The morning sun streamed through the windows of Blue Sky National High School, bathing the classroom in soft golden light. Students chatted lazily as they settled into their seats, enjoying the calm atmosphere before classes officially began.
Near the window sat Kazumi.
A fourth-year student admired by nearly everyone in school.
Beautiful, intelligent, athletic, and kind—she was the type of person others naturally gravitated toward. To most people, Kazumi looked perfect.
It was just another normal school day.
Yet as she quietly stared outside at the bright blue sky, her expression seemed distant… almost lonely.
"So yeah, that's how our date went," Emily groaned dramatically from the desk beside her. "Can you believe him? Thirty minutes into the date and he already asked me to go to his place."
Rose laughed softly.
"That's not even the worst part," Emily continued. "He kept acting like we were already a couple. It was creepy."
Rose shook her head. "You definitely made the right choice rejecting him."
"Right?" Emily crossed her arms proudly before glancing at Kazumi. "What do you think, Kazumi?"
No response.
Kazumi continued staring outside.
"…Kazumi?"
Still nothing.
Emily stood up and walked toward her friend with a pout.
"Kazumi! You're not listening at all!"
Kazumi blinked and quickly turned back toward them.
"Huh? Oh… sorry."
Emily narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You've been spacing out all morning."
Rose leaned forward curiously. "Are you thinking about something?"
"…It's nothing," Kazumi replied softly.
Emily smirked.
"Wait…"
She leaned closer.
"Don't tell me you have a crush on someone."
Rose's eyes widened instantly.
"Ohhh."
Emily looked away awkwardly. "I mean—it's a normal question…"
Kazumi stared at both of them silently.
Then she smiled.
A small, gentle smile.
"…It's a secret."
Emily immediately whined. "Hey! That's unfair!"
Rose laughed.
Before the conversation could continue—
The classroom door slid open.
Their teacher stepped inside.
"Alright everyone, settle down. I have an announcement."
The classroom quickly quieted.
"We have a transfer student joining us today."
The door opened again.
And for a moment—
The entire room fell silent.
A student stepped into the classroom, long black hair flowing down his back like silk. His features were so refined and delicate that the first word that came to everyone's mind was—
Beautiful.
Whispers immediately spread across the room.
"…Wait, that's a guy?"
"He's seriously beautiful…"
"No way…"
The teacher gestured toward the class.
"Please introduce yourself."
The boy calmly stepped forward.
"My name is Kiyoshi Jisei," he said in a calm, clear voice. "My family recently moved here from the province."
One student hesitantly raised a hand.
"Um… isn't long hair against the dress code for boys?"
The teacher adjusted his glasses.
"Kiyoshi submitted a formal request regarding that matter." He glanced at a document before continuing. "There are personal reasons for it, so please respect his privacy."
The room buzzed with curiosity.
Then suddenly—
"WHAAAT?!"
Kazumi shot up from her chair in shock.
The entire classroom stared at her.
The teacher blinked in confusion.
"Kazumi? Is something wrong?"
Kazumi immediately realized what she had done.
"Ah—s-sorry!" she said quickly, embarrassed. "It's nothing…"
But inside—
Her heart was racing.
"…Kiyoshi…"
The moment she heard his name, a memory surfaced in her mind.
Years ago…
A younger Kazumi walked alone down a quiet street, tightly hugging her teddy bear against her chest.
The afternoon sun was warm.
Peaceful.
Until three older boys suddenly blocked her path.
"Well, look what we found."
Before Kazumi could react, one of them snatched her teddy bear away.
"H-Hey!"
The boys laughed as they tossed it between themselves.
"Catch it!"
"Too slow!"
Kazumi desperately tried grabbing it back, but she was too small.
Tears filled her eyes.
"P-Please… give it back…"
But nobody came to help her.
The street felt empty.
Silent.
Then—
She noticed a boy casually walking nearby with a lollipop in his mouth.
Their eyes met.
Hope instantly filled Kazumi's face.
But awkwardly—
The boy simply looked away and continued walking.
Kazumi's heart sank.
"Hey!" she shouted desperately. "Don't just leave me here!"
The boy stopped.
He sighed in annoyance before walking toward the bullies.
The older boys laughed.
"What? You wanna play hero?"
The boy ignored them completely.
Instead, he stopped in front of Kazumi and held out his lollipop.
"Hold this."
Kazumi blinked in confusion before taking it.
But without thinking—
She immediately put it into her mouth.
The boy froze.
"…Seriously?"
Kazumi sniffled innocently, completely unaware of what she had just done.
The boy stared at her in disbelief.
"…Unbelievable."
Even while annoyed, he stepped toward the bullies.
But strangely—
Kazumi couldn't remember what happened next.
Everything after that became blurry.
Foggy.
Like something was blocking the memory itself.
The next thing she remembered clearly was walking home beside him while hugging her teddy bear.
She talked endlessly about random childish things.
And he listened quietly.
Eventually, they reached her house.
"Thank you for earlier," Kazumi said shyly.
"You still owe me," the boy replied.
"Huh?"
"My lollipop."
Kazumi laughed awkwardly.
"Oh… sorry…"
The boy smiled slightly.
Though deep inside, he still looked annoyed.
Kazumi smiled brightly.
"I'm Kazumi! What's your name?"
The boy turned away.
"…Jisei."
Kazumi snapped back to reality.
The classroom was still staring at her awkwardly.
The teacher cleared his throat.
"Ahem… anyway."
He pointed toward the empty seat beside Kazumi.
"Kiyoshi, you can sit there."
Kazumi immediately became even more embarrassed.
Meanwhile, Kiyoshi simply walked over calmly and sat beside her.
The class continued as normal.
But Kazumi's thoughts were in complete chaos.
Was it coincidence—
Or fate?
Her childhood hero…
Was sitting right beside her.
Every time she glanced at him, her heart raced.
Does he remember me?
Should I say something?
Questions endlessly circled inside her mind.
After class ended, students slowly began leaving while chatting loudly.
Kazumi rested her head on her desk, exhausted from overthinking.
Then—
"…Hey."
Her heart nearly stopped.
She slowly lifted her head.
Kiyoshi was looking directly at her.
"Y-Yes?"
"I noticed you staring at me earlier," he said calmly. "Do we know each other?"
Kazumi forced a smile.
"Oh… it's nothing."
A short silence followed.
"…I'm Kazumi."
"Kiyoshi."
Kazumi hesitated.
"I just thought you looked familiar. I think we may have met when we were kids."
Kiyoshi blinked.
Then slowly shook his head.
"…Sorry. I don't remember."
Kazumi felt disappointment sink into her chest.
"But," he continued, "I had an accident a few years ago. I still have trouble remembering parts of my childhood."
Kazumi's expression softened.
"…An accident?"
Kiyoshi nodded quietly.
For a moment, Kazumi didn't know what to say.
Then she smiled gently.
"Well… if that's the case… then it's nice to meet you again."
Kiyoshi stared at her silently before nodding.
"…Yeah. Nice to meet you too."
Before the conversation could continue, several classmates suddenly surrounded Kiyoshi.
Kazumi quietly watched from her desk.
Something about him felt strange.
Unreachable.
After school, Kazumi returned home still thinking about him.
"I'm home," she called.
Her mother smiled warmly from the kitchen.
"Welcome back, sweetie! Dinner's almost ready."
But before she could continue, Kazumi suddenly hugged her tightly.
"K-Kazumi?"
"Mom…" Kazumi whispered. "Do you remember the boy I told you about when I was little?"
"The one who helped you?"
Kazumi nodded.
"I met him again today."
Her mother smiled softly.
"That's wonderful."
"But…" Kazumi lowered her gaze. "He doesn't remember me."
"Aww…"
Her mother gently stroked her hair.
"I'm sure things will work out."
That night, Kazumi lay awake staring at the ceiling.
For some reason—
She couldn't stop thinking about Kiyoshi.
And the strange feeling surrounding him.
The next day, Kazumi found herself unconsciously watching him during class.
Following him between hallways.
Observing him.
Trying to figure out the strange feeling that kept bothering her.
Yet somehow—
She kept losing sight of him whenever he turned corners.
It was frustrating.
Almost unnatural.
Eventually, Kazumi gave up and stayed behind that afternoon to change clothes in the locker room.
By the time she finished, the school hallways were nearly empty.
That's when she realized—
She forgot her notebook.
Sighing, she returned toward the classroom.
But as she approached—
She heard voices inside.
One of them belonged to Kiyoshi.
"You disgusting bitch," he said coldly. "You really think you can fool me like everyone else?"
Kazumi froze.
Hearing Kiyoshi speak like that felt completely wrong.
Then—
She peeked inside.
And her blood turned cold.
Kiyoshi was holding a blade.
A short sword.
And he was about to attack a girl.
Kazumi immediately rushed inside.
"Stop!"
She grabbed his arm desperately, trying to immobilize him.
"What are you doing?! This isn't right!"
The girl stumbled backward in panic.
"Run!" Kazumi shouted. "Get help!"
The girl immediately fled from the classroom.
Kiyoshi glared furiously at Kazumi.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Then—
A bell rang.
Everything froze.
Outside the windows—
The world became pitch black.
Not night.
Not darkness.
A void.
An endless black abyss.
Kazumi stepped backward.
"…What is happening?"
Kiyoshi cursed under his breath.
"…Great. We're dead."
"What?!"
Kazumi's breathing grew shaky.
Then suddenly—
Kiyoshi started removing his uniform jacket.
Kazumi's face instantly turned red.
"W-What are you doing?!"
"This is the fastest way to break the spell," he answered calmly. "Turn your clothes inside out."
Kazumi immediately threw a book at his face.
"PERVERT!"
Kiyoshi sighed deeply.
"…Fine. Then we do it the hard way."
"The hard way?"
"We kill the thing that cast the spell."
Then—
A monstrous growl echoed through the hallway.
The lights flickered violently.
"…What was that?" Kazumi whispered.
Kiyoshi immediately grabbed her wrist.
"Run."
The two sprinted into the hallway.
Behind them—
Something crawled across the walls.
Kazumi glanced back.
And nearly screamed.
The creature looked like a twisted bat-like corpse.
Its body was split open, organs hanging from its torso. Long arms dragged against the walls while glowing slit-like eyes stared directly at them.
Its mouth stretched unnaturally wide.
And its tongue slithered across the floor.
The monster screeched and launched itself toward them.
"LEFT!" Kiyoshi shouted.
They turned the corner just as the creature slammed into the wall behind them.
Kiyoshi pulled Kazumi into a classroom.
"Hide."
The room fell silent.
Kazumi trembled violently.
"…What IS that thing?"
She turned toward Kiyoshi—
And froze.
Kiyoshi was quietly muttering prayers beneath his breath.
Kazumi stared at him.
"Are you seriously praying right now?!"
"What does it look like?" he snapped. "No way in hell I can fight that thing directly."
Scratch.
Scratch.
Scratch.
The sound outside slowly approached.
Kazumi felt her heartbeat pounding in her ears.
"Well at least do you have a plan?!"
Kiyoshi immediately started thinking hard, sweating heavily.
Then suddenly—
"…I have an idea," he whispered.
He looked directly at her.
"But I need your help."
A few minutes later—
Kazumi stood alone in the hallway.
Terrified.
The monster slowly emerged from the darkness.
Its attention instantly locked onto her.
"H-Hey ugly!" she shouted shakily.
The creature screeched and charged toward her.
Kazumi immediately ran into a classroom and hid beneath a desk.
The monster slowly entered.
Then it released a deep vibrating screech.
Kazumi realized with horror—
It was using echolocation.
The creature slowly approached her hiding spot.
Kazumi's heartbeat pounded violently in her chest as the monster lowered its head.
Drool dripped onto the floor just inches away from her.
It found her.
Suddenly—
A figure dropped from the ceiling.
Kiyoshi.
With blades in both hands, he stabbed directly into the monster's back.
The creature shrieked violently and smashed through desks trying to throw him off.
But Kiyoshi held on tightly.
"DIE ALREADY!"
The monster grabbed him and hurled him into the wall.
CRASH!
Kiyoshi coughed painfully.
The creature charged again and slammed him across the room.
Blood dripped from his mouth.
"Kiyoshi!" Kazumi shouted.
The monster raised its claws—
THUD!
A textbook struck its head.
The creature turned toward Kazumi.
"H-Hey! Over here!"
It lunged instantly.
Before she could dodge, the creature slammed her against the wall.
Kazumi gasped in pain.
The monster grabbed her tightly by the waist.
Kazumi struggled desperately, but the creature's strength completely overpowered her.
The monster slowly opened its massive jaws.
Tears formed in Kazumi's eyes.
Is this the end…?
But before the creature could sink its teeth into her—
Kiyoshi rushed forward.
SLASH!
One of the creature's arms flew off instantly, freeing Kazumi.
Black blood sprayed everywhere.
Kiyoshi drove his second blade into the creature's neck.
The monster screamed and slammed him violently into the floor.
His weapon flew from his hand.
Kazumi spotted it nearby.
Fear consumed her.
But if she did nothing—
Kiyoshi would die.
Grabbing the blade, Kazumi charged forward with a scream and plunged it deep into the creature's heart.
The monster froze.
It released one final deafening screech before collapsing onto the floor.
Then—
Its body slowly crumbled into ash.
Silence returned.
The darkness vanished.
The classroom repaired itself instantly.
Broken walls disappeared.
Blood vanished.
Even their damaged uniforms returned to normal.
It was as if nothing had ever happened.
Except—
The pain remained.
Kiyoshi sat against the wall breathing heavily.
"…Still alive," he muttered weakly.
Kazumi quickly rushed beside him.
"Are you okay?!"
"I think so…"
The two sat quietly in exhaustion.
Then Kiyoshi suddenly looked at her seriously.
"…Forget everything you saw tonight."
Kazumi blinked.
"…What?"
This is the story of how an ordinary girl reunited with the boy who once saved her…
…That will change her life forever.