Rain poured down in sheets, drenching every corner of the campus and shrouding the sights familiar to the students in a haze of obscurity and chaos. Dark clouds packed the sky, their heavy layers hanging so low they seemed within reach, as though the entire world had been compressed into something stifling and oppressive.
Kana Malden stood silently in the middle of the Sports Field, letting the bean-sized raindrops batter him mercilessly, as though neither this torrential rain nor the entire world had anything to do with him. The roar of rain filled the air, intertwined with the howling wind into a stirring, chaotic symphony. His soaked Yellow Dorm uniform clung tightly to his body, outlining a thin and lonely figure. Rain slid down from his hair and dripped across his face like tears.
Not far in front of him, standing in the same downpour and wearing the same Yellow Dorm uniform, Fujiki Kira stood without a word.
They faced each other, letting the rain pour over them. Neither spoke nor showed any expression, as though their eyes alone said everything that needed to be said.
After a brief standoff, Malden slowly raised his hand.
Kira could clearly see that the boy's right hand had been replaced by the arm of some monster, resembling a Demon Claw. With a crisp snap, the clawed hand snapped its fingers through the curtain of rain.
In an instant, the rain was shut out, along with the deafening roar of the storm. Outside was the symphony of raging wind and rain, while the two of them stood within this tranquil barrier.
"Yubel, right?" Kira rubbed his brow. "I really didn't expect that you'd still manage to find Malden even like this. What an unlucky kid.
"Let me guess. Even if I politely asked you