Kun stared at the little paper crane Sai had given him that afternoon.
It sat quietly on his desk like it was listening.
His head rested on his arms, eyes half-lidded in thought.
Was it all a dream?
Is Sai really human?
And what about the haunting? Did that even make sense anymore?
With a sigh, Kun sat up and rubbed his face, annoyed with himself. He took the paper crane in his hand and shoved it in his pocket.
Then, on impulse, he stood and walked down the hall to his mom's room. Her door was slightly open. She was sitting at her desk, peering at an old newspaper and typing furiously on her laptop.
Kun leaned against the doorframe, watching her with sleepy curiosity.
She hadn't noticed him yet.
Or… maybe she had?
Suddenly, she shrieked like a banshee.
"HFNFSKSJ—?! WHAT THE HELL, KUN?!"
She literally jumped in her seat, nearly knocking her laptop over. Her chair spun halfway before clattering to a stop.
Kun blinked. "...Huh?"
"You scared the SHIT out of me! Idiot! My heart nearly jumped out of my butt! You want me dead before forty?!"
Kun scratched the back of his head awkwardly, trying not to laugh. "Hehe... Sorry. I thought you noticed me."
She glared, hand on her chest. "I didn't! What are you, a ninja?!"
He walked into the room with a guilty smile, peeking at the newspaper laid out on her desk.
"What's that, Mom?"
"Hm? Oh—this?" She tapped the old paper with her pen. "I'm digging into that spirit. Sai."
Kun blinked.
He hadn't expected that. After everything, she was still looking into Sai?
"You're still... interested in him?" he asked, softly folding his arms behind his back.
"Of course I am. That creepy bastard nearly took you from me," she said, voice laced with irritation.
But for some reason, even when she was mad, she sounded kind of… cute?
Kun pouted, leaning in to scan the article.
There was no mention of Sai's name. Nothing solid. Just vague references.
"Any luck?" he asked.
"No name, but I found an article about missing people."
"Missing people?" Kun tilted his head. "How's that related to Sai?"
She tapped her chin, thoughtful. "It's just a theory… but I think Sai attaches himself to someone. Emotionally. Like a parasite. If I hadn't been there that night…" she trailed off.
"You think I'd be the one missing?"
She looked at him. "Don't you?"
Kun's eyes widened slightly. She had a point. But still—
"But what if those missing people were just, like, kidnapped or something?" he offered.
She shook her head.
"No, Kun. These people weren't just gone—they were erased. There's a pattern. In every case, only one person remembers them. Usually someone who loved them deeply. But when police investigated... no birth records. No school records. It's like they never existed at all."
Kun's mouth fell open wider this time.
"Mom, you're starting to sound like Dad. Investigating ghosts and stuff! That's so cool."
She huffed and flipped her hair. "Please. I'm way better than him."
Kun giggled and gave her a big thumbs-up.
But then… he hesitated.
He glanced at the paper crane still in his pocket. Should he tell her?
Sai's in school again.
He looked down, his hand tightening into a fist.
He remembered the hospital. How she cried and screamed when he said Sai's name. How broken she looked. He didn't want that again. Not now. Not here. They came to the countryside to start over—not to relive nightmares.
"Mom, about Sai—"
"Hm? Did he show up—?"
Her phone buzzed loudly, interrupting.
"Ah—hold that thought," she said, grabbing it. "Work call. Gimme a sec."
Kun nodded silently.
She stepped out of the room, muttering into the phone.
Kun turned back to the desk... but something was wrong.
The newspaper—there was a new line that hadn't been there before.
It read:
"Are you really going to tell her?"
"Are you really going to be a burden who can't fix his own problems?"
His eyes widened.
And then—so close it made his spine lock up—
A whisper brushed against his ear:
"Are you really going to do that, Kun?"
Kun spun around.
No one there.
A second later, his mother returned and sat beside him again, unaware of anything strange.
"So? What were you saying about Sai?"
Kun blinked, sweat pricking at his neck. His smile came too fast.
"Ah—um. Nothing, really. I think he's gone now. Everything's... normal at school! Hehe."
He stood up and kissed her cheek. "Anyway, I'm gonna head to bed. Got class early tomorrow!"
He made a peace sign and backed toward the door.
"Oh—and stop drinking weird energy coffee, seriously. It makes you scream like a dying cat. Love you! Night!"
She raised a brow. "Oi—!"
But Kun was already gone.
Behind the door, he exhaled slowly.
The paper crane was still in his pocket.
And he felt like it was... watching him.
---
The next morning, Kun woke up earlier than usual.
He bathed, brushed, and got dressed like a responsible son from a parenting handbook. Then, half-asleep but determined, he shuffled to the kitchen and made breakfast—for himself and his mom.
And after a long pause... he also made a bento.
One for himself.
One for Sai.
"If Mom's theory is right… I probably shouldn't piss off a potential spirit-stalker," he muttered while packing a rice ball like it was a peace offering to a ghost. "Operation: Befriend The Creepy Guy begins."
He hadn't told his mom about the panic attack yesterday. Or the whisper. Or the paper crane's haunting gaze from his desk drawer.
He also definitely didn't mention that Sai was back in school, sitting in a desk like nothing ever happened.
"Yeah… I need to be extra careful," Kun muttered, wiping sweat off his temple with a kitchen towel like it was battle prep.
But he could do this. He had a plan.
Step one: Be friendly.
Step two: Collect information.
Step three: Help Mom investigate Sai without getting possessed or eaten or memory-wiped.
Simple.
Sort of.
Maybe.
Kun forced a smile in the mirror and whispered to himself, "You are Kun. You are normal. You are not being haunted. You are not—"
The crane on the desk twitched slightly.
Kun bolted out the door.
When he arrived at school, the classroom was its usual chaos.
One group was laughing in the corner. Another was arguing about whose pencil case looked cooler. A girl was singing off-key for no reason. And then there was Sai.
Sitting calmly at his desk. Talking to a classmate. Smiling.
Like he belonged here.
Kun slipped into his seat without a word, pressing his lips together as he watched the classroom buzz around him. A small sigh of relief escaped—no weirdness so far.
But then someone approached his desk.
"Good morning, Lleigh-san," came a polite voice.
Kun looked up. "Oh, good morning."
It was Ichiko Hazuya—class president, peacekeeper, and the human equivalent of a warm cup of tea. Neat uniform, glasses, and a gentle smile.
"We'll be having class picture later today," Ichiko informed him kindly. "I've already let the others know. Just wanted to remind you."
Kun blinked. "Oh—thank you. I… I'm excited."
He gave a small, surprised smile.
Honestly, he was.
Ichiko smiled back and returned to his seat near the front.
But not everyone was smiling.
From across the room, Sai's eyes narrowed just a little.
He watched Kun.
He didn't like how Kun smiled at Ichiko. He didn't like how his name rolled off Kun's tongue so politely. Kun wasn't supposed to be like that with other people.
They were friends.
Best friends.
Weren't they?
Later that morning, the class gathered in the gym for the photo shoot.
Students were adjusting their collars, smoothing skirts, brushing each other's bangs like they were preparing for a modeling audition. Kun, meanwhile, was swaying side to side in excitement like a bouncy jellybean.
Sai appeared beside him with his usual blank expression.
"Are you… okay?" Sai asked, side-eyeing him suspiciously.
Kun grinned. "What? I'm excited. I've never had a class picture before where I wasn't crying inside."
Sai squinted. "That's… oddly specific."
Kun leaned in with a smirk. "You better not blink in the picture. If I find one frame where you're doing the creepy haunted-eye-glow thing, I'm suing."
"I don't blink."
"Exactly. That's why I'm suing."
Sai rolled his eyes. "You're ridiculous."
Kun gave him finger guns. "And you're a maybe-ghost who eats my lunch. Friends?"
Sai looked like he wanted to smile… or strangle him. Possibly both.
When the teacher called for the first photo, everyone got into formation.
Kun stood at the middle-right of the second row, just beside Ichiko. Sai was a step behind them, near the back, arms stiff at his sides like he didn't know how to pose.
"All right, everyone—this one's formal!" the photographer called.
"Stand straight!"
"Don't blink!"
"Kun, fix your collar, it's folded like origami!"
Click.
They relaxed for the second shot.
"Now a casual pose!"
Kun gave a peace sign. Ichiko smiled warmly. Sai didn't move at all.
Click.
"Okay—last one! Wacky photo, everyone! Go wild!"
Chaos.
One guy in the back threw up bunny ears behind his friend's head. A girl did jazz hands. Ichiko puffed his cheeks like a squirrel. Kun raised both hands in the air like he just got abducted by fun.
And for the first time—
Sai did something.
He leaned forward slightly… and smiled.
A real, quiet, strange smile.
Click.
Everyone burst out laughing.
"Oh my god, did you see Kai's face?!"
"Why did you look like you were screaming, Kun?!"
"Hazuuuyaaa, you looked so cute!!"
"I think Sai actually smiled! Quick, someone write that down!"
Kun glanced back at Sai, still catching his breath.
And for a second…
Sai was looking straight at him.
Not the camera.
Not the class.
Just Kun.
His smile didn't fade.
Scene: Lunchtime with Sai
After the chaos of the class photo shoot, the students returned to their classroom buzzing with leftover energy.
"Hazuuuya, send me that wacky photo later!"
"Why did Kai look like he was fighting a ghost??"
"Wait, where's my other shoe—?!"
Kun sat back in his seat, stretching with a satisfied groan. His stomach rumbled.
Time for lunch.
He reached into his bag and pulled out both bentos: one neatly packed with rolled omelets, rice, and sausage octopi for himself... and another one identical to it.
The one for Sai.
He stared at it for a moment.
Was he seriously about to feed the possibly-possessive spirit-boy who might have erased people from existence?
Yes.
Yes, he was.
"…This is so dumb," Kun mumbled, and stood up.
He walked over to Sai's desk, holding the bento box like a peace treaty wrapped in a Pokémon napkin.
Sai blinked up at him.
"You brought me lunch?" Sai said, deadpan.
Kun shrugged. "I owed you one."
"For what?"
"For not… I don't know. Possessing me today?"
Sai's eyes narrowed, suspicious. "You're being unusually nice."
Kun chuckled nervously. "Isn't that what friends do? Make sure their emotionally confusing classmates don't starve and go full cursed-spirit mode in the hallway?"
Sai tilted his head. "You really think I'm emotionally confusing?"
Kun sat down beside him. "Sai, I had to Google 'how to tell if your best friend is real or a shared delusion.' So, yes. Deeply confusing."
Sai smiled faintly. He accepted the bento and opened it.
Inside were carefully arranged rolls, tiny hearts cut from carrots, and a little toothpick flag that read "Don't haunt me pls."
Sai stared at the flag for a long, long moment.
Then: "Did your mom help with this?"
"Nope. I made it myself. See the ugly omelet? That's my signature."
Sai looked down at the food, then up at Kun again.
"…Thank you."
Kun blinked. "Wow. You said that with zero sarcasm. I think we just leveled up."
Sai picked up a rice ball. "Maybe I just don't want to see you cry during math again."
Kun gasped. "It was geometry! And it was one tear!"
They both chuckled, quietly. Around them, the classroom was filled with students laughing, sharing snacks, and passing around juice boxes.
For a moment, Kun let himself relax.
Then Sai spoke again.
"You were talking to Hazuya earlier."
Kun froze slightly mid-bite. "…Yeah. He's nice."
"He's too nice," Sai said without looking up. "He remembers everything. Even things people are supposed to forget."
Kun's eyes slowly shifted to Sai. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Sai popped a sausage into his mouth and chewed, completely unbothered. "Nothing. Just… be careful who you smile at, Kun."
Kun forced a laugh. "Okay, now that was definitely creepy."
Sai leaned closer, whispering softly.
"Friends don't keep secrets from each other, right?"
Kun's throat went dry. "...Right."