Eclipsed: Echoes of a Forgotten Melody

Chapter Twenty Five: The Breaking Point

The pressure had been building for weeks. With Kaito Hoshino's relentless pursuit of the truth, the university administration was finally feeling the heat. News outlets had picked up on the story, and what had started as whispers in the academic community had grown into a public scandal. The very institution that had prided itself on being a cradle of artistic excellence was now at the center of an investigation into the emotional and mental abuse of its most talented students.

For Ishikawa, Mai, and the others, this was the moment they had all been waiting for—but it was also the most dangerous.

As the investigation gained momentum, there were powerful forces at play that sought to silence them. Letters arrived at Kaito's door, threatening legal action if he continued his crusade. Journalists who had promised to run stories suddenly backed out, citing mysterious pressures from higher-ups. But Kaito had expected this. He had been ready for it.

What he hadn't expected, however, was the toll it would take on his health.

It was one evening, as Ishikawa and Mai sat in the small apartment they now shared, that they received the call. Kaito had collapsed, his heart giving out under the strain of the battle he had been fighting. They rushed to the hospital, where Takumi and Seiichi were already waiting.

"He's stable for now," the doctor told them as they gathered around Kaito's hospital bed. "But the stress he's been under—it's too much. He needs to rest. If he keeps pushing himself like this..."

The doctor didn't need to finish the sentence. The meaning was clear.

Kaito, lying pale and weak beneath the hospital sheets, waved them off as if it were nothing. "I'm fine," he insisted, his voice rasping. "We're too close to the truth now. I can't stop. I won't stop."

Ishikawa exchanged a glance with Mai, worry creasing his brow. "You've done enough, Hoshino-san. We can take it from here."

Kaito shook his head stubbornly. "No. I started this. I need to see it through."

It was Takumi who finally stepped in. "Look, we all want justice for Seito. But if you push yourself any harder, you're going to kill yourself. What good will that do?"

The words hit Kaito harder than any threat or legal warning could have. He looked away, his face lined with exhaustion. "I just... I need to make sure they pay for what they did. They can't get away with it."

"They won't," Mai said softly. "We won't let them."

But as they left the hospital that night, a heavy silence hung between them. The fight for Seito's legacy was taking its toll on everyone, and Ishikawa couldn't shake the feeling that they were running out of time.

The next few days passed in a blur of meetings, phone calls, and strategy sessions. Kaito was forced to step back, leaving Ishikawa and the others to handle the bulk of the investigation. They sifted through countless documents, piecing together the hidden web of corruption that had ensnared the university. It was deeper than they had ever imagined.

But as they dug deeper, they also uncovered something else—something that chilled them to their cores.

Among the records, they found references to a program, code-named "The Composer's Curse." It was a covert initiative funded by wealthy patrons, designed to push young artists to their mental and emotional limits in pursuit of artistic brilliance. The students involved—Seito among them—had been subjected to psychological manipulation, forced to perform under extreme pressure, all for the sake of producing works of unparalleled genius.

The university had known. They had facilitated it.

Ishikawa felt sick as he read through the files. "This is... this is insane. They were experimenting on students like lab rats."