Chapter 121
Murphy's Law: If there is any possibility that something can go wrong, no matter how small that possibility is, it will happen. *
Kisaragi Chiyo rushed just before the end of the lunch break, arriving right on time to return the archive room keys to the professor's office. When he returned to the classroom, Yamae Eminami was gathered with the girls in the class, whispering about something.
The moment she saw Kisaragi Chiyo appearing at the classroom door, Yamae, with her sharp eyes, waved to him and flashed a soft smile.
"Oboshima-san." Yamae's braids were tied with bright yellow ribbon bows; if her smile when laughing were to be described as a painting, Kisaragi Chiyo thought it might perhaps be Van Gogh's Sunflowers.
"What's wrong?" Kisaragi Chiyo walked toward Yamae and the others, discreetly observing the expressions of the other girls, attempting to guess the content of their conversation from their reactions.
But after persisting for three seconds, Kisaragi Chiyo chose to give up. Fine, besides Yamae, he couldn't see any of the others clearly.
“We are discussing a group activity organized by the Ghost Kobayashi club.” Yamae explained thoughtfully to him.
“..” Kisaragi Chiyo fell silent for a few seconds. He glanced at the short-haired girl standing beside Yamae, whose face he couldn't clearly see, his eyebrows twitched slightly upward before he asked, "Ghost Kobayashi.. what club is she in?"
To be honest, the topics Yamae and the others discussed always gave Kisaragi Chiyo the illusion that they were omens of a game's main storyline about to begin.
It was extremely, extremely bad, especially after he had just concluded that Yamae was going to be the killer's next target.
"It's the Paranormal Phenomena Research Club." Yamae revealed a smile, her amber eyes clear, but the words she spoke made Kisaragi Chiyo's vision go dark.
I'm a member of this club, too.
Oh.
Kisaragi Chiyo suppressed the urge to facepalm. Listening to Yamae's lighthearted tone, he asked without much hope, "What does Kobayashi-san's.. what does your Paranormal Phenomena Research Club's group activity mean?"
"It's a courage test." Yamae raised the hand-drawn printed poster resting on her seat and waved it toward Kisaragi Chiyo.
"A courage test.." Those four words were enough to make one's vision go dark. Kisaragi Chiyo had been wondering whether the culprit would choose to target Yamae at home, at school, or on the way home..
Because, based on what he had overheard from others and his observations of Yamae, she almost never found herself alone—or rather, due to her personality, she was always surrounded by other people.
If the killer intended to strike when Yamae was alone, then, aside from deliberately creating an opportunity for her to be left behind, it would be difficult to find a suitable opening during normal times.
But at this critical juncture, a Courage Test appeared. It was an event typically held at night, if even a little bit of panic were to occur during the process, Yamae would naturally end up being the one left alone in the confusion.
“Oboshima-kun hasn't decided which club to join yet, has he?” Yamae Menami said, pressing the poster in her hands into Kisaragi Chiyo's hands. “Would you consider participating in the event?”
Yamae Minami smiled at her with narrowed eyes. Looking at the other's face, Kisaragi Chiyo suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.
In my eyes, Yamae Eminami's smiling face gradually overlapped with the face of my friend when she was murdered; that beautiful, distorted face, covered in blood and despair, appeared before me once again.
“..”
"Oboshima? Oboshima?" Oboshima's slightly confused voice and expression appeared before her eyes as Kisaragi Chiyo gradually came out of that trance-like state.
"What's wrong?" Yamae Eminami looked at him with concern; as a qualified Class Monitor, she paid attention to almost every student in the class.
Are you feeling unwell?" Yamae was always very considerate, finding an excuse for Kisaragi Chiyo's distraction. "Do you need me to accompany you to the infirmary to rest for a bit?
"No.." Kisaragi Chiyo shook her head slightly. She could feel that she didn't want Yamae Nami to participate in that so-called Courage Test, but what reason could she use to stop Yamae? That she might encounter danger? That a psycho killer had her in his sights?
With absolutely no evidence, what could she use to convince Yamae that the two recent homicides were connected? Wouldn't she just be dismissed as having a hysterical episode? Even if she spoke to the teacher, the teacher was already aware of her mental disorder; would anyone actually believe what she had to say?
I couldn't understand it; I felt lost and helpless.
"When is the Courage Test?" If such a thing were to happen in reality, Kisaragi Chiyo would have thought of a way to persuade Yamae to give up on this activity.
But in the Dreamscape, everything was a past that had already happened; no matter how much he tried to obstruct it, the story would continue regardless.
Three days from now, at nine o'clock at night." Yamae showed an expression similar to surprise, her amber eyes shining. She looked at me and asked in a slightly expectant tone, "Is Oboshima-kun coming to participate?
“Yeah.” Kisaragi Chiyo nodded, he stared at Yamae Eminai, speaking slowly, "I'm actually quite interested in the Paranormal Phenomena Research Club."
"The location is.." Kisaragi Chiyo lowered her head to glance at the somewhat simple poster in her hands, her gaze landing on the activity address written at the bottom right.
The abandoned old teaching building? One of the Six School Mysteries?
"Oboshima-kun, you know about the Six School Mysteries too?" The person asking was Kobayashi, that short-haired girl with the refined voice.
"I've heard of some of them." Kisaragi Chiyo had heard about them from Hara Kenji not long ago; although she didn't know the specific details, she could already guess a thing or two just from the names.
"That's wonderful then." Kobayashi-san seemed to have a genuine, profound interest in these paranormal events; humans often are like that, feeling curiosity and a desire to explore when faced with the mysterious and the unknown.
But sometimes, this is not a good thing.
Kisaragi Chiyo could understand the excitement in Kobayashi's emotions, because he was more or less that kind of person himself.
"Then, you're welcome to join us for the Courage Test when the time comes." Ghost Kobayashi did not invite Kisaragi Chiyo to join the club immediately; if she were truly interested, she would naturally speak up for herself after the event concluded.
Kisaragi Chiyo's conversation with them ended there. After saying hello to Yamae, he took his newspaper and returned to his seat.
*
“Another new discovery?”
In the classroom, Hara Kenji's voice rang in his ear, as he appeared silently behind him, hands behind his back like a teacher on inspection.
Kisaragi Chiyo applied a little extra force when she set her pen down, as she looked at the single, discordant stroke that had appeared on the neat and elegant homework, she silently lifted her gaze to stare at Hara Kenji with condemnation.
"Sorry." Hara Kenji felt a bit unnerved under Kisaragi Chiyo's gaze. He knew his lover had a bit of an obsessive-compulsive quirk in this regard; even a setting used for drafting an article had to be written neatly, orderly, pleasing to the eye.
"My bad." Hara Kenji raised his hands in a plea for mercy toward Kisaragi Chiyo. Relying on the fact that no one else could see him in the Dreamscape, he boldly planted a loud kiss on Kisaragi Chiyo's face right in front of the teacher lecturing at the podium.
Kisaragi Chiyo: ".."
Kisaragi Chiyo gave Hara Kenji a helpless glance, then used the back of her hand to gently wipe her cheek where he had just kissed her. His force hadn't been light just now; for a moment, Kisaragi Chiyo thought he was going to suck her cheek like jelly right then and there.
"How about I do the other side too, so it's more symmetrical?" Having read Kisaragi Chiyo's thoughts, Hara Kenji curled his fingers against his chin. He lowered his eyes, using his deceptive appearance to speak such improper words.
Or are you afraid someone will notice the hickeys?" Hara Kenji's tone carried a hint of mischief. "If you mind, Chiyo-chan, I could also leave the marks somewhere no one else can see?
Regarding Hara Kenji's brazen suggestion, Kisaragi Chiyo said nothing. He glanced up at the solution the teacher had written on the blackboard, then with a serious expression, wrote a single, elegant character for "roll" in his blank notebook.
Hara Kenji laughed again, laughing so hard he could barely straighten his back. He rested one hand on Kisaragi Chiyo's desk and buried his head in Kisaragi Chiyo's shoulder, the fuzzy sensation brushing against the boy's cheek and bringing a distinct, yet unexpressible, itchiness.
Kisaragi Chiyo was completely unaffected by the Evil Spirit's behavior; she noted down every word of the lecture and finished the classwork assigned by the teacher.
"It's just a Dreamscape, is there really a need to be this serious during class?" Hara Kenji complained in a low voice in Kisaragi Chiyo's ear, grumbling about being neglected by his lover.
Even though he knew Kisaragi Chiyo was ignoring him only because now was not a good time for small talk.
But Hara Kenji just loved doing that; he loved deliberately pestering Kisaragi Chiyo, watching that helpless, indulgent emotion emerge in those misty gray eyes when he caused her a little bit of fuzzy annoyance.
But in the next second.
As Kisaragi Chiyo twisted the evil spirit's long hair with her fingers while writing down the steps to solve a math problem, he suddenly felt a gaze fall upon him.
Looking up, it was Yamae Eminai.
Those amber eyes were gazing this way, their look of slight confusion falling beside Kisaragi Chiyo—or more accurately, onto the spot where Hara Kenji was standing.
It seems Yamae-san might be hiding a secret too?" Hara Kenji also noticed Yamae's gaze. He lowered his head and whispered a report into Kisaragi Chiyo's ear, "Do you still remember that leave of absence slip? Yamae-san's father is a shrine priest.. so she must have worked as a part-time miko as well, right?
Hara Kenji had not yet given up on his suspicion that Yamae Eminai was not an ordinary person.
Kisaragi Chiyo said nothing; Yamae's gaze only lingered by his side for a few seconds before shifting away, appearing to be nothing more than a casual glance.
But Kisaragi Chiyo did not think so. He had always felt that Yamae Eminami's attitude toward him was somewhat strange. Was she really just playing the role of a potential innocent victim in this story?
Kisaragi Chiyo temporarily put a question mark on this issue; he simply knew far too little about Yamae Eminami. He couldn't find any useful information in the student files either. So far, the phenomena Yamae Eminami had displayed in his eyes truly seemed like those of a perfect, imminent victim.
Kisaragi Chiyo was lost in thought, soon it was time to finish school; since he didn't have cleaning duties, he could leave immediately.
But just as Kisaragi Chiyo and Hara Kenji were about to walk out of the school building's main entrance, Yamae Eminai suddenly called out to him from behind.
"Oboshima-san!" Yamae Minami came running over.
Yamae-san?" Kisaragi Chiyo's face wore a look of perfectly timed surprise. "Is there something you need, Yamae-san?
"It's not actually anything important.." Yamae smiled with her eyes curved and pulled something out of her schoolbag, handing it to Kisaragi Chiyo.
I just wanted to give this to you.
"An amulet?" Kisaragi Chiyo was somewhat surprised after seeing clearly what was in her hands. It was a blue amulet, with a golden cherry blossom pattern on the front and the name of a shrine embroidered on the back.
"It's a protective amulet," Yamae said.
"Why are you giving this to me?" Kisaragi Chiyo asked, clutching the charm with a look of confusion.
"Because I want to be friends with you, I guess?" Yamae gave such an ambiguous answer.
I became even more confused, not understanding why Yamae would think that way. Since transferring to this school, I had experienced one hallucination during class. Although the situation wasn't serious, during extracurricular time, my classmates had secretly overheard the teachers discussing my mental disorder.
After that day, whether intentional or not, scrutinizing gazes surrounded me, as expected, I was isolated.
But Yamae was always different, her difference was something I couldn't understand. Perhaps it was also because of Yamae that, while my relationship with my classmates couldn't exactly be described as good, I still received ordinary treatment on the surface.
Yamae.. Yamae.. why on earth did she help me? Yamae, Yamae, is the sense of familiarity I feel toward her really just because of a deceased friend?
I simply couldn't understand it.
..
Kisaragi Chiyo watched Yamae Namika's retreating figure after she finished delivering the charms, he squeezed the exquisite blue charm in his hand before finally stuffing it into his schoolbag.
Hara," recalling Yamae's attitude, Kisaragi Chiyo suddenly had a suspicion, "Do you think Yamae Namie and I have known each other for a long time?
Hmm?" Hara Kenji raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. His eyes lowered, his beautiful dark purple eyes curving slightly, "Perhaps?
"At the very least, Yamae's interest in me is definitely more than just the casual concern between ordinary classmates." When it came to interpersonal relationships and emotional insight, Hara Kenji had always been sharp.
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Author's Note: *From the entry
Thanks to all the little angels for your support, mwah 030
Chapter 122
The journey home was uneventful, no unexpected mishaps occurred along the way. Aside from that faint, elusive sensation of being watched, Kisaragi Chiyo felt that the trip could be described as peaceful, or perhaps more accurately, the calm before the storm.
"Sometimes I wonder if the culprit is even human?" Hara Kenji complained to Kisaragi Chiyo by his side.
On the way back from school to the apartment, he was quite eager, wanting to pluck that faceless culprit from the crowd. But no matter how many times he tried, he could only ever catch a glimpse of a single dark silhouette; if he let his guard down even for a moment, the figure would vanish like a fish swimming into the sea.
This is also normal," Kisaragi Chiyo said, taking her keys out of her schoolbag. "The curse created a Dreamscape to trap me here, naturally hoping that I would witness that ending with my own eyes, not allowing me to find a way to wake up halfway through.
It's just like in a game, where the plot hasn't reached the boss level yet; you could say this is a period of safety.