[h3]Tokyo, Japan
Daybreak // January 24[/h3]


The face of Five’s neighbor felt odd. It had all of the structure and musculature and was very different from the female faces of his victim's parent which he had grown used to over the last few days. The teeth ground as he clenched the jaw muscles and tried, in a hushed whisper, to say a few words and get used to the new facial geometry. This was all a part of the ritual he had learned before Five stepped into this country. 

The extremities were particularly different and moved in odd ways, each more muscular and more voluminous than the others. These thoughts seemed to always cross Five’s mind when he donned a male form. Father had called him male, but this seemed off. Perhaps Five was female… but that didn’t make sense… Father could not be wrong. Father knew every and all things. So, therefore, Five must be male. But then why was this form so alien to him? He did not think he could know that. And frankly, his interest was growing faint as his hunger filled him. 

His borrowed mouth began to water as he thought of the meatsacks around him. All of these people… their bodies devoid of fat… the tender flavour as the meat parted in his mouth and the bitter crimson juices running over his tongue… the satisfying snap of the bone and the delectable marrow inside… His body's pleasureful undulating ripple only lasted a second before Five noticed and fell out of his stupor. The night crows were fleeing to their cages and the morning birds began entering the city, reforming the crowds and getting to work. Five would have to work to keep up the form. He hadn’t eaten in several hours.

But as a problem arises, a solution presents itself. A troop of teenagers, perhaps thirty-strong, pushed through the growing crowds. Their backpacks swayed slightly as they walked and their tired expressions made it plain that they were ready for sleep. The people around them tried to make room as an understanding passed around that the students were on their way home after a long night of education. 

Five made a u-turn to pursue, getting mistakenly jabbed and shoved as he pushed his way through the crowd. He didn’t even notice those he pushed, his attention was focused wholeheartedly on the students. The riotous noise fell away and all his senses were focused on what was important... The stomach pangs began setting in. Five never liked those. The memory of the man he’d ripped in twain came back to him from the first time he’d felt a hunger pang. The forceful lessons in control he had endured after that incident did not elude him now. 

Each step after the teens was agony. With each one his salivating became more of a problem forcing him to clear his mouth of saliva every few seconds. Hunger grew. Grateful for the concealing crowds, Five maintained his pursuit. Once one broke off for their home, he would pounce. He felt positively feline, stalking his prey as a large cat might. His fur was his neighbor’s skin, hiding him in plain sight. His claws were his teeth and he would pounce when an opportunity arose. His tongue twitched in anticipation and he couldn’t help but feel almost giddy. His excitement only overshadowed by his ravenous hunger.  

When the first female broke from the group, Five’s body moved of its own volition in pursuit. His natural camouflage did it's due and kept him hidden as, well, a human in a crowd. Just then, the sun crested the horizon and golden crepuscular rays streaked across the sky, meeting again on the other side of the world.