"There's a small test on Friday. If you do badly, Mom will nag you," Yotsuya Miko said wearily. "Hana will come too."
Amamiya Natsuki groaned, "Isn't it kind of weird for me to go to your girls' study session?"
"It's fine," Yurikawa Hana raised her hand and smiled brightly. "Amamiya-san just needs to bring Pipitaro with you."
What kind of messed-up name is that?
Amamiya Natsuki stared blankly. Yurikawa chuckled, "That's the name I gave to Pipitaro. No, I'll go with 'Pipi Daifuku.' That's super delicious."
That's enough. Stop giving your pets weird names!
What the heck is Pipi Daifuku? Is that really a name you can sell?
"Then let's go," Amamiya Natsuki agreed.
"Amamiya-san, can I hold Pipi Daifuku's leash?"
Yurikawa clasped her hands in front of her chest, looking up with eyes as hopeful as a little deer in Nara begging for deer biscuits.
"For you."
Amamiya Natsuki didn't care and handed over the leash.
"Thank you, Amamiya-san!" The blonde girl beamed. "You really are a good person."
Amamiya Natsuki said flatly, "Please don't hand out nice guy cards so easily."
"Don't worry," Yurikawa giggled. "You and Miko are childhood sweethearts. Even if you get the Nice Guy Card, you won't be single forever."
"So childhood sweethearts aren't just dating—they can also be serious friends…"
Yotsuya Miko's pretty face flushed faintly as she weakly retorted.
That's right.
Amamiya Natsuki and Miko are childhood sweethearts.
When he was in first year junior high, Amamiya Natsuki moved with his parents to a new house—right next to Miko's. After transferring schools, he ended up in the same junior high as Miko. He witnessed Miko's transformation from an ordinary junior high girl to the astringent, serious body she is today.
Adolescent girls really change every day.
The two families have a good relationship.
Amamiya's parents are often busy and travel around the country. Occasionally, his mother calls him over for dinner... It's true—they're childhood sweethearts.
But they didn't date.
They're just good friends.
To be honest, siblings don't know German orthopedics. Childhood sweethearts rarely stay together as they grow up—they usually just end up as childhood playmates.
Soon, they arrived at Miko's house.
"I'm back," Yotsuya Miko called out calmly, took out her key, and unlocked the door.
"Excuse me," Yurikawa walked inside with the dog.
Amamiya Natsuki entered the foyer and was about to take off his shoes when he suddenly heard a strange voice, "Welcome back."
"Um?"
Natsuki Amamiya turned toward the voice, surprised to see a man entering the living room.
To be precise, it was a middle-aged ghost with a transparent body, glowing with a faint white light.
"Uncle?"
Amamiya Natsuki immediately recognized him.
Miko's father.
When Miko first transferred to this school, her father was still alive. Later, he was diagnosed with an incurable disease and passed away.
In the past two days, Amamiya Natsuki had seen many evil spirits, but this was the first time he saw a ghost like Miko's father. There was no evil, chaotic, or crazy aura around him. Instead, a faint warmth radiated from him, sparking curiosity.
Yotsuya Miko secretly glanced from the corner of her eye.
"I can see Dad... wait!"
Suddenly, her eyes went wide with alarm.
According to previous observations, Natsuki seemed to have awakened an ability that could harm vengeful spirits—some even vanished completely.
Is Dad in danger too?
At that thought, Miko's heart stopped.
Even if Dad is a ghost now, he's still family. If he's hurt because of me...
No!
I have to act quickly!
In that critical moment, Miko's brain worked rapidly. She suddenly spun around and threw herself into Amamiya Natsuki's arms.
She really threw herself into my arms!
"Eh, hey, hey?"
Yurikawa's eyes widened. She covered her cheeks with her hands and spread her fingers. "You said you were just ordinary childhood sweethearts, but you're hugging each other!"
Yotsuya Miko's face flushed slightly red. Ignoring everything else, she quickly leaned into Amamiya's ear and whispered, "Natsuki, don't hurt Dad."
A faint fruity aroma drifted to Amamiya's nose: green apple shampoo, strawberry cake, and Miko's cosmetics.
Amamiya Natsuki inhaled the scent and whispered back, "I know."
The evil spirit repelling aura can be turned on or off at will.
Though many evil spirits exist in the real world, they aren't everywhere in the streets and alleys—you only encounter one occasionally.
Therefore, Amamiya Natsuki keeps his aura turned off by default.
After getting the guarantee, Yotsuya Miko sighed in relief, let go of Amamiya, took two steps back, and kept her distance.
Facing her friends' gossiping eyes, Miko tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and said casually:
"I just slipped."
"You're lying. There's no water or banana peel on the ground. How could your feet be slippery?"
"Not standing firm."
"…"
Amamiya Natsuki silently slipped into slippers.
Meanwhile, the ghostly father had walked over to the three.
A pleased smile appeared on his face.
"Miko has finally grown up."
Then he looked toward Amamiya Natsuki.
"Natsuki, take good care of Miko. You can get married after you graduate high school."
Hey, isn't it too early to talk about marriage right after graduation?
You're already a ghost—why worry so much?
After hearing her father's words, Yotsuya Miko's pale ears flushed faintly red, but her expression remained calm, as if she hadn't heard a thing.
"Come on, let's go to my room."
Following Miko upstairs, they arrived at her room.
"Hey~ Miko's room is so ordinary," Yurikawa said, putting her hands behind her back and evaluating.
"Sorry it's so plain," Yotsuya Miko replied calmly, completely unfazed. She took a folding table from the corner and set it up in the middle of the room.
"I thought there would be a giant stuffed bear bigger than a person…"
"Big stuffed bears are super expensive and hard to clean once dirty," Miko said, kneeling and pulling out a daifuku from her bag. "I don't like them at all."
Yurikawa continued, "Why is there no poster of a pretty girl on the wall, but a world map instead?"
"Only boys like putting up pretty girl posters," Miko said with dark circles under her eyes. "Hurry up and sit down so we can study."
Yurikawa sat obediently, stroking the Akita's head, glancing curiously at Amamiya.
"Does Amamiya-san have any bishoujo posters in his room?"
"If you want to know, you can come to my room and see," Amamiya said casually.
"That's not bad," Yurikawa said, clutching her chest. "Mom said we can't just go to a strange boy's room to play. We might get into danger."
Amamiya sighed gloomily:
"So in Yurikawa-san's eyes, I'm just a dangerous stranger."
"We're not strangers! Amamiya-san is already a friend," Yurikawa hurriedly waved her hands. "…I'll come to your room to play later!"
"I refuse."
Amamiya picked up a teacup and sipped tea.
"Huh?"
"There are shameful things in my room. It's really dangerous. Yurikawa-san shouldn't come."
"…"