Chapter 12: — "The Mark"

I woke up groggy, my whole body heavy like I hadn’t slept at all. Which was true. My eyes burned, and when I glanced in the mirror across my room, there they were, dark bags carved under them. Perfect.

I stretched with a yawn that nearly cracked my jaw, rolling my stiff shoulders. My bed was warm and messy, but my stomach growled louder than my brain told me to care. Food first. Always food first.

Too tired to even bother with clothes, I shuffled out of bed butt-naked, dragging my feet across the floor like some kind of zombie. Honestly, I didn’t even think about it. Just hunger.

The smell of cleaning detergent hit me first as I stepped into the kitchen. And of course, there it was, our old service drone, the one my dad built years ago. It turned toward me with its little metal arms whirring and its fake cheerful voice chirping.

“Morning, Yuzuki! Your daily cereal, like always!”

One of its spindly arms extended, holding a bowl of cereal like it was offering me a trophy. I took it, muttered a half-asleep “thanks,” and started turning back toward my room.

But then, because my luck is rotten, the drone stopped me mid-zombie-walk.

“You know,” it buzzed, its optical lens tilting up and down at me, “it’s not appropriate to walk around the house… butt-naked. That is considered bad manners—”

I cut it off, my voice low and cranky. “What? I can’t be naked in my own house?”

The drone stuttered, its little fan whirring nervously. “W-Well, I didn’t mean... you can, but not shamelessly just… like that…”

That ticked me off. My patience was gone the moment I woke up, and this floating tin can wanted to lecture me? I clutched its round body in both arms, yanking it close so it couldn’t float away.

“Listen, you stupid flying jerk. This is my house. My father’s house. Where we both live. You don’t get to lecture me or make decisions.”

Its speaker made a nervous beep. “…A-Apologies. I didn’t mean—”

But it kept going. Still lecturing me about “manners” and “appropriateness.”

That was it. My eye twitched. “You don’t know the night I had, so you better shut up or else—”

The drone let out an adorable little gulping noise, its lens flickering nervously. “O-Or what?”

I froze, bowl of cereal still in hand, realizing I had no actual comeback. With a frustrated groan, I shoved it away, stomped back toward my room, and muttered under my breath, “Stupid piece of scrap…”

The drone hovered there, watching me walk off. I swear I heard it sigh like some kind of tired babysitter. “Why is she always this dang stubborn?”

Its cleaning arm whirred back to life, spraying disinfectant as it grumbled and went back to scrubbing the counter.

I slammed my door shut behind me, flopped back onto my bed with my cereal, and sighed. Yeah. Perfect start to the morning.

I hunched over my cereal bowl, spoon clinking lazily against the rim. My eyes felt heavy, my body heavier. I needed something to distract me, anything. With a sigh, I grabbed the remote and flicked on the TV.

The bright news jingle stabbed at my ears, but then the anchor’s voice cut in, calm, professional, and way too serious.

“This just in,” the woman said, her expression sharp as the camera zoomed closer. “Yesterday evening, a fire broke out in the abandoned Terracyte district. Firefighters arrived quickly but struggled to contain the blaze, which consumed the building for several hours before it was finally extinguished.”

My spoon froze halfway to my mouth.

The screen changed, shaky drone footage of black smoke billowing from a building, fire trucks scattered below. The anchor continued, voice steady:

“After suppressing the flames, investigators entered the structure. What they found was… unusual.”

The shot switched to blurry photos of twisted, blackened metal scattered across the floor of the ruined building. Even through the pixelation, I recognized it instantly.

A drone. The drone.

The anchor’s partner, a man with a low voice, picked up the report. “Sources confirm that inside the wreckage was a massive drone unlike any seen before. Its armor was obliterated, its systems completely fried, wires melted beyond recognition. Officials believe the drone’s malfunction triggered the fire and subsequent explosion, but investigations are ongoing.”

The woman added, “Authorities are asking anyone with information to step forward as they attempt to understand how such an advanced, heavily armed drone ended up in Terracyte in the first place.”

My chest locked up. My spoon dropped back into the bowl with a splash of milk.

“Fuck…” I whispered. My hands trembled as I shoved the cereal aside. My legs carried me up before I realized it, pacing back and forth across the room.

I killed it. I killed the damn drone. But I didn’t mean to burn a whole building down. I was just... just trying to save us.

My heart hammered against my ribs, panic clawing at me. If they found out… if they traced it back…

The door creaked open.

“Yuzuki, school starts in a few—” My father’s voice cut off. I spun around to see him standing there, eyes blinking in surprise. At me. Naked.

My face exploded red. “DAD! EVER HEARD OF KNOCKING? GET OUT!”

He didn’t even look ashamed. He just frowned and asked flatly, “Why the hell are you—”

“THE BETTER QUESTION IS, WHY DO YOU KEEP STARING?!” I shouted back, cutting him off, my voice cracking with fury and embarrassment.

He shrugged, like it was nothing. “Sorry.” But the way he said it… cold, careless. Like he didn’t mean it at all.

“REMEMBER TO KNOCK NEXT TIME, YOU BASTARD!” I screamed as the door clicked shut behind him.

But he was already gone.

I stood there, fists shaking, my heart pounding harder than before. Not from him, I was used to his distant crap, but from the news. From the building. From the drone.

I sank onto my bed, buried my face in my hands, and whispered into the silence: Please. Please don’t let them find out. Please don’t let them connect it to us.

When I finally moved again, I forced myself into underwear, skirt, and shirt, trying to look halfway normal. My stomach was still twisted in knots as I headed for the door. Every step felt heavy.

As I walked out, I kept praying silently, to the stars, to gods, to anything that might be listening, that me, Kaito, and Rin wouldn’t get caught.

The walk to school felt heavier than usual. Every step echoed yesterday in my head, the fire, the drone, the news. My stomach churned even worse when I spotted Rin on the bench by the gate, hunched forward, her hands clasped like she was holding herself together.

I walked over, trying to sound casual. “Hey… uh, did you see the news this morning?”

Her eyes flicked up at me, wide and shaken, and she gave the smallest nod. “Yeah. I saw.” Her voice was quieter than I’d ever heard it. “We need to stay low, Yuzuki. Don’t tell anyone. Not a word. If anyone finds out it was us—” She cut herself off, biting her lip hard.

I nodded quickly. “I know. I won’t. I swear.”

Before either of us could say more, the bell rang, sharp and loud. Rin stood, brushed herself off, and jerked her chin toward the building. “Come on. Class.”

I followed her inside, but as soon as we stepped into the hallway, the noise hit me. Everyone, literally everyone, was talking about it.

“The fire... did you see how big it was?”
“They said it was some kind of war drone.”
“Maybe the military’s involved…”

Every word felt like it was pointed at me, like the whole school somehow knew. I kept my head down, walking close to Rin.

Then a boy stepped out in front of us. Jiro. His uniform neat, his face smug, like always.

“Hey, Rin,” he said, tilting his head. “Did you see the news? About that building and the drone? You… don’t know anything about that, do you?”

Rin froze. For the first time since I met her, she looked awkward, almost guilty. “I, uh… I mean, I saw it. On the news. That’s all.”

Jiro raised an eyebrow, studying her. “Really?" he asked confused. "Then why are you being kinda awkwa—”

“None of your business, pal!” I cut in before he could finish. My voice came out sharper than I expected, loud enough to turn a few heads. “Turn around and do your damn homework like you always do, nerd!”

Jiro’s mouth fell open slightly. He looked at me like I’d just slapped him, then muttered, “Geez, okay…” and walked off, grumbling under his breath.

Rin stared at me, eyes wide. She didn’t say anything, but I could almost hear her thought: She’s… changing. She never would’ve snapped like that before.

I forced a deep breath and glanced at her. “You wanna, uh, sit together? Double desk?” Normally I sat alone, head down, invisible. But right now… I didn’t want to be alone.

For a second she blinked at me, then the corner of her mouth lifted into the faintest smile. “Yeah. Let’s.”

So we sat. Side by side, like partners. Like… friends.

But even with Rin next to me, even with the warmth of her presence, I couldn’t push the thoughts away. The burned-out building. The smoking wreck of the drone. The possibility of someone connecting the dots.

I sat stiff in my chair, eyes on the blackboard, heart somewhere else entirely.

—

Recess finally came, and Rin and I just sat on a bench like zombies. My brain was fried from all the whispering in class about the news, and Rin looked just as drained.

We sat there in silence for a while, until Rin suddenly turned to me with the most serious face.

“Hey, Yuzuki,” she said. “Do you also do that thing where you fart in bed, then hide under the covers just to smell it?”

I nearly choked on my own spit. My eyes shot wide, and I could feel the heat rushing to my face. “W-WHAT? EXCUSE ME?”

Rin burst out laughing, slapping her knee. “Come on! Don’t tell me you don’t. Everyone does it!”

“I-I don’t!” I snapped, looking away, but my stupid blush betrayed me. I could already see her grin widening. "Ok fine... maybe I do..."

“Knew it,” she muttered smugly.

I groaned and shook my head, but I couldn’t help laughing a little too. “You’re seriously the weirdest person I’ve ever met.”

“And yet you’re still hanging out with me,” Rin shot back, smirking.

“Yeah, yeah…” I muttered, rolling my eyes but smiling anyway.

That’s when I remembered the sphere in my bag. “You know, we’re bored… wanna use the futuregaze? Just for fun?”

Her eyes lit up instantly. “Hell yeah.”

I pulled it out carefully, hiding it behind my bag so no nosy classmates could see. Before turning it on though, curiosity struck me. “Hey, Rin… yesterday. How did I see the future without the sphere? Just flashes in my head, like poof. That’s not supposed to happen, right?”

Rin frowned. “Yeah, normally it’s only the sphere. You just… did it on your own. I don’t get it either.”

“Me neither,” I admitted, rubbing the back of my neck. “It just… happened whenever you or Kaito were about to die. Guess I’m just a freak.”

Rin snorted. “You’re my kind of freak.”

I rolled my eyes again and turned the sphere on. The hologram shimmered to life, showing me and Rin walking back to class. Nothing unusual.

“Just useless shit so far,” Rin sighed, already bored.

“Wait shut up,” I said quickly, pausing the vision. My finger jabbed at the side of the projection. “Look. That truck.”

Rin leaned closer, squinting. Her eyes widened. It was the logo. the logo. The same one Kaito told us to watch for. Clear as day on the side of the moving truck.

“How did we miss that?” Rin groaned. “Are we blind?”

“I dunno,” I said, my pulse quickening. “But this is our chance. We need a picture of it for Kaito.”

The bell rang, but I ignored it. I burned the location into my head, grabbed Rin’s arm, and pulled her up. “Come on!”

We ran, weaving through students, out toward the street. And there it was, the truck. My stomach sank when I realized it was already pulling away.

“NO! STOP!” I yelled, breaking into a sprint.

Rin, quick as ever, whipped her phone out and snapped picture after picture, running alongside me. The truck sped off until it vanished into the streets.

I doubled over, panting. “FUCK! We didn’t get it—”

“Oh really?” Rin said smugly, waving her phone in front of me.

I blinked. “No… no way. You actually—”

“Yep.” She scrolled through, showing me. Some were blurry, some were crooked, but a few had the logo clear as crystal.

I stared at her, my jaw dropping, before a grin split across my face. “You’re… you’re a damn genius, Rin.”

She smirked back. “Told you I was the smart one.”

For a moment, we just stood there grinning like idiots, our nerves replaced with determination.

“We’ll show Kaito after school,” Rin said firmly.

I nodded, tucking the sphere away. “Yeah. This could be the break we need.”

We jogged back toward the building before the teachers noticed we were late, but my thoughts weren’t on class at all. They were on that logo, that truck, and the proof we finally had in our hands.

This wasn’t over. Not even close.