Yuuto stood up, his gaze falling on the unconscious, bloodied Minoru.
'He called me Senpai.' The thought lingered. He swallowed hard. 'Who is he? I know he's Sakura's brother... Was he delirious, maybe?'
His eyes roamed the wreckage of the house until they landed on the mannequin—the one used to lure him in.
'Some dedication. Didn't they stop to think how odd it is that I have 4 mannequins in my closet?'
He stepped over the corpses, crouching to adjust the mannequin. Dark, long wig on it.
Carefully, he lifted it and carried it to the kitchen, the least bloodstained part of the house.
'Good as new…' His gaze softened.
"Mom."
His fingers let go.
'Nah. Mom died three years ago. She was raped to death in front of me. Along with my big sister. And my little sister. My father left me in this house alone until I went insane.'
A sigh.
He turned away from the mannequin. Streaks of red now marred its once-pristine surface.
'Well.'
He exhaled. Stepped forward.
'I do wonder what just happened here, but I need to take care of the corpses. And tie up Sakura's brother. I need to find out what
s
he
doing he.
re…
Huh?
His body gave out. Muscles unresponsive. He collapsed against the stairwell.
A door lock clicked open.
Footsteps.
A presence.
A figure stood in the doorway, silhouetted against the sunlight. No warmth.
Just a shadow, staring down at him.
'Who are you?'
Yuuto's voice barely reached his own ears.
"Name's Itsuki," the figure said with a relaxed smile. "I'll be your senpai for the next three years in Black Letter."
"Right. Why did you kill my mom?"
"Fun? Fun!" Itsuki grinned.
Beyond him, a field of flowers.
Sunlight. Vibrant colors. No withering petals.
"You're bathed in light," Yuuto murmured, watching her pick flowers with two smaller figures. His big sister and little sister. "As per your name, Mom."
A voice cut in.
"It's awfully convenient how your family is always on vacation, Sakurai."
Riko tilted her head.
Yuuto ignored her, stepping forward.
"Is it warm over there?" He asked, hovering at the garden's entrance.
"Silly," his mother rose from the flowers, brushing her dress. "This is America. I'm on a trip to visit your sister, remember? Of course, it's warm!"
"Does it hurt?" Yuuto's feet lingered at the edge.
"No, sweetie. I'm really happy here. So, go back to suffering, okay?"
"Sure. Take care."
Darkness crept in. The flowers dissolved.
"Take care of what? You?"
His father's voice.
The warmth snapped out of existence.
"I can't. Hikari's gone. You have the new house to yourself, plenty of cash. Figure something out."
A pause.
"If you ever stop being insane," his father muttered. "I won't fix you. I can barely fix myself."
The door shut.
Silence.
"It's one big hole I'm lying in."
Yuuto stared at the void above.
"Dad left. No one can pull me up anymore."
"There's no one to save me from it."
The words left his lips, hollow and certain.
"I bet if someone invincible existed, he could help me."
But no one came.
"So I'll just stay here… until Mom picks me up this time. And we'll go together to America."
A pat on his head.
Soft thighs beneath him.
His eyes fluttered open.
A blurred figure. Gently stroking his hair. Mom.
Warmth?
His vision adjusted.
A metal pole lodged in her mouth. Blood dribbling down her chin.
A grotesque smile with broken teeth.
'Right. She isn't here anymore.'
'She's in America.'
'The field of flowers.'
'It's not warm here.'
'The blood is cold.So why was she saying it's warm? The same as being in a field of flowers? That she was happy, if she was dying?
There weren't any flowers in that room.'
A shift.
He stood in a dark hallway.
At the end—a red door.
Muffled sounds. Screams. Moans. Warped and distant.
He looked down. A baseball bat.
Gripped tight in his hand.
"Save them, Yuuto."
"Please…"
A whisper. A plea.
"There's no one to save."
"They're dead."
"You're hallucinating some bullshit right now."
Shrug.
The hallway stretched. Infinitely.
The red door faded into the distance.
Darkness swallowed it whole.
Gone.
"You need to water flowers if you want them to bloom!"
Sato's voice—bright, innocent.
A flash.
Darkness.
"Hahahahahahah,"
Clowns circling.
Laughing. Twisted grins.
"Dead-d-ed-ed-eead-e-ad-dea-d-ead-ea-daef-ade-ad-eadead—"
"Mommy dead."
"Sister dead."
"Father deadbeat."
"Hence also DEAD."
"I know, right?"
A voice responds. Distant. Hollow. Familiar.
"Man, just one organ, and all my troubles began."
Echoes.
Hayato's own voice.
"Senpai, that's life,"
"Senpai, stop... Please..."
"Don't... look.. Yuuto.."
A whisper. A plea.
"Hayato.. heheh..."
A breath against his ear.
"How does it feel?"
'STOP..!!!
'STOP..!!!!
'STOP!!!!!!!! JUST STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP!!!! STOP!!!' He shouted, but it kept looping.
'Please... Stop... Please...' He cried out, collapsing onto the darkened floor, clutching his head.
'I can't... Take it anymore...' He walked up to the cliff, fell from it, killing himself.
'STOP..!!!
'STOP..!!!!
'STOP!!!!!!!! JUST STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP!!!! STOP!!!' He shouted, but it kept looping.
'I can't... Take it anymore...' He walked up to the cliff, fell from it, killing himself.
'STOP..!!!
'STOP..!!!!
'STOP!!!!!!!! JUST STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP!!!! STOP!!!' He shouted, but it kept looping.
'I can't... Take it anymore...' He walked up to the cliff, fell from it, killing himself.
'STOP..!!!
'STOP..!!!!
'STOP!!!!!!!! JUST STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP!!!! STOP!!!' He shouted, but it kept looping.
'I can't... Take it anymore...' He walked up to the cliff, fell from it, killing himself.
'STOP..!!!
'STOP..!!!!
'STOP!!!!!!!! JUST STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP!!!! STOP!!!' He shouted, but it kept looping.
'I can't... Take it anymore...' He walked up to the cliff, fell from it, killing himself.
'STOP..!!!
'STOP..!!!!
'STOP!!!!!!!! JUST STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP!!!! STOP!!!' He shouted, but it kept looping.
'I can't... Take it anymore...' He walked up to the cliff, fell from it, killing himself.
'STOP..!!!
'STOP..!!!!
'STOP!!!!!!!! JUST STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP!!!! STOP!!!' He shouted, but it kept looping.
'I can't... Take it anymore...' He walked up to the cliff, fell from it, killing himself.
'STOP..!!!
'STOP..!!!!
'STOP!!!!!!!! JUST STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP!!!! STOP!!!' He shouted, but it kept looping.
'I can't... Take it anymore...' He walked up to the cliff, fell from it, killing himself.
'STOP..!!!
'STOP..!!!!
'STOP!!!!!!!! JUST STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP!!!! STOP!!!' He shouted, but it kept looping.
'I can't... Take it anymore...' He walked up to the cliff, fell from it, killing himself.
'STOP..!!!
'STOP..!!!!
'STOP!!!!!!!! JUST STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP!!!! STOP!!!' He shouted, but it kept looping.
'I can't... Take it anymore...' He walked up to the cliff, fell from it, killing himself.
'STOP..!!!
'STOP..!!!!
'STOP!!!!!!!! JUST STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP!!!! STOP!!!' He shouted, but it kept looping.
'I can't... Take it anymore...' He walked up to the cliff, fell from it, killing himself.
'STOP..!!!
'STOP..!!!!
'STOP!!!!!!!! JUST STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP!!!! STOP!!!' He shouted, but it kept looping.
'I can't... Take it anymore...' He walked up to the cliff, fell from it, killing himself.
'STOP..!!!
'STOP..!!!!
'STOP!!!!!!!! JUST STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP!!!! STOP!!!' He shouted, but it kept looping.
'I can't... Take it anymore...' He walked up to the cliff, fell from it, killing himself.
He lied on the ground below, covered in blood. Knowing it will loop again.
'Someone... Please... Kill me.'
"Can't do that."
A voice. Different. Yet part of the loop.
Hayato's vision wavered as he looked up. A figure loomed over him.
"I told you this 3 years ago. if you die," the voice continued, "you won't be able to pay me."
Pay?
'P... pay...?' Hayato's thoughts stuttered.
The figure crouched down, looking straight into his bloodshot eyes.
"10,000 yen." The voice was casual. Familiar.
"This world's a capitalistic mess. I'm a mess. You're a mess. But it is capitalistic. If you pay me... I'll help you."
Hayato's breath hitched. The figure's silhouette sharpened. Dark hair. Glasses. That unwavering, almost taunting smirk.
Yuuto Sakurai.
Kneeling before him, his gaze alight with fierce determination.
"I'll save your mom."
A sharp inhale. Hayato's body twitched as tears streamed down his face, blood mixing with them.
Yuuto's expression didn't change.
"Because I'm... Anti-NTR Man."
"And I'mma baseball your demons' ass."
"I promise."
Yuuto twirled the bat once before flipping it in the air, handing Hayato the handle.
Hayato reached—
…and then Yuuto opened his eyes with a slow inhale. His chest rose, then fell. After steadying his breath, he looked around.
He wore clean, different clothes while lying on his bed inside his room. The air felt still, his thoughts lagging behind as if he had just surfaced from deep water.
A faint click followed by the glow of burning tobacco caught his attention. A man sat across the room, cigarette in hand, watching him.
"You gave Minoru quite the scare, Hayato," the man sighed, the smoke curling into the dim room.
Yuuto cleared his throat. "Who's this Hayato? Sounds like some pussy."
Silence lingered between them. The man clicked his tongue, tapping the ash from his cigarette before exhaling.
"Seiichiro Kurose," he rasped, voice carrying something between irritation and expectation. "Rings a bell? Any bell?"
Yuuto frowned, his gaze dropping slightly as he searched for recognition. Something about the name sat uncomfortably in his chest, but no clear memory surfaced.
"I remember your voice," he muttered before looking up again.
The man stiffened slightly, his posture shifting.
"You're the guy who held me at gunpoint a while ago. I'm sure of it."
Seiichiro looked down, exhaling deeply. "...Yeah. That's me."
Yuuto swallowed, his gaze drifting over himself. Clean clothes. Fresh bandages. A bed. His room. He flexed his fingers against the sheets, grounding himself in the present before looking back at the man before him.
"Why help me? What about the massacre downstairs? How did it happen?" His voice steadied, locking onto Seiichiro. "Who are you?"
Seiichiro took another slow drag of his cigarette, his expression unreadable behind the thin veil of smoke. He let it sit in his lungs before sighing, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I can't do this shit..." A quiet, exasperated chuckle left him—tired, bitter. He stood, shaking his head as he turned away.
"Figure it out on your own," he muttered, striding toward the door.
"Hey, WAIT—!"
Yuuto tried to lurch upright, but a sharp pain lanced through his abdomen.
"Ahhck!" He winced, his body instinctively curling inward.
Seiichiro stopped at the threshold. His fingers hovered near the doorframe for a moment, his back still turned.
"Stay still for a bit. You got roughed up good," he muttered, his voice carrying a slight shift—quieter, less edged. "As for those people, they won't come after you. They were acting without their leader's knowledge. Arrogance made them sloppy. You got lucky."
Yuuto gritted his teeth, his hand pressed against his side. "And if I wasn't lucky?"
Seiichiro scoffed but didn't turn around.
"Then we'd be having a different conversation."
A silence stretched between them. Seiichiro finally glanced over his shoulder, his eyes sharp in the dim light.
"But stay the fuck away from them. Don't try to look for them."
Yuuto narrowed his eyes. "And if I do?"
"I won't be able to protect you." The words were firm, but something in his tone faltered—just for a second.
Then, without another word, Seiichiro stepped through the door, leaving Yuuto alone in silence.
'Well, I don't care. I don't need your protection, whoever you are.' He laid his head against the pillow, exhaling sharply. 'I got this far without help, and I'll do it again. I'll find those bastards…'
His jaw tightened as the weight of the night settled in.
'They dared break into my house?! What the fuck am I supposed to say to Mom when she comes back!?'
A slow, simmering rage coiled in his gut.
'Nah. They're mine.' His fist clenched as his mind flashed to Himiko's and Haruto's corpses. 'They crossed the fucking line.'
'Messing with my clients…?' His eyes darkened as they landed on the baseball bat at the far end of the room. 'They're all dead.'
But first and foremost… He exhaled, forcing himself to think past the haze of pain and fury.
'I need to figure out exactly what happened at the mixer to Sakura. And the prime suspect? The new blonde. Shit went down the second he showed up at school... Yuuno.'
His thoughts churned. 'And by extension, Organ Harvester.'
It all connected. It had to.
But even as the fire burned in his chest, reality smacked him back down. His fingers twitched against the sheets, testing his body's limits.
'...I can't move like this. These injuries—fuck. Guess I'm stuck in bed for a few days. Cursed be this mortal body...!'