Chapter 10: Breaking Point

"Aragiri-kun, you can go now," the doctor said, closing the medical chart. "But be careful. Don't overexert yourself and don't push your body to the limit. It would be better to rest some more."

Takeru nodded with a light smile. "Alright, thank you, doctor."

"Have a good day, Aragiri-kun."

"You too."

Takeru left the infirmary in silence. No questions. No mention of Midorikawa.

Just silence.

. . .

He crossed the courtyard. Students noticed him, some approached with questions, but he greeted them briefly and kept walking without stopping.

. . .

He arrived in front of his old room's door. He pulled the keys from his pocket and was about to insert them into the lock when—

"Boy! You can't go in there! That's not your room!"

Takeru turned around. A guard was staring at him with a stern expression.

"What do you mean? This is my room."

"It's not. It was!" The guard approached with determined steps. "Your things have been transferred to your new room. Give me the old keys and take these new ones."

Takeru stared at him, confused. "What? What do you mean it changed? And why?"

The guard pulled out a tablet from his pocket and scrolled his finger across the screen.

"You're Aragiri Takeru, right?"

"Yes, that's me."

The guard nodded and typed something. "Good. Your room is no longer in Block A, but in Block C."

"What? What are these blocks?"

"Come with me," the guard said, starting to walk. "I'll explain while we go to your new accommodation."

Takeru followed him, hands clenched into fists in his pockets.

They walked in silence for a few seconds, then the guard began to speak.

"While you were in the infirmary, the results of the practical and theoretical tests came out. Based on those, each student receives stars. From zero to fifteen in total."

"Stars?" Takeru asked.

"Yes. They're based on five main categories, and in each category there are three stars. Zero stars means terrible. Three stars means excellent."

The guard stopped in front of an elevator and pressed the button.

"The categories are: Intelligence, Physical Ability, Social Ability, Problem Solving Ability, and Morality."

Takeru listened without saying anything.

The elevator arrived. They entered.

"You, Aragiri Takeru, received the following scores."

The guard read from the tablet with a neutral tone.

"Intelligence: zero stars."

Takeru --> :)

"Physical Ability: three stars."

At least that.

"Social Ability: one star."

"Problem Solving Ability: one star."

"Morality: one star."

The guard looked up from the tablet. "Total: six stars."

Takeru didn't respond.

Intelligence zero. They gave me zero. It was obvious.

The elevator stopped. The doors opened.

"Based on these stars, everything is decided," the guard continued as they exited. "If you have fifteen stars, you'll rest in the most luxurious rooms you've ever seen. You'll eat like there's no tomorrow. Everything will be at your disposal."

They walked along a narrow corridor. The walls were darker compared to Block A.

"At ten stars, the luxury drops a bit, but you'll still be well off. Six stars is barely saving you. Below five stars... you're at risk."

Takeru stopped. "At risk? Of what?"

The guard turned and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Anyone who has less than five stars at the end of the trimester will be discharged."

"Discharged?" Takeru felt his breathing get heavier. "What does that mean? In what sense? Explain."

The guard answered with an icy and cutting voice.

"They will wash their hands of your life."

Takeru stood motionless.

Discharged.

They'll wash their hands...

The guard resumed walking. "Here's your new room. Room 304-C."

He stopped in front of an anonymous door and turned the handle.

The door opened.

Takeru entered.

A single bed with a thin mattress. A scratched nightstand. A wobbly desk. A wooden chair.

No carpet. No spacious wardrobe. No large window with a garden view.

I had double this space before.

His things were piled in a corner inside cardboard boxes.

The guard handed him the new keys. "Welcome to Block C, Aragiri."

Then he left, closing the door behind him.

Takeru stood still in the center of the room.

Silence.

Only the sound of his breathing.

Six stars.

Intelligence zero.

Discharged if I drop below five.

He placed his bag on the bed. The mattress creaked under the weight.

His hands began to tremble.

This academy...

Everything seems like it's from a story. Nothing is normal.

The incidents. The professors. The guards. The Headmaster.

And now this star system.

Thoughts piled up, faster and faster.

Gangs. Discrimination. Suffering.

We'll become mice in a circus. The adults are the cats. And who's watching the show?

His breathing became shorter.

It doesn't make sense. NOTHING makes sense.

Takeru headed to the small bathroom attached to the room. He turned on the faucet and washed his face with cold water.

But it wasn't enough.

He put his head directly under the faucet.

Cold water flowed over his hair, on his neck, on his face.

Seconds. Minutes.

But peace didn't come.

The thoughts kept spinning, more and more chaotic.

Too much. It's too much. All at once.

And then, without warning—

He started to laugh.

Quietly at first. Then louder and louder.

An uncontrolled laugh, almost hysterical.

"Hahah... hahahaha... HAHAHA!"

Hands resting on the sink. Water still running. Laughter filling the bathroom.

I'm going crazy. I'm really going crazy.

KNOCK KNOCK.

Takeru froze immediately.

The laughter cut off abruptly.

He quickly dried his face with one hand and opened the bathroom door.

A guard was at the room's threshold, with a worried expression.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

Takeru looked at him and smiled.

A calm smile. Controlled.

"Everything's alright."

The guard hesitated for a second, then nodded and left.

Takeru closed the door.

The smile disappeared immediately.

No. Nothing is alright.

He looked at himself in the mirror above the sink.

His eyes were bloodshot. His face was wet.

I need answers. Now.

. . .

Takeru left the room and walked quickly down the corridor.

Hands clenched into fists. Jaw tight.

Answers. About everything.

About the stars. About Midorikawa. About this damn academy.

He arrived in front of Professor Tachibana's office.

He didn't knock.

He opened the door violently.

BAM.

The professor looked up from her desk, surprised.

"Aragiri! What's going on?"

Takeru entered and closed the door behind him with a kick.

"That's exactly what I want to know."

He approached the desk with heavy steps.

"I want answers. Now."

The professor adjusted her glasses, but her face remained calm. Too calm.

"Answers about what, Aragiri-kun?"

"About EVERYTHING!" Takeru slammed his hands on the desk violently. SLAM.

The documents on the desk trembled.

"This star system! Nobody ever told me about it! And now they tell me if I drop below five stars I'll be discharged!? What does that mean!?"

The professor didn't react. She remained seated, with her hands folded in front of her.

"It means exactly what you heard," she said with a calm voice.

"And Midorikawa!?" Takeru shouted. "Where is she!? Why did she do what she did!? Did they find out!? I want to see her!"

"No."

Takeru stared at her, incredulous. "What?"

"You can't see her." The professor tilted her head slightly. "Not right now. You don't seem... normal."

A subtle smile appeared on her face.

As if she was enjoying it.

Takeru felt his blood boil.

She's... enjoying this?

"You think this is a joke!?" he shouted, slamming his hands on the desk again.

"Aragiri-kun, I advise you to calm down."

"CALM DOWN!? They took everything from me! They put me in a terrible room! And you're not giving me any answers! Come on! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US! WHY THIS CIRCUS! "

The professor said nothing.

She just sat there. Calm. Sadistic.

That unnatural calm that drives people mad.

She's humiliating me. With her silence. With that smile.

The urge to strike. To destroy.

It returned before his eyes.

But he controlled himself.

No. I mustn't. Not here.

The professor, without taking her eyes off him, reached her hand under the desk.

And pressed a button.

Takeru saw it.

"NO!"

He lunged forward and grabbed the professor's wrist with force.

She tried to pull her hand back, but Takeru's grip was too strong.

"Let me go!" the professor said, trying to break free.

But it was too late.

The office door burst open.

Four guards rushed in, armed.

Takeru let go of the professor's wrist.

The skin where he'd grabbed her was completely red.

The guards immediately surrounded him.

"On the ground! Now!"

Takeru didn't move.

Two guards lunged at him.

Takeru reacted on instinct.

A straight punch to the first guard's face. CRACK.

The man fell backward.

A kick to the second one's stomach. he doubled over, breathless.

But two more guards came from behind.

They grabbed his arms.

Takeru tried to break free, but there were too many.

A fifth guard entered and blocked his legs.

"Hold him still!"

Takeru fought with all the strength he had.

But there were too many of them.

The handcuffs clicked on his wrists.

CLICK.

And then—

A pain.

Strong. Sudden.

In his chest.

Like someone was squeezing his heart with their hands.

Takeru's eyes widened. His breathing stopped.

He couldn't speak. He couldn't scream.

His legs gave out.

The last thing he thought, before everything went black, was:

[FUCK IT!]

. . .
. .
.

BEEP.

BEEP.

BEEP.

Takeru slowly opened his eyes.

White ceiling.

Here again.

He was in the same infirmary room.

Guards around the bed. They watched him in silence.

As soon as they saw he'd woken up, one of them left the room.

A few seconds later, the doctor entered.

"Aragiri-kun, how do you feel?"

Takeru didn't answer immediately. He looked at the ceiling.

"What happened?" he finally asked, his voice hoarse.

"You fainted. It was caused by stress," the doctor said with a professional tone.

Stress.

Takeru closed his eyes.

I don't believe it.

He opened his eyes again and looked at the window.

It was still dark outside. But there was a hint of light on the horizon.

"What time is it?"

"Six in the morning. Monday."

Another day has passed.

Takeru expected the guards to take him away. To a cell. To isolation.

But instead, one of them approached and said:

"Get ready. You have to go to the Hollow."

Takeru remained motionless.

The Hollow.

Now.

Without training. Without preparation.

After a month in the infirmary.

He said nothing.

He lay there, staring at the ceiling.

Exhausted.