Chapter 5 — Freefall
Silence.
That's all Mimi could hear after the scream was swallowed by the wind.
She didn't even realize she was crawling — hands scraped, knees bruised — until she reached the edge of the rooftop and looked down.
And saw her.
Itsuki.
Sprawled on the pavement like a shattered doll, a splash of crimson seeping beneath her.
Mimi's heart stopped. Her lungs forgot how to breathe. A sound clawed its way up her throat — a broken, animalistic sob that tore into the open air.
The world around her dimmed. Her vision tunneled. People were shouting far below. Teachers were rushing. Phones dialed. But none of it registered.
All she could see was her.
Itsuki had jumped.
For her.
And now she—
Mimi recoiled from the ledge, hands trembling. She screamed, hugging herself as her body shook with a grief so deep it felt like her bones were breaking.
She barely noticed the footsteps behind her, the adults shouting, the hands that pulled her back from the edge. Blankets were thrown around her shoulders. Someone tried asking questions, but her ears only heard static.
Her mind wasn't on the rooftop anymore.
It had fallen with her.
Two Hours Later — Hospital Waiting Room
It was too clean. Too white. Too still.
Mimi sat in a stiff plastic chair, hunched over, hands clenched so tight her nails cut into her palms. Her school hoodie clung to her, soaked with cold sweat. Her lips were dry. Her eyes felt too heavy to cry anymore.
"She's still in surgery," the nurse had said. "Multiple fractures, blood loss, possible internal injuries. But she was breathing when the ambulance brought her in. That's something."
Something.
The word meant nothing to Mimi now.
Her fingers twitched toward her phone. She didn't even know why.
A single notification blinked at the top of the screen.
No sender. No subject.
She tapped it open, her stomach already sinking.
"She can't protect you now."
Below it, a photo.
Of her.
Sitting in that very chair.
Taken moments ago.
Mimi froze.
Another email arrived instantly.
"Told you I never say goodbye."
Her hands shook violently.
She stood, spun in place, eyes darting around the waiting room.
Someone had been here.
Was still here.
Watching.
The ICU Doors Slam Open
A nurse rushed out.
Behind her, two people strode through the corridor like they owned every square inch of it.
The man was tall, cold, precise — a charcoal suit hugging his frame like armor. A watch glittered beneath his cuff. His expression was unreadable, carved from stone.
Beside him walked a woman with sharp red lips and eyes like ice. Perfect posture. Not a hair out of place.
Every nurse in the hallway stiffened.
"That's Kenji Hoshino," one of them whispered. "The Hoshino Group."
Mimi's breath caught in her chest.
That name...
Itsuki's last name was Hoshino.
But that Hoshino? The man in the news? The one rumored to have ties to Yakuza syndicates? Corporate wars? Political blackmail?
Kenji's gaze swept the room and landed on Mimi like a knife.
"You," he said, voice like cold steel. "Are you the one my daughter was found with?"
Mimi nodded, throat too tight to speak.
He stared at her. Silent. Calculating.
He didn't ask what happened. He didn't demand answers.
Instead, he turned away with a low scoff. "Waste of time."
"Kenji," the woman said, her voice calm but firm.
"She almost died," he snapped. "And for what?"
They disappeared into the ICU wing, escorted by trembling staff.
Mimi sank into her seat, pulse pounding. Her heart was a knot of confusion and dread.
Why didn't Itsuki ever tell me?
Why would someone like her... someone with that kind of family... care about someone like me?
She had no answers.
Only more fear.
Late Night – ICU
They let Mimi see her for only a moment.
Itsuki lay motionless beneath thin blankets, tubes trailing from her arms. Her face was pale, lip split. One side of her head was bandaged, the gauze already stained red.
But she was alive.
Barely.
Mimi stepped in quietly, holding her breath.
"Itsuki," she whispered.
Her eyes fluttered open.
"Mimi," she rasped. "You're... okay?"
Tears blurred Mimi's vision. She reached for her hand.
"I'm fine. You're the one who— you shouldn't have done that!"
Itsuki tried to smile. It came out crooked. "You needed... saving."
Mimi shook her head, voice breaking. "I'm the broken one. I wasn't supposed to cost you anything."
"You didn't." Itsuki's hand squeezed hers. "You gave me something real."
Before Mimi could speak, machines began to beep faster. Nurses shouted. Someone hit a button.
"She's crashing—!"
They pulled Mimi away as doctors flooded the room.
Mimi pressed against the glass, trembling, heart in her throat.
Then—
The hallway lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
All at once, the power cut out. Total blackness swallowed the corridor.
Emergency lights glowed red.
Mimi's phone buzzed.
Another message.
"You're next."
Her head snapped up.
And from the shadows at the far end of the hallway...
A figure emerged.
Black hoodie.
Gloved hands.
Something long and silver glinting in the dim light.
Coming straight toward the ICU.
And Mimi couldn't move.
To be continued...
Chapter 6 Preview —
The lights flickered once.
Then again.
Then died.
Somewhere down the hall, footsteps echoed — slow, deliberate.
Mimi's breath hitched as she backed against the wall, her phone buzzing one last time.
"Don't scream."
And then...
She wasn't alone.