Dark circles, Dark secrets

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The morning air was crisp as Hinata and Akira walked to school together. The streets buzzed with murmurs of a gruesome crime—a joint family, more than ten people, had been murdered in their own home. Among the victims was a two-year-old child.

Hinata shuddered at the thought, her voice quiet but heavy with emotion. "Akira… isn't it horrible? Who could do such a thing?"

Akira didn't answer right away. His steps remained steady, but his expression darkened.

Hinata glanced at him and noticed the exhaustion on his face, the same dark circles beneath his eyes. "You look tired again," she said softly. "Did you sleep at all?"

"I was working for the science test," Akira replied flatly.

Hinata blinked. "What? But…"

Something felt off. Akira wasn't the type to study so hard that he lost sleep. Then, hesitating, she asked, "That murderer must be completely insane, don't you think?"

Suddenly, Akira stopped walking.

Hinata turned to him, confused. His head was slightly lowered, his fists clenched. The silence between them stretched, thick and suffocating.

Then, in a low, eerily calm voice, he said, "Never say that again."

Hinata felt a chill run down her spine. The look in his eyes when he finally faced her was not one she had ever seen before. His gaze was sharp—cold, yet burning with something unspoken.

"I–I just meant…" Hinata stammered.

But Akira had already started walking again. From that moment on, he didn't say another word to her.

At school, Hinata tried to talk to him, but he ignored her every attempt. It was like a switch had been flipped, and the Akira she knew had vanished behind a wall she couldn't break.

That night, as she lay in bed, the unease still lingered. Was she overthinking? Akira had always been mysterious, but this… this was different. Could he be connected to the murder somehow?

"No," she whispered to herself, shaking her head. "That's ridiculous. Akira is a good person. I'm just imagining things."

And yet, even as she tried to convince herself, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong.

Outside, hidden in the shadows, Akira stood in front of her door. His fingers hovered near the doorknob for a moment before he silently turned and disappeared into the night.

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