Chapter 9: The Lies That Killed Us
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It had been nine days since Haruki last came to school.
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No messages. No phone calls. No posts. Nothing.
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Ren counted the days on his calendar like knife marks on skin. He thought the letter would bring clarity… maybe peace. Maybe something Haruki needed to hear.
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But now, he wasn’t sure.
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> “Did I break him?”
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“Did I pour too much of my heart into something that only hurt him more?”
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Ren hadn’t slept. His eyes were hollow, his body thin. The classroom, once a prison, had become a battlefield. Whispers returned. Louder than before. Nastier.
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> “He made Haruki disappear.”
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“He probably stalked him again.”
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“Bet he did something worse this time.”
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The air felt poisoned. No one would sit near him anymore.
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And then, it happened.
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A new rumor exploded like wildfire, crueler than anything before.
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The source? A boy named Yuto Hayashi, quiet, unnoticed — until now.
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Yuto claimed he had seen everything that day. He had been coming out of the bathroom, just around the corner from the music room, when he saw Ren.
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“He knelt there, right outside the door like a freak,” Yuto told the class. “Then he left a letter. And after that… he waited. Like a stalker.”
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At first, it sounded harmless.
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But Yuto didn’t stop there.
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He added lies. Poisoned, wicked lies.
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> “I saw it with my own eyes,” he said. “Ren went inside. He kissed Haruki—on the lips. Haruki shoved him and screamed. He ran out crying. He was terrified.”
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> “He told me himself,” Yuto added. “Ren tried to force him.”
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The classroom fell silent. Then rage followed.
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Ren denied it — of course he did. But no one listened. Not this time.
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> “You monster.”
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“You made him disappear.”
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“You hurt him.”
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They beat him.
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Not all at once. But punches. Shoves. Spit in his face. A notebook slammed into his desk. Someone yanked his bag and dumped it across the floor.
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Ren didn’t fight back.
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He just sat there.
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Numb.
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Bleeding.
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Heart caving in.
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All he kept thinking was:
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> “I hurt him. I ruined everything. I loved him… and I destroyed him.”
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Meanwhile, across the city, Haruki hadn't left his room in nine days.
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His mother knocked every morning.
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He didn’t answer.
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The letter still lay on his desk — worn at the edges, tear-stained. He had read it a thousand times. Every word dug deeper into his chest.
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He remembered the way Ren wrote about his smile.
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> “It made my world make sense,” Ren had written.
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Haruki clutched his knees and rocked gently, whispering to himself.
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> “I didn’t mean to hurt him… I didn’t…”
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But he had.
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And now, both of them were sinking — alone, broken, and silenced by lies they never asked for.
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