Kenji didn't remember falling asleep.
That was the first problem.
The second—
Was that he woke up standing.
Cold air brushed against his neck.
Different.
Not the warehouse.
Not the same smell.
Not the same space.
Kenji's eyes opened slowly.
Too slowly.
Like his body wasn't fully caught up yet.
"…what."
His voice came out rough.
He looked around.
Alley.
Narrow.
Walls too close together.
Dim light flickering overhead.
He hadn't walked here.
He knew that.
His chest tightened.
"…no."
His head turned sharply—
Checking behind him.
Nothing.
Empty.
Too empty.
The kind of empty that didn't feel real.
Kenji stepped back instinctively.
Then stopped.
Because his shadow didn't.
It kept going.
Sliding across the ground a half-second too late before correcting itself.
Kenji's breath caught.
"…you moved me."
Not a question.
A statement.
The shadow didn't respond.
But it didn't deny it either.
Kenji ran a hand through his hair, pacing once before stopping again.
"Okay… okay, think."
His voice was shaky now.
Not panicked.
But close.
"You don't sleep."
A pause.
"I do."
Another pause.
"…so what happens when I'm not awake?"
Silence.
Then—
A flicker.
The shadow bent.
Not outward.
Not upward.
Inward.
Like it was folding into itself.
Kenji stepped back immediately.
"No."
His voice sharpened.
"You don't get to—"
The shadow snapped flat again.
Still.
Like it had never moved.
Kenji stared at it for a long second.
Then another.
"…yeah."
He exhaled slowly.
"You're gonna be a problem."
Something shifted at the end of the alley.
Not the shadow.
Something else.
Kenji turned his head slightly.
Footsteps.
Faint.
Measured.
Not random.
Not normal.
He went still.
Listened.
Three.
No—four.
Different pacing.
Different weight.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"…great."
The shadow stretched behind him again.
Longer this time.
Sharper.
Almost—
Interested.
Kenji noticed.
Of course he did.
His jaw tightened.
"Don't."
The footsteps got closer.
No rush.
No hesitation.
Whoever it was—
They already knew where he was.
Kenji rolled his shoulders once, tension settling in.
Tired.
Exhausted.
Unstable.
And now—
Not alone.
"…of course."
He exhaled quietly.
"Why wouldn't today get worse."
The shadow shifted again.
Not aggressive.
Not chaotic.
Just… ready.
Kenji didn't like that.
Not even a little.
Because for the first time—
It didn't feel like it was reacting to him.
It felt like it was reacting to them.
The footsteps stopped just outside the alley.
A voice followed.
Calm.
Too calm.
"…there you are."
Kenji didn't turn around immediately.
His eyes stayed forward.
Watching the shadow instead.
Because something told him—
That mattered more.
"…yeah," he muttered under his breath.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
The shadow stretched.
And didn't snap back this time.