Chapter 3: Voices After Sunset
Rain poured heavily over Aokawa.
The sound was everywhere.
On rooftops.
On windows.
On empty hallways.
Airi couldn’t move.
Her eyes remained fixed on the classroom window.
No reflection.
Again.
Ren stood beside her beneath the school entrance roof, rainwater dripping from the edge above them.
His expression had changed completely.
The cold, distant boy from class was gone.
For the first time—
He looked afraid.
“You saw it again,” Airi whispered.
Ren immediately looked away from the window.
“You weren’t supposed to.”
“That’s not an explanation!”
Her voice came out louder than expected.
Rain covered the awkward silence between them.
Airi pulled her wrist free from his hand.
“First, reflections disappear. Then mysterious messages appear on my phone. Then I hear someone whisper my name. And somehow you know about all of it?”
Ren remained quiet.
That annoyed her more.
“You keep acting mysterious for no reason.”
Finally, he spoke.
“Because if I explain too much, things get worse.”
“Worse than this?”
His eyes slowly moved toward the dark schoolyard.
“Yes.”
Airi followed his gaze.
Nothing.
Only rain.
Only empty pathways.
Only shadows created by streetlights.
Still—
That uncomfortable feeling returned.
Like someone was watching.
---
“I’m leaving,” Airi said finally.
Ren blocked her path.
“Not through the main street.”
“The message said the same thing.”
“Then listen.”
Airi crossed her arms.
“Why should I trust you?”
For several seconds, Ren said nothing.
Then quietly:
“Because they already noticed you.”
They.
That word again.
Before she could ask, a loud sound echoed from somewhere behind the school building.
Metal falling.
Both turned.
Silence returned.
Ren’s face hardened.
“We’re going.”
Without waiting, he started walking toward a side road leading away from school.
After a moment of hesitation—
Airi followed.
---
The side streets of Aokawa were almost empty.
Convenience stores glowed softly.
Streetlights reflected on wet roads.
Everything should have felt normal.
But it didn’t.
Airi noticed something strange.
The city looked familiar again.
Too familiar.
As if she had walked these streets hundreds of times before.
“Have we met before?” she suddenly asked.
Ren looked confused.
“What?”
“You keep looking at me like you know me.”
His expression froze for half a second.
Then returned to normal.
“No.”
Lie.
She could feel it.
Her phone vibrated again.
Unknown Number.
Her hands shook slightly while opening it.
Do not trust the boy without a reflection.
Airi slowly lowered the phone.
Ren noticed.
“What did it say?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re lying.”
“So are you.”
For the first time, Ren looked slightly annoyed.
“Good.”
“What?”
“You’re finally being careful.”
Weird answer.
Very weird.
---
They stopped near a pedestrian bridge crossing a small river.
Rain weakened slightly.
The city lights reflected on dark water below.
Then Airi heard it.
Splash.
Someone walking beneath the bridge.
She looked down.
Nothing.
Splash.
Again.
This time closer.
Ren immediately stepped forward.
“Don’t look.”
Too late.
Airi looked.
Under the bridge—
A girl stood ankle-deep in river water.
School uniform.
Long black hair.
Head lowered.
Completely still.
Airi’s breathing stopped.
The same girl from the mirror.
Slowly—
Very slowly—
The girl raised her head.
Red eyes.
Pale skin.
And a smile.
A horrible smile.
Airi stumbled backward.
“What is that?!”
Ren grabbed her arm.
“We run.”
The girl below the bridge moved.
Not walking.
Not climbing.
Appearing.
One second below.
Next second—
Standing on the bridge.
Directly behind them.
Water dripped from her uniform.
Her voice sounded broken.
Almost distorted.
“You finally came back... Airi.”
Airi froze.
Back?
What did that mean?
The girl slowly lifted one hand.
In her pale fingers—
She held an old photograph.
Airi.
Ren.
And the red-eyed girl.
Together.
As children.
[End of Chapter 3]
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