It was still early morning, and only a handful of teachers were in the staff room.
By the window, a woman with wine-red hair tied neatly at the back rummaged through stacks of
papers in mild panic, while others around her prepared lesson plans for first period.
"Good morning, Fuminaga-sensei!" Kume Chinatsu called brightly as she bounced in.
"Oh? Oh — Chinatsu-chan, it's you."
Fuminaga Kyoko pushed her round glasses up with a sigh. "I can't find the permission slips for
the school trip anywhere. Strange… I'm sure I left them in this drawer."
School-trip forms?
Chinatsu's smile froze for a second. Right… those.
She'd "borrowed" them a while ago and stuffed them somewhere completely random. If Sensei
ever found them again, it'd be a miracle.
Quickly, she laughed it off. "Ahaha! Sensei, you're still as scatterbrained as ever! Anyway — this
is Kiryu-san, remember? The student who enrolled but went on leave right after!"
Doutang bowed politely. "Good morning, Fuminaga-sensei."
"Kiryu… Doutang?!"
Fuminaga straightened in surprise. "You've — you've changed so much!"
So she's met the original, Doutang thought, muscles tightening beneath his calm expression.
He smiled lightly. "A lot's happened this year, Sensei. Change is normal, I guess."
Fuminaga tilted her head, studying him. "You're right… but still, a year ago you weren't this tall.
And your presence — how should I put it — feels heavier."
Indeed.
That wasn't the presence of a normal teenager; it was the weight of a hundred dying spirits
clinging to his soul.
Kyoko nodded to herself. "I heard about your family. I wanted to visit, but the address we had
was empty."
"We moved," Doutang replied easily. "My sister and I needed a change of scenery. We rented
out the old house."
"I see… I'm sorry."
The apology was gentle but perfunctory. Then she smiled again. "And your sister, Kiryu Huaiyin
— how's she doing? Will she be coming back soon?"
"I'll try to convince her. Thank you for worrying, Sensei."
Kyoko gathered her notes into a folder and tucked it under her arm.
"Kiryu-kun, you've really grown up," she said warmly. "You look almost like an adult now."
Were we that close before? Doutang wondered.
Then, unexpectedly, Fuminaga reached up and gently patted his head.
For an instant, his body went rigid.
Instinct screamed to strike.
No one — not even a ghost — had touched him so casually in a year.
He'd almost forgotten what simple human warmth felt like.
"Now that you're back," she said softly, "enjoy school life, alright? If you run into trouble, come to
me. I'll help however I can. You've had a hard year, haven't you?"
Looking into her kind eyes, Doutang hesitated, then gave a small nod. "Thank you, Sensei."
Fuminaga knew fragments of the truth: the murder of the Kiryu parents, the break-in, the brother
protecting his sister, the killer vanishing into the night.
She'd tried to visit them before, only to find the address rented to strangers. The thought of
those two children had haunted her all year.
Seeing Doutang now — taller, steadier, eyes far older than his age — filled her with both relief
and quiet grief.
What kind of year must he have lived through to become like this?
Of course, she could never have guessed the boy before her wasn't the same person at all.
What she mistook for resilience was, in truth, the calm chill of a man who'd slain spirits beyond
counting.
Meanwhile, Doutang labeled her silently: bleeding-heart idealist, overly kind… but a good
teacher.
If things had gone differently, maybe the original Kiryu Doutang would've been happy under her
care.
"Sensei, we should get going," Chinatsu said quickly, breaking the moment. "Class is about to
start!"
She shot Doutang a wary glance — fear still in her eyes, though curiosity flickered beneath.
He smiled back, gentle, reassuring… which only made her more nervous.
Her fingers brushed the paper charm in her pocket — the one Kamikura Ringo had given her
after last night's encounter.
The morning went smoothly after that.
Fuminaga led them to class, and curiosity about the "ghost student who finally returned" spread
like wildfire.
"Kiryu-kun, why'd you take a whole year off?"
"Did you travel? You look way more mature!"
"Bro, dude's ripped!"
Doutang kept his tone calm. "My sister and I went through some things last year. I stayed home
to take care of her."
The weight in his voice was enough to kill the gossip.
Awkward silence followed, then the chatter slowly drifted elsewhere.
Chinatsu slipped through the crowd toward him, pale but resolute.
"Kiryu-kun," she said softly, "come with me. Fuminaga-sensei wants to see you again."
He nodded, offering a small smile to the classmates nearby. "Sorry, everyone. Let's talk another
time."
He followed her out — only to realize she wasn't heading toward the staff room.
Instead, she climbed the stairs to the top floor.
The rooftop door was locked, the stairwell deserted. Concrete walls blocked any line of sight
from below — a perfect place for delinquents to loiter unseen.
And sure enough, they were there: a few boys in half-buttoned summer uniforms, cigarettes
dangling from their lips.
Even a polished private school like Itsuyan had its share of troublemakers.
They seemed to know Chinatsu. When she appeared, the leader grinned.
"Well, if it isn't Kume-chan. This the ghost student from your class? Big guy, huh."
"I — uh — need to talk to him privately," she stammered. "Can you guys give us a minute?"
The leader squinted at Doutang, then stood to his full height, stepping closer.
Doutang instinctively prepared for the classic "transfer student versus rooftop gang" routine.
Instead, the boy simply nodded. "Kiryu-kun, pleasure to meet you. Come on, guys."
He crushed his cigarette underfoot, shoved his hands in his pockets, and led his crew
downstairs without another word.
Doutang blinked. …Guess I was overthinking it.
When they were gone, Chinatsu drew a deep breath.
"You…" she began, voice shaking, "do you know what happened two nights ago?"
Showtime.
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