Sakuno and I changed into our casual clothes and left the dormitory building. We wandered around campus for a bit before heading to the courtyard in front of the central auditorium. That’s where the real pulse of the college came alive.

Stalls lined the area, students eagerly promoting their clubs, while hundreds more gathered in tight-knit circles, engrossed in all sorts of activities.

"So this is school," Sakuno whistled. "Pretty nice, pretty nice."

"Yeah. Even I was surprised by how vibrant it was. It's a good feeling, seeing all these people living their lives with smiles on their faces."

Sakuno bumped my shoulder. "You could say it's partially thanks to us. Who knows? Maybe one of those students wouldn't be here right now if it hadn't been for us."

"Maybe, but we'll never truly know."

"Haha. No, we won't. On a side note... You're noticing that too, right?"

"Yeah..."

Sakuno and I tried to play it off as best as we possibly could, but it was undeniable. As we stand here now, several eyes are watching us. Their heads twisted and looked at us as if they knew we didn't belong. They're not even trying to hide it.

"Have we been exposed?" Sakuno whispered.

"Unknown as of right now," I whispered back. "Do you a weapon on you?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Keep your guard up."

"Um... E-excuse me," said a voice from behind us.

Immediately, Sakuno and I turned around with our hands reaching for our pockets, but the moment we saw who was there, our suspicions faded just as quickly.

It was a girl, along with a couple of her friends. They had their phones out with innocent faces that made it hard to believe they were attempting to engage in combat.

"Can we... help you?" Sakuno asked hesitantly.

"Uh... My friends and I were wondering..." she spoke softly. "Are you two... m-models?"

My mind immediately went blank, and I know it was the same case for Sakuno as well. We both slowly turned to each other with the dumbest looks.

"Models...?" I asked.

"Yeah, because... My friends and I thought that you two were... g-good looking. A-and we haven't seen you around campus before."

I don't even know what to say to that. This has happened to me a couple of times before, but I never thought anything of it, and I still don't. Sakuno, on the other hand, quickly altered his expression to match the mood.

"Well, thank you, my lady," he smiled as he took the girl's hand. "Unfortunately, we aren't models, but we appreciate the fact that you thought so. If I may say so, you too are a sight for sore eyes."

With that, he planted a gentle peck on the girl's hand, causing all of her friends behind her to squeal with excitement.

"Can we know your names?" one of them asked.

"Sure!" Sakuno grinned. "The name's Sakuno. This here is my friend, Tsuki."

"Wow, those are such pretty names too."

"Right?"

"Can we get a picture with you two?" asked another.

"Sure thing! Oi, Tsuki. Come here."

I don't even know why I bothered listening to him. It took a couple of minutes for us to get the photo right because we were so tall compared to those girls.

While Sakuno had the brightest smile of them all, I could barely manage a small one. Taking pictures isn't the best thing for an assassin to do.

"Thank you so much!" the girls said.

Sakuno waved them goodbye. Anytime! You girls behave now."

"We will!"

And that was the end of that. The girls skipped off as if they had just finished a meet-and-greet with their favorite celebrities. Meanwhile, Sakuno seemed a little too proud of what he had just done.

"Dang, my first day, and I'm already catching some eyes," he chuckled. "Has this ever happened to you?"

"More times than I remember," I replied. "I suppose normal people just like taking random photos every now and then."

"...Are you being serious?"

"What?"

He let out an exaggerated sigh before throwing his arm around my shoulder.

"Listen, Tsuki," he said. "There's only one reason why girls like them would ever ask to take a photo with you. Care to take a guess?"

"...How the hell should I know?"

"Wow, you really are oblivious to a fault. It's because they like you, my guy. Be it your looks, your vibe, or whatever."

I then let out a sigh of my own as I pushed his arm away.

"That doesn't make any sense," I said.

"Eh?! Sure it does! Why else would they ask? Just think. Now they're gonna show their friends and maybe make a post on social media with that photo. Ain't that nice?"

"I wouldn't necessarily call plastering our faces on the internet 'nice.' If anything, it only serves to leave traces."

"Oh, lighten up a bit, you killjoy. Think of it like this. Those photos are just an alibi to show that we're real students. Pretty solid, right?"

"I suppose so."

"Tch... You're never gonna get any friends if you keep that up."

"Not like I want any."

Suddenly, someone bumped into me from the side. I glanced down and recognized a familiar head of wavy, wine-red hair. The girl looked up, revealing those calm, hazel-brown eyes. Now that we were standing side by side, I noticed she was quite a bit shorter than me—her head barely reached my shoulder.

"Ah... It's you," she said.

When I met her for the first time, I saw a sense of sadness within those eyes as she attempted to hide it behind a smile. However, today, it seems the façade was wiped clean, as she now had a concerning look of anxiety.

"Oh. Hey," I greeted her. "Are you okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yes... Sorry for bumping into you," she bowed her head and said. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"That's fine. Actually, I should be the one apologizing to you."

"To me? What for?"

"I said something weird to you the other day. Sorry. I didn't mean to."

"Oh, that? It's okay. I thought nothing of it, so don't worry."

"Is that so? Well, since we cleared that up, I suppose I should be on my way."

"Ah, of course..."

What is this I'm sensing? Why does she seem so anxious? Even her words are strained and abnormally said with hesitation. I'm truly curious about what's bothering her, but it's not my place to ask or intervene.

"Oh, there she is!" a voice shouted. "Miss Taiyori!"

I turned around to see a group of boys running over to us, their faces red as if they had run far and wide to find her.

"Ah, so we have a popular one here, huh?" Sakuno scoffed.

My eyes drifted down to Taiyori. At first, it was hard to tell, but after a few seconds, it became clear—her body was trembling. She wouldn’t even turn around. It’s obvious she isn't as excited to meet them as they are to meet her.

Why...?

"Finally," one of the boys said. "We've been looking for you everywhere."

"Is that so...? Taiyori muttered.

"Yeah. Remember last week when you told us you were gonna join us for a party? It's tonight, so we were wondering if you wanted to come with us for some drinks before it starts."

"Ah... About that. I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to go."

"Eh? But you promised us!"

"I did, didn't I? Well, something came up."

"What? What is it? Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

"Hey, I said that something came up. Take the hint already."

Watching this all go down makes me want to vomit. The hell am I looking at? Is this how the normal world truly is? If so, then it's almost no different from the world that I came from. 

As for Taiyori, that was certainly unexpected. I've only seen her twice, and she didn't speak to me like that. Despite her sudden change in attitude, the boy continued his disrespectful behavior.

"Oh, come on, the party is only gonna happen tonight!" he said as he grabbed Taiyori's wrist. "Trust me, it'll be fun."

"What...! Let go!"

Taiyori stood her ground, desperately attempting to force her hand away, but it wouldn't budge. The more it went on, the more I felt the merciless killer within me slowly emerging.

I took a step forward. This has gone on for long enough. Even though I told myself that it wasn't any of my business, I couldn't let this go on for a second longer.

Suddenly, Sakuno planted his hand on my shoulder. It wasn't just a normal tap, however. His grip was strong, as if it were meant to hold me back.

"Ran..." Sakuno whispered to me. "Remember the vow we made to each other the night of the blood moon. Don't kill them."

"...Obviously."