"What slept beneath his skin was never meant to stay asleep."
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Tamiko stood by the door, looking scared to see the strong Kento looking so weak. Kashima noticed and gave her a small, reassuring pat on the shoulder. "He's okay, Kaneri. He's just resting."
Shido marched right up to the bed, shoved his way between the girls, and snatched the wet towel off Kento's forehead. He pressed his palm against Kento's skin, squinting his eyes like a serious doctor.
"Wait a minute," Shido said, looking closely at his brother. "You don't have a fever at all. Your head is perfectly cool."
Hori and Shiyi rushed to his side. "Oh, you look terrible!" Hori said, sounding truly worried. "You were totally fine when I saw you this morning. What happened?"
Kento let out a long breath and slumped back against the pillows, his "tough" act finally breaking. "If I didn't act like I had a fever, Mom would have sent me to the market to buy vegetables for dinner. I just wanted a day off."
Shiyi laughed, shaking her head. "Kento, your mom would never ask you to do the shopping. She knows you're unreliable and you'd just buy snacks instead."
Everyone laughed at that. Hori smiled and sat on the edge of the bed. "You had me worried for no reason! I thought something was actually wrong."
Kento looked at his friends, the warm light of the room making the dark basement from his dream feel very far away. "Sorry, Hori. I guess I'm just a good actor."
The room was quiet. The air smelled like the rain outside and the sweet fruit on the table. Kento sat against his pillows. He looked tired. His face was pale in the orange light of the sunset.
"So, Kamitani," Kashima said. He was leaning against the wall, watching Kento closely. "How do you feel? What really happened?"
Kento rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't want to look at them. "I don't know. My stomach just started to hurt. It felt like a giant knot inside me."
Hori laughed a little, but she looked worried. She shook her head. "It wasn't your stomach, Kento! This morning, you were holding your ribs. You looked like someone had hit you."
Kento's face turned red. "It's... the same area," he muttered.
"That's not true," Shiyi said. She tilted her head to the side. "Rib pain and stomach pain are very different. One is bone, the other is not."
Shido stood up from the bed. He was big and made the room feel small. He had a mean, playful smile on his face. "Yeah, stop acting mysterious. Point to the spot, Mr. Leader. Let us see."
Kento gave a long sigh. He pointed his finger to the lower left side of his body. "Right here. Are you happy now?"
Tamiko stood at the end of the bed. She was squeezing her hands together very tightly. Her knuckles were white. "I never heard of a fever coming from a rib ache," she whispered. "What if it's something bad inside you?"
"She's right," Shiyi agreed. She looked at Kento's face. He was breathing hard. "Maybe you should see a doctor instead of hiding under the blankets, Kento."
Kento waved his hand. He tried to look tough again. "I'm fine, really. I'll just—"
Suddenly, Shido moved. He stepped right in front of Kento. Kento looked up at him. His eyes were wide and confused. He looked like a little brother who didn't know what was happening.
"Shido! Don't you dare touch him!" Hori yelled. She reached out to stop him.
"Please, don't hurt him, Shido," Tamiko begged.
Shido looked back at Hori. He made a fake sad face. "What? I'm a nice guy. I'm just a worried brother."
"You are the meanest person here," Shiyi said. She was smiling a little bit.
Kashima sighed. He put his hand over his eyes. He looked like he had a headache. "Kirishima, stop. There are girls in the room. Be a gentleman."
Shido laughed. It was a sharp, savage laugh. He looked at Kashima. "Wow, Kashima, you know a lot about being a 'gentleman.' Do you practice that with girls on the weekends? Have you ever even been this close to a girl before?"
"Don't say stupid things," Kashima said. He turned his head away and looked out the window. His face was stiff and angry.
Before Kento could move, Shido's hands jumped forward. He grabbed the bottom of Kento's pajama shirt and pulled it up fast.
"Hey! Stop!" Kento screamed. His face turned very bright red. He tried to push Shido's hands away. "What are you doing, you idiot?!"
Tamiko turned around immediately. she didn't want to look. Her face was burning with embarrassment. Kento was fighting, but Shido was too strong. Shido held the shirt up and looked closely at Kento's skin.
"Be quiet! I'm looking for a bruise!" Shido yelled.
Suddenly, the room went very cold. Kashima stepped closer to the bed. He wasn't angry anymore; he was very serious. Hori leaned in. She gasped and looked at Shiyi. "See... there is no bruise. There isn't even a red mark."
Shiyi leaned in too. She looked at the pale skin on Kento's side. "You're right. It's perfectly clear. If it hurts but there is no injury..." She looked at Hori. "It must be something inside."
As Shiyi spoke, Kashima looked at her. For a second, they stared at each other. It was a very heavy moment. Shiyi saw him looking and stared back, but Kashima quickly looked away. He looked back at Kento's ribs.
The sun hit Kento's skin.
Under the skin, something strange started to appear. It wasn't a bruise, and it wasn't a scar. A pattern of seven circles began to bleed into view, forming a glowing spiral. The rings pulsed with a soft silver light, looking exactly like the ancient mark from Kento's dream. It sat there on his ribs, beautiful and mysterious, carved right into his flesh.
The room fell unnaturally quiet.
Shiyi, Hori, and Kashima stood like statues, their eyes locked on Kento's exposed side. Beneath his skin, the seven silver rings didn't just sit there; they pulsed with a slow, steady rhythm. It looked like a sleeping heartbeat that had just woken up.
The air in the room grew thick and heavy. It felt like the walls were holding their breath. Kento felt it first. It wasn't pain, but a strange, new awareness—as if something deep beneath his ribs had finally opened its eyes.
Shido blinked once, then twice. He scratched the back of his head, his fingers trembling slightly. He tried to laugh, but the sound was thin and forced.
"See?" Shido said, his voice echoing in the quiet. "I told you. No bruise. Nothing there." He glanced at Kento, his grin looking tight. "You're fine, drama king."
But Kashima stepped forward. The floorboards creaked under his feet. He reached out and gripped Shido's arm with a firm, iron hold. "Look properly, Kirishima," he said. His voice was a low, dangerous whisper. "Do not joke about this."
Shido's smile faded. "What are you—"
Kashima didn't answer. He simply pointed.
The orange light of the setting sun cut through the window, hitting Kento's side. The spiral grew brighter, the seven rings shimmering like moonlight trapped under water.
"That," Kashima said, his voice barely audible, "is a mark."
Kento's breath hitched. The color drained from his face so fast that Hori's chest tightened in fear. He looked like he was seeing a ghost.
"Stop," Kento snapped. The word was jagged and sharp. He yanked his shirt down with a violent tug, covering the glow as if the fabric could make it vanish. His knuckles were white as he bunched the hem in his fists. "Stop staring at me!"
The room felt like it was shrinking. Hori moved instinctively. She knelt by the bed, bringing herself down to his level. Her voice was soft, like a steady hum.
"Kento," she said gently. "It's okay. You're safe here. No one is judging you." She leaned in, trying to catch his eyes. "Just breathe. Just one breath."
But Kento couldn't. His heart was a drum beating against his ears. 'Why does it feel like they've seen something they weren't supposed to? Why does my body feel… wrong?'
Behind them, Shido's eyes were narrowed at the spot where the mark had been. "I still don't get it," he muttered, his voice shaking. "It's just a tattoo, right? Some weird ink?"
Kashima turned on him, his eyes flashing with frustration.
"A tattoo?" Kashima repeated. The disbelief in his voice cut through the air like a knife. "Are you blind, Kirishima? Tattoos do not glow. And they do certainly not appear from inside the skin."
He turned back to Kento, his jaw tight. "That mark is not decoration," he said quietly. "It is part of him."
Even Tamiko forgot her embarrassment from earlier. She stepped closer to the bed, her hands pressed against her chest as if to calm her own heart. "Kento…" she whispered, her eyes wet. "Does it hurt?"
Kento kept his anger close, using it like a shield. The truth was scarier than any pain. "It doesn't," he said, his voice rough and dry. "That's the problem."
at them with wide, surprised eyes—the memory of his dream still fresh in his mind.
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SNEAK PEEK LINES 💬
"He's just back to being his usual grumpy self. You know how he is, Mom."
"But I'll come back tomorrow. You can't shut everyone out forever, Kamitani."
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— With love, one forehead poke away from collapse,
Sakura Shinomiya 💫