Chapter 3: The First Day of School

Ayame returned to her home. It had three floors and was made of concrete with a tiled roof and a high wall surrounding it.

There was a garden nearby and a small pond with a few koi swimming in it.

The house was decorated with various expensive furniture and art pieces that Ayame's family had collected and held dear.

Inside the house, it was just as she remembered it. Her mother and father weren't here because of work. She was alone in the house.

Ayame decided to make dinner for herself, something simple yet comforting. As she cooked, she deliberated about what she should do next.

After dinner, Ayame went out into the garden and enjoyed the peaceful night sky.

She looked up at the stars and felt a sense of calmness wash over her.

It was nice being home again.

When she felt sleepy, she walked back inside and crashed into her bedroom.

As she lay in bed, she began to fall asleep and enter a nightmare from an old memory of her past life.

She could see the vivid image of the three men as she lay in an unknown room.

As she opened her eyes, the last of the drug-induced fog lifted, and she realized with a sickening ache what she was in. The cheap, musty curtains revealed a hotel room that she would never remember entering, and the smell of her own fear filled the air like an invisible fog as she slowly sat up, her whole body trembling with terror.

The men descended upon her like a horde of ravenous wolves, their sinister laughter echoing in her ears. They took turns ravishing her, their greedy hands grabbing, pulling, and pushing at her as they contorted her body into various positions in their relentless pursuit of pleasure. Her body shook and trembled as she desperately tried to break free from their prying grasp.

They assaulted her mercilessly, driving deep into her three orifices with relentless ferocity. Swapping positions, they took turns in ridiculing her and subjecting her to merciless humiliation and depraved degradation. All the while, she was reduced to nothing more than an object, a tool for their own amusement.

She gasps as her head is violently yanked back, the searing pain of her hair being pulled from her scalp almost too much to bear. The ringing in her ears intensifies with every punch until she's deafened by the sound of her own body being brutally assaulted. Her skin is riddled with saliva, and she finds herself covered in garish marker ink, and profane language scrawled with malicious intent.

She can hardly suck in a breath as the men's hands tighten around her throat, a noose of flesh. Her eyes bulge, and her face flushes with a deadly hue as she feels her life slowly slipping away. But the worst part of it all is that they record her suffering and terror, trapping it forever in a macabre keepsake.

Brrring... Brrring... The sound of the alarm clock felt like a thousand needles piercing through Ayame's skin as she woke from her nightmare, her face twisted with rage. She rose up from her bed, seething with fury, her eyes blazing with rage as she remembered the horror that had haunted her dream.

Every wretched moment in that dream filled her with suffering. She could still feel the searing heat from the burning club and hear the screams of agony from her abusers as their skin blackened and peeled from their bodies. She remembered the sickening fire of retribution that swelled within her, urging her to take back what was taken from her.

She clenched her fists and thought, 'Death by fire... it's not enough. I should have ripped them apart until not a single breath of life remained. '

The seething hatred and anguish that Ayame was grappling with were palpable. Weeks later, she finally gave way to her anger and set the club ablaze in revenge. The flames roared as they devoured the timber, a physical manifestation of the fire that had been raging within her heart. Her abusers died in the fire, but fifty innocent people perished on that day, forever engraved in her memory.

She hurriedly jumped in the shower, the steaming hot water quickly washing away the dirt and grime of her laborious chores. As she put on her uniform, she felt a sense of dread in her stomach. She looked in the mirror and saw a reflection of herself that was hollow and lifeless. Brushing her teeth with jaws clenched tightly, she put on a false smile for her parents downstairs and descended the stairs for her breakfast with them.

As Ayame walked towards the school, she regained some semblance of calmness. She entered the campus and went inside the building for senior high school students, the whole while looking around for anyone that looked like Yuuto.

Ayame's heart raced as she trudged towards the school, dread and anticipation coiling around her like a snake. She felt like every step was being dragged through quicksand, her breath coming in short gasps. Finally, she reached the gates of the school and plunged into the building for senior high students, scanning every corner and doorway for a glimpse of her friend, Yuuto Nanashi.

Her eyes moved from person to person, her gaze lingering for a moment on each figure before shifting to the next.

She stumbled towards the classroom doors, her heart thundering in her chest as her eyes frantically searched for his name. Every breath she took felt like a storm raging inside her, her head spinning as she refused to believe its absence. Everywhere she looked, every name she read, there was no sign of him - his name seemed to have been erased from existence.

"..."

Ayame trudged to her classroom, her heavy sigh the only noise in the stark hallway. With a deafening thud, she plopped into her assigned seat and stared at the board, her eyes hard and unreadable. Her dejected posture screamed of disdain, of a deep-seated apathy so profound that it seemed unable to be fathomed by anyone else in the room.

The teacher's words faded in and out of her awareness, her thoughts consumed by Yuuto and the emptiness he had left behind.

A desperate idea raced through her mind.

'I should try accessing the campus database. It's likely the same loophole in the campus authentication system also exists.' she thought.

If that were the case, not only would she be able to search for Yuuto's junior high school records but also the grades of the students. She would also be able to see the answer keys.

She felt an icy hand clutch her arm, gripping her tightly and refusing to let go. Looking to her side, she saw that it was a girl from her class.

"Stop daydreaming. It's your turn to introduce yourself," the girl pressed.

The teacher stares at Ayame intently, her gaze boring into the back of Ayame's head as if trying to scorch away any hint of hesitation. All eyes in the class are locked on her, their faces radiating a level of anticipation.

She stood up from her chair and began introducing herself.

"Ayame Yuuna, 17."

Ayame's eyes scan the room full of strangers, the confusion on their faces palpable. Without giving any details, she lets them know her name and quickly takes her seat.

A chill runs through her body as she thinks back to all the times stalkers and creeps had tried to violate her privacy and her right to keep her personal life private.

If she so much as breathed a word about her love for chocolates, a deluge of boxes would appear at her desk. Unwanted visitors began to arrive at her doorstep soon after her address was carelessly revealed during a class introduction.

Every time she yearned for a moment of respite in school, some unwelcome guy would show up, pestering her with endless small talk or demanding that she accompany him for lunch.

Her heart raced with annoyance as she remembered the unwelcome attention she had attracted.

The excruciating first day of school dragged on for an eternity. Each passing minute seemed like an hour as she fought to stay awake at her desk, her body heavy with the anticipation of the end of classes. The clock on the wall seemed to be mocking her, its hands slowly inching along with no end in sight. Finally, after what felt like forever, the bell rang, and she was able to make her escape.

Ayame dashed out of the classroom, her shoes echoing off the walls as she raced towards the elevator. Her fingers trembled against the buttons until the doors opened to reveal the 6th-floor library and computer laboratory. With a single bound, she leaped out, her heart pounding in anticipation.

Ayame stares warily around the library, searching for any signs of security cameras. Spotting a corner of the room that is not monitored, she darts across the room as silently as possible and takes a seat at the computer.

Her heart pounding in her chest with adrenaline, she looks around anxiously, relieved to find that the only other person in the library is an elderly librarian who seems to pay her no mind.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she cautiously accesses the campus portal, eyes still darting for any sign of danger.

Ayame's fingers flew across the keyboard as she hastily logged into the campus portal, her account details flashing across the screen. She dived into the complex network of requests using a request inspector, examining each one with scrutiny in an effort to uncover the truth.

She double-checked the values, verifying it was the same format... Surname, First name, StudentID, four zeros that remained inexplicably unaccounted for, and finally, the fateful fifth zero.

With a bit of cunning knowledge she had managed to uncover by replacing this mysterious zero with a '1', she knew she could grant herself admin access.

Though she didn't understand how it worked on the backend, she had stumbled upon its mechanics by happenstance. With a sly smirk playing on her lips, she re-sent the modified request.

She pressed her finger against the F5 button, coaxing the page to reload. As if by magic, the interface changed, her eyes widening at the new tab buttons that appeared. She nearly leaped out of her chair in elation. Breathing heavily, she opened the student query portal and typed Yuuto's name with fervent speed. The answer she wanted had to be there.

[0 results.]

"What the f*ck??"

Ayame tried again. This time she entered his surname.

[0 results.]

"No, no, no way," she shook her head in disbelief.

She tried again. This time she used his first name.

[5 results.]

Ayame's smile faded into a look of dread as she opened the full-view version of the student information. Her eyes glazed over the unfamiliar faces, not even remotely resembling the person she knew. She frantically checked their School IDs, birthdays, and enrollment dates, hoping against hope that something would be left unchanged. But reality had composed a cruel joke, and there was nothing that would bring Yuuto back.

Ayame's fingers trembled as she hastily logged out of her campus portal. With a wild realization, she cried out, "This is impossible!" Knowing there was nothing else to do, Ayame desperately searched social media accounts, forums, and anything on the internet, desperately searching for any trace of Yuuto. With each passing moment, her heart sunk lower and lower until, finally, her search came up empty.

Ayame's despair was palpable as she uttered, "Right... this is a parallel world... He probably does not exist here."

With an air of finality, she erased the browser's history and exited the library. She marched towards the gate of the campus, the wind billowing her hair like a funeral shroud.

She sighed as she walked. She didn't know what to do. She doesn't have many friends to hang out with, and her parents weren't home in from morning to late evening.

As she walked home and entered a street, she saw a group of boys in another school's uniform harassing another boy whose uniform appeared to be from her school.

Ayame walked towards the group of boys and stepped in between them. She looked at each one with a cold stare, her smile hidden beneath her emotionless mask.

The leader of the group stepped forward, his face twisted in a sneer as he looked Ayame up and down before speaking: "What do you want?"

"Leave him alone."

The leader laughed mockingly before speaking up again, his voice dripping with arrogance and disdain: "Oh? What are YOU gonna do about it?"

He gestured to his friends behind him, who all started snickering maliciously amongst themselves.

Ayame's lips drew back in a manic grin as she coiled her body, her arm flexing with savage force. Before he could react, Ayame's fist shot forth like a thunderbolt, crashing into his face with a sickening thump. His efforts at stopping the blow were too late, and the impact sent him reeling from the shockwave of pain.

Before he could react, Ayame shifted her body and plunged her knee forward like a spear aiming to pierce his groin.

"Gah!" His agonizing scream filled the air as the attack connected, and he reeled back, both hands desperately clutching his crotch in a futile attempt to prevent the searing pain.

Instinctively, men avoid attacks to their faces and crotch, but if that focus is shattered even for a moment, they can be left open and vulnerable to a devastating attack.

Ayame's gaze was cold and unfeeling as she grabbed a handful of the bully's hair with her leading arm's slender fingers. Her rear arm moved with a quick speed as she delivered a series of rapid punches directly to his nose, which he was unable to block or dodge.

Blood splattered everywhere as she continued her assault. Her arm moved quickly, a blur of motion, as her fist assaulted him again and again. Crimson droplets flew off from his nose and scattered into the ground and at Ayame, painting a gruesome picture of violence.

"I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty. In fact, I love it." She said in a cold voice as she continued her onslaught.

She released her grip on the bully's hair. Her rear hand is covered in his blood, and as she drops her arm, he falls to the ground, his body limp and lifeless, like a rag doll.

The ground is littered with droplets of his blood from Ayame's furious barrage that occurred only moments before.

"What, are you not going to help your friend?" She said to the other boys, who looked as if they were too scared to move.

They nervously glance at each other, eyes wide with fear and confusion. Their lips moved, but no sound was made as they tried to silently discuss what should be done next. No one moved. Nobody wanted to be the first to make a decision.

Ayame charged forward, her fist clenched and ready. She lunged forward with a powerful punch, striking directly into the face of the nearest boy.

He staggered backward from the force of her punch and then fell to the ground in a limp heap. The other boys watched in horror as their friend was knocked out with a single punch, barely even putting up a fight against Ayame's superman punch.

The three remaining boys sprint forward with desperate, determined looks on their faces. Their fists are clenched tightly, ready to strike.

Ayame stands her ground and gracefully steps back to dodge their punches. She looks unphased by their efforts, watching them with a certain air of superiority.

The three boys were charged forward, their faces contorted with anger as they tried to land a hit on Ayame. They become more desperate and angry as she continues to elude them, unable to land a hit.

All of a sudden, she stepped forward gracefully and ducked under their attacks before quickly countering with an uppercut that sent one of the boys falling backward.

She was grabbed from behind, but she moved her hands deftly behind her head and took hold of his head, her thumbs pressing into his eyes.

"Ahh!" The delinquent screamed in pain, releasing his grip on her.

Her hands flew to the delinquent's head in a sudden fury, and with a ferocious leap, she drove her knee into the delinquent's face with a sickening crunch. The force of the impact sent him falling backward.

The last delinquent's face was pale, his eyes wide with fear as he took a slow step back. His body shakes slightly as he takes a few more steps before he turns and sprints away, leaving his friends sprawled on the ground behind him.

Ayame's dark eyes narrowed as she stared at them with an expression of calmness and satisfaction. She looks back to the person they were harassing, who is now standing up with a wide-eyed, shocked expression.

"Are you okay?" She asked him as she helped him stand properly.

"Y-Yes, I'm okay. Thank you for saving me." He said as he looked at her with gratitude in his eyes.

"Y-you're name's Ayame, right?" He asked her.

"Do I know you?" She asked back.

"We're classmates... you don't remember? I'm Shin, Shin Itsuki." He said, looking a bit disappointed before introducing himself.

Ayame smiled. "Ahh... I'm sorry for not recognizing you. I wasn't paying attention to the class today." She apologized before patting him on the shoulder and walking away from the scene of her battle with a smile on her lips.

She unlocked the door and entered her home, locking it behind her. The familiar scent of her home filled the air. She took a deep breath and blew it out through her nose.

She walked towards the shower, stripped off her clothes, left them in a basket on the floor, and stepped into the shower. Her muscles ached from exertion. She grabbed a bar of soap, rubbed it between her hands, and ran it over her body, cleaning off the solidified blood, dust, and sweat from her skin.

Under the hot water, she remembered the fight earlier. She smiled and muttered, 'That was fun. I hope I can find more tomorrow."

A sigh escaped her lips as she finished her shower, turning off the water and grabbing a towel. She wrapped it around her body and walked back into the main room, stopping to glance at the mirror.

She washed her clothes with the washing machine to prevent her parents from seeing her bloody uniform and went to sleep.