Not every kill needs a knife — some are done with silence, and some with choice.
---
7:13 A.M.
St. Gabriel's High – Music Room
Silas sits at the piano.
His fingers move gently across the keys — a soft, melancholic tune.
A girl sits beside him.
Mika Aihara — sweet, shy, often invisible.
But not to Silas.
"Play with me," he says, smiling gently.
Mika blushes. "I don't know how…"
"That's okay. I'll guide your hands."
He places his fingers over hers. The contact makes her freeze.
She's shaking, but not from fear. From hope. From attention.
And Silas is kind. Gentle. The very image of the perfect boy.
But in his mind?
> She's ideal. Quiet. Fragile. Morally clean. Perfect for testing Naomi's lines.
---
9:42 A.M.
Abandoned Storage Room – East Wing
Mika wakes up to darkness.
Duct tape over her mouth. Hands tied. Panic surges.
A small light clicks on — a tablet screen.
It shows a message:
> "If you scream, you die. If you beg, you die. Stay still, and you live."
On another screen, the feed flickers — she sees herself on video.
A camera is watching.
So is someone else.
---
11:17 A.M.
Naomi's Apartment – Secure Line Call
Naomi answers the burner phone. The voice on the other end is modulated, but familiar.
> "She's alive. For now."
Naomi's blood runs cold. "Who?"
> "Her name is Mika Aihara. Fifteen. Not even interesting. But she smiles at me sometimes."
Naomi's heart hammers.
> "You want proof?"
A file sends. She opens it — a live stream. Mika, trembling, bound.
> "Here's the game: She's done nothing wrong. She's good. Clean. Your kind of person."
> "You want her to live? Find her in time. Fail, and you watch her scream."
Then silence.
The call ends.
Naomi bolts upright.
---
12:05 P.M.
St. Gabriel's High – Security Hall
Naomi storms into the back offices, flashing her badge for the first time in days.
"Pull the feeds. I need visual access to every hallway, basement, and side room in this building."
"Detective, we don't have clearance—"
"I said now."
She scans the monitors — nothing. No Mika. No clue.
Then a flash.
A reflection in a trophy case — blurred, quick, a girl's face in shadow.
She triangulates the hallway.
Room B2. Unused. Locked since last semester.
---
12:17 P.M.
Room B2 – Abandoned Wing
Naomi kicks the door open.
Inside: cold air, empty desks, a single tripod, and… Mika.
Bound. Gagged. Eyes wide.
She runs to her, cuts her free. Mika collapses, sobbing.
Naomi checks her — no wounds. Just shock.
Then she sees it.
A note taped to the wall.
> "You saved her. But you didn't stop me. You never do."
And at the bottom:
> PS: There was another girl in this room once. You didn't find her.
---
1:01 P.M.
Principal's Office
Mika is taken to the nurse. Her story is blank — "I don't remember." She doesn't even accuse anyone.
The school promises a private investigation.
Naomi walks out into the hallway and slams her fist against the locker wall.
He used that girl like a pawn.
To mock her.
To show he could hurt, scare, ruin — and still keep his hands clean.
And the worst part?
She still has no proof.
---
4:14 P.M.
Silas's Studio
He watches the footage of Naomi rescuing Mika.
Frame by frame.
Smile by smile.
He replays the look on Naomi's face when she read the note.
She was angry. Desperate. Afraid.
He leans back, whispers to no one:
> "You care too much, Naomi. And I care… not at all."
He opens a folder labeled Phase 2: Ethical Collapse.
> Target: Teacher – Akihiko Suda
Crime: Suspected sexual coercion
Moral status: Grey
Public image: Untouched
Time: Soon
---
Final Scene
Naomi sits in her car that night, hands shaking for the first time in years.
She stares at her reflection.
"You can't save everyone," she whispers.
Then a thought enters her mind — foreign, sharp.
> What if I kill him first?
---
Final Line:
> Silas watches her from the hacked dashcam feed… and grins.
"There it is," he says. "The beginning of the end."
---