19 - The Three

Akito lay defeated on the stadium's parquet floor. At any moment, the hypnotized horde would breach the entrance.

Yuuto, exasperated and battered, breathed heavily, blood trickling down as he clutched his baseball bat. He glanced at Akito.

'You're hypnotized, huh?' Yuuto mused silently.

'...How nice of him to admit it,' he thought before starting to walk away from the stadium.

Suddenly, he stopped, the vibrations from the stadium door growing stronger as the police attempted to bash their way in. The creaks of metal and steel breaking urged Yuuto to move on.

Something louder than the chaos outside echoed in his mind, though.

'Everything is fine... Hah,' Yuuto scoffed.

Seconds later, the stadium door burst open. Dozens of police officers stormed in, their pistols raised.

The stadium was dark and silent, the only light coming from the open door leading to the locker area. This light cast a beam across three police officers' bodies.

"OVER THERE!! CHECK THE LOCKER ROOM!!!" one officer commanded. A group of policemen sprinted past the bodies, following a trail of blood Yuuto had left earlier.

"Go over every locker!!" another barked, as the group began frantically breaching every metal locker...

But no one was there.

Another group searched the seats. Every row was empty.

They concluded that the stadium was deserted. Hiroki Morii was nowhere to be found.

"Sir, we found out where he might've gone," one officer reported, pointing at another blood trail leading to the stairwell to the roof.

"Good. Follow it now!" the leader ordered. Without delay, the entire group ascended the stairs...

...Leaving the bodies of the three police officers on the ground.

Whether they were dead or alive was now a matter of fate and luck.

Elsewhere...

"I see. He managed to escape, then? What about the officers who were in pursuit, Tommy?" Satoshi inquired casually as he sauntered into the principal's office.

"I... I haven't received any updates regarding their progress, sir. Your orders were solely to apprehend him... Nothing more, unfortunately..." Tommy replied as Satoshi settled himself at the table. Soon after, Tommy, Kanoko, Nao, and Kaede all entered the room, obediently following suit.

'He's slipped through our fingers... Just surrender, Hiroki. This pointless charade needs to end... Please. If you just surrender, it can all be over...' Nao silently pleaded with herself, keeping her emotions in check.

"Damn it... This is beyond frustrating," Satoshi muttered with a sharp sigh, his brows furrowing as he leaned back in the principals chair.

"In the meantime, perhaps you'd like to indulge in some... recreational activities with these lovely ladies, sir? I have some... enhancements that could amplify the experience for both you and them," Tommy suggested slyly. Nao, Kaede, and Kanoko's hearts raced at the insinuation.

"Indeed, Tommy... but only once that scoundrel is in my grasp. I want him to see it all. I want him to witness his precious mother succumb to addiction and prioritize me over him. I want him to see how everyone he loves stop caring about him before I make them kill him, out of THEIR own will." Satoshi hissed with venom.

"Understood, sir." Tommy casually replied, as if he were just talking with a colleague about work.

'No... Please, Hiroki... Escape..! Run away from this place and survive..!!!' Kaede pleaded internally, her desperation mounting with each passing moment.

'This bastard... Just let me move a finger, and I'll kill him!' Kanoko seethed, her rage barely contained.

'Drugs... No... Now he's going to make me an addict...!?!' Nao thought, feeling a surge of panic.

"You're awfully quiet," Satoshi said, turning to Nao, startling her.

"W-well... It's just that... drugs...? I want you even without them, though," she stammered, moving closer and placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Good," he replied with a smile.

'What...?' Nao internally stammered at his nonchalant response.

"That way, you'll want me even more. Isn't that nice?" Satoshi said with a leer.

"A...h..."

'Damn it... How did I end up in this situation..!?' Nao lamented internally, mustering a smile to conceal her mounting anxiety.

"Y-yes... Just... Please... be gentle," she stammered.

"Oh, there's no need to be nervous." He started, caressing her palm as he spoke, "Once you experience the high, you won't even care if I'm rough or not," he remarked matter-of-factly.

Nao swallowed hard, her complexion draining as she struggled to maintain composure, her breath catching in her throat.

"Tommy," Satoshi called as he turned his gaze to his butler,

"...Call those three," Satoshi commanded.

"Are you certain, sir? They can be rather... unruly," Tommy hesitated, his lack of enthusiasm evident in his tone as he glanced at Satoshi.

"I am certain. My patience is wearing thin. I want that fucking bastard here in front of me already, and the fact I haven't heard anything from neither this entire school nor the entire blasted police force, I think it's well within reason at this point." Satoshi insisted.

Tommy sighed, adjusting his monocle as he turned away from Satoshi, "Very well. I will contact them promptly..."

'H-Hiroki...' Nao thought as the butler left the three alone with Satoshi in the principal's office, gently and quietly closing the door behind him.

'...Please survive...!! Save me...' Nao's thoughts instinctively gravitated towards him.

'Y-you've changed, haven't you? You're someone different now, right!? Then... Please, avoid being captured...!! Please...!! Find a way to rescue me...!!' She silently implored in her mind.

-----------

"A-KI-TO. You dead..?" A voice called from above him, their face an inch from his, blocking the sun that beamed down onto his bloodied face.

 "Ahh....." Akito grunted as he placed a palm on his face, blocking out the sun.

"I feel like shit..." Akito murmured in a raspy voice as he laid there.

"Well, you look like shit. You're always so perceptive <3." The enthusiastic voice called softly.< p>

"....Right... Where are we...?" Akito murmured.

"On the roof of the roof of the school. Found ya' here," the voice casually called, the figure ducking near Akito's head.

"Ahh... You mean the roof of the school?" Akito clarified.

"No. The roof of the roof... Like, you know how that small structure that leads to the outside of the roof has its own roof? We're there," the voice explained, leaning beside Akito, lying on the sub-roof.

"Dumbass... It's called a sub-roof," Akito said with an exasperated sigh.

"Same thing. Anyway, what's up with you?"

Akito sighed, looking up at the clear skies as he removed his palm from his face.

"...I lost. To that Hir-..."

Akito stopped himself.

"Hir...? No way, you mean Hiroki Morii?" the voice asked, almost in surprise.

"Nah. That ain't the guy's name," Akito corrected, his voice confident and steady.

"Uh... Pretty sure it is, though. Did he beat you up so much you forgot his name?" they asked casually.

"No, it's just not his name," Akito replied firmly.

"Hm...?"

"The person I lost to... was called Yuuto Sakurai," Akito stated, his tone steady as he looked up.

"Okay... So he can change his name, cool." The voice accepted Akito's narrative with a shrug, "How did you manage to get him to fight you?"

"I told him I was one of the zombies," Akito murmured, glancing away.

"Aha, seriously!? What a riot~! Hahaha," they laughed uproariously, rolling on the ground next to Akito.

"Shut up... It worked, didn't it? He fought his hardest... It was fun," Akito admitted, a content smile spreading across his face.

"Hmm..." The other's voice trailed off as they studied Akito's expression.

"It's been a while since I've seen you smile like that. Now I really want to meet him... Yuuto Sakurai, was it? Interesting," they mused, jumping to their feet.

"Wait, Nazuna," Akito called out in a hurry. "Don't go down there," he warned sternly.

"Why not? I want to find him. I won't let some zombies catch me off guard," Nazuna replied, tilting her head curiously.

"They're not zombies. They're hypnotized... If you go down there, you could get caught up in it," Akito cautioned.

"Ohhhh... Are you worried about me, Aki-chan?" She teased, smiling.

"Who's worried... If you fell under a spell like that, it'd be troublesome," Akito muttered, turning away with a faint blush.

"Don't worry! I'm pretty smart, so I won't get caught. See you later!" She said cheerfully, leaping off the subroof.

"W-wait..!!" Akito called out, trying to reach out but his body ached too much to move. Wincing from the pain, he lay back down, gazing at the sky.

'... Damn it. I guess I'm stuck here, then,' he thought, tilting his head towards where Nazuna had been sitting, noticing a full bottle of cold water beside him.

With a sigh, he muttered, "Whatever. She can handle herself."

Meanwhile... At the boys' bathroom...

"Haah... Finally, some breathing room...!!" Yuuto muttered as he entered the bathroom, quickly scanning the stalls.

'I'll take the third one, the middle stall. No one checks the middle first. And if they do start to check, I'll have time to think on my feet,' Yuuto planned, reaching for the door...

...It was locked. Someone was inside.

'Someone's in there...? DAMN IT, I CAN'T LET THEM SEE ME..!!! I HAVE TO HANDLE THIS FAST!' Yuuto thought frantically. He gripped his baseball bat, slamming it against the plastic door with all his might, tearing it off its hinges.

"Eeeek!!!" A feminine voice shrieked from within as the door clattered to the tiled floor.

Yuuto paused at the sight of a girl about his age, huddled in the corner. Her knees pulled up to her chest as she tried to shield herself.

Yuuto halted, bat raised, as he noticed her terrified, shivering form.

His heart raced, not just from the rush but from knowing too well the complexities of hypnotism.

With a loud bang, he slammed his bat against the wall above her, causing her to flinch.

"WHO ARE YOU?! SPEAK!!!" Yuuto demanded, his blood-stained bat hovering menacingly.

"A-ah... I-I'm... Please don't hurt me...!!" Her voice quivered with fear.

"PLEASE DON'T HURT ME YOU THINK I'M A FUCKING IDIOT!!!? THAT'S NOT A NAME!!! COME ON, OUT WITH IT!!! WHO ARE YOU?!" Yuuto insisted.

"I-I'm..." She stuttered, peeking from behind her arms that covered her face. Her eyes, deep blue, looked up at him, fear evident in them. Her black hair fell around her face, streaks of makeup running down her cheeks from tears.

"S-saki... Saki Yoshida..." she whispered, her voice barely audible as she met Yuuto's gaze.

Yuuto's jaw dropped in shock as he stared at her.

"WHAT THE FU—

TO BE CONTINUED...