My Knife Pointing At Your Heart

CHAPTER 3

Chapter 3: The Cassette Tape
YURIKA'S POV:

The smell of a rich, savory stew filled the air as I stepped through the front door. The house was immaculate, as always. My father sat at the polished wooden dining table, silently turning the pages of a thick book, completely absorbed in his own world. In the kitchen, my mother, Ryoba, hummed a soft, cheerful melody as she stirred the pot on the stove.
She paused her humming as I entered. Without turning around, she asked a simple question that made my heart skip a beat.

"Did you find him?"

My breath hitched. A sudden, unfamiliar flush of heat crept up my neck. I fluttered my eyes, staring at her back, completely at a loss for words. How did she know? I wasn't ready to tell my parents about the boy who had suddenly become the center of my universe. The obsession brewing inside me felt too sacred, too raw. I wanted to keep him a secret, locked away in my mind forever.
I chose to stay silent. My mother didn't press the issue. She just let out a soft, knowing chuckle and finished preparing dinner.

We ate in complete silence. The only sounds were the clinking of silverware against porcelain. Suddenly, my mother set her chopsticks down and dabbed her mouth with a napkin.

"Darling, your father and I are going to America," she announced brightly.
I looked up, blinking. "Why?"
She smoothly ignored my question, her smile never wavering. "Oh, don't worry about the house, honey. You can take care of yourself. I'm pretty sure by the time we get back, you'll have a boyfriend!"

She winked at me. My father remained completely silent, not even looking up from his meal as he continued to eat.
The next morning, the house was empty. No note. No goodbyes. Just the lingering scent of my mother's perfume.
"I guess they left," I murmured to the empty hallway. Feeling no particular sorrow, I methodically prepared my uniform, packed my lunch, and left for school.

The morning air was crisp as I approached the grand gates of the academy. Midori was already there, bouncing on her heels and waving frantically the moment she spotted me.
"Yurika! Finally! I've been waiting for you forever!" she squealed.
"Why are you so happy?" I asked, my voice returning to its usual flat tone. "Did something happen?"

Midori leaned in, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "You know Sumire? She's planning to confess her feelings to Jokichi this Friday under the cherry tree!"

The world seemed to stop spinning. The ambient noise of the students around us faded into a dull ringing. Shock hit me first, rapidly followed by a dark, suffocating wave of rage.

"Shush, Yurika! Don't look so surprised!" Midori giggled, completely oblivious to the monster waking up inside me. "Only five people know about this, including us!"

My hands began to twitch. I curled them into tight fists, hiding them in the folds of my skirt to conceal the trembling.
I can't let this happen, a voice snarled in my head. I have to stop her. Even if I have to hurt her. Even if I have to kill her.

Without another word to Midori, I turned on my heel and marched toward the school building. I went straight to my classroom. Sumire was already there, giggling with a group of girls near the window. I sat at my desk, my eyes locked onto her like a predator watching its prey.

The bell rang. The teacher walked in, and moments later, Jokichi entered, taking his seat. Just seeing the back of his head calmed the raging storm in my chest, but only slightly.

As the teacher began writing on the chalkboard, Sumire and her friends continued to whisper and laugh, ignoring the lesson. The teacher finally snapped, slamming his chalk against the board.
"You are entirely too loud!" he barked, glaring at the room. Sumire shrank in her seat, her face flushing with regret.
I saw my opportunity. I stood up, my chair scraping loudly against the floor.
"Sir, it was Sumire," I said, my voice clear and completely devoid of malice. "She is the one making the noise."
The class gasped collectively. Sumire looked at me, her eyes wide with betrayal.

"Is this true?" the teacher demanded.
Before Sumire could defend herself, Midori and another classmate, Pippi, chimed in. "It's true," Midori said. "We heard her too."

Sumire looked absolutely devastated. She was immediately sent to the Guidance Counselor, Ginko Saronaha.

Down in the cramped office, Ginko crossed her arms, looking sternly at the trembling girl. "Why are you being disruptive while your advisor is trying to teach? Is there a problem at home, Sumire?"

Sumire stared at her shoes for ten long seconds before a tear slipped down her cheek. "I'm sorry. I know it's wrong, but I couldn't stop myself from chatting. It won't happen again, I promise."
Ginko sighed, her harsh expression softening just a fraction. "It's highly unusual for you to act out like this. I choose to trust you. Don't let this become a habit. You may leave."

When Sumire returned to the classroom, she looked thoroughly defeated. To my surprise, she walked straight over to my desk.

"I'm sorry for being so loud, Yurika. I hope you can forgive me," she whispered, looking ashamed.
I offered her a perfectly practiced, sympathetic smile. "I understand, Sumire. Let's just hope it doesn't happen again."

She nodded meekly and slinked back to her seat. I turned my attention back to the front of the room, a satisfied grin threatening to break my composure. Step one is complete. She is weak.

When the bell rang for recess, the classroom emptied quickly. Students flooded the hallways, heading for the canteen. I noticed Sumire didn't join her friends. Humiliated from the morning's events, she crossed her arms on her desk and buried her face in them, choosing to nap instead.

A genuine, chilling smile crept across my face. Isolating her was going to be easier than I thought.

Midori and I walked toward the canteen. As we approached the entrance, I froze. Jokichi was standing near the vending machines. The sunlight caught his hair perfectly. He looked even more handsome than he had the day before.
I felt that same intense warmth flood my chest. I stared, my face turning bright red.

"Why are you blushing?" Midori teased, bumping her shoulder against mine. "Is it because of the new boy? Jokichi?"
I snapped out of my trance. "It's nothing!" I quickly denied, though my cheeks were burning.

"Don't worry," Midori beamed, miming zipping her lips. "Your secret is safe with me."

We bought our snacks and headed back outside to eat. As we walked across the courtyard, my shoe hit something hard hidden in the grass near a large oak tree. I paused, looking down.
It was an old, scuffed plastic rectangle. A cassette tape.

"Why is there a cassette tape out here?" I muttered to myself. I told Midori to go ahead without me. A strange sense of curiosity urged me to pick it up. I remembered seeing a dusty, outdated cassette player sitting in the corner of the school's computer lab.

I slipped into the empty, dimly lit lab. The hum of the servers was the only sound in the room. I popped the tape into the player and pressed the heavy PLAY button.

For a few seconds, there was only the loud, hissing static of old magnetic tape. Then, a man's voice broke through. He sounded exhausted. Terrified.
"Hello? Can anyone hear me? I am an investigative journalist. If someone is listening to this... please, listen until the very end."

I leaned closer to the speaker, frowning.
"The year is 1990. It has been a year since the court trial of the girl enrolled at Akademi. I strongly suspect she murdered those girls... the ones who showed interest in her crush. She got away with it. She is incredibly dangerous. If you cross paths with her, do not get on her bad side. I am fleeing to America. I cannot be involved with her anymore. If someone finds this... please, be careful."

The tape clicked, followed by dead silence.

I stared at the spinning plastic reels for a long moment. A girl who kills for her crush? A journalist fleeing to America? It sounded like the plot of a cheap comic book.

"What a stupid prank," I scoffed, pressing the eject button. I tossed the cassette into the wastebasket by the door without a second thought, smoothed out my skirt, and walked back out into the bright hallway to plan for Friday.