The Crow in The Night

11:46 P.M.

Inside Rurouni's bedroom...

For the first time in what felt like forever, Rurouni slept peacefully.

There was no tension on his face.
No nightmares.
No restless movements.

Only slow...

Steady breathing.

His school bag and glasses rested beside his desk.
His phone lay quietly near the pillow.

Two hours earlier, it had made a small notification sound.

His sister had recharged it.

An unfinished science assignment remained open beneath the moonlight.

He would have completed it by now...

If someone had recharged his phone earlier.

Silver light slipped through the curtains, painting quiet patterns across the floor.

Everything felt...

Peaceful.

Until—

168 kilometers away…

Someone was watching.

Outside another house...

A tall banyan tree stood beneath the night sky.

Its branches swayed gently in the breeze.
The leaves rustled softly.

Then...

One branch moved.

Not because of the wind.

Because someone had shifted their weight.

Hidden among the darkness...

A lone figure sat perfectly balanced on one of the highest branches.

He wore dark clothing from head to toe.

A long black hooded coat concealed most of his silhouette.

Dark gloves marked with a white X covered his hands.

Even his boots were wrapped in cloth to silence his movements.

He blended so naturally into the darkness...

That anyone looking upward would have seen nothing.

Resting across his lap...

Was an old-fashioned guitar.

Its wooden body carried countless scratches.
One string had clearly been replaced.

His fingers lazily brushed across it.

A slow...

Gentle melody drifted through the quiet night.

Soft enough that no one inside the nearby house would wake.

Almost...

As though the music existed only for him.

Then he began singing quietly.

"Common, common, common Wakharu..."
"Tell me just a little... where are you?"
"I'm just gonna beat your ass..."
"Because I need promotion, power, and cash."

"I heard that you are here..."
"But I can't find you anywhere."

"I'm starting to feel very sad..."
"In case you're already dead."

"Please don't break my heart..."
"And let me break your liver."

"I'm not doing this for fun..."
"My daughter has a fever."

"So please... let me kill you myself..."
"For the sake of my daughter's health."

Then he suddenly stopped.

"...Hmm?"

Something had caught his attention.

The figure tilted his head.

"Interesting."

Then he slowly raised his head.

Moonlight briefly caught his face.

Or rather...

The mask covering it.

The Crow Mask.

Its long beak curved unnaturally downward, almost resembling a crow's—but slightly too long.

Feather patterns had been carefully carved across its surface.

Two black lenses occupied the places where human eyes should have been.

They never blinked.

They simply watched.

Click.

The lenses adjusted.

One moved slightly.

Then the other.

Both locked onto Rurouni.

Rurouni's bedroom came into crystal-clear focus through them.

Every detail.

Every movement.

Every quiet breath.

The guitar fell silent.

Complete stillness returned.

The crow mask tilted slightly.

Not like a human.

Like a curious bird studying something it had never seen before.

Seconds passed.

Then another.

Then another.

Not a single movement escaped his gaze.

Rurouni shifted slightly in his sleep.

A faint smile crossed his face.

The figure froze in shock.

"...Huh?"

His breathing stopped for a moment.

And his head tilted slightly.

"Potential candidate."

His shoulders began trembling.

A tiny laugh escaped from beneath the mask.

He quickly pressed one gloved hand against his mouth, trying to stop himself.

It didn't work.

His breathing became quicker.

His grip tightened around the guitar.

The lenses remained locked onto the sleeping boy.

Another laugh escaped.

Then another.

His entire body shook with excitement.

Like a hunter who had wandered through the forest for years...

Only to finally discover the tracks he'd been searching for.

Slowly...

He reached inside his coat.

He pulled out a small, weathered notebook.

Its pages were worn from years of use.

Inside...

Dozens of names had been written.

Most were crossed out.

Some had question marks beside them.

Others had tiny notes scribbled beside their names.

Near the bottom of one page...

One name remained untouched.

Wakharu.

The figure stared at it.

Then...

He slowly drew a circle around the name.

Then closed the notebook.

Slipped it back into his coat.

Another quiet laugh escaped him.

He stood, balanced effortlessly on the narrow branch.

Not a single leaf beneath his feet made a sound.

The guitar hung loosely at his side.

His eyes never left the sleeping boy.

His excitement had become impossible to contain.

He leaned forward slightly.

Almost like a crow observing something precious.

Finally...

Crow Mask spoke.

"Looks like I've finally found you, Wakharu."

Silence.

Whatever expression he wore beneath the mask remained impossible to see.

The lenses gleamed beneath the moonlight.

He gently ran one finger across the guitar strings.

Twang.

A single haunting note echoed through the night.

The figure tilted his head.

Almost like an excited child wondering which game to play first...

"Just how am I gonna play with you?"

Then—

He deliberately leaned backward.

His arms stretched outward into a T-shaped position.

And he simply...

Fell.

Straight from the branch.

No panic.

No hesitation.

As though falling from such a height meant absolutely nothing to him.

As he descended...

He calmly said one word.

"Akhrambha."

A dark void suddenly appeared beneath him.

The figure dropped directly into it.

Whoosh.

Gone.

The evening breeze swept through the banyan tree.

Leaves scattered into the darkness.

The branch swayed gently.

A lone black feather drifted slowly toward the ground.

When the branch finally became still...

The crow-masked figure was gone.

As though...

He had never been there at all.

Only the fading guitar note...

And the lonely black feather...

Remained beneath the silent moon.