The next morning, kotaru woke up to the usual sound of his alarm. He sat on his bed for a few moments, his body feeling exhausted—as if everything that had happened yesterday had been nothing more than a heavy nightmare. But when he looked at his hands, he remembered the truth...
He let out a deep sigh, then got up and quickly changed his clothes. As he stepped out of his room, he saw his sister sitting at the table, having a simple breakfast. She looked at him with concern, but said nothing.
He spoke in a calm voice while grabbing his bag and heading toward the door:"I’m leaving."
She replied quietly, "Be careful..."
He nodded and left.
At school, kotaru returned to his usual routine. He sat in his seat, resting his head on his hand as the lectures passed by without him paying any attention, as if it were just another day in his monotonous life.
During lunch break, he went to his usual spot in the schoolyard. It didn’t take long before Hiroto came and sat beside him.
Hiroto: "So, did you find your sister?"
kotaru felt a slight tension but kept his expression steady:"Yeah… she was at the family house, sick. So I took care of her and brought her back home."
Hiroto smiled and said, "Thank God you found her."
kotaru stayed silent for a moment before asking in a calm yet sharp tone:"By the way, do you know someone named Ryo?"
Hiroto looked at him in confusion and replied, "No, why?"
kotaru stood up coldly and said, "It’s nothing, I was just wondering..." then walked away.
Hiroto remained watching him as he left, feeling that something was off about his behavior today.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
As kotaru walked through the hallway, he thought to himself:"Since he’s in the same class as me, I can find his address from the attendance records..."
Classes resumed, and when the teacher started calling out names, kotaru paid attention when he reached the name "Ryo"—but he had been absent for two days.
kotaru muttered quietly:"It seems things are starting to get complicated..."
But Mio, who was sitting nearby, heard his words and wondered to herself:"What does he mean?"
After school, kotaru began searching for Ryo’s friends to find out his address. When he asked them, they looked at him suspiciously.
"Why should we tell you?" one of them asked nervously.
kotaru looked at them coldly, but there was something in his eyes that made them feel afraid. He didn’t need to threaten them—their sense of danger was enough to make one of them speak:
"He… lives in that neighborhood."
kotaru took the information and left without another word.
But as he walked back home, he felt like someone was watching him. He suddenly stopped in the middle of the road and said in a low voice without turning around:
"Mio, what do you want?"
---
The air froze for a moment when he said her name, as if time itself had stopped. Mio, who had been watching him from a distance, felt a chill run down her spine. She hadn’t expected him to notice her so quickly.
She hesitated for a moment, then decided to step out of her hiding place and walked toward him cautiously. When she stood in front of him, she noticed his gaze was cold—but deep within, there was something else… something that made her wonder if the person standing before her was really the same kotaru she had known all these years.
"How did you know I was watching you?" she asked, crossing her arms.
He replied in a calm yet emotionless voice:"You’re not good at hiding. I could feel your gaze since you left the school."
She felt embarrassed, but composed herself and said seriously:"Fine then—why were you asking about Ryo? Since when do you care about him?"
He looked at her for a moment before turning his face away:"That’s none of your business, Mio."
She frowned and said firmly:"It is. Your behavior is strange, and you’re hiding something. Since when do you go around investigating people like this?"
He didn’t respond. He turned and continued walking, but he heard her footsteps following him.
"kotaru! Stop ignoring me!"
Finally, he stopped again, but didn’t turn to her. Instead, he said in a low voice:"Don’t get involved, Mio… it’s better for you."
Then he continued walking, leaving her standing in the middle of the road, watching him with confusion and worry, unable to understand the strange change that had come over him.
But she felt one thing… kotaru was hiding something dangerous.