📅 Date: April 17
🕐 Time: 7:46 a.m.
📍 Location: Arasaki High, Class 2-C
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They say high school is supposed to be the best time of your life.
Whoever said that… wasn't chosen.
My name is Kairo Minase, and this morning started like any other: dull, gray, and quiet. I had no idea that within 24 hours, someone in my class would be gone — not transferred, not suspended.
Dead.
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☕ 7:16 a.m. — Home
I chewed on burnt toast and stared blankly at the TV. The weatherman smiled through the screen, oblivious to the crackle of static that suddenly spiked for a half-second. A glitch.
I blinked. The screen cleared.
"Today will be sunny with a chance of scattered showers in the evening," he said, voice calm.
But on the table beside me was a notebook that hadn't been there the night before.
Old, leather-bound, black, with a crow emblem scorched into the cover. My name was carved into the inside flap:
> Player 07: Kairo Minase
Diary Type: Lie Detector
Status: ACTIVE
Page 001: First Lie Pending
I stared at it, confused. It wasn't a dream journal. I didn't own a diary. I wasn't the diary-keeping type.
Still, I flipped the page.
---
📜 Page 002:
> "Rule #1: A lie told will be a truth revealed. First punishment at sunset."
What the hell was this?
I closed the book and left it behind. I should have thrown it away. Burned it.
But of course, like every idiot in every horror story — I took it with me.
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🚶 7:52 a.m. — School Gates
"NIGHTMARE HAIR KAIRO!" someone shouted behind me.
I turned just in time for Natsuki, my loudmouthed childhood friend, to sling an arm over my shoulder like we were still in fifth grade.
"You alive, man? You look like a corpse. Got dumped in your dreams again?"
I forced a smile. "I'm fine."
As soon as the words left my mouth, a chill ran through me — like the air shifted. My backpack rustled. I unzipped it just enough to peek inside.
The notebook was glowing faintly.
It flipped open on its own. Words burned across the page like wildfire.
> "I'm fine." — [LIE]
My blood ran cold.
I hadn't written that. It was reacting to what I said.
---
🪟 8:05 a.m. — Classroom 2-C
I slid into my usual window seat, second row from the back. My classmates filtered in one by one. Morning chatter filled the air — people talking about shows, tests, relationships.
I didn't hear any of it.
Because she walked in.
She wasn't in our class before.
Black hair down to her waist. Pale skin. A face you'd think was pretty — if it didn't look carved from marble.
Her eyes? Violet. Too sharp. Too quiet.
She took the seat beside me. Like it was always hers.
No one questioned it.
That's when I saw it — she had a notebook too. Identical.
I felt mine vibrate in my bag. I pulled it out slowly.
> New Player Detected
Player 04: Unknown Name. Diary Type: Mirror
Warning: The Game Has Now Begun.
First Elimination in: 12 hours.
---
I tried to ignore it. Pretend everything was normal.
But when the teacher asked me a question in homeroom — I don't even remember what it was — I answered without thinking:
"Sorry, I forgot."
The notebook flipped itself open and updated immediately.
> "I forgot." — [LIE]
Punishment begins tracking.
I felt a sting on the back of my hand. I looked down.
A red mark had appeared, glowing faintly.
I gritted my teeth.
What kind of game is this?
---
👁️ 10:42 a.m. — Roof
I escaped during third period. Climbed the stairs two at a time and shoved open the rooftop door.
The wind was sharp and cold.
I opened the notebook again. This time, the pages were filled with more than just entries.
They showed names.
Pictures.
Statuses.
All players.
---
📓 Player File Log:
Player 01: "Active" – Name Unknown – Diary Type: UNKNOWN
Player 04: "Mirror" – Violet Eyes – Observing Me
Player 07: "Lie Detector" – Me
Total Players: 12
---
I flipped to the last page.
It was blank.
Except for one line at the bottom.
> "Only the one who writes the final page will live."
My hands trembled. I wasn't dreaming.
This was real.
A survival game.
Twelve diaries.
Twelve players.
And one of them just looked me in the eye through the rooftop door.
---
"You're the one who lies a lot," she said, stepping into the light.
Her voice was soft. Icy.
"Let's see how long you last, Kairo Minas