Morning light spilled into the small Aoyama house, cutting through the quiet like a blade.
Ren Aoyama blinked awake.
For a second, everything felt ordinary.
Then—
"Ren! You're gonna be late again!"
Kai Aoyama's voice echoed through the hallway.
Loud. Confident. Alive.
Ren sat up slowly, adjusting his glasses.
"…I'm up."
Kai stood at the doorway already dressed in his school uniform, red bandana tied tightly around his head. His bag was half-open, like he never fully bothered to organize it.
"You said that yesterday too," Kai said with a grin. "And the day before that."
Ren didn't argue. He just stood and grabbed his bag.
At 17, their mornings still felt like this—like nothing in life had changed in years.
But something always does… before you notice it.
They walked through the apartment hallway together.
At the very end stood their father's office door.
Locked.
Silent.
Older than anything else in the house.
Kai slowed down.
"You ever think what's in there?" he asked.
Ren glanced at it briefly. "No."
"That's a lie."
Ren didn't respond.
Kai smirked. "One day I'm breaking it open."
"Dad said never to go in," Ren replied calmly.
Kai shrugged. "Yeah… well Dad also isn't here anymore."
That sentence hung in the air for a moment longer than it should have.
Then they left.
Outside, Tokyo was already awake—students rushing, cars passing, voices mixing into noise.
Kai stretched. "Last year of school… feels pointless."
Ren walked beside him. "It's not pointless. It's preparation."
"For what?"
Ren looked ahead. "Everything after."
Kai laughed. "You always talk like you're already in the future."
"Someone has to think ahead."
Kai nudged him lightly. "Yeah, yeah, Mr. Brain."
As they crossed the street near their school, something happened.
A man stood across the road.
Still.
Watching them.
Not like a normal passerby.
Like he was waiting.
Kai noticed first. His voice lowered.
"…Ren."
Ren followed his gaze.
The man didn't move.
Didn't react.
Just stared at them like he already knew their names.
Then—
He turned and walked away.
Kai frowned. "That guy was off."
Ren didn't answer immediately.
His eyes stayed on the empty space where the man had stood.
"…Yeah."
But inside his mind, something felt wrong.
Not fear.
A feeling like the world had briefly paused… and resumed without telling them why.
The school gates came into view as the morning crowd of students flooded inside.
Laughter. Talking. Footsteps on concrete.
Normal life.
Ren and Kai Aoyama walked through the entrance together, but the feeling from earlier still lingered in the back of Ren's mind.
That man.
That stare.
But Kai acted like it was nothing. He always did.
As they entered the hallway, something unusual spread through the students.
Whispers.
Low voices.
Uneasy faces.
Ren slowed slightly as he passed a group of students near the lockers.
"…I'm serious, I heard it happened again…"
"Another student? That makes three this month…"
"They say it's the same thing… no wounds, no struggle… just gone."
Kai, walking a few steps ahead, glanced back.
"What are they talking about?" he asked.
Ren listened for a moment longer.
"…Rumors," Ren said.
But his eyes narrowed slightly.
Kai shrugged. "People always exaggerate stuff."
They walked on.
But the hallway didn't feel normal anymore.
At the end of the corridor, where they normally split for class, Kai stopped.
"See you later," he said, adjusting his red bandana.
Ren nodded. "Yeah."
Kai smirked. "Try not to overthink everything today."
Ren didn't reply, but his eyes lingered for a second longer than usual.
Then they split.
Kai headed toward the louder side of the school, blending into groups of students easily.
Ren went the opposite way—quieter hallways, fewer voices, more silence.
But the words he overheard stayed with him.
Children disappearing… in their own school…
He adjusted his glasses.
Something about it didn't feel like a rumor.
It felt like a warning no one wanted to understand.
As Ren reached his classroom, he paused for half a second at the door.
Inside—normal students. Normal teacher. Normal day.
But outside that room…
Something else was moving through the school.
And neither brother knew yet—
this was the first thread of something much bigger.
Something connected to the man who had watched them that morning.
To be continued...