It was nearly the end of the summer.

It was hot and the night was full of stars. They looked like an infinite number of white dots on a dark canva.

Lying back in a rocking chair with my head raised to the sky, I injected chakra into my eyes.

The opaque veil covering the sky looked like it had just been blown away by the wind. The milky way took shape before my eyes. White specks became a billion of tiny diamonds.

The sky was no longer an amalgam of blacks, but a patchwork of blues ranging from the darkest ochre to the purest cerulean. I read the stars with my eyes, discovering constellations and inventing others for my own enjoyment. I'd never done that in the Before.

It was... relaxing.

The maids softly cleared the table, contaminated by the atmosphere of tranquility that surrounded this evening.

Fuyumi and Natsuo chatted in hushed tones, sharing a rare moment when neither tried to annoy the other. Rei, too, looked up at the stars, pacified. I turned my head to the empty chair at the end of the table.

The full plate in front of it was covered by a glass bell.

The smell of barbecue was still in the air. I lowered my eyes to my thighs. While I hoped he'd like the gift, the wrapping would probably freak him out. There were pieces of tape everywhere and many places where the paper had been torn and patched with other hastily cut pieces.

I felt I'd done pretty well, but judging by the giggles of the other two idiots, it was really bad.

Still, I was proud of myself. It was the first time I'd done something so trivial.

The servants placed the untouched pièce montée on the rolling table. They brought it in while I carefully examined it. The chocolate-covered strawberry - cake caught my eye, but I'll wait.

Rei tore herself away from star gazing.

She looked at us one by one.

"Come on, children. Let's go to bed" The night was already well underway.

I was surprised that she hadn't sent us to bed earlier.

Fuyumi and Natsuo got down from their chairs without protest.

A pile of presents layed between the wooden table and the sliding patio doors.

They put theirs on top. The papier-mâché piggy bank Natsuo had made looked like a wobbly trophy on top of the pyramid of shiny wrappings.

I approached it, my eyes darting between the pile and the rectangular object in my hands.

If he came home tonight and opened it without me being there…

Rei put her hand on my shoulder.

"You can keep it and deliver to him tomorrow if you prefer"

This gift had required me to return to Sword and Cross on vacation and negotiate with an irritable, demanding little girl.

And that was only the tip of the iceberg: I wasn't even close to paying the debt I owed her. I clutched the precious object to my chest.

A strange warmth, as pleasant as a fire in the middle of winter, spread from my heart to the rest of my body.

I felt... good. It was good to be alive.

"I agree"

Natsuo and Fuyumi were no longer there.

I walked away, barely looking ahead, thumb stroking a transparent lump of tape.

I felt the change in texture under my clapper as I entered the living room through the open French window. It was de- My head hit a hard surface.

I staggered a few steps, instinctively clutching the gift tighter.

Two fingers went to my forehead. My eyes flicked back along the figure hidden in the shadows.

He stood at the edge between the total darkness of the house and the pool of silvery light cast by the moon. A black veil, impossible to penetrate, covered the lower part of his face.

The cover of the night gave him a ghostly aspect.

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Unreal.

Threatening.

I met his gaze.

Two dark prisms scrutinized me with the attention of a reptile.

The blood vessels in his sclera had burst.

His eyes were cold.

Lifeless.

Wary, I took a step back.

It's the same expression as that day.

"Touya ?"

Rei put down one of the plates she was clearing away.

I heard the ploc ploc.

The taste of metal invaded my mouth before the smell reached my nose. I never took my eyes off him because you should never look away from your opponent.

"Why are you here ? It's only Thursday"

Suddenly, the coals of the brazier crackled.

In the reflection of the glass, I saw a tongue of fire shoot out, whipping the air.

The heat suddenly warmed my back.

I heard one of the maids groan and then stagger.

Rei turned on her heels.

"Oh my God, Emiyo ! Show me your hand !"

The flames cast shimmering shadows over Touya.

It was as if he were bursting in flames from within. From his nose to the base of his neck, his skin was nothing but a mass of bright pink flesh.

Blood flowed from his wounds and rolled over the black, burnt remains that made up his torso.

They looked like black craters surrounding molten lava. Pieces of whitish skin littered his arms, lost beneath the remaining sleeve of his jacket.

Darkness took over again.

His damaged body fades into the shadows.

All I could see were his eyes, illuminated by an oblique beam of light.

Ploc ploc.

A tear of blood rolled from his eye. He wiped it away with the tip of his thumb, his icy eyes never leaving mine.

"I'm going to bed"

His voice was deep. Rough.

As if he hadn't spoken in days.

His dead eyes stared at me for a long moment. It was as if he was trying to imprint the image of my face on his mind.

And then he left.

The ploc ploc went away with him.

I looked down at the wooden floor.

Muddy footprints and bits of leaf.

A few bloody pebbles. A pool of blood.

I vaguely heard Rei talking about an ambulance.

"I'm going to bed too"

It was way past eleven.

The house was silent.

Rei was gone.

The housekeeper had long since gone to bed.

I closed my eyes and focused on my hearing. I could hear the regular breathing of Natsuo and Fuyumi. The trickle of water from the poorly closed faucet. The rustle of the wind through the leaves. The sound of crickets in the trees. The hooting of an owl.

The hallway floor creaked.

My heart pounded in my chest. I put my hands over it, madly hoping to silence it. Could he hear ? I bit my lips until they bled.

My hands were clammy. An icy drop of sweat rolled from my neck to my ear.

I knew this would happen. I just knew it.

New floor creak.

The floorboard beneath my torso shook, the movement in the hallway spreading.

My face was hot. Burning hot. All my blood went up.

The automatic hallway light went on.

A raw, yellow light crept into my room in the tiny space between the door and the floor. It illuminated the waxed floor, the sticky carpet, and the legs of my bed.

I forced myself to stretch my arms out on either side of my body and hit the frozen floor as hard as I could, becoming one with it. My left cheek was stuck to the floor. I forced myself to crane my neck at an almost impossible angle to see under the door.

Two shoes. Black.

Had Enji returned ?

I didn't believe it myself.

But moved by an impossible hope, I reached out a tentacle of chakra toward the individual. It paused at the door, barely touching it, hesitating.

My heart sank.

I wanted it to be him. I so, so badly wanted it to be him.

I closed my eyes and pushed my chakra further.

The tentacle grazed the person. It came back to me like the crack of a whip.

I felt sick. Would I be able to... ?

I noticed a change in the light under my eyelids. I opened my eyes.

The light had gone out.

He didn't turn it on again.

Silence returned.

Touya and Fuyumi were breathing in unison. The water still flowed. The wind still brushed aginst the trees. But the crickets no longer chirped. And the owl was gone.

I wondered if, animals that they were, understood. Felt. That tonight would be a tragedy.

The silence allowed me to hear better. Further.

The hand clock in the living room turned relentlessly, tireless worker. Minutes ticked away like seconds. The click of each new advance sounded like a drumbeat in the empty house.

I hardly noticed that my heartbeat had settled into the same rhythm. A distant corner of my mind counted the clicks in rhythm. It was therapeutic. 56, 57,

I could hear him breathe.

The clock struck midnight.

The bird that emerged from its center and chirped startled me. My head hit one of the slats of the bed. I covered my mouth to stifle my scream of shock. The slat jerked and then slipped. My right hand shot out to stop it from hitting the other wooden plank.

I clenched my teeth, arched like a bow, my toes barely touching the floor, two fingers crushed between the boards of my bed, my mad eyes glued to the door.

Had he heard ? Had he understood ?

The moment seemed an eternity.

The bird was still singing.

I prayed that the high-pitched sound had covered me.

The bird closed its mouth and flew home.

Silence never seemed more terrifying than at that moment. Slowly, gently, I slid my fingers off the metal rail. The crooked lath fell back without a sound.

I barely noticed the splinter in my thumb.

My eyes went back to the door.

Click.

One minute. Two. Five.

My pulse slowed. My breathing steadied. I pushed the damp hair back from my icy forehead.

The click-click was soothing. Familiar. I'd heard it in my dreams every night since I was born.

This house was mine. This place my room. This moment a dream.

Everything will be fine.

I had made up my mind. I'd been preparing for this for a long time.

Everything will be fine.

I made those four little words my mantra. With every new click, I repeated them.

I was overcome by a calm determination.

I stopped scratching the floor. I loosened my jaw. I relaxed my muscles.

My doubts vanished. My mind became incredibly clear. My thoughts were smooth.

I could feel my chakra humming softly under my skin, like the gentle crackling of a log in a well-contained fire.

It was as if I wasn't me anymore. As if I was just a spectator of my own body. Of my own will.

I wondered when he'd come in. If he had planned a time. If he was armed. If he'd thought about the method.

I, already did.

Rei was the only one who saw him. That would work in my favor.

I will say that he left right after that. That he had forgotten Enji's gift in the center. That he was gone before I could say anything.

I had already dug the hole. I had hidden the shovel for weeks.

Seven.

He opened the door.