Copyright Notice: This story is an original work by Muntasib_Ihshan789. All rights reserved. Do not copy or redistribute without permission.
19th December, 2023
Shuhi's parents left the house at morning. Every year, they goes to the neighbor city where their other family members stays in this as Christmas was near. They usually go for 2 to 3 days and comes back. They allow Shuhi's aunt Kaede Nishizawa to stay with Shuhi for those days.
It was noon, her aunt should be here by now.
"Hey there Shuhi, how is all going?" she asked as she spotted Shuhi standing in front of the house's door, waiting.
"I'm all right. How about you, aunt?" Shuhi replied.
"I'm also fine. This time I got crackers, let's party tonight." Kaede said with excitement.
Shuhi gave her a nod.
Kaede was fond of Shuhi as she gets interest in Shuhi's intellectual abilities. As her aunt's presence at home, she would never permit her to go outside in the middle of the night. But Shuhi already planned a solution.
Kaede really loved to drink at night. So Shuhi bought many bottles of beer for her.
11am
They did something known as sleep up party in their language. Staying awake all night, playing music, eating, drinking etc. Shuhi offered her aunt many bottles of beer. As she was under aged, she just drank lemon soda. After having many boozes, her aunt collapsed.
20th December, 2023, 12:39 am
Shuhi grabbed her at her back and put her in the bed with a blanket on.
She was sleeping hard.
"I doubt even an earthquake will fail to wake her up" Shuhi thought.
This was her chance to leave. She quickly got prepared and waited for the right time.
2 am
Utaro came right at the time to pick Shuhi up. Shuhi absolutely forgot that this man used to be late as always.
The wind was quieter than usual but it was still colder than usual outside. Outside the school gates, the world looked like a photograph filled in white fog curling along the sidewalk, the streetlamps giving light, some dimming into the mist. Every breath that came from Shuhi's mouth turned to ghostly vapor and vanished into the void. It felt like walking in a ghost elemental horror movie world.
She pulled her scarf up and looked at Utaro, who was standing next to her. He was using a spare key he had gotten from the gate guard earlier to unlock the school gate. At first, he didn't say anything. She couldn't read his face, but she could see something in his eyes, like he was hiding something in his face.
"You still think this is a good idea?" he asked, finally.
"No," she replied, stepping in. "I think it's a stupid idea. But I'm done playing the safe game."
He didn't stop her. She noticed that.
"I want to meet the killer myself," she said, quieter now. "Besides" She patted the side of her bag. "I have my trusty chili spray and that old fruit knife from the drawer. When will it be useful right?"
She gave a dry laugh, trying to lighten the mood, but the sound died too quickly in the empty courtyard.
"Come on, say something! This silence is starting to feel like an eternity." Shuhi thought.
2:10 AM
The school felt like a tomb.
All the walls, the classrooms, the lockers, the announcements hanging on the board looked horrifying in the dark. Everything will be seen as normal as always in the daylight. But no trace of life could be seen. Even the floors echoed differently, reacting to their footsteps at night. Like they were groaning.
As they walked through the main hallway, their boots were sounding faintly on the tiles. They each carried a torch light in one hand and their phones in their jacket's chest pockets, video calls were running live between them. It was Utaro's idea. This way, they could see each other's situation in case something happened.
Shuhi adjusted hers and stared at the screen showing Utaro's chest cam.
"This place feels so dead," she whispered. "Even ghosts would be scared."
"Then the killer will feel it as home," Utaro replied.
Shuhi asked, "Hey senpai... speaking of the killer, no one's supposed to be here at night… then who's gonna be the victim?"
Utaro was quiet for a second.
"Maybe the killer will bring someone here. Unconscious maybe. Then kill here just for the sake of the… narrative."
Narrative.
That word stung a little. Too cold. Too mechanical. But then again, she knew this killer was playing with symbols, meanings, theatrics. They weren't just killing people. They were telling stories. This murder would be for the same reason. Widening the maze, creating another part of the narrative.
2:20 AM
They split up.
"I'll check upstairs," Shuhi said.
"Fine. I'll take the lower floor," Utaro replied.
They nodded at each other through the video feed.
Shuhi climbed the stairs slowly. Every step, the floor was creaking. As she passed the student council room, her hand subconsciously turned into a fist.
"One day I'm going to make him pay," she thought.
2:39 AM
Utaro was passing through the science lab. His torchlight slid across walls covered in faded periodic tables and class schedules.
Everything was quiet. Too quiet.
He was about to turn a corner when he suddenly felt something. Something cold. Someone suddenly held a knife on his throat.
"Now what's the meaning of this?" he said. His voice wasn't scared. Just… annoyed. As if this was beneath him.
He didn't even need to look back.
"…Shuhi," he said with a disgusted breath.
Her voice came firm and clear behind him.
"Don't pretend dumb."
Dead Logic © 2025 by Muntasib_Ihshan789 is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International