BUZZZZ.
Daiki Fushino's alarm buzzed at 5:30 a.m. sharp.
His cheap digital alarm clock with a crack where the "5" should be buzzed with an incessant sound that irritated his ears. He tossed and turned for a bit before slamming it off with a groan. His green eyes darted upwards and stared at the ceiling of Room 204 of the Hanamori Children's Home. For ten seconds, he debated whether getting up was even worth it.
"...Ugh. Fine."
He sat up, the bunkbed creaking under his weight. His room was pretty small, shared with another boy named Ryota, who was already gone. Had probbably left early to meet up with his friends. Daiki didn't mind; he liked having the room to himself in the morning. He wandered over to the window and opened it just a crack, inhaling the soft breeze of the countryside. The sky was a dull gray, the kind that hinted at rain, but right now you couldn't really tell for sure.
It was another gray day in this boring, gray town.
His white uniform shirt had a loose thread on the cuff, but he'd ironed it the night before. Living at Hanamori meant doing just about everything for yourself. Laundry, chores, and keeping your room clean. No parents to wake you up if you oversleep, no one to cook for you unless you help out in the kitchen. Daiki only started living here a couple of months back, having stayed at this old place for almost a year. His grandpa passed away 9 months ago, and he had no other family to take care of him. The only thing he had left from his family was a red bracelet his grandpa had given him. After his passing, he had to move to this town and change schools.
Downstairs in the main hall, the smell of miso soup and grilled fish floated through the air.
"Morning, Fushino," called Junpei, one of the staff members, from the kitchen. He was a good-looking guy in his 20s with a lanky build and a permanent cup of coffee in his hand.
"Morning," Daiki muttered, sliding into a seat. Usually, Daiki didn't eat breakfast, but he decided to today.
"You got school today, right?"
"Yeah. Math first period. Can't wait," Daiki deadpanned, stirring his small bowl of rice.
Junpei chuckled. "Try not to sleep through it this time. Don't want to get another email home about it."
"No promises."
The other kids, mostly younger, rushed around him, trying to cram food in before they had to go to school. Daiki ate quietly, used to the noise and chaos in the morning by now. At sixteen, he was one of the older kids in the orphanage. Too old to be coddled, but too young to be out on his own.
"Hey, Daiiiiki!"
He looked up to see Emi, a bubbly eleven-year-old with twin ponytails, waving at him while brushing her teeth with a mouthful of mint toothpaste.
Daiki smirked. "Gross, close your mouth."
She grinned even wider and gave him a thumbs up, her toothbrush still hanging out of her mouth like a cigar. Emi was one of the younger kids that Daiki actually enjoyed being around. Her presence made some mornings easier.
But Daiki had to leave. He sighed and slung his school bag over his shoulder. "See you guys later."
"Don't forget your umbrella!" Junpei called from the kitchen.
"It's not raining."
With that, Daiki left the orphanage and began to make his way to school. It was about fifteen minutes away, so Daiki took the time to put his AirPods in, volume low. The road wound through old apartment blocks, vending machines, and a park that was mostly empty except for stray cats and white-collar workers cutting through to the station. Eventually, Daiki arrived at his school, Kanezawa Academy, and began to make his way to math class.
Daiki eventually got to class, sitting in his seat that was set directly in the middle of the classroom. At school, he wasn't really popular, but he wasn't a ghost either. People knew him. Laughed at his jokes sometimes. Said "Yo, Fushino!" when he walked by them in the hallways. Truthfully, he didn't really have any close friends, just people he talked to sometimes. He was just a guy. And he was fine with that.
"Fushino." Daiki looked up from his textbook as Yuta, his classmate, slid into the seat beside him. "Yooo. You do the math homework?"
Daiki gave him a flat look. "Do I look like I did the math homework?" After a couple of seconds of long silence, Daiki spoke again. "Didn't think so."
Yuta grinned and turned to go pester someone else. Daiki slumped further into his chair.
Classes dragged on. Math, then literature, and then a very awkward English class that had Daiki stuttering through a half-hearted "How are you? I am fine, thank you." At lunch, he went to the roof to sit on a bench. It showed a great view of the small town that he lived in and the countryside. There, he pulled out a cheap box of bento he'd packed into his bag—rice, pickles, and some leftover karaage from last night's dinner at Hanamori.
"You should eat with us sometime," said Kana, a girl from his class who passed by with a group of her friends. Daiki looked up at her, mouth full.
"Huh?"
"You always sit by yourself."
"Yea, I like the view," he said, gesturing vaguely at the countryside. Kana raised an eyebrow but didn't push it further.
"Suit yourself."
After school, Daiki took a part-time shift at a local ramen shop. He worked four nights a week. It was enough to keep a little pocket money, help the orphanage out with groceries, and pay for the occasional game that was on a deal.
"Ya late again, huh?" muttered Tanaka-san. He was the eccentric owner and Daiki's boss.
"I'm literally five minutes early," Daiki said, with a cheeky tone.
"Exactly. You're late to being early!"
Daiki rolled his eyes and tied on his apron. The hours passed in a blur of boiling pots, clacking bowls, and sweaty steam. When his shift was over, it was past 9 p.m., and the wind had begun to rapidly pick up outside as the rain fell.
"You gotta take the long way home," Tanaka said as Daiki stepped out. "That hill road gets real slick when it starts raining."
"Got it."
Daiki tugged his hood up, bowed lazily, and stepped into the wind. It was already drizzling, the smell of ozone thick in the air. This just had to be the one time he didn't listen to Junpei. Daiki decided against taking the long way. The shrine path he always took was faster. It was only ten minutes, even if it got kinda dark and creepy when the sun went down. He'd walked it a hundred times by now. The cracked lanterns, the mossy stone steps, the movement of leaves overhead. It never bothered him.
Until tonight.
As he climbed down the final stretch of the hill, something felt... off. The air was heavy, too still. No wind. No bugs flying around, just silence and the crunch of rock beneath his shoes. Then he heard it.
A scream. High-pitched. Raw. Nearby.
Daiki stopped in his tracks. "What the fuck...?" He turned towards the noise, a drop of sweat falling from his forehead. Another scream came, louder this time. His legs moved before he could even think. Up the slope. Past the cracked torii gate. Toward the old stone wall of the shrine. That's where he saw it.
A girl, probably his age. Soaked. Her back pressed to the wall. Her eyes wide with terror. And in front of her—
A thing.
Daiki had no clue what it was. It wasn't human, but it wasn't an animal either. It had rough, hairless skin. Long, jagged limbs with claws. No visible facial features. Just a rippling predator made of mass, and its hands were reaching for her chest like it was trying to take something from her.
Daiki froze.
"What the... hell is that...."
The girl turned and saw him. Her lips moved.
"Help... me..."
That was all it took.