Page 20

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No Time like the Present

MOMOI

I couldn’t breathe.

The sight of him—Tatsuya—transformed into something out of a nightmare… It shook me to my core. His eyes, glowing with an unnatural intensity, his skin darkened, veins visible beneath the surface in some twisted reflection of a demon. His whole body was pulsing with raw power, and the air around him seemed to vibrate with an energy that wasn’t human.

But even then, despite the horrific transformation, I knew it was him. I saw everything with my own eyes. He was still there.

I could feel it in my bones.

The pull, the connection. Something inside of me still recognized him. The man I had cursed, the man who had somehow found his way into my thoughts in ways I didn’t want. But now, seeing him like this—seeing him become something I could barely understand—my instincts screamed at me to run. To get away before whatever was inside of him completely overtook him.

But then I saw the fear in his eyes. It was fleeting, a brief crack in the monster he had become, but it was there. And that made my heart stop.

He was struggling. And he didn’t deserve to be trapped this way.

I wasn’t sure why I cared. I wasn’t sure if I was even in my right mind anymore. But the thought of leaving him out here to be hunted—by the authorities, or worse, the Yakuza—was too much. I couldn’t do that.

I just couldn’t.

Without thinking, I rushed forward, grabbing his arm, my fingers gripping his flesh as if my life depended on it. His hand twitched, almost as if it was going to lash out, but then I pulled him hard, dragging him with me.

"Come on," I whispered fiercely, my voice shaking with a fear I was trying desperately to hide. "We need to get out of here, now."

I could hear the sounds of sirens in the distance, the distant murmur of voices. If the authorities or anyone from the Yakuza caught wind of what had just happened—what Tatsuya had become—they wouldn’t hesitate. They’d be after him.

And they wouldn’t care if I got caught in the crossfire.

I couldn’t let that happen, not after everything that had happened between us. I couldn't let him become another casualty of this messed-up world we were both stuck in.

He stumbled behind me, his body still shifting in the aftermath of his transformation, but his mind was still there. I could feel the resistance in his steps, the confusion in his gaze. The primal anger still churned beneath the surface, but there was something more. Something I couldn’t quite pinpoint.

I had to get him somewhere safe. Somewhere where we could figure this out before it was too late.

I knew of a place. A warehouse, abandoned, tucked away in a part of the city where even the Yakuza rarely ventured. I didn’t know how that knowledge suddenly resurfaced in my mind, as if it had been lying in wait for this exact moment. I didn’t have time to care what it meant. It was the only place I could think of where we might have some time to breathe.

I glanced around quickly. No one seemed to be watching, but I wasn’t taking any chances. Keeping my grip tight on Tatsuya’s arm, I led him down a series of side streets, staying in the shadows, avoiding the main roads. Every step I took, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. My skin was crawling. I could sense eyes on us.

I knew I wasn’t just paranoid. We were being followed. I could feel it.

I tugged Tatsuya into an alley, pressing my back against the cold, graffiti-covered wall. We stopped there for a moment, my breath coming in quick gasps.

"I think they’re after us," I said, more to myself than to him.

Tatsuya didn’t answer, but I could see the storm brewing behind his eyes. The rage, the confusion, the fear. He was slipping away again. I could feel it.

Without wasting another second, I started moving again, dragging him behind me.

We rounded a corner, and there it was—the warehouse. Dark and unassuming. The kind of place people went to disappear. I grabbed Tatsuya’s arm again, practically dragging him up the narrow, rusted stairs. His steps were heavy, and I could feel the weight of the change in him. He wasn’t fully himself, but at least he was still with me, still listening to the small bit of humanity inside him.

We reached the door, and I shoved it open, the creaking of the old wood sending a shiver down my spine. I pulled Tatsuya inside, his new monstrous form a bit too wide for the door itself. With effort, we slipped in, slamming the door behind us. The darkness of the place seemed to swallow us whole, but I knew we didn’t have time to waste.

I found a spot near the back, tucked between crates and dusty old machinery. My fingers shook as I set my back against a cold, rusted beam, taking a moment to breathe, to steady myself. The adrenaline still buzzed in my system, and I couldn’t quiet the pounding in my ears.

Tatsuya stood in front of me, his posture stiff, his body still radiating that terrifying energy. He was a man on the edge of losing himself. I could see it in his eyes—the struggle. The inner battle between the man he was and the beast he was becoming.

I stepped closer, my pulse racing in my neck.

“Tatsuya…” I whispered, barely able to form the words. “You need to calm down. You can’t let it take over.”

His chest rose and fell with each heavy breath, his fists clenched, but he didn’t answer. His eyes flicked to me briefly, a flash of recognition, but the intensity in his gaze made me step back.

I couldn’t fix this. I couldn’t fix him. But I had to try.

The seconds ticked by, dragging on like hours, and I knew we didn’t have much time before someone found us.

I had to keep him calm.

But how?

Before I could speak again, the door to the warehouse creaked. I froze, my heart leaping into my throat. I protectively stood in front of Tatsuya and walked backward, pushing him further into the shadows. Footsteps echoed outside, growing closer with every passing second.

I held my breath, pressing my back harder against him. The air seemed to thicken with tension, and I cursed under my breath.

Then, a voice called out in the distance, muffled but clear enough to make my pulse spike. “We need to sell this place soon—before it loses any more value. If we wait too long, it’s not gonna be worth anything.”

There was a faint response, too soft for me to make out, followed by the sound of a door opening and shutting with a soft thud. Their footsteps started to fade, and for a brief moment, I thought we might be safe.

Without warning, heavy, non-human hands landed on my shoulders, the touch cold and unnatural. The weight of them sent a shiver down my spine, and the air around us seemed to grow thicker, heavier. A new fear gripped me. I didn’t know if this was the man I had come to know, or if it was something far darker that had taken control.

His hands weren’t gentle. They felt monstrous, unyielding, and when I glanced up at him, his eyes glowed with an intensity that was nothing like before. The rage simmering beneath the surface was still there, coiled tight, ready to snap.

And that’s when I realized—this wasn’t just fear of being caught.

I wasn’t sure if this monster was friendly… or hungry.