(POV Rei)
The next day, I went to school like usual.
The streets felt emptier than they should have been.
I didn't know why, but one thing was clear is, the air was unusually cold.
I adjusted my red scarf.
"Ugh… it's still autumn," I muttered, then paused.
"Well… winter's coming soon anyway. I guess it's normal for it to be this cold."
When I arrived at school, I went straight to my classroom.
…Huh?
Something felt off.
"Where's Mika?" I whispered.
Mika usually arrived earlier than me.
She always had, ever since we were still in middle school.
This was rare.
I brushed the thought aside.
Maybe she overslept. Even if she usually came early, it didn't mean she couldn't be late sometimes.
I went through my usual morning routine—arrive, then read a book.
But today, I couldn't focus at all.
There was still no sign of Mika.
Even when class started, she hadn't shown up.
I kept glancing at the classroom door… then at the clock.
Twenty minutes passed. Still nothing.
Just as I was about to lose focus completely, the door suddenly opened.
Mika appeared.
Her appearance was messy. She hadn't even properly fixed her hair.
She always tied her orange hair into a ponytail.
She once told me that hairstyle suited her best.
"Mika Tachibana! Why are you late?!" our teacher shouted mid-lecture.
I could see it clearly. Mika looked exhausted.
And that wasn't normal.
"I-I'm sorry, Sensei… I had something to take care of this morning, so I ended up being late."
"Get out! Stand outside until the bell rings!"
Mika's expression didn't change.
It was empty, like she had already expected this outcome.
"Yes, Sensei," she replied flatly.
I clenched my fist.
I knew it was her fault, but just looking at her face, it was obvious something was wrong.
After class ended, I went to find Mika outside.
She was leaning against the classroom wall, staring down the hallway.
But her gaze felt… hollow.
"Mika," I called out. "Are you okay?"
She turned toward me, but it felt like she wasn't really looking at me.
"Oh, it's you, Rei. I thought it was someone else," she said calmly.
"What happened? Why were you late?"
She stayed silent for a moment.
The silence between us stretched.
Then she looked away.
"I had something to deal with," she answered shortly.
"Something important," she added as she started walking away.
For the first time, I felt this strange sensation.
A feeling that forced me not to ask any further.
"Mika…"
"What's really going on with you?"
(POV Kazuki)
A dark room, with gray-patterned walls surrounding it.
SREEK
I was sorting through important documents, school-related ones… probably.
Ugh… I'm still not used to this kind of work.
KREEK
The door opened.
I turned around, curious.
It was rare for a student to come here.
I walked toward the sound.
And saw Mika Tachibana standing at the doorway.
"President," she said briefly. "I have a request."
A request?
I paused, carefully observing her body language.
"Alright," I said. "Come in. Let's sit down so we can talk properly."
We sat down on the sofa together.
As far as I remembered, she wasn't usually like this.
Was it because *that* was getting closer?
"So," I said, "what brings you here?"
Her expression hardened.
Like she was saying, I really need this.
I studied her again.
But what I saw didn't change.
It felt like she was saying:
*I have no other choice.*
*I have to do this.*
She clenched her fists.
Her face grew dark.
"I need your help, Kazuki-san," she said.
"I'm hoping you can help me."
(POV Kaito)
The atmosphere was calm.
Akane was practicing her voice intonation with us.
"What do you think, Kaito?" she asked mid-practice.
"Oi. Focus properly when you practice."
Just as I was about to lecture her.
Rei suddenly appeared.
Her arrival was abrupt.
It startled Akane.
"Kaito!" Rei shouted.
She looked panicked, sweat running down her forehead.
I stood up. "What's wrong?"
"You need to see this!"
See what?
For some reason, I had a really bad feeling.
We followed Rei without knowing where she was taking us.
But from the moment she showed up, my chest felt uneasy.
When we reached the school field, I saw a crowd in the distance.
The situation was chaotic.
"Rei," I said seriously, "tell me what's going on."
"I—I…" her voice faltered.
"I don't really know either, but… I saw Naoko there."
"What?!"
"I-I'm serious! I was just passing by, and I saw Naoko with a group of girls… and then she got hit!"
The moment I heard that, my body moved on its own.
I don't remember everything clearly.
But when I arrived, I saw Naoko lying on the ground.
Around her stood a group of boys and girls.
Laughing... and kicking her.
I don't remember what happened next.
The only thing I clearly remember is this.
I beat all of them.
And in that moment, there was only one thought in my head:
Protect what must be protected.
Nothing else.
When I came to, I was lying in the infirmary.
My body was covered in bruises.
"Ugh…" I groaned. My head hurt badly.
"Where… am I?" I muttered.
"Thank goodness you're awake, Hayashi-kun," a voice came from behind the curtain.
"Huh…? Who is it?"
Sakura-sensei stepped out.
She was the infirmary nurse, and our biology teacher.
"You've got quite the nerve," she said with a smile.
But somehow… her expression felt strange.
Once again, a sharp pain shot through my head.
I nearly blacked out. Until Sakura-sensei quickly treated me.
When I looked down, I saw bandages wrapped around my abdomen.
"What… is this…?"
"That's a stab wound," she said, sitting beside the bed.
"Someone stabbed you from behind while you were attacking them."
"…I'm impressed you could keep fighting after that."
I didn't fully understand what she was saying.
My entire body hurt, numb, even.
But somehow…
this pain didn't feel like it came from the wound.
"Get some rest, Hayashi-kun," she said, standing up.
Before leaving, she looked back at me.
"Your friends were very worried about you.
Especially that white-haired girl."
White-haired…
Naoko?
The door closed.
Once again, a sharp pain gripped my chest.
I clutched it tightly, hoping it would go away.
Then I heard the door open again.
The pain in my body eased.
but my head still throbbed.
When the curtain opened, Naoko, Rei, and Akane were standing there.
"Kaito!" Naoko shouted as she ran toward me.
SLAP!
She slapped me.
It wasn't hard, but the sound echoed clearly.
"Naoko!" Akane rushed to stop her.
"You idiot! Why would you do something like that?!"
Silence filled the room.
"Why would you attack them like that?!"
I held my cheek, it stung.
"I'm sorry… but I couldn't stand seeing you lying there."
She froze.
Then her eyes filled with tears.
"…Idiot."
Rei stepped in, placing a hand on Naoko's shoulder.
"Calm down, Naoko. Kaito must've had his reasons."
She looked at me sharply.
"You can't act like that, Kaito. You were too reckless."
I stayed silent, gripping the bandage on my abdomen.
"I'm sorry… I don't know why, but I couldn't control myself.
It felt like… I *had* to do it."
"Do what?! Hurt yourself?!" Naoko snapped, her voice cracking.
"You helped me weeks ago! You even risked your life to find me!"
I said nothing.
For some reason…
it felt like this was the first time Naoko had ever yelled at me.
"Kaito… please…"
She stepped closer.
"Don't risk your life just to protect others…"
Suddenly, the pain in my chest became unbearable.
"Gh...!" I bent forward, clutching my chest.
"K-Kaito?!"
They rushed toward me.
"Kaito!"
…
…
…
After that, I heard nothing.
The pain faded, but I couldn't tell if it was because I was better…
or because I had gone numb.
I couldn't feel my body.
I couldn't move.
It felt like I had been frozen for thousands of years.
"Where… am I…?" I whispered.
Everything turned dark.
Total darkness.
"Kaito!"
A voice echoed from afar.
A blinding light appeared, like hope itself.
From that light, a small boy emerged.
He looked about seven years old.
"Who are you?" I asked, trying to move, but my body wouldn't obey.
"Big brother, you look hurt," the boy said.
"What happened to you?"
I told him I had been stabbed in the stomach.
But he frowned.
"I don't see any wounds," he said softly.
"What I see is something inside you. something that should've already stopped…
but is still being forced to move."
"…Forced to move?"
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know," he replied.
"But I can see cracks… in your chest."
I fell silent.
Then suddenly, he grabbed my hand.
And strangely, my body followed.
"Where are you taking me?" I asked.
"You've fought hard," the boy said.
"Now… I want to take you somewhere. Somewhere that can fix your soul."
I looked back.
For some reason… this place felt familiar.
Too familiar.
And I knew then... this wasn't just about a wound.
Something inside me was breaking.
I didn't know what was happening anymore.
Or maybe…
I just didn't want to admit the truth.