Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

The school gates stood tall, decorated with cherry blossoms dancing in the wind. Naoki and Toki passed through them like knights entering their kingdom—only their armor was sarcasm, and their swords were wit.

"Place your bets," Toki said. "How late is Mr. Yamada gonna be today?"

Naoki rubbed his chin dramatically. "I give it... ten minutes. Unless he had his morning curry. That delays him by twenty."

As they entered the classroom, they were greeted with cheerful waves and calls.

"Naoki! Toki! Morning!"

"Yo, Naoki! I saved your seat again!"

"Hey, Toki! Heard you lost another math test?"

"Pfft. That test lost *me*," Toki replied, sliding into his seat with exaggerated flair.

Naoki sat beside him, grinning as he unpacked his things.

Everything felt... normal. Bright. Easy.

The classroom buzzed with laughter and chatter. A classmate nudged Naoki's back with a pencil.

"Hey, Naoki, wanna trade lunch today? My mom made octopus sausage."

"Only if you throw in one of those strawberry jellies."

"Deal."

From the corner of the room, their teacher entered, carrying a pile of papers. Mr. Yamada was in his usual disheveled state.

"Alright, alright, settle down, you gremlins. We got pop quizzes today."

Groans erupted like an orchestra of despair.

"You sadist," Toki muttered.

Naoki leaned in. "Should we fake a nosebleed and escape?"

"No good, I used that last week. You’re due for the seizure excuse."

"I’m saving that for finals."

As the lesson dragged on, they passed doodles, whispered jokes, and invented fictional teacher backstories.

"What if Mr. Yamada used to be a secret agent, but then he got betrayed by his pet hamster?"

"And now he hides his sadness by giving surprise quizzes? Makes sense."

But outside the window, barely visible in the reflection of the glass—a figure stood.

Still.

Watching.

Same hospital gown.
Same hollow stare.

Naoki turned his head quickly.

Nothing.

The space was empty.

"Naoki, you good?" Toki whispered.

"Yeah... just thought I saw something."

"You’ve been acting weird lately. Did you finally get possessed by a quiz ghost?"

Naoki snorted. "More like haunted by responsibility."

Class ended with laughter, a thrown eraser, and Mr. Yamada yelling about respect and dignity—both of which he never really commanded.

As Naoki and Toki packed up their things, the warm sun poured into the room.

"Come on," Toki said. "Let’s hit the cafeteria before that weird guy from 2-C hoards all the melon bread again."

Naoki grinned. "Race you there."

They dashed through the hall, laughter echoing—their reality bright and full of joy.

But as they passed the hallway window\...

That shadow still watched.

Silent.

Unmoving.

A presence Naoki felt, but didn’t yet understand.

---

CHAP 16

Chapter end