Chapter Text
As loud and blinding as Tokyo was, the city was beautiful as always—effortlessly so. Neon lights spilled across the train windows, washing the car in hues of violet, blue and gold. Jiyuka Inada, a girl with black hair falling down to her mid-back and striking crimson eyes, stood quietly in the center of the train. Her heart slowed down to a calm and steady beat.
There was something deeply reassuring about the familiar sounds of the train: the low whirling hum as it pulled away from the station—zooming to its next destination, and the rhythmic ta-dum ta-dum of steel against steel, and most of all the overlapping murmur of conversations scattered throughout the car.
Without realising it, Jiyuka joined the caphophany of sounds and began tapping her fingers in time on the strap of her black crossbody bag.
Then, she slipped her earpiece into her ears and the train’s choir of sounds softened and dissolved into the background as music filled her senses. Jiyuka held on to the metal pole in the center of the car, her body swaying in accordance with the movement of the train—each curve and jolt of the tracks.
Then the song changed. Her heart dipped, sinking heavily in her chest. It was strange how one final concert could completely reshape the way her favourite song felt. Jiyuka still loves the song and everything about it of course—the melogy, the heartfelt lyrics, the heart-aching vocals.
But listening to it now, so soon after the concert, it felt like pressing on a bruise that hadn’t yet faded.
Exhaling softly, she turned off the music on her phone and the sounds of the train rushed back in to fill the silence. Even now she could almost still hear the voices of the thousands of fans singing along with the band. A small bittersweet smile tugged at her lips. If she could relive the concert, she would without heistation.
Hell, if there was a way for the band to never end and to continue making music together, she would choose that reality in a heartbeat.
Jiyuka let out a silent but heavy breath and ran her hand through her black hair. She shifted her gaze to the window to take her mind off the concert.
The Rainbow Bridge slid into view. And beyond it, was Tokyo Tower, looming in the distance, proudly bathing the night sky in a stunning shade of red. She saw her reflection in the window. Red eyes met red light, framed by black glasses. For a moment she simply stared, then smiled again.
Then, fatigue finally caught up to her. A yawn slipped out of her mouth as she blinked, her eyelids heavy. Her thoughts began drifting ahead to home. It was a long night. Once she arrived home, she was immediately going to take a nice warm bath, the steam curling around her. Then she would dry her hair and crawl into bed, letting sleep claim her. She was already halfway there when her phone vibrated in her hands.
Jiyuka frowned. Who is texting me now? She thought tiredly. Ah it’s the fandom group chat.
SickleMoon
Of course their last concert was amazing… I think I
left my heart in the stands
It’s been an awesome ride guys. Thanks for all the memories
Sadly we won’t have anything new to chat about
anymore so I’m gonna leave the group
Maybe our paths will cross again sometime.
Bye for now!
19:13
SickleMoon left the chat
Pickles
I’m still crying… I love you guys. Thanks
for everything
19:13
Pickles left the chat
Corby
Thanks guys T_T
19:13
Corby left the chat
Slowly but eventually, all the people inside the group chat left. The girl’s heart throbbed. It was depressing that just like that, the fandom was disbanding just like the band themselves. Just as Jiyuka was about to leave the group chat herself, a text in the group chat came.
Mina
Hi
Jiyuka tilted her head to the right in curiosity. She didn’t remember speaking to this ‘Mina’ person before. Careful, her guts told her. And so, while still wary, she decided to text back.
You
Hi there. It’s just the two of us now. It’s sad that
everything is coming to an end just like that, right?
Anyway, I don’t think we’ve spoken before
Mina
Ikr it’s really sad
Yeah I joined pretty late. I missed my
chance to introduce myself
Do you go to a lot of events like this?
You
Sometimes
My friends always encourage me to go to more
concerts more often
Mina
Are you still on your way home?
You
Yes
Mina
Me too
The city lights are really beautiful tonight. Can
you see them?
You
They really are. I was just looking at Tokyo Tower
Mina
Really? Me too!
Oh, maybe she’s on the same train, Jiyuka thought to herself. A pool of uncertainty developed in her stomach—that same pool that always arises when her gut feels that something is wrong. What now? She asked her gut mentally. I was careful. What is wrong now? She’s just a fellow fan.
Mina
Are you crossing the Rainbow Bridge right now?
Huh, Jiyuka thought. What a coincidence… Perhaps I better end this conversation soon just in case.
You
Ah yes I am. You too?
Mina
Yes! We might be on the same train.
Jiyuka’s brows furrowed. If she’s genuinely trouble, then this isn’t good.
Mina
The last two in the chat riding the same train
It must be fate
Can I come talk to you face to face?
You
Apologies but my social battery is down after the
whole concert so perhaps not
Mina
Why not? I’ve always wanted to meet you
That’s why I’m here
Jiyuka’s heart sped up. What the fuck does that mean? Instinctively Jiyuka reached into her black cross-body bag and her fingers found the familiar and comforting leather hilt of her trusty dagger. She tightened her grip on it.
Jiyuka’s eyes darted around, on the alert for any suspicious person that might be this ‘Mina’ if that was even her real name or if ‘Mina’ was even a girl.
It won’t come down to fighting, I hope, Jiyuka thought to herself as the frown on her face deepened.
Then, an unexpected announcement came. “We will soon stop at Kisaragi Station…”
Jiyuka’s eyes widened in confusion mixed with slight panic. “Kisaragi?” she whispered under her breath. “That’s not my stop.”
The girl with black hair and red eyes blinked. And then, by some horrifying manipulation of reality, the whole world was bathed in a shade of her favourite colour—burnt steel.
Jiyuka froze in her place as if a mysterious force was imprisoning her there. Her mouth fell agape. Abruptly, the brakes screeched, piercing through the air. Then the train slowly ground to a halt. Jiyuka’s grip on her dagger grew so tight that the girl bet that her knuckles were pale.
If only I had my sword with me right now… Jiyuka thought. She rubbed her thumb against the hilt of her dagger as if to make sure it was there. But I guess this will have to do. Only then did Jiyuka realise that she was all alone in the train car. The six passengers that were in the car with her seemed to have vanished without so much as a hair left behind. For an unfathomable reason, she was completely alone.
She breathed in slowly and calmly. She would not let fear overtake her.
Multiple scenarios ran through her mind. Number one—which is believable, this could all be a great prank that the train conductor, passengers in the car and this ‘Mina’ person were all in on.
Number two—which is slightly less believable, she had actually passed out on the train from pure exhaustion and this was just a dream. Number three—which is not believable at all, she was teleported to another dimension of some sort.
Now that Jiyuka thought about it, Scenario Number One was not as likely as she initially thought.
Firstly, why pull a prank on her? None of her friends would be able to pull something like this off and nor would they want to scare her for a laugh. And surely, some rando filmmaker or whatever did not wake up one day and decide to pull a prank on a random 20 year old university student.
Secondly, this felt too real. Jiyuka knew what a dream felt like and this wasn’t it. Her mind wasn’t muddy, her senses were all active and her head was clear aside from the confusion brewing inside.
All this made Jiyuka cross Scenario Number One and Two off the list of possible reasons for this predicament.
Which left only Scenario Number Three but that was just—
Jiyuka’s phone vibrated in her hand.
She flinched from the sudden movement. With hesitation, Jiyuka looked at her phone and saw an incoming call from No Caller ID.
Her breath hitched. It had to be Mina.
Her thumb hovered over the red decline button. Was this the best move? What if her declining the call angers Mina instead? So Jiyuka sucked in a breath like a dagger to the gut and pressed the green accept button and put the call on speaker mode.
A heavy breathing sound from a girl was heard.
It was Mina surely.
There was something about her voice that reached into Jiyuka’s chest and gripped her heart like a vise. Then, Mina spoke and her words sliced through Jiyuka’s soul like butter. “We’ll be together soon.”
Jiyuka let out a gasp and her thumb instinctively pressed the red hang up button right before dropping her phone. It hit the floor with a clatter, echoing throughout the empty car. Jiyuka stared at the phone with wide eyes.
With one hand still gripping her dagger, her other hand clutched her dark blue and beige argyle sweater vest. She could feel the rapid beating of her heart beneath her vest. Calm down. Don’t be scared. You’re not scared. Don’t let fear beat you.
Her phone vibrated.
Cautiously, as if the phone would jump up and attack her, Jiyuka leaned over and read the notifications that came in.
Mina
Why did you hang up?
It doesn’t matter
We’ll be together soon
Which car are you in?
You weren’t in car 3
I’m in 4 now
5
6
Shit, shit, shit! Jiyuka’s eyes darted around for the number of the car she was in. She found it. She was in car 7. Mina was coming.
CLACK…
CLACK…
CLACK…
The grinding of the gangway door as it slowly opened was deafening in the silent car. Jiyuka loosened her tight grip on her dagger, holding it firmly but not tightly this time.
“Remember,” the comforting voice of her sensei repeated in Jiyuka’s mind. “Whether you are with your sword or your dagger, always hold your weapon firmly, not tightly. You must grip securely to prevent it from slipping, but avoid cramping to maintain mobility and thus power over your opponent.”
The girl with black hair and red eyes stood with her feet apart and her knees slightly bent. Don’t let fear beat you, she reminded herself. Jiyuka pushed her glasses up her nosebridge, her eyes peeled on the gangway door. Then, she exhaled.
The gangway door fully opened.
CLACK…
CLACK…
CLACK…
“Come on out, Mina,” Jiyuka said calmly, almost tauntingly. Her blade was pointed towards her elbow. Sensei taught her that the reverse grip was best for fights with distance. And there was no way Jiyuka was going to let ‘Mina’ be any closer to her than what was wanted. “You’ve found me. So let’s be ‘together’.”
One second passed. Two. Three. Nothing came out from the gangway door. There’s no one…
But Jiyuka spoke too soon.
“Guess who?”
Jiyuka froze. A pale hand with long sharp black nails gripped her by her shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye, Jiyuka saw blood dripping down Mina’s hand. The girl would have let out a gasp then if her throat had not closed over with that stupid emotion: fear.
Her sensei’s words resurfaced in her mind. “Fear does a fool no good,” Sensei once said. “But you are no fool, Jiyuka Inada. So grab that fear by its neck and force it to transform from a table knife into a sword. And with that sword, cut down your enemies.” Then, something shifted in her.
Just like that, her training took over her mind and body. With one swift movement, Jiyuka spun around, escaping from Mina’s grip. She slashed Mina’s arm and blood came spilling out from the vein Jiyuka cut, like a reservoir from a destroyed dam.
In another movement, she ducked down and with her dagger, sliced at Mina’s legs—giving her opponent a good deep gash that Sensei would be proud of—before using her own to kick out Mina’s legs from below. Her opponent fell to the ground with a thud!
But Mina didn’t let out a yell from pain. Instead from her mouth came out a bloodcurdling laugh, as if it was all just a game to her. Only when Mina was on the floor and Jiyuka was standing, facing her, did Jiyuka take a good look at her opponent.
This wasn’t a troubled, psychopathic girl Jiyuka expected Mina to be. No. Instead, lying on the ground before her was a monster.
Where the creature’s upper face should be, countless large vibrant flowers were. Violet, red, white.
Only its nose and its mouth were visible. And even then, its lips were blood-stained and they were pulled up into a crooked spine-chilling smile.
The monster wore a torn and tattered white dress that was stained with blood splatters. Jiyuka could only guess at whether that blood belonged to the monster…or its victims.
Jiyuka stood there, rooted to the ground. Her blood was rushing like a bullet train, pounding in her ears. This unnerving sight before her as well as the monster’s soul-piercing laughter engraved itself in Jiyuka’s mind.
“What…are you?” she uttered, her voice quivering.
The girl with black hair and red eyes hated how afraid this monster had made her, how weak and vulnerable she felt, how her left leg trembled like some fragile leaf in a storm. Jiyuka always prided herself on never showing weakness, never being afraid.
It wasn’t because she believed fear was a loser’s emotion. Fear was normal. She didn’t mind if others felt scared. She just hated it when it was her.
The creature didn’t answer her, not at first. Instead it let out that stupid giggle again and that made Jiyuka feel like curling up into a ball and hiding away in a corner. Only after it stopped laughing did the monster reply, “I’m you.”
Jiyuka’s heart was in her throat now. “What?” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “What the hell does that mean?”
‘Mina’ laughed. Then, from the numerous flowers that were its upper face, emerged a large glaring eye with a pupil that had pupils of its own. Jiyuka couldn’t help but meet the creature’s gaze.
“Soon…” the monster hissed out gleefully. “You’ll see...”
Jiyuka continued to stand there like deer in headlights. She couldn’t do anything but watch helplessly as the monster slowly stood up, its blood still running down its arm and legs, forming a small pool of dark red. As it stood up, Jiyuka could hear its bones shifting, grinding against each other like the parts of a rusty machine.
The monster’s pale hand with black nails and dripping blood reached out for her.
Run, Inada, Jiyuka yelled at herself mentally. Run!
But Jiyuka’s body betrayed her mind.
She did nothing.
Then— “Gyahaha! Wait till I get my teeth into you!”
A voice from behind her, shook Jiyuka out of her trance. She spun around, gripping hard on her dagger, forgetting her sensei’s words about always holding her dagger firmly and not tightly. Jiyuka found herself facing a young man seemingly around her age. He had red hair, and a killer grin and not in a charming way.
The new opponent had a gun with intricate patterns tied to him by a strap. ‘Mina’ seemed to look at him or at least notice his presence because its wide smile was gone and so was its eerie eye.
Great, now I have to fight two opponents at once, Jiyuka thought with her brows knotted.
But then the new opponent did something unexpected. Instead of attacking both Jiyuka and the monster like she thought he would, he smashed the window with his head. The glass window shattered into many pieces.
Still flashing that killer grin and despite half of his face being covered by the blood dripping down from his temple, the young and clearly disturbed man grabbed a bunch of glass shards with his bare hand which bled too.
“Malab…” he said as he licked some of the blood on his face. His smile was gone and so was that gleeful tone in his voice. His golden eyes were ice cold. “Be good… And hold still now.” The red haired opponent loaded the blood covered glass shards into his gun. Click clack. “You want me to take you out, don’t you?”
He pointed the gun and immediately started firing. But not at Jiyuka. Just at the monster that attacked her. Jiyuka ducked, leaping out of the gun’s way before landing on the train seats.
The gunshots seemed to go on for a while. Its loud steady sounds booming in Jiyuka’s ears. The monster on the other hand did not escape the glass shards. Many pierced its body and it fell to the ground before crawling away at an incredible speed for its injuries through the gangway door nearest to it.
In the midst of the shooting, some of the glass shards ricocheted off its surroundings and one flying shard cut her ankle, earning a hiss from Jiyuka.
Eventually the shooting stopped.
“Fuck, I’m out,” exclaimed the insane gunshooter that had just severely injured if not killed the monster that had come after Jiyuka. “Well, that’s a buzzkill.”
Jiyuka breathed heavily. Everything she had just gone through was too much for her to digest even 50%.
What had just happened? How did she end up in this bizarre world?
What was that monster with flowers as its face? Why did she—no, it—say that Jiyuka was her and it was Jiyuka?
And who was this insane man with red hair and yellow eyes and a gun? What the fuck was going on?
Countless thoughts raced through her mind. But the throbbing pain from her ankle brought her back to the present.
“My ankle…” Jiyuka muttered through gritted teeth. For a flying shard, it had cut her quite deep, warm blood trickled down her skin and soaked into her boots.
As if he had only just noticed her presence, the opponent with a gun raised his eyebrows in mild surprise, cocking his head as he stared into Jiyuka’s eyes as if she was a mere curiosity. One hand settled lazily on his hip, the other loose around the grip of his gun as he strode over to Jiyuka, his boots crunching softly over broken glass.
Jiyuka didn’t wait for him to get closer.
Instinctively, Jiyuka leapt off the seat, landing hard. Pain detonated up her leg, white-hot and blinding, and for a split second, her vision swam. She mentally winced, refusing to show weakness in front of this insane opponent. She clenched her jaw, and this time, she held her blood-covered dagger firmly.
She had dealt with many other worse opponents before. So this man didn’t scare her. Not like ‘Mina’ did, anyway. He wasn’t that kind of terror.
“If you’re planning to attack me,” Jiyuka said cooly, despite the pain screaming through her ankle, “I suggest you stop and choose another move that will not result in my dagger in your chest.”
The young man did not respond at first. His yellow eyes were wrong—flat, predatory, devoid of heat. There was a cold brutality that permeated his harrowing gaze. When he finally spoke, his voice was icy and bored, almost disappointed, “You saw that?” He shrugged, clearly indifferent. “Whatever. I’ll just chuck you out there.”
Jiyuka’s stomach dropped. ‘Out there’ clearly meant the world of red beyond the shattered window. As much as she loved the colour red, she would rather not be ‘chucked out there’ in a strange world.
The insane opponent reached out towards her, wanting to grab her. The black haired girl moved on instinct and training alone.
She caught his wrist mid-grab, twisted, and yanked him forward. Using his own momentum against him, Jiyuka spun behind him in one fluid motion that she had practiced and perfected countless times with Sensei till it was in her veins.
His back hit her with a dull sound as she wrenched his arm behind him at a brutal angle. Caught off guard, her opponent gasped, a sharp sound escaping his throat. Jiyuka pressed her dagger against her opponent’s throat. A thin line of blood appeared and trickled down.
The young man reached for his gun. “Don’t,” Jiyuka said intently, speaking next to his ear. “Or else you’ll find stopping the bleeding to be a tedious—but short-lived—task.”
Jiyuka’s opponent stilled… then chuckled. “You’re a rather interesting specimen, eh? At first I thought you were just an ordinary girl, but now I’m wondering if you’re an anomaly.”
Anomaly? Jiyuka thought, puzzled. What the hell is an anomaly?
“Anomaly or not, you’ve got claws, kitty-cat,” he murmured, his voice low with amusement. “But I’ve dealt with much fiercer ones than you.”
He moved faster than she expected.
His elbow snapped backward, driving the air from her lungs. Jiyuka’s grip faltered for half a second too long. The insane opponent twisted violently, tearing free and knocking her dagger aside. It clattered across the floor, skidding beneath a seat.
Jiyuka staggered, agony roaring through her body as she caught herself against a pole.
The insane opponent struck her shoulder with his gun, sending her crashing against the wall. Stars burst across her vision and a thousand African drums were pounding in her head.
Before she could even have a second to get her bearings, the young insane man pulled the trigger. Bang! The bullet narrowly missed her head and shattered another window nearby instead. He shot at her again. Bang! Bang! Both times she managed to avoid it. A strange red fog poured in from the shattered window, curling like living smoke.
“Not easy to kill, are you?” her opponent remarked.
Jiyuka forced herself forward despite the ringing in her ears and the pain in her body, ducking beneath his next swing. She drove her fist into his ribs. Both of them felt the impact but it hardly slowed him down. He grabbed her wrist, twisted hard, and she cried out as something shifted painfully.
Then the world flipped.
He hooked an arm around Jiyuka’s waist, then lifted her clean off the ground, hoisting her onto his shoulder as if she weighed nothing. “No!” Jiyuka yelled, thrashing uselessly as her body throbbed with every jolt. No, no, no. I lost. I lost a fucking fight and now I’m to pay for it with my life.
Her opponent paid her no attention. He strode over to the broken window, propped his leg up on the seat and leaned forward, peering into the crimson abyss beyond the train. Despite being only seconds away from being thrown out of the train window, Jiyuka froze. The air that seeped in carried a strange, acrid, metallic stench that burned her lungs. The alien landscape outside the train was robed in a peculiar red fog and it seemed to stretch out into oblivion. There was no ground she could see, no landmarks, no sign of life or death.
Even if she were to survive the fall…where would she run?
This place was foreign and Jiyuka highly doubted it would show her any mercy.
“Well,” the young man said, bringing Jiyuka back to reality. “If I had time, I would continue to fight you, anomaly. But I’ve got my eyes on bigger fish.”
Jiyuka continued struggling. “Don’t you dare! Don’t you bloody dare throw me out of this window!” She drew back her elbow and hit the back of her opponent’s head.
“Gah! Enough! Quit struggling. I can’t get a good angle.”
“I will not die today. I refuse to die by the hands of someone like you. You fucking. Utterly insane. Red-haired gunman!” Jiyuka screeched.
“So screamy aren’t you? And I’m not just a gunman. I’m a gunman and your friendly neighbourhood ghoul! Man, I have always wanted to say that!”
Jiyuka did not have patience to deal with this insane man’s audacity to quote one of her favourite characters while in the midst of throwing her out the window nor his strange and obviously insane words. “What the fuck is a ghoul?” Jiyuka all but yelled.
“A ghoul is me!” he said uselessly. “And I, a ghoul, am throwing you out! Gyahaha! Ciao!”
Jiyuka yelped as he hefted her up and swung her back, preparing to honour his words. I’m going to die. I’m going to die and my family will never know what happened to me. Jiyuka shut her eyes, her lips trembling as she braced herself for the fall and eventual death.
But it did not come, instead a new voice emerged from behind her and for a moment, Jiyuka’s heart slowed down.