Fujibayashi Ryou's gaze fell on Hayato's profile, her eyes shimmering. She tugged gently on his sleeve, her lips parting slowly.
"Thank you, Hayato-kun."
Those simple words carried all of Fujibayashi Ryou's gratitude.
When that ghost had appeared right in front of her, she'd been consumed by nothing but endless terror. Her mind had gone completely blank, her body frozen in place.
Without Hayato, she would've died for sure.
"You're Nanase-san's friend, which makes you my friend too. Helping you is the natural thing to do. If I were in danger, wouldn't you help me, Fujibayashi-san?"
Fujibayashi Ryou immediately shook her head.
"Of course I'd help you, Hayato-kun! It's just that ever since we entered this school building, you've been the one helping me the whole time."
She felt like she hadn't done anything for him at all.
"Fujibayashi-san seems to have forgotten that when we first entered this building, and the ghost appeared, everyone else ran. You were the only one who came back to the classroom, trying to get me to leave with you."
As those words landed, Honda and Chiharu's expressions shifted slightly. They'd been too busy running to even notice Hayato had stayed behind in the classroom.
In that moment, both of them understood Fujibayashi Ryou's place and importance in Hayato's eyes. If he could only save one person, he'd definitely choose her.
Chiharu looked at Fujibayashi Ryou, jealousy beginning to spread through her chest. The girl was prettier than her and received special attention. Why did she get everything?!
"B-but even without me, you could've escaped on your own, Hayato-kun..."
Fujibayashi Ryou's voice grew quieter as she spoke, taking on that timid quality that made people want to either protect her or bully her.
Hayato quickly suppressed that second impulse. Now definitely wasn't the time to tease Fujibayashi Ryou.
"Hayato-san, what do we do next? That ghost can clearly appear in her seat whenever she wants. We can't possibly get the important clues from her desk, right?"
Thud!
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Several books hit the table with a clear impact sound. Hayato had tossed them there.
Kazuya froze instantly.
"You're amazing, Hayato-san! Not only did you save Fujibayashi-san, you even brought the books out! I was just about to suggest we lure the ghost away so someone could grab the clues from her seat, but now we don't need to do that at all!"
Kazuya could barely contain his excitement.
They didn't need to risk going back to Class F.
Kazuya understood perfectly well how dangerous his proposal would've been. It would require two people working together. Fujibayashi Ryou obviously couldn't be one of the executors, which meant either Kazuya or Chiharu would have to take on the task of luring the ghost or retrieving the clues from her seat.
He'd had a fifty-fifty chance of being chosen, maybe even higher odds since he was the one suggesting it, and he was male. But now none of that mattered.
They didn't need to take that risk anymore.
The three books were quickly examined, revealing two notes total. The content was largely the same, with different details here and there.
Everyone started reading.
[I am ■■■■, when you...]
Much of the text was identical to before. Large sections in the middle had disappeared, erased by some power.
Hayato quickly read through to the bottom.
[Her power comes from fear. She is attracted by ■■.]
[Teachers' offices can provide temporary safety from danger, but watch the time.]
[Don't ■■, don't ■■, absolutely don't ■■]
[When dawn comes, you can survive.]
[Or find her ■■ and bring it to the art room!]
[Then you can ■■ leave this place!]
[Her ■■ is in ■■]
"The critical information got affected by that mysterious force again..."
Kazuya complained.
But at least it filled in the details that the first note hadn't provided.
"Hayato-san, what do you think? The other method seems to be finding something that belongs to her, then bringing that item to the art room, and we can escape alive."
It sounded simple when put like that, but also incredibly complicated.
What was this "thing"?
But if it belonged to her, the location was probably somewhere related to her. Like her desk, or her shoe locker.
Which basically meant that if they wanted to get this item, they'd have to face the danger she posed directly.
"Could it be something she loved when she was alive? Like a bracelet, pendant, earrings, or ring?"
Fujibayashi Ryou offered her own theory.
"I've watched plenty of supernatural horror movies with my sister before. When people die, their souls sometimes attach to special objects. So maybe the missing keyword is an item her soul is bound to?"
When Hayato didn't immediately respond, the purple-haired girl quickly added in a timid voice,
"If... if I'm wrong, just pretend I didn't say anything..."
Hayato gently patted Fujibayashi Ryou's shoulder, signaling her to relax. "Fujibayashi-san, that theory is actually very useful. An object the soul is bound to is one direction we should consider. Beyond that, I think a corpse, bones, or even hair are all possibilities."
Hair?
But thinking about how the ghost's hair could extend and be used as a weapon, having hair be the target item wasn't impossible.
But the entire school building was their search area. How were they supposed to find it?
"Let's head to the art room first!"
There had to be new clues there.
The four of them left the teachers' office one after another. Compared to the safe confines of the office, the hallway outside felt exceptionally cold and dangerous.
Night wind blew through, making them shiver.
But Fujibayashi Ryou and the others gritted their teeth, gathered their courage, and followed along.
Can't be afraid. Can't show fear.
Fujibayashi Ryou silently repeated the hint from the note in her mind.
After quickly searching the second floor without finding the art room, they headed up to the third floor. But the third floor didn't have an art room either.
Hayato also confirmed that Year 1, Classes B and E on the third floor were both locked and impossible to enter.
After silently noting those two classrooms, the four of them made their way to the fourth floor. Along the way, everything remained peaceful. They didn't encounter the ghost at all, as if she'd given up on them and stopped targeting them entirely.
Finally, on the fourth floor, the third room on the west side turned out to be the art room.
When they found it, Kazuya and Chiharu's expressions looked a bit strange.
"Hayato-san, we originally hid in that classroom over there."
Kazuya pointed at the room at the far end. Only two classrooms separated it from the art room. They were so close.
They'd basically walked right past the key room back then. Maybe if they'd hidden in the art room, they would've been safe. They might've even found useful clues.
Chiharu thought of the same thing, and her mind drifted to her boyfriend, Kawasaki.
"Sigh..."
Her boyfriend had already been killed by that ghost!
Right then, Kazuya gripped the door handle and slowly pushed it open.
Click...
The door opened gradually.
Silence. Not a sound. A faint smell of paint wafted out to greet them.
This was the art room.