They both flinched in surprise. "You can already hear the beating of a heart?" Professor Pops asked.
"Yes, I hear yours, but I don't hear his." I bobbed my head in Kenmei's direction.
"Kenmei-sensei's heart no longer beats," Professor Pops said seriously.
"What? Why not?" I was stunned, and discreetly pinched myself. My life had gone from normal, boring even, to supernatural. Overnight.
"Your world, as you've known it, is about to be altered in the most extraordinary way. Now that it has begun, there is no going back, I'm afraid." Professor Pops touched my cheek with his thumb, stroking it. "I'd hoped it would never come to this, but I've prepared, nonetheless." He glanced at Kenmei.
"Are you ready to learn, Shiryo-san?"
"Okay." That was all I could utter. I didn't seem to have a choice.