After school. The library is half-empty, silent. Light beams in through tall dusty windows. Yuuji walks between the bookshelves, expression unreadable.

Narration (Yuuji):
“I don’t know why I came here. My hands moved on their own. Like they remembered something I didn’t.”

Yuuji runs his fingers across the spines of old books. One shelf is missing a volume. A gap in an otherwise perfect row. He pauses.

Yuuji (thinking):
“…Was something supposed to be here?”

Footsteps behind him. Haruka enters quietly, clutching a notebook. She sees him but doesn’t call out. Her expression softens.

Haruka (gently):
“You’re always where no one else is.”

Yuuji turns, not surprised. He nods once.

Yuuji:
“Maybe I like the silence.”

Haruka:
“Or maybe the silence likes you.”

They sit on the floor between shelves. Haruka opens her notebook—it’s filled with sketches of Yuuji, the class, and… Kanae.

Yuuji (quietly):
“You’ve drawn her too.”

Haruka (softly):
“She’s hard to ignore. Even when she’s silent… she’s loud.”

As they speak, the camera pulls back. In the shadows of the farthest aisle, Kanae stands unseen… watching them. Her eyes narrow. One hand clenched at her side.

Narration (Yuuji):
“I thought I was the only one being watched. But some people… never stopped watching.”