The Day I Was Bitten [After School / Abandoned Shrine]

In the pouring rain, Hara ran past an old torii gate and into the abandoned shrine. Clutched against his chest was a limited-edition character bag that would be ruined if it got soaked.

(Bully) : “Hara! You think I can’t find you just because you hide in there?”

(Hara) : “At this rate, my merch is gonna die before I do.”

There was nowhere else to go. Hara spotted a narrow gap beneath the main hall and squeezed himself inside.

The moment he planted his hand—

Squeak!

A weasel bit the back of his hand.

(Hara) : “Agh!”

Lightning flashed. The weasel didn’t run. It simply stared at him.

Outside, the bully’s footsteps came closer.

(Bully) : “I know you’re in there. Come out!”

Hara covered his mouth and held his breath.

After a while, the footsteps faded away.

When Hara crawled back out, the weasel was still sitting there in the rain.

(Hara) : “Did you bite me on purpose?”

The weasel vanished into the darkness.

[Night / Hara’s Room]

Hara burned with a high fever.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

The second hand of the clock sounded as if it were ticking right beside his ear.

(Hara) : “Why does it sound like someone put the clock inside my head...?”

The bite on the back of his hand throbbed hot.

Then he heard a railroad crossing alarm from very far away.

Ding, ding, ding—

And a faint voice.

“...Help me....”

Hara’s eyes snapped open.

Outside his window, everything was quiet.

[Next Day / School Hallway]

The fever was gone, but the world had become unbearably loud.

Pages turning. Sneakers dragging over the floor. Even the snap of a mechanical-pencil lead.

Everything was far too clear.

A bully from his class blocked his path.

(Bully) : “You ran pretty well yesterday.”

Koharu noticed Hara’s pale face and approached.

(Koharu) : “Are you sick?”

(Hara) : “No. Just didn’t sleep much.”

The bully swung a fist.

Before it even came, Hara knew.

The faint pull of the shoulder muscle.

The brush of fabric.

The vibration of a foot pushing off the floor.

His body moved first.

Hara stepped half a pace aside and caught the bully by the wrist.

(Bully) : “Ow! Let go!”

Hara froze.

He had barely used any strength, yet the other boy’s face had gone white.

(Hara) : “I... I’m not even squeezing that hard.”

He let go at once.

Koharu stared at him in disbelief.

(Koharu) : “What was that just now?”

(Hara) : “I don’t know.”

That wasn’t a lie.

He really didn’t know.

All he knew was that beneath the bandage, the bite mark had begun to burn again.