Emma’s POV
It was still early in the morning when I arrived at Akademi High, and during lunchtime, I stopped by the school’s library to look for the 2012 school photo album. What I found in a bookshelf filled with old magazines and school books were photo albums of students from the set 2018 to 2023, but I found nothing on the 2012 students.
‘Why do I have the feeling that someone made these books disappear? If so, why?’
This thought got my gears turning until I recalled something, grabbed the 2017 book, and flipped through it.
‘That woman told me she and Taro were graduating first. If Taro entered Akademi High in 2011 and the killings started in 2012, this means he graduated in 2017.’ I stop flipping when I get to the page of graduating students. ‘Let’s see if I can find anything here,’
I scan the pages for anything familiar face until I spot Mr. Yamada on one of the pages. Underneath his name was a phrase, ‘The Luckiest’. Other than that, I didn’t see anything on Osoro Shidesu.
‘Surely, someone would at least put her name in one of the books,’ I slam it shut in frustration and put it back. ‘Maybe I can find some information in the Headmaster’s Office.’
The school’s eerie atmosphere only increased the effect of the gossip and the eye contact people gave me as I walked through the hall. Whatever Agatha did made a lasting impact, and I was at the center of it. I was used to this, but my friends, or can I say former friends, weren’t. I hadn’t seen them since I came back, and no one told me anything about their whereabouts.
‘I’ll settle this later, but for now,’ I get to the third floor and search for the Headmaster’s office. Let’s get this over with.’
To my surprise, I didn’t see his office, nor did I see his secretary. This only increased my suspicion that this school was no ordinary place. Swallowing saliva to suppress the chill down my spine, I headed to the school’s roof to see if at least one of my friends was there, but all I saw was the empty bench on which we used to sit. Just looking at it triggered the memories we had together, our conversations, and the jokes we told while having our meals, but thanks to Agatha, it was over. Taking a deep breath, I slowly realized that she had succeeded in isolating me from my peers. However, I wasn’t alone.
Should I be happy or sad about it?
“Hello,”
The voice made me jump out of my skin. I turned around to see a female student and sighed in relief, for she was a familiar face. “Hi, Mao Ito. How are you?”
“I am fine,” she took a step forward. “Are you looking for something?”
I shake my head and look back at the bench. “No. I am not looking for anything.”
Then my phone buzzed in my bag, and taking it out, I saw a message from Jake.
“Wow, that’s a nice phone,” Mao Ito cooed as she adjusted her glasses, making them glint in the sun’s rays. “Who bought it for you?”
For some reason, the message “Hmm,” the girl’s glasses glistened in the setting sun’s rays as she assessed Emma from top to bottom. “Who bought you that phone?”
“My boyfriend,” I reply, putting the phone back into my bag.
“It’s the newest E-phone 2000,” she said. “It’s camera is of high quality, the battery life is long and durable, and it has a huge RAM to store millions of data.”
Although I was not interested in her words or the phone, I flashed a smile, showing interest. “Really? Tell me more about it.”
“Sure. Follow me,” Mao turned around and gestured for me to follow her. We walked down the stairs to the third floor to her office, where a long line of students were waiting for her, and most of them were males.
“Give me five minutes, please,” she announced, dismissing them with a wave of her hand. Once the room and the hall were empty, she walked into her office and sat in the office chair behind the desk.
“What do you need?” she asked, lacing her fingers together.
I pursed my lips and took a seat. “You were telling me about my phone?”
The girl smiled and started to tell me about my phone, the company producing it, and how expensive it was in great detail. While she was talking, I looked at the empty room and my instinct perked up at how empty it was; a trash can, a wooden desk holding a laptop and a small printer a medium-sized drawer holding ornaments on top of it, and next to it was a small table which held empty packets of junk food.
“Is that all the company produces?” I finally asked.
Mao nodded, “I heard they are working on something big. Something they claimed will shock the world, but we just need to wait and see.”
‘It seems like she has a knack for technology,’ I thought before looking around the room again. “I can see you live inside the school.”
Shocked, Mao adjusted her glasses and smiled. “Yeah. I live here on my own.”
“What about your parents?”
“My mother died. No surprised there.” She stood up and walked towards the wooden table to grab the teapot. “My dad barely cared about me and disappeared. I don’t know where he is now.”
There was something wrong with how calmly she talked about her parents, creating the sense that she was trying to ignite pity in me. So I decided to pry more into the topic. “So, how do you survive on your own?”
She stopped pouring the tea and looked at me with a sad smile on her face. “I dig up anything you want to know about someone.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” then she rubbed her fingers together. “For a fee, of course.”
‘There is something more to this,’ I watched her movements carefully. “Do you snoop around, or are you some kind of private investigator?”
“It’s complicated, but you can ask my customers.” She leaned on the cupboard and took a sip of her beverage. “I get the job done.”
‘Wow! She will make a good salesperson. I am impressed.’ I thought. ‘Maybe she can help me with something, but…’
‘…there is something fishy about her.’ My inner voice completed.
“Maybe you can help me with something,” I said.
“What do you need?” she asked.
“What do you know about the school’s clock?”
The girl shrugged. “It’s just an ordinary clock. Nothing more.”
I raised an eyebrow at that answer. “How sure are you about this information? I have been hearing rumors about it.”
Mao looked into my eyes, then looked away after a few minutes. “Come to think of it, I did learn that if you come to the school in the middle of the night, a secret passage would open.”
This piqued my interest. “Really?”
Mao nodded and quickly looked away.
“How am I sure you aren’t lying to me?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Mao shrugged and glanced at me through her glasses. “Like I said, it's a rumor.”
I pondered that and made my decision. “Thank you.”
“That’s all?” Mao asked.
Nodding, I stand up. “Thank you.”
“Pleasure doing business with you,” Moa replied and I walked out of the room. The bell rang for the next lesson and soon it was cleaning time. As usual, students whispered behind my back but I stopped halfway and looked at the message Jake sent to me.
“Good evening, Beloved. I hope you are not too sad because I am making your favorite meal: Ramen with bone broth soup with lots of veggies.’
For some reason, the message warmed my heart and I couldn’t help but smile. Typing back, I asked him if he could hold on with the dinner preparations for a while; I have a favor to ask…
Later that night, I sneaked into the school as usual and headed straight to the second floor where the headmaster’s room was, but it was gone.
‘Great. Now what am I going to do?’ I strain my ears for the careless whispers floating through the air and catch a shadow’s hand disappearing around the corner. I chased after it, but it disappeared ‘It seems like they decided to leave me alone, but why?’
I sigh. ‘Never mind that. I need to head up to the school’s roof and find that secret passage. Unless that girl lied to me.’
Fortunately, I got to the rooftop just in time to see a huge door positioned beside the pillar where the school’s clock was. Surprised, I walked over to the door and turned the doorknob, revealing a dimly lit room painted blue. The only pieces of furniture in the room were a small bookshelf filled with books and a chair sitting in the middle of the room.
“This room gives me the chills,” I whispered to myself. Then I heard a loud sound and turned around to see that the doors were slammed shut. This sent me into a wave of panic, and I rushed towards the door to try to get it open, but it didn’t budge.
“What the heck?” I look at my phone but find no signal. “I don’t like this. I have to get out of here.”
I started searching for clues on the bookshelf and was surprised to see that most of the books were old manga.
‘Wow. If I found this place, this would be my little sanctuary,’ I sit on the ground and flip through the pages. ‘I have never read these manga before. Maybe they are that old?’
Then a picture of a girl with red eyes, short blue hair, and pale skin slipped out of the pages. I pick it up and look behind it to see a series of numbers written on it. After putting it in my bag, I returned to searching the bookshelf and found two more pictures of female students hidden inside the pages with numbers written behind them and nothing more.
‘Maybe these numbers are phone numbers?’ I thought before taking out my phone, when I heard a click. Thrashing my head towards the door, I watched it open, and a blue-haired female student walked in. Her eyes scanned the room until they landed on me.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, glaring at me.
I quickly jumped to my feet. “I…I can explain,”
“Don’t bother,” she shut the door and started walking towards me menacingly. “How did you find this place?”
Her commanding voice echoed through the small room, making me shiver “A…a friend told me about this place, and I…”
“Emma?”
The strange but familiar voice stopped me mid-sentence, and silence took over the room. Before I could say another word, the girl opened the door and gestured for me to leave.
“You didn’t see anything. Please leave and don’t tell anyone about this place, understand?” she ordered.
“Emma, where are you?”
Without a second thought, I quickly walk out of the room and hear the door slam behind me. Looking back, I see the door had disappeared.
“Strange,” I whispered.
“Emma, where are you?” the voice called out again.
I looked around frantically for the owner of the voice until someone opened the door leading to the school’s roof, making me jump out of my skin. Thrashing my head to the sound’s direction, I was shocked to see a rugged, stubble-faced 40-year-old man wearing a white buttoned long-sleeved shirt with black trousers.
“Mr. Aishi?”
His eyes lit up when I called out to him, and he walked towards me and wrapped his arms around me.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
My face immediately scrunched in disgust at the unbearable smell of cheap alcohol and the moist smell of cigarettes. It was so disgusting that I roughly shoved him away from me and covered my nose.
“Wha…what are you doing here?” I asked in a muffled voice.
From the way his face fell, I could tell he was hurt by my expression, but sighed deeply and said, “I thought you were in danger. What are you doing in school in the middle of the night?”
“Umm…” I tried to look for an answer, but he stopped me.
“Never mind. Let’s get out of here.” He ordered, stretching out his hand.
I didn’t want him to escort me out of the school, but I decided to go along with it to make up for my rude behavior earlier. As we walked down the stairs to the first floor leading to the school’s exit, I kept a lookout for any ghostly apparition, but nothing happened until we were out of the school’s building. Looking back, I see the lights in one of the classrooms flicker, illuminating a dark figure.
“Don’t look back,” Mr. Aishi cautioned, and once we were out of the environment, I was about to bid him a good night when he asked me another question: “Can I walk you home?”
This confused and worried me because he had a wife. Why wasn’t he with his family? What would she say if she caught us? With this in mind, I politely shake my head.
“No, thank you, Mr. Aishi. Shouldn’t you be going home? Your wife must be worried about you.”
His face paled at my words, and he looked away. “I…I am sure she wouldn’t mind if I came home a little late.”
“But…”
“And it’s dangerous for a young girl like you to walk home alone. You might get hurt or worse.”
He had a point, but I refused to agree. “It’s okay, Mr. Aishi, I can take care of myself.”
“At least let an adult make sure you are okay,” he said. “Or should I call the police?”
Now it was my turn to be alarmed. “C…call the police? For what?”
“To escort you home.” He replied while fishing for his phone.
‘Knock him out and run.’
‘Don’t do it!’
‘Come on. He is a wuss. Knock him out before he calls the police! Do it now!’
‘Don’t do it!’
I take a deep breath to quiet the voices in my head and look at Mr. Aishi, who was dialing the phone number, and stop him before he taps the call button.
“O…okay, Mr. Aishi. You can walk me home.”
“Oh…uh…okay,” he stammered before putting the phone back in his pocket and stretching out his hand again. “Let’s go.”
The tension thickened as they walked home, and once again, I was scared of what Jake would say when he saw me.
‘I’ll just send him on his way before I knock on the door. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.’ I thought.
However, when we got to my apartment building, I was shocked to see Jake waiting for me outside. Once he saw me, he smiled, but it faded when he saw Mr. Aishi with me.
“Beloved? Why is he with you?” he asked, flashing his eyes at him.
“Jake…” I raise my hand to calm him down. “I can explain.”
“I don’t want to hear it.” He put his hand on his hips and glared at Mr. Aishi, who trembled under his gaze. “Shouldn’t you be going home? I heard your wife is looking for you.”
Mr. Aishi’s face fell when he heard that, and he let go of me. Without another word, he turned around and slowly walked down the street until he disappeared into the darkness. Once he was gone, we walked into the apartment and ate dinner in silence.
“You look sad again, Beloved,” Jake observed. “Why? You didn't find what you were looking for?”
I sighed again, “I…I just feel sorry for Mr. Aishi.”
“Beloved, he is a married man.” He scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Why the hell will a married man like him be out this late at night?”
I couldn’t answer and slowly picked at my bowl, half full of ramen, recalling the discussions we had in his Manga Shop before it closed down.
‘I didn’t get to apologize to him for my rude behavior back then and now…’
“Did you find anything interesting in school?” Jake asked, interrupting my thoughts.
I shake my head and prop my elbow in frustration. “No. It’s a dead end.”
He sighed, and the table fell silent until he shocked me by slamming his hand on the table and rushing out of the kitchen. Confused, I followed him into the living room and saw him booting up his laptop.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Remember that woman who asked to meet you at a bar in Tokyo City?” he asked, typing away. “The woman asked for payments in exchange for information?”
“Yes, but…” Then I stopped and furrowed my brows at him. “H…how did you know that?”
He stopped typing midway at my question and pursed his lips to hide his laughter while looking away. Then he chuckled, shaking his head, and stared at me with a smug look.
“I was the waiter.” He chuckled at my shocked expression, “You didn’t notice because you were too focused on the woman. Was she so attractive that you didn’t notice me?”
I blinked twice at that accusation, and before sighing. “No. I can’t be attracted to a washed-up 32-year-old actress.”
“I know Beloved. I was just teasing,” he playfully pinched my cheeks and resumed typing. “To be honest, Beloved, I thought disguising myself as one of the waiters and feeding her large pints of alcohol would get her to spill the beans without asking you for money, and it didn’t. At least she gave you what you wanted.”
He hit the ‘enter’ key, and a picture of a woman with purple curly hair appeared with her name underneath her. I squint my eyes and read the familiar name.
“Kokona Haruko,”
“This is her social media page,” he continued to type. “And it looks like she is communicating with Ayano Yamada.”
I sat next to him to read the chats, and from the looks of it, they were somehow close friends, except one was giving the other the cold shoulder, but one particular text caught my attention.
February 2020
Ayano: Hey Kokona.
It’s been a while. How247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfXnvPp7Kl9
have you been?
Kokona: Oh, hi Ayano.
I’ve been okay, I guess.
It’s been quite some time, hasn’t it?
Ayano: Yeah. It has.
I’ve been meaning to catch up. We used to be close, and then things got complicated.
Taro has left for college and hasn’t visited home for years. It’s quite lonely here.
Kokona: You are still living247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqXe9vqlBE
In his house?
Ayano: Yes
But he is graduating soon. Probably in the next two months. So I will see him again!
I get to finally see him again after all these years!
Kokona: Oh. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmBEu6lxUj
Well, I am focusing on my future247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfGlYZ6YZ40
In Paris.
Ayano: I see. Let’s catch up when247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwbpHGvHEV4
You visit Japan.
Kokona: Sure thing.
I have to go. See you soon.
Ayano: Bye.
April 2020
Ayano: I am getting married to Taro247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtOrrIMx01
next month.
Kokona: What? Why?247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9f5n76TAzv
He is terrible!
Ayano: You don’t know that.
I know he’s changed over the past few years, but deep down he's still the same person I fell in love with.
Kokona: If you say so.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9fqc8Kk9ip
When is the wedding?
Ayano: I am sorry Kokona but247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCQtRxxtcR
you are not invited.
Kokona: Why?
Ayano: I don’t want you there. I am sorry.
Kokona: Okay.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsBK8XHB587
Why don’t you send me247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡniu6IaMwXV
pictures instead?
Ayano: I will.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rQQlOXLc5
January 2021
Kokona: Hello Ayano.
I heard the news!
Congratulations on having a set247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1VHDty722Z
of twins!
I am working in one of the movie sets in Tokyo City247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1atK6ur0gy
as a costumes designer.
I hope you call me soon.
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi5cAzNYqAQ
March 2021
Kokona: Hi Ayano
I am opening a clothes shop in247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3PmaK294I
the bustling city of Tokyo.
We are having an after party after the247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBvCNCiWjS3
launching.
Here’s the invitation.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHR7F9ZfoCO
I hope you, Taro, and your children247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOqQeBT8Af8
come.
See you.
September 2021
Kokona: Hello Ayano.
We are having our annual school247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIrpjxuE5no
reunion in two days.
It would be nice to see some247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcyYgQ0KSlI
old faces along with some new ones.
Everyone wants to see you and Taro.
Text me when you get this.
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOxDlzO3Gqc
February 2022
Kokona: Hello Ayano
How are you?
Listen, I know I am in no position to say this but...
I saw Taro strolling around the city247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlPoW8NUpO
with another woman.
I have the picture but text me when you247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6FsPwzTaoh
see this.
Have a nice evening.
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBP02KMP69
June 2022
Kokona: Ayano.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZoW3wUm44j
Please can you tell Taro to247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGpWcQEzpI
stop calling me?
I am tired of receiving all247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7GYSkLoUR
these messages from him.
I don’t know if you gave me my247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkpzkBm56eA
phone number but please tell him247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIsNVymBpa
to stop.
I would appreciate it if you247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTzXygp1ju
do.
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9psoAHr8n
July 12th 2022
Ayano: Kokona how long have you247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIpKHuWzsr
have you been messaging Taro?
Kokona: Huh?
Ayano: You have been chatting with him.
Kokona: No I haven’t!
He was the one texting me all247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbZI26pPkC
this time!
Ayano: That is something a mistress247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEppPz2aaln
would say.
Kokona: What?
Ayano: Let’s end our friendship. I can’t247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhHnqJclbU
be friends with someone who would247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBULAE3aczj
stab me in the back.
Kokona: Ayano wait…
Ayano: Don’t ever contact me again.
Kokona: Ayano!
Ayano please listen.
Taro was the one contacting me!247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZrIkaiyQ0J
I have the chats to prove it!
Ayano!
‘It’s clear that she blocked her from the looks of it,’ I thought as Jake logged out of her profile and started creating his own Facebook profile. When the software asked for his profile picture, he huffed, slowly transformed his facial features to those of a woman, took a picture using his laptop camera, and quickly transformed back.
“Don’t be too surprised, Beloved. I only do mild transformations.” He remarked, ignoring my shock. He uploaded the picture, waited, and sent Kokona a friend request.
“Why did you send her a friend request?” I asked.
“From the looks of her social media page, she doesn’t have close friends.” He stretched his hands until they popped. “So, befriending her is the best way to get the information we need.”
I didn’t like this plan. “So what’s going to happen when we have the information? Are you going to keep chatting with her?”
He turned to me in shock before flashing me a toothy grin. “Jealous, Beloved?”
I shake my head. “No. I don’t feel comfortable with this plan because she seems to be a nice woman. What is going to happen after this?”
This made him sigh. “It looks like I have to cook up a reason to end the friendship. It seems to be the only way out of it. Besides,” he stood up. “This is way better than asking the Oath Breaker. He will probably describe one of his mistresses to you.”
Goosebumps appeared on my skin when he said that because I was just thinking of how I was going to ask Mr. Yamada.
“Do you think she would reply?” I ask. “It looks like she hasn’t been on Facebook for a while.”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “Don’t worry. We have her phone number, her work address, and her home address. So if she does ignore me, we have other ways to make her talk.”
Now I am scared.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXL4F9AUiZE
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