The world below carried on students laughing faintly as they left the building, the distant hum of traffic, but up here, it felt like the air itself had thickened into something heavy, something suffocating.
Rika's grip hadn't loosened. Her nails still pressed into Renji's wrist, and her whole body trembled as though she were standing naked in the cold.
Renji eased his hand over hers, prying her fingers gently free. "Breathe, Sensei," he said. His tone was steady, firm but soft in its own way. "She's gone."
Rika shook her head, her chest rising and falling too fast. "No, Renji, you don't understand." She backed a step away, hugging herself tightly. "That wasn't… that wasn't just a girl. I know it. I could feel it."
Renji frowned. He'd felt it too. The way her presence pressed down on them, the way her words cut like knives dipped in venom—it was nothing like an ordinary student stumbling into something scandalous.
