Mira led Kato into another huge building and when she opened the sliding door, there were five other young people sitting around and having fun. 

A girl and four boys. One of them was Isaiah. 

They all turned to their direction when Mira opened the door, and their eyes glued on Kato who they hadn't seen before. Isaiah saw Kato and immediately looked the other way in annoyance.

Kato: (to himself) So he's still mad about that time? 

Mira: Hey everyone! I brought him here like I told you too. Everyone, this is Kato. Kato Hamura. He's one of my friends from school I always talked about.

Kato: Wait... They know about me already?

Mira: (nods) And Takimo too.

At the mention of his name, Kato suddenly remembered that Takimo hadn't crossed his mind at all ever since everything happened. 

Kato: (to himself) Takimo... He probably thinks I'm a monster too now. 

Mira saw the saddened look on his face once more and then tapped him.

Mira: I'm going to introduce you to them now, okay?

Kato nodded and Mira began introducing them.

Mira pointed at the guy with tan colored hair who sat at the extreme end of the room.

Mira: That's Kenji. He's the oldest one here and he's my cousin. We ran into his mother earlier, remember?

Kato then realized that she was referring to Dana and a look of surprise hit him.

Kato: (to himself) That was his mother?

Mira then pointed to the dark skinned kid who sat on the floor mat in front of the TV.

Mira: That's Yamato. He's the most carefree one amongst us here. 

Yamato grinned and gave Kato a thumbs up which Kato cringed at. Mira then pointed to the boy who sat next to him. He wore a turtle neck outfit which covered his neck and a face mask which covered his mouth. 

Mira: That's Uta. He doesn't really talk and he uses sign language to communicate. 

Kato: Huh? Why? 

Mira: He...

Isaiah: Have you heard of the Jaw Jacker? 

Kato sharply turned to Isaiah who sat a few feet away from him.

Kato: Yeah? The serial killer that used to roam around a few years ago? What about it?

Isaiah: That was Uta's father. He did unspeakable things to him and even destroyed his voice box. That's why he can't talk.

Kato: What the hell? 

The other girl in the room suddenly spoke up.

Cookie: Hey, should you really be saying that Isaiah?

Isaiah: It's not Uta can say those words to him and Kato probably doesn't know sign language. 

Cookie: That's still not an excuse. 

Isaiah: Huh? Get off my case already. 

Uta then turned to Cookie and performed a sequence of hand signs to which Cookie sighed.

Cookie: You're okay with it? 

Uta nodded and performed another sequence of hand signs which confused an already confused Kato all the more. 

Mira: And this here is Cookie.

Kato: (puzzled) Is that her actual name or a nickname?

Cookie then turned to Kato. 

Cookie: Yeah it is. You got a problem with it?

Kato: N... No. 

Cookie then smiled at him.

Cookie: Uta was saying he wanted you to hear his story so you won't feel alone in your suffering. I also have my share of suffering too. I became a shadow the same way you did. 

Kato's eyes widened.

Kato: You too?

A light feeling of relief suddenly filled Kato's chest when he heard those words. 

Kato: I see...

Silence filled the room after that as Kato had begun to come to terms that they all had their own struggles they were going through. 

Suddenly, Kato looked up and Yamato was in his face which caught off guard.

Yamato: You look younger than me. How old are you?

Kato: Why does that matter?

Yamato: Just trying to lighten the mood.

Kenji: Yamato, give him some space. He’s probably overwhelmed after everything. 

Yamato: Oh... I didn't think of that... My bad.

Right now, everything Kato was seeing and what he had seen so far began to clash violently with the things he had been told and had seen prior and as a result, his head felt like it was melting. 

It reached the point that when Mira led him out to their next destination, he stopped halfway which surprised Mira who had taken a few steps ahead before she noticed. 

Mira: What's wrong?

Kato stayed quiet for a while before he gathered his thoughts together and responded. 

Kato: Look... I get it okay. I get what you’re trying to show me. But that doesn’t erase what Shadows have done. People have died. Cities have burned. Families have been ruined. Some of them chose to become monsters. So how am I supposed to just forget that?

Mira stood quietly as Kato spoke making sure to not interrupt him.

Kato: If Shadow energy can turn people into monsters, then I don’t think the world is crazy for being scared. Maybe it’s not fair to just think of everyone as a killer, but it’s not for no reason either.

Kato paused, allowing the weight of his words to sink in before he continued. 

Kato: I’m not ready to throw away everything I thought was true just because you showed me one safe place. 

Mira exhaled slowly, then stepped in front of Kato so he had to look at her.

Mira: You’re right. Some Shadows do terrible things and I won’t lie to you about that.

Kato frowned slightly, surprised she wasn’t denying it.

Mira: But that doesn’t mean the rest of us deserve to be erased for it. Humans commit crimes too and Clarions have murdered people. But nobody says all Humans or all Clarions are monsters.

She placed a hand over her chest.

Mira: I didn’t choose to be born this way. I didn’t choose shadow energy. But I did choose what kind of person I wanted to be. And so did everyone you saw today. 

She looked past him toward the safe haven.

Mira: If the world only judges us by our worst examples… then no one is innocent.

Kato stayed silent. His jaw tightened, but his eyes shifted back toward the people in the safe haven.

Children laughed in the distance. A woman with shadow-marked skin carried groceries inside. A man helped an injured boy walk.

Kato: …I’m not saying you’re lying.

Mira looked at him.

Kato: I just… I can’t pretend the fear came from nowhere.

Mira nodded.

Mira: Then don't. I don’t want you to pretend. I just want you to see us before you decide what we are.

Mira then turned away and began walking a few steps ahead then she turned back to Kato.

Mira: Come on. I still have one more place to take you. 

Kato hesitated and then took a slow step forward.

*****

They continued walking until they arrived at a small wooden cottage. The first thing that caught Kato’s attention was the smell of grilled meat drifting through the air. His stomach tightened as the scent grew stronger. On the veranda, a man with glasses and an apron stood over a barbecue grill, carefully turning skewers of meat.

The man looked up when he noticed them. The moment his eyes landed on Mira, his face lit up with a warm smile.

Mira: Good afternoon, Mr. Daniel.

Daniel: Oh, Mira. You’re here. Did you come for my special barbecue again, or did you come to play with Ethan?

Mira smiled.

Mira: A bit of both. But I also need your help with something.

She glanced back at Kato. He stiffened slightly, unsure what that meant.

Before he could ask, the cottage door opened. A woman stepped out, followed by a small boy who looked about five years old. The moment the child saw Mira, his face broke into a grin and he ran straight into her arms.

Mira laughed softly as she caught him.

But Kato barely noticed that.

His attention was fixed on the woman.

Dark, floral-shaped shadow markings bloomed along her arms like living tattoos, curling over her skin in delicate patterns. Yet the man at the grill; Daniel had no markings at all. 

No pointed ears and no shadow markings.

Even the child in Mira’s arms had the faintly pointed ears of a Shadow.

That’s when it clicked.

Kato’s eyes widened slightly.

Kato: Excuse me, sir.

Daniel looked over.

Kato: Are you… human?