Pitter patter. Pitter patter. The rain was falling down in a steady stream, and Kido had not brought an umbrella with her. She would have to run as fast as she could to avoid getting as wet as possible, otherwise she would get a cold, something she hated a lot.
She stood in the same spot for a second, gazing hesitantly at the crowd of people with their umbrellas before taking a breath and setting off. She expertly dodged the many puddles in her path, but smiled to herself whenever she accidentally stepped in one, splashing the ones unfortunate to be around her.
She managed to avoid bumping into anyone, but her luck suddenly ran out when a stray cat dashed past in a hurry. Letting out a surprised yelp, she forgot to see where she was going and ran straight into a man talking on his phone.
Kido stepped backwards and bowed, cursing herself for how clumsy she was. "Uh... I'm sorry..." She began to say, feeling completely embarrassed.
However, the man simply swore out loud and bent down to pick his fallen phone before pushing past her. Like as if he never even noticed she was there.
"Huh. What an ass." She grumbled to herself, brushing off specks of dirt off her favourite jacket. But as she continued on her way, she couldn't help but wonder why all that happened. The man was on his phone, yes, but that didn't mean he was looking down at it. For all she knew, his eyes could've been looking straight ahead, so even if she didn't see him, he could.
"I'm home!" Kido called out, opening the door, after squeezing and shaking as much droplets as she could out of her clothing. As she went upstairs to her bedroom, she caught sight of a photograph hanging on the wall. It was a picture taken a week ago, one of herself and her friend, Ayano. The two of them had started a club, called the Mekakushi Dan, to seek out those who had special powers like them. But... Just yesterday, after postponing the club meeting because Ayano didn't show up, she discovered that she was dead.
According to the news, she had jumped off the school roof, and it had been ruled by police as a suicide case. It was strange though, because Ayano was an optimistic and cheerful girl who loved all her friends. Apart from her terrible grades, her life had no major problems, and besides, who'd ever heard of anyone killing themselves over test scores?
When Kido had first heard it, she had broken down immediately, much to everyone's surprise. They had all viewed her as an emotionless person, and she herself thought the same as well. But her friend's death was a different case, and she was currently beating herself up over it.
All that depression was wearing her out, so she went back downstairs for a light snack. And perhaps talk to the others about Ayano's future funeral service. Kenjirou, Ayano's father was paying for it, as he said that it was the least he could do for everyone. Or something among those lines. But either way, she had told him she greatly appreciated it, but not before breaking down again.
After grabbing a bag of potato chips from the cupboard, she made her way to the living room, where everyone was hanging out. The television was on with some cheesy love film playing (probably Kano's pick), and there was a huge platter of fruit and candy on the coffee table.
"Hey." She greeted her friends, plonking herself down on her favourite armchair. No-one greeted her back, meaning they either didn't hear her over the sound of the TV, or they were too absorbed in it.
Whatever. She opened the packet and started eating, her hunger getting the better of her.
The movie finally ended after a while, and seeing this as the perfect time to strike up a conversation, she pointed at Kano and said, "Hey, what was so interesting about that film? Did you choose it?"
But for some reason, he didn't say anything or even turn to face her, he simply got up and picked up the remote control to flick to another channel.
Annoyed, she picked up a pillow and chucked it at him, feeling pleased when it hit him square in the face.
"Ow! Who threw that?!" He demanded, dropping the control back onto the table.
"Was it you, Seto? Or you, Hibiya? Revenge for the cake thing last week?"
He continued to interrogate them all by calling their names, but Kido suddenly noticed something. Not even once, did he mention her name.
"Oh I just remembered... I wonder when Kido is coming back..." Kano added in, looking around the room at everyone.
Huh?
"Yeah... Well, maybe Ayano's death had a bigger impact on her than expected. Maybe she's at the park trying to calm herself down." Seto replied, lightly pinching his pet hamster's cheeks.
What?
"Hmm..."
If this was all a trick, then it was a truly horrible one. She knew that Mary would never try and pretend she wasn't there, so she got up and went over to the white-headed girl.
"Mary, what are they doing?" Kido asked her, placing both hands on her hips.
"Should we go look for her?" Mary questioned, seeming not to have noticed that she was right in front of her.
What was going on? Did her power suddenly activate without her knowing?
She made herself turn it off, and waved a hand in front of Kano's face. But instead, he and everyone else got up and began heading outside.
Kido rushed after them, just in time to hear them say, "What's this puddle on the front step here?"
She screamed to say that it was from earlier, but they never turned around, not even once. They simply shrugged and walked away, leaving her standing at the door with a fearful look on her face.
Her power that had always been her saviour, had now become her worst enemy.
"Oh god… Why..." She mumbled to herself, tears rolling down her cheeks. She took a step backwards and tripped over her own feet. As she tumbled down, she caught sight of a kitchen knife on the table near her, probably left there accidentally by Momo yesterday.
As she pulled herself up, she thought to herself; what was the point of life if she couldn't be seen or heard by anyone? She picked up the knife and stared at it hesitantly, before bringing it up to herself.
A scream echoed throughout the whole neighbourhood. It had belonged to Mary, the one who discovered Kido, lying in a pool of deep, red blood and a knife in her hand.
"Fufufu... I guess it's already started..." A man wearing a fox mask said, quietly observing the whole scene from afar.
