At first, only scattered drops of rain fell from the sky. But in the blink of an eye, those scattered drops thickened into heavy raindrops, pelting the ground and splashing up sheets of water.
"How annoying! It's raining, it's raining! Renji, hurry up—let's take shelter!"
Reze shouted anxiously, hands shielding her head as she ran, eyes scanning the area for cover. Spotting a nearby damaged middle school, she immediately rushed inside.
Renji followed close behind, pushing his bicycle through the torrent. By now, the rain was torrential, and strong winds howled, almost like a typhoon was approaching.
Raindrops stung Renji's face, making it hard to keep his eyes open. Still, he pushed forward, dragging his bike into the first-floor corridor of the middle school.
After parking it, Renji shrugged off his police uniform jacket, wiped his face with it, slicked back his drenched hair, and stepped into the nearby classroom.
"This isn't good… It'll be bad if I catch a cold. Reze, here—use my jacket to dry off a bit, okay?"
Reze stood quietly by the window. Her gaze passed through the rain-streaked glass, watching the school playground outside, now cloaked in heavy rain.
The downpour showed no sign of easing. If anything, it intensified—just like the storm inside her heart, pounding harder, falling faster, tangled with emotion.
Renji walked up to her and gently offered his jacket, urging her to wipe the rain off and stay warm.
Reze took it, but didn't use it. She only held it tightly in her hands.
Renji looked at her—only her profile was visible from his angle. Strands of wet hair clung to her face, and beads of rain trailed from the tip of her delicate nose to the floor—soft and sorrowful.
He couldn't see her expression, but something about the moment made his heart stir. A strange emotion welled up inside him.
His heartbeat quickened.
"Ding~ Detected Reze's fear. System rewards 20 points."
"Renji, will you… dislike me?" Reze asked suddenly, her voice trembling with unease.
Renji blinked, pulled out of his daze by her words. He froze, confused.
"Why would you say that?"
Reze lowered her head and stayed silent for a moment before speaking slowly.
"Outside this school are the huge cities—Tokyo and Kyoto. So many people out there... People like me. You'll meet plenty who are as pretty, maybe even better—smarter, kinder. Won't you grow to dislike someone like me, Renji?"
Renji offered a sheepish smile and stayed quiet. After a while, he replied, "How could I? Reze, don't be silly. I'm a girl too—we're all the same. It's not like I have some endless choice of people."
Hearing that evasive answer, Reze's lips parted slightly. But in the end, she said nothing. She chose silence instead—choosing to preserve this fragile balance between them.
As long as they both pretended not to know the truth… maybe things could stay this way.
"Ding~ Detected Reze's happy emotion. System rewards 10 points."
"Oh, so… Renji, you still want to keep pretending, huh? Pfft... Hahahahahahaha~"
Reze giggled, covering her mouth with one hand. Then, finally moving, she used the jacket to dry herself off.
Afterwards, she grabbed Renji's wrist and tugged him toward the hallway.
"Perfect timing with the storm~ Let's go on an adventure~ Right here in this old school~ C'mon, let's go~ Let's go~"
"Huh? Wait, seriously? Just like that? Shouldn't we, like… prepare or something?"
"Pfft~ No need to prepare~ Just go, just go~"
"Renji… I'm a little scared…"
At the second-floor stairwell, Renji turned to glance at Reze.
"No way. Wasn't this your idea?"
"But… it's so dark in here…"
"Renji, how long do you think these shoes have been here?"
Renji shone his phone flashlight into an old shoe cabinet and saw a pair of dusty, forgotten shoes inside. He shook his head.
"Hard to say. Judging by the dust, though… definitely a long time."
"Do you think a ghost left them?"
"Probably not. Ghosts… they probably don't exist, right?"
But Renji's voice grew uncertain. He suddenly remembered the Ghost Devil—contracted by Himeno-senpai.
Ghosts and devils… weren't they kind of the same?
"Renji, are you afraid of ghosts?"
Renji shook his head. "Nope. Not afraid."
"Really? Why not?"
"Just not afraid! That's it!" [Eddie Peng]
"Reze? Where did you go? Reze?!"
Renji's voice echoed down the empty, dark hallway. Panic started to rise in his throat.
He held his phone tightly, waving its dim light around in every direction, trying to find her.
"—Boo!"
A shadow darted out from the corner. Reze leapt forward with her arms wide and let out a weird little shriek.
Renji just stood there, staring at her, completely unphased.
A few seconds passed before his body jolted back into awareness. He trembled a bit—and his phone slipped from his hand, hitting the floor with a crisp clatter.
"Ah hahahahahahahahaha~ That's hilarious! Hahahahahahaha~"
"Hey, can you stop laughing already? I'm seriously mad here!"
"Sorry, sorry~ Oh~ But—Ah hahahahahaha~ Wh… what was that… just now?"
Reze doubled over in laughter. "You said it so confidently... 'Not afraid! Just not afraid!'"
She suddenly straightened and mimicked Renji in a dramatic tone:
"Not afraid! Just not afraid!" [Eddie Peng]
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha~"
Renji's cheeks turned red. He muttered in frustration.
"Tch… What do you even know... You don't get it. You've got no idea what my childhood was like. Those Hong Kong ghost movies were terrifying, okay? All you do is laugh... Fine, just laugh. Laugh yourself to death."
Hearing Renji's grumbling, Reze burst into another round of uncontrollable laughter, clutching her stomach as she nearly doubled over again.
"—Boo!—"
Renji suddenly jumped out from a dark corner and stood in front of Reze with a dramatic flair.
"Eh... ah... mm-hmm..."
Reze casually raised her phone and shone its weak flashlight on Renji's face.
Renji froze in place, waiting for her reaction—hoping to startle her.
Seconds passed. They stood there silently, staring at each other.
But Reze showed no hint of fear or surprise. She just stared blankly at him.
Renji frowned in disappointment.
"Hey, why no reaction? Wasn't my sudden appearance creepy enough?"
Reze tilted her head in curiosity, then reached forward and gently poked the small red ball on Renji's nose. With a light flick, it began to wobble up and down.
"…What is this?"
"A clown nose. Cool, right? I found it in the office. So—scary enough now? Behold... the Soul-Reaping Clown!"
He paused, suddenly uncertain.
"Wait... Hold on... Did the Soul-Reaping Clown even wear a red nose? Shouldn't he have had a Thompson submachine gun instead...? Did I get that wrong?"
Reze, who had been calm the whole time, finally cracked.
"Pfft…! Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha~"
She bent over, laughing so hard that her eyes started to water.
"Hey! Stop laughing!"
But Reze just laughed even harder, holding her stomach like she was in pain.
"HEY! You jerk! Quit laughing already!"
Inside a dark classroom, Reze grabbed a piece of chalk and wrote on the blackboard:
"One plus one equals what?"
She turned with a grin.
"Does anyone know the answer? Student Renji?"
Renji stood up dramatically.
"Alright, alright, Teacher Reze. It's two! This is way too easy. C'mon, give me something harder!"
"Oh my~ Student Renji is feeling confident, huh? Well then—how about this?"
She smirked, then turned and scribbled a phrase in English on the board:
—big dick—
Renji blinked.
"…Reporting, Teacher Reze—I don't know the answer."
Reze giggled, clearly delighted.
"Ding~ Detected Reze's excitement. System rewards 20 points."
"The answer is… large dick!"
She broke into laughter once again.