Scene: Yukinobi High School Rooftop – Lunchtime

Snowflakes drift down in lazy spirals. mirei is

standing at the edge, looking down at the white courtyard below. The city looks asleep under the heavy snow. Everything muffled.

Behind her, the door creaks open.

Matsumoto Ren (calmly):

“You really shouldn't be up here. What if someone pushed you?”

He walks beside her, offering her a piece of tangerine from his bento like it’s nothing.

Ren:

“You’ve been watching me lately, haven’t you, Mirei?”

> His voice isn’t accusing. It’s curious. Warm even. Like he’s smiling with his words.

Ren: (tilts his head slightly, his eyes scanning your face—not with suspicion, but with amusement)

“Because I can feel your eyes even when you’re not looking.”

He pops a slice of tangerine into his mouth, chews slowly. The snow gathers in his hair, framing him like some untouchable painting. Then he offers mirei one more slice—between his fingers.

Ren:

“You’re not very good at hiding things, Mirei. That’s not like you.”

There’s no malice. Just interest. Like he’s testing the temperature of the water. Watching how far she’ll let herself melt.

A gust of cold wind brushes past, sending her long black hair flying. Below, students play in the snow—but it feels like this rooftop is in another world.

Ren (softly):

“Are you scared of me?”

> His hand is still outstretched. Waiting to feed mirei. Waiting to see what she'll do. Mirei: (clutches her pink scarf, forcing a smile but hearts in her eyes) N-no! why would you think something like that?

Mirei:

(Her fingers slowly reach for the tangerine between his, but instead of taking it, she lets her hand curl gently over his wrist — not gripping, just touching. Her smile remains, too sweet, too stiff. Her eyes are wide, sparkling like glass.)

“No… I’m not scared of you.”

(leans in just slightly — voice lowering)

“I’m scared of how much I love you.”

She plucks the tangerine from his hand, but doesn’t eat it. Just holds it. Eyes locked on him now. Breathing a little faster, a little shallower, cheeks flushed more from emotion than cold.

Mirei (softly):

“You make it hard to breathe. You’re always shining. Always smiling. Like… like you’re not even real.”

(Her fingers tighten slightly on his wrist. Just for a moment.)

“I think if I opened your chest, I wouldn’t find a heart. Just snow.”A pause."

Mirei:

“But I’d love you even then.”

> Her scarf flutters again in the wind. Somewhere below, the school bell rings. But neither of them move.

Ren: (Eyes narrowed slightly, amused but unreadable)

“…That’s a dangerous way to love someone.”

> He leans closer now too — barely inches between you.

Ren:

“What would you do if I told you… I don’t love you back?”

Mirei: eh?... (Laughs) I'll see you in class, Ren-chan! (She walks to the door and goes to class)

Ren: (Watches her leave. Slowly. Like watching a deer disappear into the woods after tasting blood for the first time.)

“…Ren-chan, huh.”

He turns back to the edge of the roof. Pops another tangerine slice into his mouth. Still smiling.

Ren (muttering):

“That girl’s going to kill me someday.”

> Scene: Classroom 2-A — 5 minutes later

The snow is heavier now, tapping at the windows like impatient fingers. Class hasn’t started yet. Students chat lazily, and the heater hums weakly.

Mirei walks in—her perfect smile in place, her scarf loosened, the tangerine still in her hand.

Shibata Minoru (leans over from the desk beside hers):

“Yo, Mirei-chan! You’re glowing today. Let me guess—you and Ren finally had a ‘moment,’ huh? Did you breathe the same air?”

(He laughs at his own joke. Loudly.)

Classmate Girl #1:

“Seriously, do you ever shut up?”

Classmate Girl #2: (whispers)

“I heard she watches him during P.E. through the gym equipment…”

> The gossip buzzes. Mirei hears every word. Every laugh. Every lie. And she just smiles.

Then—Ren walks in.

And he walks straight past everyone. Past Minoru. Past the gossip.

And sits.

Right beside you.Not his usual seat.

Your seatmate’s seat.

The class goes silent. Even the heater sounds quieter.

Ren (without looking at you, under his breath):

“Let’s play a game, Mirei.”

> He’s smiling again. That same untouchable smile. The kind that looks like a dare.

Mireii:

(Still smiling—though her fingers twitch ever so slightly on her desk. She doesn't look at him right away. Just stares ahead, voice sweet as syrup.)

“Rules? You never play fair, Ren-chan.”

(Finally turns her head. Her eyes are bright, too bright.)

“But fine. I’ll bite. What are the rules of this game?”

Ren:

(Leaning forward just slightly, elbow on the desk, hand under his chin like he’s bored—but his eyes are razor sharp)

“It’s simple. You have to keep loving me.”

(beat)

“But you can’t confess. You can’t tell anyone. You can’t touch me. You can’t cry over me. You just have to burn silently, like a candle.”

(He smiles wider. His tone softens—like this is just a game of cards at lunch.)

Ren:

“And if you break any of the rules…”

(He tilts his head.)

“I’ll disappear.”

> The heater clicks loudly. Outside, the snow keeps falling.

Ren:

“So. Do you want to play?”

The class begins to stir again around her. The teacher hasn’t arrived. Minoru’s staring, confused. People are whispering about Ren sitting next to mirei.

But right now it feels like just the two of them.

A game.

Of love.

Of control.

Of obsession.

Scene: The Gym – PE Class, Third Period

The squeak of sneakers echoes off the wooden floor. Boys are playing basketball on one half of the court. Ren stands out effortlessly — his movements sharp, fluid, elegant. Every time he scores, the girls watching from the bleachers sigh.

> But not Mirei.

She's not in the bleachers.

Storage Room – Behind the Equipment Cages

Mirei crouches in the dark, surrounded by mats and volleyball nets, peering through a narrow slit between the gym equipment. Her sports shirt clings slightly to her big chest from the heat. Her breath fogs against the cold metal grate.

Mirei (whispering, biting her finger until blood seeps out):

“No, no, no… I promised. I promised I wouldn’t touch. I wouldn’t confess.”

(She presses her back against the cold wall, eyes glassy with heat and tension. She watches the way his hair falls when he runs. The way he smiles at the teacher’s joke. It’s too much.)

Mirei (to herself):

“He’s sweating. I’ve never seen him sweat before… He’s beautiful even like that… no, especially like that.”

(She shuts her eyes tight, her other hand gripping the edge of the mat, knuckles white.)

“But I can’t let him see me like this…

I can’t break the rules.

If I do, he’ll disappear.

And if he disappears…”

(A single tear slides down her cheek — and she catches it. Doesn’t let it fall. She sucks in a breath, smearing the blood from her finger across her sports shirt, a blooming red mark near her chest.)Mirei (smiling softly now, too wide, trembling):

“Love isn’t gentle.

It’s a secret you bury under your skin.”

Suddenly, a basketball hits the wall nearby — hard — making a loud thud that shakes the shelves. She freezes.

From the other side of the equipment cage… footsteps.

Ren (playful, muffled voice):

“You hiding from me, Mirei?”

> His shadow passes slowly by the frosted glass of the storage room door.

> The footsteps pause. Right outside the storage room now. The doorknob jiggles gently. Once. Twice.

Ren (voice soft, playful, almost sing-song):

“Miiirei… Are you in there?”

> His silhouette lingers like a ghost through the glass. The blurred outline of his face turns, like he's listening for her breath. A slow exhale from his nose — amused. Confident.

Ren:

“You always follow the rules, don’t you? That’s what makes you fun.”

> The sound of him leaning against the door. A pause. A long silence.

Ren (quieter):

“But you're not hiding because you're scared of breaking the rules, are you?”

(beat)

“You're hiding because you already did.”

> And just like that, he walks away. The soft thump of his shoes fading down the gym hall.

---

Mirei remains frozen. Still biting her finger. Still trembling in the dark. The metallic taste of blood still warm on her tongue.

Mirei (muttering):

“No. No. I didn’t break anything. He didn’t see. He didn’t see.”

> But deep down… she knows. He did.

Later That Night – Mirei’s Room

The heater hums. Her room is immaculate — posters perfectly aligned, notebooks arranged by subject and date. And in the center of her desk…

A photo of Ren. Taken from a classroom window. Slightly blurred.

Dozens of similar photos line the inside of her drawer.

Next to them — the blood-stained PE shirt. Folded. Reverently.

Mirei (to herself, lovingly):

“If he disappears…

Then I’ll have to chase him into the dark, won’t I?”

> Her eyes flick toward the scissors lying near her pencils.

> Scene: Ren's Room — Midnight

His room is tidy. Minimalist. Too clean for a teenage boy. No posters. Just shelves of books — psychology, classic literature, chess strategy.

The only light comes from the small desk lamp, casting long shadows across his notebook.

Ren sits at his desk, legs crossed under him, quietly sipping hot tea. The steam coils in front of his eyes as he flips to a fresh page.

He writes:

---

"Experiment: Mirei Asahina."

Subject Profile:

— Obsessive tendencies increasing

— Denial still active

— Intelligence: high

— Control: slipping

— Reaction to imposed restriction: unstable arousal

— Risk of violence: rising

Hypothesis:

If you give a girl a boundary, she will eventually cross it.

---

(He sets his pen down. Leans back. Smiles to himself.)

Ren (murmuring):

“She’s going to crack… beautifully.”

He glances at the wall. There’s a pinboard there. Covered in photos, maps of the school, seating charts. And in the very center, taped neatly —

A photo of Mirei.

Laughing with friends. Smile perfect. Eyes too wide.

Beside it — an envelope. Inside are pieces of paper she's written him in class but never handed over. He’s been collecting them. Reading them at night like bedtime stories.

Ren (to himself):

“She thinks she’s the predator.

But love is a mirror, Mirei.”

> He closes his notebook. Lays back on the bed. Snow starts to fall outside his window. Soft. Silent. Suffocating.

Ren:

“You’ll be the one who pulls the trigger.

All I have to do… is hand you the gun.”