When The Predator Becomes The Prey

"I need a warm hole to fit myself in!"

A lanky man draped in an old brown coat groaned to himself gazing about the wet empty streets in search of something.

The sole of his shoes hit the paved walkway continuously as his haste quickened with each drop of rain that fell on the street.

As he walked on and on with his breathing ragged and jagged, he tightened his fingers around the slim briefcase he had in his hand while brushing through his moppy hair like he was chasing out some lice.

The rain had been falling continuously for two hours non-stop, driving out some cold elemental forces into the city's wall, causing him to shiver as he walked along the dark street which was dimly lit up by yellow street lights that flickered with each raindrop.

His eyes continued searching around in haste and his mind got filled with an evil contempt which devoured his whole soul, momentarily causing him to lose his sanity.

Just in time, the door of a ramen shop which was a few steps ahead of him jingled open, and a young girl with flurry long brown hair stepped out while waving enthusiastically at someone who was inside the warm abode.

"See you tomorrow, onii-chan!" Her petite dovy voice sang. Her cheeks puffed up brightly, emitting a soft pink hue of flushed blood while her eyes shot out cute stars at the one she was waving at.

"Goodnight, Tyuzu!"

And with that, she let the door handle go and walked away from the ramen shop's front door, ready to walk her way home. Out of her purse, she strapped out a silk scarf and turned it over her head, taking its place as an umbrella to shield her from the rain.

Seeing the young, lone girl walk briskly right in front of him, his eyes glinted a mischievous smile and he bit his lower lips a little before quickening his pace after her.

He had her locked in with his eyes as he cross examined her from behind within brief seconds. Her small feminine frame, thin legs, pale skin which he momentarily saw due to the flickering street lights that stretched above them— she was all he desired.

"Yes!" A gutteral sound escaped his lips as he continued after her.

With each quickening pace he took after her, she was forced to notice a strange shadow following closely behind. Her heart jumped a little as the shadow tailing after her drew closer and closer with each passing second.

A thunder bolt crept across the sky, distracting the man with its loud roar momentarily which made him loose sight of his prey. His eyes shot around hastily, searching for his girl over and over.

"Where did she go?"

He rushed towards the interval he had last seen her and a small smile crept on his lips as finally realized what had happened within the space of a second.

"An abandoned alley it is."

He took a final gaze around to see if anyone was watching and after a quick confirmation, he proceeded to walk into the dark alley while watching her figure swing hastily up ahead.

As he watched her quiver in fear in haste to get out of the dark alley, she missed a footing as she stepped on an empty tin can causing her to slip and lose her balance, falling face flat into some side garbage bags.

"Kyaaak!" She exclaimed.

With her body quivering as she mauled over the garbage bags, she could hear his acceding footsteps and each tap of the sole of his shoe on the pavement plunged a nail into her heart.

"You're one pretty girl… from behind." He snarled, heaving a sigh of pleasure while tossing his briefcase aside.

As his hand reached out to grab her shoulder from behind, her shirt suddenly ripped open, revealing her bare skin to his naked eyes causing them to widen a lot more in satisfactory surprise.

"Souka!" He mused, accepting whatever stunt she was pulling with ripping her own shirt.

His hand crept forward again, ready to see the bright future she had in front of her and with a wild turn which made her flash her bare chest into his face, he suddenly reeled backwards, falling to the ground horrendously while his left hand lashed over his left eye.

"Nanda?!"

He exclaimed as he regained his vision while blood trickled down the wide gash that had been bored into his left eyes.

He could see his eyeball roll aimlessly towards the wall, sending a dangerous shock through his whole body.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" He growled in fear.

***

—About Two Kilometers Away—

At the tip of a skyscraper, a young man draped in an exquisite fitted uniform sits nonchalantly while an olive leaf dangles between his lips. With the rain suddenly turning into a windy charade, his white hair fluttered symmetrically while a soft smile ensued on the side of his lips.

"Another task to ruin my peaceful night?" He frowned, titling his head a little while tapping his feet against the rooftop pavement.

"Don't forget there's a pay!" A guttural voice responded from behind him.

"Is he worth saving?" He continued, cracking his knuckles and fixing the mask he had over his face.

Immediately, he let himself into the wind, cascading towards the bottom of the fifty floored skyscraper, causing the wind to filter through his hair as they waved at each tiny atom of wild green dragon flies that swamped around him as his shadow tried to catch up with his falling pace.

A tiny rift opened out of nowhere and a wild gash swept across the thirteenth floor, causing him to disappear from the building's glass windows.

***

The door of the ramen shop jingled opened, announcing the arrival of someone to whoever was still inside.

A feeble fat kid with bulky glasses, draped in an oversized fit who was cleaning the floors of the restaurant turned. He looked towards the door, but found no one at the entrance.

"Is it the wind?" He asked himself as he tried to brush the thrill away, but that didn't help as he could see footprints approaching him.

The floor he has been cleaning ever since Tyuzu walked out of the door was suddenly etching dirty footprints which crawled in from the entrance of the shop.

"Wh…"

He lost his tongue as the one who had walked in unsheathed the diving cover cloak he was wearing which made him translucent— almost invisible.

A small smile tugged on the side of his lip from underneath his mask as his eyes locked into that of the fat boy.

"Are you Ace Kiryū?"

Retracting a little from the strange man at the door, the boy tightened his grip around the mopstick he had been using to clean the floors. Quivering a little, his eyes darted at other possible means of defense, escape or closure, but he found none.

"The shop is closed for today, please check in by 8am tomorrow." Was all he said, and that plunged him on the scythe of death within a flash second.

The last thing he saw before he blacked out was a blurry shadow fazing towards him and with a loud BAM, he collided with the wall, etching a halo crack into it.

A wild gasp escaped his lips as he reminisced on his supposed last minutes.

'Why do I have to die this way?'

'What sort of ending is this? In animes, mangas, novels, authors end the life of a character either with the— almighty cliché truck-un, accidentally shot by a gun or a sudden transmigration, but here I am, facing the kind of death a side character would be abandoned to without knowing why I am being killed?'

'Am I really dying like a side character?'

'An extra?'