It had been nearly two weeks since Sakura and Arthur had last met. Neither of them decided to send the other a message, nor even a call― Sakura assumed that he was busy with his own business, whatever it may be. Besides, she couldn't just expect him to give her every minute of his time― they were still basically strangers, after all.

Her dreams― or her nightmares, rather― were getting worse and worse, and it even seemed as if the subconscious was threatening to overtake her reality. Whenever she woke up from one of those dreams, she would often feel far more tired than she had been before she slept. She would often see various scars on her entire body as well. Initially, she had thought that there was a malevolent spirit trying to attack her, causing the constant nightmares and the numerous, inexplicable marks on her body. But after she had repeatedly visited the temple, praying, asking whatever gods may hear to keep the spirit at bay, she decided that it was nary a supernatural occurrence― it had been her own subconscious all along, trying to pull tricks on her.

She sighed exhaustedly, taking a glance outside the window. There were a lot of people walking outside the street of her house, passing by, going about their own businesses. Perhaps she ought to go outside as well.. besides, it would be a nice change of atmosphere and scenery.

She grabbed her jacket, putting it on to hide the scars that were on her arms. The scars weren't all too visible, truth be told, but she was certain that whoever might dee them, even a stranger from afar, was sure to raise some questions.

The sun was shining brightly in the sky, but nevertheless, she brought along an umbrella― who knows if it might spontaneously rain again.

Living in one of the busiest districts in Tokyo, large crowds― especially on weekdays― were but a normal sight for her. The sidewalks were packed with office workers, clad in their dresses and suits. The coffee shops nearby were, as she had expected, all full, so there seemed to be no chance for her to enjoy the indoors in the outdoors. Instead, she walked aimlessly around the streets, trying to blend in with the crowd.

She was walking in one of th streets with a lesser amount of people, when she thought she saw a familiar sight.

A man with a tall build, and messy blond hair...

"Arthur-san...?" she began, walking faster to keep up with the man. The man― was it really Arthur?― didn't seem to hear, and he continued to walk ahead, never once looking back. He didn't seem to hasten his pace, either― yet, Sakura still found herself struggling to keep up with him.

The man entered a narrow alley between two tall buildings, momentarily disappearing from the girl's line of sight. When she had finally noticed where he had gone, though, she followed, taking slow, cautious steps. She knew it was rude to follow someone around, that people found that both immensely irritating and disturbing, but her curiosity got the better of her.

But what if the man wasn't Arthur...? What if she was just following a complete stranger around...?

"Arthur-san...?" she called out weakly, her voice nothing but a faint whisper. She clasped her hands together, clutching it tightly to her chest. She took a cautious step back, ready to flee

The man seemed to pause the moment she spoke. Perhaps it was indeed Arthur.

But, no... knowing him, he wouldn't look so taken aback, nor would he continue to ignore her, as this man seemed to do. Sakura took another step back, suddenly wary.

"...I'm surprised to find you here, dear Sakura."

That voice.

That familiar, haunting, malicious voice. She knew that voice all too well. It didn't belong to Arthur, she knew... and yet, it seemed to belong to him, all in the same.

Without giving her another second to think twice, the man spun around on his heels, revealing a face full of mischief and a grin full of malice.

That face.
I know who he is.

The moment he turned around to face her, the skies darkened to a deep grey, and all the surrounding buildings crumbled, leaving behind desolate shells in their wake. Soon enough, even the ground beneath her transformed into a monochromatic colour.

'It's not me,' she screamed in her thoughts. 'It's not me― you've got the wrong person...' As much as she wanted to yell out these words, nothing came from her mouth, even if she opened them― not even the slightest hint of a sound came out. She coughed, her legs suddenly weakening.

"I never thought that I would see you in there, Sakura," he laughed mockingly, taking a few steps forward. "Trying to breach into their world, eh? So desperate to become one of them..." He shook his head. "Such a desperate little girl you are."

'But I am one of them...' she argued in her mind, causing her to furrow her eyebrows. 'I live in that world... I am one of...' Them. She felt so confused.

Her eyes tried to plead with them, giving a silent glare, asking them to let her go. But the man only grinned more.

"What happened, dear Sakura?" he jeered. "Finally surrendering...?"

Without giving her a moment's hesitation, the man lunged forward, unsheathing his blade from his side, and swinging it at her direction with equal speed.

How was she to fight back, she wondered? She took a quick glance at her now gloved hand, holding a naginata firmly in its grasp. Perhaps she could make do with this...

She raised the weapon's metallic handle to her face, merely blocking off the other's own weapon. "...give up, now..." the man whispered menacingly, his deep green eyes suddenly filled with bloodlust. "Surrender now... I promise to make it quick."

She grunted, pushing him back. He stumbled backwards, nearly falling. "…I never knew you were capable of doing that, Sakura…" he mocked, a sly grin forming on his face. "I wonder, where did you manage to get the sudden outburst of energy?"

Nothing that the man said ever registered in her mind. She was too focused on trying to flee, but it seems as if another soul was overpowering her body, taking control of it instead of her. It was as if she was locked up inside her mind, her eyes the only window outside.

The man lunged forward again, and she raised her naginata defensively, ready to attack, even if she kept telling her legs to run away. He swung his sword forward, but she dodged, moving to a side. She pointed the tip of the blade at his direction. It was her turn to attack.

She moved forward, her legs suddenly gaining speed. She swung the blade at the man, wounding him on the arm. Blood began to gush out of his white sleeves, staining the once clean cloth with a dark, reddish hue. He stumbled back, grasping his arm with his other hand, trying to stop the flow of the blood. In his desperation to attend to his wound, he threw his sword to the ground.

Sakura couldn't help but feel a twinge of both pity and hatred. Where the latter came from, she did not know, but it welled up inside her all the same. She glared at the man, her now red eyes glistening against her pale skin.

The man took a step back, suddenly forgetting his own weapon. And yet, despite his wound… he still managed to smile menacingly.

"My, my, Sakura… I never knew you could do such things…" he said, his green eyes glimmering with equal hatred and amusement.

Sakura was unamused. She narrowed her eyes, then lunged forward, running towards the man once more. She prodded him with the tip of her weapon, before slashing another wound, this time a larger one on his side. He fell backwards, cornered between the girl and a wall. Their skin bled from where she had hit him, but she pretended not to see.

"…tell me who has to surrender now."

The words escaped from her mouth, without her ever realising it. The man stared at her, grimacing, clutching his wounds tightly. Blood trickled down his fingers and his skin.

"…tell me who has to surrender now…" she repeated, this time louder. She was growing impatient, fast. And yet, the man remained silent. He hung his head low. He never would admit defeat— no, not to her. She knew that for a fact.

Out of patience, she raised her weapon, once more pointing the tip at him. "…do it, quickly," she heard him mutter nearly inaudibly beneath his pained breaths.

Remorse suddenly overtook her, but the stronger force that seemed to control her body thought otherwise. She was waging a war inside her, now— no, even after all those times this man tried to kill her… after all those nightmares she had…

She harshly thrust her weapon to the ground beside him, missing his arm by a mere centimetre. She looked at him once more with contempt as he raised his head towards her, his eyes full of confusion and bewilderment.

"…run," she told him coldly. "This time, you run. And when we meet again…"

She paused, then turned her back against him, walking away, her heels clicking as they met the grey floor. '…I wouldn't be so kind.'

The grey, desolate sky continued to hang overhead. Sakura had been walking for quite some time now, and although she was certain that this had been another dream…

…no. This couldn't have been a dream— it was too real, too vivid, to have been a dream.

Had she somewhat entered the realm of her subconscious…?

Was she the one who so truly breached into their world— into her subconscious world…?

A sudden overwhelming pain shot through her head, making her wince. She closed her eyes shut, falling on her knees. She tried to scream, but no sound came.

Then everything went black.