"Good morning, Miko."
Amamiya Natsuki raised his hand in greeting.
"Good morning~"
The black-haired girl with long, straight hair replied sleepily.
Yotsuya Miko.
The eldest daughter of the neighboring Yotsuya family.
A quiet girl with a love for studying.
The Amamiya family had moved here three years ago, and by coincidence, he and Miko had ended up in the same junior high school. In a sense, they were childhood friends.
"Those dark circles under your eyes look even worse today. What have you been up to lately?"
Amamiya Natsuki asked casually.
"I wasn't doing anything." Yotsuya Miko bit her lower lip lightly. "I just... watched a horror movie, so I didn't sleep well."
"Watching a horror movie alone? You're braver than I thought."
"…"
The two continued walking to school while chatting.
When they reached a crosswalk, Amamiya Natsuki's eyes suddenly sharpened.
Across the street, a well-dressed woman with a refined figure and striking beauty stood out amidst the crowd. She drew many admiring glances.
But Amamiya Natsuki wasn't looking at her face.
His gaze was fixed on her back.
Behind the woman, a grotesque baby-shaped ghost was sprawled on the ground, its body bloated and swollen. A long tongue lolled from its mouth, lazily flicking at passersby—none of whom noticed it.
"...Hm?"
From the corner of his eye, Amamiya noticed Yotsuya Miko's pale face. She was staring down at her shoes, gripping her sleeves tightly. Her knuckles had gone white.
"You saw it?" Natsuki lowered his voice. "What's wrong?"
"I'm fine."
Miko bit her lip and shook her head ever so slightly.
The traffic light turned green.
Pedestrians began to cross from both sides of the street.
The beautiful woman stepped forward, and the bloated baby ghost writhed in delight, dragging itself after her.
Amamiya Natsuki exhaled slowly and prepared to step off the curb—when a hand suddenly tugged the hem of his jacket.
"Wait a minute."
Yotsuya Miko looked up at him, eyes glossy, on the verge of tears.
"I just remembered I need to buy something... Will you come with me to the convenience store?"
"What do you need to buy?"
"Don't ask so many questions. Just come."
Grabbing his wrist, Miko turned him around and pulled him away.
"…Phew."
Watching the woman with the ghost-baby vanish into the crowd, Yotsuya Miko breathed a quiet sigh of relief, visibly relaxing.
Then—
Her expression froze again.
At the entrance to the convenience store, a twisted ghost wearing a store uniform was bowing stiffly to the customers coming and going.
Even in death, still fulfilling his duties as a retail worker.
He's truly worthy of being called a citizen of Japan.
Miko paused for two seconds. Then, without a word, she turned and walked away. "Never mind. I just remembered I have extra pencils in my bag. Let's go to school."
"…"
Amamiya Natsuki quietly glanced at the ghost clerk by the door and considered a possibility.
Can she really see them?
If so, could Miko be a player in the strange game too?
He thought for a moment, then leaned closer to ask.
"W-what are you doing?"
Miko flinched, leaning back slightly, her cheeks flushed.
"…The game," Natsuki whispered in her ear. "That weird game."
"Huh? What game?" Miko blinked, genuinely confused. "What are you talking about?"
"…Nothing."
Natsuki straightened up with a sigh.
So she wasn't a player after all.
Good. That meant she wasn't in danger of getting punished by the game.
But then—how could she see ghosts?
Just as Natsuki was about to ask, a cheerful voice rang out in the distance.
"Miko!"
A girl with short blonde hair and a curvaceous figure came running over, waving happily.
"Ah, good morning, Amamiya-san!"
She gave him a dazzling smile, the kind that made the morning sun seem a little brighter.
"Morning, Yurikawa."
Natsuki replied politely.
Hana Yurikawa.
A friend Miko had made at the start of the new semester, who had quickly become one of her closest companions. It wasn't uncommon to run into her on the way to school.
"Hey, Miko, your dark circles are getting worse again." Yurikawa frowned. "You know staying up late is a girl's natural enemy."
"Yeah, I know…"
Miko yawned again, looking half-asleep.
"You look like you didn't sleep at all. Don't tell me you stayed up all night?"
"I watched a horror movie with my brother," Miko repeated. "Didn't sleep well... That's all."
"Ah, I get it. Even if you know it's fake, you still can't sleep after watching those creepy movies."
No, you don't get it at all.
The ghosts are real.
And as for the "invincible quilt"—I lifted it and found a disembodied human head lying inside. How could I sleep after that?!
But she couldn't tell anyone.
No one else could see them. There was no evidence. If she said anything, people would either think she was a cringey chuunibyou or mentally unwell.
Another day of silent despair.
"Ah!"
Hana Yurikawa suddenly slapped her forehead. "That's right! We ran out of pencils last night. Let's stop by the convenience store."
"Huh?"
Miko widened her eyes and thought quickly. "I can lend you mine..."
"The store's right there—no need to borrow," Hana beamed, wrapping her arms around Miko's and pulling her forward. "Come on, let's grab some snacks while we're at it."
Then she turned back toward Natsuki. "You go ahead to school, Amamiya-san!"
"…She really is a good friend."
Natsuki nodded silently, watching as Miko was betrayed by her well-meaning bestie.
At the entrance of the store, the ghost clerk bowed again and stared directly at Miko: "Welcome... to... you..."
Natsuki activated his aura ability and walked toward the tearful Miko.
Obviously, I can't just watch my childhood friend get bullied by a vengeful spirit.
As he stepped within five meters, the employee ghost hissed and recoiled like it had been burned, its body evaporating into smoke and dispersing on the spot.
"Eh?!"
Miko's eyes widened in disbelief. "It... disappeared?"
"Looks like... it got scattered?"
She turned around—and saw Natsuki behind her, nodding slightly.
"…Natsuki?"
"C'mon," Hana interrupted cheerfully. "Let's shop!"
She tugged the dazed Miko inside.
Natsuki turned and headed toward school.
Soon, he arrived at Shuchiin Academy.
If you know, you know—there's no need to explain.
He made his way to the first floor shoe lockers to change into his indoor shoes, only to see a familiar girl standing stiffly in front of her locker.
Waist-length black hair. Pale skin. A cool, aloof demeanor that gave off waves of hostility.
Shinomiya Kaguya.
His teammate from the game.
First-year classes had already begun for two weeks, and though they were classmates, Natsuki had never spoken to her before.
Her aura of "Ice Kaguya" was at full blast. Anyone who approached her risked being flash-frozen.
"…Strange."
Natsuki soon noticed something off.
Kaguya hadn't moved. She was frozen, her hand still on the shoe cabinet door, like a statue.
As he watched, lines of text appeared above her head:
[So scary, so scary, so scary... What do I do, what do I do, what do I do... Why is something like this inside the shoe cabinet?!]
Natsuki glanced into her locker.
Inside, a vengeful spirit's severed head lay nestled among the shoes, glowing red eyes locked onto Kaguya like a predator.
Noticing Natsuki's gaze, the head turned slowly to face him.
"Can you see... see me?"
Here we go again. Do all you ghosts have only one catchphrase?
Without a word, Natsuki strode up beside Shinomiya Kaguya and activated his aura.
The severed head hissed and writhed in agony as its body burned away into black smoke, vanishing in seconds.