It was a night when I was reading a horror short story on my phone while walking down the street. I've always liked reading or watching horror stories since I was seven years old. It was my first time watching a horror movie. All of my family members were scared of the jump scares of the ghost in that movie, but not me. I wasn't scared; instead, I was smiling and full of excitement.

After the movie ended, I asked my mother if we could watch another horror movie, but they said one movie was enough and it was really scary for them. I just nodded and told them a lie, saying I was scared too, even though I wasn't scared and wanted to watch another horror movie.

Yet, in that moment, I wished I could see a scene from a horror movie in real life. I wondered what my reaction would be—would it be interesting and exciting at the same time, or would it just be boring?

I stopped walking when I heard a sudden sound—the sound of a knife being slit.

*SHLKT!!!*

I looked in front of me. There was a beautiful girl with short blonde hair and violet eyes, wearing a white blouse, a red necktie, a blue navy skirt, and black shoes. She stood behind a man in his mid-twenties wearing a suit with black pants and shoes. He was in shock from having his throat slit by the girl's sharp knife, and his head fell off as the girl let go of his body without a head, which fell to the ground.

The blood from that man splattered onto my face, staining it red. Even my phone screen, displaying the short story, had some blood on it. I quickly put my phone back into my pocket, noticing that my white collared shirt, paired with navy blue trousers, was now also stained with blood. I touched the blood on my navy blue trousers, feeling a mix of shock and curiosity.

"So, this is real-life blood?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

"Hm?" the girl replied, seeming intrigued.

As our eyes met, she raised her blood-stained knife at me, her expression cold and menacing.

"Do you want to die now?" she asked, her voice chilling.

The rain began to fall, and I immediately noticed some of the blood washing away from my left hand.

"Oh, no... The blood on my left hand is disappearing," I said sadly.

"You're not answering my question," she retorted, dashing towards me. She held me tightly, preventing me from running away, as she aimed her knife at my throat. "Do you want to die now?"

"Why do you ask me that question? Dying is neither something I need to agree to nor reject; it's somewhat fate decided upon."

"So you're telling me I can kill you right here and now?" she asked, putting the knife closer to my throat, causing a trickle of blood.

"Yeah, do it because, even in this moment, I don't feel afraid to die."

"Oh? Is that so?" She widened her grin as she continued, "Are you that depressed in your life that you're calling it quits?" she asked, pushing the knife deeper, causing more of my blood to drip out.

"I wonder if I have depression, but I have only one dream in my life."

"Hm? What is it? I'll hear it before I kill you."

"Since I was seven years old, my dream has been to feel the horror in my life. Would it be a surge of excitement coursing through my veins, or would it be just boring? But seeing blood earlier and how you killed the man was truly exciting," I said, smiling.

"Interesting dream of yours..." She pulled out the knife from my throat, as it had only gone in a little. "Very interesting..." she said as she leaned closer and smelled the blood that dripped onto my throat.

*SNIFF! SNIFF! SNIFF!*

"Strange blood... Compared to my past victims, your blood has a mysterious and lovely scent that attracts me," she said as she licked my blood that dripped onto my throat.

"So delicious~" she added with a satisfied tone.

As she continued licking, I felt embarrassed; my face couldn't help but blush. I needed to somehow stop this and change the topic.

"Aren't you going to dispose of the body?" I asked, pointing with my left index finger at the man's body and his severed head.

"No... You see, I'm a serial killer. I take pride and find it an achievement for people to know that someone is killing people at night," she said as she kissed my throat wound again.

"Can you please stop kissing my wound in the throat? It's really embarrassing."

"I won't stop."

"B-but I have to go home now. Don't worry, I won't report you to the authorities."

"How can I trust you that you won't report me to the authorities?" she asked, stopping kissing my wound and pulling away. "I should probably kill you now; you're a witness to my murder."

"Do it if that's what you want," I said, turning to face her and closing my eyes. "After all, I'm not afraid to be killed for a cliché reason because I witnessed a murder."

Instead of expecting a knife that would slit my throat, she hugged me tightly. I opened my eyes to see her smelling my scent.

"Didn't you hear what I said earlier? I said 'probably,'" she said.

"W-what do you mean by that?" I asked.

"I hesitated earlier about whether I could let you go," she said as she pulled away from the hug and looked at me. "But now I think a person like you won't report me to the authorities."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because I'm your source of excitement. You would be sad if I were arrested, yes?"

"Yeah, you're right. My life would go back to being boring. I don't want this excitement to end."

"Well, if that's the case, let's meet again next time?"

"Yeah, goodbye," I said as I walked forward toward my dormitory.

While I was walking, I felt a sudden sharp pain, shocking me. Before my body could fall to the ground, she caught me.

"What... Why? I thought you'd let me go?" I stammered in fear.

"You thought?" She widened her grin as she continued, "Too bad... I'm going to end your life, so close your eyes. It will be quick and painless."

I closed my eyes, accepting my fate. It was the first time I felt scared, and this huge excitement I felt in my life—maybe this was my perfect death. I have no regrets.

————

As the boy closed his eyes and lost consciousness, the girl held his head. When she was about to twist it, she didn't continue but instead let go and smiled.

"Just kidding. I won't let you go," she said. She carried him in a bridal style as she walked towards her dormitory. While walking and carrying the young man, she noticed his ID.

"Yuto Ishikawa from Reihan Academy, hmm? A second-year student, Class 2-B? That makes us classmates."

Yuna Takahashi was also from the same school as Yuto Ishikawa. However, she hadn't noticed him because she was always shy and quiet in class, and she didn't pay much attention to remembering her classmates' names. She only thought about when the class would end so she could prepare and go outside at night to murder someone.

Precisely, she had killed 35 people. She didn't choose any gender or age; she killed both men and women. After killing them, she also stole cash from their wallets. She felt satisfaction, perhaps a sense of power and control, after killing them. She could only widen her smile or laugh and say to herself, "This was the best feeling I ever had."

However, the police couldn't find any clues that she was a suspect. The only thing the police could find was evidence that there was probably a killer. They couldn't even connect the cases because every time Yuna committed a crime, her weapon was different. It could be a knife, katana, razor-sharp, or cutter knife.

What about fingerprints or CCTV? They can't catch her for all the crimes she commits. She ensures that the CCTV is already hacked and broken before the crime happens. She always wears disposable latex gloves to prevent the police from finding her identity through fingerprints. Additionally, she has custom-made black shoes to avoid her footprints being identified at the crime scene.

How can she do it all alone? She can because she studied and prepared for it all before she was ready to kill people.

When she was six years old, she witnessed how her family was always fighting. Her parents constantly yelled at each other, creating a hostile environment that affected her deeply.

Not only that, but she was also physically abused by her mother. This planted the idea in Yuna's mind: What if I could fight back? And so she did.

She pushed her mother down the stairs, leaving her unconscious and bleeding from her head.

Yuna didn't even cry. Instead, she calmly looked at her mother, who lay bleeding on the stairs, and called her father, telling him that her mother had fallen accidentally. Her father rushed her mother to the hospital, completely unaware that it was Yuna's fault.

While her mother was in a coma, Yuna continued to go out and learn from the outside world, blending in with people at a young age. Her only goal at that time was to live independently and learn more about how to murder people without getting caught.

————

I opened my eyes and found myself lying on a queen-sized bed with a plush mattress, which explained why my body felt so great. In front of me was the girl I had met last night, the serial killer, who was now on top of me, staring at me.

But if I'm in heaven, sleeping in a queen-sized bed, why is she here? I thought I died back there?! Just what the heck happened last night?!

"W-where am I?" I asked her.

"You're in my dorm room," she said with a smile, gently tracing my face with her finger.

"Why did you let me live?"

"Because I wanted to."

"It was the perfect death for me yesterday."

"It was, but I didn't want you to die."

"Why?"

"Because I'm interested in you. Very interested."

"Eh? Me? I'm not that interesting, to be honest."

"You are. I can't kill you. Your blood is so delicious, and it attracts me, as does your scent."

Is she perhaps crazy? Well, serial killers are crazy; that's a fact.

"You see... If I killed you yesterday, I could extract your blood and make it into a juice for me to drink. But it would all run out of your blood, and you would be just a toy that won't move, and your scent, your body, your eyes when you looked at me, your actions, the way you speak... all of it will be gone if you're dead. I don't want to lose you. That's why I decided to make you mine ," she added, placing her left finger on my lips, silencing me.

In this situation, rejecting a serial killer who is very interested in me and ending up in her dorm room might result in my death.

But I didn't say I'm afraid to die. The excitement I feel in my heart about what she said earlier, that she would make me hers... What if this could also fulfill my dream to feel more excitement and see more killings and blood? There's no way I would reject her. That's right, I have to face it.

With that said, I nodded at her in agreement, and she smiled as she hugged me tightly.

"I'll show you how beautiful and exciting the world can be, Yuto-kun."

"Y-you know my name?"

"Yeah, I know you because I looked at your ID."

"That's cheating."

"Then I'll have to introduce my name to you, Yuto-kun." She pulled away from the hug and looked at me as her violet eyes met my black eyes. "My name is Yuna Takahashi."

"Yuna Takahashi...? Wait, that's familiar. Are you in Class 2-B too?"

"Yes, I am."

"Ehhh? So, we're classmates, huh?"

"That's great, right, Yuto-kun?" she exclaimed as she hugged me tightly again.

"Y-yeah, that's really great," I said.

I remembered her name from back then at our school, Reihan Academy. She was shy and sat at the back of the class, so she wasn't that popular. She seemed to have her own world and didn't pay attention to class. She always wore glasses back then, but now that I think about it, she doesn't wear them anymore.

"Why don't you wear eyeglasses?" I asked, curious.

"B-because it's just a facade I show at school," she said, raising her head and looking at me. "Or do you prefer the Yuna Takahashi you knew at Reihan Academy?"

"I choose the real you, Takahashi-san. The one I met last night, that's the woman I fell in love with."

"T-thank you, Yuto-kun," she blushed, her cheeks flushing, and then she leaned closer to my lips.

"O-oh w-wait a moment! It's too quick for us to—!"

I was interrupted when she pressed her lips against mine, kissing me. Her lips were so soft, and my heart melted. I stopped making noise as I accepted it.

After a moment had passed, she pulled away from the kiss and then kissed my forehead.

"I love you, Yuto-kun, so please stay by my side. I will always give you the excitement you've wanted, even if I have to kill 100 people for you. I would do it for you."

"Geez..." I sighed. She was that crazy about me. "Well, I'll be in your care, Takahashi-san. Take care of me very well."

She pulled away from my forehead and looked at me. "No, 'Takahashi-san,' just call me Yuna, without honorifics, Yuto-kun," she said, pouting.

"You look so cute when you pout like that, Takahashi-san," I said as I touched her right cheek, which was pouting.

"Hmph! I said call me Yuna, not Takahashi-san!" She shouted at me, embarrassed.

"Yeah, yeah, Yuna, you're so cute when you're embarrassed, Yuna."

"Yuto-kun is so stupid," she said, her face blushing.

It looks like I complimented her too much, making her blush even more.

"Guess I am, Yuna."