"Miss Kazuha Akamine, are you going home already?"
The damsel, Kazuha was startled to hear her superior's voice. She was indeed getting ready to go home with the other employees who had completed their tasks. Since today was Kazuha's first day at work, there was nothing else for her to do.
"S-Sir! Yes, I'm about to go home. Is there anything else that I need to work on?"
"Oh, no. I want to invite you, Miss Akamine, to have dinner with us as a form of welcoming you to this office as a part of the family."
"Thank you for the invitation, sir. But…"
"Miss, can't you spare some time to come and have dinner with us? This is your first day, Miss Akamine. Are you going to simply refuse a dinner invitation from your fellow co-workers?" said her superior.
The male's tone was calm yet intimidating at the same time as if there was some other meaning behind his words. Realizing that, Kazuha decided to become silent and accept the invitation.
"N-No sir… I was about to ask if the dinner would have some alcohol since I happen to have an allergy to alcohol."
Her superior looked surprised and then immediately shook his head. The other workers turned their heads when they heard Kazuha's statement.
"But, Miss Akamine, can't you drink just a sip? In our team, having alcohol during the welcoming party is a form of celebrating someone's arrival to the team."
Kazuha was silent for a moment. There's nothing wrong if she just has to drink a little. Maybe just a sip? The male glanced at her without taking his eyes off even once until Kazuha gave him the answer that he's been looking for.
"Just a little?" Kazuha asked hesitantly.
Her superior looked happy. The man even patted Kazuha on her shoulder even though it made the girl feel uncomfortable. "Wonderful! Then, we will meet at the restaurant nearby. We will go there together. You just need to wait for the others."
"I'm sorry, sir. But I think I will go by myself. I have to go to the nearest pharmacy to buy my allergy medicine first. I'll catch up to the restaurant once I'm finished."
"Is that so? It was not a well-known restaurant and only people living in this area knew about it. Let me tell you the location of the restaurant. It's only two blocks away from this office building and once you've arrived at the restaurant, call Miss Mikoto. She will come out to get you."
Kazuha nodded. She had no other choice than to attend the dinner. She curved a smile, "Thank you, sir. I'll see you tonight."
*******
Once she purchased the medicine, Kazuha walked out of the pharmacy.
Kazuha looked up at the night sky which has many stars adorning it.
Following the directions from her co-workers, Kazuha walked towards the intended place. She passed the first road and continued walking towards the second road.
She waited for the green light for the pedestrians to flash. Once the sign turned green, Kazuha immediately walked across the street. However, her steps suddenly stopped when she saw a familiar figure across the street.
"F-Father?"
The medicine bag that she was holding fell and Kazuha stood frozen in the middle of the road. Kazuha could recognize her father's face which looked unchanged from the photos her mother had shown her.
However, a few years ago, her mother told Kazuha that her father had passed away a long time ago. In fact, every year, Kazuha and her mother always pray for his father's spirit.
"I-Impossible…" muttered Kazuha shaking.
Kazuha didn't hear the screams of the people nearby when suddenly there was a car coming right in her direction at full speed and—
Everything turned dark when Kazuha's body slammed hard by the car.