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"Miko, good morning."
Amamiya Natsuki raised his hand to greet her.
"Morning~"
The long-haired, black-haired girl's voice was sleepy.
Yotsuya Miko.
The eldest daughter of the Yotsuya family next door.
A quiet girl who loves to study.
The Amamiya family moved in three years ago, and Amamiya Natsuki and Yotsuya Miko happened to attend the same National Middle School. In a sense, they could be considered childhood friends.
"Your dark circles seem heavier. What have you been doing lately?"
Amamiya Natsuki asked casually.
"Nothing at all." Yotsuya Miko bit her lower lip lightly. "I… just watched a horror movie, so I didn't sleep well."
"You dare to watch a horror movie alone, what courage, heroine."
"…"
The two walked towards school while talking.
As they passed a crosswalk, Amamiya Natsuki's gaze suddenly sharpened.
Among the crowd on the other side of the road was a particularly noticeable female office worker, dressed appropriately, with a good figure and a pretty face, very eye-catching.
Amamiya Natsuki silently watched the woman, but his gaze was not on her face, but on her back—
Behind the female office worker, a huge, swollen baby vengeful spirit was sprawled, a long tongue hanging from its mouth, occasionally flicking its tongue to wrap around nearby pedestrians, but unfortunately, no one could perceive it.
"Hmm?"
Amamiya Natsuki suddenly noticed Yotsuya Miko's pale face, looking down at her toes, her fingers tightly clutching her sleeve, her knuckles slightly white.
"Miko?" Amamiya Natsuki lowered his voice, "What's wrong?"
"I'm fine."
Yotsuya Miko bit her lip, shaking her head subtly.
The light turned green.
Pedestrians waiting on both sides of the intersection began to move.
The beautiful woman moved with them, the baby vengeful spirit on her back wriggling happily.
Amamiya Natsuki silently took a deep breath, about to cross the road, when a hand suddenly grabbed his sleeve.
"Wait a moment."
Yotsuya Miko looked up, her eyes misty, an expression of wanting to cry but not daring to: "I suddenly remembered I need to buy something… will you come to the Convenience Store with me?"
"What do you need to buy?"
"Don't ask so many questions, let's go quickly."
Yotsuya Miko grabbed Amamiya Natsuki's wrist and pulled him, turning to leave.
"Whew…"
Watching the woman with the baby vengeful spirit on her back walk away, Yotsuya Miko secretly breathed a sigh of relief, a look of relief on her face.
Then… the girl's expression stiffened again.
At the entrance of the Convenience Store, a distorted vengeful spirit wearing a Convenience Store uniform was bending over, seemingly bowing to customers entering and exiting.
Even after becoming a vengeful spirit, it hasn't forgotten to work. Truly, this is Japan!
Yotsuya Miko paused for two seconds, then silently turned around: "I'm not buying anything. I suddenly remembered I have a spare pencil in my schoolbag… Let's go to school."
"…"
Amamiya Natsuki silently looked at the distorted vengeful spirit at the Convenience Store entrance, considering a possibility.
Can Miko see them?
If that's true, is Miko also a player of the strange game?
Amamiya Natsuki pondered for a moment, deciding to ask clearly. He bent down slightly, leaning close to the girl's ear.
"W-what are you doing?"
Yotsuya Miko leaned back slightly, a faint blush rising on her pretty face.
"Strange game?"
Amamiya Natsuki whispered in her ear, to avoid being heard by others.
"Eh, what game?" Yotsuya Miko looked bewildered, tilting her head in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Nothing." Amamiya Natsuki straightened up, letting out a soft sigh of relief. "Let's keep going."
It seems he had overthought things; Miko was not a game player… This was for the best, at least he wouldn't have to worry about the unknown penalties after failing the game.
But the question remained, why could Miko see vengeful spirits?
Amamiya Natsuki was about to ask when a clear, melodious shout suddenly came from a distance.
"Miko!"
A short, golden-haired girl with a voluptuous figure was waving her arms, happily running over.
"Ah, Amamiya-kun, good morning."
The short-haired girl gave Amamiya Natsuki a bright smile, as if making the sunshine even brighter.
"Yurikawa-san, good morning."
Amamiya Natsuki replied politely.
Yurikawa Hana.
Miko's friend from the new semester, who seems to have evolved into a close female friend, occasionally meets her on the way to school.
"Eh? Miko, why are your dark circles even worse?" Yurikawa Hana's attention quickly fell on her good female friend. "Staying up late is a girl's natural enemy."
"Hmm, I know..."
Yotsuya Miko yawned again.
"You're already sleepy right after waking up. You didn't stay up all night, did you?"
Yurikawa Hana's eyes widened.
Yotsuya Miko brought out the same excuse: "Last night, I watched a horror movie with my brother, so I didn't sleep well... That's it."
"Ah, I understand. When watching horror movies, even if you know it's all fake, you still get scared and can't sleep."
No, you don't understand.
The vengeful spirits are all real.
And what about the 'invincible under the covers' promise?
If you pull back the covers and find a human head lying there, it would be a miracle if you could sleep!
I can't tell anyone about seeing vengeful spirits. Everyone else can't see them, only I can, and there's no evidence to prove their existence... Wouldn't I be labeled as having chuunibyou or having mental problems?
Today is another day of despair.
"Smack!"
Yurikawa Hana raised her hand and slapped her forehead, making a crisp sound: "Oh, right, I ran out of pencils last night. Let's go to the Convenience Store and buy some?"
"Eh?"
Shinomiya Miko's eyes widened, and she quickly thought of a solution: "I can lend you some..."
"The Convenience Store is right next door, why borrow?" The blonde, large-chested girl hugged Miko's arm and pulled her towards the Convenience Store, her voice clear, "Let's go, it's a good chance to stock up on some snacks."
Saying that, she turned to look at Amamiya Natsuki: "Amamiya-kun, you go to school first."
"...They really are good friends."
Amamiya Natsuki silently agreed, watching Miko with tears in her eyes, being tricked by her unwitting good female friend.
At the Convenience Store entrance.
A distorted vengeful spirit in a staff uniform bent down and looked at Miko: "Welcome... to... our store..."
Amamiya Natsuki pondered for a moment, then activated his Evil Spirit Banishing Aura and took a few steps towards the tearful Miko.
Of course, he couldn't remain indifferent when his childhood friend was being bullied by an evil spirit!
He quickly entered within five meters.
The staff vengeful spirit seemed to be scorched by flames, retreating backward, its body turning into mist, rapidly dissipating and fleeing.
"Eh? Eh? Eh?!"
Miko's eyes widened, her face full of disbelief, "How could it... disappear?"
"It looks like... it was banished?"
Miko suddenly turned her head and saw Amamiya Natsuki standing behind her, nodding gently at her.
"...Is it Natsuki?"
"Hurry, hurry, let's go buy things!"
Her good female friend interrupted Miko, pulling the bewildered girl into the Convenience Store.
Amamiya Natsuki turned and went to school.
He soon arrived at Shuchiin Academy.
This academy... those who know, know. No need to say more.
Amamiya Natsuki went to the shoe cabinet in the corner of the first floor, preparing to change into his indoor shoes, when he suddenly saw a black-haired girl with hair down to her waist, exuding a cold aura like an ice sculpture, standing in front of the girls' shoe cabinet. It was his game teammate from last night, Shinomiya Kaguya.
It had been half a month since the first year started, and they were still classmates, but Amamiya Natsuki had never spoken to her.
The 'Ice Kaguya' had her aura fully activated, and anyone who dared to approach would be frozen into an ice sculpture.
"Strange..."
Amamiya Natsuki quickly realized that Kaguya was very wrong. Her body was stiff, maintaining the posture of opening the shoe cabinet, motionless like a statue.
As he gazed, after a moment, a line of text appeared above Shinomiya Kaguya's head.
[So scary, so scary, so scary... What should I do, what should I do, what should I do... Why is there something like this inside the shoe cabinet?]
Amamiya Natsuki looked over curiously and found that inside Shinomiya Kaguya's shoe cabinet, there was indeed a vengeful spirit's head, with a pair of red eyes staring intently at the ice sculpture girl.
Noticing Amamiya Natsuki's gaze, the head's eyes shifted and stared intently at Amamiya Natsuki.
"Can... you see me?"
Here's that line again. Are all you vengeful spirits repeaters?!
Amamiya Natsuki walked expressionlessly to Shinomiya Kaguya's side, then activated the Evil Spirit Banishing Aura. The head vengeful spirit in the shoe cabinet seemed to be scorched by flames, turning into black smoke amidst its twisting and screaming, and quickly disappeared.
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