The next morning—
Rin woke up first.
Something felt... warm.
Tight.
He blinked.
Kito was hugging him.
Clinging.
Arms locked around him like he was afraid to let go.
Rin's brain froze for a second.
Then—
THUD!
He kicked Kito straight off the bed.
Kito crashed onto the floor. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"
Rin sat up, face red, avoiding eye contact. "Let's... never talk about that."
Kito slowly got up, rubbing his head. "...Yeah. Never happened."
A pause.
Both of them looked away at the same time.
"...We were just being cautious," Rin muttered.
"Obviously," Kito replied quickly.
Silence.
Neither believed that.
They dragged the furniture away from the door.
Every scrape against the floor sounded too loud.
Too sharp.
Rin grabbed the handle.
Paused.
Then slowly—
He opened it.
The hallway was empty.
No one is standing there.
No smiling face.
No eyes watching from the dark.
Just... normal.
Rin and Kito exchanged a look.
Something felt off.
Again.
From the dining hall—
clink.
The soft sound of metal against a plate.
They froze.
Then walked forward.
Slowly.
Carefully.
They stepped into the dining room.
And stopped.
All five of them were there.
Sitting at the table.
Looking at them.
Smiling.
But this time—
It was different.
The smiles weren't stretched.
Their eyes weren't wide.
They blinked.
They moved naturally.
They looked...
normal.
Too normal.
Shina waved lightly. "Good morning."
Yuri smiled. "You two overslept."
Everything sounded right.
Everything looked right.
Kito let out a small breath. "...Looks like we were overthinking."
Rin didn't reply.
His eyes moved slowly across each of their faces.
Checking
They looked normal.
Too normal.
Daniel leaned back slightly, glancing at Kito.
"Kito... your room was empty. Where did you go?"
Kito answered quickly, almost too quickly. "I was with Rin."
Silence.
All of them froze.
Then—
"You two slept together?"
The reaction came all at once.
Rin shot up immediately. "Kito's room is full of bugs. He just slept in my room. That's it."
A pause.
Then—
They nodded.
All of them.
At the same time.
Rin noticed.
Again.
After breakfast, Rin and Kito stepped outside.
The air felt lighter than last night.
But not safe.
Never safe.
Kito spoke first. "So... what do we do now?"
Rin didn't answer immediately.
His eyes were distant, thinking.
"A few days ago," Rin said slowly, "I went to a restaurant. The food... the moment I tasted it, I almost threw up."
Kito frowned. "But others ate it?"
Rin nodded. "Like it was normal."
A pause.
"Yesterday, Yuri cooked," Rin continued, his voice lowering, "and that food... even a monster wouldn't eat it."
Kito swallowed.
"...Yeah. That was bad."
Rin stopped walking.
Turned toward him.
"That's not the point."
Silence.
"They're eating things that aren't food."
Kito's expression shifted.
Then he said, "Then we go to the leader. If something's wrong, he'll know."
Rin stared at him.
Straight into his eyes.
Blank.
"Seriously?"
Kito hesitated. "...What?"
Rin stepped closer.
Lowered his voice.
"He runs this place."
A pause.
"If something like this is happening... and he doesn't know?"
Rin shook his head slightly.
"That's impossible."
Kito didn't speak.
Rin continued.
"That means only one thing."
His tone went cold.
"He knows."
Another step.
"And if he knows..."
A faint, unsettling smile touched Rin's face.
"...then he's part of it."
Kito felt a chill run down his spine.
"But... he looks normal," Kito said quietly.
Rin's eyes didn't move.
"That's exactly why he's dangerous."
A pause.
Then Rin added, almost casually—
"I know."
Kito blinked. "Know what?"
Rin turned away, starting to walk again.
"...Because I'm a psychopath too."
Kito stood still for a second.
Not sure if that was a joke.
Or not.
Rin smiled at Kito, and they separated ways to search for any clue.
Rin was walking, looking around for any clues to their search.