The Only Savior

A sleepless night.

Or rather, she had not dared to sleep at all.

Sakura Airi stared fixedly at the text message on her phone screen, her dry eyes aching.

Go?

Or not?

Two little voices in her mind were fighting furiously.

One screamed, This is a trap! Another snare set by that pervert! Going would be walking right into it!

The other weakly argued, But... what if? What if this is the only salvation?

Sunlight streamed through a gap in the curtains, casting a glaring patch of light on the floor.

Noon.

The time was almost here.

Fear was like countless icy hands gripping her limbs, pinning her in place.

Yet that message was like the only ray of daylight filtering into a dark prison, making it impossible for her to look away.

In the end.

Her desire to escape this endless nightmare overcame everything else.

She suddenly rose from the floor. Having crouched for too long, her legs went numb, and she nearly fell.

Supporting herself against the wall, she rushed into the closet, grabbed a baseball cap and the thickest mask she could find, and covered her entire face tightly.

The person in the mirror showed only a pair of frightened, uneasy eyes.

This way... no one should recognize me, right?

She took a deep breath and, like a prisoner heading to the execution grounds, pushed open the door that had confined her for so long.

The library.

Third floor.

It was far quieter here than downstairs, the air filled with the mingled scent of old pages and sunlight.

Sakura Airi lowered her cap brim and practically clung to the shadows of the bookshelves as she slowly made her way toward the innermost seat.

Her heart was pounding so hard it felt ready to leap out of her throat.

Who was this mysterious person?

What did he look like?

Could he... really help her?

At last, she reached the corner seat by the window.

Then she froze.

The seat was completely empty.

There was no one there.

Overwhelming disappointment and the anger of being toyed with instantly seized her heart.

Of course... it was a prank?

Or was that pervert mocking her naivety this way?

Her eyes stung, and she turned to flee this humiliating place.

Just then, her gaze swept over the tabletop.

In the very center of the table sat a cup of... hot milk in a paper cup.

Beside it was a white envelope.

Sakura Airi stopped.

She hesitantly reached out. Her fingertips touched the paper cup, and its warmth traveled through them, instantly driving away a little of the chill in her heart.

She picked up the envelope.

It was very light.

There was only one folded sheet of paper inside.

With trembling hands, Sakura Airi unfolded the note.

A line of elegant handwriting was written on it.

"Drink the milk, sit here and read, don't turn around, don't speak, leave everything to me."

There was no signature.

No further explanation.

Just that one sentence, carrying a faintly commanding tone.

Sakura Airi clutched the note, staring at the cup of milk still giving off steam as her thoughts battled fiercely.

Is this milk... safe?

What exactly does this arrangement mean?

But that warmth was so real.

In this long hell, it was the first time she had felt even the slightest kindness from the outside world.

Even if a deeper malice might be hidden behind that kindness.

She would accept it anyway.

Sakura Airi pulled out the chair and sat down.

She held the cup of milk and drank it in small sips.

It was sweet.

Warmth slid down her throat into her stomach, then spread through every limb, gradually relaxing the body that had been rigid with tension.

She picked up a book from the table and opened it at random.

She could not take in a single word on the page.

All of her attention was focused behind her.

Her ears were pricked high, catching every sound around her.

She obeyed the note's instructions strictly.

Do not turn around.

Do not speak.

Outside the library.

On the tree-lined path.

The clerk in black-rimmed glasses stared intently at the third-floor library window.

He saw her!

He would recognize that figure even if she turned to ash!

Sakura Airi!

That little bitch actually dared to come outside!

Lust and fury tangled in his eyes, nearly bursting forth.

He adjusted the camera hanging from his chest, aimed the lens at the window, and was about to press the shutter and capture the thrilling sight.

Suddenly.

Bang!

A figure slammed into his shoulder without warning.

The tremendous force sent him staggering. The camera slipped from his hand and crashed heavily onto the ground.

"Fuck! Are you blind?!"

The clerk flew into a rage and looked up, ready to curse.

The person who had hit him was a black-haired boy with an expressionless face.

The boy did not even glance at him. He merely bent down and picked up the camera, whose lens cap had popped open from the fall.

It was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

Holding the camera in one hand, he looked at the lens and slowly spoke in a tone devoid of human emotion.

His voice was soft, yet every word was clear as it entered the clerk's ears.

"Some things should not be photographed."

"Some people should not be touched."

The clerk's curse caught in his throat.

Looking into Ayanokoji's hollow eyes, utterly devoid of emotional fluctuation, a chill shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

What kind of look was that?

He was not looking at a person.

He was looking at a corpse.

Just as the clerk had been intimidated stiff by that overwhelming presence.

A hand lightly patted his shoulder.

Pat.

The clerk jolted and whipped around.

Behind him stood a tall boy with a gentle smile on his face.

The boy's smile was bright, and he looked utterly harmless.

It was Natsume Yu.

"Sir."

Natsume Yu spoke with a smile, his tone as friendly as the boy next door.

"Your behavior already constitutes harassment."

The clerk's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Y-You... what nonsense are you talking about?! I don't know what you mean!"

He barked fiercely despite his inner panic, instinctively trying to deny it.

"Is that so?"

The smile on Natsume Yu's face did not change. He slowly raised his phone, the screen facing the clerk directly.

High-definition photographs were playing across the screen.

In the photos, a man in black-rimmed glasses lurked furtively in the bushes beneath the dormitory building.

In an electronics store, he spied on a certain girl with a sinister gaze.

There was even a clear close-up of him prying at Sakura Airi's door lock.

Every single one was irrefutable evidence!

The blood drained entirely from the clerk's face the moment he saw those photographs.

Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

"Th-These... who are you? Who the hell are you?!"

He stared at Natsume Yu in terror, his voice trembling.

Natsume Yu did not answer.

He merely gave his phone a light shake, and the photos on the screen rapidly changed one after another.

Every image was like an invisible slap, striking the clerk hard across the face.

The man's gaze became unfocused, and his body began trembling uncontrollably.

His breathing grew heavy and ragged.

He wanted to deny it, but found that no sound would come from his throat.

Those photographs, those secrets he had believed no one knew, were now laid bare beneath the sunlight.

This seemingly gentle boy had placed his crimes before him in the most direct and cruel manner possible.

He felt an icy despair completely engulf him from head to toe.

Natsume Yu put away his phone, the same polite smile still on his face.

But to the clerk, that smile was more terrifying than a demon's snarl.

He leaned close and spoke softly, low enough that only the two of them could hear. "You have two choices."

His voice was not loud, yet it carried an unquestionable, absolute control.

"First, I package these pictures together with everything you have done these past few days and hand them to the school and the police."

The clerk's face instantly turned deathly pale. His lips trembled, but he could not speak.

"Second, you voluntarily withdraw from school and disappear from this campus forever. Naturally, these pictures will disappear with you forever."

Natsume Yu looked straight at the clerk, his eyes calm and without a ripple.

He did not urge him. He simply waited quietly.

The clerk's body swayed. He felt his entire world collapse at that moment.

All his fantasies, all his twisted obsessions, had turned to bubbles beneath the boy's casually spoken words.

He knew there was no third path.

And he knew even more clearly that this boy was not joking.

There was not the slightest trace of mockery in his eyes, only cold resolve.

The clerk opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, only let out a few despairing whimpers.

He slowly nodded, moving like a puppet whose soul had been hollowed out.

Natsume Yu withdrew his gaze in satisfaction and gave a slight nod to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who had remained in the distance like a statue.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka understood. He turned and merged into the crowd.

Natsume Yu turned as well and headed toward the library.

Inside the library.

Sakura Airi had finished the milk in her cup.

The warm liquid eased her taut nerves slightly.

She continued holding her book, but her eyes kept darting toward the window.

Seconds ticked by.

The sliver of hope she had struggled to kindle began fading bit by bit.

Could it really... have been nothing more than a prank?

She grew restless from waiting, and her body began to stiffen.

Just as she decided to give up and was about to get up and leave,

a figure slowly sat down in the seat across from her.

Sakura Airi suddenly held her breath.

She did not turn around.

She stared fixedly at the page in her hands, her fingers turning faintly white from the force of her grip.

She could feel that gaze resting on her.

She could feel a faint, pleasant scent belonging to a boy wash over her.

Her heart pounded wildly, as though it were about to burst out of her chest.

She was so nervous that she nearly forgot how to breathe.

She did not know what to do.

Should she turn around, or keep pretending to read?

The next second,

a gentle voice sounded beside her ear.

The voice carried just the right amount of huskiness, making her heart tremble involuntarily at the sound of it.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Sakura."

There was a smile in his voice.

Sakura Airi abruptly looked up.

What entered her sight was a clean, refreshing face.

The boy held a fresh hot drink and faced her with a perfectly measured smile at the corners of his lips.

His eyes were clear and bright, without a trace of impurity.

"You're safe now."

Those words exploded in Sakura Airi's mind like a bolt of thunder.

Safe?

How extravagant, how distant those two words had seemed through her long ordeal.

And now, this boy was casually telling her that she was safe.

In an instant,

all her grievance, all her fear, all her helplessness, all her despair found an outlet at that moment.

She could no longer hold back the tears in her eyes.

Crystal tears, like beads from a broken string, burst forth in an instant.

They blurred her vision, blurred the boy's face before her.

She only looked at him as tears silently streamed down, soaking her mask.

She knew that from this moment on, she would no longer be alone.

She had finally been saved.