The face, he'd seen it before. Too familiar, but he couldn't pin it down.
A girl.
Around Serica's age.
But… It seemed wrong somehow. Her face didn't match her body, like it carried years her body hadn't lived yet. Her hair, pale and blonde, hung forward just enough to keep her features half-hidden.
Kentaro kept his distance. Something in his gut told him not to step closer. She wasn't like the others.
From the shadows of the twisted tree, she stepped out, the movement almost too slow, too deliberate, like some horror film where you already know the thing walking toward you isn't human.
And yet Serica didn't flinch. Didn't tense. Didn't even blink. She stood there as if this were the most normal thing in the world.
"Hey, Seri." The girl's voice was casual, almost lazy. She scratched the back of her head like they were just two kids meeting after school.
