The sky over the city was still covered in clouds, and under the rain, a small bat flew between the buildings.
It was tiny, black, and had crooked wings that flapped quickly so it wouldn’t lose altitude in the wind.
And yet, it dodged every single raindrop as if it knew exactly where they were going to fall.
The bat slipped between two towers, dove toward an apartment building, and entered through the half-open window of one of the upper floors. Once inside, it touched the floor.
And in an instant, a small red glow lit up the room until it vanished, leaving behind a white-haired girl already dressed in the same clothes Lyon had been wearing before.
Lyon had returned home, but he didn’t get up from the floor. He stayed crouched down, almost pressed against the ground, and moved like that, squatting as he quickly backed away from the window and deeper into the apartment.
Only once he was far enough inside, where no window could reach him, did he allow himself to breathe.
But he still didn’t fully relax.
Lyon closed his eyes for a moment and sharpened his hearing, listening with a level of focus far beyond anything human.
The sounds of the apartment.
The dripping of a faucet.
The hum of the refrigerator.
The air moving between the rooms.
Nothing else.
No heartbeat.
No breathing other than his own.
'Good. No one’s here.'
Only then, slowly, did he begin to change again.
His white hair darkened until it turned brown, though it kept its length, now falling past his shoulders because of how long he had spent in his female form.
His body regained its height, his shoulders broadened, and his red eyes shifted into a pale green. When it was over, he was a boy again.
"Seriously…" the voice inside his head said, amused. "Why are you being so careful? You crouch, hide, listen for every tiny noise… You look like a burglar in your own house."
"Because I don’t want them to find me," Lyon answered in a low voice, stretching his back. "The Hunters’ Association is looking for me. If they find out where I live, it’s over."
"And what’s the problem?" she asked, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "If they find you and become a nuisance, you kill them and that’s it. Problem solved."
Lyon sighed.
"I already told you no."
"Why not?"
"Because if I do that, I won’t be able to keep living here like a normal human," he answered, walking toward the kitchen. "And I like living as a human. Period."
The voice thought about it for a second.
"You know there’s a much easier solution to all of this, right?" she said, her tone softer, almost tempting. "You wouldn’t have to hide from anyone. You could go to the vampire kingdom. No association would chase you there. And the queen is wait—"
"There is no way in hell I’m going there," Lyon cut her off immediately, not letting her finish.
"But—"
"I said no."
The voice let out a long and dramatic sigh, but didn’t insist.
Lyon opened the refrigerator and stared inside in silence.
It was empty.
Well, not completely.
There was a jar with something inside that he no longer remembered, and a half-empty bottle of water.
But food, actual food… nothing.
"Pfff—" The voice couldn’t hold back her laughter. "Seriously? You don’t remember?"
"Remember what?" Lyon asked, still staring into the empty refrigerator with the hope that something would magically appear.
"That you didn’t buy groceries," she said between laughs. "You’ve been eating the bare minimum for weeks. And for what? Oh, right. To save up and buy that stupid console."
Lyon slowly closed the refrigerator.
"Shut up."
"I’m just telling the truth."
"Shut up," he repeated, rubbing his face with one hand. "I don’t have the console. I don’t have the game. And now I don’t have a phone either, because I decided to bathe outside. Great. Perfect day."
The voice went quiet for a moment.
"You know?" she said afterward, thoughtful. "That last part doesn’t sound so bad."
"What?"
"The phone thing," she explained. "If you don’t have a phone, those human friends of yours can’t send you annoying messages. Or spoilers. Or anything. Isn’t that exactly what you wanted to avoid? Problem solved again."
Lyon opened his mouth to answer, closed it, and in the end only exhaled through his nose.
"It’s stupid to argue with you about this," he said, giving up.
With nothing to eat and no energy for anything else, Lyon decided that the only thing left for him to do that day was sleep.
Lyon started walking toward his room, already thinking about throwing himself onto the bed and forgetting everything, when…
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
Lyon stopped dead.
'Huh?'
He looked toward the entrance, frowning.
'Who…?'
Lyon tried to remember if he had plans with anyone. If he had invited one of his friends over or if he was expecting a package.
Nothing.
He didn’t remember inviting absolutely anyone.
"Expecting company?" the voice asked, curious.
"No," Lyon answered in a low voice.
Carefully, he took off the rain jacket he was still wearing, which was still damp, and set it aside. Underneath, he was wearing his usual clothes: a simple green shirt and brown sweatpants.
Lyon approached the door, but he didn’t open it.
Instead, he spoke with the door still closed between them.
"Who is it?"
From the other side, a female voice answered. She sounded kind, calm, almost casual.
"Good evening," the girl said. "I’m sorry to bother you at this hour. My name is Cya. I’m part of a hunters’ guild, and we’re conducting an investigation in the area."
Lyon went completely still.
The hand he had near the doorknob froze halfway there.
His mind went blank for one entire second.
'...Hunters.'
And inside his head, the female voice started laughing.
"Hahaha… Oh, this is perfect! What was that you said about not wanting to be found?"