Waguri - Girlfriend

The rain pounded against the window with a dull fury, a sound that used to be comforting but now felt like an ominous drumroll. I had just left the classroom and paused for a moment in the hallway, still processing what had happened. I had been talking to Akane about a project, just that, a simple academic conversation. But I knew it had been a mistake.

A shiver ran down my spine, colder than the damp air. I turned slowly toward the entrance.

And there she was. Something was wrong.

She wasn't the same girl I knew, the sweet, innocent Waguri. She wasn't the one who smiled shyly at me in the cafeteria. When she looked at me, everything changed. I felt exactly like... prey before a hungry carnivore.

She stood in the doorway, rain-soaked hair falling over her shoulders, the dim light from the hallway reflecting in her eyes. A pair of pools of electric blue that seemed to pierce my soul. The worst part wasn't her lack of expression, but that smile. That wide, slow smile.

It was a silent and terrible promise.