The morning light slipped thinly through the gap in the curtains. Curled up on her dormitory bed, Eri couldn't move. She had barely slept the night before. Every time she closed her eyes, the scene in that empty classroom surfaced behind her eyelids. The cold floor. The five shadows looking down at her. The taste that spread through her mouth, and the unnameable sensation that squirmed deep within her body. (*I want to disappear.*) Pulling the blanket over her head, Eri hugged her knees. In the next bed, her roommates were beginning to get ready. The sound of brushing teeth. The opening and closing of the closet. Ordinary morning sounds. And yet, all of it felt like events from some distant, separate world. "We should go soon or we'll be late." At the sound of the voice, Eri finally forced herself upright. She looked in the mirror. Beneath her dull gray eyes, dark circles were etched deep. The corner of her lip was slightly split, a scab forming over it. (*I have to smile properly.*) She tried to pull the corners of her mouth up, but they wouldn't move right. Eri gave up and slipped her arms through her uniform sleeves. --- When she arrived at the classroom, a single note was tucked onto her desk. No name. Written in meticulous handwriting, just one line. "Before class starts, come to the empty classroom facing the courtyard." Eri's hands trembled. Something bitter surged up from the pit of her stomach. (*That place, again.*) The option of refusal no longer existed within Eri. That note was a command. The mere premonition of what would happen if she disobeyed made her insides shrink cold and tight. Eri placed her bag on her desk and slipped out of the classroom, careful not to be noticed by anyone. The hallway leading to the old school building was hushed and silent. On the polished linoleum floor, only her own footsteps echoed, strangely loud. Outside the window, the chapel spire gleamed dully in the morning light. *That bell watches over everything in this academy*—the thought made Eri shrink into herself. She stood before the sliding door of the empty classroom. Breathe in. Breathe out. Her fingertips were cold. With a creak, the door opened. The classroom was unchanged from yesterday. Nothing was written on the blackboard. A thin layer of dust covered the floor. The morning light streaming through the window made the fine particles of dust float in the air. And there, standing by the window, a single silhouette. "[gentle]You came." Erika turned around slowly. Her waist-length black hair flowed smoothly with the movement. Her narrow, amber-colored eyes gazed steadily at Eri. The faintest hint of a smile played at her lips. Eri couldn't produce any words. She just stood there, rooted to the spot. "I wonder if you slept well last night." Erika's voice was soft, with a tone as if she were concerned for a friend. But her eyes were precisely assessing the dark circles under Eri's eyes, the wound on her lip. "[whispers]...No." Eri forced the answer out. "I see. That's a shame." Erika moved away from the window and slowly approached Eri. Her steps were quiet, yet completely without openings. Like a beast before its prey, her movements were utterly efficient. Erika stopped right in front of Eri. She was much taller, naturally looking down at her. "Hey, Eri. You're thinking you want to talk to someone about what happened yesterday, aren't you?" Her heart lurched violently. Eri looked up. Erika was smiling. Deep within her eyes, a testing light flickered. "[cold]If that's the case, I recommend it. Try talking to your homeroom teacher, Sekiguchi-sensei. She's discreet, and I'm sure she'd be very sympathetic to you, being a new transfer student." It was an obvious trap. Erika knew exactly what would happen if Eri sought help. And knowing that, she was deliberately pushing her forward. To savor the moment Eri willingly leaped into the trap herself. Erika's slender fingers gently touched Eri's chin. "[gentle]I want you to show me your choice." She didn't make her kneel like yesterday, only peered into her eyes. The amber eyes pierced through Eri's dull gray ones. Just like that, Erika released her hand and left the classroom. The sound of the sliding door closing. Footsteps fading away. Eri stood alone in the empty classroom. From the courtyard, she could hear the laughter of students before the start of class. (*A choice—*) There had never been one from the start. --- The lunch break chime rang. Eri left the classroom and walked down the hallway toward the faculty room. Her heart pounded painfully. Her fingertips were cold, her legs heavy as lead. (*If I tell Sekiguchi-sensei—*) Erika's words were a trap. She knew that. Even so, Eri had no choice but to cling to it. Before coming here, she had transferred schools countless times. Each time, she had killed off parts of herself trying to fit into the new environment. But this was the first time something like this had happened. She had never known this kind of fear. She stood in front of the faculty room. From inside, she could hear the teachers' voices. Ordinary, everyday conversation. With a trembling hand, Eri knocked on the door. "...Excuse me." Inside the faculty room, the smell of cigarette smoke and coffee mingled together. Several teachers were spreading out their lunches. At the very back desk sat Sekiguchi. A thin woman in her mid-forties, wearing glasses. She was the one who had given a formal introduction when Eri was transferred into the class, and nothing more. "What is it, Sakamoto-san?" Sekiguchi set down the documents she was holding and looked at Eri. In her eyes, there was more wariness than concern. Eri stood before Sekiguchi's desk and forced out her voice. "[whispers]Um... it's about yesterday..." Her words trembled. The wound on her lip hurt every time she spoke. "In an empty classroom in the old building... Himura-senpai called me out, and..." The moment that name was spoken, the atmosphere in the faculty room changed. A young male teacher nearby stopped his hands for just an instant. Immediately, he reached for his lunchbox with his chopsticks again, as if he had heard nothing. Another female teacher pointedly took out her phone and left her seat. The expression vanished from Sekiguchi's face. "[cold]What are you talking about?" The tone of her voice had clearly dropped. "And then... um..." Eri bit her lip. She had to say it. If she didn't say it here, there would be no one else—. "In front of everyone... they did terrible things..." "Sakamoto-san." Sekiguchi's voice cut off Eri's words. A cold, hard voice. "You're tired from having just transferred in. I think the change in environment has made you overly sensitive." "[scared]No, it's true, really—" "It's your imagination." Sekiguchi never once looked Eri in the eye. Her hands trembled slightly on the desk. "Besides, Himura-san is the board chairman's daughter and a model student at this academy. I don't appreciate a transfer student like you spreading baseless rumors." *Transfer student.* Those words stabbed into Eri's chest like a blade. "Stop doing things that disrupt the harmony of the academy. If you continue this—you'll be the one in trouble." It was, in effect, a threat. Eri felt the air in the faculty room become a wall, pushing her back. None of the surrounding teachers looked her way. Some continued eating. Some pretended to read documents. Some faced their computers. All of them were a wall of silence. Sekiguchi returned her gaze to the documents at hand. "Go now. Lunch break is short." Eri couldn't say anything. She gave a slight bow and left the faculty room. The sound of the door closing echoed through the hallway. At that moment—something inside Eri snapped with a crack. What she had thought was her last bastion crumbled away with a sound. The existence called a teacher was no shield against power. In this academy, there wasn't a single adult who would protect her. Leaning her back against the hallway wall, Eri slowly crouched down. The blood drained from her entire body. Her fingertips went numb, her vision blurred. (*Help me.*) Even as she screamed inside her heart, that voice no longer reached anyone. --- After school. Having finished her cleaning duty, Eri walked down the empty hallway. The sun would set soon. Outside the window, the red brick school building was dyed in the colors of sunset. She was about to head toward the shoe lockers when— Suddenly, from behind, her hair was grabbed. "—!" The pain was so intense she couldn't even make a sound. Her head was seized from behind, and she was dragged just like that. "Be quiet." A low voice. Faces she couldn't see. Multiple footsteps surrounded Eri. Eri tried desperately to struggle, but the hand gripping her hair didn't budge an inch. She was roughly pulled from the hallway to the outside—to the back of the gymnasium. No one was there. Even if she called for help, no one would hear. Next to the gym storage shed. The door to the locker room was violently thrown open. Eri was shoved onto the cold, wet tiled floor. "Ngh...!" The impact knocked the breath out of her. She put her hands on the floor and raised her face. There, eight shadows stood. All of them wore the academy's uniform. Navy blazers, pleated skirts. Among them were faces she had seen in the empty classroom yesterday. Erika's inner circle—those connected to the "Special Seats." And there, leaning against the entrance door, stood Erika. Arms crossed, expressionless, just watching. "[cold]I heard you snitched to Sekiguchi-sensei?" One of the eight said mockingly. "You've got some nerve, just after transferring in." Another one grabbed Eri's hair from behind and yanked it up. Her scalp pulled taut, tears welling up. "We'll teach you." "What happens when you defy us in this academy." Eri's arms, as she tried to resist, were twisted behind her back. Her shoulders creaked, and her vision flashed white with pain. "[scared]Stop...!" Her pleading voice reached no one. The first one grabbed Eri's face and forced it upward. Under the uniform skirt. Cold fingers traced Eri's cheek. "She's a lot quieter than yesterday, isn't she?" Giggling laughter. In the dim space of the locker room, damp air and the smell of mold hung heavy. The floor tiles were wet, and their coldness slowly leeched the warmth from her pressed cheek. The shadow of the first one's skirt loomed over Eri's face. (*Again—*) The same foreign sensation in her mouth as yesterday. A sob welled up. Her jaw trembled with fatigue, saliva spilling from the corner of her mouth. Only the coldness of the tiles and the pain of her scalp being pulled told her this was reality. As soon as the first one finished, the second immediately swapped in. "Okay, switch." Three, four, five—. Different hands, different acts. All the while, Erika didn't utter a single word, just stood at the entrance, continuing to watch. Her amber eyes were cold and clear, like a scientist observing the reactions of a lab animal. The sixth grabbed her hair, the seventh forced another act. By the time the eighth was finished, Eri was sprawled on the floor, unable to move even a finger. Her uniform blouse was torn, her skirt soiled with mud and bodily fluids. The taste in her mouth, the coldness of the tiles, the dull pain in her gripped neck. All of it blended together, and she no longer knew who she was. "[whispers]Now... you get it, right..." The eight of them, wearing satisfied grins, left the locker room. Mockery. Footsteps. The opening and closing of the door. Finally, only one person remained. Himura Erika. She slowly crouched down beside Eri, who lay on the wet floor. She gently stroked Eri's disheveled flaxen hair, as if handling something fragile. "[gentle]This... is your new everyday life." The voice whispered in her ear was so terribly so