"…again."
The word lingered for a moment after it left his lips.
Haruki didn't move.
He stood there, half-turned, eyes fixed on the empty space behind him.
Nothing was there.
The same walls. The same dim light. The same still air.
But he didn't look away.
Not immediately.
It felt… incomplete.
Like something had been there just a second too late.
His shoulders remained tense. His breath slow, controlled, but not calm.
After a few seconds—
He turned back.
Slowly.
Each movement felt deliberate, like he didn't fully trust the space around him anymore.
He sat down on the edge of his bed again.
The room was quiet.
Too quiet.
"…it's nothing," he muttered.
The words didn't settle.
They just hung there, empty.
---
His eyes drifted toward the small clock on his desk.
The red digits flickered faintly in the dark.
2:17 AM.
Haruki frowned slightly.
"…was it always that late?"
He didn't remember sitting there for that long.
He didn't remember time passing at all.
His gaze stayed on the clock for a moment longer—
Then shifted.
His phone.
It was lying closer to the edge of the desk than he remembered leaving it.
Not fallen. Not moved dramatically.
Just… slightly off.
Enough to notice.
Enough to feel wrong.
Haruki stared at it.
A faint unease settled deeper in his chest.
"…I didn't…"
He stopped.
There was no way to finish that sentence without sounding ridiculous.
He looked away.
---
Morning came without feeling like it had arrived.
The light was brighter, the sounds clearer, but Haruki felt no different.
Just… heavier.
---
The classroom buzzed with its usual rhythm.
Voices. Pages turning. Chairs shifting.
Everything in place.
Haruki sat quietly, eyes lowered, fingers loosely resting on his desk.
"You look worse today."
Aoi's voice.
Soft. Direct.
He didn't look at her immediately.
"…do I?"
"Yes."
No hesitation.
Haruki let out a faint breath. "…I didn't sleep much."
"That's not new."
He glanced at her then.
Aoi was already watching him.
Her expression wasn't worried.
Not exactly.
It was… focused.
Like she was trying to understand something that didn't make sense yet.
"This isn't just lack of sleep," she said quietly.
Haruki didn't reply.
Because he knew she was right.
And because he didn't have anything better to say.
---
The teacher's voice filled the room again.
Haruki tried to focus.
Tried to follow the words.
But they slipped past him.
Like they weren't meant to stay.
Then—
Something shifted.
Not in front of him.
Not behind.
For a brief moment—
It felt… beside him.
Closer than before.
Haruki's head turned instantly.
Too fast this time.
The chair beside him was empty.
Aoi, on his other side, glanced at him.
"…what?"
"…nothing."
But his voice was lower now.
Tighter.
Because that was new.
That wasn't how it had been before.
---
Between classes, the hallway filled with movement again.
Haruki walked through it, slower this time.
More aware.
More careful.
His eyes didn't search directly.
But they didn't relax either.
Then—
It happened again.
At the far end.
That same presence.
Walking.
Unclear. Undefined.
And yet—
Closer.
Not visibly.
But undeniably.
Haruki stopped.
He didn't run.
Didn't call out.
He just watched.
The distance felt… shorter.
Or maybe—
He was just noticing it now.
Students passed between them.
Voices cut through the space.
For a second—
The figure was gone from view.
And when the space cleared—
Nothing.
Just the empty end of the corridor.
Haruki exhaled slowly.
"…it's getting closer."
This time, he said it out loud.
Quiet.
But certain.
---
"Haruki."
Aoi again.
He turned. She was there, closer than before.
Not rushed. Not startled.
Just… there.
"You keep stopping like that," she said.
Her eyes didn't leave his.
"…what are you seeing?"
Haruki hesitated.
The question stayed between them.
He could lie again.
Say "nothing."
Walk away.
Pretend it didn't matter.
But this time—
"…I don't know," he said.
It wasn't the truth.
But it wasn't a lie either.
Aoi studied him.
Longer than usual.
"…then stop pretending it's nothing," she said quietly.
No pressure.
No accusation.
Just a statement.
---
Later—
They stood near the stairwell.
The building was quieter now.
Most students had already left.
A faint breeze moved through the open space.
It wasn't strong.
Just enough to be noticed.
And then—
Both of them paused.
At the same time.
Aoi's hand tightened slightly on the railing.
Haruki's gaze shifted.
Neither spoke.
Neither moved.
It lasted only a second.
Maybe less.
Then it was gone.
Aoi looked at him.
"…you felt that too, didn't you?"
Haruki didn't answer immediately.
Because he didn't know how to describe what "that" was.
"…yeah," he said finally.
Aoi didn't smile.
Didn't react much at all.
But something in her expression changed.
Slightly.
Like a line had just been crossed.
---
Night.
Haruki's room again.
The same space.
The same silence.
He stood near his desk this time, not sitting.
Listening.
Waiting.
Not consciously.
But not avoiding it either.
"…if it happens again…"
He didn't finish the thought.
Because he didn't know what he would do.
The room remained still.
Seconds passed.
Then—
A sound.
Soft.
Clear.
Not behind him this time.
Not ahead.
Not even beside.
Closer.
Too close.
Like it didn't belong to any direction at all.
Haruki's breath stopped for a moment.
His body went still.
He didn't turn.
Not immediately.
Because something about it felt different.
Wrong in a way he couldn't define.
"…that's not…"
The words didn't finish.
Slowly—
He turned his head.
Just slightly.
The room was empty.
Completely.
Nothing there.
Nothing changed.
And yet—
His fingers tightened unconsciously.
Because this time—
It didn't feel like it was behind him anymore.