As they entered the deep forest, the duo began the search.
The woods didn't look so peaceful anymore.
The sun had fully breached the canopy, and the light there was filtered through the leaves in streaks of gold and shadow.
Kodai walked behind her in silence, his face heavy with concentration, his heavy boots crunching across dirt and roots. Every now and then, he'd stop and crouch, examining the ground—as if he were looking for the last piece of the puzzle so he could see the full picture.
"Got tracks," he muttered. "Three small, one adult-sized. Heading back the way we came. Must've been the mother," he said in a gruff voice, looking at Yuki ahead.
"Got it," she said in confirmation.
The deeper they went, the colder it got. Unnatural for spring. A shiver crawled up Yuki's spine.
"Do you smell that?" she asked quietly.
Kodai grunted. "Copper. Rot. Something died out here."
Yuki looked at him, unease deeply written on her face. She steeled herself and trudged along, her legs dragging in the dirt—hesitant at what she might find.
They pushed through thick underbrush until they reached a clearing near the creek bed—and froze.
Both stood frozen in shock.
At a loss for words at the scene before them.
Blood stained the rocks. Pieces of torn fabric were strewn across the ground. And the drag marks—leading toward the trees. Deep gouges, like something had hauled the bodies away.
"God," Yuki whispered, her hands cupping her mouth. "These kids didn't just get lost."
Kodai knelt near a pile of broken branches, his pot belly tightening, his old hero suit brushing as he ran gloved fingers over a smear of red.
"Still wet. This was recent."
There was a sound—just a faint rustle—and both heroes turned toward the darkness.
"Did you hear—" Yuki started, but Kodai raised a hand to silence her.
Then something else caught his attention.
A stone, covered in moss. Scraped clean in the middle.
Yuki's voice shook. "We should call this in. This isn't a bear. This isn't a mountain lion either."
"No animal leaves drag mar-..," his gaze freezing,
Yuki followed his gaze.
There he was. Or… what was left of him. Blood and guts were spilled out onto the dirt. Bones were broken and scattered. It looked like something had ripped him apart and… eaten him.
Yuki suddenly vomited before falling to her hands and knees. She started to sob as she shook her head, unable to even process what she was seeing. Her thoughts were racing. It was too much—too real.
"Poor Aoki…"
Kodai said in a somber tone, "She'll be devastated."
———————
As I sat in the dark cave in silence
The girls bones cracked between my teeth like brittle twigs. I bit down one last time, snapping the girl's femur in half, the marrow warm and rich on my tongue. It was horrifying how quickly I'd adapted—how normal it felt. The skin, the fat, the tendons. It was delicious the more I ate the more I wanted
"I need to control myself"
I said as I wiped the last of the blood off my cheek with the back of my hand
I leaned back against the wall of the cave, licking the remaining gore from my fingers. The hunger had subsided. But it wasn't gone. It never really left. It just curled up inside me like a coiled snake—waiting.
I can't allow it to control me I frowned to myself although I'm trapped in the body of a monster it doesn't mean I have to behave like one
I stood and stretched. My body—this body—was… perfection. Not human, not anymore. I shifted my organs again, just for the hell of it. Moved my heart from the left to the right, just to feel the sensation. I could feel muscle fiber tighten beneath my skin, adjust the density of my bones, reinforce my ribcage like it was nothing.
I wanted to leave. I wanted to explore more of this strange world. I'd tasted it now. I'd taken life. But something in me wanted more than blood. I wanted knowledge. I wanted answers.
I turned to leave from the cave but I stopped a deep scowl lacing my face
" Oh right I can't"
I remembered that although this body may be perfect it has one fatal flaw
Sunlight, I flinched remembering the burning pain I felt as I touched my arm where the wound had long since healed itself, another cool perk of this body.
The waiting game it is
I stared out at the light like it was some ancient enemy.
Trapped like a rat in a hole. I slunk back to the far side of the cave, sitting cross-legged in the dark, stewing in frustration.
Then—I felt it.
Not with my eyes. Not with my ears. Something else. My senses had evolved. It was something I couldn't explain with words a feeling that I knew by instinct was unique to me alone
It was like… tremors in the earth. Tiny vibrations. Footsteps. Calm ones. Measured. Two sets, not far—about a mile away. Near the clearing.
Near him.
I tilted my head, closing my eyes.
Two people. One lightweight probably a woman the other heavier more sluggish a man, their movements controlled and cautious. Not like the kids—these ones were deliberate. Sharp. Focused.
Hunters?
No.
They were talking—faint murmurs carried on the wind. I strained to hear.
"…still warm. But only one… said there were three."
"…agency should've sent backup."
"…whatever did this is long gone by now."
Agency? I opened my eyes.
"What the hell are they talking about?"
I didn't understand it—but the way they moved, the way they spoke—it didn't feel like normal people. They felt organized. Trained even. They weren't here by accident.
Are they hunting me? I thought with genuine curiosity
An innocent smile streamed across my face
"How nice of them to deliver"
For the first time since waking up in this twisted body, I felt something close to excitement. A threat. A challenge.
But I couldn't go to them—not yet. The sun still burned outside, mocking me with every passing second. I'd have to wait.
I was always a very patient man "
I leaned back, letting my eyes close, letting their voices echo in my head.
I didn't know who they were.
But they were going to lead me to answers.
A plan started hatching in my mind another smile bloomed
"Can't wait"
Yuki's hands trembled
Not from fear. From rage.
Aoki's voice still echoed in her mind—raw, cracking, begging them to find her children. Three of them. Gone since the night before. One shoe found. One bloodstained scrap of cloth. The others missing.
They had been friends since they were young. She had been there when Yuki gave birth to all three of her children. They were like family to her.
Yuki stood by the agency's weapons locker, staring at her reflection in the glass pane.
She looked calm—cool even. Golden blond hair tied into a neat ponytail, her agency jacket crisp. But her stomach twisted.
Behind her, Kodai adjusted the straps on his vest, double-checking his radio. He hadn't said much since they got back from the forest.
"She was counting on us," Yuki said, and we failed her. The depression deepened.
Kodai looked up at her.
"I can tell her if you want," he said in a somber tone, realizing the pain she must be going through.
"No," Yuki said. "It has to be me."
The duo left the stale office behind, missing who they were just a few short hours ago as they walked down the main road of the village.
The small village was buzzing with conversation.
By now, everyone had heard about the missing children. Aoki had been trying to rally a search party to look for her lost kids, but many feared those once-peaceful woods and could only show pity to the poor woman, desperately trying to find her now-dead babies.
As the duo walked, they soon arrived at the old two-story house Aoki shared with her children. Her husband long dead—it was just her now.
This news would break her.
Yuki couldn't bear to open the door, wanting to keep her friend away from the news she knew she had to tell.
This is it, she thought as she opened the old door, the rusted bolts groaning.
The duo steeled themselves as they walked in—more afraid of the woman's reaction than of that thing in the forest.
Something that would soon change.