The only thing in Ren's head was Sora's eyes.
He sat at his desk the next morning, curtains half-drawn, staring at the same blank page in his notebook for nearly half an hour. Sunlight cut across the wooden floor in long golden strips. Outside, birds chirped like nothing in the world had changed. Inside, Ren's mind replayed the alley moment on loop: looking straight into Sora's calm brown eyes and seeing… nothing. No blood. No screams. No final moments of agony. For the first time since the curse had begun, he had looked at someone without watching them die in vivid, merciless detail.
It felt like peace.
Like escape.
Like the first real breath he had taken in days.
He didn't understand it. He didn't dare question it too deeply. All he knew was that when he looked at her, the constant roar of death in his head went quiet. And that terrified him almost as much as it comforted him.
Morning homeroom was heavier than usual.
The teacher stood at the front with a somber expression, voice low. "I'm sure many of you have already heard… Kota Katsuki passed away yesterday evening. It happened at the convenience store after school. The police are investigating, but it appears to have been a robbery gone wrong. There will be no formal shrine in the classroom out of respect for his family's wishes, but the basketball club will hold a small memorial on the court this weekend for anyone who wants to attend."
A ripple of shocked whispers spread through the room. Someone in the back row started crying quietly. Ren sat perfectly still, hands clenched under his desk. Kota's face flashed behind his eyes — laughing, teasing, alive. Now he was gone, shot multiple times, blood sprayed across glass doors and white shelves. Ren felt the familiar twist of guilt deep in his gut… but it was duller this time. Muted. He hated how used to it he was becoming.
I warned him, he thought. I followed him. And I still couldn't stop it.
He was only seventeen. He shouldn't have to feel this numb.
During lunch, the classroom buzzed with subdued chatter about Kota. Ren kept his head down, picking at the onigiri Sora had placed on his desk earlier without a word. He hadn't asked for it. She just did these things now.
A girl from the seat two rows ahead — Aya, one of the quieter ones who had always been kind — walked over hesitantly.
"Hey, Ishida-kun," she said gently, offering a small, sympathetic smile. "I just wanted to check on you. After everything with Yui… and now Kota… how are you holding up? You seemed close to Yuki and Kota sometimes protected you."
Ren looked up briefly and gave a single, tired nod. He didn't trust his voice.
Aya smiled a little brighter and extended her hand. "I'm Aya, by the way. We've been in the same class for two years but I don't think we've ever really talked. If you ever need someone to—"
Before Ren could even react, Sora appeared beside them like a quiet shadow.
She placed a gentle but firm hand on Aya's shoulder, her voice soft and sweet as honey. "He doesn't want to know right now," Sora said calmly. "If he needs someone to talk to then it's me. I'll take care of him."
Aya blinked, confused. "Oh… um, I was just—"
Sora's smile never wavered, but when Aya met her eyes, something dangerous flickered there — a cold, possessive glint that made the other girl freeze mid-sentence. It was the kind of look that promised consequences if she tried to touch Ren again. Aya's hand dropped awkwardly to her side. She mumbled a quick "sorry" and hurried back to her seat, glancing back once with unease.
Ren watched the entire exchange in stunned silence. What the hell was that?
Sora turned to him as if nothing had happened, her expression softening instantly into that familiar gentle warmth. "Here," she murmured, sliding a small bottle of tea beside the onigiri. "Drink this. You look pale again."
After the final bell, Sora was waiting at the gate again, as if it had become their unspoken routine.
They walked together through the quiet residential streets. The late afternoon light filtered through the leaves of cherry trees, painting everything in soft gold and pink. The air smelled of damp earth and distant rain. Ren's mind kept drifting back to her eyes — the way they had looked at him yesterday, calm and unafraid, offering the only moment of peace he had felt in days.
He suddenly stopped in a quiet side street lined with old wooden fences and blooming hydrangeas. The world felt hushed here, just the two of them.
Sora paused beside him, tilting her head slightly. "Ren? What's wrong?"
He swallowed hard, heart pounding. "Can I… look at your eyes? Just for a moment."
She blinked, confused for half a second, then a small, delighted smile curved her full lips. "Of course."
She stepped closer. The short pleated skirt of her uniform swayed gently with the movement, the fabric brushing against her thighs and creating a sight that made Ren's breath catch. He finally let himself really see her — not as the new girl, not as the one trying to help him, but as Sora.
She was breathtaking.
Her lips were soft and full, slightly parted as she looked up at him, the kind of lips that seemed made to whisper secrets only he was allowed to hear. Her ample chest rose and fell with each quiet breath, pressing lightly against him when she leaned in just a little closer. Her eyes — those calm brown eyes — held nothing but him, as if the entire world had narrowed down to his face alone.
For the first time in days, Ren felt something close to peace. No visions. No blood. No death. Just her.
Sora reached up slowly. Her hands cupped his face with both palms, warm and gentle. Then her fingers slid upward, pushing his messy hair back from his forehead, revealing the sharp, surprisingly handsome lines of his face that his usual fringe always hid.
Her cheeks flushed a deep pink.
"Ren…" she breathed, voice soft and awed. "You're so beautiful when you let me see you like this."
He stared at her, completely lost. "Do you… like me?"
Sora's smile deepened, tender and certain. "No," she whispered. "I'm in love with you."
The words hit him like a physical blow.
Ren staggered back a step and dropped straight onto his butt on the sidewalk, stunned. His face burned bright red. He was a lonely otaku who had spent most of his life hidden behind his hair and silence. Every girl he had ever confessed to in the past had laughed or insulted him, calling him creepy or plain. This — this soft, beautiful girl telling him she was in love with him — was something that only happened in the manga he read alone in his room.
Sora crouched down in front of him without hesitation, her short skirt riding up just enough to create a breathtaking sight that made his brain short-circuit. She reached out again, gently touching his flushed cheek with her fingertips.
"You're so red," she murmured, almost teasing, but her eyes were filled with pure, burning affection. "It's cute."
Ren was sweating now, heart racing so hard he could hear it in his ears. "Sora… you… you're a yandere, aren't you?"
She didn't flinch. She didn't deny it.
Instead she smiled — soft, loving, and just a little dangerous — as she leaned in closer, her face only inches from his.
"Does it matter?" she whispered. "Be mine only, Ren. No one else can have you except me. I'll do anything for you. Anything at all."
Definitely a yandere. Ren thought
Her hands stayed on his face, thumbs gently stroking his cheeks. Her eyes never left his — warm, possessive, and completely devoted.
Ren sat there on the sidewalk, face burning, mind spinning.
Her presence was the only peaceful thing left in his cursed life.
But it was also closing around him like a beautiful, inescapable cage.