Chapter 29: Hidden burden

Rei stood still, his eyes locked on the injured teacher. The man's grip on his arm was tight, knuckles white against the bloodstained fabric. His breathing came in shaky gasps, but his eyes... his eyes told a different story. They were unfocused, distant, like the weight of something much heavier than physical pain was pulling him down.

No... it's not just physical.

Rei's heart skipped a beat. The feeling was familiar, but it was different this time. He could feel it more clearly now, almost like a tug in the back of his mind, a silent echo that wasn't his own. It was raw, unfiltered pain, mingled with a quiet, desperate exhaustion that reached out to him like an invisible hand.

Rei blinked, a strange pressure building in his chest. He didn't want to reach out—he didn't want to feel it. But it was so loud, like a whisper in the dark that wouldn't let him be.

"Sir, are you sure you're okay?" Hana's voice brought Rei back to reality, though it trembled with uncertainty.

The teacher mumbled something incoherent, but Rei wasn't paying attention. His mind was elsewhere, focused on the sensation that was building stronger with each passing second.

His fingers twitched. The feeling was growing, like a flood of emotions crashing over him. It wasn't just physical pain. It was fear, regret, loneliness. A lifetime of buried sorrow spilling out all at once.

Rei swallowed, fighting the urge to take a step forward. The feeling was too intense—too much.

"Rei?"

Hana's voice was softer now, pulling at him, but the world seemed muffled. He couldn't hear her clearly. All he could hear was the steady thrum of the teacher's emotions pounding against his mind, growing louder with each beat of his own heart.

A deep, gnawing emptiness surged through Rei. His chest tightened. His fingers dug into the fabric of his pants as he stood frozen, caught in the pull of someone else's suffering. A suffering that wasn't his own, yet felt so painfully close.

I need to get away from this.

But even as the thought crossed his mind, something inside him rebelled. A strange, almost instinctive urge. It was as if his body was drawn to it, to the suffering, like a moth to a flame.

"Rei?" Hana's voice again, this time tinged with concern. But Rei could barely focus on her. The overwhelming pull of the teacher's pain had taken hold of him completely.

Before he could stop himself, he stepped forward, closing the distance between them. He didn't even know why. It wasn't like him to get involved in something like this. But it felt... necessary. Like he had to do something to make it stop.

The teacher's eyes flickered toward him, a faint recognition, though the dazed look never left his face.

Rei reached out.

A small gesture. Barely a touch, just the brush of his fingers against the teacher's sleeve.

In an instant, a wave of cold swept through him, the teacher's pain flooding into him like a torrent. Rei's body stiffened, his breath catching in his throat. He could feel it—everything. The weight of the teacher's heartache, the unbearable sorrow, the feeling of loss so deep that it seemed to seep into Rei's own soul.

It was too much.

A scream wanted to claw its way out of Rei's throat, but he couldn't let it out. Instead, he clenched his jaw, trying to block it out, but it was impossible. The suffering pressed in, suffocating him. It was like being submerged in dark water, drowning in emotions that didn't belong to him.

But then, just as suddenly as it had come, the rush of pain receded. The air around Rei grew still, and the oppressive weight lifted from his chest. He staggered back, breathless, his head spinning.

The teacher, now pale and breathing easier, blinked in confusion, as if suddenly aware of his surroundings. Rei's fingers twitched. He looked at the man, feeling a cold emptiness where the emotions had been, and he couldn't understand what had just happened.

Hana was watching him, wide-eyed. "Rei, are you okay..?"

Rei didn't answer her. He couldn't. The feeling was still there, still gnawing at the edges of his consciousness, but now, it was quieter. Lurking in the background, waiting.

The teacher straightened up, his trembling legs finding some stability as he muttered, "I'm fine now. Thank you, but… I need to go."

He shuffled away, leaving Rei and Hana standing in the dimming light of the street corner.

Rei stared at the spot where the teacher had been, his mind reeling.

What had just happened?

He could feel it. He had done something, but he didn't know how or why. His chest felt hollow. Had he just absorbed the man's suffering? Was that what had happened?

The question hung in the air, unanswered, as Rei's mind tried to piece together the fragmented puzzle that had just unfolded.

Hana's voice broke through his thoughts. "Are you okay?"

Rei hesitated before nodding, though it felt like a lie.

"Yeah… I'm fine."

But he wasn't. Not really.