Splash—
She turned on the faucet and reached out to catch the tap water flowing from it.
Miko lowered her head and splashed the clear water onto her face, rubbing hard.
The water was very cold.
When splashed onto her face, it even carried a faint, stinging sensation.
By relying on this thod, Miko felt that she could beco slightly more clear-headed, and the buzzing dizziness in her mind could also ease a little.
For so reason, her condition had not been very good the entire day. She had drifted off several tis during class and hadn't even heard it when the teacher called her na.
By her ears, there always seed to be a faint singing voice, lingering indistinctly.
But whenever she tried to listen carefully and distinguish it, she would discover each ti that she had simply misheard—rely mistaking other sounds for singing.
Yet if she deliberately chose not to pay attention to those sounds and pretended not to hear them, she would find that the singing grew louder and louder, increasingly noisy, so sharp that she could not hear anything else at all—yet it still would not stop.
Was it a hallucination?
Or had sothing gone wrong with her?
Raising her head and staring at her own face in the mirror—one that looked noticeably more haggard—Miko could not help but let out a soft sigh.
At that mont, a girl passed behind her and walked into one of the stalls to the side.
Miko did not pay her any attention, rely reaching up to wipe the water from her face.
It was currently break ti, and the corridor outside was filled with the noisy chatter of many students. At a ti like this, it was perfectly normal for girls to co into the restroom; there was no need to pay special attention.
Miko had also co to the school restroom during this ti precisely to wash her face, hoping that in this way she could help herself stay a bit more awake and not remain so listless.
Speaking of which, quite a few people in her class had been taking leave recently.
After washing her face and feeling her mind ease slightly, Miko could not help but begin thinking.
There were indeed quite a number of students taking sick leave.
After all, many seats in the classroom were empty—almost half, it seed.
However, classes were still continuing as usual, and the teaching progress had not paused because of this matter.
Co to think of it, if too many people in the class were absent, the horoom teacher should probably do sothing about it, right? The way all the teachers were continuing their lessons as if nothing had happened, completely ignoring the reduction in student numbers, sohow felt not quite right.
Should she go report this issue?
Right— which classmates were the ones who had taken leave and gone ho without coming to class?
Miko turned around, thinking as she prepared to step away.
Then her footsteps suddenly halted, and she froze in place.
It was a bit strange—she couldn't rember the nas of those classmates.
Was it because they were classmates she did not usually interact with much, so even if they disappeared, it would be hard to notice?
This feeling was rather unsettling. Rembering the nas of everyone in the class—she should still be able to do that, shouldn't she?
However, she truly could not rember which classmates had taken leave and gone ho.
Co to think of it, the classmate who sat beside her… was it Hana? Yes, it should be Hana.
Why did she have so little impression now? Clearly, every day she would chatter noisily right by her side…
Could it be… that she was actually still dreaming?
Snap!
At the very mont Miko ford that absurd thought, the light in the restroom stall beside her suddenly went out.
When the startled Miko turned around, she saw that the entire restroom had already been swallowed by darkness—she could not see her own hand in front of her face.
Why had the light suddenly broken?
And besides, wasn't it dayti now? There were windows in the restroom as well—so why, after the lights went out, could she not see anything at all?
Sowhat puzzled, Miko did not intend to stay here. She turned around, planning to leave and return to the classroom.
[…]
The girl took a step forward, then stopped.
Just now, she seed to have heard so sound coming from the darkness, like… the sound of breathing?
Speaking of which, it seed that soone had just gone into the restroom.
Miko silently took a step back.
She could not see what existed within the pitch-black restroom; she simply felt instinctive fear toward that gloomy, oppressive environnt and did not dare approach it no matter what.
[…]
Was that… soone crying?
It seed as though the sound of weeping was coming from inside.
Could it be that because the light had gone out, she could not find the switch to the stall door and was unable to co out?
Thud—thud—
As Miko thought this, she heard, from within the darkness, the dull sound of sothing striking against a wooden stall door.
Thud—thud—
In the darkness devoid of even the slightest light, it continued to sound, one after another, as if it would never stop.
Miko had already retreated to the entrance of the restroom.
She had considered whether to ask about the situation of the girl who had just gone inside, but that indescribable terror completely enveloped all her senses at this mont, leaving her able to do nothing but retreat.
And at that very mont, her steps involuntarily halted, because she had bumped into soone approaching from behind.
"What's wrong? Why are you blocking the doorway?"
A puzzled voice sounded from the girl behind her.
"Sorry, I didn't notice."
Miko hurriedly apologized, then tried to leave, only to have the other girl reach out and grab her shoulder.
"What's wrong? Did sothing happen inside the restroom?"
The girl asked again, sowhat curious.
"It's just that the light's broken. It's a bit dark inside right now."
Driven by an instinct that grew stronger and stronger, urging her to leave this place, Miko answered casually—yet suddenly felt one side of her shoulder beco sowhat damp.
"Really? Really? Then why can't I see it?"
The girl was still speaking.
Miko's movents had already stopped.
She turned her head and looked at the hands gripping her shoulder—hands whose fingernails had all been torn off, whose skin had been peeled away, leaving them a bloody, mangled ss.
Then she raised her head and looked at the girl.
At the girl whose eyes had been gouged out, whose eyelids had been stitched and sewn onto her scalp, exposing two enormous eye sockets directly.
Dark red blood flowed incessantly from the girl's eye sockets.
And she simply stood there, one hand resting on Miko's shoulder, continuing to grin as she asked her: "Really? Really? Then why can't I see it?"
In the very next mont, Miko suddenly lifted her head, propping up the body that had originally been slumped over the desk.
Cold sweat covered her entire body, and she was breathing heavily, unable to control it.
Was that just now a dream?
She looked around. The students nearby were gathered in small groups, chatting about their own matters. No one had paid attention to her sudden awakening.
"What's wrong, what's wrong? You suddenly look like you've lost your soul."
At that mont, an orange head suddenly leaned in from the side, staring at Miko with great curiosity.
She was Miko's classmate and the friend she was closest to in class—her na was Yurikawa Hana. She was a lively, sowhat silly, and quite strikingly well-endowed cute girl.
"It's… it's nothing…"
Miko shook her head and forced a smile at her friend.
Ding-dong—
The class bell rang at that mont.
One by one, the students returned to their seats. Although Yurikawa Hana was still worried about Miko and wanted to ask a few more questions, she could only obediently return to her seat and sit down.
'Had I slept straight through the entire break just now?'
Miko's gaze swept across the room.
The girls' academy she attended had only female students. A class usually had around thirty students, and now the number of students seated… was twelve in total.
Since when had this class been reduced to only this many people?
Why did everyone seem so unconcerned, as though a class having less than half its students attend was completely insignificant?
There had to be sothing wrong.
Beneath the desk, Miko silently clenched the hem of her skirt in her hand.
Sothing happening in this classroom—sothing happening to everyone—there had to be… sothing wrong.
Silently, the school day ca to an end in a rush.
After that bizarre and terrifying nightmare, nothing else particularly noteworthy occurred at school. If anything was worth ntioning, it was only that she saw even more students discussing "Alice's Ga".
Every one of them was brimming with excitent.
Every one of them looked thrilled, full of eager anticipation.
Yet for so reason, Miko felt that the smiling faces she saw were twisting little by little—gradually contorting into shapes no human could ever make, nor should possess.
'I have to do sothing.'
As dismissal approached, gazing at the dusk gradually drawing nearer outside the window, Miko could not help but form that thought in her mind.
Sothing terrible was happening in this school.
She had no way to find the cause, nor any thod to stop this strange incident.
But she was already the only person here who could sense that sothing was wrong—who could perceive that sothing was happening.
So if sothing had to be done, only she could do it.
But what should she do?
Aside from sensing that sothing was wrong, she had no other ability at all.
What exactly was she supposed to do?
Should she look for soone who could help her?
Should she share what was happening here with others and seek help from an adult?
Such thoughts arose in the girl's mind and quickly spread.
It was as if soone were whispering softly to her, causing these ideas to surface.
I [I] should [should] go [go] to [find] soone [a] who [can] help [adult] [], seek [friend] help [person]… [only] that [works]…
Who could help her?
[Who could co and be my friend?]
Hana… no, she knew nothing. I can't ask her for help. She wouldn't be able to help …
Ask Mom for help… no, that won't work either. Mom wouldn't be able to deal with sothing like this. Of the people she knew, the only one who might possibly know how to handle the current situation… yes, maybe that person could do it…
After all, he could see the world she saw. He could see those terrifying things just as she could. Perhaps once he learned what was happening here, he would be able to help her. The only person she could turn to now might be him.
[So let him beco my friend.]
Miko took a deep breath and, at that mont, quietly made up her mind.
After the dismissal bell rang, she packed up her things as quickly as possible and left the school—so quickly that she did not even wait to walk ho with Hana.
She ran past the silent street corner and crossed the pedestrian crossing.
The girl faintly sensed that sothing was strange—today, the streets were far too quiet. So quiet that along the way she had hardly encountered any pedestrians or vehicles at all.
It was as though the entire city had fallen silent, leaving only her running forward within it.
Because of that, Miko quickened her pace even more, nearly exhausting herself as she ran to the front door of her house. After leaning against the wall to catch her breath for a mont, she continued on, passing her own door and walking toward the house next door.
Toward the ho of the only person she could think of now—the only one she could ask for help.
Ding-dong—
The girl reached out and pressed the doorbell at Takumi's house.
Then, after a sowhat tense mont of waiting, she heard a response from the intercom.
"Who is it?"
In the lazy voice, Miko could even hear him yawning, as if he had just woken up.
"It's , Yotsuya Miko. Um, hello. You—you told before that you can see the sa things I can, right? I—I have sothing I hope to ask your help with. Could you open the door and let co in?"
Having rarely spoken to n, Miko spoke with a slight nervousness.
"Oh. Then co in."
As for Takumi, having just finished the trip to the hot spring hotel, he was in an extrely relaxed state and did not think much of it. He replied casually, then unlocked the front door so that Miko could enter his ho.
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