The school day had ended. Students filtered out in lazy streams, conversations fading into the evening air.
Kaito walked toward Class 2-B to retrieve his bag. Simple. Routine. Efficient.
Then Yuki appeared.
She came running—not her usual bounce, but full sprint, hair flying, eyes wide with genuine terror.
"KAITO! RUN!"
He blinked. "What—"
"They found out! They know! We have to GO!" She grabbed his bag from the classroom, shoving it into his arms. "NOW!"
Kaito opened his mouth to ask for clarification.
Then he saw them.
At the end of the hallway, two figures emerged from the stairwell.
Riko Aoyama walked with measured, terrifying steps. Her usual polish was gone—replaced by something cold. Focused. Inevitable.
Beside her, Hikari Tanaka moved like a shadow. Silent. Deadly. Her eyes locked onto Yuki with the intensity of a predator.
Their aura was dense. Heavy. The kind of presence that made students instinctively press against walls to get out of their way.
They looked less like teenage girls and more like grim reapers. Hunting souls.
Kaito processed the situation in 0.3 seconds.
Yuki did something. They're angry. We're the targets. Escape required.
He grabbed Yuki's arm. "Window."
"What—"
They ran.
The classroom window was already open—first floor, soft bushes below, a clear escape route.
Kaito jumped first, landing in the bushes with a soft thud. Yuki followed immediately, tumbling beside him.
Behind them, Riko's voice echoed. "STOP RIGHT THERE!"
Hikari said nothing. She didn't need to.
Kaito and Yuki scrambled up, brushing off leaves, and bolted toward the gate.
From the stairwell, Riko and Hikari emerged—slower, but relentless. They couldn't jump from windows. They had to take the stairs. But their pursuit was no less terrifying.
The chase was on.
---
From a second-floor window, Hoshino Shizuka watched the chaos unfold below.
Two figures running desperately toward the gate. Two figures in relentless pursuit. Leaves flying. Students scattering.
Her eyebrow rose slightly.
Nakamura Yuki. Sato Kaito. Aoyama Riko. Tanaka Hikari.
She watched until they disappeared from view. Then, very quietly, she smiled.
"Sato-kun finally has friends. Interesting."
She turned and walked away, leaving the chaos behind.
---
Kaito and Yuki ran until their lungs burned.
They didn't stop until they reached the Sato household, slamming the door behind them and collapsing against it, gasping for air.
"I think," Yuki wheezed, "we lost them."
Kaito glared at her. "What did you do?"
Yuki grinned weakly. "Remember the prank? About the confession? They didn't think it was funny."
Kaito closed his eyes. Pinched the bridge of his nose. Exactly the same gesture from the rooftop.
"You're going to get us killed."
"Worth it."
He pushed off the door and walked to his room, collapsing into his desk chair. His heart was still racing—not from fear, but from adrenaline. He couldn't remember the last time he'd run like that.
Yuki flopped onto his bed, still catching her breath.
Neither of them noticed Aiko standing in the doorway.
She watched them for a long moment. Her brother, disheveled and breathless. Yuki, grinning like a maniac. Leaves in their hair. Dirt on their clothes.
Then she spoke, her voice calm and knowing.
"Yuki made trouble again, didn't she?"
Kaito didn't open his eyes. "Yes."
Yuki sat up, indignant. "It was a prank! A good one!"
Aiko's smile was warm but amused. "How bad?"
Kaito's voice was flat. "We just jumped out a window to escape two girls who looked like they wanted to murder us."
Aiko considered this. "So... moderate trouble. Could be worse."
Yuki beamed. "See? Moderate!"
Kaito opened one eye to glare at her. "We're not safe yet. They know where we live."
Aiko patted his head gently. "Welcome to having friends, little brother. It's messy. It's chaotic. And apparently, sometimes you have to run for your life."
She left them there, still laughing quietly to herself.
Kaito stared at the ceiling.
This is my life now.
Yuki, oblivious to his suffering, was already planning her next move.
The unseen chase was over. But the war had just begun.
(End of Chapter 73)