Pure Route in a Netorare School

And the small, warm railing beside me wasn’t nearly enough.

I slowly lowered my head.

My shoulders curled in on their own.

My hands hid under the desk.

I was trying to take up as little space as possible again.

Trying not to be seen. Trying to become invisible. Safe.

And yet, somewhere deep down, one desperate thought remained.

I only needed one look from Kurosaki-kun.

The same look he used to give me.

The one that made it impossible to hide anything.

But he never looked up.

The next lesson passed in a blur.

I barely heard the teacher. I sat there staring at the board, occasionally writing down a word or two, but my thoughts kept circling the same place.

How do I save myself?

What do I do?

They had recordings. Messages. Videos from the toilet and from the roof.

One wrong step and everything would reach Hayato. Then the rest of the class. Then the teachers. Then my mother.

Maybe they were bluffing. Maybe they wouldn’t actually send anything.

But I couldn’t risk finding out.

Too much was at stake.

I looked at Hayato.

He was sitting a few rows ahead, listening attentively, sometimes taking notes. Completely normal. Completely unaware of what was happening behind his back.

If only he paid a little more attention…

The thought was unfair. I knew that.

But I couldn’t stop it.

If he had looked at me more carefully, he would have noticed everything.

Like the detective in that manga we had been talking about recently. The one who caught every tiny detail — a stain on a sleeve, an odd pause, a smile that was a second too quick. One look and he knew someone was lying. Then he pretended he hadn’t noticed, collected evidence, and exposed the truth at the perfect moment.

I looked at Hayato again.

He could do that too.

Yes. Of course he could.

It had all just happened too fast on the roof. He didn’t know the girls. He didn’t understand what to expect. I had convinced him they were my old friends. Under those circumstances anyone would have believed it.

But now he had seen them. Heard them talk.

Maybe if I brought him to the roof one more time, he would notice the contradictions. Momo would slip up. Nana would look at me too coldly. Suzu would point the camera again.

Hayato would put it together.

He would understand what was happening.

And then he would save me.

The longer I thought about it, the more it felt like the only plan I had.

I had no other options.

I couldn’t tell him directly. I couldn’t go to the teachers. Kurosaki-kun wasn’t going to get involved anymore.

Only Hayato was left.

My boyfriend. The person I loved.

He simply had to understand.

I need to bring him to the roof again.

The thought flashed through me like the only possible escape.

If the girls saw him with me, they would have to pretend to be friendly again. They would have to lie. And this time Hayato would be ready. Even if he didn’t know it yet.

I only had to give him the chance.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

I slipped it out under the desk.

Momo:

Don’t forget. Next break. Same place.

A second message followed.

This time come alone.

My chest tightened.

So they didn’t want to see Hayato.

That only made me more certain I had to bring him.

If I showed up by myself, everything would repeat. They would surround me again. Lock the door. Force me to obey.

With Hayato there, they wouldn’t dare.

And maybe — just maybe — this time he would finally see.

My hands had stopped shaking quite so badly.

For the first time since the attack, I had something that felt like a plan.

A bad plan.

A dangerous plan.

But mine.

I looked at Hayato and gave the tiniest nod to myself.

You’ll understand.

I’m sure you will.

The bell rang again.

The teacher finished his sentence, closed the textbook, and left.

Noise rose around us at once.

Miu spun toward Hayato almost instantly.

— This time you’re not going anywhere, — she declared. — We still haven’t finished talking about training.

Hayato smiled.

— Was there even anything left to discuss?

— There was. Satomi was practically glued to you during the explanation…

— After school.

— You said that last time too.

Miu started listing every single time he had postponed their training.

Hayato tried to defend himself.

I sat beside them, half-listening.

The phone in my pocket felt heavier with every second.

I needed to get him away again.

But doing it a second time in one day would look suspicious. We had already spent the last break together. If I asked for another, Miu would definitely start asking questions.

Maybe that would even be good.

If she noticed something was wrong with me…

No.

I couldn’t drag Miu into this.

The girls had recordings. They could hurt her too.

I stood up and walked over to Hayato.

— Hayato-kun…

He turned to me immediately.

— Yeah?

I hesitated.

Now that the moment had come to actually ask, the plan suddenly felt a lot less clever.

But Momo’s face flashed in my mind again. Suzu’s phone. The locked door.

I gently took hold of Hayato’s sleeve.

— Can we go somewhere again? Just the two of us?

Miu went quiet.

Hayato looked surprised.

— The whole break?

— Yeah.

— Yūki, — Miu started, — you two literally just went off together.

I lowered my head.

— I know.

— Then why again?

I couldn’t tell her the truth.

So I said the first thing that came to mind:

— I just… really want to be with him today.

Hayato’s face turned red instantly.

Miu’s mouth opened. Then closed.

— That’s not fair, — she muttered.

— Sorry.

I really did feel guilty.

Hayato scratched his cheek, awkward.

— Well… if Yūki wants to…

— Of course, — Miu said, a little annoyed. — The second she asks, you say yes.

— We only just started going out.

— I noticed.

She turned away, arms crossed.

Hayato looked at me.

— Where do you want to go?

— The roof.

His eyebrows lifted slightly.

— Again?

My heart stopped for a beat.

There it was.

He had noticed something was off.

This was already the beginning.

— It’s quiet there, — I said quickly. — And last time we barely got to talk.

Hayato thought for a moment.

Then he smiled.

— Okay.

Relief flooded me.

He remembered.

He’s already starting to wonder.

We left the classroom.

This time I let myself glance at Kurosaki-kun.

He was sitting by the window, reading something on his phone.

Maybe he had seen me take Hayato away for the second time today.

Maybe he had heard we were going to the roof again.

But his face stayed blank.

I turned away first.

I couldn’t afford to wait for help from him anymore.

Everything now depended on Hayato.

On the way to the roof I barely spoke.

Hayato tried to start a conversation a few times, but I only gave short answers.

— Are you really feeling okay? — he asked when we were climbing the stairs.

I looked at him.

My heart gave a small, painful thump.

He had asked after all.

— Why do you think something’s wrong with me?

I tried to sound normal, but inside I was already bracing for the answer.

Now he’ll say something about my eyes. About how I’m walking. About my shaking hands. About how strange the girls were.

Hayato thought for a second.

— You’ve been really quiet today.

Only that.

Even that small thing was enough to make hope flicker inside me.

— Is that all?

— And you’re asking me to go to the roof with you for the second time in one day.

He smiled.

— Most girls aren’t that pushy right after they start dating someone.

I made myself smile back.

— You don’t like it?

— No! I mean — I do. Of course I do.

He blushed again.

— I’m just a little surprised.

Keep thinking.

Please.

We reached the metal door.

I stopped in front of it.

It was quiet on the other side.

Too quiet.

My phone vibrated.

New message.

Momo:

We’re waiting.

I put the phone away without reading further.

Hayato reached for the handle.

— Shall we?

I wanted to stop him.

To pull him back. To say I had changed my mind.

But then I would have to go up there alone.

I couldn’t do that.

— Yeah, — I whispered. — Just… stay close to me.

Hayato looked at me more carefully.

For a few seconds.

— Of course.

He opened the door.

Cool wind hit us.

We stepped out onto the roof.

Momo, Nana, and Suzu were already waiting by the railing.

Momo saw Hayato.

Her smile disappeared for a split second.

I noticed.

And almost felt glad.

It meant I had actually disrupted their plan.

It meant that with him here, they couldn’t do anything.

Suzu was the first to look at me.

Then she shifted her gaze to Hayato.

Her phone turned slowly in her hand.

Nana pushed off the railing and straightened up.

— We clearly told you to come alone, — she said.

Hayato looked at me, confused.

— Told you?

My chest squeezed tight.

Momo smiled again at once.

— We were waiting for Yūki by herself, — she explained lightly. — We wanted to talk about some old girl secrets…

She looked straight into my eyes.

— But since Yūki really doesn’t want to be apart from her boyfriend, I guess he can stay.

Her voice was friendly.

I heard the threat underneath it.

Hayato didn’t seem to.

He only smiled, a little awkward.

— I can leave if I’m in the way.

— No!

The word came out too loud.

Everyone looked at me.

I gripped Hayato’s sleeve tighter.

— Stay.

He looked surprised.

But then he gently covered my hand with his.

— Okay.

Momo watched the gesture.

Her smile grew calmer.

And that scared me more than anything.

I had brought Hayato here hoping he would save me.

But for the first time I wondered:

What if they already have a plan for this too?