Chapter 6 : Owl Mask

Hina didn't speak. Not a single word.

She sat there, staring at us with hollow eyes, her fingers clenched tightly around the hospital blanket. Whatever had happened to her in that dark, unseen place had carved something out of her, leaving behind only this shell.

The silence stretched between us, suffocating.

I shifted uncomfortably. "Hina… do you remember what happened?"

No response. No flicker of recognition in her expression.

Renji cleared his throat. "You're safe now, you know? We found you."

Still, nothing.

Yuna reached out hesitantly, her hand hovering over Hina's wrist before pulling back. "It's okay," she whispered, her voice fragile. "You don't have to talk, just… let us know you're here."

Hina's lips pressed together, and for a moment, I thought she was going to say something. But instead, she looked at me—straight at me. Her gaze was deep, searching, as if she were trying to find something beneath my skin. I swallowed hard, suddenly unsure of how to breathe.

Then, she reached forward and grabbed the notebook resting on the bedside table.

Our eyes widened as she slowly picked up the pencil. Her hands trembled, the lead scratching against the page in uneven strokes. We waited, breathless, as the first words appeared.

—Dark. Cold.—

Yuna exhaled softly. "You were trapped, weren't you?"

Hina hesitated before nodding, just barely.

Renji, leaning forward, tapped the edge of the paper. "Did you see who did it?"

Her grip on the pencil tightened. She hesitated before writing again, slower this time.

—Not clearly.—

Haruto finally spoke, his voice quiet but firm. "What do you remember?"

Hina's writing became more deliberate.

—He was wearing black. Loose. Covered everything.—

I felt a chill crawl up my spine. "You mean, like, a hoodie?" She shook her head and wrote again.

—Baggy. On purpose. To hide. Hands wrapped. Neck wrapped.—

My stomach twisted. That wasn't just someone trying to stay warm or anonymous. That was someone actively disguising themselves, hiding every single identifying feature. A deliberate choice.

Yuna spoke gently. "Did you see his face?"

Hina's pencil stilled.

For a moment, she didn't move at all. Then, her breathing became unsteady. The tip of the pencil dug into the paper, pressing too hard, threatening to snap. When she finally wrote again, the words were jagged, hurried, desperate.

—Owl mask.—

Silence. The kind that makes your ears ring.

Renji blinked. "An… owl mask?"

Hina's breathing grew uneven. Her fingers clenched the pencil so tightly her knuckles turned white. She didn't write again, didn't move, didn't even look at us.

Yuna, visibly shaken, pressed her hands together. "Hina… what happened when you saw it?"

Her next words sent ice straight through my veins.

—I fainted.—

I exhaled slowly, trying to steady myself. She wasn't just scared. She was terrified beyond reason. That mask—whatever it meant—had completely shattered her.

Haruto leaned forward, expression unreadable. "Why an owl?"

Hina didn't answer.

She had already dropped the pencil.

The authorities didn't waste a second after that.

Hina was placed under secure investigation and monitoring, her hospital room guarded at all times. The police were all over the case now, combing through every detail, every possible lead. And us? We weren't off the hook either. Since we were the ones who found her, we were under constant supervision, every movement scrutinized.

The school had shut down, students scattered, families terrified.

And somewhere out there, the person wearing that owl mask was still watching.

Waiting.

I gripped the edge of my jacket tightly, my nails digging into my palm. Something wasn't adding up. Someone had gone to extreme lengths to hide their identity—baggy clothes, covered hands, a full mask—ensuring there wasn't a single identifying feature visible.

Why?

Because they weren't done yet.

And we had just painted targets on our backs.

The moment we stepped out of Hina's hospital room, a group of officers was already waiting for us. Their faces were unreadable, their expressions a practiced neutrality that sent a cold shiver down my spine.

"Come with us," one of them said, his voice steady but firm.

We exchanged uncertain glances, but there was no room for refusal. One by one, we followed them down the stark white hallways, the fluorescent lights humming above us. They led us to a quiet room, sparse in decoration, with a long table and a few chairs. A camera sat perched in the corner, its little red light blinking.

They separated us.

I was placed in a room alone, with two officers sitting across from me. The older one, a man with greying hair and sharp eyes, leaned forward, placing his hands on the table.

"Kyoya Masaki, correct?"

I nodded, my mouth suddenly dry.

"You were among the students who found Hina. Can you walk us through that moment again?"

I took a breath and recounted everything—how we had pieced together where she might be, how we had run through the halls, how we had found her barely conscious and shaking. The officers didn't interrupt, only exchanging glances every now and then.

"And before that," the younger officer chimed in. "Did you notice anything unusual? Anyone acting strange?"

I hesitated. I couldn't say what I really thought. Couldn't tell them how, in the depths of my mind, there was an unsettling feeling that all of this was too close. That somehow, I knew more than I should.

"No," I finally said. "Nothing out of the ordinary."

They continued asking questions—about the note, about what Hina had written down, about whether we had seen anyone suspicious that night. Each answer felt like walking a tightrope, careful and precise.

Finally, after what felt like hours, they exchanged a look and stood.

"Alright, that will be all for now. We may need to call you back for further questioning. Stay reachable."

I nodded, standing as well. My legs felt stiff, my hands clammy. As I stepped out into the hallway, I saw the others exiting their respective rooms, their faces mirroring my own exhaustion.

The weight of everything settled in as we looked at each other. We were still under investigation. The school was still closed. And the person behind all of this was still out there.

Watching. Waiting.

The tension from yesterday still clung to the edges of my thoughts, lingering like a ghost that refused to be exorcized. But for now, I shoved it aside, letting myself get lost in the simple familiarity of our card game.

We sat in a rough circle on the tatami mat floor of my room, the dim glow of the ceiling light casting a soft warmth over the wooden walls. The dorm-like house I shared with Mio had always been quiet—too quiet, sometimes—but tonight, it felt alive with the presence of my friends. Renji, sprawled out like he had no bones in his body, shuffled the deck with a lazy smirk. Yuna sat cross-legged beside me, focused, as if the game held the fate of the world. Haruto, ever the strategist, leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands as he surveyed the cards.

Mio, meanwhile, was lost in her own world, sitting a little away from us, humming as she played with her toys. A stuffed bear in one hand and a small doll in the other, she muttered some dramatic battle sequence under her breath.

I let myself relax, just a little. For once, there was no investigation, no interrogations, no masked figures lurking in the shadows—just us, just this moment.

Then Haruto spoke up.

"Hey, Kyoya," he asked, shifting slightly to look at me, "where are your parents, by the way?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but before I could even get a word out—

"They work offshore," Renji chimed in, tossing down a card as if this was just another casual conversation. "They come back every weekend, so on weekdays, Kyoya's basically playing the responsible older brother role."

I sighed. "You could've let me answer that myself, you know."

Renji just grinned. "Yeah, but I like watching you get interrupted."

Yuna, who had been listening quietly, suddenly clapped her hands together. "Whoa, Kyoya, that's so impressive! Taking care of school, your little sister, and everything else? You're like the ideal big brother!"

I felt a twinge of embarrassment at her words. "It's nothing that special," I muttered, fiddling with the cards in my hand.

But before I could downplay it any further, Mio let out an exaggerated huff from her corner of the room. She turned towards us, her tiny arms crossed, lips puffed out in a pout.

"Yeah, but he didn't buy me ice cream yesterday!" she accused, her voice laced with betrayal.

Renji burst out laughing. "Ah, there it is! The tragic flaw of our 'ideal big brother'—he's stingy!"

I sighed, rubbing the back of my head. "Mio, we were already late getting home, and you had homework to finish. You can't just eat ice cream whenever you want."

"But I wanted it," she whined, dragging out the words dramatically.

Haruto chuckled. "She's got a point, Kyoya. Ice cream is important."

"Yeah," Yuna agreed with a teasing smile. "How could you deny such a small request from your adorable little sister?"

Mio nodded enthusiastically, as if Yuna had just presented an irrefutable argument. "Exactly!"

I groaned, slumping slightly. "You guys are unbelievable."

Before anyone could pile on more teasing, a knock echoed through the quiet house.

It was soft but firm, the kind of knock that felt familiar. I frowned slightly, standing up. "I'll get it."

Sliding open the door, I was greeted by a familiar face—an elderly woman, wrapped in a simple cardigan, her hair pinned up in a neat bun.

"Grandma Saito," I said, blinking in surprise.

The old woman smiled, her weathered face warm with familiarity. "Kyoya, Mio, I brought some fruits for you both."

Before I could respond, her gaze shifted past me, and her expression flickered with surprise.

"Oh! You have guests over?" She tilted her head, looking curiously at my friends, who were still sitting around the card game.

I nodded. "Yeah, my friends are staying over for a bit."

She pursed her lips, thinking. "Well, I didn't bring enough for everyone." Then, before I could stop her, she turned on her heel. "Wait here—I'll go cut some more!"