Frozen In Fear?

Shin stared at the locket, the crimson stain enveloping the shiny gold. But a sound, more primal than human, cut through the silent night. It pulsed from the depths of the alley. He whipped around, his gaze falling on the fallen woman. But she wasn't alone anymore.

Two figures materialized from the shadows behind her, their faces contorted in an inhuman grimace. A glint of metal flashed, a sharpened blade, held aloft by one of the figures. The figures came to a halt, the blade hovering inches from the woman's throat. A suffocating silence descended, broken only by the ragged gasps escaping the woman's lips. Then, a ripple of darkness pulsed through the shadows, and a third figure materialized beside the others. All three hovered menacingly above the fallen woman.

Suddenly, the one with the blade snapped his head towards Shin. A flicker of surprise crossed his face. The other two followed his gaze in unison, their predatory eyes locking onto Shin. A chorus of whispers erupted from the darkness, a language that slithered through the air.

Shin stood there, his gaze narrowly observing them. Darting between each figure, his eyes finally rested on the woman.

Hiroto, looking back at his friend, whispered. "Kiba! What should we do?"

Kiba's brow furrowed into a deep line, his gaze fixed on the boy. The unexpected arrival threw a wrench into their plans. 'What the hell is he doing?' Kiba thought, a snarl twisting his lips.

The boy stood frozen, unlike the usual passerby who averted their eyes or scurried away, this one watched.

'Why is he just standing there?' confusion etched itself on Kiba's face, he found himself lost about what to do next. 'Shouldn't he do something to us or run away like others?'

However, a thought from the maze of confusion hit him. '...he must've been frozen with fear,' A small chuckle escaped his lips.

"Hiroto! Threaten the boy…make sure that he never tells anyone about this…Nozomu and I will take care of the woman…locket is now the least priority of us, now that the woman is going to die," Kiba smiled as his gaze fell on the woman.

The woman gathered her remaining energy, a surge of defiance ran through her, but the exhaustion gnawed at her. The woman forced her gaze from the pool of blood on the floor onto her hand, its grip weakening by the second. With a steely resolve, she pushed off the cold ground with her injured hand. However, a searing pain flowed through her whole body and she crumpled back to the floor. Her hand started to go numb, her breath ragged, and her eyes started to close on their own as the last embers of her strength vanished from her body.

Hiroto stepped forward with an aura of confidence, a grim smile etched on his face. The blade on his hand glinted in the street light with the crimson stain upon it. Meanwhile, Kiba and Nozomu grabbed the woman on the floor. With practiced movement, they dragged her back to the depths of the alley.

Hiroto loomed over the boy, his tall frame casting a long shadow. A menacing smile stretched across his lips as his cold gaze pinned on the boy.

"Hey! kiddo! what did you see there?" Hiroto asked as he flicked the knife on his fingers.

Shin, his gaze locked on the man, unexpectedly, stretched his hand forward, offering the locket back to the man.

Hiroto leaned forward, a cruel amusement twisting his lips. "Sharp, aren't you?" he rasped, his voice a chilling whisper. "Maybe that means you get to live…for now." He trailed off, the playful smile vanishing as he pressed the tip of his blade against Shin's cheek. With a sickening scrape, he tried to draw a line across his skin. "...but don't think you can escape me…say one word about this and this tool of mine will rip your head off…you better remember this," he threatened, his voice filled with menace.

But Hiroto's amusement curdled into a grimace as no blood welled from Shin's body, no pain registered. However, beneath the skin, he found another layer of taut, unnatural flesh held firm. His eyes snapped to the boy, who met his gaze intensely, a cold fury burning within.

Inside the alley, Kiba and Nozomu worked with a grim urgency as they shoved the woman against the wall, their hands stained crimson with her lifeblood.

"Get the files before someone else comes," Kiba ordered to Nozomu, his voice filled with the urgency of the situation.

"Kib–"

*Thud*

A sound, a strangled cry that clawed at the edges of familiarity, ripped through the night. Kiba and Nozomu whipped around, their faces hardening into masks of cold efficiency. But the sight that greeted them wasn't what they had expected. Hiroto crumpled on the pavement, a pool of blood surrounding his body. Their gazes snapped upwards, locking on the boy, his clothes stained with crimson. A heavy silence descended upon the alley, broken only by the rhythmic crunch of approaching footsteps. The boy advanced, his face an unreadable mask, each step echoing a silent question: what happened?