Recap: The shadows shrieked. They writhed, clawed, tried to pry her away. But she clung tighter.
And then her breath warmed. Just for a second. Her voice, tiny, trembled in my ear.
"…I'll be back, Sensei."
The words cracked something deep inside me. And then—
Her body dissolved. Not like a monster, not like ink. Like light breaking apart. Her warmth lingered for one heartbeat in our arms, and then she scattered into a thousand drifting motes, vanishing into the air like fireflies.
The alarm clock went off like it had a personal grudge.
I cracked an eye open, instantly regretted it. My body felt like it had been put through a blender, set on grind, then tossed back into bed. Saki's hug still burned faintly on my skin, and Nakamura's broken face wouldn't leave my head.
But guess what? High school didn't give a shit about rooftop exorcisms or MILF meltdowns. It wanted me in uniform, on time, smiling like a dumbass sixteen-year-old.
I stared at the ceiling.
"System, you awake?"
