DEATHMARK

Kenji stood in front of his locker, gripping the small black box like it might fall apart if he loosened his grip. It wasn't anything special—well, actually, it kinda was. He bought a pack of dark chocolates from a pretty expensive store last night. It cost almost 5,955.10 yen (~40 US dollars) for the girl he cared about the most.

It was none other than Yuki Ayano.

To him, she was the prettiest and most intelligent girl he had ever seen.

He leaned around the corner and peeked down the hall. His chest tightened the moment he saw her. Yuki was walking alone toward the cafeteria, head low.

Alright. It's time to shine. Just walk up, say something clever, hand her the chocolates… and that's it. You've got this, Kenji. He hyped himself up quietly.

He stepped forward—

—and then Riko appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Yuki by the wrist, yanking her toward the stairwell without so much as a hello.

Kenji blinked in disbelief.

"You've got to be kidding me. Seriously, Riko..."

She was already halfway up the steps before he could get a word out.

He followed them, trailing behind at a distance. He wasn't really thinking anymore, just moving—just trying not to crumple the chocolate box in his hand.

By the time he reached the top, they were gone. The heavy metal door thudded shut behind them.

Kenji hesitated. Waited for the hallway to clear, then quietly pulled it open.

Warm sunlight spilled across the rooftop. It wasn't harsh—just soft enough to make the air glow. Dust floated in the breeze.

And there she was.

***

Yuki and Riko sat near the edge of the rooftop.

Riko had packed multiple egg omelets—so many that there was no way she could finish them all on her own.

Seeing her friend struggling to eat everything, Yuki casually reached over with a smile and took a few omelets for herself, happily taking a few bites.

Riko then, looked up and noticed Kenji Igaguri standing near the metal door.

"Hey, Igaguri? What are you doing here?"

Kenji stiffened.

"I just wanted to see Ayano. If that's okay."

Yuki didn't react — she was way too focused on the food in front of her.

Riko nudged her.

"Hey, he wants to talk to you."

Yuki blinked.

"Oh, come over Igaguri."

He stepped closer and pulled the black chocolate box from behind his back.

"I wanted to give you this," he said.

Yuki looked down." Wait, you got me dark chocolates? not only that but my favorites? Thank you Igaguri, seriously!"

Kenji Igaguri nodded with a huge smile on his face, that he tried hiding.

"I remembered back in our first year of high school you said you liked dark chocolate, So i got you some."

Riko chuckled.

"Creepy stalker behavior, noted."

"I think it's sweet. Shut up Riko and thank you," Yuki said, smiling.

Kenji scratched the back of his neck.

"Just thought you could use a reason to smile."

"Really? Awe thanks, Igaguri. Why don't you come eat with us," Yuki said.

"Oh! Really? Okay, thanks," Kenji said, smiling as he blushed.

Yuki thought back to her first year coming to Kyoto High, and how she felt very lonely. The only friend she really had was Riko Fuyumi, who she had known since middle school. But soon after she meet Igaguri and she remembered how, when she first met him, he was the only person who looked at her like a real person — not some freak who was perfect.

He treated her like a regular high school girl, compared to the other students in her class. The boys treated her like she was some kind of anomaly and would refuse to even try to talk to her, while the girls would badmouth her in the open for her to hear.

It was only due to the fact that Yuki excelled in all subjects — math, science, history, even all types of sports. Any subject anyone could think of she would get a perfect score. This so called 'blessing' made it hard for her to get any friends.

In any case, she was grateful to meet Igaguri and hoped to stay as close as possible with him including Riko — and even graduate high school together. It was their last year, after all.

A few minutes had passed, as they almost finished eating.

Kenji kept glancing Yuki's way, like he had more to say but couldn't say it.

"Have you been following the disappearances? People are apparently vanishing from thin air, to the point, even my cousin said he saw someone disappear right in front of him at the train station," he said.

Yuki didn't react.

Riko waved her hand in front of Yuki's face.

"You've been out of it today. You okay?"

"Sorry. I haven't been sleeping well. But yeah, I heard you, Igaguri. It's the first I've heard of any of that, honestly."

Riko leaned back.

"I think it's fake. Some weird internet thing. I don't believe in the supernatural."

Kenji stood up.

"I think it's real. It's been on the news."

"Since when does the news tell the truth?" Riko pointed.

"You always say stuff like that," Kenji frowned.

"And you always fall for it," Riko snapped.

Then, they kept arguing for some time, as they threw playful insults at each other.

Yuki however, had enough of it and stood up, as she had too much in her mind.

"I need some time alone. Sorry you too."

Both of them stopped and looked at her as she walked way.

Riko frowned and pointed at Kenji.

"Look at what you did"

Kenji blinked.

"What!? Me?"

***

It was 4 PM now, and every student from Kyoto High had packed up their stuff. It was the end of the school day after all. The sky had turned a deep orange as Yuki's shadow stretched across the street.

Up ahead, Yuki saw Kenji Igaguri.

He was walking pretty fast, so Yuki picked up the pace.

While running to catch up to Igaguri, she looked down at her bag and saw the chocolate box he gifted her was still in her bag.

She ran forward and yelled.

"Hey! Igaguri! Thanks for the—"

Kenji turned a corner into an alleyway.

Yuki, however, ran forward trying to catch up. "Hey! Igaguri—"

But, the worst had happened.

After turning the corner, her heart stopped. She saw only Igaguri's clothes on the ground, still shaped like, he'd been standing there just a second ago.

But Kenji himself was gone. Completely gone.

Yuki's legs gave out, as she dropped to her knees.

Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Yuki's heart slammed against her ribs, It felt so loud it hurt.

"No, no, no, this can't be real, he was just here!"