It was Ryota. Nineteen years old, third-year operative, specializing in urban combat and close-quarters assassination. He'd made it very clear from day one that he thought I was a waste of the organization's time and resources.
"Hajidan." His voice was flat, emotionless behind the mask. "Command tracked your phone. Sent me to bring you to the rally point."
"Ryota, thank God. Listen, we need to—"
"You deviated from orders." He stepped closer, and I noticed his hand resting on the combat knife at his belt. "You were supposed to report directly to Rally Point Gamma. Instead, you've been running around the city like an idiot."
"My family—"
"Is not the mission." His eyes flicked to Miraza and Kaito. "And you brought civilians. Compromising operational security."
"They're not a compromise, they're people who need help!"
"Help?" Ryota's laugh was bitter. "You can't even help yourself, Hajidan. You're the weakest link the Shadow Cranes have ever had. Every instructor knows it. Every operative knows it. You should have been discharged months ago."
My jaw clenched. "Then why did you come for me?"
"Orders." He said it like the word tasted bad. "Commander Yuza wants all operatives accounted for, even the failures. So here I am, babysitting."
Kaito stepped forward, his eyes wide. "Wait, you're actually a Shadow Crane? I thought I would never see one."
"Indeed, you're right, I'm a shadow crane," Ryota snapped. "And civilians knowing about our existence is a security breach." His hand moved to his knife. "Which means loose ends."
Ice shot through my veins. "Ryota, no. They're with me. They're under my protection."
"Your protection?" He actually smiled, cold and cruel. "You can't protect anyone. You couldn't protect yourself in training, you couldn't complete a single evaluation, and you sure as hell can't protect them."
He took another step forward, and I saw the cold calculation in his eyes. He was actually considering it. Actually weighing whether it would be easier to just eliminate the "security breach."
"Back off," I said, moving between him and Miraza.
"Or what? You'll fight me?" Ryota's hand closed around the knife handle. "We both know how that ends. I've seen your combat scores, Hajidan. You're pathetic."
"Maybe. But I'm not letting you touch them."
For a moment, we just stared at each other. Two Shadow Cranes, one elite and one failure, facing off in a city falling apart around us.
Then Ryota moved.
He was fast—faster than anyone I'd sparred with in training. The knife came out in a silver flash, aimed at my throat. I barely managed to dodge, the blade whistling past my ear.
"Hajidan!" Miraza screamed.
I swung the crowbar, but Ryota sidestepped easily, driving his elbow into my ribs—the same ribs Daichi had beaten earlier. Pain exploded through my chest, white-hot and blinding.
"This is the difference between us," Ryota said, his voice calm even as he attacked. "I've completed twelve missions. Twelve successful eliminations. You can't even pass a training exercise."
He kicked my legs out from under me. I hit the ground hard, the crowbar clattering away. Before I could move, his boot was on my chest, pressing down, forcing the air from my lungs.
"I'm doing the organization a favor," he said, raising the knife.
Then Miraza was there, slamming into him from the side with all her weight. It wasn't much—she probably weighed half what Ryota did—but it was enough to throw him off balance. His boot lifted from my chest, and I sucked in a desperate breath.
"Don't touch him!" she shouted, her voice shaking but fierce.
Ryota turned on her, and I saw something shift in his expression—anger, real anger, breaking through that cold facade. "Bad mistake, civilian."
He reached for her.
Something inside me snapped.
I don't remember getting up. Don't remember grabbing the crowbar. One second I was on the ground, gasping for air, and the next I was swinging with everything I had.
The crowbar connected with Ryota's arm, the one reaching for Miraza. I heard bone crack. He screamed—actually screamed—and stumbled backward.
"I said don't touch her!" My voice didn't sound like mine anymore. It was raw, primal, filled with a rage I didn't know I was capable of.
Ryota clutched his broken arm, his face twisted in pain and fury. "You... you actually hit me. You pathetic—"
I swung again. He tried to dodge, but his broken arm threw off his balance. The crowbar caught him in the shoulder, spinning him around.
He fell.
Backward. Into the street.
Right where we'd been avoiding.
"Ryota!" I lunged forward to grab him, but I was too slow. Too late.
The creatures came out of nowhere. Three of them, moving with that terrible jerky speed. They were on him before he could even draw another weapon.
"NO!" I screamed, watching in horror as they tore into him. "RYOTA!"
His eyes met mine for just a second. And in that second, I saw it—not anger anymore, but fear. Pure, animal terror.
Then he was gone, pulled into the mass of writhing bodies.
I stood there, frozen. Kaito was pulling at my arm, shouting something, but I couldn't hear him. All I could hear was Ryota's final scream cutting off into a wet gurgle.
*I killed him. Oh God, I killed him.*
"HAJIDAN, RUN!" Miraza's voice finally broke through.
The creatures had noticed us. Of course they had. Fresh blood meant more prey nearby. They were turning, abandoning Ryota's... what was left of Ryota... and focusing on us.
We ran.
But we'd wasted too much time. More of them were coming, drawn by the noise of the fight. We were surrounded before we made it ten steps.
"The building!" Kaito pointed to a shop with a broken window. "Get inside!"
We dove through, glass crunching under our feet. I turned to help Miraza through—
A hand grabbed my ankle.
I looked down and saw one of the creatures, its jaw hanging loose, its eyes that horrible cloudy white. It yanked hard, and I fell, my chin cracking against the window frame.
"Hajidan!" Miraza grabbed my hands, trying to pull me in, but the thing was too strong.
More hands grabbed me. Pulling. Tearing. I felt claws dig into my legs, felt something snap in my left arm.
"Let him go!" Miraza was crying now, her grip slipping. "Please, let him go!"
"Miraza, run!" I managed to shout. "Get out of here!"
"I'm not leaving you!"
But Kaito was there, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her back. "We have to go! Now!"
"NO! HAJIDAN!"
I saw her face, saw the tears streaming down her cheeks, as Kaito dragged her away. Her screams echoed back to me, getting fainter.
Good. She's safe. That's good.
The creatures pulled me down into the street, into the mass of twisted bodies. Pain beyond anything I'd ever imagined flooded my senses. My hands, I couldn't feel my hands anymore.
One of them bit into my shoulder, tearing through muscle. Another one's claws raked across my leg, and I felt my skin peel away. I tried to scream, but something was in my throat, choking me.