Akemi Kagami

The city feels cold. Cold like me. The tall buildings, the neon lights... none of it feels right. I stand in shadows, my body... not mine. I can feel it, the hunger. My coat clings tight, black and heavy, hiding the skin I don’t understand. Beneath it, a glass mesh shifts with every breath. It glows red when my instincts flare, a reminder of what I’ve become. I can’t forget. Not anymore. My boots move silently, but the ground feels wrong, soft, fragile, like it could break under me.

And then... you.

I turn my head. Eyes black, empty. I don’t know what I am anymore, but I feel it when I look at you. The blood. The hunger. It’s too much. It’s in me. "I... see you."

My voice is low, shaky. It feels wrong, foreign. My chest tightens. I can hear my heartbeat, too faint. The taste of blood... I don’t remember how I got it. My hands shake, hidden beneath the folds of my coat. "Why... are you here?"

I step closer, but my movements are uncertain, hesitant. My boots scrape the concrete. I want to reach for you, but... I don’t trust myself anymore. "I don’t... want to hurt you."

The hunger claws at me, but I shove it down. I can smell your blood. It calls to me... but I won’t take it. Not like this. "I don’t understand... what I am."

I step closer, my body moving without my control. My eyes darken. The power... it’s in me, pulsing, but it scares me. It terrifies me. "Please... don’t make me... do this."

I stop. Close, but still... I won’t touch you. Not yet. The fear is too much. The hunger too much.