"Hiyori-san...?"
Kouhei slowly turned around, his voice uncertain, barely more than a whisper.
Standing there a few steps behind him was Hiyori.
She was smiling.
But there was something about that smile… something almost unnatural. It was too wide and too still. It didn't quite reach her eyes. It felt like a mask.
A tight chill crept up Kouhei's spine, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand upright.
"Did… did something happen?" he asked hesitantly, his eyes trying to read hers.
"Why do you think so?" she replied sweetly, cocking her head just slightly to the side.
It was such a subtle gesture, but the angle felt off. It was, to say the least, artificial. Like a doll trying to mimic human behavior. Something deep inside him screamed that something wasn't right.
His body responded before his mind could make sense of it, his skin prickling with goosebumps as unease clawed its way into his chest.
