"A quiet night in the Kazuki family residence. The wall clock continued to tick, showing 11:45 PM. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. The monotonous sound seemed to mock Akira's anxiety as he stared out the window, his fingers tapping on the study desk with an irregular rhythm.
"How strange... Brother never comes home this late," he thought, glancing at his phone for the umpteenth time. The screen was still dark. No notifications.
"What are you doing out there, Brother?..."
CREAK!
The sound of the door opening shattered the silence of the night, making Akira jump from his seat.
"Is that Brother?!" Akira hurried down from the second floor, his feet running down the stairs hastily. The sound of his footsteps echoed in the quiet house.
But the figure he met at the front door wasn't his brother, but rather his parents.
"Oh? Akira, you're still awake?" his mother asked, her face weary. Dark circles were clearly visible under her usually bright eyes.
"Mom... Brother still hasn't come home..." Akira said, his voice trembling.
"Huh? Where did he go?" His mother looked surprised, her eyebrows raised high. "We actually came home together earlier, but halfway through, he told me to go ahead…"
"I have no idea where he went…
"Kazuya…" She turned to her husband with a pale face. "What should we do?"
"Calm down," his father tried to reassure them. "I'll contact my friends in the police…"
Several days later...
"Nngh..."
Kazuki's consciousness slowly returned, like fog clearing with the morning wind. His heavy eyelids started to open gradually, revealing an unfamiliar ceiling he had never seen before.
"I... am still alive?... But where am I now?... It feels like I'm in someone else's body...
His mind was foggy, trying to recall the last thing he experienced. Fragments of memories spun like a broken film in his head. *"Didn't I die? I'm sure they attacked me using poison, and the blow landed right on my chest...
A faint ache still lingered in his chest, reminding him of the burning sensation when the attack pierced his skin.
Kazuki lay on an unfamiliar, soft bed. The faint scent of lavender lingered in the air, mixed with the smell of medicines. Slowly, he sat up. The mattress creaked under his weight.
"Whose room is this? It looks like a girl's room... There's a laptop on the study desk, and schoolbooks on the desk... A blue school uniform is hanging on the wall... I'm pretty sure this is a girl's room…
Something felt strange. Very strange. His body felt different, like wearing clothes that didn't fit. "Why do my hands feel lighter? And... wait, since when is my waist this slim?"
His eyes caught sight of a large mirror in the corner of the room. An antique mirror with a wooden, carved frame that looked expensive.
His heart nearly stopped beating when he saw his reflection in the mirror. His usual blonde hair was now red. The eyes that were once blue were now a deep purple, and his hair was much longer than it used to be.
"W-what happened to me?!... This clearly doesn't look like my body... "Kazuki gripped his hair with trembling hands. "This... this can't be! Am I dreaming?"
He pinched his cheek hard. "Ouch!" No, this wasn't a dream. The pain was too real.
The memory of that night flooded his mind again - people in red cloaks at the back of the abandoned house, a flash of metal under the moonlight, an unexpected shot, a searing pain like hellfire, and the cold river water engulfing his body.
The sound of the door opening startled him, making his heart pound once more. A girl appeared in the doorway - long black hair, with light blue eyes and a beautiful face...
"Huh, so you're awake," the girl said in a flat tone. "Where... is this?" Kazuki asked hesitantly.
"This is Grandpa Fujita's house! He found you floating in the river while he was fishing," the girl placed a tray of food on a small table. The tempting aroma of miso soup tickled Kazuki's nose. "Eat up. And before you touch anything in my room, don't."
Before Kazuki could ask further, the girl had already disappeared behind the door. So this is her room?
"Strange girl..." Kazuki thought. *"But it seems like she's my age...
"By the way, Fujita... that name sounds familiar, but where?...
His stomach growled loudly, reminding him that he hadn't eaten in who knew how long...
After finishing the food provided - warm miso soup and rice - Kazuki mustered up the courage to go downstairs. His legs still felt shaky, making him hold onto the wall. The wooden floor creaked softly under his steps.
In the kitchen, he saw a very familiar figure: an old man washing dishes. His messy white hair and thick glasses slipping down his nose triggered old memories in Kazuki's mind.
"Oh, you're awake!" greeted the old man cheerfully, a wide smile on his wrinkled face.
"Yes... thank you for saving me..." Kazuki bowed politely, though his brain was spinning. "Impossible... but that face, that voice..."
Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, his memory became clear.
"Grandpa Fujita?!"
"Hm? You know me?" The old man pushed up his slipping glasses, squinting at him suspiciously.
"Of course! It's me, Kazuki! Kazuya's son!" His heart pounded, waiting for the old man's reaction.
Grandpa Fujita laughed heartily. "Hahaha! No way! Since when did Kazuki have red hair like this?"
"It's really me!" Kazuki insisted, his voice shaking with emotion. "I can prove it! You have a hobby of making strange gadgets, don't you? You even accidentally blew up half of the neighbor's house with one of your failed experiments!"
Grandpa Fujita's laughter stopped abruptly. The dish he was washing nearly slipped from his grip. His eyes narrowed, staring at Kazuki seriously.
"Kazuki... Is it really you?"
Kazuki nodded, then he recounted everything that had happened - how his body had changed and how he ended up in the river. Grandpa Fujita listened intently, the wrinkles on his forehead deepening.
"So that's it..." Grandpa Fujita sighed. "People in red cloaks... Kazuki, it seems they're very dangerous if they could make your body end up like this...
"I'm sure you're not the first one they've done this to... they probably think you're already dead now...
"Ahh I don't care about that right now, the most important thing is that I have to call my family...
"Fujita, may I borrow your phone?...
"Oh, here, take it."
After that, Kazuki called his mother...
"Hello, who is this? It's me, Mom, Kazuki... "Ehh, where have you been? Do you know how worried we've been at home...
"Sorry about that, something happened to me, Huh!? What happened to you, are you okay?
"Yes, I'm fine. By the way, from now on, I'll be staying with Grandpa Fujita at his house...
"What?! Grandpa's house... Why so suddenly? It's a long story if I try to explain it, so could you please bring my clothes and pants tomorrow, Mom...
"I'm hanging up now, Mom... "Eh, wait, explain what's going on, Kazu-kun...
After that, Kazuki hung up the phone... What do you mean by that?! Are you staying here, Kazuki?... What exactly are you planning to do, Kazuki?... Fujita asked.
"I'm going to find out about them... What? Are you crazy! You know they're very dangerous people...
"Don't worry, I won't do anything reckless, and I won't make the same mistake twice...
"If you try to find out about them, your whole family will be killed by them...
"Huh?! Kazuki looked back to see the girl who had brought him food earlier standing there...
"What do you mean by that?
I'm only telling you one thing, and that is don't look into them if you want your family safe. Just forget about them… "Alright, I'm heading out to buy ingredients for dinner...
After that, the girl left the house... "What's with that girl… "By the way, who is that girl... who is she, I've never heard that you had a granddaughter?"
"Oh, Chiharu Rin?" Grandpa Fujita's face turned serious. "I found her in the same river as you, a few weeks ago. She's a rather reserved girl... she never talks about her past...
"I also feel that she was attacked, just like you... "Just like me, huh?... "Hmm... I don't really care about that right now...
"Maybe I'll find out about that girl myself, and the people in red cloaks...