Chapter 1: The Forest Behind the School
It was just another painfully ordinary morning.
The sky was grey, smeared with dull clouds like a smudged canvas. The school bell hadn't even rung yet, but Suraj was already walking toward a place he knew better than any classroom—the back of the school, where no one dared to go. A place hidden by overgrown trees and half-broken fences, where the noise of the world faded, and so did the mockery.
High school, for him, was a daily reminder that he didn't belong. He was the easy target, the quiet one, the punching bag with a name. Every laugh felt like a dagger. Every step in the hallway felt like a walk into a war zone. He'd learned to stop reacting. He'd learned to let his silence be his shield.
But that day... something was different.
He sat under the crooked old tree like he always did, sketching random shapes in the dirt with a stick. That's when he saw her.
She was standing not far away, where the forest got denser. Her hair was darker than night—so black it almost shimmered. Her skin was pale, her frame thin and stiff. She wore a school uniform, but it didn't match the school's. Her eyes... they were terrifyingly calm, pitch black, the kind of calm that made your bones cold.
Suraj looked away quickly. "Just another weird student," he muttered to himself, brushing it off. But deep down, he felt something... not fear, not exactly. More like a pull. A whisper inside him that said: she doesn't belong either.
He tried to ignore it. But the next day, she was there again.
Same place. Same expression. Watching the trees sway.
This time, he couldn't help it. His feet moved on their own.
"H-Hi..." he said awkwardly, stopping a few feet from her.
She turned slowly. For a moment, silence. Then the corner of her lips twitched.
"S...Suraj," she said, almost like she was testing the sound of it. Her voice was soft, almost broken. Like a song played on a cracked record.
His eyes widened. "You know my name?"
"You told me. Just now."
He chuckled nervously. "Right. I'm Suraj. And you are...?"
She hesitated, then looked at the trees behind him.
"Yumiko."
The name hung in the air. Delicate and sharp.
"Why are you always here?" he asked, shifting his weight. "This place... it's kinda off-limits."
Yumiko blinked slowly. "I came to see if life here was kind."
He tilted his head. "What?"
She smiled, just a little. "I'm an alien. From Hakagiri."
He stared at her.
Then laughed. "Oh. Got it. So you're one of those cosplay types, huh?"
Yumiko didn't laugh.
"I'm serious. I'm Sikigaya. My species. My hair stores biochemical weapons. My body reads frequencies."
"Right," Suraj said, taking a tiny step back.
Yumiko noticed. Her smile faded. "I don't want to harm you. You seem... alone."
That made him stop. Because it was true. Painfully true.
She continued. "I thought this planet had no threat. I came alone. To watch. To learn."
For some reason, despite the absurdity, he sat down again. This time beside her. Something about her loneliness mirrored his own.
Over the next few days, they met again and again. In the forest. By the creek. Among the broken benches. She told him about stars that bled. Moons that howled. He showed her how leaves crunched. How paper cranes were folded. They shared silence, laughter, pain.
It was on the sixth day that everything broke.
Suraj was walking home. Alone, again.
The bullies waited at the turn.
"Loser going home, huh? You gonna cry again?"
He tried to walk past.
A punch landed square on his cheek.
He stumbled, hit the ground.
Kicks followed. Laughter. Another crack of pain. His ribs screamed.
But then—
The air changed.
It dropped ten degrees in a second.
A humming noise.
And then screams.
Yumiko.
She ran faster than anything he'd ever seen. Her hair whipped in all directions like living wires. Her eyes glowed. Her scream was not human.
The bullies turned.
Too late.
Her hair stretched like needles and wrapped around them. There was no time to react. The bullies screamed as their bodies began to dissolve, like acid was eating through them. Their faces melted. Skin bubbled.
Then silence.
Only Suraj's horrified breath remained.
Yumiko turned to him, trembling. Her eyes full of something close to sorrow.
"Suraj, I didn't mean to... They hurt you. I wanted to protect you. Please don't be scared."
But Suraj stepped back. Eyes wide. Shaking. His mind was spiraling. I'm scared... I'm scared... but she saved me. He didn't know how to respond. Am I really this helpless? I can't even stand beside the one who protects me.
But she killed them... melted them... like monsters in nightmares.
He stared at the puddle of melted flesh and blood-soaked soil. She's not even human... What does that make me? A coward who can't decide whether to run or thank her?
Yumiko took a step forward.
He took a step back.
That was worse than any word he could've spoken.
She froze. Her face twisted in pain, but not the physical kind. Her voice cracked.
"You fear me."
"I... I didn't know... what you really were..."
She turned away. "I'm sorry."
Then she vanished into the trees.
He didn't sleep that night.
He didn't eat.
He sat in his room, fists clenched, repeating the same question: Am I worth it? She saved me... and I couldn't even stand beside her.
The next day, he returned to the forest.
She wasn't there. Not on the next day, either. Or the next.
On the fifth day, she was.
He didn't say anything at first. Just walked up and stood beside her.
"You're not a monster," he said finally. "You saved me. I was scared... but not of you. Of how small I am. How helpless."
Yumiko didn't reply.
He turned to her.
"I know now. I love you. I want to be by your side, even if I can't fight like you. That's enough reason to face the whole damn world."
She blinked. Tears filled her eyes.
Then she nodded.
And smiled.
"I will always protect you, Suraj. No matter the cost."
They stood there. Two broken souls. In a world that never wanted either of them.
But for the first time, neither felt alone.