"I knew before it happened."
The thought didn't leave him.
It stayed somewhere in the back of his mind—quiet, but steady.
---
The school felt different today.
Not quieter.
Louder.
"Oi, hurry up! We're already behind!"
"I told you we should've done this yesterday!"
"That was YOUR idea!"
Voices overlapped across the field. Laughter mixed with complaints. Movement everywhere.
Haruki stood near the edge of it for a second.
Watching.
"…you're zoning out again."
Aoi's voice, calm as always.
He glanced at her. "…just thinking."
"Bad timing for that."
She turned slightly, pointing toward their group.
"Come on."
---
Their group wasn't small.
Five people.
Aoi. Haruki. And three others who had already started arguing over something minor.
"You're cutting it wrong."
"It's not cutting, it's folding."
"That's even worse."
"Then you do it."
"I am doing it."
Haruki watched them for a second.
It felt… normal.
Too normal.
"Haruki, right?" one of them said, glancing at him. "You're just going to stand there?"
"…no."
"Good. Hold this."
Something was pushed into his hands before he could respond.
A wooden pole. Part of a banner frame.
"Don't drop it," another added casually.
"…right."
---
They worked.
Or tried to.
The structure wasn't complicated, but no one seemed fully coordinated.
"Lift it a bit."
"Wait, not yet—"
"Too late."
The frame tilted slightly.
Haruki adjusted his grip.
Then—
He moved.
Before anyone said anything.
He stepped back.
Shifted the angle.
Raised his side just enough—
The frame stabilized.
A second later—
"Okay, now lift—"
The instruction came late.
The others paused.
"…wait," one of them frowned. "Didn't we just—"
"You moved early," another said, looking at Haruki.
Haruki froze slightly.
"…I just guessed."
"Lucky guess," someone laughed.
"Do that again and we're keeping you."
Light tone.
No suspicion.
But Aoi didn't laugh.
---
"You did it again."
Her voice was low.
Just for him.
Haruki kept his eyes forward.
"…yeah."
"You moved before they said anything."
"…I know."
Aoi studied him for a moment.
"…then don't pretend it's random."
---
They kept working.
Time passed.
Noise grew.
More groups filled the field.
More movement.
More distractions.
But for Haruki—
Everything started feeling slightly out of sync.
Not visibly.
Just enough.
---
Then—
It came back.
Not faint this time.
Clear.
Close.
Inside the movement.
Haruki's grip tightened around the pole.
"…there…"
He didn't turn immediately.
Didn't rush.
This time—
He stepped forward.
Slow.
Controlled.
"Hey—where are you going?" someone from the group called.
He didn't answer.
Because the feeling was stronger now.
Closer than before.
Right there—
Between two students adjusting another frame.
Haruki moved faster.
One step.
Two—
And then—
He saw it.
For a fraction of a second.
Someone standing there.
Not clear.
Not detailed.
Just—
There.
In the exact space where nothing should have been.
Facing slightly away.
Still.
—
"…who—"
A voice behind him cut through.
"Hey, watch it!"
A student passed between them—
And it was gone.
---
Haruki stopped.
Completely.
His breathing uneven for the first time.
"…I saw…"
"Haruki!"
Aoi reached him quickly.
"What happened?"
He didn't answer immediately.
His eyes were still fixed on the empty space.
"…someone was there."
Aoi didn't dismiss it.
"…what kind of someone?"
Haruki hesitated.
"…I don't know."
And that was the problem.
---
"Oi!"
One of their group members waved at them.
"You two planning to disappear or what?"
"Come back, we're not done yet!"
The normal world pulled them back.
Haruki exhaled slowly.
"…yeah."
---
They returned.
But something had changed.
---
Later—
"Seriously, what was that earlier?" one of them asked, half-laughing. "You just walked off."
"Thought you saw a ghost or something."
"Don't say that, idiot."
"Why? You scared?"
"Shut up."
Small laughter.
Haruki didn't join.
"…just thought I saw something," he said.
"Like what?"
"…someone."
A pause.
Then—
"Man, you're already losing it."
"Festival stress got him."
"Yeah, yeah. Don't collapse on us."
Light teasing.
Normal.
But—
"…wait."
One of them frowned slightly.
"Actually… I thought someone was standing there too."
Silence.
Short.
Uncomfortable.
"…what?" another said.
"I don't know. Just for a second."
"Now you're both weird."
The moment passed.
But not completely.
---
Aoi looked at Haruki again.
This time—
Different.
---
After things settled—
The sky had already started dimming.
The field quieter now.
Most people leaving.
Haruki stood alone for a moment.
Not thinking.
Not searching.
Just… there.
Then—
It came again.
Closer.
Still.
Waiting.
Haruki didn't hesitate this time.
"…I know you're there."
No response.
But it didn't move.
Not forward.
Not away.
Just—
There.
His chest tightened slightly.
Not fear.
Something else.
Something deeper.
"…why does it feel like…"
He stopped.
Because the thought formed before he could stop it.
Clear.
Uncomfortable.
Almost certain.
His voice dropped.
"…like I left you behind?"
The air didn't answer.
But for the first time—
It didn't feel distant anymore.