Current events are beginning to overlap more and more clearly with the plot of the dark novel “Zashisu.” This work was written by the enigmatic author Haruto Saeki—a former schoolmate of Umi’s who was brutally bullied and ostracized during their time at school together. Suspicions of a coldly calculated motive for revenge arise immediately, but Umi vehemently rejects this theory.
For the truth he’s hiding is far more shocking: After a devastating accident in which Umi hits Haruto and, in a panic, flees the scene, she watches as her former classmates bury Haruto’s seemingly lifeless body. Ever since that day, Umi has carried the crushing burden of guilt, fear, and secrets—and now reality and the fiction surrounding his friend Haruto are blurring together in an ominous way.