Chapter 34 - Eiji HoshinoWednesday, October 18th The morning light that was filtering through the cssroom curtains felt so hollow, I thought I was still in that nightmare.

  Numerous equations and theorems were id out in front of me, blurring into an unintelligible, useless conglomeration of already unintelligible, useless things. How could my mind not keep wandering, drifting to thoughts of Akio and the events of the previous night?

  I didn’t see him, nor Ryota, by the vending machine their entourage usually held hostage on the first year’s floor. I gnced at my phone for what felt like the hundredth time, hoping for a message, a sign, anything to ease the turmoil within me. But the screen remained stubbornly bnk, offering no soce, no answers.

  Why? Why did he have to…

  No. He couldn’t be gone. Not Akio. Not now.

  The words echoed in my mind, each sylble a painful reminder of the gaping hole in my heart. None of this made sense. None of it felt real. It couldn’t be real. Akio couldn’t be gone.

  I clenched my fists, trying to push away the crushing weight of reality. Denial cwed at the edges of my mind, refusing to accept the unthinkable.

  He'll show up any moment now, I told myself, even my inner voice trembling with desperation.

  He'll walk past us in the corridor, that coy grin on his face, and everything will be fine. It has to be.

  But deep down, I think I already knew the truth.

  I knew that no matter how much I wished for it, Akio wouldn’t magically appear.

  The harsh reality of his absence threatened to consume me, leaving me stranded in a world where everything had changed in an instant.

  And I wasn’t ready to face it.

  “Hoshino!”

  I looked up to find the world’s – or rather, the cssroom’s – eyes fixed onto me, scrutinizing me with awkward, uncomfortable eyes. How much of what I was thinking did I speak out loud? What did I say?

  Mr. Inoue opened his mouth, brows furrowed, a cssic sign that he was about to unch into a massive tirade. Even honours students weren’t spared from those. In the end, however, all he said was, “If you’re going to think out loud, at least keep it at a whisper, is that clear?”

  All I could think to do was vigorously nod, and nod I did. He sighed, continuing his gruff tutege of the chain rule. The rest of the onlookers, however, were not as accommodating.

  “What is up with her…?”

  “So embarrassing. giggle “

  “She was probably up pulling an all-nighter, huh? Freak.”

  I swear to you, on any other day, offhanded comments like these, from absolute nobodies, would have gone in one ear and out the other. Shit, they wouldn’t even have registered to begin with.

  But judging from the automatic clenching of my fists, the sudden quickening of my breaths, the fire fring in my chest, today wasn’t gonna be one of those days.

  Eventually I couldn’t hold it any more, and my body demanded release. With a particurly sharp scrape, my desk chair slid back as I unched to my feet. My eyes tore into an empty white spot on the textbook’s page, with so much sharpness that I genuinely thought the innocent tome would self-destruct at any moment.

  The room had fallen silent. I didn’t need to look up to know that their eyes were on me again. I didn’t care.

  “Young dy!” Inoue mbasted. “What on earth is going on with you –“

  His speech was interrupted by our eyes meeting, and for the first time in my life, Mr. Inoue, a teacher so austere and no-nonsense he’d been nicknamed Sergeant, looked unsettled.

  “G-Go and spsh some cold water on that face of yours, young dy.” He muttered after some tense moments passed.

  I accepted the offer with speed – I couldn’t stand this fucking css any longer.

  For what felt like years, I stood there in the girls’ bathrooms staring at the doppelganger in the mirror. Her eyes, once filled with vitality, now mirrored exhaustion and despair. Dark circles etched beneath them, bearing witness to sleepless nights haunted by nightmares too vivid to shake.

  Her skin, once radiant, now bore the scars of countless battles, both physical and emotional. Strands of tangled hair were framing her face, a stark contrast to the once-pristine locks that danced in the breeze.

  She looked like she was caught in the grip of a merciless whirlpool, struggling against its relentless pull. Each breath she took felt like a desperate plea for salvation, her silent cries echoing off the cold, tiled walls.

  I wondered, in that moment, if anyone would believe her if she attempted to share the truth of her journey.

  If she dared to reveal the horrors she had witnessed, the darkness that had threatened to consume her.

  Would they dismiss her words as the ramblings of a troubled mind? Or would they themselves open up their perception of reality to accommodate the horribly dark secrets she’d discovered?

  My ruminations would have to wait for another day, however, as the bathroom door gently creaked open, and soft footsteps followed. I didn’t turn to look at the newcomer, but something about their cadence struck me as familiar.

  “I’ll make this quick,” she began after sidling up towards me. The fog of her gsses shielded her eyes from me. I remained silent, bracing myself for whatever news she had to deliver.

  “Furusawa is in a coma.”

  The words smmed into me like an enraged bull, sending shockwaves of disbelief coursing through my veins. My heart seemed to shatter into a million fragile pieces, the weight of her words crushing me into silence.

  All that escaped my lips were hoarse whispers and mutters, but Mizuko adjusted her spectacles, as though she had anticipated such a reaction.

  “I overheard some teachers in the faculty office,” she continued, her voice trembling with emotion. “Akio’s father apparently called in earlier, saying that he wasn’t waking up and was…unresponsive.”

  She paused, removing her gsses and wiping at her eyes. When she spoke again, her gaze remained fixed on the mirror before us.

  “…About an hour ter, when I was there to drop off some paperwork, he called back saying Akio had been admitted to the General Hospital near Shibuki.”

  I waited, desperate for more information, for some sembnce of a pn to rescue him, to revive him, to gather the others, anything. But none came. Mizuko stood there, her eyes locked on the gss in front of us, as though she had been frozen in time.

  “I…” My voice faltered, the words feeling feeble and inadequate in the face of such devastating news. “We… need to go…We need to go and see him.”

  Silence lingered in the air, heavy and suffocating, as I pleaded with Mizuko to take action.

  “Mizuko, we need to go.”

  For the first time since entering, she turned to meet my gaze. In that moment, I realized I was looking into my own reflection, only distorted and warped by grief and uncertainty.

  “Things have changed, Hoshino,” She whispered, her voice barely audible above the pounding of my heart. “I can’t…I can’t join you.”

  …changed? What’s that supposed to mean?

  “Why not?”

  “Because they’re here, Hoshino. Juno is here in this school. I know it. And so long as they’re here, we’re not safe. Worrying about Akio provides us with no benefit. He’s already gone. We need to… focus on ourselves now.”

  The world seemed to tilt on its axis. I couldn’t comprehend what I was hearing.

  “…Focus on ‘ourselves’? What in the world? That’s exactly what they want, Mizuko! They want us to become paranoid and turn on each other! You’re falling right into their –”

  “DON’T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT?!”

  The air grew thick with tension as Mizuko’s outburst echoed in the confined space. Tears streamed down her face, mixing with the frustration and fear etched in her features.

  “But what choice do we – do I - have? What choice do we have but to survive?”

  Survive. That word again. It was like a dagger twisting in my gut, a reminder of the harsh reality we were facing.

  “Mizuko, please, listen –”

  “No.” Her tone brooked no argument. “I’ve made up my mind. I have someone I vowed to protect, no matter the cost. I will fulfill my duty, even if it kills me.”

  Her gaze bore into mine, chilling me to the bone.

  “And even if it kills you.”

  I was left speechless as Mizuko exited the bathroom, leaving behind a heavy silence broken only by the hum of the ventition and the steady flow of water from the tap.

  My breaths came in shallow gasps, my heart racing with a mix of fear and determination.

  Juno had achieved their goal, tearing apart the fragile bonds we’d forged. How many more of us would fall victim to their machinations?

  With every passing moment, my resolve wavered, and threatened to crumble under the weight of uncertainty. I couldn’t stay here any longer. I needed to leave, to find some sembnce of safety.

  And I knew exactly where I needed to go next.