Chapter 2: Scars Beneath Smiles
"People smile not to show joy, but to hide their collapse."
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The next morning began like any other—quiet, normal, routine.
But normal had started to feel artificial.
Kaito Shiranami stood before the bathroom mirror, toothbrush idle in his mouth, staring into his own reflection with unfamiliar hesitation. The boy staring back looked the same—neatly combed hair, emotionless eyes, a face that had never known rebellion.
But something inside him had shifted. A quiet dissonance. A sliver of distrust toward the world he had so carefully balanced himself within.
He spit out the toothpaste, rinsed his mouth, and dressed wordlessly. Downstairs, his mother was humming again—same tune, same smile—but even that sound felt distant now, like he was listening to a song from a world he no longer belonged to.
"Leaving early again?" she asked.
"Just taking the long route," Kaito said.
It wasn't a lie. Just not the whole truth.
---
Instead of going directly to the bridge, he walked the back roads—past the shuttered old bookstores, the train station still wrapped in sleep, and the long alley behind the community hall.
There, he waited.
And like clockwork, the same black car rolled by.
Unmarked. Tinted. Silent.
Kaito didn't move. He let it pass without reacting, eyes lowered but alert. The car didn't stop this time. But he knew it had seen him. That was enough.
He arrived at the bridge just five minutes later than usual. Airi was already there, leaning over the railing, her fingers tracing idle circles against the metal.
"You're late," she said again.
"You waited."
"I always will."
The words were meant to sound romantic. They weren't.
Her eyes flickered with something else—conflict. Fear. A secret she couldn't voice.
"Airi," Kaito began, "do you trust me?"
She blinked. "What?"
He repeated it, slower. "Do you trust me?"
She hesitated. The pause was only a second, but that second said everything.
"…I want to."
They walked the rest of the way in silence.
---
Later that day, during an ethics class that reeked of hypocrisy, Kaito received another note—handwritten this time. Slipped into his desk between periods.
> She is not who you think she is. Neither are you. Room B-2, after school. Come alone.
It was unsigned.
B-2 had been abandoned for two years—an old AV club room buried in dust and silence.
Kaito pocketed the note and didn't react. But he was no longer in class—his mind had shifted completely.
Someone was watching him closely.
Someone who knew about Airi.
Someone who knew him—not the image of him, but the real Kaito beneath the mask of perfection.
He glanced sideways. Airi sat two rows over, pen dancing in loops. Her expression was calm. But she hadn't looked his way all morning.
---
After school, the corridors drained of students like blood from a wound.
Kaito walked alone, careful with each step. He passed the faculty offices, the gym storage room, and the rusted metal stairwell leading to the neglected wing.
Room B-2 sat at the far end—door slightly ajar, as if waiting.
He pushed it open.
Inside, the air was stale, heavy with the scent of old wood and forgotten stories. Dust blanketed every surface. A single chair sat in the middle, facing the blackboard, and behind it—a voice.
"You came."
The boy from the roof.
This time, he looked more confident. Less like prey, more like a messenger.
"I knew you'd come," he said. "You're too curious not to."
Kaito stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
"You have three minutes," he said. "Convince me you're not insane."
The boy didn't flinch. He stepped forward and extended a flash drive.
"What's this?"
"Everything," the boy said. "Footage. Phone logs. Transcripts. Blackmail files. Not just on Airi—on the entire school board, her father's campaign committee, even the police chief."
Kaito stared at the drive. "Where did you get this?"
"I used to be part of it. A pawn. Like she is."
A silence passed.
"She loves you, you know," the boy said. "That's why they're going to destroy you. Because she disobeyed. Because she chose you."
Kaito's throat tightened.
"They'll make it look like you manipulated her. That you seduced her for political leverage. You'll be expelled, blacklisted, maybe arrested. Her career will survive. Yours won't."
"…Why are you telling me this?"
"Because no one warned me when it happened to me."
---
When Kaito returned home that evening, the lights were off. His parents wouldn't be back until late—they had a campaign dinner to attend.
He stood in his room, the flash drive resting on his desk like a bomb.
He hadn't opened it yet.
He didn't need to.
He knew what it would show.
Instead, he opened his journal.
Not a diary. A ledger. A cold, clinical record of thoughts, theories, and patterns—his own personal mental map.
He picked up his pen and wrote a single line:
> The world breaks people who don't play by its rules.
But those who learn the rules… can break the world.
He closed the journal.
For the first time in his life, Kaito Shiranami felt the beginning of something new—not rage, not fear… but clarity.
He looked out his window, watching the city lights flicker like fireflies.
Somewhere in that light, the rot festered.
And soon, it would burn.
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