Yuki was walking pretty fast, but not fast enough to draw attention from the surrounding students.
She quickly glanced at the clock near the lockers and opened the classroom door. However, to her surprise, the person sitting at Miss Nishimura's desk wasn't her.
It was someone else. In fact, it was a younger woman, maybe in her early twenties. She kind of looked nervous as she was flipping through a stack of papers.
"Ah. Good morning. You must be... Ayano-san?" the young woman looked up.
"Yes. I'm here for Miss Nishimura's class."
"Oh, is that so? Well, I'm filling in for her today. She's not feeling too well," the young woman said with a smile.
Yuki's heart sank to the ground." What happened to her?"
"Oh, sorry. I really don't know, but she did tell me it's nothing serious."
"Did she go to the hospital by any chance?"
The young woman shrugged, "She didn't really say where she was going. So sorry, I really wish I knew more."
"I'll be right back. Just need to make a quick call," Yuki said.
The substitute teacher nodded with a smile on her face. "Of course. Just letting you know, class starts in five minutes."
Yuki stepped out into the hall, pulled out her phone, and tapped Miss Nishimura's name. She held it to her ear. It rang. Once. Twice. No answer.
She lowered her phone and stared at the floor. Her mind kept spinning. Yuki was thinking of ways to get in contact with Miss Nishimura, but it was no good. She only had her phone number and had no idea where she lived.
After contemplating her options, she decided to just go back to class, but then, from the corner of her eye, Yuki noticed something moving.
She quickly turned her head to the side, toward the end of the hallway. Yuki squinted her eyes as she saw one of her dolls standing upright.
However, it was not just any doll, it was the male one from her living room, the same doll that resembled her father.
Then all of a sudden, it vanished.
Yuki blinked again and rubbed her eyes, since she couldn't believe what she saw.
When she looked again, the male doll was still not there.
I'm just tired. That's all it is. Once I go home, the first thing I'm gonna do is hit the bed.
The first bell rang.
She put her phone back into her bag and walked back to class.
A few hours had passed and Yuki sat still, barely hearing a thing her substitute teacher was teaching. But at least it was finally time for lunch.
Kenji Igaguri was staring at his locker as his fingers clenched around a small black chocolate box. He peeked around the corner and saw Yuki walking alone toward the cafeteria.
Okay, this is the plan — just walk up. Say a few words, then give her the chocolates and walk away. SIMPLE!
Kenji stepped forward with full confidence to try and talk to Yuki. However, Riko showed up out of nowhere and grabbed Yuki by the wrist and pulled her toward the stairs.
Kenji stopped. "Damn it, Riko..." He muttered in anger.
He followed them from a distance and saw them going up to the rooftop.
Kenji waited a few seconds, then opened the rooftop metal door as the wind was gentle and the sun was bright.
Riko and Yuki sat near the edge of the rooftop, with Riko's lunch box open between them. Yuki's friend Riko had packed multiple egg omelets—so many that there was no way she could finish them all on her own.
Seeing her friend Riko struggling to eat everything, Yuki casually reached over with a smile and took a few omelets for herself, happily taking a few bites.
Riko looked up and noticed Igaguri standing near the metal door. "Hey, Igaguri? What are you doing here?"
Kenji Igaguri stiffened. "I just wanted to see Ayano. If that's okay."
Yuki Ayano didn't react — she was way too focused on the food in front of her.
Riko nudged her. "He's talking to you."
Yuki blinked. "Oh, come over Igaguri."
He stepped closer and pulled the black box from behind his back. "I wanted to give you this," he said.
Yuki looked down." Dark Chocolates? Those are my favorites. Thank you Igaguri."
Igaguri nodded with a huge smile on his face that he tried hiding. "I remembered back in our first year of high school you said you liked dark chocolate, So i got you some."
Riko chuckled. "Creepy stalker behavior, noted."
"I think it's sweet. Shut up Riko and thank you," Yuki said, smiling.
Kenji scratched the back of his neck. "Just thought you could use a reason to smile."
"Really? Awe thanks, Igaguri. Why don't you come eat with us," Yuki said.
"Oh! Really? Okay, thanks," Kenji said, smiling as he blushed.
Yuki thought back to her first year coming to Kyoto High School and how she felt very lonely. The only friend she had was Riko Fuyumi, who she had known since middle school. She remembered how, when she first met Kenji Igaguri, he was the only person who looked at her like a real person — not some freak who was perfect. He treated her like a regular high school girl, compared to the other students in her class. The boys treated Yuki like she was some kind of anomaly and would refuse to even try to talk to her, while the girls would badmouth her in the open for her to hear.
It was only due to the fact that Yuki excelled in all subjects — math, science, history, even all types of sports. Any subject anyone could think of, Yuki Ayano would get a perfect score, and this was a problem.
In any case, Yuki Ayano was grateful to meet Igaguri and hoped to stay as close as possible with him and Riko — and even graduate high school together. It was their last year, after all.
Yuki told herself that she would study hard and make sure not to let the negativity of her home and school life distract her too much from reaching her goal.
A few minutes passed as they all started eating.
Kenji kept glancing Yuki's way, like he had more to say but couldn't say it.
"Have you been following the disappearances?" Kenji asked. "People are vanishing. My cousin said he saw someone disappear right in front of him at the train station."
Yuki didn't react.
Riko waved her hand in front of Yuki's face. "You've been out of it today. You okay?"
Yuki blinked. "Sorry. I haven't been sleeping well. But yeah, I heard you, Igaguri. It's the first I've heard of any of that, honestly."
Riko leaned back. "I think it's fake. Some weird internet thing. I don't believe in the supernatural."
Kenji stood up. "I think it's real. It's been on the news."
"Since when does the news tell the truth?" Riko pointed.
"You always say stuff like that," Kenji frowned.
"And you always fall for it," Riko snapped.
They kept arguing.
Yuki stood up. "I need some time alone. Sorry."
Both of them stopped and looked at Yuki as she walked away.
Riko frowned and pointed at Kenji. "Look what you did."
Kenji blinked. "What!? Me?"
It was 4 PM, and every student from Kyoto High had packed up their stuff. It was the end of the school day after all. The sky had turned a deep orange as Yuki's shadow stretched across the street.
Up ahead, Yuki saw Kenji Igaguri.
He was walking pretty fast, so Yuki picked up the pace.
While running to catch up to Igaguri, she looked down at her bag and saw the chocolate box he gifted her was still in her bag.
She smiled. Just a little.
She ran forward and yelled. "Hey! Igaguri! Thanks for the—"
Kenji turned a corner into an alleyway.
Yuki, however, ran forward trying to catch up. "Hey! Igaguri—"
But, the worst had happened.
After turning the corner, her heart stopped. She saw only Igaguri's clothes on the ground, still shaped like he'd been standing there just a second ago.
But Kenji himself was gone. Completely gone.
Her legs gave out, and she dropped to her knees.
Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Her heart slammed against her ribs. It felt so loud it hurt.
No... no, this isn't real. He was just here. He was right here.
She crawled forward and grabbed his clothes. They were warm.
Yuki quickly got up and ran.
She burst through the door of her house, slammed it shut, and dropped the bag and Kenji's clothes onto the living room floor.
Yuki's chest was pounding. Her breathing was short.
Then—
She looked at the couch and saw that her dolls were missing.
Her blood ran cold, however, she had heard sound coming from the kitchen.
She moved toward it, slowly.
Yuki peeked around the corner.
The dolls were moving their stiff bodies, while making some type of circle with weird letters and signs
Using tomato sauce.
Yuki slapped her hand over her mouth.
Are they... alive?
She peeked again.
The dolls stopped.
Then they screeched, making a high, broken sound, and rushed at her.
Yuki screamed and ran back into the living room.
She grabbed a broomstick and swung it as hard as she could—causing one of the dolls to snap in half on impact.
She turned for the door.
But it was too late.
The rest of the dolls grabbed her by the legs.
She fell. Curled into a ball.
"SOMEBODY HELP ME!!"
The front door burst open.
Wind blasted into the room, throwing the dolls against the walls. Cracks ran across the walls. Trash flew across the ceiling.
Yuki opened her eyes, blinking through her tears.
Two people were standing in the doorway. A man and a woman, both dressed in black.
Yuki who was terrified at that moment could only see their backs, but then the man stepped forward and spoke to her.
"I knew we'd meet again, Little Ayano."
Her whole body froze.
That voice — she remembered it. She didn't know where at first, but as the man walked further into the living room, it hit her.
The therapist...? Yuki Thought.
And the woman standing beside him had straight black hair and glasses — that was the same woman from the front desk.
Yuki's legs wouldn't move.
Suddenly, the dolls started moving again.
They grabbed each other. They held on tight.
Their arms twisted. Their legs bent the wrong way.
The dolls pushed into each other, like they were trying to fit into the same skin.
It grew.
Taller.
And taller.
It scraped the ceiling as its transformation was complete.
Two heads formed. One looked like her mother and the other looked like her father.
Both faces were missing eyes. Black holes stared back at her.
Blood dripped from their faces.
Their claws were long and sharp.
Then the dolls opened their mouths.
And screamed.
"Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?"
They screamed the same word over and over, like Yuki had done something terrible.
The therapist didn't flinch.
He raised his hand.
A scythe appeared in it.
Yuki's eyes widened.
Then he turned to look at her.
And grinned like a monster.
It wasn't a normal grin. It was wide, calm, and inhuman.
"Two thousand dollars," Sasaki Shin said.
Yuki screamed, "OKAY! OKAY! FINE! JUST PLEASE DESTROY THAT THING!"
Sasaki Shin chuckled, almost pleased.
"Excellent. It's a pleasure doing business with you, Little Ayano."
The therapist didn't waste any time.
He looked at the woman beside him and said. "Open the gate."
The receptionist raised her hand and started drawing shapes in the air.
The room got colder as wind started picking up in the living room.
Behind the doll spirit, the air cracked open. A small black portal tore into the wall. It wasn't big — just enough to pull anything close to it.
Some of the trash and papers near the spirit got sucked inside. But the heavier stuff — the broken chairs, the couch — stayed where they were, shaking but not moving too much.
The spirit screamed. It dug its claws into the floor, trying to hold on.
Yuki felt the pull too. She stumbled back and grabbed the edge of the doorway.
Her arms shook. Her legs kicked into the air.
The therapist didn't even glance at her.
He kept walking toward the doll spirit, with his scythe in hand.
Then—
One clean swing.
Sasaki's scythe slashed straight through the doll spirit's body.
The doll spirit split in two. Its body started to shrinking fast.
The two heads shrieked as the cut up body of the doll was dragged into the portal.
However, the receptionist wasted no time as she moved her hand once more, causing the portal to slam shut. Sealing the evil spirt in another realm.
Then everything went still. As both, the therapist and receptionist vanish as well.
Yuki didn't know how long she stayed there, still gripping at the doorway.
Her arms felt numb while her legs were shaking. Slowly, Yuki let go of the door and stumbled into the living room.
The house was wrecked. Trash stuck to the walls. The windows were cracked and dirty.
The whole place smelled like dust and rotten food.
Was that real? Did that really just happen? She thought.
Her eyes wandered across the floor, looking at the mess caused by the doll spirit, and that's when she saw it. A piece of paper, lying near the door.
Yuki walked over and picked it up with trembling hands.
There was a note, written in neat handwriting.
Your bill is 2000 USD. You can pay cash or credit. My receptionist will be waiting for you at my clinic.
Sincerely, your therapist—Sasaki Shin.