Class dismissed

We leave the classroom.

For a while, neither of us says anything as we walk through the hallways. The school is quiet, but after everything we’ve seen, the silence doesn’t feel as unsettling as it did before.

I know what happened here now.

The students weren’t trapped because the teacher wanted to hurt them.

She was trying to protect them.

But that just makes this place feel even sadder.

I keep walking beside Nagi, listening to the sound of our footsteps echoing through the empty halls.

“So what do we do now?”

Nagi looks at me.

“We’ll find the teacher.”

“And then?”

They hesitate.

“I don’t know.”

I glance at them.

“I came here to find my brother. I never thought about what I would do after that.”

Their voice becomes quieter.

“I just wanted to know what happened to him.”

Their brows pinch.

“But now that I know the whole situation, sitting still and doing nothing feels wrong.”

Their voice is loud and clear now.

“I agree.”

Nagi looks at me for a moment before turning back toward the hallway.

Neither of us says anything after that.

We simply keep walking.

I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do once we find the teacher, but I know we can’t leave this place as it is.

There are still people trapped here.

Even if they aren’t really alive anymore, they deserve to be free.

I look at the classrooms as we pass them.

Most of the doors are closed.

I wonder how many students are still inside.

How many of them are sitting at their desks, waiting for a class that will never end.

I tighten my fist.

A faint sound suddenly echoes through the hallway.

Ding

I freeze.

Nagi stops beside me.

A school bell.

I slowly look down the hallway.

The lights flicker above us.

Once.

Twice.

Then they go completely dark.

Nagi’s hands begin to glow.

“Yusuke…”

“I know.”

Something is coming.

I can feel it.

The hallway is completely dark now, and for a few seconds, neither of us moves an inch.

Thanks to Nagi, I can at least see a little bit.

Tap Tap Tap

Footsteps.

Slow.

Coming from somewhere ahead.

My body tenses.

The sound gets closer with every step, echoing through the empty hallway.

Nagi raises their hands.

“Is that her?”

“I think so.”

The footsteps stop.

Silence fills the hallway again.

Then a voice speaks from the darkness.

“Why are you still here?’

I recognize it immediately.

The teacher.

But it feels like her voice is coming from every direction.

I can’t tell where she is. This is bad.

Nagi and I stand back-to-back, hoping to not get caught off guard.

But the hallway is silent again.

She’s here.

I know it.

I just don’t know where.

…

…

…

< Yusuke, above! >

I immediately look up.

Something moves across the ceiling.

Before I can react, a pair of hands reaches down toward me.

I jump backward.

The hands slam into the floor where I was standing only a moment ago.

“Move!”

Nagi grabs my arm and pulls me away.

Another pair of hands reaches down.

Then another.

The ceiling is covered in them.

My heart drops.

“What the hell!?”

Nagi raises both hands.

A blue glow spreads across the hallway.

The hands suddenly stop.

Then the teacher’s voice echoes through the darkness.

“Please return to your seat.”

My legs move before I can tell them to.

“No!”

I try to stop myself, but my feet continue moving backward.

Nagi grabs my shoulder.

“Yusuke!”

“I can’t stop!”

They pull against me, but the force dragging me away is too strong.

The hands covering the ceiling begin moving again.

They’re crawling down the walls now.

< This is unacceptable. >

< To be commanded by somebody besides me. >

< This will not do. >

I almost laugh.

But she sounds livid.

Hey, I don’t really have a choice here, Princess.

< Do not worry. >

The pressure around my body suddenly changes.

My legs stop moving.

I nearly stumble forward from the sudden loss of force.

The teacher’s voice echoes through the hallway again.

“Please return to your seat.”

Nothing happens.

< Do they truly think that such a lowly command would work again? >

< How insulting. >

Nagi looks at me.

“What did you do?”

“I will have to tell you later.”

< It was me. >

I can feel the Princess’s presence even more than usual. It’s calm and steady despite everything happening around us.

< She has no authority over you. >

The hands crawling along the walls have stopped moving.

For the first time, the teacher seems uncertain.

I slowly straighten myself.

“She can’t control me.”

Nagi looks at me for a moment before turning their attention back toward the teacher.

“Then what do we do now?”

The teacher hasn’t moved.

She’s staring at me in complete silence.

Confusion.

Maybe even fear.

“I think we can talk.”

Nagi raises an eyebrow.

“Talk?”

“Yeah.”

I take a step forward.

The teacher immediately takes one backward.

“You don’t need to be afraid of us.”

“I am not afraid.”

“Then why are you backing away?”

She doesn’t answer.

I continue walking toward her, slowly enough that she has plenty of time to react.

“I know what happened here.”

“No, you don’t.”

“I saw it.”

Her face is covered by clouds, but I can tell her expression has changed.

“The fire. Your students.”

“...”

“You tried to save them.”

The teacher looks away.

“I couldn’t save them…”

“But you stayed with them.”

Her hands tighten at her sides.

“I had to.”

“Why?”

“Because they were afraid.”

Her voice is quiet. Human.

“They needed me.”

I nod.

“I know.”

“They trusted me.”

“I know.”

“They are my students.”

The teacher looks back at me.

“So, why are you trying to take them away?”

I don’t answer immediately.

“I’m not. I just want them to be happy.”

The teacher glares at me.

“Happy?”

“Yeah.”

I look toward the classrooms surrounding us.

“They’re not happy here.”

“They are.”

“No they aren’t.”

“They’re safe.”

“That’s not the same thing.”

The teacher pauses.

Before I can say anything else, Nagi speaks.

“My brother loved you.”

The teacher freezes.

I look at Nagi.

They’re staring directly at her.

“He talked about you all the time.”

The teacher backs away slightly.

“He said you were his favorite teacher. He liked your classes, even when he complained about the homework.”

A small smile appears on Nagi’s face.

“He told me that even if he pulled his phone out during class, you would never get that angry.”

The teacher doesn’t say anything.

“He told me that you always stayed after class whenever he needed extra help.”

Some of the tension leaves her body.

“He really loved you.”

Nagi’s voice becomes resolute.

“And I think… if he could see you now, he would be really sad.”

The teacher looks down.

Her hands tremble.

“To see his favorite teacher like this… I just know that he wouldn’t want this.”

“But I promised to keep them safe.”

“You did.”

Nagi takes a step forward.

“You kept your promise.”

The teacher slowly looks up.

“You stayed with them until the end. That’s more than enough already.”

Silence.

The teacher’s eyes begin to fill with tears.

Her suit, once clean and proper, is now burnt and tattered, just as it was when she died.

“But they’re still here.”

“They don’t have to be anymore.”

The teacher looks past us.

At the empty classrooms.

At the students waiting inside.

“I don’t know how to let them go.”

I take a step toward her.

“Then you don’t have to do it alone.”

The teacher looks at me.

I take a breath.

“We’ll help you.”

Silence.

Then the teacher closes her eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

Her voice is barely a whisper.

“I’m so sorry, everyone.”

She is practically sobbing now.

“But truly… I don’t know how to end this.”

“Don’t worry, teacher. I can handle that part.”

I clear my throat and prepare myself.

Princess, I might need some of your help here.

< Fine. >

I take another breath.

The teacher opens her eyes.

She looks at me.

Then at Nagi.

I raise my voice.

“Class is dismissed.”

My words echo through the hallway.

For a moment, nothing happens.

The teacher looks confused.

Even Nagi looks a little confused.

Then—

Ding dong

It’s the school bell.

The sound echoes through the entire school.

The teacher slowly looks up.

I look around.

The lights above us flicker rapidly.

Then the hallway becomes completely silent again.

Suddenly…

The lights all turn on in an instant.

The windows clear of their dark fog.

And a classroom door opens.

Click

Everyone turns toward it.

One of the students slowly steps out.

They look around the hallway.

They don’t seem frightened.

They just stand there, as if they’re seeing the school for the first time.

Then another student walks out.

Then another.

Doors begin opening all around us.

Click

Click

Click

Students begin pouring into the hallway.

They leave their classrooms one by one, no longer sitting at their desks or waiting for the teacher’s lesson.

Something about the students has changed.

Their faces.

I can see them.

The white clouds covering their faces are beginning to disappear.

They slowly drift away from their heads, fading into the air.

One after another, students are getting their faces back.

Nagi takes a small step forward.

“Yusuke…”

“I see it.”

The last of the white clouds disappears.

The hallway is filled with ordinary faces.

The students look around at one another.

Some seem confused. Others look relieved.

Then one of them notices the teacher.

They stop.

The teacher looks back at them, her hands trembling at her sides.

Then the student slowly walks toward her.

Another follows.

Then another.

The teacher takes a small step backward.

“Everyone…”

Her voice quivers.

The students keep coming.

And then one of them reaches her.

They wrap their arms around her.

The teacher freezes.

Then another student joins them.

Then another.

Soon, the teacher is surrounded by her students.

She finally raises her arms and pulls them all close.

Tears begin running down her face.

“I’m sorry…”

Her voice breaks.

“I’m so sorry.”

She holds them tighter.

As more students surround her, I notice the white cloud covering the teacher’s face finally starts to thin. It slowly drifts away from her head, almost like mist being carried by a gentle breeze, revealing her face little by little.

Her eyes appear first, then her nose, and finally the rest of her face as the last of the white disappears into the air.

And then I see it.

Her smile.

It’s small and trembling, but it’s genuine. There’s sadness behind it, but also something I haven’t seen from her before. Acceptance.

She looks down at the students in her arms, tears in her eyes still, as she takes in their faces one last time.

They were her students, after all.

The children she had promised to protect.

Her smile grows slightly as she closes her eyes, tears slipping down her cheeks.

The students hold onto her.

The teacher holds them back.

She turns toward Nagi and I.

She slowly raises her hand.

There’s no intent to harm behind it.

Just a simple goodbye.

“Thank you.”

She smiles.

Then she waves.

Nagi raises their hand and waves back.

I do the same.

The teacher turns back toward her students and holds them close again.

And as the light around them grows brighter, I realize that she isn’t disappearing alone.

She’s surrounded by the people she spent all this time trying to protect.

For the first time, she lets them go.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

I say as I bow deeply toward the teacher and her students.

I don’t know if she can hear me anymore, but I hope she can.