Where She Bleeds

Haruto sat against the wall with slow and steady breaths as he recounted everything to Asahi. His voice was low, hollow, as if the weight of his words threatened to crush him. Asahi listened in silence, tending to Ren, who had curled up beside him, his body trembling even in sleep.

[ Haruto’s POV ]

In the grocery store that day, I had barely processed your departure when I heard the scream once again. Without hesitation, I sneakily pushed forward.

When I finally barged into the room, the scene before me made my stomach turn.

A girl, barely holding herself together. Her clothes were torn and bloodied as she was desperately fighting off two men. They laughed cruelly as they grabbed her wrists, shoving her back against the shelves.

I didn’t think. I acted immediately.

My body moved on instinct as I slammed into the first man, sending him sprawling to the ground. The second turned in shock, but I was already upon him, swinging fists in a blind fury. I barely registered the way my knuckles split open upon impact, the sickening crack of the man’s nose breaking under my punch.

The girl scrambled back into a corner, grasping for breath. Her eyes were wide open with a mix of terror and disbelief.

But then –

A sharp pain erupted in the back of my skull.

I had barely registered the third man before it was too late. He struck a heavy wooden plank against my head. My vision blurred and I staggered. I tried to steady myself, but darkness consumed me before I hit the ground.

When I finally woke up, I was somewhere else.

My body ached, but more importantly, I couldn’t see anything as a black cloth had been tied around my eyes. I tried to move, but my wrists were tied behind my back. The air was thick with dust, carrying a damp, metallic scent that sent a shiver down my spine.

Then I heard a soft, uneven breath beside me. Someone else was there.

I asked, “…Who’s there?”

A pause. Then, a whisper followed.

“…Aoi.”

I swallowed and forced myself to remain calm. “Aoi… That’s your name?”

“…Yes”

Her voice was frail and weak. It trembled, as if the very act of speaking hurt her.

I wanted to ask what had happened and where they were, but I felt that she was just as lost as I was.

Nevertheless, I still decided to ask. “Do you know where we are?”

“…No”

Another silence.

For a while, neither of us spoke.

We were trapped. We were afraid.

And all we had was the sound of each other’s breathing in the dark.

She was the girl from the store. The men had dragged her away after me out. She had fought, screamed and resisted, but it had all been futile. They had toyed with her, beaten her, but not killer her – because they needed her alive.

She didn’t know why.

For days, we whispered in the dark, sharing quiet works to keep our sanity intact. Our only solace was each other.

But, little by little, we spoke and opened up to each other. She spoke of her younger brother who was an excellent painter.

Then, the door opened.

Heavy footsteps echoed in the space, and a gruff voice called out. “Time to shut these two up.”

The man who entered was called Boss Yamaguchi.

The moment he stepped forward, the others around him stiffened, waiting for his orders.

“So, you’re the little shit who caused all that trouble?” His voice was filled with amusement as he crouched down, gripping my hair and yanking my head back.

I gritted my teeth but said nothing.

He clicked his tongue. “You should’ve stayed outta this.” Then, without warning, his fist slammed into my stomach.

Pain shot through my entire body.

Aoi also screamed in protest, struggling against her restrains.

Yamaguchi only laughed. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. You’ll have your turn soon enough.”

Days passed. Weeks, maybe. Time had lost all meaning.

Then, one night, the door opened again. But this time, Yamaguchi’s tone was different. Excited. Amused.

“It’s time.”

The blindfold was ripped from my eyes, and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, I saw.

The room was dimly lit, flickering torches casting twisted shadows across the walls. The air was thick with the scent of blood. In the center of the room, an altar stood – crude, yet ominous.

And there – Aoi.

She was kneeling, her wrists and ankles bound, her face streaked with dirt and dried blood. But her eyes – her eyes met with mine. They were unwavering and filled with a silent plea.

“Ren... Please tell him that the stars are still beautiful... even in the dark.”

These words had barely left her lips before the ritual began.

The men moved around, chanting words I didn’t understand. Then – the first cut

A blade, glinting in the torchlight, dragged across her skin.

Then another.

And another.

Her screams tore through the air, but no one flickered.

I thrashed against my restrains, screaming, cursing, but it was no use. I was forced to watch as they ripped her apart.

Her head, severed cleanly, was nailed to the wooden cross at the center of the room. Yet the smile on her face never vanished. Her limbs, which had been torn from her body, were arranged in a grotesque pattern on the ground.

Yamaguchi turned to me, smirking. “You’re next.”

This is when this little boy rushed into the basement but fainted upon seeing the sight in front of him. Seeing the boy, Yamaguchi panicked and hurriedly left the basement through the secret passage.

But I suspected that he might have gone to retrieve some weapons to take care of you. Thus, I suggested that we should’ve run away.

[ End of Haruto’s POV ]

Ren had been awake for a while now.

He had woken something during Haruto’s story, but he didn’t move nor make a single sound. He simply listened.

And when Haruto spoke of his sister’s final moments –

Something inside of him broke.

Tears welled up in his eyes, spilling over onto his cheeks. His tiny hands clenched the fabric of his clothes as his entire body trembled. He gasped for breath, but the weight of reality was too much for him.

She was gone.

Aoi – his big sister – his protector, his only family – was gone.

And he had seen it.

The image of her butchered body was still engraved into his mind. He tried to push it away, to forget it, but it was there. It refused to go away.

Flashbacks of her sister ran through his mind. The way she used to tease him. Constantly interrupting him as he painted. The laughs they shared as they had their meals…

He couldn’t take it.

A choked sound escaped his lips before he finally broke down completely.

Haruto and Asahi both turned at the sound.

Ren sat there, shoulders shaking violently. His tiny hands covered his face as he started sobbing uncontrollably. His cries were raw. It wasn’t just sorrow – it was pain. Grief. Desperation.

He could no longer hold it back.

Aoi was gone.

And no matter what he did, he could never bring her back.