The faint chime of the clock filled the silence.
7:43 a.m.
Fumiko's eyes slowly opened, her vision hazy from another sleepless night. Her room felt too still– the kind of stillness that seeps into your thoughts and refuses to leave. The sunlight brushed across her face, warm yet somehow distant.
She lay there for a moment, listening to the soft ticking, the muffled hum of life outside.
"It's morning already...uhh...I wanna sleep more"
Her mind felt heavy. Last night she had stayed up again, staring at her ceiling until dawn, chasing fragments of memory that kept slipping through her fingers.
The orphanage.
The car accident.
The hospital room she barely remembered.
Every time she tried to piece them together, her head throbbed, as if someone or something didn't want her to remember.
"...There has to be something I'm missing, or am I just to dumb to notice?"
she murmured under her breath, sitting up slowly.
The mirror across her room reflected her pale face, messy hair, and faint dark circles under her eyes.
She sighed.
"You look like a ghost, Fumiko."
Her own attempt at humor fell flat.
After washing her face and brushing her hair into a loose ponytail, she threw on her school uniform. The clock read 8:04.
She froze.
"Oh, come on! I'm late again!"
She grabbed her bag, half-tripped over her shoes, and bolted out the door.
---
The autumn air slapped her cheeks awake as she dashed through the narrow streets. The sky was a pale shade of gold, streaked with white clouds drifting lazily. Her hair fluttered behind her as she ran, her breath forming small clouds.
By the time she reached the school gate, students were already going inside. Ami's voice rang out as soon as she spotted her.
"Late again? You're setting a new record and eventually keep breaking them too, you know!"
Fumiko bent over, catching her breath.
"G-Give me… a minute..."
Yuki giggled beside Ami, holding a milk carton.
"You sure you didn't sleep through another alarm?"
"More like three alarms,"
Fumiko muttered.
Ami crossed her arms.
"You really need to stop staying up all night. What are you even thinking about so much?"
"...Just some old memories."
Ami blinked, a little surprised at the sudden seriousness in Fumiko's tone. But before she could ask more, the bell rang, cutting through their chatter.
"Saved by the bell,"
Fumiko said, smiling faintly.
They hurried inside together, laughter echoing down the hallway.
---
The school day passed in gentle rhythm.
Teachers spoke, chalk scraped against the board, the windows shivered softly from the autumn breeze.
Fumiko tried her best to focus, but her mind kept wandering. Every blank page of her notebook seemed to reflect her confusion, no answers, just emptiness.
During lunch, Rin waved from the window.
"Hey, you guys coming or what?"
The four of them– Fumiko, Ami, Yuki, and Rin, gathered under the same sakura tree as yesterday. The petals were long gone, replaced by crisp orange leaves that fluttered to the ground.
"By the way,"
Yuki said between bites,
"we have that small project due next week, right? The group one?"
"Oh, right!"
Ami groaned dramatically.
"We have to bring samples of traditional crafts. I forgot about that."
"I'll buy the stuff after school,"
Fumiko said.
"There's a small shop near the market that sells handmade paper crafts and charms. I'll grab what we need."
"Perfect,"
Rin said with her usual grin.
"Meanwhile, I'll be at practice again today."
Ami rolled her eyes.
"You and your basketball obsession."
Rin winked.
"Someone's gotta make the school proud, right?"
They all laughed, a sound that, for a moment, made the world feel perfectly normal again.
Fumiko looked at them one by one, her smile softening.
She wanted this to last.
She wanted all of them to stay.
---
After school, the sky had already started to turn amber.
Fumiko walked through the quiet streets, her bag swinging lightly at her side. The air carried the faint scent of roasted chestnuts from a nearby vendor. She decided to take the longer route home, through the shopping district.
Her thoughts drifted again, uninvited.
The orphanage.
The dreams.
The glowing figure in her visions who hadn't appeared since that night when she got that fragment device.
Why did it stop? Did it leave me?
She shook her head. Maybe it was for the best. Maybe peace meant silence.
The streets were calm, shopkeepers sweeping fallen leaves, a few students laughing over ice cream, wind chimes clinking softly above doorways.
She passed a small coffee shop with fogged glass windows. Inside, soft jazz music played. Through the translucent window, she noticed a chessboard on one of the corner tables.
Only one hand was visible.
Pale, slender fingers slowly moved a black knight forward.
The person's face was hidden by the reflection on the glass, but something about the motion, the deliberate, almost graceful way the piece clicked into place– made their pause for a moment.
It wasn't strange. It was just… oddly still.
Like the world around that hand didn't move.
She tilted her head slightly, then smiled faintly to herself.
"People still play chess? That's kinda rare."
With that, she continued walking.
But inside the coffee shop, the unseen player whispered softly, moving the white queen next.
"Check."
---
Fumiko's bag grew heavier as she bought the last of her project supplies, colored paper, calligraphy pens, some wooden beads.
The sun dipped lower, painting everything in warm shades of gold and orange.
She stopped by a small bakery to grab melon bread for herself and a few snacks for Ami, Rin and Yuki. The shop smelled of butter and sugar, and the bell above the door chimed softly as she entered.
"Welcome!"
The baker greeted.
"Ah, good evening,"
she said politely, smiling.
After buying her things, she stepped out again, clutching the warm bread bag close to her chest.
The temperature had dropped slightly. She could see her breath faintly as she walked.
Then, faintly, a sound.
Someone shouting.
Her brows furrowed.
"Wait… that voice…"
She turned toward the park that stood across the street. The setting sun stretched long shadows across the playground. Through the metal fence, she saw a familiar figure– Rin.
Her heart skipped.
"Rin?"
Rin stood with her hands clenched, her expression sharp. In front of her, three boys– taller, older, loomed with mocking grins. One of them tossed a basketball between his hands lazily.
Fumiko couldn't hear the words clearly, but she could sense the tension.
The boys' postures were aggressive, crowding her.
Rin's jaw tightened, her stance defensive but fierce.
Fumiko gripped the metal fence tightly, her breath fogging the cold bars.
"What's happening…?"
she whispered to herself.
A strange sense of unease settled in her chest.
The air felt heavier, almost as if the sunlight itself dimmed slightly.
She could faintly make out one of the boys sneering. Rin shot back with a glare that could cut steel.
"Leave her alone…"
Fumiko murmured under her breath, heart pounding.
She wanted to rush in– but something held her back.
Fear, confusion, maybe the disbelief that something so ugly could happen in broad daylight.
Rin didn't back down.
Her hand clenched around her sports bag, eyes burning with anger.
The boys took a step closer.
And that's when one of them noticed Fumiko through the fence.
For a split second, their eyes met– his, cold and calculating.
Fumiko froze.
Then he smirked.
She stepped back instinctively, her pulse hammering in her ears.
A voice inside her whispered– Move.
But before she could do anything, one of the boys said something that made Rin's eyes widen, her entire expression changing from anger to pure rage.
Fumiko's breath caught.
The world around her blurred, the sounds of the city fading away, replaced only by the beating of her heart.
Rin... what's happening...?
The faint breeze rustled the fallen leaves near her feet.
She didn't realize she was holding her breath until her lungs burned.
Then– a shout.
Rin's voice, loud and furious.
Fumiko gasped, fingers trembling against the fence.
She couldn't move. Couldn't look away.
Totally frozen...but the inner thoughts in her mind kept screaming to move and help Rin.