Yuuki took a deep breath, feeling the crisp morning air fill his lungs as he prepared to leave for school. The morning sun cast a warm glow over his familiar neighborhood, illuminating the rows of houses and trees that seemed to stretch on forever. Today was meant to be just like any other day, filled with the usual routine of classes, friends, and the mundane rhythms of teenage life. He shouldered his backpack, feeling the weight of his textbooks and notebooks digging into his shoulders.

As he walked out the door, Yuuki glanced back at his house, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He knew his father, Hayama, was still inside, probably sipping his morning coffee and reading the newspaper. Yuuki made a mental note to be careful, knowing that his father had a keen sense of smell and would not hesitate to scold him if he caught even a whiff of cigarette smoke.

He reached into his backpack and pulled out a box of cigarettes, his fingers closing around the familiar pack. He had taken to smoking on his way to school, a habit he had developed over the past year. It was a way for him to clear his head, to prepare himself for the long day of classes ahead. But he knew he couldn't smoke inside his house, not with his father's strict rules against it. Hayama was a stickler for discipline, and Yuuki knew that if he got caught smoking, he would be in for a world of trouble.

Yuuki walked down the street, cigarette dangling from his lips, as he made his way to school. The smoke curled out of his mouth, carrying the sweet scent of tobacco into the morning air. He felt a sense of freedom, of rebellion, as he walked, the cigarette smoke swirling around him like a shield. He nodded to a few familiar faces, exchanging brief greetings as he passed by. The neighborhood was quiet, with only a few people out and about at this early hour.

He glanced over his shoulder, feeling an instinctual awareness of a sleek black car trailing him from a distance. The driver wore dark sunglasses that obscured their eyes, making it nearly impossible to decipher any intent behind the tinted glass. Yuuki's pulse quickened, an unsettling thought creeping into his mind. Could i be imagining things? After all, it was just a car. An ordinary commuter.

But as he continued walking, the engine roared to life, and the vehicle accelerated, keeping pace with him. Panic surged through Yuuki, igniting a primal instinct to run. Why was it following him? He picked up his pace, weaving through clusters of pedestrians, desperately hoping to elude the unyielding presence of the car that seemed to hover just behind him.

But the car was relentless. As Yuuki turned a corner, adrenaline flooded his system, and a moment of clarity spurred him into a full sprint. Each frantic step pushed him further into fear's grip, his breath quickening as his heart pounded in his chest like a war drum. The familiar sights of his neighborhood blurred into a frantic whirl, detached from the reality he was so desperately trying to escape. In the distant background, he heard the unmistakable screech of tires. A sound that sliced through the air, a warning.

Just when he thought he might catch a break, a van appeared out of nowhere, pulling up alongside him with alarming speed. Yuuki's instincts screamed at him to flee, but before he could react, strong arms seized him, wrenching him off his feet and yanking him into the dark interior of the vehicle.

“Let me go!” he screamed, thrashing wildly against his captors. The struggle was futile; the men were overwhelmingly strong, forcing him into the back seat where he gasped for breath.

As the van sped away from the curb, Yuuki's world was reduced to a chaotic blur. The men who had grabbed him were like ghosts, their faces obscured by the dim light and their features indistinct. He struggled and kicked, but they were too strong, pinning him down with ease.

The cloth that covered his mouth was rough and suffocating, making it hard for him to breathe. Yuuki's eyes widened in panic as he tried to shake off the fabric, but it was held firmly in place. He muffled and grunted, trying to form words, but all that came out were incoherent sounds.

"P-Please...lemme go..." he managed to mumble, his voice muffled by the cloth. The words were barely intelligible, but the desperation and fear behind them were clear.

The man who had covered his mouth with the cloth glanced at him with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. "You're coming with us, kid," he said, his voice low and gravelly. "So, just relax and enjoy the ride."

Yuuki's mind was racing with questions. Who were these people? What did they want with him? Why had they taken him? But before he could even try to form any coherent thoughts, the van took a sharp turn, throwing him off balance. He was tossed around the back seat, his head spinning with the sudden movement.

As the van continued to speed through the streets, Yuuki's fear gave way to a sense of disorientation. He was trapped, helpless, and at the mercy of these strangers. The cloth over his mouth was starting to feel like a suffocating shroud, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he was running out of time. Where were they taking him? And what would happen when they got there?

One of the kidnappers lunged forward and grabbed Yuuki's phone from his back pocket, hurling it onto the road without a second thought. With a sense of grim satisfaction, he pulled out his own phone and dialed a number. “Boss, we’ve got the boy,” the man announced, each word echoing ominously in Yuuki’s ears like a dire warning.

Fighting back tears, Yuuki desperately scanned the interior, searching for anything—any tool or opportunity that would help him escape. The walls of the vehicle felt like they were closing in, and he struggled against the rising tide of panic threatening to swallow him whole. He needed to think clearly, to devise a plan, to fight for his freedom.

As the van drove on, it took him further away from everything that felt safe, toward a large, ominous mansion that loomed in the distance, dark and foreboding against the morning sky. Each thud of his heart matched the rhythm of his racing thoughts, urging him to act quickly. What awaited him in that house?