"Is that girl special or something?"
Toa Matsubara leaned on the rooftop railing, gazing at the girl eating lunch with her friend by the sports field. Her long, silky black hair and striking figure were clear even from a distance, her delicate face standing out.
She was very pretty.
"Just good looks," Toa muttered, scoffing. "Aside from her appearance, there's nothing special about her. Tentacle-kun wouldn't be so shallow as to only care about looks, right?"
Well, maybe he is that shallow.
Toa's gaze shifted to another beautiful girl. If there was anything notable about Miko Yotsuya besides her looks, it was that she was in the same class as Wakumaku.
Among the survivors of the academy invasion, Wakumaku was Toa's biggest rival. If she recalled correctly, Houichi liked her, which fueled Toa's yandere resentment.
That said, Houichi's attention lately had been on his childhood friend, Natsumi Sakura. Toa scanned the school for Natsumi, finally spotting her in the cafeteria.
The stylish, ponytailed girl sat alone, eating, looking lonely. Houichi soon joined her, eagerly chatting like a simp, while Natsumi's response was lukewarm. The scene made Toa's face twitch.
She'd been observing her brother from a distance these past few days, not approaching him, and had seen him turn into a total simp for Natsumi.
Toa couldn't touch Natsumi.
But watching her brother get rebuffed repeatedly felt… odd.
Honestly, seeing him like this, even she felt a bit disdainful. With that thought, her gaze left Natsumi and Houichi, returning to Miko and Hana.
She was curious about the girl Tentacle-kun was fixated on.
Back to Miko. Sitting on a bench with Hana, Miko glanced at her friend's overstuffed bento box. "Hana, you eat so much every day—how do you not get fat?"
"Hehe," the blonde girl grinned, savoring a bite of rice. "It's a talent, See-chan. I can eat anything and not gain weight!"
"...It's not a talent. It's just that all the meat went to other places," Miko said dryly, eyeing Hana's jiggling chest.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Hana blinked, clueless.
"Nothing…"
Miko opened her bento, about to pick up some chicken when her phone buzzed. She set down her chopsticks and pulled it out.
Her expression froze.
"Can you see me?"
"Can you see me?"
"Can you see me?"
The unknown entity spammed the screen with the question. Miko's heart turned to ice, the fear of past monster encounters flooding back, like a bucket of cold water poured over her.
Her body chilled.
"They're back?"
"See-chan? What's wrong?" Hana leaned over.
"Nothing…"
Miko moved to hide her phone from Hana, but a sinister aura behind her froze her in place. Without turning, her peripheral vision caught wisps of dark mist.
A monster?
Right behind me?!
"Something weird on your phone?" Hana asked, oblivious to the eerie messages.
"You can see me? You can see me? You can see me?"
A cold, raspy voice slithered into Miko's ears. She pursed her lips, swiping her phone screen. "I met a new friend recently and wanted to invite him to eat with us, but it looks like he's not around, so never mind."
"New friend? I didn't know! Introduce me next time, See-chan!"
"Yeah, sure."
Calmly pocketing her phone, Miko began eating small bites under the evil spirit's gaze, showing no sign of abnormality.
Her mind, however, was a storm.
Weren't those terrifying spirits supposed to stay away? Why are they back? Yesterday and this morning were fine… Wait, did Muxiao leave?!
"You can't see me?"
The grotesque, dark-auraed spirit circled Miko and Hana. Hana truly couldn't see it, and Miko had to pretend the same, even as its horrific face loomed close.
Miko didn't slip up, and the spirit eventually drifted away.
Only then did she lower her chopsticks, tears glistening in her eyes. Despite her calm facade, she was terrified.
Muxiao, where did he go?
The sun blazed, but Miko felt no warmth, only endless cold.
After lunch, back in the classroom, it was as if Muxiao had never appeared. Spirits roamed the halls, lingered in the room, appearing before her constantly, turning the peaceful school into a demonic nightmare.
Miko sat at her desk, tormented, her palms sweaty under the table. She barely knew how she survived the afternoon.
She searched for Muxiao but found no trace. He must've left—otherwise, these monsters wouldn't be here.
On the train, Miko hugged her bag, sitting alone in the back corner. Her gaze inadvertently passed two pitch-black figures whose heads twisted 180 degrees to stare at her, making her heart leap.
She deliberately unfocused her eyes, feigning ignorance, fooling the spirits. She hurried off at her stop.
But seeing a ferocious spirit at her doorstep, blocking the entrance, she was on the verge of tears. Compared to the hopeful morning, her world was back to being overrun with evil spirits.
Having tasted a peaceful day, she realized how precious it was. After experiencing a warm, serene life, Miko felt reluctant to let it go.
She suddenly missed Muxiao terribly. He was just a sleazy pervert, yet she couldn't stop longing for the time he was around.
Though it was only one day, his absence made her realize his impact. It wasn't right to bind him to her, but…
She was so scared.
Late at night, curled up in bed, Miko shivered, not daring to look at the swaying shadow outside her window. Eyes shut tight, she huddled, her voice trembling with a sob.
"Muxiao… come back quick…"