The protest that day was suppressed without any major incidents. I was left with the nagging feeling of having been played by the General Student Council President from start to finish, but what can you do? When you really thought about it, it wasn't a bad outcome for me or Hina, so I decided to let it slide.
…Not that anything would have changed if we'd stormed over to the GSC President to complain, anyway.
To my great regret, we decided to postpone the shaved ice we'd promised to get. To eat it, we'd have to travel all the way from the protest site back to the D.U., and considering we were from rival academies, Hina figured it would be better to pick a separate day to just hang out.
The only problem was that the topic that came up immediately after was, of all things, horror movies. I have no earthly idea why she wants to watch one.
Seriously, does Hina have some kind of grudge against me? People like me, who despise jump scares—the things that pop out of nowhere—can't just watch horror movies. We can't play the games, either! For someone whose tolerance for scary things is limited to ghost stories on the page, a horror movie is way too high a hurdle, Hina…
[July 18, 20XX, 9:38 PM] …Seriously, just this once, okay?
So why in the world did I agree to it? Thinking about it again, I must be completely out of my mind.
It was a foregone conclusion that I'd spend the entire movie flinching, shutting my eyes tight during the jump scares, and probably making weird noises. And yet, I still agreed. The reason why is a mystery even to me, the person who did it. Isn't that just hilarious?
I'm pretty sure I mentioned that horror-themed escape rooms weren't my thing. I have no idea what came over me.
Could this be some kind of dark conspiracy to mess with me? It's a reasonable suspicion. For instance, what if Ako, Hina's number one fan, saw me as an annoyance and…
Nah, that's impossible. How would Ako even have the means to find out I can't handle horror and cook up a scheme like this? My apologies to Ako for making her the victim of my wild conspiracy theory.
"Mika, what kind of popcorn do you like?"
"Hm? If I had to pick one, I like caramel, but I don't mind butter, either."
"Hmm. If you say so, we should go with caramel."
"Oh? I'm fine with whatever flavor you want, Hina."
"It's just that with your personality, you'll probably just yield every time. If you're always going to be like that, it's better if you choose what you prefer at least some of the time. Besides, I don't know enough about it to have a preference yet."
"Haha, I don't think I'm that considerate of others… but hey, I won't refuse☆"
It seems Hina thinks I'm some kind of pushover who just gives in on everything. For the record, no matter where or when something happens, I'm the type to immediately try and figure out how I can benefit from it. To think she'd mistake me for a sucker is almost baffling.
"Let's see… Theater 3, Row F, center…?"
"...Is there a problem with the seats?"
"No, it's just… it's nothing."
They were good seats. In fact, they were too good.
As we walked to the theater, I checked the title of the movie Hina had bought tickets for. If I walked into some insanely scary movie without knowing the title or plot, I might actually die.
…What? The title feels incredibly familiar. Please don't let the plot be familiar, too.
With that thought, we entered the theater.
Row P. Row O. Row N.
We made our way toward Row F, which was practically in the very center of the theater. If this were an action movie, I would have welcomed these seats with open arms. But with a genre change, I couldn't help but pull a long face, wondering why it had to be these seats.
"...Mika, should we call it off, even now?"
"Nah, I think I can handle it for just one movie. So you sit down, too, Hina!"
Seeing my miserable expression, Hina asked in a voice she couldn't strip of worry. But coming all this way just to leave would be a blow to my pride… Ugh, I should have just said yes.
We had arrived just in time, and the theater lights dimmed almost immediately. The sudden darkness made me flinch. I glanced over at Hina, who was staring at the screen with her usual stern face and crossed arms.
Damn it. I wish I could be like our Head Prefect, sitting here with an aura of command, able to watch a horror flick without batting an eye.
Honestly, one Mika Punch would be enough to send any ghost to the afterlife. It's just a shame they're on the other side of the screen where my fists can't reach. The only ghost that can evade the ghost-busting Mika Punch is a cowardly one behind a screen.
I lifted the armrest between us and set the bucket of popcorn down on it. Hina flinched and glanced at me before quickly whipping her head back to the front.
To think I startled Hina, who looks like she wouldn't flinch even if a ghost shoved its face right in front of hers. Maybe I'm scarier than the ghosts?
I stared blankly at the commercials and took a sip of my soda. Once the armrest is up, it's always better for each person to have their own small drink rather than sharing a large one. That's why I convinced Hina to get small ones when she was about to buy a large, though I still don't quite understand why she looked so disappointed about it.
"Hmm… when do these commercials end?"
"They should be over soon… Oh, right. I need to put my phone on silent."
You know, these commercials are actually kind of fun to watch. In fact, I might enjoy them more than the movie that follows.
Even Hina seemed genuinely interested in the ad for a firearm sold by the Kaiser Corporation. Is this just a common interest among combat-trained high school girls?
Whatever the case, my stocks are going to the moon…! Go, Kaiser Corporation!
"Ah, it's starting."
The movie began with a scene of four high school girls clearing out the corners of a club room. It seemed they were all members of the Occult Research Club—the kind of club you'd expect to find in any school back in the day.
But from the conversation, it sounded like these four girls were the entire student body. This setting is so obviously ripped off from Abydos. If you're going to do that, you should at least give them some royalties, you know? And if the entire student body is just four people, and all four are in the Occult Research Club, isn't that a little weird?
[Phew, we're finally done. Alright! Just like we planned, everyone stand in a corner. I'll close the door and windows.]
One of the girls—a fox-like Beastman who I assumed was the club president—scurried around, shutting the windows and drawing the curtains. After closing the door last, she swallowed hard and turned off the lights.
[Face the wall and whisper your name three times. Then, when I count to three, move to the next corner to your left.] [Got it, Prez!] [Heehee… this should be interesting.] [Hmph, as if a real ghost is gonna show up!]
Ah, this one. I've heard this type of ghost story before. The Corner Game, was it? I remember something about a ghost being able to join in.
[Hayami Chitose. Hayami Chitose. Hayami Chitose.]
After the girl turned off the lights, the club room became so dark you couldn't see a thing. There was an effect where even the light of their halos seemed to be swallowed by the darkness. The girl let out a soft sigh and began to count.
[One, two, three.]
In the deep darkness, the girls repeatedly followed the edge of the room to the next corner. The same situation repeated without incident, but the background music grew more and more intense…
[One, two, three.]
Suddenly, the perspective shifted. A girl with black cat ears, looking bored, stepped away from her corner and moved to the center of the room, slumping to the floor.
[Hmph, see? Nothing's happening. There's a limit to how much I'll play along with this stupidity.]
As the girl's monologue played, the counting voice of the president overlapped it.
[…Huh? Is that a draft…?]
While the girl in the center shivered from a sudden gust of wind, the camera shifted to another girl's point of view. I reached for some popcorn, but my hand brushed against something. Startled, I looked over and saw it was, of course, Hina's hand.
Normally, this is the kind of classic romance scene where the sudden skinship makes both people blush. But since we're two girls watching a horror movie, all that happened was an awkward laugh as we both grabbed some popcorn.
Then, the background music cut out. The corner the girl was moving toward, which should have been empty, was occupied.
[If there's someone in a corner that's supposed to be empty, do not, under any circumstances, acknowledge or call out to them. Just stop where you are, close your eyes, and wait. Once everyone is gathered behind that person, we'll whisper our names to the wall again and then move to turn on the lights.]
Remembering the club president's warning, the girl held her breath and froze like a statue.
[One, two, three.]
Thankfully, the president and the other girl also remembered the instructions. When they were all gathered, they once again whispered their names to the wall three times.
Then, they slowly began to retrace their steps toward the light switch.
At this point, the background music started up again. The girls didn't know that the cat-eared girl… Karyl… no, that the cat-eared girl had moved to the center of the room.
Click!
The lights flickered on.
The president, relieved that the game had ended without incident, belatedly realized something. There were only three girls in the club room where there should have been four. The cat-eared girl who had moved to the center was nowhere to be found.
[Kya-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!!!]
An eerie laugh echoed through the room as the closed windows and the club room door were all thrown open at once.
[…What on earth went wrong?]
Only then did the three girls notice the disturbance in the middle of the room. The floor, along with the furniture they had moved to the center, was splattered with blood. All of it was fresh, not yet dry.
[Th-This is… this is bad. We have to find Yuu-chan!]
The girls' game, which should have been harmless fun, had just unleashed a ghost upon their school.
"…Hmm."
What can I say? There were none of the jump scares I'd expected, so I was able to watch it without much trouble. If the atmosphere stayed like this, I felt like I could make it through the entire movie.
Of course, given the nature of horror films, the chances of that were close to zero.
Still, relieved that I'd made it through the beginning, I turned my head slightly and slowly blinked my eyes. What I saw was so unbelievable that I had to shut them and open them again.
"...Hina-chan?"
"...Hic."
It would appear that our dear Head Prefect was even worse with horror than I was.
Seriously, why did you suggest we come see this?
"You like Mika-san, don't you, Head Prefect?"
"…What?"
"My eyes, which are always by your side, would never miss something so obvious. Normally, I'd be planning to punish the stray cat who dared to make a move on you, but… I suppose Mika-san might be acceptable. Yes! Therefore, I shall help your love come to fruition!"
"…"
Hearing her true feelings exposed, Hina's face flushed red as she hung her head. Ako smiled softly. The troublesome angel who had captivated her Head Prefect was, regrettably, too powerful for her to punish. Besides, she was such a good person that Ako didn't even want to try. An angel like that could surely make her Head Prefect happy.
And so, after much deliberation, Ako decided to help the two of them get together.
"Head Prefect, what you need is an event that can advance your relationship. Something that can build affection for each other… An event that isn't a date, but is secretly a date! And what I recommend is watching a horror movie. It's a time-honored date idea that can't possibly fail."
"W-Wait. A horror movie…"
"Yes? Is there a problem, Head Prefect?"
"N-No… It's just, I think I heard Mika say she dislikes horror."
"That's actually even better for you, Head Prefect! If you comfort a terrified Mika-san, her affection for you will naturally soar through the roof! It aligns perfectly with our objective. Could there be a better plan in this world?"
Ako failed to notice the blank expression that had frozen on Hina's face. How could she possibly know that the Head Prefect herself was the one who didn't want to watch the movie, and had only used Mika as an excuse because she didn't want to admit it to her subordinate?
"Ohohoho… If you just set the date, I will thoroughly review the options and book the tickets for you. All you have to do, Head Prefect, is pluck the ripe fruit when it's ready!"
Trapped in a terrible checkmate, Hina despaired.
And that was the full story.