"Do you see me now, Yuuri… now that there's nothing left to hide?"
*I can't speak. My voice—yes... I am afraid*
Her fingers, cold as snow resting on grave soil, brushed against his cheek.
He flinched.
She didn't stop. She held his face gently, tilting it so their eyes met
His teeth clicked like a warning bell. He couldn't stop the trembling.
Then came her whisper—so soft,
"Why didn't you stop them?"
His breath hitched. The pain behind his eyes swelled. "Tell me, Yuuri—was my life worth less than your fear?"
He shook his head. He wanted to scream no. To tell her he tried. That he ran. That he fell and bled and fought through the crowd. But no sound came. His lips moved. His throat wouldn't.
"Tell me, Yuuri… was it wrong to be born a girl?
Is that why they wanted to see everything I never gave?" she continued.
"They didn't kill me for who I was…
They killed me for what they saw."
"Yuuri... If I was a boy… would I still be bleeding?"
He broke.
"Is this what it means… to be born a girl?...They wanted to watch me die… and still smile."
"I covered myself, but they still looked… still laughed."He can't answer. He stood like a wall. She continued
"I screamed, and I was not a girl to them… just a thing to break."
"Tell me, Yuuri… if I had no body, would they still care? ...I diedfor their joy"
*Her eyes -- very soft-- but her words slicing my heart into pieces* he thought, still standing there in fear.
"I was born a girl… and that alone became my crime.If I had been ugly, would they have let me live?" she asked
He can't answer
" Yeah... ugly or pretty. It wouldn't matter. A body is just a body to them" she answered herself, she continued
"They didn't strip me to shame me…
They stripped me to satisfy themselves... Many just wanted to see me. And some..." She stopped. "Yeah.. they are worse "
Yuuri, Yuuri, Yuuri...
He slowly opened his eyes . He saw Haru face looking at him. He pushed him away, then grabbed his own throat, clutching it in fear.
Haru: "Are you okay?"
Yuuri grabbed his shirt and shouted, "Why did you hold my hand?!"
He let go and his eyes started to blur with tears. "Why…?"
"I'll explain to you... Come with me," He said softly, without looking back.
At Haru's house
"It's their belief," Haru finally spoke, voice low. "Seeing a girl like that—dying like that... they think it brings good things. Luck, blessings. A clean future."
Yuuri's eyes burned.
"What belief?!"
"Some do it for belief, yeah," he admitted. "But many? They do it to satisfy themselves and..Some... because of hate. Anger. Guilt. Guilt that they can't change anything. So they just pretend it never happened. They forget."
"And forgetting... is easier than remembering what kind of world this really is."
Yuuri didn't reply. The image of the girl's final smile haunted the backs of his eyes like it was carved there. Her silence. Her death.
"You didn't even try to help her!" he shouted. His throat burned. "Your eyes were fixed on that stage the whole time. Ohh yeah… you were satisfying yourself, weren't you?"
Haru froze.
He didn't answer.
Not a word. Not even a flinch. Just silence.
That silence hit Yuuri harder than any scream ever could.
"You pervert!" Yuuri screamed, his hands balled into fists. "Tell me—are you satisfied now?!"
Still… nothing.
Then—
Slap.
A sharp, stinging sound tore the air.
Yuuri's head jerked sideways.
Hikari stood there, her palm trembling where it had struck him. Her eyes filled with tears
"Keep your mouth shut " she said.
"If you don't know anything, just shut your mouth." Her voice trembled, but not from fear—something deeper.
She looked Yuuri in the eyes, jaw clenched. "Yes, we didn't help her. Fine. I'll come to your point."
"If I had helped her, I would've been up there too. Hanging like a broken doll."
"Haru… has a sister. She's only ten."
She didn't want to say this. But she had to.
"If he went to help that girl… they would've tied him there. Made him watch his sister become like that. And they wouldn't care she's just a child."
She looked away, voice lowering to a whisper, choked and bitter. "They don't care about age. They don't care if she's ten. They would've taken their dirty hands and—"
Her sentence broke.
She took a deep breath. "Sorry for slapping you."
"I'm… sorry," he said..
Without waiting for a response, he turned, his feet already carrying him away from the house
But Haru stepped forward and caught his arm.
"Hey," he said, gently but firm. "We're friends now."
Yuuri blinked at him."Friends?"
"Yes, friends... I know you don't have anywhere to go. No house. No roof. So just stay with me. It's our place."
He looked away, his voice guarded. "Thanks… but I can sleep outside. Anywhere's fine."
Haru shook his head.
"Don't be stupid. Just stay with us. You're not alone anymore."
Yuuri stared at him for a moment—searching, unsure. No one had said that to him in a long time. Maybe ever.
"…Okay.. But? "
"Just sleep here " He pushed him onto the bed
Yuuri lay on the thin mattress Haru had given him.
His body felt heavy, bones sinking into the warmth he hadn't known in days. He should've felt safe. But sleep never came to him .
Again he was standing in a dark place
"Are you sleeping, Yuuri?"
The voice came. It wasn't loud—but it cut straight into him.
"Did you see how that girl died?" it whispered again. "But you're here… sleeping peacefully."
His breath caught in his throat. The air turned icy. He didn't need to look to know who it was.
The girl.
The one they tore apart.
She stood there, barefoot, her dress stained with the memory of blood. Her head tilted slightly, dark hair falling like ropes around her shoulders. Her eyes weren't angry. They were worse than angry.
"They will never help anyone who is in danger," she said, taking a step forward. "They only help themselves—to make sure they don't fall in danger."
She was closer now. Her voice, colder than the room. "Yuuri… it's very cold…"
She leaned in. He could feel the chill of her breath, but it wasn't breath—it was like winter bleeding into his skin. His knees trembled.
"…But your silence is colder."
His chest heaved. His throat burned.
"Yuuri did you hear her ?" the voice continued "Did you believe you were innocent just because you didn't hold the knife?"
The next morning, everyone began getting ready for school.
"I don't know anything about the school," he said quietly. "I'm new here… You guys go ahead. I'll just stay somewhere in the city."
Haru looked back at him and smiled. "You don't need to worry. School here is open to everyone—no fees, no questions. Just come with us."
The voice hadn't returned.
But its last words still echoed
"Did you believe you were innocent just because you didn't hold the knife?"
Their voices were full of little nothings—tests, jokes, complaints about breakfast. None of them carried the weight Yuuri did. None of them acted like anything had happened at all.
And that was what chilled him more than anything.
Were they pretending?
Or had they truly forgotten?