The day had been long, but Mochi had managed to emerge victorious in her battle against sleep.
"How was your first day?" Ami asked as she approached with a friendly smile. "Did you like the university? It's a shame that after-school activities have been canceled because of… you know, this terrible situation. If it weren't for that, I'd take you on a tour of all the clubs and activities. I'd even try to convince you to join our student theater company," she added with a playful wink.
"Come on, Ami, we're going to be late," Sam called out from a few steps behind. "See you tomorrow, Noa."
"Yeah, Sam's taking me to see a movie," Ami replied, then leaned closer to Mochi to whisper in her ear, "Besides, a mutual friend told me he made a reservation at an expensive restaurant for tonight."
"Ohhh, I see… have fun," Mochi said with a mischievous smile, returning the wink.
Ami let out a giggle and walked away with Sam, while Mochi headed toward the campus exit. There, by the main gate, Miyu was waiting for her.
Zeke had contacted them both a little earlier to ask them to meet after class. He had sent them the address of a ramen shop a few blocks from the university.
"Senpai, do you know why he chose a ramen shop?" Miyu asked, tilting her head.
"I don't know… knowing Zeke, it's probably because it's close… and because he's hungry," Mochi replied with a shrug. "Although now that you mention it… I kind of feel like having a bowl of ramen too."
"Hehehe, me too, senpai."
When they arrived at the shop, the strong aroma of freshly prepared broth and noodles boiling in large pots immediately enveloped them. They found Zeke sitting at a table in the back, already with a half-empty bowl in front of him.
The three of them shared a good meal while catching up on the information they had managed to gather. Unfortunately, none of them had made any significant progress.
"Don't worry, it wasn't realistic to expect to find anything substantial on the first day anyway," Zeke said calmly, raising his hand to get the waitress's attention. "During the day, I tried to check out the place where the group suicide happened, but I couldn't get in… it was closed. With so many people going in and out of the buildings, sneaking in would have been risky. If I got caught, it would complicate things a lot… Thanks, sweetheart," he added, giving the waitress a friendly smile when she brought him his third bowl of ramen.
He took a sip of the broth before continuing:
"Do either of you have a problem with staying late today?"
"I'm fine with it," Miyu replied, letting her chopsticks fall into the empty bowl after finishing her first serving.
"I don't have a problem staying longer either. My parents will be working late today," Mochi added with a shrug.
"Perfect," Zeke exclaimed with a smile. "As soon as we're done here, we'll head back to campus so we can investigate without being disturbed."
"But it's closed right now… are we going to sneak in?" Mochi asked, leaning forward with a mischievous glint in her eyes. The idea of sneaking into the university at night felt strangely exciting. "How are we going to do it?"
"Don't worry about that, I've already got it taken care of," Zeke said, resting his elbows on the table and leaning toward them with a mysterious air.
* * *
An hour later, the three of them were standing in front of the campus's main entrance. The sun had completely set, and the streets were deserted. The large iron gate, closed and sturdy, blocked their way.
Zeke pulled out his phone and sent a quick message. It wasn't long before a silhouette emerged from inside the campus: the security guard, making his way toward them with a flashlight illuminating his path. His steps were calm and unhurried.
When he reached them, he calmly took out a bunch of keys and unlocked the gate. Then, reaching into the pocket of his shirt, he pulled out a security card and handed it directly to Zeke.
"This card will let you open all the electronic locks on campus. The safes and lockers use regular keys, and those are kept by the teachers, so you'll have to manage that yourself," he explained quietly. "Take your time looking around. Other than me, there's no one else on campus. Oh… and let me know when you're done. I'll take care of erasing the security camera footage."
Without waiting for a reply, the guard turned around and went back inside, disappearing into the darkness.
"Zeke… how did you get the guard to help us?" Mochi asked, somewhere between curious and impressed.
He let out a small chuckle and simply replied:
"That's a secret."
* * *
The group passed through the gate and made their way inside. At night, the campus felt like a different place. The warm and lively daytime atmosphere had been replaced by an unsettling stillness. Silence enveloped every corner, broken only by the whisper of the wind and the creaking of the tree branches swaying in the breeze.
The temperature had dropped, which was normal for that time of year—autumn nights were usually cool. However, Mochi felt that the moment they crossed the gate, the air grew even colder… as if they had crossed an invisible boundary.
"Where should we start looking?" Mochi asked. The silence surrounding them felt unsettling.
"Our first stop will be the theater where the group suicide happened. From there, we'll see," Zeke replied firmly.
When they reached the main door, Zeke held the card against the reader. A sharp beep sounded, followed by the dry click of the lock releasing. He pushed the doors open and went in first.
They moved together down the dark hallways, lighting their way only with the flashlights on their phones. The interior was shrouded in a dense darkness, and turning on the lights wasn't an option—someone in the neighborhood might notice and call the police.
They arrived in front of the theater. The doors were shut, and a strip of yellow police tape blocked the entrance. Zeke swiped the card again, and the lock yielded. With one hand, he lifted the tape, while with the other he made a polite gesture.
"Ladies first."
Miyu and Mochi exchanged a quick glance before entering. Miyu was the first to duck under the tape, followed closely by Mochi.
The air inside was thick and stifling. Mochi immediately caught the smell of soot and ash, clinging to every corner. As they moved closer to the stage, a far more disturbing scent mingled in the air: the sharp stench of burned and charred flesh.
Miyu and Zeke didn't seem to notice it, but Mochi, as a Catsith, had a much keener sense of smell. The nausea hit her all at once, and reflexively, she covered her nose with her forearm.
The stage and the first rows of seats bore the unmistakable marks of a raging fire. The wooden platform was blackened, cracked, and warped; the raised planks seemed to twist as if trying to escape the flames that had devoured them. On the ceiling, the lamps were nothing more than metal shells with melted wires hanging down. The velvet seats had been reduced to iron skeletons draped with scraps of charred fabric.
A shiver ran down Mochi's spine, and her stomach churned with a heavy, bitter feeling.
"Sempai, are you okay? You look pale," Miyu asked, stepping closer to place a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm fine… I just need a second," Mochi replied, trying to pull herself together.
"If you want, you can go outside for some air. But the sooner you get used to scenes like this, the better it'll be for you. After all, in our line of work, we'll see worse things," Zeke said in a serious tone.
Mochi nodded. Drawing on all her willpower, she decided to stay. The three of them began calmly inspecting the place. They knew the clues they were after wouldn't be physical—if they were, the police would have already found them. What they were searching for were traces of ether, no matter how faint, that could lead them to the anomaly.