Kotomi Izumi walked out of the bathroom wearing Yukino Yukinoshita's pajamas. Her hair was still a little damp, but that was fine—there was still some time before bed. As long as it dried before she went to sleep, it would be okay.
Yukino Yukinoshita, sitting at the edge of the bed reading, heard Kotomi's footsteps. She instinctively looked up, her beautiful brows furrowing slightly. Just as she was about to ask why Kotomi hadn't buttoned up her pajamas, in the next moment…
Her eyes fell on Kotomi's chest.
Yukino's gaze lowered slightly, then she glanced at her own chest. For a moment, her expression became a mixture of emotions.
I'll never lend Kotomi my pajamas again! Yukino thought to herself.
Kotomi sat down on the other side of the bed. Aware that she hadn't buttoned her top, she deliberately avoided the subject.
"Yukino, the bathroom's free. You can go take a bath now…"
"No rush. I'll read a little longer."
Yukino didn't move, continuing to read the Tale of Two Cities in her hand. It wasn't the first time she had read it. But regardless of how many times she read a book, whenever it was in her hands, she would always calm down and read it slowly.
Kotomi glanced at the cover and immediately recognized it as Tale of Two Cities.
After a short silence, Kotomi leaned a little closer to Yukino and slowly said: "I love you, not because of who you are, but because of how I feel when I'm with you."
A faint blush spread across Yukino's pale cheeks. Her gaze shifted from the book to the window. The finger that had been about to turn the page trembled slightly. At the instant Kotomi spoke, Yukino felt her heart stir—the very feeling countless romance novels used thousands of words to describe: that flutter of the heart.
She thought Kotomi was confessing to her—here and now, at such an unexpected moment. Yukino panicked. She didn't know how to respond. Should she accept? Refuse?
Did she even like Kotomi? Such a simple question, yet she had no answer—despite being such a clever girl.
Only after several seconds did Yukino realize that it was a line from Tale of Two Cities.
Right at that moment, Kotomi continued:
"When people mention Tale of Two Cities, the most famous line is: 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.' But for me, this line left the deepest impression."
So, it was just about the book after all…
Normally, Yukino would have looked calm as still water, while her heart surged with emotion, and she would have discussed the book with Kotomi at length. Kotomi was the only one she could truly talk to about reading.
But at this moment, upon realizing that Kotomi's "I love you" was only quoting from the novel, Yukino felt a pang of disappointment. She wished Kotomi's words weren't about a book, but rather…
"I like that line too. I'll go take a bath now." Yukino said softly. The shy, excited heart she had felt moments ago instantly calmed. After flipping through a few pages symbolically, she shut the book with a pa and set it on the bedside table. Standing up, she walked into the bathroom.
Watching Yukino's back as she left, Kotomi felt puzzled. She had only wanted to talk about Tale of Two Cities—so why did it feel like Yukino was upset as soon as she spoke?
She thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure it out. So she simply stopped thinking, and flopped back onto the bed.
That's why, sometimes, 'dense straight girls' are no fun at all.
...
The pitch-black night devoured all light, and a blood-red moon hung high in the sky.
Bathed in its glow, Sobu High School looked as if it had been drenched in blood.
A white-haired short-haired girl ran frantically into the school building. In a rush, she locked the first-floor door tight. Without stopping, she cast one terrified glance behind her, then bolted up the nearest staircase, fleeing upward.
Kotomi's expression looked as if something unimaginably terrifying was chasing her from behind.
After sprinting all the way to the second floor, Kotomi slipped into the farthest classroom, locking the door tightly behind her. Leaning against the wall, she caught her breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
"If I had known… I shouldn't have run upstairs. I should've hidden in a first-floor classroom and then found a chance to smash the window and escape through it." Kotomi muttered between gasps, her chest heaving up and down. If not for the Queen of All Females physique holding her up, she would've already collapsed on the floor, completely exhausted.
She shouldn't have followed me… Kotomi thought, sitting on a desk to rest during this precious moment.
But locking the front and back doors of the classroom didn't give her even the slightest sense of safety. She knew very well that if the terrifying girl chasing her found her here, this supposed safe room would instantly become her grave.
When she had rushed into the school building earlier, she had locked the first-floor entrance. And since it was night, the smaller side doors of the building should've already been locked too…
Just as Kotomi thought she had escaped the pursuit, a loud, violent crash echoed from downstairs. Her eyes widened in horror.
Bang!
Bang!!
Bang!!!
Following the booming impacts came the sharp sound of glass shattering! The terrifying girl stepped across the shards, her footsteps unhurried as she strolled into the building.
"Dearest Kotomi~ where are you? Come out, okay? I'm really not angry. As long as you listen to me from now on, I'll treat you very gently.
"Hey—I've already taken care of all those annoying people. No one will ever try to steal you away from me again, or disturb our happy life together. Kotomi, aren't you glad?"
The girl's voice sounded distorted, as if specially processed, carrying static that made it impossible for Kotomi to recognize who it was.
During her escape earlier, Kotomi had turned back to see who was chasing her. But it had been useless. The girl was wearing a hoodie completely drenched in blood. If not for the faint traces of white still visible, one could have mistaken it for a crimson-red hoodie from the start.
And that faint white—the original color of the hoodie—seemed to suggest that Kotomi's blood was still missing as the final 'decoration.'
Kotomi's eyes went wide with fear. She hadn't expected the girl to smash through the door and force her way into the school building!
Even here on the second floor, with the classroom doors locked, she suddenly felt stripped of all safety. Forcing herself up, she crouched low, straining her ears to catch every sound from outside.
Even with the Queen of All Females physique giving her strength in every aspect, Kotomi had no full confidence she could escape alive from that terrifying lunatic.
She… she probably doesn't know I'm on the second floor… Kotomi thought anxiously.
Suddenly! From the corridor outside came faint footsteps—like those of a hunter, blade gleaming coldly in hand, creeping toward its prey.
Then came the screech of metal dragged against the floor. Kotomi knew it was chains—the girl intended to bind her with them!
And there was yet another sound… the rustling of heavy black plastic bags scraping along the floor as they were dragged. Just imagining what might be inside made Kotomi's scalp crawl.
The faint footsteps, the grating sound of black plastic bags and chains dragging across the floor—Kotomi pressed herself tightly against the inner wall of the classroom, hiding among the desks and chairs. Covering her mouth with both hands, she tried to resist the crushing pressure of the terrifying girl outside, suppressing the fear surging up her throat.
The sounds passed by the wall behind her, then gradually faded away.
More than ten minutes later, everything outside the classroom seemed to fall into complete silence. Kotomi's clothes were soaked with cold sweat—or rather, not just sweat, but… she had no time to think about it now. All she wanted was to find a chance to shake off that deranged girl and escape the school building.
Supporting herself against the wall, Kotomi stood up on trembling legs, wondering if she should just jump from the second-floor classroom window.
After all, if she left the room and ran toward the stairwell, even if she had already mapped out the shortest route in her mind, there was still the risk of running into that terrifying girl along the way.
Her short rest had helped her Queen of All Females physique recover somewhat. If she really encountered the girl again, Kotomi had confidence she could use its boost to sprint and shake her off.
But she also knew her Queen of All Females physique wasn't in full form right now. Even after resting, her sprinting could only last about five minutes at most.
Five minutes. Not enough if she had to run around inside the school building. But if she jumped from this classroom window and used those five minutes to sprint straight to the school gate, it might just be enough!
Kotomi carefully crept toward the window. To her dismay, she realized this classroom was on the side of the building. Even if she jumped, she'd still have to run a few hundred meters to reach the main gate.
Still, she reasoned that with her physique, jumping from the second floor would do her no harm. Compared to the risk of leaving the classroom and heading for the stairwell, it was better to leap now and put distance between herself and the terrifying girl—taking the fight from inside the building to outside.
But just as Kotomi reached for the window latch, she froze. Even after unlocking it, no matter how hard she pushed, the window refused to open. It was as if the entire frame had been welded shut!
Her heart leapt into her throat. With no time to think, she grabbed a chair, intending to smash the glass.
Creak.
Behind her came a distorted, twisting sound. The whole classroom door shook violently. Kotomi felt as though she had plunged into an ice pit, her eyes trembling as she turned toward the noise.
There, in the small window of the door, glowed a pair of red eyes.
"Kotomi~ I found you~ Our little game of hide-and-seek can end now, right?"
The terrifying girl laughed maniacally. Then she raised the hilt of her knife and smashed the glass, reaching inside to twist the lock.
As the girl entered, Kotomi collapsed weakly onto the floor. Tears streaked her beautiful face as she let out broken, muffled sobs—cries that made her look irresistibly vulnerable.
The girl in the blood-red hoodie seemed very satisfied. She kicked the door wide open, stepping inside. Her long legs were wrapped in over-the-knee stockings—one black, one white—shapely and elegant. The small white sneakers on her feet only added to the impression.
The hoodie concealed much of her figure, but the faint curves beneath, paired with the gray-blue pleated skirt, showed she had an excellent build.
At last, Kotomi understood why she hadn't been able to identify the girl by her voice earlier. The mask covering her face had a built-in voice changer. No wonder her words, though sweet, had sounded strange and laced with static.
The hood and mask hid most of her face, but Kotomi could still sense—this was a beautiful girl. Beautiful, and utterly insane.
If not for the blood-dripping gutting knife she toyed with in her hands, she could have been almost perfect.
"You… who are you really…"
"Heehee~" The terrifying girl let out a gleeful giggle, twirling the gutting knife in her hand through the air, its bloody trail both gruesome and beautiful.
Step by step, she advanced, then tossed the heavy black plastic bag onto the floor in front of Kotomi. Her sweet voice, laced with the distortion of the voice changer, rang out:
"Go on, open it. They're all your old acquaintances~"
Kotomi's face turned deathly pale. But the words carried an irresistible force, compelling her like a puppet to open the bag. When she saw what was inside, the light in her pink eyes vanished completely.
Some collapse in hysteria. Others collapse in silence.
Seeing Kotomi's hollow, ashen eyes, the girl smiled with satisfaction. Her melodious laugh was beautiful—yet utterly terrifying.
She walked right up to Kotomi, pulling down her hood and removing the mask. Her face was revealed at last. On her lips was smeared either blood—or crimson lipstick. The sight carried a twisted, sickly allure.
"It's… it's you…"
Kotomi's eyes widened in disbelief. Her eyelids twitched as she struggled to suppress the terror in her heart, staring straight into the girl's smiling gaze.
The girl's blood-red lips curved into a chilling smile. Her voice returned to its natural tone as she knelt down, leaning close to Kotomi like a tame cat. The mingling scent of blood and perfume surrounded her—like being dragged into hell.
"Kotomi, remember how sweet things were between us? How gentle, how doting, how forgiving I was with you? Don't you know? Maybe it was because I was too gentle… that you gave your first time to her! When I realized she had taken that from you, I went completely insane! Even though I loved you so much.
"I was such a fool. Only now do I understand—endless gentleness and love aren't enough… So, I killed them. From beginning to end, I recorded it all on video. I almost want to show them to you, one by one.
"At first, I wanted them cold and lifeless, obediently sitting in chairs, to witness our wedding. But halfway through, I grew unhappy~ heehee… so I left them like this—scattered about, like dozens of Lego sets torn apart, their pieces thrown everywhere, never to be put back together.
"Hate me? Then hate me! Hate me so much you want to kill me! Let hatred blend with love—that's the only way we'll never be able to stop. I know it. That's what you like best."
The girl pressed her lips against Kotomi's. Kotomi sat limply on the floor like a doll, unable to resist anything.
Satisfied, the girl caressed Kotomi's cheeks, holding her in a tender embrace. "You're finally being obedient~"
Splurt.
With a sickening tear of flesh, the girl thrust the gutting knife into Kotomi's abdomen. Blood gushed forth, staining the last trace of white left on her hoodie.
As the light in Kotomi's eyes faded away, just before it disappeared completely, tears rolled down the girl's cheeks. She cried out:
"I love you. In the next life, promise me—you'll be good and love only me, okay?"
But the dead Kotomi could no longer give any reply.
After a long while, the girl in the blood-red hoodie cradled Kotomi's cold, doll-like body in her arms. Her heavy footsteps carried her away, her expression unreadable—was she laughing, or was she crying?
Holding her, she walked toward the paradise that belonged to them alone.
Kotomi suddenly jolted awake. She had just had a nightmare—about a terrifying girl hunting her down!
Yet now, even as she tried to recall it, she realized she could no longer remember the girl's face. Even though in the dream's final moment, the girl had taken off her hood and mask.
"Ah… what a thrilling, dangerous dream."
Kotomi sighed. Her vision was still blurry from waking. Was it just her imagination? Why did it feel like her body's position was a little strange… almost like she was holding herself up on both hands, like those sloppy push-ups they used to do in high school gym class during warm-ups.
"For me, right now feels pretty thrilling too."
Yukino Yukinoshita's voice drifted up from beneath Kotomi. Blinking the sleepiness from her eyes, Kotomi finally saw—Yukino was pinned under her.
Yukino's cheeks were faintly flushed. So cute… Kotomi thought absentmindedly for a moment.
Then she snapped back to herself and quickly shook her head. What am I thinking?!
Hurriedly rolling over to the other side of the bed, she glanced shyly at Yukino and asked in a small voice:
"When did I end up in that position without realizing it?"
"When I came back after my bath, you were already asleep. I didn't want to disturb you, so I just lay down and was about to turn off the light. Then you rolled over in your sleep, eyes still closed, and pinned me underneath you."
Yukino spoke calmly. Kotomi gave a sheepish laugh, wondering how she should apologize.
But before she could say anything, Yukino stood up and silently left the bedroom.
Watching her retreating figure, Kotomi panicked, thinking Yukino must be angry. Yet she had no idea what to say.
She glanced at the night outside, then at her phone. She had fallen asleep at around 11:00. Now it was 11:20. Which meant the terrifying dream had lasted only twenty minutes.
After a while, Yukino returned to the bedroom, holding a cup of steaming hot water. Sitting beside Kotomi, she carefully handed her the cup, speaking softly. Her usually cool voice carried a gentle note this time:
"Honey water. I just made it for you. Warm water doesn't dissolve honey easily, so it's a little hot. Don't worry, the cup is insulated. Take your time—drink it slowly."
So that's why she left—to make honey water for me… Kotomi realized, her heart warming. Just like the honey water Yukino had made, sweet and comforting.
"Do you want me to feed you?" Yukino asked softly. She wasn't joking—she was asking seriously. If Kotomi said yes, Yukino would naturally feed her without hesitation.
"I can do it myself, thank you." Kotomi shook her head with a grateful smile.
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