The tension in the hallway was still thick, suffocating.
A senior boy had mouthed off, but no one expected the price he'd pay for a few careless words.
"Nothing but a mommy's boy… rejecting the male lead just because—"
He didn't finish the sentence before Nathan slammed him again against the lockers with a force that made nearby students flinch. His grip was unforgiving, his expression void of empathy.
"ACK—!"
The boy's face turned red as he clawed at Nathan's wrist, his boots scraping helplessly against the tiled floor.
"Nathan—Nathan! You're going to kill him," Takumi said urgently, stepping forward, but he hesitated. Nathan didn't flinch. His eyes were locked in—feral, cold, dangerous.
From a few feet away, *Nao stood frozen*, her heartbeat suddenly matching the rhythm of her past.
Her chest began to rise and fall rapidly, panic rushing up like a tide she couldn't stop.
Her hands slowly gripped at her blouse, fingers trembling.
*~♤~*
*THUD!*
The sound of a body hitting the ground.
*THUD!*
Blood staining concrete.
*THUD!*
~♤~*
"I couldn't stop it…" she whispered, lost to the memory.
"I-It wasn't my fault…"
But her thoughts weren't quiet anymore.
They screamed.
*"And what are you going to say about his justice?"*
Her legs weakened beneath her. Her vision blurred.
"Kill… kill… kill…"
The word echoed. Over and over again. It didn't come from around her. It came from *within*.
*"Do you really feel happy covering a murder… just to climb into Imperials?"*
"I-I just wanted to make something of myself," she muttered, almost hysterical. "Is it a f***ing crime? Must the poor always *sit down* and accept nothing? Why is it wrong to want *more*?"
Her inner voice returned, sharp and unforgiving.
*"Your silence is an injustice to him."*
"No…" she gasped. "No—I…"
*"He will never forgive you."*
Her chest constricted.
Her body swayed.
She couldn't breathe.
The crowd's voices began to dull into noise—blurred and distant. She was drowning in her own guilt. Her own secrets.
*"NAO."*
The sound cut through her mind like a beacon of light. A voice—gentle, familiar. Present.
She blinked fast, breath shaky.
Her vision cleared, and standing before her—
*Kaze.*
He looked into her eyes, and what he saw wasn't anger or annoyance.but fear *Raw, deep fear.*
"…Are you okay?" he asked gently.
She didn't answer, only shook slightly in place, as if waking from a nightmare she hadn't known she'd fallen into.
Kaze followed her gaze. He saw the chaos across the hall—Nathan still pinning the boy with white knuckled fury.
"…Could that be…"
His voice trailed off, eyebrows furrowing.
Then, without asking permission, he took her hand.
"Come on," he said with a faint, reassuring smile. "Let's get you some air."
Nao let him guide her, fingers lacing around his with a kind of desperation.
Behind them, Nathan's body stiffened.
*He'd seen her.*
His grip loosened suddenly, the haze of anger fading just enough for the weight of what he was doing to settle in.
The boy collapsed, gasping for air, coughing violently as his bruised throat fought for oxygen.
Nathan stepped back slowly, like waking from a trance.
"…What the hell got into you, Nathan?" Tashiba said, approaching cautiously. "You could've *killed* him."
He glanced around at the circle of students watching with wide eyes, whispering already, phones out and recording.
"In front of everyone…"
Nathan looked down at the coughing boy, then turned away—furious, *lost*. He lashed out with a sudden kick to the guy's side before storming off, jaw clenched.
"F***."
As he disappeared into the hallway, the murmurs behind him began to rise.
"Did you see that? Nathan's really scary…"
"Was that about the male lead thing?"
"Yeah, he rejected it, right? That guy said something and—bam—he lost it."
"Is he okay…?"
"Why'd he reject it in the first place?"
"Something about his mom, I heard."
More murmurs.
More judgment.