Shūen entered the university with quick steps and a restless look. He moved down the hallway with the feeling that someone was watching him. Just as he passed the open door of a classroom, something sprang from the darkness and coiled around him, strangling him with force: a red rope. It yanked him violently and threw him through the threshold, making him land inside the empty classroom. Mochi slammed the door shut to prevent his escape.
Shūen, lying on the floor, looked up to see who had attacked him. Standing calmly before him was Zeke.
—Who the hell are you? —Shūen growled, furious—. Let me go right now!
—Shut up! —Mochi replied as she passed him and stood beside Zeke—. You'll pay for what you did. I'll take care of it myself.
As soon as Shūen recognized her, his fury flared even more. —I remember you… you're involved in this too. What do you want? Don't you know who you're messing with? You'll regret it, I swear!
Annoyed by the shouting, Zeke tugged hard on the rope that ran from his forearm and circled Shūen. Instantly, the cord tightened like a tourniquet.
—Argh! —Shūen let out a howl, as if his bones were cracking under the pressure.
His threats crashed against the coldness of the looks before him. Realizing that his authority as a professor had no effect, the arrogant expression collapsed into fear. He had used his position to subdue those who bothered him… but now he had nothing to back him up.
—S-stay—stop… —he stammered, his voice trembling—. I'll talk. I'll tell you everything you want to know.
The change surprised both of them, but they didn't lower their guard; they also didn't rule out that it was a stratagem by the anomaly to set a trap.
—Stop pretending you're human —Zeke growled, fixing him with a stare—. We know you're the anomaly behind the suicides.
Shūen looked up with a confused expression. —I-I don't understand what you're talking about… I… I didn't do anything…
Zeke pulled the rope again, with a sharp jerk. The cord tightened until Shūen let out another strangled whimper.
—Don't lie —Zeke said in a low voice, loaded with anger—. We've been following you. We have proof.
Mochi, standing at his side, looked at him coldly.
—You lied to me —she said—. When I came to your office and told you I'd seen you entering the university at night, you told me I was mistaken… that you'd never been here outside of hours.
Shūen blinked rapidly, breathing with difficulty.
—T-that… must have been a misunderstanding…
Zeke cut him off, sharp.
—Another one of your tales. You said the students who killed themselves never came to you for help. But the one who survived… —his eyes fixed on him— told us the truth: that they did come to you. They sought support… and you mocked them. You humiliated them. You pushed them further.
—That… that's not… —Shūen stammered, trying to move his hands, but the rope held him immobile.
—We also know that the night you broke in illegally you erased the camera recordings —Zeke added, never taking his eyes off him.
The professor swallowed hard.
—Y-you're mistaken…
—Enough! —Mochi's voice cracked; her fists were trembling—. We know it was you who caught Sam and his friends when they tried to sneak in. Two days later, Sam was dead! Stop pretending! You're the one causing the suicides!
Shūen opened his mouth to deny it again, but something in his expression shifted: he seemed to discover—or invent—a cover story on the spot.
—No… no… it wasn't me! It was a setup! —he exclaimed in a higher, desperate voice—. It was that bitch Ami! She… she tricked me.
Zeke yanked the rope again; Shūen let out a scream.
—Stop making things up.
—I'm not lying! —he writhed—. Ami and I… we've been lovers for a year. That night I sneaked in because she invited me… she wanted to "play" with me in my office. Afterwards… well, we had fun, and I couldn't find my access card… she must have taken it and erased the cameras.
Mochi frowned, her mind trying to connect the dots.
—Zeke… that night I was sure I heard footsteps… a woman's footsteps.
—See? I'm not lying! —Shūen clung to that tiny coincidence—. She told me to ignore those depressed students, that it wasn't worth wasting time. She told me Sam and his friends were planning to sneak in… she asked me to catch them to teach them a lesson. She was also the one who told me to resign because they would blame me for the suicides as the professor; she convinced me to come today to collect my pay.
His gaze turned almost feverish.
—It was her! —he insisted—. Besides, I know she was sleeping with several from the theater group… and they were the ones who later killed themselves.
A heavy silence filled the classroom.
Zeke and Mochi exchanged a glance; suddenly, both felt a bad premonition.
—Call Miyu —Zeke ordered, never taking his eyes off Shūen.
Mochi pulled out her phone and dialed with trembling hands.
—Come on, pick up… —she whispered.
The tone rang once. Twice. Three times.
Nothing.
She tried again. Again… silence.
A knot formed in her stomach.
—She's not answering…
Zeke clenched his teeth.
—She tricked us… and we walked right into her trap —he said urgently.
* * *
A few minutes earlier, Miyu was at Ami's apartment. The place remained dark, with the curtains barely open. The air felt heavy, stale, as if no one had ventilated in a while.
Sitting at the dining table, Miyu listened to the faint bubbling of water in the kitchen.
She remembered well how Ami had greeted her: there was nothing left of the impeccable, always radiant young woman she knew. Her hair was tangled, dull, and she wore the same clothes as the last time Miyu had seen her. Her eyes, once full of life, now looked lifeless.
On the way there, Miyu had felt confident she could comfort her. But now, facing her, that confidence was fading. How could she help someone who had lost her childhood friend and partner? What words could ever be enough?
Ami returned from the kitchen with a tray. She set a steaming cup in front of Miyu and sat down with her own. The silence stretched on, uncomfortable.
Miyu took a long sip. The tea was hot, but it left a metallic aftertaste. She frowned for a moment, thinking maybe it was just a cheap brand. She finished it in one gulp, took a deep breath, and prepared to break the ice to cheer her up.
But Ami spoke first.
—Sorry for making you come… and for interrupting you when you were with your two friends. —She paused before continuing—. It's good that the three of you transferred to this university. Despite everything that happened, it's still a very good place. I have many happy memories there.
The words froze Miyu.
How did Ami know she had been with Mochi and Zeke before coming? In the call, Mochi had never mentioned it.
And how did she know the three of them had transferred to this university?
Miyu looked at her cautiously. Ami's smile was different. Forced. And in her eyes there was something… as if they were seeing right through her.
Suddenly, Miyu's cell phone rang on the table. The ringtone was the one she had assigned to Mochi.
She stood to grab it, but immediately the world spun violently. A sudden dizziness made her stagger; her knees buckled and she fell to the floor. Weakness spread through her muscles as if her body no longer belonged to her.
In a flash of lucidity, she understood.
—What… did you put… in the tea? —Miyu whispered with effort.
Ami slowly stood and began walking around the table. Her laughter burst into the air, first high-pitched… and then, another voice overlapped it: masculine, deep, resonant.
—So naïve… —both voices said in unison, the sweet one of Ami and the other, dark and deep.
On her knees, breathing heavily, Miyu lifted her gaze toward the door. There, leaning against the wall, was her umbrella. She had left it there when she came in.
I have to reach it, she thought desperately.
—Don't resist… it will hurt less that way —Ami said with unsettling calm.
Miyu gathered the little strength she had left and lunged forward. She had barely taken a few steps when something tugged at her foot, making her lose her balance. She crashed hard against the floor.
She looked down and understood: one of the straps of her sandals had broken, the sole dangling loose.
—Keh heh heh… —Ami's laughter echoed behind her, mocking and cruel.
Miyu clenched her teeth and tried once more to push herself toward the umbrella.
In that instant, she felt a sharp tug at her scalp.
—Aaah! —she screamed, as Ami grabbed a lock of her hair to drag her closer.
Ami's smiling face stopped just a few centimeters from hers. Then, without warning, she slammed her head against the wall.
—Ugh! —a groan of pain escaped her lips. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, and a warm stream slid down her nose. Before she could react, another blow smashed her head against the wall… and then another.
Finally, Ami let go. Miyu's body slid slowly down to the floor, leaving behind a dark streak on the wall.
Get up… don't stay here…, she ordered herself.
Trembling, fighting against the drug's effect, she braced a hand against a nearby cabinet and began to stand, her legs shaking. Barely upright, she caught sight of Ami throwing a direct kick. Miyu tried to dodge, but the wide sleeve of her coat caught on the corner of the furniture.
She couldn't break free.
The kick landed squarely in her stomach.
—Ahh! —the air burst from her lungs. She fell to the ground with her back against the wall.
Ami raised her leg and delivered another kick to the same spot. Miyu curled into a fetal position, clutching her abdomen as her gasps mixed with retching.
Ami watched her with wild eyes, a smile of pleasure twisting her face.
—I warned you… —another kick— that if you didn't resist… —another— it wouldn't hurt.
Each word was punctuated by another impact. Miyu felt her stomach burn, churn… until she finally vomited.
—Disgusting… —Ami spat with contempt.
With a shove of her foot, she rolled her onto her back. Then she straddled her, sitting on her aching abdomen.
With both hands, she grabbed Miyu's collar and yanked hard, pressing against her throat.
Ami's smile stretched wider, overflowing with satisfaction as she watched her victim suffocate.
Miyu struggled, her fingers clawing in vain at the hands that strangled her. Her vision blurred; the edges of her world darkened to black. She raised a trembling hand toward nothing, as if reaching for someone.
—Se…mpai… help me… —she whispered weakly, before the darkness swallowed her completely.