Chapter 5 : Ellie’s Trap

Chapter 5 : Ellie’s Trap 
"Heroes ask for consent. Monsters act without it, because sometimes the world doesn’t wait for permission to burn." — Adam

The school corridors always smelled of lemon cleaner and old chalk. In the mornings, students flooded in like river water, chattering and laughing and shoving each other in the easy way kids with no real burdens did. And walking among them, like the moon among stars, was Ellie Kasugano.

People said she was sunshine in a school full of shadows. They weren’t wrong. She brought snacks for the art club. She volunteered to help clean the science lab even when she wasn’t on duty. She organized the White Day charity raffle by herself. She even remembered birthdays, all of them. Including the quiet transfer student from Sapporo that no one else noticed. 

But people didn’t see everything. 

They didn’t see the way Ellie flinched, so subtly, when someone called her name too loudly. They didn’t notice the way she’d tense when Komamura, her “boyfriend,” slung an arm around her shoulders in the hallway, squeezing just a bit too hard. 

They didn’t know she wore a bandage under her cardigan.

 But Adam did.

He didn’t notice her because she was pretty. He didn’t notice her because she was kind. He noticed her because she was caged, the way all wounded things are. And monsters like Adam always recognized the scent of captivity.

It began with something trivial.

Lunch.

She forgot hers. She was too tired, too scattered that morning, overslept after staying up late working on the student council report. When the lunch bell rang, Ellie sat at her desk, stomach rumbling, trying to laugh it off. 

That’s when she saw the bento on her desk. Neatly wrapped in black cloth. No note.

She blinked. Looked around. No one watching. No one claimed it.

 But during cleanup period, she caught sight of Adam slipping out the back entrance of the class. No lunch in his hands. No expression on his face. Just... leaving

She chased him down two hallways before she caught up

“Hey, wait! That bento. It was yours, right?

He didn’t look at her. “Wasn’t hungry.”

 “But—”

“I didn’t do it for you.”

 “You didn’t what?”

He didn’t answer. Just kept walking

That’s when she got curious.

 She began to notice him.

The way he always sat nearest to the window, back to the wall, eyes scanning every corner of the room. The way he always left his phone face down, but when he picked it up, his thumb never wavered, like he’d already memorized what he wanted to show

He was calculating. Distant. Cold.

 And strangely magnetic.

…

Days later, a note appeared in Ellie’s locker

It was folded precisely. Written in clean handwriting.
Come to the gym after classes. I need to talk. — Adam

She held it in her hand all afternoon, fingers twitching. Something about the lack of emotion in the words made her stomach twist. But she went.

 And that’s when she walked into hell

The gym was cold and dimly lit. She stepped inside. The doors slammed behind her.

 And she saw Komamura. And four of his friends.
Waiting. 
Sneering.
 Hungry

"You think you can flirt with other guys now?" he said, stepping forward, voice low and venomous. “No, I didn’t,” Ellie took a step back. 

He grabbed her wrist. Tight.

 Slap

Her vision swam

“You think I don’t see that pretty-boy freak staring at you like he owns you?” “I haven’t done anything, please!” Slap. Her lip split. Blood. Salt. 

Komamura’s gang moved in, grinning like jackals. Hands touched where they weren’t welcome. One of them laughed.

And that’s when the gym door creaked open

Adam stood there.

His uniform was loose. His sleeves rolled. His tie undone

His eyes? Empty.

 Komamura laughed. “You came to save her, freak?”

Adam didn’t reply. He walked forward. Calm. Deliberate.

"You’re misunderstanding," Adam said softly, almost kindly

"I’m not here to save anyone

I’m here to hurt you."

 The fight was fast. Brutal.

Adam fought like someone who had memorized where bones liked to break.

 A heel stomp to the shin. An elbow to the throat. One boy gasped and collapsed from a jab to the side of the neck. Another tried to punch him, Adam ducked low and drove a knee into his gut hard enough to make him vomit.

Komamura came last. With a crowbar

Adam dodged. Grabbed the bar mid-swing. Twisted.

 The snap of Komamura’s elbow breaking was deafening. His scream was worse.

Ellie was frozen. Hands shaking. Heart racing

Adam stood over Komamura, foot pressing into his chest.
“If you ever touch her again,” he said, voice colder than death, 
“I’ll break something you can’t heal from.”

Then he walked to Ellie.
 Bent. Lifted her gently
She clung to his shirt, dizzy, her eyes wide.

 “You let them trap you too easily,” 

he said. “I thought… it was you,” she whispered.

 “I know.”

…

They left the gym without looking back. Outside, the sky had gone orange and purple. The wind was soft

Ellie held his jacket around her shoulders.
“You planned that, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

He stopped. Looked at her for the first time, really looked. “Because for once… someone should be afraid of you.” 

…

Ellie didn’t speak. Not at first.

 But the next day, when Adam sat beside her in class without asking, she didn’t flinch when his fingers brushed hers.

And in that moment, she stopped being sunshine. She became something new. Something dangerous.

 She became his.