Horns blared over the streets; the echo of chatter filled her ears; the sun beamed down upon her brow. Maintaining a light jog, she focused on the gymnasium in the distance, her destination. Amidst the noise Naru kept a tab on the healthy panting of the dog beside her, said attention yanked away by her name.

"On another evening jog Tatagari-san?" Jogging in place she found a familiar face, just an acquaintance who often jogged this same route. Casual fashioned with a face that was too pretty to forget. Silver hoop earrings glittering like stars against the black of her long hair.

"Oh hey, you. Uhm." She didn't want to admit she forgot, but this lady passed it off with a smile. "You forgot my name again didn't you? Urami."

"Ah, right, Urami-sama. Yeah…" She stretched out her last word, tilting her head to the side to quickly check the gymnasium entrance. She figured she still had a few minutes before she needed to really be there, "I'm just joggin', walkin' a friend's dog. Her name's Ai, ain't she cute? You can pet her, she doesn't bite." Ai was growing impatient now having stood still for so long, walking in small loops around Naru's legs. Taking the lighthearted approach, Urami bent at the knees and slowly reached out a single hand, having to stop when Ai leapt around to face her and began to growl.

"Oh woah, sorry she doesn't normally growl at strangers!" Naru started, tugging at Ai's leash to calm her down. Urami pulled her hand back slowly, half smiling as she let out a chuckle. "Dogs don't tend to like me, so don't worry about it. Don't know why I thought it'd be different this time. It might just be…" Her words trailed off, startled by the slamming of frail glass doors.

The perpetrator didn't seem perturbed by the attention of all around, it was questionable if he even noticed it. Walking to the parking lot—and by proxy—towards them was who she was waiting for, Naru was sure of it without even having to cast a glance. Turning around quickly, she called him as he lumbered over with eyes focused only on Ai, "Hey Terada, ya look like ya just got hit by a truck, shambling over like a homeless man."

His face dropped; transforming into an obvious sneer. "Piss off-Eugh. The hell happened to your friend's face?"

Urami's face did have one markedly pronounced trait, a large scar painted the left side of it. Despite them being mere acquaintances Naru felt like she had long since grown used to its presence. Barely managing a sigh, Naru rolled her eyes before focusing on damage control. "Christ, big guy c'mon—Look, I'm sorry for him Urami-sama. His dog has more manners—well, usually she does." Her voice was pointed as she cast a disappointed glare Ai's way. The girl in front of the pair held back a scowl and replaced it with a smile, mumbling some reassurance along the lines of "It's okay."

The new arrival glared at them both, Naru for apologizing for him, as if she had any room to speak in his place, and Urami simply for the fact he found her hard to look at. With the latter succumbing to the discomfort and tension, Urami gave a polite bow. "I should start heading home, actually. It was nice running into you, Tatagari-san! We should catch up sometime. I'm sure I have your number somewhere, so I can text you if that makes it easier to schedule anything." She shuffled past Terada, hopping away as if she were a gazelle escaping a predator. With a quick wave and following it by shouting "Bye!", she then disappeared around a corner.

Naru turned back to face Terada, meeting his glare with her own before reaching forward as if to hand Ai's leash over. "Here. Are you sure you're feeding her well? Had to take like four breaks just while walking her." As Terada reached forward to snatch the leash away, Naru yanked it back—whipping his hand with it. It wasn't much of a strike, but the sound acted as a call to attention as she shook her head, "Seriously dude, what was that? She's got a pretty face either way, you acted like she looked like Martinez."

He snarled in return. "Having a pretty face just made the burn stand out. I'm not harsh, if that's what you're implying. I'm just blunt, unlike you, who likes to play innocent and sugarcoat it all. Just get off my back, and give me my dog." Loosening his shoulders Terada motioned out once more for the leash only to be hit with another heavier smack.

"You call that blunt? Man, you full on said 'eugh,'" she played it up, swinging her torso a touch into it and gurgling saliva in her throat. "Lady already was almost bitten by Ai, I think your brutish ways are rubbing off on the poor girl. Maybe I should keep her instead? For her own good?"

As if to further prove her point Terada snapped at her, "Keep your damn hands off my dog. Just because I trust you the most doesn't mean I trust you too much, let alone to handle Ai for longer than a few hours. She's a fine girl, I treat her better than I do myself. Maybe your friend was antagonizing her. That sounds more likely than me ever being a bad influence." He ranted. Naru first passed him a squint, pursing her lips in mild contempt. She couldn't help but bring a hand to her forehead, shaking her head utterly dumbstruck by his logic, before giving in and handing over the reins.

"You seriously said that…" She mumbled under her breath, "Terada Kenji, what is wrong with you?" She tried to keep her disappointed tone, but a chuckle escaped her at the end. "Seriously? You can't see yourself being at all an aggressive influence? Not even a bit? Not even with what you just did? " She got out before the chuckle broke into a full laugh, only to be interrupted by his massive hand gripping her by the face and shoving her to the side. Tottling over a bit, Naru wasn't in any real danger and quickly righted herself. "Hey! You just proved my point ya bastard!"

Towering over her by a decent amount, he began to tense up, as if preparing to dispose of his "friend." It seemed Naru had a few miracles in her, however, as he gave up the effort almost immediately. Instead, Terada turned his back to her and began walking, calling back to her, "Stay behind and you get left behind. Just don't annoy the hell out of me if you come with. I don't have any problems shoving you into an oncoming car." He snickered.

"Now I may let you be a little handsy but don't think I'll just take that lying down. I'll fight you!" She teased, scrambling up from behind. "Or maybe all that jumping on the track will come in handy? Think I can clear a car?" Terada held back a laugh and continued onward.

"If you get hit by a truck going 50 kilometers an hour, I'm not visiting you in the hospital or going to your funeral." The man retorted.

"Awh, come on! I could totally do it. You have to have more faith in me—or just people in general. Oh and, it wouldn't be the hospital—it'd be an ICU." She chuckled, scratching the back of her head.

"A stationary bar is far different than an oncoming metal cage on wheels."

"Again, have more faith in me! I'm a big girl. I'm sure I can make it, and hey, even if I don't clear it, manga tells me I'll just reincarnate in another world. Usually it's medieval fantasy, and I bet I'd be great with a sword! I'm sure I'd kill it as the protagonist. At least I'd do better than you could ever manage. You'd probably try to kill the first person who tries to help you and get thrown in some dungeon for the rest of your life."

As Naru rambled on, Terada's attention trailed off. He yawned for a few moments, only to notice his peripherals had been clouded. Was he injured? He didn't think so, but he inconspicuously checked on himself for a few seconds to be safe. It would take a moment before Naru even noticed, her rant slowing down before she poked her head around Terada's front.

"You okay, big guy? Did I hurt your feelings or something? Ya gonna cry? I can see your eyes clouding up~"

Slowly he shook his head, croaking out a response. "It's nothing. I'm sure it'll pass in a few seconds." He blinked, it only made the cloudiness grow worse. Unsure, he purposefully blinked again, attempting to see if it would keep expanding. It did, even if he didn't blink it would slowly crawl inward.

"You sure? Doesn't look like it's passing. Don't tell me you're having a stroke or something. C'mon, let's take a seat." She reached forward, grabbing his hand and stepping off. Leading him to a distant bench.

He didn't resist, his entire line of sight was being swallowed. With every unconscious blink it was closer to the center, growing moment to moment like a swarm of carnivorous insects. It looked like a physical object was obscuring his vision, rather than just the effect of fatigue. Naru kept him walking, carefully supporting him as he began to slow down and stumble. She was able to carry his weight with ease. Arriving at their destination, she sat him down.

"Alright, man. You got to take a breather," Frantically she searched his head, examining it for any evidence of injury. "Did you hit your head or something? You're wobbling around like you've got a concussion. Maybe all that anger finally busted an artery up top. Here, let me see Ai." Reaching her hand out to take the leash back, Terada brushed her away. "I already told you, I'll be fine. I can take a breather when we get home."

Their eyes met, she was glaring at him and groaned in exhaustion. "No, you fucking bitch—ugh! I'm calling the ambulance, you're gonna sit there and wait for them to arrive. Oh, and when they get you I'm taking the dog."

"I don't need a—" his head suddenly grew light, as if he had stood too fast. He was prepared to faint, and then he started hacking. "My lungs…" they felt as though they were lit ablaze. "My lungs are on damn fire! What the hell is happening to me? Did I eat a lighter or something?" He managed to squeeze out a joke before a second coughing fit began.

Naru watched him carefully as she informed emergency services of their location, shooting him a glare when he started to try and stand back up, resolute to continue walking. She went to stop him, but the few steps he managed were shaky, and Terada quickly found his legs giving under his weight. Collapsing to his knees, he began to wildly shake his head.

He was looking for something. For something specific, yet he didn't know what it was he wanted to find. Whatever it was, maybe it could save him from this scenario, desperation and panic mixed together. It would be here faster than the ambulance, that's for sure. Yet he couldn't find it. All he found was the feeling of warm liquid dripping down his face as all the sounds, Naru and the operator, Ai's worried barking, murmurs of strangers—they all went mute.

The clouds grew vibrant, thick; that swirling purple smoke masking his vision was surrounding him in the physical. Looking down to the feeling he had experienced before he found an object suspended before him. A glowing red gem falling through the air.

It never hit the ground.

It paused.

It stood oh so still.

He went to reach for it to no avail. His arm wouldn't budge. He tried again, pressing, and pressing, and yet there was no sensation in the appendage; it would not move. He had no control, no say in the matter whatsoever. He tried to shout—to threaten—to do anything.

Nothing happened.

He wanted to look over to Naru, to Ai, even down the street to see if the ambulance would arrive, but his neck wouldn't cooperate. What were they doing? Why weren't they helping him? Was he dying? No, that's the wrong question. Was he dead? He thought this all to himself. At least he had his consciousness. His consciousness which was being overcome with the urge to scream into the silence.

Then appeared a pair of legs. His chaotic pattern of thought cut short. They took a few steps, something trailing behind them.

A long draping cloak dragged along the shadowy ground. Bright crimson spirals highlighting the outfit, clashing with the deep purple hues and black of the smoke and shadows. Ironic, as the piece itself was ash black, barely visible within it all. With skin the color of a corpse—a deathly pale—reaching towards him. The being leaning downwards, placing their hand on Terada's chin.

The texture made it clear this was a woman. She raised his head so that he was looking up at her from the ground. Her sleeves draped into a small "U", and the top half of her face was covered. Her mouth was clearly visible, but everything from the nose up had been covered by a jackal mask. The snout stuck out quite a bit, but was short enough to fit with the proportions of the mask.

"You have never drawn blood before, yet your body is that of a warrior." The woman pondered aloud. "Your attitude reflects a man who has fought a thousand battles and has seen the darker side of humanity, but you are innocent. It is an intriguing state of being. I understand now why she has sought you out." A very subtle smile spread across her face, as if signaling some form of peace from the realization. Yet, this joy quickly subsided, as she returned to a cold stare, with her jaw relaxing and her shoulders drooping. She was here for business, not chit-chat, that much was clear.

"Terada Kenji, I come forth as a humble messenger, and your method of travel." The jackal began to explain. "The one who the world has damned and shunned seeks an audience with you. The gaze which shines with an inferno will be that of which you seek."

The smoke illuminated, glowing a hot white like metal fresh out of a furnace. The sudden shift burned at his eyes, and he tried to close them. He tried to close them, yet he still couldn't. It was pain unlike any he knew before, and the words of the figure before him were muted by the screams of his mind. Then there was silence.