Renjiro leaned against the railing of an old bridge, staring down at the slow-moving water beneath him. The night air was cool, the distant hum of the city a steady rhythm against the quiet. But his mind was anything but still.

The Ghost’s words lingered in his head. “I don’t know yet.”

They weren’t just testing his strength anymore. They were testing something else.

His resolve? His intentions? His very existence? He didn’t know. And that—

That bothered him.

A soft footstep behind him pulled him from his thoughts. He didn’t turn. He didn’t have to.

“You’re late,” he said, smirking.

Lian sighed, stepping beside him, her blonde hair catching the faint glow of the streetlights. “I wasn’t sure you wanted company.”

Renjiro chuckled. “Since when has that stopped you?”

Lian gave a small, knowing smile. “Fair point.”

For a few moments, they stood in silence, watching the water ripple below.

Then—

“You’re thinking about them, aren’t you?” Lian asked quietly.

Renjiro exhaled through his nose. “I don’t know what they want.”

Lian tilted her head. “That’s not what’s bothering you.”

Renjiro shot her a sidelong glance. She knew him too well.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

“…No,” he admitted. “It’s that I don’t know what I want either.”

Lian studied him for a moment before speaking. “You’re a hunter, Renjiro. Always have been. But hunters don’t chase ghosts.”

Renjiro chuckled dryly. “And yet, here we are.”

Lian crossed her arms. “So what’s your next move?”

He hesitated.

“I wait.”

Lian raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t sound like you.”

Renjiro smirked. “Patience is a hunter’s greatest weapon.”

She sighed, shaking her head. “Just don’t let them get too close.”

Renjiro’s smirk faded slightly. Too late for that.

A Hunter’s Patience: Part 2

The rooftops were silent.

The Ghost watched from above, unseen, hidden in the shadow of an old tower. Renjiro stood below, still leaning against the railing, still lost in thought.

They had been watching him for hours now. Studying. Waiting.

Patience, it seemed, was a skill they both shared.

Then, without a sound, The Ghost moved.

A flicker in the darkness. A shift in the wind.

Renjiro turned just as they landed a few feet away, their masked face unreadable.

His smirk returned. “Couldn’t stay away, huh?”

The Ghost remained silent.

Renjiro tilted his head. “Or did you finally decide?”

A pause. Then—

“No.”

Renjiro’s eyes narrowed. Not the answer he expected.

The Ghost took a step closer. “But I have a question.”

Renjiro exhaled, crossing his arms. “Go on.”

A beat of silence. Then—

“Would you kill me if I asked you to?”

Renjiro blinked.

He hadn’t expected that.

For the first time, The Ghost’s voice was softer, almost… vulnerable.

Renjiro’s smirk faded. He studied them carefully, searching for a motive, a trick, anything.

Nothing.

He exhaled. “No.”

The Ghost didn’t react. But something shifted in the air between them.

And for the first time since their encounters began—

They weren’t just shadows in the dark anymore.

They were something else entirely.