Chapter Text
The evening sky over Furin was grey, the wind carrying hints of incoming rain.
Suo Hayato walked slowly down the stairs of the school’s old building, having just finished cleaning the downstairs hall at a teacher’s request.
All the other students had long gone home except him.
“Why am I the only one who doing all the extra work today…” he muttered under his breath, hands still dusty from wiping down the whiteboard and old metal cabinets.
As he reached one of the quieter levels, Suo noticed a door slightly ajar.
It was the door to the old art room…rumoured to have been unused since last year.
He was about to walk past, but the faint smell of fresh paint stopped him.
“That’s impossible… sensei said this room hasn’t been opened at all, especially since the building’s set to be torn down next year.”
Driven by a curiosity he didn’t quite want to admit, Suo gently pushed the door open.
The room was dim, sunlight slipping only through gaps in the dusty, cobweb-covered windows.
But in the far-right corner stood a drawing table and on top of it, an open sketchbook.
Suo stepped closer.
His pace slowed, and something in his chest began to feel… off.
⸻
On the open page was a half-finished sketch.
The art style was simple but precise.
The face still incomplete — showed someone wearing a Furin uniform, hoodie pulled up, hair partially hidden.
The features were blurry…
But something about the image made Suo freeze.
“I’ve… seen this face before.”
He couldn’t remember where.
But there was something about it that felt deeply familiar.
A name? What was their name…?
He tried to recall, but every time the answer seemed close, a heavy fog clouded his thoughts.
Suddenly, a small voice whispered behind him:
“What are you doing here?”
Suo turned around quickly—but no one was there.
And when he looked back at the sketchbook… something had changed.
Beneath the drawing, a name had appeared.
Freshly written in thin, delicate strokes.
Momose Takumi.
⸻
Suo stood frozen.
Momose-san?
He repeated the name in his mind.
It sounded familiar.
He had heard it before.
He knew that name.
He had seen that kid before.
He knew…
Because Umemiya-san had once mentioned that name with a smile.
But when Suo brought it up to Umemiya the next day
“Momose? Who’s that?”
“I don’t know anyone by that name.”