Dawn had only just broken.
A faint light spilled through the paper screens, casting the tatami room in a soft, bluish glow.
Kyouko stirred.
Her eyes fluttered open slowly, adjusting to the quiet hush of early morning.
She glanced around the room.
Riko was still curled beside her, breathing softly in sleep.
But… something was off.
She blinked again.
Her mother… was gone.
So was Hitomi. And Keiko.
Kyouko sat up gently, careful not to wake Riko, and pulled on her robe.
She stepped quietly into the hallway, the wooden floor cool beneath her feet.
On her way toward the restroom, she passed the living room—expecting the usual sight of sleeping bodies tangled under blankets.
But—
Only Haruki was there.
Still asleep, one arm draped lazily over the edge of his futon.
Kazuma, Kenji, and her father—all gone.
And then…
She heard it.
A soft, muffled moan.
Then the unmistakable sound of skin meeting skin in gentle, rhythmic slaps.
Faint, but clear in the silence of morning.
