Worried
dark heroTime passed again.
Not in years this time, but enough for things that had once felt unusual to become completely normal.
Especially Akane.
What had begun as an unlikely friendship between three children had slowly become something much harder to separate.
If Nezu was somewhere, Segu was usually nearby.
And if the siblings were somewhere, there was a good chance Akane wasn’t far behind.
They studied together, ate together, played together, and wasted entire afternoons doing absolutely nothing of importance together.
Segu and Akane had grown particularly close.
They could spend an hour talking about something Nezu considered completely meaningless, argue about it for another hour, and somehow finish the argument closer than when they started.
Nezu had also grown used to Akane’s presence.
He knew which foods she disliked.
He knew when she was pretending to understand something.
He knew that if she became unusually quiet, she was probably planning something that would eventually become his problem.
Akane, in return, had learned to read the siblings.
She knew when Segu was actually angry and when she was simply being dramatic.
She knew when Nezu wanted to be left alone.
More importantly, she had learned that when Nezu said nothing at all, it didn’t necessarily mean he wasn’t enjoying himself.
The three had simply become friends.
Close friends.
And now another school year was coming to an end.
It was the final week of lessons, although calling them lessons was becoming increasingly generous.
Half the classrooms were already being prepared for the end-of-year festivities. Decorations covered the corridors, students carried boxes between buildings, teachers were constantly being interrupted, and unfamiliar faces appeared throughout the school as deliveries arrived and temporary workers helped prepare everything.
Normally, entering the academy required passing through several layers of security.
That week, however, doors were constantly opening.
Delivery vans came and went.
Equipment was moved through entrances that were normally closed.
Parents, workers, entertainers, caterers and school employees passed through the grounds throughout the day.
Security was still present.
Just considerably less strict than usual.
For most students, that simply meant the school felt more relaxed.
For Nezu, it meant something else.
He watched two men carry a large crate through a side entrance.
Neither looked particularly suspicious.
Still, his eyes followed them until they disappeared around a corner.
“Brother?”
Nezu looked back.
Segu and Akane were waiting for him several steps ahead.
“What?”
“You stopped.”
Nezu glanced once more toward the entrance.
“Nothing.”
Akane followed his gaze.
“What were you looking at?”
“Nothing.”
“You already said that.”
“Then why did you ask again?”
Akane narrowed her eyes.
Segu sighed.
“Come on. If we’re late because you two started arguing again, I’m blaming both of you.”
“We weren’t arguing,” Akane protested.
Nezu started walking.
“We were.”
“Whose side are you on?!”
“Mine.”
Segu giggled and grabbed Akane by the arm, pulling her along.
The three continued down the corridor.
Behind them, another delivery entered the school grounds.
Then another.
By lunchtime, nobody paid attention anymore.
That was the problem.
The first sound was mistaken for something falling.
A loud bang echoed somewhere in the building.
Several students looked toward the corridor.
Then came another.
And another.
The fourth was followed by screaming.
Nezu stood immediately.
The classroom door opened.
A teacher appeared outside, shouting something that nobody understood over the sudden noise.
Then another teacher ran past.
That was enough.
The classroom erupted.
Students stood, chairs fell, and everyone started talking at once.
“What happened?”
“Was that a gun?!”
“Don’t be stupid!”
“Someone call security!”
“Where’s the teacher?!”
Segu grabbed Nezu’s sleeve.
“Brother?”
Another scream came from downstairs.
This one was much closer.
Nezu looked toward the door.
People were running through the corridor now.
Teachers.
Students.
Someone shouted for everyone to get inside the classrooms.
Someone else shouted the exact opposite.
Then the alarm began.
The confusion became complete.
Nezu grabbed Segu’s hand.
“Stay with me.”
Akane immediately moved beside them.
They joined the mass of students pouring into the corridor.
Nobody knew where they were going.
Everyone simply wanted to get away from wherever the screaming had started.
Then Nezu saw him.
A man at the opposite end of the corridor.
He wasn’t wearing a school uniform.
He wasn’t a teacher.
And the object in his hands definitely wasn’t something that belonged inside a school.
“Down!”
Nezu pulled Segu.
A gunshot exploded through the corridor.
Glass shattered.
Everyone screamed.
The crowd surged in every direction at once.
Someone slammed into Nezu from behind.
His hand slipped from Segu’s.
“Segu!”
“Brother!”
He reached for her.
Another student crashed between them.
Then another.
Akane caught Segu before she fell.
“Nezu!”
He could see them.
Only a few meters away.
Then the crowd moved again.
A door opened beside Nezu as terrified students forced their way through it.
He was pushed with them.
“SEGU!”
He tried to turn back.
Someone collided with him.
The door slammed against the wall.
Another gunshot rang out.
People scattered.
By the time Nezu regained his footing, Segu and Akane were gone.
He looked back toward the corridor.
Armed men were already moving through it.
“Everyone on the ground!”
Nezu froze for less than a second.
Then disappeared through the nearest door.
Nobody noticed one missing student.
There were far too many others to control.
Within minutes, the school belonged to them.
Students were dragged from classrooms.
Teachers were ordered to keep everyone calm.
Phones were taken.
Doors were blocked.
The armed men moved quickly and with enough coordination to make one thing obvious.
This wasn’t spontaneous.
They had planned this.
Segu sat on the floor with Akane beside her.
Around them were dozens of students.
Akane’s hand was wrapped tightly around Segu’s.
“Nezu escaped,” she whispered.
Segu looked at her.
“How do you know?”
“I saw him.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know. But they didn’t catch him.”
Segu lowered her head slightly.
For anyone else, knowing that someone they cared about was alone somewhere in a school occupied by armed men might have made things worse.
For Segu, it brought a strange amount of relief.
Her brother was free.
Akane squeezed her hand.
“Don’t worry.”
Segu nodded.
Then the doors opened.
Three armed men entered.
The students immediately became silent.
One of them remained near the entrance while the other two walked slowly between the rows of students.
They weren’t checking everyone.
They were looking.
Segu noticed it almost immediately.
One man whispered something to the other.
His eyes moved across the students.
Then stopped.
On them.
Akane’s grip tightened.
The two men approached.
Segu instinctively moved slightly in front of her friend.
One of the men looked between the two girls.
Then spoke into the radio attached to his clothes.
“We found them.”
Segu’s face went pale.
Akane didn’t move.
The man’s attention remained fixed on the two of them.
“Stand up.”
Neither moved.
“I said stand up.”
Segu slowly rose.
Akane stood beside her.
The man looked at Segu.
Then at Akane.
A small smile appeared on his face.
“There you are.”
Segu swallowed.
Akane’s expression changed for only a moment.
So quickly that Segu didn’t notice.
But Akane understood something.
Something she had hoped she would never have to think about again.
For the first time since the attack began, Akane looked genuinely afraid.
Not because of the weapons.
Because she was beginning to understand why they were there.
The man grabbed Segu by the arm.
Akane’s eyes widened.
“Don’t touch her!”
He looked at Akane.
Segu immediately pulled against his grip.
“Let go of me!”
The second man raised his weapon.
“Enough.”
Akane froze.
The first man tightened his grip on Segu.
“Both of you are coming with us.”
Around them, nobody dared move.
And somewhere else inside the school, one student was missing from the group the attackers thought they had under control.
Several kilometers away, Diana’s phone rang.
She glanced at the screen before answering.
“Yes?”
Her expression didn’t change as she listened.
The conversation around the table slowly died.
Diana said nothing for almost a minute.
Then:
“I understand.”
She ended the call.
One of the women sitting with her frowned.
“What happened?”
“There’s been an incident at the children’s school.”
“What kind of incident?”
“An armed group has taken control of it.”
Silence fell over the table.
“What?!”
Several people immediately started speaking at once.
“Are Nezu and Segu there?”
“Have they contacted the police?”
“Do they know how many people—”
Diana raised one hand.
The questions stopped.
“Yes. Both of my children are there.”
Her voice remained completely calm.
One of her friends stared at her.
“And you’re just sitting there?”
“For the moment.”
“Diana, armed men have taken your children’s school!”
“I heard.”
“You don’t look worried!”
Diana looked at her.
“I am worried.”
The woman relaxed slightly.
For a moment, Diana said nothing more.
Then she picked up her cup and took another sip of tea.
Her friend blinked.
“Then how can you be so calm?”
Diana placed the cup back onto its saucer.
“Because Nezu is there.”
“That is exactly why you should be worried!”
Diana looked at her friend.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
“You misunderstood.”
The smile disappeared.
“I am worried.”
She glanced down at her phone.
“Of course im worried about my children, but i’m mostly worried… for that armed group.”
Nobody laughed.
Diana leaned back in her chair.
“I just hope they’re smart enough not to touch Segu.”
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