The hospital felt freezing.
Not because of the temperature.
Because hospitals always feel colder when someone you love stops breathing inside them.
The automatic doors slid open quietly as Naoko and I stepped inside. The bright white lights immediately hurt my eyes after being outside in the rain for so long. Everything smelled like disinfectant and medicine and something strangely empty.
People walked past us normally. Nurses carrying papers. Doctors talking quietly. Someone laughing somewhere far down the hallway.
The world kept moving.
That felt wrong.
My mother had just died.
How could people still laugh?
I walked beside Naoko silently while my shoes squeaked faintly against the polished floor. My body felt numb now. Not calm. Just exhausted beyond the point of understanding my own emotions anymore.
Naoko handled most of the talking at first.
Receptionists asked questions.
Police officers asked for confirmation.
Someone handed me papers I couldn't even read properly because my eyes wouldn't focus.
"Takano Haruko?" a nurse asked gently.
I looked up slowly.
"…Yes."
"We're very sorry for your loss."
The sentence sounded practiced. Like she had said it a thousand times before.
Maybe she had.
I nodded weakly anyway.
Then suddenly another question came.
"Would you like to see her?"
My breathing stopped.
The hallway around me suddenly felt too bright. Too loud.
I couldn't answer.
Naoko glanced at me quietly before speaking for me instead.
"…We will."
We.
The word felt strange.
The nurse guided us silently through long empty hallways. The sound of my footsteps echoed softly the entire way there.
I wanted to run.
Every part of me wanted to turn around and leave before seeing something that would make this real forever.
But my legs kept moving anyway.
The nurse eventually stopped in front of a quiet room.
"I'll give you both some time," she said softly before leaving.
The door clicked shut behind us.
And suddenly the room became unbearably silent.
I slowly looked forward.
My mother lay there peacefully beneath the white hospital sheets.
Too peacefully.
Like she was sleeping.
For one horrible second, hope returned.
Maybe the doctors were wrong.
Maybe she'd wake up.
Maybe this was all some misunderstanding.
"…Mom?"
My voice cracked immediately.
No response.
I walked closer slowly. My legs felt weak with every step.
"Mom…"
I reached for her hand.
Cold.
The second I felt it, something inside me shattered completely.
"No…"
My breathing became uneven instantly. Tears blurred my vision before I could stop them.
"No no no…"
I grabbed her hand harder like I could somehow pull her back just by refusing reality enough.
"You can't leave me…" I whispered brokenly. "You promised…"
I couldn't breathe properly anymore.
Everything hurt.
I bent forward against the side of the bed, crying so hard my chest physically ached. The sound coming out of me didn't even sound human anymore. Just pain. Pure pain.
Then suddenly, a hand rested gently against my back.
Naoko.
I looked up through blurry vision.
She was smiling again.
But something about it felt different this time.
Not her usual playful smile.
Not the frightening one.
This one looked strained.
Like she was trying to remember how comforting people are supposed to look in moments like this.
It almost looked sad.
And somehow… that scared me more than when she held a knife.
"It's okay… Just let it all out." Naoko said quietly.
That sentence destroyed me again instantly.
I covered my mouth, trying desperately to stop crying so loudly, but it was impossible.
Naoko stayed beside me quietly the entire time.
She didn't say meaningless things like she's in a better place or be strong.
She just stayed there.
Silent. Present.
Almost awkwardly gentle.
Like someone trying to hold together another person while not fully understanding emotions themselves.
After a long time—minutes or maybe hours, I couldn't tell anymore—a doctor eventually returned.
"…I'm sorry," he said softly, clearly hesitant to interrupt. "The officers still need to ask a few more questions."
I wiped at my face quickly, embarrassed by how broken I looked.
Naoko immediately stepped slightly closer beside me.
"She's exhausted," she said calmly. "Please don't keep this long."
The doctor nodded sympathetically.
Soon after, we were brought into another quieter room.
Two police officers sat across from me with notebooks and tired expressions.
One of them spoke gently.
"Takano-san, we know this is difficult, but we need you to answer honestly, okay?"
I nodded weakly.
Questions started immediately.
"Did your mother have enemies?"
"No…"
"Did anyone threaten you recently?"
My heart skipped.
Naoko sat beside me calmly without reacting at all.
I looked down at my hands.
"…I don't know."
"Did your mother mention anyone suspicious?"
"No."
"Did you notice anything missing from the apartment?"
"I…" My voice shook. "I didn't look…"
The officers exchanged glances quietly before continuing.
Every question made my headache worse.
Every sentence forced me to relive everything again.
At one point, my breathing suddenly became shaky again and I had to stop talking completely.
Naoko answered for me smoothly after that.
"She found the body herself," she explained quietly. "Please be careful with your wording."
One of the officers nodded apologetically.
Then another officer looked toward Naoko curiously.
"And you are?"
"Miyahira Naoko," she answered calmly. "Her teacher."
"You've been helping her since this started?"
"Yes."
No hesitation.
No nervousness.
Just calm confidence.
I stared at her silently for a second.
It was terrifying how naturally she blended into situations like this.
Like she belonged everywhere. Even here.
Eventually, the questioning finally ended.
But by then, I felt completely hollow inside.
Everything felt tired.
Including me.
I stood near the exit silently, arms wrapped around myself. My clothes still had faint stains of dried blood on them. Every time I looked down and saw them, my stomach twisted again.
"…I'm…going home," I said quietly.
The words barely left my mouth before I felt a gentle tug on my sleeve.
I looked back.
Naoko was holding the edge of my clothes lightly between her fingers.
Not forcefully.
Not threateningly.
Just enough to stop me.
"You shouldn't."
Her voice was calm.
I looked away immediately.
"…I'll be fine."
"No, you won't."
The answer came too quickly.
"You're exhausted, emotionally unstable, and possibly being targeted by whoever killed your mother."
I hated how easily she said things like that.
Like discussing weather.
I pulled my sleeve back slowly.
"I don't want to bother you anymore."
Naoko blinked once.
"Haruko," she said flatly, "you watched someone die, got kidnapped by your homicidal teacher, found your mother's corpse, and spent hours crying in a hospital."
She shakes her head slightly.
"At this point, bothering me should be the least of your concerns."
I stared at her silently.
The terrifying part was that she somehow sounded reasonable.
Naoko sighed softly afterward and crossed her arms.
"You can sleep at my house for now."
"…For now?"
"Until we figure things out."
The rain outside grew heavier.
I looked toward the hospital doors quietly.
The thought of returning to the apartment alone made my chest tighten painfully.
Everything there would remind me of her.
The couch.
The kitchen.
Her voice.
And now… the blood too.
My breathing became uneven again.
Naoko noticed immediately.
"You don't have to decide emotionally," she said more gently this time. "Think logically."
I hated that she was right again.
After a long silence, I nodded weakly.
"…Okay."
Naoko gave a small satisfied hum.
"Good."
Then she casually started walking toward the exit like the conversation had been completely normal.
I followed behind her quietly.
The drive back felt quieter than before.
The rain blurred the city lights outside into messy colors across the car windows while soft music played faintly through the speakers.
Neither of us talked much.
I think I was too tired to even cry anymore.
When we finally reached her house, Naoko unlocked the front door and stepped aside slightly for me to enter first.
The inside of the house was dark except for a few dim lights near the hallway.
I suddenly remembered the blood trails.
My body immediately stiffened.
Naoko noticed.
"…Oh, come on, there're not here anymore." she said casually while taking off her shoes.
That somehow wasn't comforting at all.
I quietly stepped inside anyway.
The house smelled faintly like cleaning products now.
Naoko glanced toward me for a second before speaking again.
"You should take a bath."
I blinked slowly. "What?"
"You still have blood on your clothes."
I looked down immediately.
Right.
My sleeves still carried dark reddish stains near the cuffs.
My stomach twisted again.
Naoko walked toward a nearby cabinet and pulled out folded clothes.
"These should fit enough."
She handed them to me casually.
A large black shirt.
Gray shorts.
"…These are yours?" I asked quietly.
"Mhm."
"They're huge."
"You're tiny."
I didn't even have energy to argue anymore.
Naoko pointed toward the hallway.
"Bathroom's to the left."
Then she started walking upstairs.
"I'll clean the spare room while you're washing up."
I looked up slightly.
"…You don't have to do all that."
Naoko stopped midway up the stairs before glancing back at me.
"Yes, I do."
For some reason, her voice sounded strangely serious that time.
Then her usual smile returned again almost instantly.
"Besides," she added lightly, "I'd rather not let my student sleep on the couch like a sad abandoned cat."
I stared at her blankly for a second.
"…That was oddly specific."
Naoko grinned slightly.
"Go bathe, Haruko."
Then she disappeared upstairs.
The warm water should've helped.
It didn't.
I sat curled beneath the shower quietly while water ran down my face and mixed with tears I didn't realize were still coming.
Everything replayed over and over in my head.
My mother.
The hospital.
Naoko laughing.
Blood.
Area 23.
I felt sick.
By the time I finally changed clothes and stepped out of the bathroom, my body felt lighter physically but heavier everywhere else.
The oversized shirt hung loosely past my hands.
I quietly walked upstairs afterward, following the faint sound of movement.
Naoko was inside one of the rooms changing the bedsheets when I appeared at the doorway.
She looked up briefly.
"Oh. You survived."
"…Barely."
"Hm. Tragic."
I almost rolled my eyes. Almost.
The room itself was simple. Small desk. Closet. Window. Bed.
It looked untouched.
Like nobody had entered it in years.
Naoko finished fixing the blanket before dusting off her hands lightly.
"There."
"…Thank you."
She looked oddly surprised for a second before smiling again.
"You're polite even after emotional collapse. Impressive."
I sat carefully on the edge of the bed.
The silence afterward felt less threatening than before.
Still uncomfortable.
But quieter.
Naoko leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed loosely.
"…You're thinking too loudly again," she said suddenly.
I frowned slightly.
"What does that even mean?"
"It means I can practically hear your anxiety from here."
I looked down at my hands.
"…I still can't believe she's gone."
Naoko didn't interrupt.
"I keep thinking she's gonna call my phone or yell at me for skipping dinner or something…" My voice weakened slightly. "But she won't."
The room became quiet again.
Then Naoko spoke softly.
"When someone dies suddenly, your brain rejects it at first."
I looked up slightly.
"You'll keep expecting them to come back."
Her smile weakened just a little.
"…Even when you know they won't."
Something about the way she said it felt personal.
Before I could ask anything, Naoko straightened again and returned to her usual expression.
"You should sleep."
"…I don't think I can."
"You eventually will. Humans always crash after enough suffering."
"That's a horrible sentence."
"It's also scientifically accurate."
Despite everything, somehow, a tiny laugh escaped me.
Naoko looked genuinely surprised by it.
And honestly?
So was I.
I couldn't sleep.
No matter how hard I tried.
I laid there staring at the ceiling while darkness filled the room around me. The faint ticking of a clock somewhere downstairs echoed through the silence over and over again.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw something different.
My mother smiling at me in the kitchen.
The blood on the apartment floor.
Naoko laughing.
The bully dying.
I turned onto my side and covered my face with the blanket.
It didn't help.
The room still felt unfamiliar.
The bed smelled faintly like detergent and dust, like nobody had touched it in years. Outside the window, rain continued softly through the night.
At some point, my chest started hurting again.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
That horrible heavy feeling right before crying.
I pressed my face harder against the pillow immediately.
I didn't want Naoko hearing me.
The thought alone felt embarrassing somehow.
So instead, I just stayed there silently while tears slipped into the fabric beneath my face.
I don't know when morning came.
I only realized it when pale sunlight slowly began creeping through the curtains.
Then a knock came at the door.
Three light taps.
Before I could answer, the door slowly opened anyway.
Naoko stood there holding a coffee mug in one hand, steam rising from it softly. Her white hair looked slightly messy like she had just woken up herself.
She took one look at me sitting awake in bed and raised an eyebrow slightly.
"…Hm."
I looked away immediately.
"Looks like you really couldn't sleep, huh?"
I stayed quiet.
Naoko took a sip of her coffee casually before walking into the room.
"You look awful."
"…Thanks."
"You're welcome."
She leaned lightly against the wall beside the door.
For a few seconds, neither of us talked.
Then she sighed softly.
"You should get changed."
I frowned slightly.
"…Why?"
"We're going to school."
I stared at her like she had lost her mind.
"What?"
Naoko looked completely serious.
"You need distraction."
"My mom literally died yesterday."
"Yes."
"And you want me to go to school?"
"I want you to avoid being alone with your thoughts all day," she corrected calmly. "There's a difference."
I opened my mouth to argue before stopping.
Because honestly…
Part of me understood what she meant.
If I stayed in this room all day, I'd probably break completely.
Naoko took another sip of coffee.
"You don't have to attend classes normally," she continued. "Just stay around people."
"…That sounds unhealthy."
"So is emotionally collapsing in bed."
I hated how reasonable she sounded sometimes.
Eventually, after a long silence, I sighed weakly.
"…Fine."
Naoko smiled faintly.
"Good student."
"I regret agreeing already."
"Too late now."
School felt wrong the next morning.
Too normal.
Students still laughed in the hallways. Teachers still carried stacks of papers. Someone ran past us while apologizing loudly for being late.
The world really didn't stop for anyone.
I walked beside Naoko quietly through the front gate, trying not to look at anyone directly. My chest tightened slightly every time someone brushed past me.
What if they knew?
What if they looked at me differently now?
The classroom became unusually loud the second my friends noticed me.
"Haruko!"
Etsuko immediately rushed over first.
"Where were you yesterday?!"
Toshio looked relieved.
"You stopped replying to messages!"
Kei leaned forward dramatically.
"I thought Naoko-sensei secretly murdered you or something."
My entire body froze instantly.
Naoko casually walked past him toward her desk.
"Interesting guess," she said lightly.
Kei laughed awkwardly.
"…Why did that sound threatening?"
Before I could say anything, Naoko suddenly spoke again.
"Haruko's mother passed away yesterday."
Silence.
The entire mood changed instantly.
Etsuko's expression dropped first.
"…What?"
Toshio stared at me.
"Wait… seriously?"
I slowly nodded.
The classroom suddenly felt painfully quiet.
"Oh my god…" Etsuko whispered.
The next thing I knew, she wrapped her arms tightly around me without warning.
"I'm so sorry…"
That almost made me cry again immediately.
Toshio looked horrified.
Yori looked speechless.
Even Kei stopped joking completely.
Nobody knew what to say.
And somehow that made everything feel more real.
The rest of the morning passed in a blur.
My friends stayed unusually close to me the entire time. Toshio carried my bag without asking. Etsuko refused to let me sit alone. Kei kept trying to make small stupid jokes to lighten the mood even though half of them failed miserably.
Still…
They were trying.
And that mattered.
Lunch came eventually.
We were sitting outside near the courtyard when voices suddenly cut through the atmosphere.
"Well, look who finally came back."
My stomach dropped immediately.
The remaining girls from the bully group stood nearby staring at me coldly.
One of them crossed her arms.
"Didn't know you'd still show your face after what happened."
Etsuko immediately stood up.
"Excuse me?"
Another girl laughed mockingly.
"What? We're just saying it's kinda creepy."
Toshio frowned.
"Back off."
"Ohhh, defending her now?"
"She's been through enough," Yori said sharply. "Leave her alone."
The girls ignored him completely.
One of them looked directly at me.
"Your mom dying right after 'your lovely friend' disappeared is pretty suspicious though."
My body went cold instantly.
Because I knew.
I knew they had something to do with it.
And I couldn't say anything.
My hands slowly tightened beneath the table.
Etsuko stepped forward angrily.
"What the hell is wrong with you people?!"
"She's grieving!" Kei snapped. "Are you seriously bullying someone right now?"
The girls rolled their eyes dramatically.
But,
I noticed movement farther down the courtyard.
Naoko.
Another teacher was speaking to her about something while holding papers.
But Naoko wasn't paying attention.
At all.
She was staring dead at the girls.
And for the first time since meeting her…
She wasn't smiling.
Not even a little.
Her expression looked completely empty.
Cold.
The kind of stare that didn't even feel human anymore.
It wasn't anger.
It looked worse than anger.
Like she had already decided something.
My chest tightened immediately.
No.
I knew that look now.
And suddenly, terrifyingly clearly…
I realized exactly what she was thinking.
She was going to kill them next.
Before I could even think properly, my body moved on its own.
The chair scraped loudly against the ground as I stood up suddenly.
"Haruko?" Etsuko called out in confusion.
I ignored her.
I immediately started running across the courtyard.
Students turned to look at me as I pushed past people, my heartbeat pounding violently in my ears.
"Naoko-sensei!"
My voice came out louder than I expected.
Far ahead, Naoko finally looked toward me.
And instantly,
that horrifying expression disappeared.
Her eyes widened slightly instead, almost confused.
"…Haruko?"
I stopped in front of her, breathing hard.
The other teacher beside her blinked in surprise.
Naoko tilted her head slightly.
"What's wrong?" she asked softly, like she hadn't been staring at people like a future murderer seconds ago.
I grabbed the edge of her sleeve tightly without even realizing it.
"I…" My breathing shook badly.
Naoko's expression shifted slightly after noticing how panicked I looked.
"…Hm..?"
I looked up at her desperately.
"I need to talk to you..!"