The following days settled into a routine.
In the mornings, Haru wore the orange Continuous uniform.
Broom in hand.
The silence of someone who hadn't slept enough.
At night, it was the skull mask.
Dark hallways.
The Chinese man leading the hunt.
Haru never intervened directly.
He simply followed.
Observed.
But sometimes, when the Chinese man wasn't looking, he helped in secret.
The freshman about to turn down the wrong corridor would hear a noise from the right direction.
A chain stuck at an impossible angle would suddenly become just a little easier to free.
Nothing that could be traced.
Nothing he would ever admit.
It didn't take long for the veterans to start calling him names.
"Chinese Toy."
"Made in China."
He let them.
Not because he liked it.
Names were irrelevant while he was still learning.
And he was learning.
Haru began predicting routes.
Hiding spots.
Which freshman would abandon their partner first.
Which one would run in circles before stopping.
