The warehouse was a tomb of cold concrete and the lingering scent of stale oil. In the center of the vast, hollow space, Marcus and his two shadows trembled like leaves. Their bravado had vanished, replaced by a raw, primal terror as Chizuru loomed over them. She looked impossibly pristine in her school uniform, the light from the overhead fixtures catching the nipper cutter clicking rhythmically in her hand.
"The buyers," she prompted, her voice dropping to a silk-smooth whisper that carried a lethal edge. "Who are they?"
"Chinese... Chinese businessmen!" Marcus shrieked, his voice cracking under the pressure. "They have a warehouse near the northern port. They—they look for young women. To use as... as dolls. Slaves. They pay in untraceable crypto. That is all we know! We swear!"
Chizuru's smile remained fixed, but a flicker of pure, mechanical coldness crossed her eyes. "Dolls... how odd. Where have I heard that before? Oh, right. The Lolita case. Well, it makes sense now," she spat sarcastically. "So the eight students were sold to those predators for them to molest and ravage through your filthy transactions? You really let eight lives turn into deep mud just for you to earn your filthy wealth and luxury? Disgusting."
She straightened her back, tossing the cutter onto a metal tray with a loud clatter that echoed through the rafters. Turning to her men, who stood like unmoving statues in the shadows, she pulled a stack of papers from her blazer: the notebook assignments she had intercepted from Epione earlier that day.
"I have decided to be generous," Chizuru announced, her voice echoing with a playful, yet lethal, lilt. "I am giving you a test." She handed the copies to one of her guards. "These are the assignments you were going to force Epione to do for you. Since you are so fond of her work, let's see how much you have learned."
She leaned down, her face inches from Marcus's terrified eyes. "If you know the answers, escaping is easy for you. There are ten questions. For every wrong answer, my men will drill a small hole into your skull. Just a tiny one. I hope the three of you can survive all ten if you are too stupid to answer."
The wails of the boys were cut short as Chizuru adjusted her white gloves. She leaned into her lead guard's ear, her whisper barely audible.
"The class begins. Facilitate. Once you are done, dismiss them in a clean manner. If they fail, which I am sure they will... clean the bodies and deliver their heads to their doorsteps. No traces."
She turned on her heel, the heavy iron doors groaning shut behind her, cutting off the first high-pitched whine of a power drill.
Tuesday Morning
The sun was shining brightly over the school courtyard, but I couldn't feel its warmth. I had been worried sick; Chizuru had been absent all day Monday, and she hadn't answered any of my texts. I kept imagining the worst—that Marcus's family had done something to her because she protected me.
"Epione!"
I spun around so fast I nearly tripped. There she was, jogging toward me with a lunch bag in one hand, her hair bouncing and her eyes sparkling. She looked refreshed, radiant, and completely untouched by the world.
"Chizuru! Where were you? I was so worried!"
She giggled, looping her arm through mine just like she always did. "Oh, I am so sorry! My dad took me on a surprise weekend trip to the mountains. We went hiking and looked at the stars. It was so peaceful, I completely forgot to check my phone! We had the best time just bonding, you know?"
I smiled, feeling a massive weight lift off my chest. She deserved that kind of happiness. If my parents were still around, would we have had a bond like that? I felt her lean her head on my shoulder, the scent of expensive floral perfume clinging to her blazer.
"I am glad you're back," I said softly.
"Me too," she chirped, her smile widening. "I think I missed a lot for a day. Ready for class?"
As we walked toward the building, I noticed how perfect her gait was. She didn't trip or stumble. She was the picture of a happy girl, with not a single drop of blood on her white sleeves. Walking into school had always been a descent into a nightmare for me, but with her, it felt like a veil had been drawn between me and the cruelty of the halls.
Thank you, Chizuru.
The classroom was eerily quiet. Usually, the air was thick with the scent of cheap cologne and the loud, obnoxious laughter of Marcus and his crew. Today, their seats were empty. Most of the students in Section Dream-5 looked pale, huddled in small groups and whispering with wide, terrified eyes.
"Have you heard?" I heard one girl whisper as we walked to our desks. "They say the Hallowhand mansion was swarmed by police at 4:00 AM. But it wasn't for an arrest. It was for... a delivery."
I felt a slight shiver run down my spine, but Chizuru's hand remained warm and steady on my arm. She didn't seem to hear the gossip at all, humming a light tune as she opened her bag.
"I brought extra today!" Chizuru announced, pulling out a beautiful bento box. "My dad's chef went a little overboard. You have to help me eat it, Epione, or it will go to waste."
"It looks like art," I said, genuinely impressed. I reached for a piece of the egg, my stomach growling. As I ate, I noticed Chizuru just... watching. She held a strawberry in her fingers, bringing it to her lips, but then she would set it back down, distracted by a story I was telling.
"Aren't you eating?" I asked, my mouth half-full.
"Oh, I had a huge breakfast at the hotel," she said smoothly. "Just enjoy your food. Don't mind me . You are so thin, Epi-chan. You need the energy more than I do."
I laughed, but as the lunch period wore on, I realized she hadn't taken a single bite. Not one grain of rice. Even her breathing seemed different. When I sat close to her, I couldn't hear the rhythmic huff of lungs. There was only a very faint, almost imperceptible hum, like a high-end laptop running in a quiet room.
Later that afternoon, during a particularly boring lecture, Chizuru dropped her pen. We both reached for it at the same time. My hand brushed against hers. I flinched. Not because she was aggressive, but because she was ice. It wasn't just "cold." It was the cold of a stone in winter.
"Chizuru, your hands are freezing," I whispered, taking her hand in both of mine to warm it. "Are you sick? You are pale, too."
She didn't pull away. Instead, she let me hold her hand, looking down at our joined fingers with a curious, distant expression. For a moment, the bubbly mask slipped, and she looked... ancient. No seriously, she looked almost like a Greek statue
"I have always been a bit cold," she said softly. "My uncle says it is a circulation thing. Don't worry about it."
She squeezed my hand. Her grip was terrifyingly strong, like steel bands wrapped in silk. I looked at her, really looked at her, and for the first time, I saw the faint, silver seam hidden right at the edge of her hairline, nearly invisible under her dark bangs. Before I could ask about it, the door opened. Ms. Pillarion walked in, her face like granite.
"Epione Paramnesia. Chizuru Katsura. My office. Now."
The whispers in the room reached a fever pitch. As we stood up, Chizuru leaned in and whispered in my ear. Her breath smelled of nothing. Just sterile, recycled air.
"Stay behind me, Epione. No matter what they say."
I reached for her forehead, my own hand shaking. "Chizuru, you are freezing. I think you have a really bad fever. We should go back to the clinic."
Chizuru didn't move. She didn't blink. She just kept her eyes on Ms. Pillarion. "I am fine, Epi-chan," she whispered. "It is just the mountain air still clinging to me."
Inside the office, the air was thick. Ms. Pillarion stood by the window, looking out at the courtyard.
"The Hallowhand family has withdrawn Marcus from this school," she said, her voice trembling. "Along with his two friends. Their parents cited... security concerns. They claimed their sons received a delivery they couldn't recover from."
She turned to look at us, her eyes landing on the silver case in Chizuru's hand. "A lot of strange things are happening since you arrived, Miss Katsura. And you, Epione... you have changed. You are not the quiet, bruised girl I used to see."
"Is that a crime, Ma'am?" Chizuru asked. She stepped forward, and I noticed the floorboards didn't even creak under her feet. "To be a shield for someone who has none?"
"It is a crime to dismantle the hierarchy of this school using fear," Pillarion snapped.
Suddenly, Chizuru's hand jerked. A soft, metallic click echoed from inside her briefcase. A thin wisp of white vapor escaped the seal, smelling of ozone. Chizuru's face went momentarily blank, her pupils dilating until her eyes were almost entirely black.
"Chizuru?" I whispered. "You are shaking."
She wasn't just shaking; she was vibrating. A low hum emanated from her chest. "I need... to take my medicine," Chizuru said, her voice flickering like a radio losing signal. "If you will excuse us, Epione needs to help me with my... documents."
Before the Counselor could protest, Chizuru grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the room. Her grip was like a vice. We sprinted toward the old, abandoned music room at the end of the hall. Once inside, she slammed the door and locked it. She slumped against the wall, the silver case falling open. She didn't pull out papers. She pulled out a sleek, high-tech injector filled with glowing blue fluid.
"Epione," she gasped, her skin turning a sickly, translucent grey. "Don't look at me. Please. Just... look at the door. Make sure no one comes in."
I stood by the door, my heart hammering. I wanted to believe she was just a girl with a medical condition. But as I looked back, I saw her sleeve slip up. Beneath the pale skin of her forearm, I saw a faint, rhythmic pulsing of blue light, following the line of what should have been a vein.
It wasn't blood. It was light.