On Top of the Food Chain

This chapter contains discrete description of Gore and Strict Adult Content.

Shin, the man with a scar on his lips, crouched down and looked at his reflection in a broken piece of mirror lying on the ground near the dumpster. His eyes flicked to one of his subordinates, who was standing nearby, shifting nervously.

"Are we gonna let him go?" the subordinate asked, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

Shin turned to face him, a creepy smile spreading across his face. "I like it when the prey’s mind is intoxicated with fear," he said, his voice low and menacing.

He picked up a clean piece of paper lying near the dumpster. The white sheet, untouched by the surrounding filth, stood in stark contrast to the dirty trash around it. It was one of the documents Kazuki had been carrying. As Shin unfolded it, he saw it contained basic information about Kazuki, including a medical insurance receipt.

“Hoshikage?” Shin murmured to himself, folding the paper and tucking it into his jacket pocket. He stood up and turned to his subordinates, the sinister smile never leaving his face. "I hope you are tasty.”

***

Kazuki lay on his bed, his mind a chaotic swirl of thoughts. His stomach growled incessantly, the hunger pangs growing more intense by the minute. He felt like he was on the brink of starvation, craving red, bloodied meat. Even though he was not someone who liked meat very much, yet right now he only wanted meat. The chewy sensation, and the texture of meat. That’s what he wanted. But whenever he tried to eat meat, the mere sight of it repulsed him, killing his appetite. He was only consuming vegetarian food as of now.

If he tried not to focus on this hunger, other bothersome thoughts entered his mind. He was caught in a very painful situation.

He couldn't shake the memory of the gruesome fight he had witnessed in the back alley. The image of the decapitated head and the lifeless body haunted him, but it was the chilling gaze of that man, that terrified him the most. The way their eyes had met, the sinister smirk—it all fed into his growing paranoia.

Kazuki rolled over on his bed, trying to find a comfortable position, but sleep eluded him. His thoughts raced, fear and confusion gnawing at his sanity. He couldn't deny it any longer—something had changed within him. The hunger, the strange sensations, the inexplicable craving for raw meat—everything pointed to a horrifying possibility. The weird yellow energy, the glowing eyes, and the white flashbang ball made up of white energy, all pointed toward the fact that there were things that mundane people didn’t know much about.

"Could those man-eating monsters from stories actually be real?" he whispered to himself, his voice trembling. The idea seemed absurd, yet he couldn't dismiss it.

Every time he closed his eyes, the images of the fight replayed in his mind. He saw the claws, the glowing eyes, the blood. He felt the hunger gnawing at him, an insatiable craving that no normal food could satisfy. He knew he needed answers, but the fear of what those answers might be paralyzed him.

Unable to sleep, Kazuki stared at the ceiling, his mind racing. The hunger grew stronger, more insistent. He felt like he was teetering on the edge of a precipice, about to fall into a dark, unknown abyss.

“Meat,” he said desperately. “I want the meat my mom made.”

Tears formed in his eyes.

***

Somewhere in Osaka, Kenichi Kazuma sat in a cozy café, immersed in a book. Kenichi was a timid young man, barely in his twenties. His black hair, brown eyes, and average height made him blend into the crowd, but his helpful nature endeared him to those who knew him.

The café's warm ambiance, aromatic coffee, and friendly staff made it his favorite spot. Yet, there was another reason he frequented this place.

“Hi Kenichi!” a cheerful voice interrupted his thoughts.

He looked up to see Manami standing in front of his table. She had long pink hair cascading down to the middle of her back, striking blue contact lenses, and a warm smile. Dressed in a loose khaki top and jean shorts, her clear, bright skin and freckles added to her stunning appearance. In her hand was the same book Kenichi was reading.

"Hi, Manami," Kenichi said, smiling. "Have a seat."

Manami was the main reason Kenichi frequented the café. He had noticed her love for books, particularly those by his favorite author. Their eyes had met several times, but nothing had happened until one day when Manami approached him and asked him out. Kenichi had been flabbergasted, but today was their first date, and they planned to discuss their favorite book, The Most Honest Person in the 2 Worlds.

As Manami sat down, Kenichi's eyes fell on a mark on her thigh, contrasting with her smooth skin. "What happened to your leg?" he asked, glancing at the mark.

Manami made an awkward expression before sitting down. "Oh, this? It's nothing, just burned myself with an iron."

“You are alright, right?” Kenichi asked with worry on his face.

“No need to worry, I’m fine,” Manami reassured him.

Their date continued smoothly. After some food and a lively discussion about the book, they left the café and decided to hang out in a nearby park. They found a bench in a quiet corner and sat down, feeling awkward around each other.

"Your wound, is it really alright? Shouldn't you apply some ointment or something?" Kenichi asked, his concern evident.

"It's alright," Manami said, touching the spot. "You can touch it too."

Kenichi felt shy and weird but couldn't miss the chance to feel her soft thighs. He poked the spot with his finger, and then Manami placed his entire hand on her thigh, saying, "Just keep your hand here."

He was shocked but didn't say much and just nodded. After a while of awkward silence, Manami broke the tension. "Do you want to go to my place? We can do some stuff."

Kenichi's heart raced. Today was the day he was finally going to get lucky. "Yeah, sure," he smiled.

Walking arm in arm, they reached a desolate construction site of a large tower. "You live here?" Kenichi asked, confused.

"No," Manami replied. "I just wanted to see the city from the top of this tower. It's a beautiful view, especially at night. Don't you think our first date would be memorable if we ended it with something like that?"

"Sure, let's go," After pondering about it for a moment or so Kenichi agreed.

They sneaked past the only security guard, who was engrossed in his phone. Soon, they were sitting in the center of the top floor of the unfinished tower, the city skyline sprawling before them. The view was immaculate.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Manami was yet again the first one to speak, "You want to do it, right?" Manami asked, leaning toward Kenichi with a passionate look.

"Uh... yeah," Kenichi replied awkwardly.

As soon as Manami heard him she pushed him down, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss. Kenichi thought he saw a maroon glow in her eyes. Lying on the cold concrete floor, he felt ecstatic as Manami unbuttoned his pants. He just looked at the dark sky, and felt her touching his thing.

"It's cute," she said. Soon, Kenichi felt great pleasure, it felt like Manami was tingling his thing with her nails, but soon he felt something different.

Suddenly, Kenichi felt a sharp pain, it felt like something had slashed his thing. He screamed in pain. He quickly sat up and looked at the area between his legs covered in blood and his private part missing. He was shocked, his heart rate increased and the pain got even worse.

Still suffering, he looked at Manami, just to see a horrifying sight. Her eyes were glowing dark pink, her hands and mouth covered in blood as she chewed on something. "Your little friend was small, yet taste-wise, it packed a punch," she chuckled.

Looking at her, he felt rage within him, he felt betrayed and used, but all of this was of no use, as he was about to die.

Soon Kenichi's life flashed before his eyes as a weird energy protruding from the end of Manami’s index finger decapitated his head.

While she was cutting Kenichi’s torso with the energy, a masculine voice came from the darkness behind Manami.

“Finally, found you.”