4.
Beneath the starry sky, the mist from the well enveloped Kana, but her indigo eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp light.
She shook off Haru and Hinata's hands and rose, naked, her skin alive with writhing black ink, the words pulsing like constellations. A smile curved her lips, her voice low and melodic, resonating like a song.
"Let's go back… to the literature club room."
Kana stepped away from the well, crossing the courtyard toward the school building.
Haru and Hinata stood frozen, watching her go, ink still clinging to their fingers, an indescribable urge churning in their chests. They exchanged a glance and followed, their footsteps echoing in the night like the pulse of a ritual.
The club room door stood ajar, as if waiting for them.
Inside, the twilight red had given way to a nocturnal blue, the fluorescent lights flickering erratically. Scattered magazines littered the desk, blood and ink stained the floor. Kana stood at the room's center, the words etched on her naked body glowing with an eerie, pale light. Her hair swayed without a breeze, slithering across the floor like serpents on water.
The door creaked open again, revealing the remaining club members, Aoi and Nagi.
Aoi, a first-year with neatly cropped black hair and piercing gray eyes that cut through the dark, wore her uniform impeccably, though ink smudged her cuffs. Nagi, a third-year, let her long silver hair fall carelessly, her sleepy amber eyes glinting faintly. Her skirt was wrinkled, an old pendant dangling at her throat.
"Kana… are you okay?" Aoi's voice was cold, laced with suspicion.
She stepped into the room, frowning at Kana's uncanny presence. Nagi lingered silently behind, her fingers clutching her pendant, trembling faintly.
Haru and Hinata stood in the corner, breathless at Kana's transformation. The air was heavy, sweet and sticky like honey.
Kana smiled.
Her breath spilled from her lips, filling the room, clinging to the club members' skin. She stepped forward, tracing a finger over the scattered magazines on the desk. The pages quivered, her touch causing black ink to bleed from them.
"Everyone," Kana said, "write, read, feel… make me eternal."
Her words seeped into the room, the walls pulsing. The fluorescent lights flickered out, then flared back on, and the room transformed into an otherworldly space. Black words materialized on the walls, the floor became a sea of ink.
The club members stood paralyzed, ensnared by Kana's gaze. The words on her body stirred, fluttering into the air like a swarm of butterflies, settling onto their skin.
Aoi moved first. She seized a pen, leapt onto the desk, and began writing frantically. Her sharp words tore through the paper, her eyes bloodshot, lips trembling as she wove poetry for Kana. Her uniform fell into disarray, buttons popping, her sweat-slicked skin gleaming. Each stroke brought her closer to Kana's words, her skin burning, breath ragged.
Kana approached, sliding a finger along Aoi's cheek. Aoi shuddered, her written words melting into ink that flowed onto Kana's skin. The words on Kana glowed brighter, the room's air thickening.
Nagi sank to the floor, spreading her silver hair around her. She removed her pendant, setting it aside, and drove her pen into her arm, blending blood and ink as she wrote. Her words flowed gently, like water over paper. Her amber eyes locked on Kana, deepening into a swirling abyss. Her skirt hitched up, blood streaking her thigh, but she ignored the pain, her hand unrelenting.
Kana knelt before her, lips brushing Nagi's blood-and-ink-stained arm. Nagi arched, her story pouring into Kana's body. Kana's skin darkened, its radiance intensifying.
Haru and Hinata clutched each other's hands, trying to resist Kana's curse. But their fingers sought pens, and they began writing on the scattered pages. Haru's words burned with passion, Hinata's danced with abandon. Their breaths mingled, sweat beading on their foreheads. Their uniforms slipped, skin bared. With each word, they touched Kana's text, their bodies drawing closer, as if merging with her.
"No… I don't want this…" Haru's voice trembled, and Hinata wrapped an arm around her.
Kana smiled, trailing her fingers over their pages. The paper flared, their stories etching themselves onto her body. The members' words intertwined, ink crawling across the floor, the room pulsing like the innards of a living creature.
Kana stood at the center, arms outstretched, her naked body gleaming like moonlight. The words on her skin resonated with the club's stories, transforming her into the curse itself. She gazed at them, lips parting.
"It's okay. Even if we decay, the words will live on."
Her words consumed them, their pens moving faster.
Aoi thrashed her hair wildly atop the desk, Nagi wrote drenched in blood and ink, Haru and Hinata leaned into each other for support. Their stories flowed into Kana, making her both paler and darker. The walls cracked, ink dripping from the ceiling. The fluorescent lights shattered, and in the darkness, only Kana's body glowed.
Their pens never stopped, their ink never ran dry.