There was nothing to like about me and I've been treating Matsuno coldly. I ignored him when he greeted me in the hallway, I stood up and left the room when he entered, and I gave him the shortest replies whenever he tried to talk directly to me.

"What did Chifuyu see in her anyway?" I often heard the other students ask and, honestly, I wanted to ask that too. Oh, wait, it was because he thought I was cool and nice. Tsk. Bullshit.

"It's up to you," Matsuno said.

What the hell did he just say? My earphones were plugged in my ears so I didn't hear the rest of his words. I continued ignoring him. But my classmates were being annoying, whistling and saying embarrassing things. The situation was only getting worse. I needed to blend into the background again. Fast. Or I'd stand out more and have eyes on me when I didn't want them. An assassin shouldn't have this much attention.

I sighed, giving in to the pressure. Pulling out my earbuds, I told Matsuno: "Fine. Then stop bothering me."

His emerald eyes actually lit up.

Shit.

What the hell did I just agree to?

My classmates chuckled and Matsuno's friends teased him. He smiled at me. "Then see you tomorrow in front of the station and then we'll go together to Sweetie Cuties' concert."

What did he say?

Sweetie... Cuties?

Sweetie Cuties.

SWEETIE CUTIES?

The Jpop idol group of super pretty talented girls with golden voices and high-level dancing skills? The Sweetie Cuties that had been recently charting number one in international music charts? THE Sweetie Cuties that had been my favorite girl group since their debut and whose songs accompanied me in the darkest times of my life? The Sweetie Cuties?

How the hell did he know?

"How..." I couldn't even string a proper sentence.

"Oh," he exclaimed, "I saw you looking lovingly at the magazine they were a cover of at the bookstore the other day. Thought you might like them."

Like them? Oh gosh, no. I LOVE THEM.

Matsuno displayed the two tickets in his hands. "I'll bring our tickets tomorrow."

"Y-yes. Okay." My heart soared. I was going to watch Sweetie Cuties' concert? With all the money I earn, it should've been easy to acquire a VIP ticket to my favorite idol group's concert. However, I stubbornly denied my desire to see them live. I felt like if I got too close to them, I would lose a certain part of the darkness within me. I needed to distance away myself from them, somehow. But, now, it was different. Saying yes to Matsuno's invitation in exchange for him disappearing from my life was important. Going to the concert was needed for my job.

Yes.

Of course.

It's necessary.

Right?

Matsuno's grin reached both his ears. Was he really so happy going out with me? I mean, not going out as in dating... but, spending time with me?

I sighed. When did I become so fickle? I blame Chifuyu Matsuno. Since encountering him, it was as if I was properly listening to my heart for the first time.

For the first time, I wanted to feel.

+0+0+0+0+

"What the hell are we doing here?" Matsuno and I were inside a cafe eating strawberry shortcake. The shop's interior was decorated with pink frills and ribbons and everything cute. I stab my cake with my fork. "Matsuno," I warned him.

His reply was to hmm and tell me how delicious the pastry in the cafe was. I watched him closely and noted how he always seemed to be calm and collected, well, aside from when he was in a fight. His green eyes suddenly met mine and I felt my cheeks turn warm.

The fuck.

I mentally shook my head as I avoided his gaze and finally ate a piece of my cake. My eyes widened. The cake was so delicious, sweet, and very creamy. The strawberry pieces were as sweet as the frosting.

"See?" Matsuno picked a piece of his strawberry and gave it to me. "You seem to really like it. Here's more."

"No, that's yours."

"It's alright." Then he finished his cake and sipped his cold tea. He reached below, opened a bag, and handed me a swirl lollipop lightstick-Sweetie Cuties' official lightstick. He smiled at me and I felt warm inside. Up until now, I almost forgot the nice feeling of receiving something good from someone.

With the lightstick in my hands, I thought, I was really going to see my favorite group's live concert. I still couldn't believe it. This time, I wasn't looking forward to killing someone but was looking forward to having fun.

I set the lightstick aside and finished eating the wonderful cake. Matsuno's chin rested on the palm of his hand as he looked at me. He said, "A-as I promised, I won't be bothering you again after tonight. But you must promise me, too, that before the night's over, you'd be honest and tell me if your heart's changed and whether you would consider officially going out with me." His eyes bore into mine. He was serious and nervous, his breathing fast.

I nodded my head and focused my attention on my cake, knowing that whatever happened, I would still dump him tonight.

When I was done eating, Matsuno, without holding my hand, led me to the concert hall. There were hundreds of fans standing in line and Matsuno and I waited with them. At last, we were standing inside and watching the beginning of the concert. At first, I just quietly watched the members of Sweetie Cuties as they sang and danced, but after some time, totally enchanted, I failed to stop myself from singing loudly and moving my body with the rhythm of their songs. I totally lost myself to the music and the energy inside the concert hall.

And I loved it.

I felt alive and just so... happy.

When the concert ended, I actually cried. Matsuno took off his jacket and placed it over my head. "There could always be next time." His tone was hopeful.

But I knew there couldn't be. After this one night, we will never be together like this again and I would distance myself from the normal niceties of life once more. I would be back to being Death.

Then as if reading my mind and knowing my ache inside, he suddenly caught my hand and whisked me away. "It's still early. Let's have more fun."

"More?"

We entered a karaoke booth. Matsuno handed me the microphone, picked a song by Sweetie Cuties, and smiled at me. "Let's sing our hearts out tonight!"

"Okay," I replied.

He gasped a little and I got worried if he experienced a sudden pain, but he just said, "I like seeing you smile."

S...mile?

I looked at the mirror at the side of the booth and, indeed, saw my smiling reflection. So, this was how I looked when I smiled. Since my parents' death, I haven't smiled. Hadn't found a reason to. But tonight, in this tiny booth, with a delinquent named Chifuyu Matsuno, I smiled.

The music started and my hands shook. Not because I was nervous to sing, but because I realized how close I was to becoming an ordinary human again. A normal girl getting confessed to by a boy, going to an arcade, being curious about the opposite sex, going to a concert, and now having fun in a karaoke booth. It was all thanks to Matsuno.

Bravely, I said through the mic, "Thank you." Looking at him, he blushed and I found it adorable.

For hours, we spent the last of our money singing songs with our out-of-tune singing voices, before I let him know that after this wonderful moment, we would be back to being strangers again.