked, scratching his head, a little hesitant.

"Ah! Forget it. I'll just get you what I'm having," she said with a sigh, rolling her eyes. 

"Pfft! Thought as much," Vonn chuckled.

"Greedy old man," she shot back.

"I was nine just yesterday, though. You're clearly the old one here," he replied with a genuinely confused expression.

"I ain't buying that shit. I couldn't even bathe myself properly when I was eight," she nudged the menu paper she had lightly, waving towards a waiter.

"Huh? Bathing? That can be hard for me sometimes too, I guess," he replied, scratching his cheek.

"Dumbass. You're just making it even harder to believe," She shook her head, pointing her finger towards a specific dish in the paper. 

With a quick gesture, she raised her hand, forming a two-finger sign to indicate her choice. The male waiter nodded in understanding, swiftly picked up the menu from the table, and made his way.

"I've got my birth certificate in the house, though. Wanna see?" Vonn said with a straight expression.

"Just forget it," Akari replied, waving her hand dismissively.

Vonn observed a moth glide through the café window, navigating the air with an almost playful grace. Suddenly, in a swift and unexpected move, a patron reached out with a pair of chopsticks, snatching the moth mid-air and popping it straight into his mouth.

"By the way, your sixteenth birthday's in four months, Akari. That's when you usually get to choose your path in life. Have you decided on anything yet?" Vonn asked, genuinely curious.

"Ah, the old man's going at it again!" Akari laughed lightly. "Well, no. Not really. I mean, I've got this drawing hobby and all. I could definitely become a good manga artist if I put some years of effort into it, but I don't think that's really how I wanna end up in life. Besides, I think I'm still too immature. Something like my life path ain't what I can confidently decide on right now."

"I guess that's true. But for a girl who has the looks like yourself, not exactly what one would expect to hear. Not saying your looks are anything special, though," he said with a teasing expression, casually turning his gaze from Akari.

"Asshole," Akari retorted, her voice laced with a playful irritation that highlighted her femininity. She let out a soft sigh, then continued, "If anything, Vonn, I'm more curious about how your future'd unfold. No matter how mine turns out, I just wish you'd be in it with me. As long as we're together, I'd be totally satisfied with whatever path it is I end up on." Her tone was earnest, revealing the depth of her feelings.

Vonn hesitated for a moment, a small smile spreading across his face. "Me too," he replied, a bit shyly. "As long as you're there, I'd be grateful."

They waited a little while for the waiter, Vonn's gaze focused towards the direction of the kitchen. 

"Hey, Akari. I'd love to get you something nice on your birthday, too. Y'know, for a change." He said with a casual smile.

"Ah. You really don't have to, Vonn." Akari replied with a hint of surprise. 

"No, I really want to. No fair if you're the only one who gets me things. Come on, what'd be left of my dignity as a man?" Vonn said, withdrawing his hand from his ear and scratching his chest with it.

"Says the so-called ten-year-old. Hey, not like you never got me anything. Got me this necklace, remember?" Akari said, gently holding up her necklace, a small smile breaking through.

"Huh, that?." Vonn said, glancing at the necklace, its silver pendant catching the sunlight. "Picked that up from the trash, though." He added, dipping his hand into his pants, scratching his balls without much thought.

Akari frowned, her expression shifting to mild disgust at both his behavior, and the revelation.

"Piece of shit." She mumbled, turning her gaze out the window, clearly annoyed.

"Come on, don't be so mad. Was only eight when I found that. I'm only a kid, after all, got no money." Vonn said, sticking out his upper set of teeth with an annoying, smug smile, trying to lighten the mood. 

Seeing Akari only grow more annoyed, "Hey, okay. I'll get you a new one on your birthday. I promise. Maybe a different design."  Vonn said, a hint of sincerity showing through.

"Hmph!" Akari pouted even more, pretending not to care about whatever was being said.

"Here's ya order, sweet. Smokin' hot innit? Best in tha country. Enjoy." The waiter said in a foreign accent, a friendly smile on his face as he arranged their meals on the table, the steam rising from the plates.

"Woah. Those beef 'n broccoli? Damn. Must've cost quite a lot, Akari. You didn't have to–" He said, his eyes widening slightly, a hint of concern in his voice as he looked at the extravagant dish.

"Huuh? You don't want it? Ah, okay. Hey, waiter! He said it's too expensive. Get him pasta instead–" Akari replied, her tone light but a bit teasing, as she tilted her head with an angry expression.

"H-hey, keep it down. Never said I didn't want it. Just saying it's pricey, that's all." He responded, trying to keep his voice steady, a bit flustered as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Ah! Waiter, hurry. He really doesn't want it!" Akari said, trying to maintain a serious expression, glancing back at Vonn to see his reaction.

"Keep it down!" He said, his voice lowered, feeling a bit embarrassed as he glanced around to check if anyone was listening.

Present day**

The night was quiet, a calm that wrapped around the town like a blanket. street lights flickered, casting a soft glow on the empty sidewalks.

Akari suddenly stopped, "Come on, Vonn. Don't look so worried," she said with a warm smile, her voice gentle and reassuring. "It's just a taxi. Nothing will go wrong, I promise."

But, right at that instant, 

"Akariiii!!" 

SQUATTSH!!!

Right before Vonn and Janet's eyes, an unknown thing struck where Akari stood, barrelling sideways with an unimaginable force. This filled the air with a swift and deafening roar. 

The impact was catastrophic. lamp posts shattered like glass, their metal frames bent beyond recognition. The shockwave sent debris flying, sending bricks and glass tumbling through the air.

In the aftermath, dust swirled like a ghostly fog, obscuring the scene. 

Vonn stood frozen, his eye wide with horror, as his brain worked to comprehend what had just unfolded before him. 

His heart raced, pounding heavily in his chest as fear gripped him.

"H-hey....A-Akari…" Vonn stammered, forcing his trembling legs to take a step forward. 

"Hey, Akari, c-can you hear me?..." He took a few more tentative steps, the air thick with confusion as he neared the place. 

The fog made it hard to see anything clearly, and he felt disoriented, lost in the swirling dust.

"Answer me, Akar—"

DAAP

Vonn suddenly tripped over something, falling hard onto the ground. The impact from his fall caused the swirling dust to settle a little.

He turned to see what he had stumbled over 

a severed leg,

"It….. C-can't… be…" Vonn gasped, his voice trembling. He felt his throat tighten, and nausea washed over him.

BLERGHH!

Unable to hold it back, puke gushed out of Vonn's mouth. He tried to stand, but the shock held him in place. His breaths came in quick, panicked gulps, and he could feel the world around him spinning.

It was unmistakably Akari's, from knee to toes. A chill ran down his spine as reality crashed into him. 

The mere thought of it was hard to endure.

Vonn lifted his head, and his gaze was met with an even more horrifying sight.

Before him lay Akari's disfigured head, attached to a portion of her severed torso. 

Her skull was grotesquely damaged, with a large portion missing, exposing bloodied innards.

One eye socket was eerily empty, while the other eye bulged precariously from its socket, as if straining to escape the carnage. Akari's face was twisted, her features compressed into a macabre grimace.

Her mouth was frozen in a silent, disfigured scream, her tongue protruding from her lips. 

Vonn's pupil twitched repeatedly, his mind struggling to comprehend the horror before him.

Her necklace, still hanging onto her neck, was now painted red in blood.

Shock washed over Vonn, as he stumbled back, choking on a scream that refused to escape his lips. 

"It's…. A dream…" Vonn uttered, his heart sinking deeper into despair as he crawled toward the lifeless body before him. 

Kneeling beside the body, he grabbed and pulled it to his chest, hugging them tightly as a torrent of tears streamed down his face.

"...You… This… This is Just another one of your jokes right?..." He choked out, smiling at the corpse while tears poured down his face.

"Ha… Ha.. Haha... You… You damn humorous bitch… Haha.. You've always been like this… You've always had this kind of dark sense of humor, haven't you?...." Vonn who still hugged the corpse used one arm to rub its bloodied cheek as he laughed out in doubt.

"Please come out… wherever you're hiding, Akari.. please come…" His words broke, but he continued "It's just a few hours until your birthday… I promised to get you a gift… I did, didn't I?…"

"Akari, you liar!" Vonn cried out, his voice breaking with the weight of his sorrow.

"...You promised… promised you'd always be by my side, didn't you? Wasn't… Wasn't that the future we both looked forward to?" The words trembled on his lips, each one laced with an unbearable ache.

"It… It was supposed to be me... Didn't we discuss that it was going to be me?..... I was meant to go first, wasn't that the plan!? I was meant to die, not you!" His anguish rose, desperation clawing at her throat as he struggled to comprehend the betrayal of fate.

"You… you said you'd bring me those trousers… you liar!" more words escaped him in a sob, raw and filled with grief.

"... You Liar…"

As Vonn wept, his tears fell onto Akari's still face, mingling with the blood that stained her skin.

Vonn couldn't get himself to stop cursing out at his fate, and before he knew.

SLAMM!!

Something struck the wall before him,

"...Huh?..."

And then behold...

Vonn was so consumed by the sorrow of what just happened to his best friend that he had completely forgotten…

As he witnessed the headless body of a pedestrian which had collided with the wall just mere inches to his face slide down to the ground, leaving a trail of blood and a cobweb-like crack impact behind it, Vonn remembered…

He had completely ignored the presence of the monster behind all of this…

How could he possibly have overlooked such a horrifying monstrosity in the first place?  Considering the state Janet was in, that was no regular feat.

The fog was completely gone, and from a distance, she could clearly see. 

While Vonn was consumed by his grieving, Janet on the other hand witnessed the monster just right after the crash go out of its way to grab and decapitate the pedestrian earlier from the opposite side of the road, before tossing it towards Vonn.

Her pupils twitched repeatedly, her legs trembling, barely able to support her weight.

Fear, that can be without doubt considered a significant factor behind her reaction, but it wasn't just that—

disbelief...

despair...

Bewilderment …

All these emotions were all present alongside others unaccounted for.

Her legs, unable to withstand the burden any longer, collapsed, forcing her to her knees. Suddenly, a stream of liquid, tainted with dirt, slowly seeped out from beneath her.

She had  peed herself.

However, her gaze fixated on the creature didn't waver. For some reason, looking away from this creature felt like the wrong thing to do.

The same instinct gripped Vonn. From the moment he became aware of its presence, he felt a chilling cold, as if  he would be crushed to death the moment he dared to look away. Everything about this creature radiated terror - it was difficult to articulate, unless you were witnessing it firsthand.

Difficult to explain, yet they both understood it deeply.

As they watched the otherworldly figure retract its large, slimy, grotesque serpentine arms, they both knew in their hearts that if this creature is indeed what they suspect, then their fates will without doubt mirror those of the two who had just perished here.

If that was a Mutanaut, then they were already on a speeding train to hell.