EPISODE 11~FINAL OPTION' SUICIDE '
829 Words
Shisei collapsed onto the rooftop, the heavy silence of the lunch break matching the exhaustion in her bones. Her mind spun in a jagged loop: she was a caged princess. If she wasn’t one now, she would be soon.
"What am I supposed to do?" she whispered, the words catching in her throat. Plan A—refusing the Isshikara Group’s offer—had crumbled. There was no strength left for a Plan B that involved fighting. This Plan B was an exit.
She climbed the railing, her fingers cold against the metal. Is this it? she wondered. Shouldn't the last moment of my life feel happy? Why does it just feel heavy?
The dam finally broke. "Why me?!" she screamed at the sky, her voice cracking like glass. "Of everyone in this world, why does the heir to the Ishikura Group have to be me? I don't want it! Why did you choose me?"
She stood there, trembling, the weight of the Ishikura legacy pressing down on her shoulders. In a moment of desperation, she dropped a crumpled piece of paper onto the roof—a final expression of her exhaustion—and looked out over the edge, feeling completely lost.
Before she could move, a firm hand caught her arm and pulled her back toward the safety of the rooftop. Shisei stumbled, her breath coming in ragged gasps, and looked up to see Toshiro standing there, his face tight with concern.
"What are you doing?" Shisei cried out, her voice a mix of shock and frustration. "You shouldn't be here. You should be in class! Why are you here?"
Toshiro held her gaze, his grip steady and grounding. "Because you shouldn't have to face this alone. I'm here for you."
"Well, don't be!" Shisei snapped, her desperation turning into a sharp defense. "If I want to die, let me die."
The atmosphere on the rooftop turned heavy, the wind whipping between them as the silence stretched thin. Toshiro finally let go of Shisei’s arm, but he didn't step back. His usual mysterious smirk was gone, replaced by a cold, professional stillness that Shisei had never seen before.
"You asked why I'm here," Toshiro said, his voice dropping into a low, hollow tone. He reached into his jacket, not for a pen or a notebook, but pulling out a small, metallic coin engraved with a serpent coiled around a broken crown.
Shisei stepped back, her breath hitching. "What is that?"
"It’s a calling card," Toshiro replied, staring at the coin. "I wasn't sent to this school by an 'algorithm,' Shisei. I was sent by an organization called 'No More Tyrants.' They specialize in removing the heirs of bloodline empires before they can take power."
Shisei’s eyes widened, her back hitting the cooling metal of the railing. "You're... one of them?"
"I’m a killer agent" he confessed, his gaze finally meeting hers. It was sharp and devoid of the classroom playfulness they had shared. "My orders were simple: infiltrate Class 1-A, get close to the Ishikura heir, and eliminate the threat she poses to the future. I was sent here to kill you, Shisei."
The rooftop felt like it was tilting. Shisei looked at the hand that had just saved her, then back at his face. "Then why did you pull me back? If that’s your job... why didn't you just let me go?"
Toshiro gripped the coin tight enough to turn his knuckles white. "Because I spent five days sitting behind you. I saw the girl who wants to be an idol, not the tyrant the organization described. I realized I can’t complete the mission for a girl who’s already fighting her own war."
Shisei’s voice cracked, the raw desperation turning into a sharp, defensive edge. "I said if I want to die, let me die! It’s none of your business!"
Toshiro didn't flinch. He stepped closer, his shadow falling over her as he looked her directly in the eyes. "Then let me make it my business," he countered, his voice low and unwavering. "Because I'm not going anywhere, Shisei."
Then Toshiro pulled her towards him and kissed her .
The tension on the rooftop reached a breaking point. Shisei’s shock turned into a cold, trembling fury. She shoved Toshiro back with every ounce of strength she had left, her heels skidding against the concrete as she created distance between them.
"How dare you touch me?" she hissed, her eyes narrowing into slits of pure ice. "You think because you saw me weak for one second that we’re equals? You think you can put your hands on me?"
"I am Shisei Ishikura," she declared, her voice dropping to a deadly, quiet whisper. "I don't care what 'organization' you belong to or what 'orders' you have. With one phone call, I can make sure you and your seven generations vanish from every record on this earth. You aren't my savior, Toshiro. You're a bug I haven't decided to crush yet."
- Writer
