Chapter 2: The breaking point

⚠️ Content Warning:

This chapter contains graphic depictions of bullying, emotional abuse, manipulation, physical violence, and suicidal ideation, which may be distressing to some readers.

Please proceed with caution. If you or someone you know is struggling with similar thoughts or situations, we strongly encourage seeking help from a trusted individual or mental health professional.

The sky was light as Kaito headed to school, a little smile was on his face. For the very first time, the atmosphere seemed lighter. Bruises on his face from the previous day still aching, but Aya's subtle kind heart and sweet disposition still etched in his mind like an insubstantial thread of hope. Perhaps. perhaps something was changing.

He was in such haste that he did not even care to check his phone. For the very first time, he wished to attend school.

He entered the school with his lowered head as usual, but had a soft smile under it.

He sensed something was different; everyone was looking at him, yet he stayed away from them and proceeded to class.

With a smile and a hope that things will be different.

When he pushed the door, there was dead silence in the room. And then he saw it. All his thoughts and hopes were crushed.

Written in capital letters on the blackboard, like a headline etched:

"DIE KAITO REN."

His heart came to a halt, and his lungs would not draw in air.

The smile vanished from his face, replaced by a trembling reaction. He looked around, searching for any sign that this was some prank. Whispers buzzed like wasps. Some classmates glanced at their phones, and others glared at him with disgust.

"What… is this?" he whispered to himself.

He pulled out his phone, his fingers cold.

There it was—a photoshopped picture, now going viral on every student chat group. It depicted him cornering Aya behind the school, his face contorted, her face terrified.

It was a lie. A lie.

"No," Kaito muttered aloud, stepping back from the screen as if it were toxic. "This isn't real. It's not real!"

He hurried to Aya's desk, panic taking over.

"Aya!" he shouted. "Tell them! This is a lie! It's edited—you know it's not real!"

Before she could answer—if she even intended to—Aika and the others stepped between them.

"Back off, predator," Renji sneered.

"You've said enough," Aika said, folding her arms.

Kaito looked around desperately. "Please! I'm telling the truth!"

But Aya didn't speak. She didn't even look at him.

She just stared at her desk.

And that's when Kaito felt something inside him. Not in rage, but in heartbreak.

He stumbled back to his desk and fell into his chair. Whispers came again. Phones blazed. Nobody was on his side. Not even Aya.

Class started, but nothing felt real.

The teacher taught, words lost their meaning as sound. Kaito remained seated, eyes vacant. He could not avoid the glares of his classmates—the hatred, the suspicion. He heard the whispers.

"Rapist…"

"Sick freak…"

"She should've reported him…"

His ears buzzed. His chest felt heavy, like stone. Aya sat only a few rows ahead, but it felt like a world apart. She didn't look back once.

But Aika did. From the corner of his eye, Kaito saw her smiling.

Not a happy smile.

A cruel, victorious grin. The kind only devils wore.

He felt like vomiting.

Lunchtime arrived, but Kaito didn't eat.

He stepped outside, but the whispers became louder. More students were looking at the false image on their phones, cursing, some appeared to be scared, and Others… just amused.

He walked behind the school. The rain had begun to fall softly, but he didn't mind. That's when he overheard it—laughter.

He peeked and noticed Aika, Renji, Kenji, and Sota against the wall, smiling.

They were staring at a picture—most likely the same one that destroyed his life.

Aika saw him first.

"Oh? Speak of the devil."

Kaito's eyes narrowed in fury. Without hesitation, he rushed towards them.

"You BASTARDS!" he shouted. "Why are you doing this to me?! WHAT DID I DO TO YOU?!"

But before he could do anything, Renji moved in front of him and punched his face.

He hit the ground.

Kenji and Sota pinned his arms, kicking him over and over.

Kaito spat blood, but continued yelling, "Why?! Tell me why?!"

Then Aika knelt next to him, voice steady and vicious.

"Because you're a loser who thought he could confess to me."

Kaito glared at her, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"And because you saw my true face," she went on, smoothing back her hair. "So now I have to annihilate you. If you ever attempt to cry out, nobody will believe a word you say. Not after this."

She stood up. The boys released him, letting him fall into the mud.

They laughed and walked away.

Kaito was left in the dirt, bleeding, broken, erased.

He limped back into the classroom. Each step hurt.

His desk now had something different.

Written in large black marker: "DIE MOTHERFUCKER RAPIST."

He gazed at the words.

No one responded.

Aya looked back once. Her eyes met his.

And she looked away.

School ended.

The rain had become a downpour. Thunder boomed above.

Kaito walked out, but his umbrella was gone. He saw it in the trash can beside him—snapped in half.

He didn't even try to pull it out.

He walked.

Raindrops covered his tears, but his trembling shoulders betrayed him.

A few blocks from the school, Aya showed up.

She carried an umbrella, running to catch up to him.

"Kaito… wait."

He paused.

Aya stood over them with the umbrella. She had a faint, sorrowful smile, as if nothing was wrong.

"I… I'm sorry," she barely whispered. "I couldn't help you. They threatened me. I—"

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Kaito's voice shook like thunder. "You were the only one I trusted! The only one who believed in me… and you turned your back too?!"

"I'm sorry," she said again, sobbing now. "I wanted to say something—but they said they'd ruin my family restaurant—"

"I don't need your apologies!" he yelled. "I don't need ANYONE!"

He shoved her away, hard. She fell, landing on the wet pavement.

He ran.

Behind him, she knelt on the road, dripping and shivering, repeating over and over:

"I'm sorry, Kaito… I'm sorry… They threatened me…"

But he didn't turn back.

When Kaito arrived home, his mother opened the door.

She saw his face—bloody, drenched, puffed up.

She didn't say anything.

"Change and eat," she said softly.

He passed her by in silence.

As he went up the stairs, she whispered to herself, her voice shaking:

"I'm sorry, son… I can't do anything to those rich brats…"

Tonight, Kaito sat quietly in his room.

His clothes were dry. His wounds ached. His soul was empty.

He glanced around the room. It was strange now.

Like someone else's life.

Everyone betrayed me.

Aika. The class. The teachers. Aya…

Even Mom can't help me.

He opened his phone and wrote one final message:

I'm sorry. I tried.

Then he stood on his desk, tied the belt, and stepped off.

Morning sunlight poured through the curtains.

His mother called from the kitchen: "Kaito? Breakfast!"

Silence.

She knocked. "Kaito?"

Still nothing.

She opened the door.

And screamed.

Kaito's dead body hung from the ceiling. His eyes closed. Peaceful. Too peaceful.

His father burst in moments later, dropped to his knees, and wept.

Their son was dead.

But Kaito opened his eyes again.

Somewhere else.

The pain vanished. The rain vanished. The world… was dark, but warm.

A strange voice reverberated in the air:

"Welcome, Kaito Ren."

"Your pain has been seen. You have been selected."

A screen flashed into existence, lit up with mysterious symbols.

[SYSTEM ACTIVATING…]

Kaito was bewildered as he looked around.

Then the voice spoke: "Now… your true tale begins."

To be continued...