I was just tired—or so I kept telling myself. It was so much easier than admitting that something was wrong. Toui thought as the amber evening breeze combed through his hair. But his fatigue ran deeper than mere tiredness; it was pure exhaustion. Streetlamps blinked awake on the edge of dusk. Despite the empty stretch ahead of him, the city hummed with a static only he could hear, perfectly matching the static inside his mind.
He should've been focused on the math test he had tomorrow, or the small, polite smile his father would expect at dinner when he arrived home. However, his thoughts kept drifting away from him, like a helium balloon that just kept on floating upwards. He noticed the way the middle school delinquents cackled loudly in front of the convenience store, the way a woman waiting for the train kept touching the inside of her wrist, and the way an elderly man had forgotten his shadow. He did this without even trying, reading the cracks in people as if they were open books. His parents called him mature, but to him, it was easier than worrying about his own issues.
Being mature left a bitter taste in his mouth, one that tasted nothing like his favorite pork bun he'd always pick up on his way home from cram school. Being mature meant he had to handle everything himself, and others' feelings became his responsibility. His hands shivered against the cold September air as he pushed them further into his pockets. The grey cardigan was barely keeping him warm anymore; this meant autumn was nearing. He waited for the crossing light to flicker from yellow to green, his shoulders slightly hunched. Even though Toui's father always told him to stand up tall.
Without exception, Toui took the longer route home. Walking past the memorial site always made tears prick at his eyes, and the alleyway that was always accompanied by faint screams made the hair on his neck stand on end. It was an irrational fear that his middle school friends used to tease him for. He just smiled and laughed along with them. However, as the amber hue faded into a pale grey cloud with the arrival of the evening, he realized he would have been late. So, gritting his teeth, he turned down the street, his eyes glued to the sidewalk so the memorial site wouldn't bring him to tears. If only I hadn't gotten that stupid meat bun. Toui thought to himself. At this rate, he wouldn't even make it home in time.
But something made him stop.
He wasn't sure what he had just heard. It sounded like metal being dragged across the pavement, sharp enough to make him flinch. He forced his gaze off the ground, the sound that had come from the alleyway — the very one he despised. Even the city began to hold its breath; even the constant static that hammered his brain had grown silent. He was utterly alone, accompanied only by the faint, unsettling crunch that sliced through the quiet.
Bones. Crunching. Chewing. All disgusting signs that fired off every signal in his mind, telling him to turn heel and run. Yet, he stepped closer. A moment of pure idiocy. All he could think in his ever quiet mind was
"What if someone needs my help?"
It was so familiar, even though its limbs twisted in all of the wrong ways, bending at impossible angles with a jerky, unnatural stance. The creature's silhouette was shrouded in the dim light of the alley, each movement making Toui's skin crawl as its head snapped in his direction. The sharp cracking of its neck as it twisted to meet Toui's terrified eyes with an unblinking stare. Even though it was a horrifying creature that was distorted in grotesque ways, there was something heartbreakingly human in the way it looked at him.
As Toui stumbled backwards, the creature's eyes never left his face. Fear paralyzed him; every muscle in his body was rigid and frozen. The eyes of the thing before him were not hollow as he expected. They shone with something desperate. They met Toui like a plea, a silent cry for help that tightened in his chest. He could see the wet gleam of unshed tears, the sorrow flickering behind the grotesque thing. The chill in the air grew intense, and Toui's breath caught in his throat. He wished to scream, to cry, to run. But he didn't do all he could; he could have been watching, immobilized by fear.
Toui felt his heart lurch, realization setting in that despite its monstrous form, whatever it was, whoever it was, wanted something only he could give: understanding, mercy, or perhaps release from its twisted agony. Toui's hand trembled outward as the moment stretched with a thick, twisted sense of deja vu. This wasn't supposed to be his problem, was it? Surely the police, the military, anyone but him, should've been handling this. Yet, he was there, paralyzed by a terror that kept his legs rooted to the ground, unable to glance away. Every instinct was screaming at him to run, to call for help, but a heavier responsibility gnawed at him: he had to stay and help this poor, twisted creature. If he ran, he wouldn't be able to shake the angry cloud of guilt that would follow him.
Call someone, he thought.
But he didn't.
The air stung his nose, sharp and violent traces of bleach and an eerie sweetness like overripe fruit left to rot. The creature before him wasn't cold. It wasn't dead either. Its texture felt wrong beneath Toui's trembling fingertips; damp, coarse, and warm all at once, as if it had never fully learned how to be solid.
None of this belonged to him; the memory flickered on the brink of his thoughts, a foreign intruder. It wasn't Toui's memory. Who was that child laughing beneath the haze? The scent shifted for a second, a whiff of instant noodles; warm, nostalgic, and weirdly out of place among the sharper smells. Toui's mind spun as he tried hard to focus, chasing memories of a past not his own, like a forgotten room inside himself finally unlocked. on his tongue lingered a metallic tang, coppery and raw. Leaving his mouth tasting dreadfully of pennies or blood.
The alley seemed to shrink around him, pressing down on his shoulders and chest, crushing the memories into his skin, until he was unsure where he ended and the creature began. The weight of someone else's pain, laughter, and hunger beat against his skull
Breathe. He reminded himself
He could feel something pounding on his bones, his heartbeat maybe? His vision was all but a white haze; despite this, he squinted through the fog, trying desperately to hold onto consciousness. His knees trembled as he crumpled to the ground. The room felt as if it were a twirling tornado, but even so, for a single, ridiculous second, everything made sense; then the world split, and the sound of a mouth breaking into a howl filled him.
At some point, he must've woken up. Someone was shaking him, insistently with a firm grip that sliced through the mist of sleep and confusion. He blinked, his grasp on the present weak. Hovering above him was a face he had never seen before, features wrinkled with concern; a salaryman, dressed in a fancy navy suit with a wrinkled collar and a badge still clipped to his pocket. The man looked utterly out of place in the grimy alleyway.
"Hey, kid. You hear me?" The man asked, though his hands were frantically shaking, Toui's shoulders, his voice remained steady and composed, practiced in crisis from far too many late nights.
"I'm fine. I'm alright, sir." Toui managed, flashing a faint smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He swayed slightly as he stood, brushing off his cardigan, willing himself not to look back into the darkness of the alleyway. Now, all he wanted was to move forward, to continue his normal life.
"Hm, I can't seem to understand what a kid like you is doing passed out in an alleyway at this hour." The man rubbed his jaw, looking Toui up and down with a furrowed brow. His eyes lingered on Toui's crumpled clothes, the fresh scrape on his knuckles, the soft features that didn't match his bruises. Details that hinted at something more than a drunken stumble, something the man first assumed.
"You get into some trouble? Maybe a fight?" he pressed, lowering himself to Toui's level. His gaze searched for answers in the boy's guarded expression.
Toui hesitated, brushing a stray lock of hair from his eyes. He swallowed before replying, the volume of his tone sounding forced. "Yeah, a fight."
The man's suspicion only grew, but now there was a note of concern in the way he asked,"Are you hurt? Should I call anyone?"
Toui shook his head quickly, forcing a lopsided grin that tried to resemble something of bravery. "I'm okay, I just needed a second to catch my breath, I guess."
The man was still unconvinced but finally straightened. His eyes wandered to the dark mouth of the alley before sighing. "Alright, but be careful out here. Not everyone who passes by is gonna help. Stay out of trouble."
Toui nodded, picking his school bag off the ground, clutching the straps a little tighter. His thoughts drifted back to what had just happened in the veil of darkness moments ago, the lie burning on his tongue. With that, he turned, continuing on his way home. Racking his brain for reasons as to why he returned way past his curfew.
***
Pale darkness stretched across his room, half-lit by the lopsided lamp on his desk. The curtains remained wide open as Toui couldn't have been bothered to shut them. Toui had been seized with overwhelming drowsiness. He had simply collapsed into bed, not even changing out of his school uniform. His body had grown used to the slicing pain that often settled in his chest; now it had faded into a dull throb that he barely felt among the aching of his body. His muscles were sore and fatigued as if he had been in a real fight—every movement stiff from an exertion he could only just recall. The memory of a lie still lingered on his tongue, its remains sharp on his mind. He could still picture the look of confusion pinching the features of the salaryman. But everything before that moment blurred into nothingness. Toui couldn't even remember why he'd been found lying in an alley at such a late hour.
Still, Toui forced himself to leave those thoughts where they belonged: in the past. Choosing instead to worry about more current issues. Like that stupid math test. Confidence was utterly out of reach for him in mathematics, and he knew it. History, at least, he was more familiar with. Moving like a zombie, Toui brushed the hair from his face. But this time, his fingers tangled halfway, snagged by something unfamiliar. Frowning in sleepy confusion, he sat up and tugged again. A thick curtain of hair cascaded down his shoulder. He was sure that just yesterday his hair had only reached his nape.
"What the.. Whose hair is this?" Toui muttered, his mind still clouded by sleep.
He turned his head and watched as the hair moved with him, lashing his cheek like a rope. The answer stared back at him from his reflection in the window; hair impossibly long draped over his shoulders. It just about reached his back.
"Weird," he mumbled to nobody in particular, voice dry with utter shock.
He fumbled for one of the many hair ties his mother had abandoned in his room, struggling to gather up the locs. The effort was in vain; no matter how he twisted or looped the tie, the hair slipped free, falling across his eyes like a shield that protected him from the world he wasn't quite ready to face yet. He pulled himself out of bed, stumbling slightly, which wasn't that unusual. But what was strange was the fact that he nearly faceplanted if it hadn't been for the desk he used to catch himself. The clock mounted on the wall was unbearably loud, the ticking beating against his eardrums as he decided to get a glass of water. As he makes his way down the stairs, his heartbeat sounds like it's echoing in his skull.
The vague scent of dinner cooking two rooms over wafted in the air, but to Toui it smelled distant, wrong, and instead of making his stomach rumble, it made a lump form against his throat, like he was on the verge of gagging. He gulped down the flavourless water that tasted like nothing, but not in the usual way. It wasn't refreshing, and Toui could barely tell if it was cold or lukewarm.
In the bathroom mirror, his appearance is a mess. His hand reaches for the hairbrush in an attempt to tame his unruly new locks. However, just like his fingers, it snagged and got stuck. He had never had to deal with hair at this length, and it was becoming such an annoyance. For whatever reason, the notion that this is some extremely vivid dream, taking place in a slightly altered reality, slips into his mind. Splashing water on his face is the only logical thing to do from here. He couldn't even tell it was scolding hot until after he saw the steam rise from the steady spill of water.
He meets his reflection in the mirror, but it isn't him. To him, a stranger is glaring back at him with glossy eyes that are almost sharper, skin that is just slightly paler, and his hair unnaturally in uniform texture, like it had grown in perfect, even strands. This wasn't the boy he remembered. The changes — aside from the hair— made him feel like a stranger in his own skin. His heart pounded against his ribs as the thought of facing his parents leaped into his train of thought.
"Hungry.."
The raspy voice crept through the quiet, tickling Toui's ears and causing his head to give a sudden twitch. His eyes darted anxiously around the bathroom, trying to pinpoint the source. For a split second, even the faintest sounds— the sound of the tap dripping, the bathroom fans' low hum— faded away. He strained to listen, praying the voice would return; however, it dissolved into silence, leaving him unsure. Maybe it was just his crazy imagination again?
***
His mother, Yuzuki, was by the stove, stirring vegetables and meat steadily in the pan. The delicate scent of soy and ginger filled the room, but it barely registered to Toui. His father, Haruto, hunched over in rigid silence, the evening paper open before him. Yuzuki's kind eyes examined her child's face in concern, though deep shadows pulled at her gentle features, making her appear far older than she was. Haruto's expression barely changed. He was a stern man whose words were rare and carefully chosen.
As Toui slid into his seat, both parents turned their heads simultaneously, their concern quietly reflected in their movements.
"You're paler than usual. Did you sleep well?" Yuzuki's soft voice broke the hush as she placed steaming plates before Haruto and herself, then paused thoughtfully in front of Toui.
"Mm. I was just studying late, that's all." Toui murmured, forcing a reassuring nod. His voice was trembling, betraying his false ease.
She reached out, gently touching his forehead. Toui almost flinched away; every brush of her fingers felt like sharp blades dancing over his skin, prickling and raw. Haruto glanced up from the paper, his face set in stern lines, but he said nothing, only sliding a chair away from the table with a short motion. The meal laid out for them was uninspired — rice, boiled vegetables, and pork cutlets. To Toui, it hardly registered as food at all. The bland forkful of rice tasted like damp paper, and as he swallowed, his hand trembled so harshly he nearly split it all over his lap.
He pushed the food across his plate, barely touching anything. Each bite felt more forced than the last. The colors on his plate blurred together, the scents muddying in a way that made his stomach turn. He tried to mask the repulsion by feigning interest in the food, but his effort was transparently desperate.
Yuzuki's brow pinched in concern upon noticing this. "You've barely eaten. This isn't normal." Her voice was frayed with worry, the kind that comes from watching your child suffer before your eyes.
Haruto muttered without lifting his gaze. "He's always been delicate. Just leave it." his tone was dismissive, as if just brushing away a spec of dust, a flicker of hidden unease passed through his features.
Tension thickened throughout the room. Toui suddenly stood, the chair legs shrieking against the floor, the noise slicing the quiet that was formerly accompanied by soft sounds of chewing. He didn't say a word as he left, letting the silence speak for him, and retreated to his room as though fleeing an invisible threat.
His bedroom, shrouded in muted light, was the only sanctuary. He curled beneath the covers, burrowing into the familiar folds, trying to vanish from the world. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that when he opened them, he'd find that all of this. But the confusion and worry swirled in his mind, relentless, each possible reason echoed louder than the last, a storm of dread threatening to drag him under.
His body felt just as it had when he stumbled through the door. Worn thin and drained. Each muscle and joint ached as though he'd spent hours in a losing battle. A boy who wasn't very physically adept shouldn't have been feeling so much exhaustion in his bones. Deep within him, something trembled violently, sparking beneath his skin and vibrating against his ribcage, as if some desperate, caged bird battered its wings against his bones. His mind simmered with a relentless crackling pressure that resembled blaring static, drowning out his thoughts. Any attempt slipped through his fingers like water, and his mind spiraled faster and faster until salty tears stung his eyes and threatened to spill down his cheeks.
Amidst the pain and static and the insistent pounding in his head, a whisper rose, a breath of sound so faint that Toui startled upright in bed, his heart pounding against his chest.
"Let.. let me in." The words slithered through the hush of the room, bouncing off the walls. Toui blinked hard, wiping at his wet eyes, his gaze darting throughout his messy bedroom.
"Let me.. Help," the voice pressed on, strange and warped with an echo Toui couldn't determine, a half-familiar mumble that was jumbled by shadow.
He collapsed back onto the bed, curling in upon himself, hands clamped over his ears as he tried desperately to steady his now ragged breathing. The dawning horror that this voice might now come from anything outside, might instead actually be whispering and pleading somewhere deep within his own mind, made his entire body shudder.
***
Sleep eluded Toui. He spent the night tangled beneath his covers, his mind racing even in sleep. When he woke, he'd barely obtained a few hours of broken slumber. The gloom of his room was fractured by the blue glow of his phone, the screen lighting up his weary face as he absently scrolled through social media. Anything to distract himself from the paralyzing strangeness that began to overtake his life.
A headline read across his feed:
"Sympath spotted near East District — patrol squad deployed."
His thumb paused. It had been nearly five years since the first appearance of sympaths, mysterious, man-eating creatures about which little concrete evidence was known. In recent months, sightings of them have surged, enough that the government has sealed off entire neighbourhoods and placed heavy restrictions on some areas. Though the west wing block had so far remained untouched, luckily enough for Toui. It was however, common knowledge, that once a person contracted Sympathy Syndrome, their fate was sealed, and retaining humanity was no longer an option.
Conspiracy theories and wild rumors swirled online. The most evident ones claimed that Sympaths were failed government experiments; humans twisted into something that no longer retained any sense of humanity. Some internet threads insisted they were, still somehow human. Toui's scrolling stopped on a bold post: SSA; Sympath Sympathizers Association. The association was apparently founded by a student from his own school.
Oh yeah, that's right.
School.
The word knotted his insides. He hadn't wanted to return there before, and now even less so. Despite being a good student, you could even call him smart. Toui was used to moving through days unseen, keeping just a close circle of friends and people who knew him usually thought of him as nice. Yet a dreadful certainty pressed down: something bad lurked on the horizon, waiting for something to happen at school. What if someone noticed how strange he had become? If they sensed that something inside him was shifting, almost monstrous? Would they mock him, laugh behind his back? The way they joked about the sympaths and their sympathizers? Would he be like them, too?
That night, his apartment fell silent, shadows roaming the floor. Toui's hair drifted down around him in uncharacteristic swirls, but he was to weary to care anymore. Then from outside a sound pricked at his senses, so soft and sorrowful that he may have dreamed it. But no, he could hear it, he could feel it. More acutely than even the beating of his own heart.
A sympath's cry.
He stiffened, his pupils shrinking. His breath shortening as an instinct coiled in his chest, the voice rose again, persistent and cold. "Go," it hissed.
Toui obeyed mindlessly. One heartbeat, he was hidden beneath the covers, and the next, he was hunched beside the window, the dim blue of the streetlights painting the empty road below. Something twisted inside his chest. It wasn't fear— no, it was something far darker, a hollow, chilling desire.
Curiosity, and beneath it a primal urge that made his skin crawl.
The urge to kill.
***
The hallway sounded deceptively ordinary: the sea of bodies shuffling towards their first period class, the uneven squeak of the janitor's cart, the metallic echo of lockers slamming shut. It was the usual morning chaos. But to Toui, everything blurred into a storm of static, his thoughts tangled into white noise, unable to focus on any single thing. The number of students in the narrow hall felt almost suffocating; every jostle of laughter was magnified, every echo bouncing painfully inside his skull, and even the smallest sound sent needles of anxiety prickling through him. This was hell in disguise.
Just don't draw attention, Toui repeated to himself, clutching at self-control.
He closed his locker with a quiet click, careful not to attract more eyes. His books, binders, and assorted stationery piled at his feet, he tugged at his cardigan's sleeve, smoothing the wool and making a half-hearted attempt to tame the unruly locks that now framed his face. As he bent down to gather his belongings, a group of girls he'd never seen before passed by. Whispering in hushed tones, glancing his way. Toui's instincts told him their curiosity was armless, yet still, his own usually easy smile felt stiff, faltering at the corners.
Near the bulletin board, Hanako, a classmate, lingered. She gripped a stapler tightly, knuckles pale, a fresh blush tinting her cheeks. Hanako's slender, anxious hands trembled as she tried to post a flyer, her brown bob hanging around her worried expression. There was fragile determination about her as she adjusted her glasses and took a breath. Toui approached; curiosity or maybe a need for distraction drew him closer.
One poster immediately caught his attention: "SYMPATH SYMPATHISERS ASSOCIATION,' blared in bold, uneven letters. The poster was bold, drawn in colored pencil with friendly doodles and a cute doodle at the bottom. Hanako stepped back, wavering slightly as she admired her work. The stares and hum of conversation pressed in.
She cleared her throat, nervously. The chatter dulled, a ripple of curiosity slowing the crowded hall. A few students stopped to listen, while others paid no mind and drifted past.
"Everyone— uh, please! If you have any questions about symptoms or if you think you or a family member may have been infected, the SSA is meeting in classroom 3B after school. We believe sympaths… were human first."
A boy with striking silver hair spoke first. He was unfamiliar, his voice confident and maybe just a little too loud for the moment. "I'll help! Anything for Jindai."
Another figure, a girl with sleek black hair and a reserved stance, stood near the bulletin board, gaze locked on the SSA flyer. She seemed to debate something inwardly, biting her lip before finally turning to catch Toui's eye. She didn't wave. She rarely did. Still, her steady presence radiated a sort of reassurance. Natsuka, Toui thought, I haven't seen her in a while. That familiarity calmed him, even if only for a moment.
Suddenly, a classmate dropped their textbook with a clap nearby; Toui flinched, the noise as sharp as glass. He shrank back as an upperclassman with warm, peach-toned skin strode past, eyes locked on him for a second too long, a silent judgment that left Toui's skin prickling with dread. Out of the corner of his eye, he sensed yet another set of eyes, someone half-hidden on the starwell, surveying him. It was astonishing how you could feel when you were being watched.
Laughter drifted from a cluster of students down the hall. The familiar scents of floor wax and paper filled his nose, grounding him in the present even as his chest tightened with anxiety. He'd always hated crowds, but now, with every sidelong glance seeming to burn a hole right through him, the experience teetered on the edge of unbearable. The bell screamed, signaling the start of class. For once, Toui was almost welcoming to the idea of the looming math test; it was a distraction at least.
The day dragged in slow, grinding hours.
At the end of school, the last bell was a relief. A crowd now gathered around the bulletin board, and the peach-skinned girl with blond hair scrawled her name boldly on the sign-up sheet. Hanako stood next to the silver-haired boy, trying to coax more students into joining. Natsuka pressed her back against the wall, arms crossed. Her name was already printed neatly. Toui could hear Hanako fidgeting with the stapler, clicking it open and shut. From where he stood, he observed the flurry of students, their phones chiming as they snapped photos of the colorful posters or sent hurried messages to each other.
Toui wasn't immune to curiosity, though he kept a wary distance.
"Yeah, Jindai did the original version of this poster. He was a really good artist," Hanako said, voice wobbling. "I don't think mine will live up to his…"
"I think you made it even cuter, it's adorable," the blonde girl chimed in, leaning closer for a better look.
"Besides, it seems to be working," Natsuka added quietly, her tone gentle.
Toui had no desire to become involved in this club. All he wanted was the privacy of his room and the comfort of his bed. But Natsuka's sharp eye caught him staring. She waved him over, her smile coaxing, erasing any question that he would ignore her.
"I really want this club to be a true research group," Hanako said to those beside her, her voice now barely above a whisper.
"Yeah, I wish the shitty government cared as much as you do, Hanako." The boy with silver hair offered an earnest smile.
Natsuka drew closer, followed by the others. For a moment, Toui wished he could evanesce into the crowd. Other than Natsuka, no one here really knew him. Hanako nervously straightened her glasses, her voice soft but determined as she addressed him.
"Um… hi, excuse me. I'm Hanako. You're a grade above me, right?" she asked, eyes gleaming with hope.
"Hmm. Never seen him," came Kaito's voice— he flashed Toui a grin. "Im Kaito. The one glued to her phone is Eri," he added, not bothering to glance over.
Natusuka smiled, "Toui! I haven't seen you in so long. Are you growing your hair out?"
Flushing, Toui tugged at his sleeves. "Um, yeah. My mom wanted me to. You know how she is." He grinned awkwardly
Kaito raised a brow, an amused tilt to his mouth. Eri still didnt look up, fingers flying across her phone.
"Your mom's an interesting woman. But don't worry, it looks good. Soft too— lucky." Natsuka smiled fondly, brushing a lock of his hair between her fingers.
Hanako cut in, blurting, "Would you.. Um, like to join our club? The SSA. We research symptoms and help those who might be infected. She tried to sound confident, but her nerves crept through.
"Yep, and we want to start a sympath sighting log, already got some information together," Kaito said
Kaito reached over, tapping Eri's shoulder. Mumbling a curse under her breath, she surrendered her phone. On the screen played a shaky video: something shadowy filmed at night beneath a bridge not far from the school. The shape flinched backward as men with military uniforms lifted guns. The scene was chaotic and filled with dread, the kind of thing that demanded replay.
"I wonder, how do you even kill those things? I thought I read somewhere that bullets don't hurt them," Eri murmured, hypnotized by the screen as if she hadn't watched it a dozen times before. "Tough bastards they are."
"Yeah, plus the official sightings are full of inconsistencies," Kaito chimed in, lips pressed tightly together.
"There are rumors that sympaths retain some humanity; we're trying to uncover the truth here," Natsuka added.
"Whoa, you guys know way more about this than I do." Toui gave a soft, embarrassed laugh. "Sorry, I don't think I'd be any help. I honestly don't know anything about these creatures, except the government clearly messed up."
"Don't fret," Hanako pressed. "You'll learn. Her smile was gentle and hopeful.
Something pressed heavily against Toui's chest, a familiar sense of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Can I ask?" he began quietly, "Why are you all so interested in sympath's? I mean, they're kind of… terrifying, aren't they?"
Hanako hesitated before admitting, "My brother, Jindai, founded this group. I just want to keep his work going."
"I think they're cool. Plus, it's something for my college apps," Eri joked, managing a brief smile.
Kaito, voice gentler, said, "Same for me, but I lost a friend to a sympath. I know he wouldn't want me to go down a bad path. This feels like the right thing."
Toui shrank slightly, shaking his head. "See, I don't really have any reason to join. I'm sorry, guys."
The group returned to analyzing the footage, but Hanako stepped forward, catching Toui by the sleeve and dragging him aside.
"Listen.. We're trying to get more members; people who seem unbiased, who have no history with sympaths. We want a fresh perspective," she said, voice low, letting her sincerity show.
"It's true, everyone else here has a reason, but that's not required. Sometimes, it's simply enough to join because you were asked. She laughed nervously. "So.. will you join?" Shed searched his face with anxious hope.
"Um.. maybe. I'll have to see if im free." Toui's voice was nearly a whisper.
Clang.
A metallic crash shattered the hallway chatter. Everyone froze, looking around frantically. Eri muttered that it was probably the janitor. Kaito eyed the shadows, half joking that it could be a sympath. Hanako struggled to conceal her panic, the stapler trembling in her hand. For Toui, whose senses were already on alert, the clang was deafening.
"See? This is why we need trusted reports; there are sightings like this every week." Hanako stammered with frustration, clinging to her sleeve.
Eri pulled up a colorfl map on her phone: red for blocked off neighborhoods, blue for online sightings, and green for rumors. Each color was a patch of uncertainty. Toui watched, anxiety twisting inside of him for reasons unknown to him.
Another sharp thud echoed beneath them, and eyes darted around. Hanako cleared her throat.
"Maybe we should meet tomorrow… organize the date," she said, laughing nervously." But I hope I'll see you there, Toui," she smiled before departing with the rest.
"Yeah.. maybe.' He echoed, his tone hesitant.
Toui slipped out of the school at last, sunset casting long shadows full of uncertainty behind him. Confusion clung to his skin. Should he go tomorrow, he wondered. Would he ever fit in?