'They say the complex is haunted.'

Just then something caught her attention in the window, making the muscles in her neck tense. The glow of her phone screen had lit up her face as she tapped out the text, her pale reflection suddenly appearing and looking back at her with heavy lidded eyes, a ghost in the darkness. The sight would have made anyone else jump; anyone less versed in the tropes of horror, that is. Scares at the beginning of the journey are never the threatening ones.

'Shouldn't you be heading home? It could be dangerous this late.'

'You could have come so I wouldn't be alone.'

'Not when I haven't finished the history homework.'

Zuki made a face instinctively at the sight of the word. Perhaps history would be more interesting if they covered the bits with monsters. Like what lead to this apartment complex being abandoned, or filled with ghosts, whichever happened first. Zuki surmised a ghost infestation would do the trick driving out tenants. It didn't make sense for everyone to assume it was the other way around, but the whole thing was a very chicken and egg situation she didn't care to think too hard about.

'It's not due until Monday.'

'I want time to look over it so I don't fail right before graduation!'

Zuki huffed. Besides her own reflection she couldn't see anything through the old clouded windows beside the front door, so she tucked the light source away in her bag alongside haphazard leftovers from her dinner and some office supplies she had picked up earlier for Yuto. With her face pressed close to the grimy glass she could spy a split hallway that ran parallel to the doorway, and a set of stairs running perpendicular and covered in graffiti. Giving the door handle an experimental tug proved unfruitful, and Zuki scrunched up her face with a pointed look at the door handle.

Remnants of the last snow crunched underfoot as she hopped off the entryway in search of another way inside, figuring there must be a back door somewhere on the other side of the wide apartment complex. If not, she wasn't necessarily above making an entrance of her own. If ghosts could trespass, why couldn't she?

The back half of the building hid behind the protection of a rusting chain link fence, which Zuki kicked gently with her toe. She watched the resulting rattle run its way down the length of the fence, her eyes stopping at a particular spot along the bottom. A particular spot where the twisting metal lost its uniform pattern, bent out of shape and revealing a small hole at the base of the fence. Taking a moment to lament her lack of gloves, Zuki placed her hand into the snowdrift, finding the pile of snow was obscuring a small indent that tunneled its way under the gap in the fence.

Unceremoniously, Zuki tossed her backpack over the fence and crouched down to shimmy her way underneath before the bag's contents could get too soggy. As she pulled her way through, her raised elbow caught the sharp end of a stray wire and tore straight through her jacket. She wiggled through the rest of the way without the use of her arms and sat up to give her elbow a quick once over. The jacket was torn clean through, but seemed to cushion the damage to her skin as only a single, tiny bead of blood bloomed on her skin. Standing upright and tossing her bag over her shoulders once again, she continued her trek to the back of the apartment complex.

Almost without thinking, she tapped her finger against the droplet of blood on her elbow, rubbing the wet substance between her thumb and forefinger. For much of her childhood she had thought that her blood was pink, and sparkled in the light like the snow. Looking down at the pale red smeared between her fingers, she could confirm that was not the case, and yet the idea persisted.

There was a distinct memory that gave rise to this idea, a memory that raised doubts in anyone she shared it with and yet she remained wholly certain of. A childhood incident, getting lost, a strange woman, a stranger contraption that drained a sparkling pink substance from inside her, and a beautiful girl who came to her rescue.

Ever since that day, she had become obsessed. Anything monstrous or creepy or secretive, she had to learn more. Maybe then, one day, she'd be able to make sense of the encounter, of the pink blood, and the girl who walked through the sky.

Zuki spent most of her life exploring alone, like now, as she shuffled up to a back door and placed her hand on the cold metal. Himena came sometimes, supportive as she was, but no one was perfect and Himena's biggest flaw was her commitment to homework. At least, today that was her biggest flaw. Some days it was that she was too nice, and others it was her persistent rationality. But today it was her dedication to education that irked the lone explorer.

Any irritation quickly evaporated as her hand twisted the handle of the door, and slowly she inched the door open until she could peek her head inside. Musky air seeped out of the doorway like the complex had been holding its breath. Zuki found the inside was warmer than she had anticipated as she cautiously stepped across the threshold and closed the door behind her. Abandoned buildings in winter, and buildings inhabited by ghosts, both tended to be cold.

With an irritated huff, Zuki pulled her phone out of her bag to use as a flashlight, though she doubted now that there were any ghosts to be found. She wandered down cracked tile halls, her light glancing off particles of dust that flurried about as she moved through the still air. Looping back around to the front of the building she found herself in the hallway she had spied through the window.

Approaching the stairwell, she stopped on the first step and shone her light on the graffitied walls. The paint lent some color to the otherwise drab surroundings, although she couldn't quite tell what it was supposed to say. It certainly didn't appear to be in Japanese, and seemed more like a picture at this point than any words.

Five steps further up the stairway sprawled some new art, and a few steps further lie even more, each distinct from the last. Before she knew it the staircase had run out of steps, and she stood on the second floor that spread perpendicular to the staircase just like the first floor. Unlike the first floor however, it seemed she was not alone. A ways down the right hall was the vague outline of a pale figure, wearing all white and standing hunched over without any indication of hands, or legs. In fact, it wasn't until she squinted that she could even make out a head, obscured in the darkness by a shaggy mop of black hair.

Cutting off the light from her phone, she gripped it tightly in her hand as she approached the spectral figure with slow steps. As she crept her fingers deftly opened her phone's camera, and once within ten feet of the figure, she stole a snapshot. She closed her eyes so as to not be blinded by the flash, but it seemed to startle whatever lay before her as it let out a cry of surprise and quickly turned around.

Zuki turned quicker, however, and was already at the top of the staircase once again before she heard the sounds of footsteps behind her. Flying down the steps two at a time, invigorated by her find, she couldn't help but grin as the angered figure gave chase. Reaching the first floor once more, she noticed the front doors were simply locked from the inside rather than chained, so a quick turn of the deadbolt let the doors swing open to the old front entry where the road back into town proper snaked its way through the trees, barely lit by the failing street lamps.

"Hey, wait!"

The voice stopped Zuki in her tracks. An audio and a visual event? She should have been recording. And to think, she thought the warmth had meant there wouldn't be any ghosts there at all, let alone a near full body apparition that spoke.

When she turned back to the doorway and saw not a ghost, but a man, donning a long white jacket, black gloves, and black pants, disappointment crashed down on all of her features, pushing her brows down into a scowl and her lips into a pronounced frown.

"What are you doing here?" the man demanded, hostility evident in his posture.

"Looking for monsters," Zuki replied simply. "What are you doing here?"

"That's none of your business," the man chided, although moments after he straightened up slightly, smoothing out the front of his jacket with a gloved hand. "Are you here alone?"

Zuki squinted her eyes slightly. "No."

"Who are you here with?"

"You."

The man grunted irritably. "Besides me? Is there anyone else here besides you and me?"

"Mmm," Zuki shook her head.

"That must be pretty lonely, spending the evening out here all by yourself. Do you have any friends?"

"One," Zuki said simply. "But she had homework."

"We used to be just like you, me and my friends," the man began, his tone lighter, almost sympathetic. "But when we found each other, everything changed." He had begun to approach Zuki from the doorway, slowly, with arms held out and welcoming. "We can help you, you'd be much happier with more friends to support you. Do you trust us?"

"No."

The man stopped, his hands dropping down to his sides. "Why not?"

"I don't know you," Zuki said with a small shrug.

"Don't you want more friends? I bet people make fun of you, looking for monsters all by yourself, don't they?"

"Some people do."

"Doesn't that make you sad?"

Zuki blinked slowly. "No. Why would it?" By this point, she was growing tired of his cryptic line of questioning. She had only intended on spending the evening in the company of monsters or ghosts, not regular old people who asked a lot of question.

Something on the man's face changed, "Well, because—" Zuki turned her back on the man, beginning to walk back towards the road home. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

Zuki opened her mouth to say something, not bothering to turn back around until she heard the sound of rapid footsteps in the snow. The man was charging towards her, something large and metallic in his hand. Was that a gun?

The sight made her heartbeat flurry faster, although not as much in panic as a strange exhilaration. She never saw herself encountering a situation like this, one like in her horror movies. But she knew all the tropes well enough, surely that meant she could prove herself to be a capable horror heroine.

Bending her knees slightly as the man neared, she jammed her shoulder upward and forward with as much force as she could with her feet in the slushy snow. Her shoulder made contact with the man's ribs, and he let out a strangled cry as the air was forced past his lips. Swinging her arm without much direction, she managed to knock the device from his hand, the thing landing in the snow a few feet away.

The man scrambled backwards in the snow, giving Zuki the opportunity to swing her backpack around in front of her, blindly feeling around for something to defend herself with.

"You think you can fuck with me?!" Zuki swore, ripping her arm from her bag and clasping one of the office supplies she had purchased for Yuto in her hand. "Do you even know who you are fucking with?!"

The man blinked in surprise at the sudden change in her demeanor, frozen in his spot and staring. "N-no?"

Zuki shrugged off her bag and threw it to the ground, holding a staple remover out before her. "I come out here alone to hunt monsters, and find ghosts! You know how I know there are ghosts here?!" she screamed, taking a step towards the man and widening her eyes. "I MADE EM!"

Sweat began to bead on the man's paling face as she took another step towards him with the staple remover brandished in front of her like a weapon. "You want to know…what I use this for?" she asked, her voice now a sweet saccharine whisper as she clicked the staple remover's teeth together gently. The man simply stared, confused, eyes shifting rapidly from Zuki's face, to the staple remover, and back to Zuki. "I SAID, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?! DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I DID TO THE LAST GUY WHO SAW ME HERE?!"

The man whimpered and scuffled backwards quickly. "N-no!"

"Well then you better get your sorry ass out of here before I SHOW YOU!"

That was all it took to send the man off hauling ass down the street, screams that sounded something like 'crazy bitch' trailing behind him on the stiff winter breeze. Satisfied that her work was done, Zuki picked up her bag again, dusting off the snow and dropping the staple remover back inside. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly for a moment to re-moisturize after holding them wide in the frigid air for her performance, contemplating buying another staple remover to keep on her person in case of other situations like this.

Once her eyes felt like they had returned at least somewhat back to normal, she crossed over to where the man's discarded weapon lay propped upright in the snow. She toed it cautiously, tipping it over onto its side to get a better look. It certainly did look like a gun, although upon closer inspection there wasn't any place for bullets to come from. Instead of a barrel, two long needles protruded from the end of the device, and along the top ran two clear glass tanks. One of the tanks sat completely empty, while the other was filled to the brim with something that nearly looked like sewage, muddy, thick, and sticky as it slowly moved inside the tank now that it had been kicked over. It seemed so familiar, and yet wildly strange at the same time. As if she remembered being fascinated by this thing before.

A quick scamper to the tree line and Zuki returned with a fallen tree branch, slightly soggy from the snow but good for poking around unfamiliar objects with. But first, some memorialization was in order. She snapped a quick photo of the device and immediately sent it to Himena with the text:

'Found guy with this. What do you think it is?'

If anyone would know, it'd be Himena. Probably read about it while doing her homework or something. She gave the tanks on the device a curious poke with her branch, and a strange whirring, mechanical noise sounded. Had she woken it up with her prodding? The sounds certainly sounded like angry robot grumbles, or at least what she imagined they would sound like. Kneeling down closer to the device Zuki determined, however, the sound came not from it, but from something just behind her.

Looking over her shoulder, she jumped as something straight from a nightmare, no, a bad memory, clicked its way towards her. This new mechanical monstrosity looked like a spider with its eight curved legs that clicked and whirred as it walked towards her. Instead of eight eyes, one large glass eye sat in front of what would be its head, and instead of a spider's abdomen two glass tanks attached to the thorax of the robotic thing. Just like the device before her, one tank remained empty while the other contained the same sludge as the man's weapon. Not only that, but as the thing neared, Zuki could see clearly a set of needles poking out from the spider's fangs.

Now this was something she needed to show Himena. Slowly she reached once again for her phone, but despite the caution in her movement the spider robot lurched forward suddenly. Zuki scuttled backwards a few tiny steps, gripping her branch in both hands and taking a swing at the approaching robot. Her attack missed, but it did ward off the robot at least momentarily. It seemed to consider her for a moment, bringing its legs in close and focusing its solitary eye on her.

Without warning it lurched forward, legs clicking rapidly as it bared its needle tipped fangs. Zuki swung again, taking a step back and realizing with a loud crunch that she had just stepped on the man's discarded device, shattering the glass tubes. As soon as the brown muck touched her shoe, it began to smoke, eating away at her shoe like acid and making the skin on her heel feel hot. In her surprise her grip on her makeshift weapon loosened, and the robot easily avoided her attack before latching its fangs onto her ankle.

Zuki tried to scream, but found the noise caught in her throat. Immediately her vision blurred and dizziness pinched and pulled at her mind. What she could make out was the empty tank on the robot's back beginning to fill with shimmering pink liquid, same as it had as a child. At the same time, the brown sludge in the opposite tank began to drain at the same pace as the other filled until they had swapped places, the left tank filled with pink liquid and the right empty save for some residue from the viscous substance.

And Zuki could no longer move. The last thing she could say for certain was that her body felt like it was changing, and the robot tucked in its spidery legs until it formed into a ball and rolled away through the snow. Her body strained under the feeling of immense pressure both within and outside her, and as much as she tried to scream or cry for help the only sound that occasionally escaped her throat was a monotone moan.

At some point, she stood up. At least, it looked like she had. Zuki couldn't remember making any conscious effort to do so, and she felt so heavy she couldn't possibly, but her body moved regardless like a puppet on invisible strings. She was a helpless, half conscious observer trapped inside her own body, or at least whatever had become of it. As she moved her arms began to thrash at nothing in particular, and she saw they had become a ghostly white, and incredibly long with massive hands that now clawed at the ground as she made her way back towards the apartment complex.

Trying to make sound once more, all that escaped was the same long, drawn out droaning as before as her body lumbered up the steps, Zuki helpless to stop herself.

A flash of light caught her attention, and the attention of whatever was holding her mind hostage, and her body turned slowly to identify the source. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. Standing in the snow was the girl from her memory. The gun, the robot, and now her. They were all real, and all here.

The girl looked exactly as she had all those years ago, albeit a little older. Her round face was framed by long black hair that ended with red tips that matched the red bow in her hair. She wore a red and white polka dotted dress, and matching red heels despite the snow, each shoe adorned with a tiny floating white wing.

While Zuki felt simultaneously amazed and validated at the appearance of this girl once again, a stronger feeling out of her control welled up in her stomach. The urge to attack.

She took off towards the girl, her fists clenched and swinging violently at the place where the girl stood. Her fist made contact with the ground instead, and the girl spun into a sharp kick to the face. Zuki felt nothing nothing when the blow landed, but the beast that had trapped her let out another monotone cry. The girl struck her twice more, and both times Zuki seemed somehow cushioned from the attacks. Still her body lashed out, one of her large white hands grabbing ahold of the girl's ankle and flinging her into a tree that immediately crashed to the ground, the girl rolling away just in time to avoid being crushed.

"Well if it's going to be like that!" the girl jeered, throwing her hand up into the air, "Menagerie Arsenal!" A bright light took form in her hand, stretching out into the shape of a giant hammer.

"Let's see how you like this!"

The girl dashed off to the side and Zuki lumbered after her, only to be struck by the hammer as soon as she turned towards her, and then again as the girl swung in the other direction. She felt frustration building up inside her new body, and both arms shot out to smash the girl in between them, but the girl avoided them both by jumping well above her head and raising up the hammer.

"Pretty Cure! Shockwave Blast!"

The heart that adorned the end of the hammer began to glow, and though Zuki tried to escape the hammer made contact with the center of her back sending her crumpling to the ground as a bright red light burst from the hammer upon impact. Another dying groan spilled from her body, but Zuki herself felt warm, almost comforted by the light that surrounded her, and she let her eyes drift slowly closed.

When they opened again, she wasn't entirely sure how much time had passed. All she knew was that the heaviness dissipated and now she felt very light, and very, very dizzy. Turning her head took more effort than she thought it would, and the cold that pressed against her cheek let her know she was laying in the snow. Off to the side, she could see the girl in red picking up what looked like a large coin from the ground next to her and brushing off the snow.

"It's safe to come out now!" she called, though to who Zuki couldn't see. Light footsteps in the snow were all she could hear, and she attempted to lift her head up, managing to catch a glimpse of what looked like a little pale blue dog walking on two legs, a tuft of fur obscuring both his eyes. That definitely wasn't something from her past memory of this girl. She would have remembered a tiny two legged blue dog.

The girl in red crouched down and handed the dog the coin, "Looks like Indie was right," she smiled as the animal in turn pressed the coin to his chest. In a small flash of light, the coin had become a small blue tie fastened around the dog's neck, and his color seemed a little brighter than it had been initially.

"Phew! I was worried I wouldn't make it, bebop," the dog sighed contentedly, climbing up onto the girl's shoulder. "Now, what are you gonna do about her, bebop?"

"Take her home, duh," the girl in red said flatly, earning a snort from the dog.

"You're starting to sound like Indie."

The girl rolled her eyes, and walked over to where Zuki lay, picking up her backpack along the way. "Hey there, is this yours?" she asked, holding the bag in front of Zuki. A healthy dollop of snow fell from the bag and straight onto her face with a wet splat. The girl in red gasped in horror, dropping to her knees and wiping away the snow with her hands. "Oh shit, I'm so sorry about that."

Zuki's expression didn't change much, but she reached her hand slowly towards the bag, attempting to sit up.

"Woah, be careful there! You've been through some shit tonight, take it easy." The girl went to place her hand on Zuki's back, helping her sit upright slowly with her support. "Can you remember who you are?"

"Who…I am?" Her brain certainly hadn't recovered enough to be answering existential questions.

"What's your name?" the blue dog spoke this time from his perch on the girl's shoulder.

"Mikazuki."

That much she could remember.

The girl in red smiled, "Ah that's a good name! Nice to meet you, Mikazuki." Without warning the girl scooped Zuki up into her arms, tossing her bag over her shoulder. "Now, let's see if you can remember where you live?"

Zuki's face scrunched up and her head throbbed. "Call me…Zuki."

"Okay Zuki! Why don't we get a better view so you can tell me where your house is, hmm?" The girl in red clicked her heels, and the tiny wings on either side of her shoes began to grow and glow, and the girl climbed up into the air like she was climbing a flight of stairs, little hearts appearing under her shoes as she stepped onto nothing.

Soon they were above the trees, and though the words escaped her Zuki managed in her stupor to point in the right direction. The girl in red bounded through the sky in a moment that was all too familiar to Zuki, and eventually she climbed down the invisible steps until they stood just outside Zuki's bedroom window, 40 feet off the ground.

"Jazz, could you lend me a hand?" the girl asked the little dog on her shoulder. He nodded, bouncing off her shoulder and sticking to the wall, putting his paws on the window.

"They don't call me dog burglar for nothin, bebop," he chortled, easily opening the window from the outside and climbing in. The girl in red slipped in gracefully, depositing Zuki on her bed and slipping her bag off her shoulder and setting it on her desk.

"You're gonna feel a little woozy for a couple days, so take it easy. Maybe tell people you've got food poisoning or something," she laughed, the dog, Jazz, climbing back up onto her shoulder. "And don't go out alone at night if you can help it!" She made a motion to climb through the window again when Zuki managed to sit up on her own.

"Wait."

The girl paused, one leg already out the window, "What's up, buttercup?"

"I remember you."

The dog and the girl exchanged a glance. "What do you mean?"

"You're…" Zuki scrunched her face up. She knew it. What was her name? "Rockabilly."

The girl in red smiled, running a hand down her polka dotted dress. "Lucky guess!"

"No, you've saved me before," Zuki insisted, her persistence increasing she regained a bit more control of herself.

"I don't think—"

The girl, Rockabilly, silenced Jazz's remark with a gentle tap on his nose. "That actually sounds…kinda familiar. When was this?"

"A long time ago," Zuki mumbled, reaching up and scratching her head aggressively as though the stimulation would help her think.

Rockabilly swung her leg back in the room and reached over to place her hand on Zuki's arm, "Hey knock it off, you need to relax," she insisted, a small smile lifting the corners of her lips. "I believe you. I'm glad we got to meet again! And now you need to stay out of trouble so we can keep it at twice!"

She had already climbed out the window by the time Zuki managed to call out for her again. "Wait! I want to know what's going on. What are those things? And what are you?" She rolled over onto her side and looked forlornly out the window. It seemed Rockabilly had already left, until she popped her head back into the window frame.

"I'll come back another time, when you're better. Then I'll explain things, okay?"

Zuki frowned.

"Until then you need to focus on getting better."

Zuki scowled.

With a smile and a wave, the girl in red closed the bedroom window, and with a few powerful bounds had leapt out of sight. Zuki rolled onto her back, lazily kicking off her shoes, the heel of one now completely ruined by whatever was in that tube…and whatever had been injected into her by that robot.

Leaning over the edge of her bed, she fished around in the dark until her fingers clasped her cell phone, and she flipped to her photos. One of the strange device the man had dropped, and another of the man himself in the poorly lit hallway, blown out by the flash. No photos of the spider robot that attacked her, no photos of the strange monster she had momentarily become, and no photos of the girl in red who had arrived to save her for a second time in her eighteen years.

She flipped to her texts and tapped out another message to Himena.

'See me at work tomorrow? Lots to tell you.'