Night had fallen.
In his bedroom, Cael stared at his phone, hopeless.
Beep
Beep
"Sorry, the number you have dialed is out of service or turned off and cannot be connected at this time…"
He hung up, drained. The screen saver was a photo of him and Asa smiling together, a memory that felt like it belonged to someone else. His hair was disheveled, and a stubborn stubble had grown along his jaw. In just a week he had gone from upbeat to wrecked.
Asa still wouldn't pick up. She also blocked every way to contact her. Even if he showed up at her house, she would refuse to see him.
Her resentment was deeper than he'd expected — all because of lies he couldn't take back.
Cael's thumb brushed the pendant resting against his chest.
He murmured, "It really was a beautiful piece…"
He had found it in his pocket after the fight with Asa. It was a gift she had planned for him, and also the thing that ruined everything. If she hadn't switched pendants on a whim, that stupid fight never would have happened.
Cael exhaled, defeated.
"But since it was from Asa, how can I blame you…"
His heart throbbed with pain.
Suddenly, the phone rang.
"Is it Asa?" Cael scrambled to answer.
The caller ID made his chest sink. "Oh… it's just Makima."
Well, he might as well answer it.
Cael patted his cheek to reset his mood. He wasn't going to let his heartbreak drag someone like Makima down with him.
"Makima, what's up?"
Woof woof woof. Barking filled the speaker loud and clear.
Cael felt a strange warmth hearing it — Makima's place was full of lively dogs, unlike his Funeral Home which had too many living people and not a single happy soul.
"Is Cael free right now? Wanna go on a date with me?" Makima asked plainly.
Cael blinked. Seriously? Was this really happening?
"Who told you to say that, Pochita?" he asked.
Makima didn't deny it. "No one," she said casually. "I just think a date between friends would be fun."
Cael's doubt was instant. "Really? I don't buy that."
So he was right — Pochita had egged her on. Makima had basically planted people all around Cael, watching him, tracking what happened with the fallout between him and the War Devil, and even learning that the jade pendant had messed everything up. She knew all of it. And she had shared the entire story with Pochita.
Pochita didn't want to see Cael depressed. It argued that losing a relationship wasn't the end of the world and that Makima should help cheer him up. According to Pochita, Makima looked just as good as Asa — so why not pursue her next? It'd be better for Cael's mental health, he insisted.
That logic was… well, weird.
"Look," Makima continued, "good friends go on dates. Don't you want that?"
Cael groaned. If this were anyone else, he'd have hung up immediately. But Makima wasn't just anyone — she was the Control Devil, psychologically twisted and complicated. Rejecting her wasn't something he could do casually.
Still, going out with Makima right after being blown off by Asa would make him look like a total jerk.
"Of course not," Cael said with a pained expression, grasping at an excuse. "I've been worn thin from work the past couple of days. If I go on a date now, I won't enjoy it. Let's find another day."
"Oh." Makima nodded, emotionless, neither happy nor upset.
"Get some rest. Bye, Little Mak." Cael hung up.
"A date…" he muttered, rubbing his temples.
He suddenly remembered the two movie tickets he won earlier. Maybe — just maybe — a normal, quiet movie could help clear his head. He still wanted to go with Asa someday, but for now… he'd watch it alone.
"Wish me luck," he whispered.
Luck was the one thing he seemed to have lately — and maybe, stupidly, that could bring him some good fortune.
The next day…
5:30 AM in Tokyo, winter still draped in darkness.
Cael arrived at the cinema early and chose a seat in the first row. Heartbreak, Flowers and Chainsaws was a popular film, so screenings should have been packed — but this absurd 6:00 AM showing had barely half the seats filled.
Cael's eyelids grew heavy. He wasn't in the mood to watch a movie anyway.
Just as he drifted off, mild, melancholic music began, and the lights dimmed.
A gentle, clear female voice sounded nearby:
"Wow, this rain is intense! The weather was fine when I left, but then it just poured out of nowhere. The forecast was completely wrong!"
The voice was so vivid that Cael could almost smell the rain.
Huh?
He blinked his eyes open, surprised.
To his left sat a girl, soaked from head to toe, as if she'd walked through a storm just to get inside.
She had light purple hair, emerald green eyes, and a weird little trinket around her neck.
"Did I wake you? I'm sorry," she said with a shy smile.
Cael felt his attention snap into focus.
"Huh… you're…" he said in disbelief. "Wait, you're the girl in the baseball cap from the donation drive, right?"
The girl's eyes lit up — she definitely recognized him too.
"Oh! I remember you too!" she said, smiling brightly, her face delicate and unmistakable. "What a coincidence, our seats are beside each other!"
She extended a cold hand toward him.
"First… no, second meeting! I'm Reze."