Secrets

The silence stretched between the trees, thick and suffocating. The kind of silence that made even the dead feel uneasy.

Kikidori exhaled, his breath cold despite the night air. His senses were sharp—too sharp. Something was here. Watching. Waiting.

And then, as he took another step—

He walked straight through it.

A sudden chill ran down his spine, ice-cold and unnatural. The kind of cold that didn't belong in the world of the living.

Kikidori stopped, his jaw tightening. Slowly, he turned.

Behind him, the figure of a woman flickered in the moonlight, her translucent form shifting like mist. She was pale, even for a ghost, her long white hair flowing around her like she was submerged underwater. Her eyes were empty, yet somehow… familiar.

She smiled. A slow, knowing smile.

"Well," she whispered. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Kikidori narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell—"

And then he realized.

Oh.

Oh.

Haruna's ex.

He sighed, rubbing his temple. "You've got to be kidding me."

The ghost laughed softly, her voice like wind through dead leaves. "Nice to see you too, Kikidori."

Kikidori crossed his arms, his irritation barely masked. "Didn't realize I had the pleasure of bumping into you, Midori."

Midori.

The vampire Haruna once loved.

The one who died.

And yet, here she was.

A flicker of something unreadable passed through Midori's ghostly expression. "It's funny," she mused, tilting her head. "You never liked me when I was alive, and yet you look even more annoyed now that I'm dead."

Kikidori gave her a dry look. "That's because I know ghosts don't just linger for fun. If you're here, you want something."

Midori smirked. "You always were sharp."

Kikidori's patience was thinning. He had bigger problems right now than a dead ex. "Get to the point, Midori. I don't have time for—"

"It's the werewolves, Kikidori."

Kikidori stopped.

Midori's expression darkened. "You're wondering why they're attacking, right? Why they're hunting vampires when we've had an agreement for centuries?"

Kikidori's fingers twitched at his sides. She knew.

"…Go on."

Midori drifted closer, her translucent form moving effortlessly through the trees. "Something is changing," she whispered. "Something… old. Something buried. And it's controlling them."

Kikidori narrowed his eyes. "Werewolves don't take orders."

Midori's ghostly gaze met his. "They do now."

A cold wind swept through the forest. The wraiths lurking in the trees shuddered and vanished completely. Even the ground beneath them felt different—like something was stirring deep below.

Kikidori exhaled, his breath turning to mist. "What's controlling them?"

Midori hesitated. For the first time, she looked… uncertain.

"I don't know," she admitted. "But I know this—whatever it is, it's making them stronger. Faster. Smarter."

Kikidori thought of the werewolf that nearly caught Haruna. The hesitation in her eyes. The way it moved—inhumanly fast, even for a werewolf.

Yeah. Midori wasn't lying.

"More are coming," Midori warned. "Not just for you and Haruna. For all of us."

Kikidori clenched his jaw. The vampires weren't just being hunted.

They were being wiped out.

Midori's expression softened, her voice quieter. "You need to protect her."

Kikidori's fingers twitched again. He knew she was talking about Haruna.

Midori sighed. "She loved me, you know."

Kikidori didn't react.

Midori smirked. "But she loves you more."

He finally met her gaze. And for the first time, there was no teasing in her expression. Just truth.

Midori took a step back, her ghostly form flickering. "I should go. The longer I stay, the more the shadows notice me."

Kikidori wasn't surprised. Ghosts never stayed long in the land of the undead.

Before she disappeared, she gave him one last look.

"Watch your back, Kikidori."

And then—

She was gone.

Kikidori stood there, staring at the empty space where she had been. The weight of her words lingered in the air, pressing down on his chest like something heavy and unseen.

The werewolves weren't just acting on instinct.

Something was pulling the strings.

And if Midori was right…

Vampires weren't just at war.

They were losing.

Kikidori exhaled and turned, his black coat billowing behind him as he stepped back onto the path.

He needed to get back to Haruna. Now.

The End of Chapter 6.