Chapter 18
Confusion
Inside the school building, noises began to echo from every direction.
As the time assassin’s magic power faded, the living beings within its range began to regain their freedom one after another.
The school, which had just experienced a catastrophe, was released from its deathly silence in an instant.
“What? What’s going on?”
“Damn it, my body hurts…”
“Hey, hey, isn’t that bad?”
Most of the students didn’t know anything about the time-stop, but the chaos of their surroundings quickly turned into an uproar.
Compared to that, however, the scene in the cafeteria was even more tragic.
The intense shaking earlier had scattered food and dishes everywhere, and a ruptured water pipe in the kitchen had burst open, flooding the floor with gushing water.
“…My head’s spinning.”
Akikaze pressed a hand to his forehead, stood up, and stretched his body to loosen his stiff muscles.
“Ugh…”
“You okay!?”
In front of him, Tsukinagi—who had gone through the same thing—was struggling to stand. Akikaze rushed over to support her and make sure she was all right.
Hearing her faint “Yeah” of confirmation, he let out a small sigh of relief.
“What… what just happened…?”
“I wish I knew… huh?”
Before they could solve that question, both of them suddenly felt a cold sensation at their feet.
“Whoa, everything’s soaked!”
“It’s water! Damn it—come on, over here!”
The water level had already risen past their ankles and kept climbing.
Akikaze pulled the pouting Tsukinagi toward a corner that was still dry—the only safe spot left.
“This is awful… I didn’t bring spare socks. Ugh, it feels disgusting!”
“…Bear with it for a bit.”
“But what about gym class later!?”
“Tsukinagi-chan, I don’t think that’s what you should be worrying about right now… hehe.”
After giving a wry smile, Akikaze’s expression quickly turned serious as he scanned the area.
Everyone shared the same confusion in this chaotic scene: the cafeteria somehow flooded, cracks spreading unnaturally along the walls.
If you explained it away as a chain of accidents caused by a natural disaster, it would almost make sense.
But deep down, Akikaze felt an intense sense of wrongness and outright rejected that possibility.
“Hey, Akikaze-kun—you felt it too, right?”
Tsukinagi leaned close to his ear and whispered.
“Felt what?”
“I overheard someone say it was just a sudden earthquake.”
“And you believe that?”
“Hmm… logically, that makes sense, but… something about it feels weird. I can’t explain it.”
“I know what you mean.”
In truth, Akikaze had already sensed the cause of that strange feeling.
It was—memory.
When he thought about it carefully, he remembered everything before and after the incident vividly. They were chatting about the transfer student while eating lunch, and then suddenly… this.
“From that peaceful moment to total chaos, not even a second seemed to pass… or at least, that’s how it felt.”
Yes—something crucial was missing.
If he compared his memory to a TV drama, what was playing in his mind now was an edited version, with a key scene cut out.
Without realizing it, Akikaze looked up at the clock on the wall. The time read 12:15.
“When I was talking with Mio earlier, it was around… 11:53. Then why…?”
Cold sweat ran down his temple as he repeatedly asked himself, Where did those twenty-two minutes of memory go?
But before he could dwell on it, Tsukinagi’s anxious “Hey” brought him back to reality.
“Akikaze-kun, have you seen Mio?”
“Huh? Come to think of it…”
He looked around, but Mio’s figure was nowhere to be seen.
The cafeteria was filled with students worrying about their friends, and teachers trying to assess the situation.
In this chaos, you could barely tell where you were—let alone find someone specific.
“Uwaaaaahhhh!!”
Suddenly, a scream from outside made everyone freeze.
At the cafeteria entrance, a panicked male student stumbled in and collapsed at the feet of a flustered female teacher—Misaki Amemiya.
“Your uniform—there’s blood on it! Are you hurt!?”
Catching his breath, the terrified boy shook his head.
“I-it’s not my blood…”
“What do you mean?”
“I-I was going downstairs, but I must’ve blacked out on the stairs. When I came to, there was this awful burning smell, so I followed it up to the roof. The metal door’s lock was broken, and when I opened it… there…”
“There what?”
“A-a student’s body was… there… The blood… got on me…”
His shaky explanation lacked coherence, and Misaki’s expression filled with doubt.
But when another teacher rushed in and confirmed the story, her face went pale with shock.
“I checked—it’s murder. Toyama-sensei, call 110! Amemiya-sensei, evacuate the students to the gym! The culprit may still be inside the school!”
The order came from a middle-aged man—the current principal of Kazekai High School.
Moments later, the emergency evacuation officially began.
The gymnasium was located on the north side of the school, connected by a long hallway.
Normally used for sports festivals and club activities, it was also designated as an emergency shelter—though it had never been used that way before.
Since Kazekai High’s founding twenty years ago, nothing this horrific had ever happened.
“E-everyone, stay calm! It’s okay! Move slowly! D-don’t panic—!!”
“Sensei, maybe you should calm down first…”
Sweat beaded on Misaki’s forehead as her trembling voice echoed through the corridor.
Amid the tense, anxious air, the lines of students swallowed their murmurs and walked faster.
“…”
Among them, one girl broke away from the line—running in the opposite direction, toward the passage leading to the backyard.
“…Tsukinagi-chan?”
It was Arisu Tsukinagi, staring gloomily at her smartphone as she ran down the hall.
Ignoring her childhood friend’s call, her eyes never left the name on her contact list—Amaya Mio.
She had tried calling over and over, but every attempt ended the same way.
No connection.
“Hey, wait up!”
Pushing through the crowd, Akikaze caught her arm.
“What are you doing? We’re supposed to evacuate!”
“I know! But I can’t relax until I find Mio!”
“So you’re just going to run off recklessly to look for him? That’s insane!”
“I’m worried! Don’t you get it? Akikaze-kun, what the teachers said—don’t tell me, it’s not—”
“No. It’s not that. You know Mio’s not the kind of idiot to get caught up in something like that.”
In a calm but firm tone, Akikaze immediately rejected her fearful speculation.
It wasn’t just that he didn’t want to believe Mio was the victim—he knew him too well to think that possible.
He couldn’t say that aloud in front of Tsukinagi, nor let her say it herself.
He could tell—even without seeing her face—that her eyes were already brimming with tears.
“…Yeah.”
She nodded faintly, turning her head away.
A single tear rolled down her pale cheek.
“But… I can’t stop worrying.”
“Yeah… me neither. I want answers too.”
“Then I can’t just stand here! I’m going to look for him!”
“No, you’re not!”
Akikaze’s tone turned sharp, resolute.
Tsukinagi blinked, startled—then noticed the change in his face.
His gaze was steely, his lips pressed tight. This was Akikaze at his most serious.
“Let go of me, Akikaze-kun! Don’t stop me!”
“That’s not it. I’m not trying to stop you.”
“What?”
“I’m just as worried about Mio as you are. But I need you to check the gym instead. He might’ve gone there already.”
“Then why isn’t he answering his phone?”
“Idiot. You think anyone can hear their ringtone in this chaos?”
“Oh… right… wait, what?”
As Tsukinagi stared in confusion, Akikaze gently pulled her aside, switching places with her.
“A-Akikaze-kun…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll go. I’ll definitely bring Mio back.”
He let go of her arm.
For a brief moment, the world around him went quiet—perhaps because his resolve had drowned everything else out.
“W-wait, Yamaki-kun! Where are you going!?”
Ignoring the teacher’s shout behind him, he ran against the flow of the crowd, out of the cafeteria.
(Sorry, Tsukinagi-chan. It’s too dangerous to bring you along. I have to do this alone. Mio… please be safe!)
With that thought burning in his mind, Akikaze dashed through the corridor that led outside the school building—
heading toward the place where Mio might still be.
