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Chapter 17: The Truth Unfolds
The empty seat beside Eve gnawed at her more than usual.
Kuro didn't come to school.
Not with his hoodie and that goofy smile.
Not with his dumb jokes or his habit of holding her hand beneath the table like it was some kind of secret ritual.
Not even with his usual deflection of "It's fine" or "Don't worry."
Instead, all he sent was a text.
> "Can't make it today. Family stuff. All good 😊"
It wasn't all good.
Not anymore.
Eve read the message again and again, the smiley face making her skin crawl.
She wasn't like the others. She didn't talk. She watched. She listened. But today... she moved.
At lunch, she walked straight to Riku, hunched over like always, eating fries one at a time as if they were glass. His black hoodie sagged over his shoulders like the weight of a thousand sighs.
"Come with me."
His head perked up. Eve never talked. Never demanded.
She didn't wait for him to answer.
Next was Sera, sitting in the art room alone, sketching her usual melancholic masterpieces — pale ghosts, cracked mirrors, crying stars.
Eve placed a hand on the paper gently.
"We need to talk. About Kuro."
Sera didn't ask. She stood up and followed.
Last was Jason, flamboyant as ever, holding court at the front steps with two juniors drooling over his latest gossip. One flip of Eve's notebook was enough.
Inside it:
"SAVE ME" — the note Kuro gave her.
Jason's grin dropped. "I'm in."
They all met in the abandoned classroom Kuro had cleared for them. The hangout he'd built with bright posters, bean bags, string lights — all cheap but cozy, just like him.
Eve stood in front of them. Nervous.
But she didn't shake.
"I saw the bodies," she started. "Teachers. Bullies. Hanging in the woods. They were alive. Struggling. Then… gone."
Jason's eyes widened. "What the—?"
"He kissed me before he left," she added flatly. "Then gave me this."
She unfolded the note again.
> Save me.
Sera stared. Riku's hands twitched. Jason's mouth hung open.
Eve continued. "The scars. The bandages. The way he always stares into the woods. Every time someone goes missing, he… changes. Smiles harder. Talks more. Like he's forcing it."
"Like a cover-up," Sera whispered. "A distraction."
Jason muttered, "A mask."
Riku leaned forward. "And now he's gone. Again."
Eve finally looked at all of them. "Something's wrong with Kuro. And whatever it is… it's in the woods."
Silence.
Until Jason stood up. "Then we're going."
Sera nodded. "Tonight."
Riku clenched his jaw. "We owe him that much."
Eve folded the note and tucked it back into her pocket. Her eyes drifted toward the window. Beyond the glass, the trees waited — still, silent, endless.
Kuro had been smiling to protect them from something.
But now?
It was their turn to face it.
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To be continued...