The day of Jihei-san 's funeral, the sun shines brightly overhead, with no trace of any passing clouds in sight. It 's still cold, because it 's early winter and winter days always bring with them a distinct biting chill. But the skies are so blue, the air is so crisp, and it 's all so '

Strange.

'

' Yes, that 's the right word. It 's

strange,

precisely because there 's nothing abnormal or off-putting at all when Shiki wakes up in the morning. Because this feels like another day when she should be working hard on her studies and her training again. Then, when it 's time for lunch, she 'll find Kiyohira-sensei and Jihei-san already seated at the table together. The two of them would probably continue to pore over their work up to the last minute, all the way until food is laid out on the table ' even though they always scold Shiki whenever

she

tries to bring a scroll or some other reading with her to mealtimes, the hypocrites.