Chapter 1
As we approached a hill, the bicycle swayed violently.
Unfamiliar with riding double and having no clue how to keep my balance, I desperately clung to Hikaru's shoulders.
After skipping the opening ceremony and fleeing school, Hikaru's bicycle continued steadily along country roads.
Are you serious about never going back to school?
Yeah.
Hikaru nodded.
After what I did, there's no way I could casually attend school. If I get caught, I'm headed straight to prison, not just juvenile detention.
Hikaru, who claimed to have killed his mother earlier, continued pedaling with an expressionless face.
So I'm running away. At least until this summer ends.
Despite it being late summer, countless cicadas were making their shrill cries. Along the riverside path lay dried-out earthworm carcasses and overturned cicadas.
Summers in the Hokuriku region are surprisingly hot. People often assume it's cool because it's a snowy region, but summer brings a harsh, humid heat, with frequent heat stroke warnings. Being sensitive to heat, I'd once considered moving to some cooler country, but gave up since I couldn't speak English.
After riding along the asphalt road for a while, we got off the bicycle and sat on a bench in the shade. Light filtering through the leaves created small patches of sunshine on the ground. Gazing at the white clouds floating in the deep blue sky, I thought that normally I'd be sitting in an air-conditioned classroom right about now.
I've thought of an interesting game. Want to hear about it?
Tell me.
It's a bit of a strange game. But I think you'll like it, Rin, since you have such morbid tastes.
Hikaru, who knew my tastes so well, spoke with complete confidence.
That's rude.
But internally, I was excited. He never failed to meet my expectations.
However, as I listened to Hikaru explain the details of his game, I could feel the blood gradually draining from my face.
Are you serious about this?
Of course I am.
In this game, seven people would die. And they would die by our hands.
That's insane. There's no way we'd do something like that.
When I refused, Hikaru laughed as if troubled.
This is just a game. You can take it easy.
How could anyone take it easy when lives were at stake? And yet, Hikaru said something so outrageous in such a calm, carefree tone. I was speechless.
Even as we sat there, my eighteenth summer was marching toward its end.
It was late August—one of those days when the temperature climbed past thirty degrees, even in the morning.
I first spoke with Hikaru Natsuno one year and one month ago, during the summer of my second year of high school.
It was the day of the closing ceremony. I’d come to school only to submit my withdrawal form and was wandering aimlessly through the building.
The forecast predicted a high of thirty-five degrees. The sunlight streaming through the windows felt sharp enough to burn skin. Outside, cicadas screamed as if to split the air, while square patches of light stretched across the hallway like glowing stepping stones.
In the quiet school, even the sound of my footsteps echoed. The cicadas’ cries beyond the glass weren’t enough to drown out my presence.
Having left the house for the first time in nearly three months, my stamina was already depleted. I considered staying in the air-conditioned classroom, but the risk of bumping into a classmate who might return unexpectedly was too great.
Even during the closing ceremony, a few people still lingered in the school. When I passed the administrative office, a suspicious-looking staff member peered out through the narrow door gap. Teachers I encountered gave me strained, unreadable looks. It was clear they knew my situation. Their silent pity stung more than any words. I tightened my grip on the withdrawal form.
I wasn’t sure whether the form I’d printed from an online template and filled out myself would actually be accepted. Still, I was confident my determination would come through.
Searching for somewhere quiet, I climbed the stairs and soon reached the fourth floor. The hallway was lined with chemistry and biology labs, along with their prep rooms. With two hours to kill before I planned to slam the paper down on my homeroom teacher’s desk, I chose the chemistry lab closest to the stairwell.
When I opened the door, someone was already inside—a male student, sitting on the windowsill with his legs dangling outside. I recognized him immediately by his wolf-cut hairstyle. No one else in the school had it.
Swaying black strands. Broad shoulders. A dazzling white shirt. His shoes, neatly lined up. This was the fourth floor. One push to his shoulder and he’d plummet straight down.
Natsuno.
He turned to me slowly, as if only now noticing I was there—and smiled, calm and composed.
When I tried to meet his gaze, the sunlight pouring through the window forced me to squint.
That fourth-floor window frame . . . If it had been anyone else sitting there, legs dangling over the edge, I probably would've walked away without saying a word. Even if they’d jumped after I left, I doubt it would've shaken me much. But it wasn’t just anyone. It was him—Hikaru Natsuno—perched in what looked like the perfect place to disappear.
His name slipped out before I even realized it. “Hikaru.” I’ve never been one for formal small talk, especially not with guys from school.
Ah. Yonagi-san, was it?
So he knows who I am. We’d only shared a class for the first ten days of second year, so maybe he’d heard my name, but I didn’t expect him to put my face to that name. Maybe I just stuck in his memory because my old friend had been the loud, flashy type.