The rooftop wind carried the gentle warmth of early afternoon, brushing lightly over the three of them and tugging at their hair.
In the end, the subtle little battlefield triggered by two bento lunches came to a temporary truce thanks to Natsume's calm declaration: since you both brought lunch, let us all eat together.
Even so, the mood during lunch was full of a strange tension.
Eriri took small bites from her own bento while sneaking glances from the corner of her eye, quietly watching Natsume's expression every time he picked up a piece of her tamagoyaki. Her heart was caught between expectation and nerves.
Yui, on the other hand, was like a cheerful little bird. She kept energetically recommending the fried chicken from her bento to Natsume, practically shoving it toward his mouth, which drew repeated looks of displeasure from Eriri.
One lunch, sparks flying everywhere.
...
"By the way," Natsume said suddenly as they were packing up their boxes, "it looks like the club application I submitted this morning got approved."
"Eh? Really?" Yui asked, eyes lighting up. "Then we have a club room now?"
"Yeah. The student council assigned us an old equipment storage room."
"That is great!" Yui clapped her hands in delight.
"Hmph, a club that sounds suspicious just from the name, and the school actually approved it." Eriri curled her lip, though the faint glitter of curiosity in her ice blue eyes could not be hidden. "Where is the club room? Since I am a member too, I will at least go and check it out."
So, with the last sliver of lunch break time, the three founding members of Sobu High's Occult Research Club headed to what would be their future secret base.
It was a small room at the end of the first floor hallway in the old school building. A brand new wooden sign hung on the door, with "Occult Research Club" neatly written on it.
When they pushed the door open, a faint smell of dust and old wood greeted them. The room was not big. Some discarded vaulting boxes and basketballs were piled up in the corners. The window panes were a bit dirty, so the sunlight that streamed in through the grid cast visible shafts of light, with motes of dust dancing in the air.
"Waa... it really does feel kind of atmospheric in here..." Yui instinctively latched onto Natsume's sleeve, whispering in a voice that mixed fear with excitement.
"Tch, it is just a storage room nobody wanted." Eriri folded her arms and scanned the room with an expression of dislike... while her footsteps very honestly edged closer to where Natsume was standing.
Natsume did not seem bothered by any of it. He found a chair that still looked usable, sat down, and calmly announced, "Alright, then from this moment on, this is our Occult Research Club's first official meeting."
"Activity? Right now?" Yui and Eriri both froze.
"Yes." Natsume nodded. His pale blue Six Eyes swept over the two girls. That deep gaze felt like it could see straight through everything. "Before we do any kind of 'spirit exploration,' you at least need a basic understanding of our targets."
He paused for a beat, then in the plainest tone possible, said something enough to overturn their view of the world.
"First, you need to understand what a cursed spirit is."
"Cursed spirit...?" Yui repeated the unfamiliar term in a small voice.
"Simply put, cursed spirits are formed from the negative emotions that leak out of humans... hatred, jealousy, fear, shame." Natsume explained, "When these emotions accumulate, they turn into curses, which is what we call cursed spirits.
They really exist, and they are everywhere. Schools, hospitals, train stations, anywhere people gather, cursed spirits are born."
"E-everywhere around us?" Yui's face went pale in an instant. Her grip on Natsume's sleeve tightened.
"T-that is way too unscientific." Eriri shot back immediately, but the slight tremor in her voice betrayed her unease. "Negative emotions turning into monsters, that is way too subjective."
"There are plenty of things science cannot explain yet." Natsume did not argue. He continued, "Most cursed spirits are mindless. They act on instinct alone, repeating the negative patterns that created them. For example, a cursed spirit born in a bathroom might repeatedly knock on stall doors."
That line made Yui flinch, her body shrinking subconsciously as the memory of Hanako flashed across her mind.
"T-then what should we do if we run into one?" she asked nervously.
"For ordinary people, the best way to protect yourselves is to ignore them." Natsume's expression grew serious. "Cursed spirits usually will not actively attack those who cannot see them. So even if you hear strange noises, or see a vague shadow, do not show fear or curiosity. Pretend nothing happened and leave immediately."
"Pretend not to see it..." Eriri murmured, thoughtful. She took out her student handbook and a pen, as if she meant to write it down.
"Hey, did you not say this was unscientific?" Natsume gave her a look.
"I-I am just writing down today's class notes. It has nothing to do with what you said." Eriri blushed and immediately hid the handbook behind her back, stubborn as ever.
Watching her so obviously give herself away, Natsume could only let out a helpless, amused breath. He turned to the girl who was practically curled up into a ball, Yui.
"Of course, if it really latches onto you, like what happened to you last time, then your only option is to ask a professional for help."
"Professional... like Natsume-kun?" Yui lifted her head, her eyes full of admiration and reliance.
"You could put it that way."
Natsume reached into his pocket and took out two white paper talismans folded into neat little triangles, handing one to each of them.
"These are simple charms made with my cursed energy. They are not strong, but they can at least block out most low grade cursed spirits."
"Wow, thank you, Natsume-kun!" Yui held hers like some precious treasure, carefully tucking it into her pocket.
Eriri looked at the charm held out to her, hesitated, then still reached out and took it.
"Does something like this... really work?" she muttered, though her fingers closed tightly around the thin piece of paper, as if she were holding onto something she couldn't afford to lose.
Sunlight filtered through the dusty window, falling across the three of them.
One spoke calmly of the hidden side of the world.
One, scared yet excited, instinctively drew closer.
The other wavered between sharp tongued protests and silent trust.
The topic was undeniably eerie, yet in that small, dusty club room, a strange atmosphere began to form, light and easy, with a barely noticeable hint of something warmer threaded through it.
And so, the not so ordinary gatherings of Sobu High's Occult Research Club quietly began, under the complicated yet pure feelings of two very different girls.