The front entrance of the school was a graveyard of its own making. Lockers gaped open, their doors twisted and looted bare, spilling rusted hinges across the cracked tile floor. Ridden graffiti slashed the walls, crude taunts and jagged symbols in black and red.

  In the center of the ruin, a digital hologram flickered to life, its pale blue light casting long shadows. The memorial wall. Six hundred names or near enough scrolled in endless lines, each one a ghost etched in light.

  Sakura stood before it, her boots planted firm, the fire axe a heavy weight in her hands. Her blonde pigtails framed a face set with grim focus, but her eyes betrayed her, wide, unblinking, tracing the names. Behind her, Ichika froze, her black hair a stark curtain against the glow. “I didn’t expect that many,” she whispered, her voice cracking under the weight of it.

  “Hate this place,” Sakura muttered, her grip tightening on the axe. “They update this hourly, those from their games.” Emi’s name appeared as Sakura stepped closer, scanning the list with shallow breath. Haruka’s name followed, both already burned into her memory, already carved into this cursed wall. She wouldn’t let it claim anyone else she cared about as she pleads, Reo’s name, please, not here. H’s, with a sigh of relief Hinata’s name is not here.

  Ichika’s gasp cut through her thoughts. “God, there’s even teachers listed.” Her finger hovered over a name, Mr. Tanaka, Physics before dropping, trembling.

  Sakura turned her head, reading sideways. “Good,” she said, voice steady despite the knot in her chest. “I still don’t see Reo. Looks like Hinata’s not on here either.” Relief flickered, faint but real, though it didn’t erase the dread coiled tight inside her.

  Ichika’s face twisted, horror blooming in her dark eyes. “How can this go on?” she said, barely above a whisper, her hands clenched into fists. She stepped closer to the hologram, her gaze hardening. “Kazuto,” she spat, her voice rising with anger. “You went too far.” Sakura knew the name, Kazuto, senior student, delinquent, first victim and cause in her mind behind Principal Takeda madness. Ichika’s nostrils flared. Her fury mirrored Sakura's own, a quiet fire that had kept them alive.

  Sakura looked away, the glow stinging her eyes. Her voice dropped, raw and uneven. “During that soccer game… a girl, she just gave up.” She swallowed, the memory clawing at her. “She scored an own goal to let me survive. And I don’t even know her.” The axe felt heavier, a useless shield against the guilt that gnawed at her.

  Ichika’s arms wrapped around her, warm and steady. “I’m sorry,” she said softly, “but that wasn’t your fault. You need to stay strong, for Reo, when we find him.” Her grip tightened, a lifeline pulling Sakura back from the edge.

  Sakura nodded, dragging a sleeve across her face to wipe away the dampness. “Need to find Reo and Hinata,” she said, the words a vow as much as a plan.

  Ichika pulled back, her expression softening. “Any ideas where to look next?”

  “Normally I’d go see Ms. Akasuki,” Sakura said, hefting the axe again. “She’s with the freshmen at the English department. If she doesn’t know anything, we can work our way back to the rooftop and look for clues.” She started down a corridor, Ichika falling in step beside her, the memorial’s light fading behind them.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  The English department was a fortress of its own, carved out by the Scavs and freshmen who’d banded together. Desks were piled into a makeshift fort in the corridor, their edges bristling with scavenged metal and wire. Scav graffiti, Hold the Line, Freshmen Unite, scrawled across the walls in jagged white paint. Students in patchwork armor milled about, their faces young but hardened, clutching rebar and crude spears.

  A figure stepped from the shadows, tall and stocky, his black hair unkempt beneath a helm of scavenged steel. Kitaro. He leveled a length of rebar at them, his voice a low growl. “Show yourselves!”

  “Kitaro! It’s us,” Sakura called, raising a hand, the axe resting easy at her side.

  He lowered the rebar, scowling as he stepped into the dim light. Behind him, a Scav guard leaned against the desk fort, eyeing them warily. “You’re late,” Kitaro said, his tone sharp. “We had to have that paste for breakfast.”

  Ichika winced. “Sorry. We sent the food last night with Hinata, but she didn’t return.”

  Sakura cut in, her voice firm. “Is Ms. Akasuki in?”

  Kitaro’s scowl deepened. “Strange, we’re missing a patrol from last night too. It was near your section of the school.” He jerked his head toward the classroom beyond the fort. “Follow me.”

  The room inside was a rare pocket of order. Desks were shoved aside, replaced by a square of student tables where freshmen scrubbed at stains or sorted supplies. Ms. Akasuki stood near the front, her long black hair tied back, her white shirt and skirt crisp despite the chaos. She brushed paste packets into a bin, her movements calm, kind. “Kitaro,” she said without looking up, “have the others returned?” Then her gaze lifted, softening. “Ah, Ichika, Sakura. What can I do for you?”

  They settled around the tables,Sakura, Ichika, Kitaro, and Ms. Akasuki, forming a tense council after they exchange information. “Hinata’s missing too,” Ms. Akasuki said, her voice gentle but edged with concern.

  Kitaro leaned forward, his armor clanking faintly. “I want to go look for my friends.”

  “Come with us,” Sakura said, meeting his eyes. “We’re going to search the area for our people too.”

  Ms. Akasuki nodded, but as the others rose, she caught Sakura’s arm, pulling her aside. Her voice dropped, private. “Sakura, you’re still holding that axe.”

  Sakura’s grip tightened reflexively. “You’ve seen what’s happening.”

  “I wish it wasn’t the case,” Ms. Akasuki said, her eyes searching Sakura’s. “But I’ve got a lead on Reo.”

  Sakura’s heart skipped, excitement flaring sharp and sudden. “Tell me.”

  Ms. Akasuki hesitated, her tone cautious. “One of the freshmen thinks he saw him hanging out with Takanashi’s gang.”

  Sakura shot to her feet, nearly knocking the table. “I have to get to the sports hall!” she said, her voice laced with urgency, taking responsibility, go alone if she must she.

  “Wait,” Ms. Akasuki said, standing too, her calm unshaken. “I’ll go. It could be dangerous, you three can look for Hinata and the others.”

  Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but Ms. Akasuki’s steady gaze stopped her cold. “Be careful,” she said instead, the words heavy with trust she didn’t fully feel.

  “Bring Reo back here, Sensei,” Ichika added, her voice firm despite the tremor in it.

  Ms. Akasuki smiled faintly. “I’ll try. You three watch each other’s backs.” She turned, heading one way down the corridor, while Sakura, Ichika, and Kitaro started the other, the weight of the unknowing, settling like dust in the air.