[She swallows dryly, the knot in her throat hard to push away as sorrow creeps up on her, cold and unfriendly.

But she'll have to find her time to cry. And here, with her teacher overlooking her and with people still reeling from both deaths... this wasn't the time.

Whether her forcing that sorrow down to replace it with a pained resolve is admirable or concerning may be up for debate. But it keeps her from shedding tears, giving herself a few moments for her composure and the wet, hot feeling at her eyes, before slowly moving towards the sink to turn on the faucet. Her fingers leave behind red against the knobs. The scent of blood lingers.]

We can't falter tomorrow, Sensei. If Elsa-sama is right, and there's something out there that's trying to steal from us... then if tomorrow turns to something horrible like we did with Shuuya-kun, this is all only gonna keep getting worse. We'll just be giving whatever it is a big meal, and it'll wanna keep coming back.