The night of the last party.
The balcony outside the gym, three floors above the city.
The sky is a deep indigo bruise, the moon a thin silver scar.
Far below, the streets are quiet; the only sound is the muffled heartbeat of music leaking from the gym doors and the occasional laugh that escapes when someone opens them.
The air smells like late summer turning autumn—distant rain, warm concrete, and the faint sweetness of the cherry trees that line the school fence.
I'm here because Kiyomi refused to let me stay locked in my room again.
The headache had been brutal all day, a vise behind my eyes, but when she stood in my doorway with that look—half pleading, half threatening—I couldn't say no.
Not on her birthday.
Not when she whispered, "Please, Kiyoshi. Just for a little while. For me."
So I came.
I've been standing at the edge of the balcony for the last twenty minutes, back against the railing, hands in my pockets, mostly silent.
The real Kiyoshi's posture comes naturally now: shoulders loose, head slightly tilted, the quiet watchfulness that makes people nervous without knowing why.
Kiyomi sits on the wide concrete ledge, legs dangling over the drop, knees pulled to her chest.
She's wearing the pale-blue dress she saved up for all summer, hair pinned up with the silver clip I gave her last year.
Even in the dim light I can see the sadness in her eyes.
Tada sits beside her, massive frame hunched, staring at the phone in his hand like it's poisoned.
He hasn't spoken since the rooftop confession disaster.
The screen is dark, but Hana's last message is burned into his retinas.
Kiyomi's voice is soft, almost lost in the wind.
Kiyomi
First… my brother actually came.
That's a miracle in itself.
But he's been quiet all night.
I know the headaches are bad again.
I just… wanted him next to me on our birthday.
Is that selfish?
She glances at me.
I give her the smallest nod—barely a movement—but her shoulders relax a fraction.
Kiyomi
Second… I ruined everything for Tada.
I thought I was helping.
I thought if I just pushed a little, he'd finally be happy.
Instead I handed him the worst night of his life.
Tada's voice is rough, barely above a whisper.
Tada
You didn't know.
Kiyomi
I should have asked.
I should have listened.
She hugs her knees tighter.
Kiyomi
Third… Akioichi isn't here.
He texted me a picture from the hospital bed—leg in a cast, giving me that stupid thumbs-up.
He said, "Celebrate for both of us."
But I wanted him next to me.
I wanted someone to hold my hand when everything started falling apart.
Her voice cracks on the last word.
The wind picks up, carrying the faint scent of rain.
I shift my weight, the concrete cold against my back.
I want to say something—anything—but the words feel too heavy.
Then the music inside cuts dead.
One second there's bass and laughter.
The next—nothing.
Absolute silence, like the world just inhaled and forgot how to breathe.
Kiyomi frowns.
Kiyomi
What the…?
We move at the same time.
The three of us push through the glass doors back into the gym.
The room is a photograph.
Every person frozen mid-motion.
A girl with a cup halfway to her lips.
Two boys mid-laugh, mouths still open.
The DJ's hand hovering over the stop button.
Faces drained of color.
Eyes wide.
No one breathes.
Tada's voice cracks the stillness.
Tada
What happened?
No answer.
Kiyomi pushes forward, voice rising.
Kiyomi
Someone talk!
What's going on?
A girl near the front—eyes swollen, cheeks streaked with tears—finally speaks.
Her voice is barely a thread.
Girl
Hana is dead. Some one killed her,,,,,,,,,, cut her body into six pieces and ,,,,,, Then threw her dead body in front of police station.
The words drop like a guillotine.
Tada makes a sound like every bone in his body just shattered.
He collapses straight to the floor, knees hitting concrete hard enough to bruise.
Kiyomi's hand flies to her mouth, a strangled gasp escaping.
But My
And inside my skull—The headache explodes.
Not pain.
Memory.
White-hot fragments slam into me all at once:
Running through rain-slick alleys.
Blood mixing with puddles.
A scream cut short by a wet sound.
A hooded figure too fast, always too fast.
A blade catching neon light.
My own voice, raw and breaking:
"Not her—take me instead—"I stagger, grabbing the nearest wall.
My vision tunnels.
The room tilts.
I slide down the wall until I'm on my knees, both hands clutching my head.
Me (hoarse, panicked, words spilling out uncontrollably)
This was it.
This was the thing I was afraid of.
I still can't remember everything—but I know this feeling.
I was chasing him.
The murderer.
He's… he's the shadow that hunts me in my dreams.
The one I could never catch.
The one who always—My voice cracks.
Kiyomi is in front of me in an instant, dropping to her knees, hands gripping my shoulders hard enough to bruise.
Kiyomi (voice shaking, tears already falling)
Kiyoshi—look at me!
What are you saying?
Who's hunting you?
I can't answer.
Because the memories keep coming:
A girl's body in six pieces.
Sacks left at a police station like trash.
A message written in blood on the wall:
"See you soon."
My hands shake so hard I can't feel them.
My voice drops to a whisper that somehow carries through the entire silent gym.
Me
He's back.
He never stopped.
And this time…
he started with Hana.
Tada makes a broken sound from the floor, curling into himself.
Kiyomi's grip tightens, tears streaming down her face.
Kiyomi
Kiyoshi…
what did you do?
I meet her eyes.
For the first time since I woke up in this body,
the gentle impostor is gone.
The thing that used to live here is looking out through my eyes.
And it is furious.
The gym is a tomb, but colder.
The lights are still on, harsh and fluorescent, turning everyone's faces gray.
No one has moved since the words were spoken.
Hana is dead.
Six pieces.
Sacks at the police station.
I'm on the floor, back pressed to the wall, knees pulled to my chest.
The headache is a living thing now, clawing behind my eyes, trying to drag me under.
The memories are there (flashes of rain, blood, a hooded figure who always stays one step ahead), but every time I reach for them they slip away like smoke.
Kiyomi is crouched beside me, hand on my shoulder, voice low and urgent.
Kiyomi
Kiyoshi… talk to me.
What did you just see?
I can't look at her.
Me (barely a whisper)
I know him.
I've chased him before.
I just… I can't…My voice cracks.
Me
I can't do this again.
Not now.
Not like this.
Tada is still on the floor a few meters away, curled into a ball, rocking slowly.
His phone lies abandoned, screen dark.
Kiyomi's grip tightens.
Kiyomi
Then we don't do anything tonight.
We go home.
We lock the doors.
We wait until your head stops trying to kill you.
Me (shaking my head)
If I wait… he'll disappear again.
He always does.
Kiyomi (firm, almost angry)
Let him disappear.
You're falling apart.
Look at me.
She grabs my chin, forces my eyes to hers.
Kiyomi
You are not chasing anyone tonight.
You are not opening that drawer.
You are not disappearing on me again.
Her voice breaks on the last word.
Kiyomi
I already lost one brother to whatever this is.
I'm not losing another.
I want to argue.
I want to stand up, walk out, find the hooded shadow and end this.
But my legs won't move.
My hands won't stop shaking.
The memories are there, but they're behind a wall of pure terror.
I'm not brave.
Not tonight.
Me (voice small, ashamed)
I'm scared, Kiyomi.
I'm so scared I can't even stand up.
She pulls me into her without hesitation, arms tight around my shoulders.
Kiyomi
Then be scared.
Be scared with me.
We'll be scared together until you're not anymore.
Tada's voice drifts over, raw and broken.
Tada
I just… want to go home.
Kiyomi reaches out with one arm, pulls him in too.
The three of us huddle there on the cold gym floor,
three broken people holding each other up because none of us can stand alone.
Kiyomi (whisper)
We're leaving.
Now.
No arguments.
She helps me to my feet.
My legs shake the entire time.
We walk out of the gym together,
arms linked,
moving slow,
like if we let go we'll all fall apart.
Tonight I just want to go home,
lock the door,
curl up next to my sister,
and pretend the world isn't ending.