"I don't want school to end." Chika clasped her hands before her chest, looking pitiful. "If we could just keep having class forever, we wouldn't have to separate."
Natsuki mercilessly retorted: "You'd become public enemy number one."
Wanting to stay at school all day long—forget the students objecting, even the teachers would go on strike!
Chika sighed:
"At least there are more people at school. What am I supposed to do when I'm all alone at home at night?"
"You could wear an eye mask." Kaguya offered a suggestion.
Chika looked up at her. "But I'd still be able to hear sounds."
Natsuki's voice was distant:
"Wear earplugs."
"Got it." Chika snapped her fingers. "So the plan is to hide under the blankets like an ostrich. In all those manga, blankets are invincible noble phantasms. As long as you're under the blanket, you won't encounter danger."
Kaguya's pink lips moved slightly, a rare hesitant expression appearing on her face.
"Huh, what does Kaguya-chan want to say?"
Chika asked curiously.
"Actually..." Kaguya pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose. In the end, she decided to be honest. A warning in advance would at least provide some mental preparation. "When I went to sleep last night, I found a ghost hiding inside my blanket."
On her very first day of seeing the world's true nature, she encountered a ghost hiding in her blanket. Girl, your luck is lottery-winning level!
"Huh?!" Chika's eyes went wide. "Did Kaguya-chan cry from being scared?"
"Not at all."
Kaguya crossed her arms, quickly denying it.
"But I remember, when Kaguya-chan was little, she was terrified of horror movies..."
"Much changes in three days—you should look at me with fresh eyes." Kaguya bit her pink lip. "I've grown up now. Don't keep viewing me through the lens of childhood."
"Is that so?"
Chika suddenly stepped back two paces, hiding beside Natsuki, and quietly tugged at his sleeve.
Natsuki understood. He retreated along with Chika.
Seeing their movements, the ice sculpture girl's eyes went wide. Her neck felt stiff, and she couldn't help but want to turn and look behind her.
"Kaguya-chan, stay calm." Chika's voice was eerie. "Whatever you do, don't look behind you."
"..."
Kaguya's silky, waist-length black hair trembled slightly. Her eyelashes quivered continuously as she held her breath and quickly walked toward Natsuki and Chika.
"Ahahaha." Chika, the root of all evil, put her hands on her hips and lifted her chin proudly. "There's actually nothing behind you. Kaguya-chan really is scared after all."
Kaguya pressed her right hand to her chest and silently turned to look behind her.
Behind her was only the empty classroom. Indeed, there was nothing there.
Chika remained completely unaware of her impending doom:
"No wonder Kaguya-chan has dark circles. Don't tell me you didn't sleep at all last night?"
"..."
Kaguya took a deep breath. Black mist rose ominously around her. Crimson flickered in her wine-red eyes. A smile actually appeared on her face:
"Fujiwara-san, how cute."
Terrifying.
Natsuki silently retreated, putting distance between himself and Chika.
A smiling Kaguya was actually more terrifying than a cold-faced one.
"I'm sorry, I was wrong, please forgive me."
Chika immediately crouched down with her head in her hands, surrendering at a speed that was shocking.
"If only I could stay over at Amamiya-kun's house."
Chika looked over pitifully, like a stray puppy hoping to be adopted by a kind person.
"Uguu~" Chika drooped in dejection. "I've been rejected, meow."
Living together was obviously just a joke. Both girls were well-raised young ladies—staying out all night was definitely not an option.
"Ah, I've got it." Chika's eyes suddenly lit up, her voice bright. "Kaguya-chan, Amamiya-kun, let's all run for student council together!"
"What?"
Natsuki raised an eyebrow.
"Elections for the new student council are starting soon." Chika spread her arms wide. "If we win, we'll have a huge activity room. Then after school, we can stay in the activity room, drink tea, chat, and not have to worry anymore."
The student council is supposed to be a working department. How did it become a retirement home in your mouth?!
"I agree." Kaguya held her bag with both hands, her tone calm. "I was planning to run for student council anyway."
Natsuki didn't agree immediately. "I'll think about it."
"..."
Discussion concluded, the three went their separate ways.
Natsuki walked out of the school without changing expression under the watchful eyes of two spirits wearing security guard uniforms.
The journey was uneventful.
"I'm home."
Natsuki pushed open the door and entered the entryway. Only the Akita came running over, tail wagging, to welcome him.
His parents were busy with work and rarely came home—sometimes he wouldn't see them for an entire month.
A twin-tailed blonde little sister who shouted "Die, big brother."
A cross-dressing stepsister.
A gentle little sister kneeling in the entryway wearing nothing but an apron, inviting him to take a bath together...
None of the above existed.
Because writing them would get this banned.
Natsuki walked into the living room and casually opened the refrigerator, only to discover that at some point, a rotting head had appeared inside again.
Expressionlessly taking out a can of cola, Natsuki slammed the refrigerator shut.
After finishing his cola, it was still early. Natsuki pondered for a few seconds, looked at the Akita sitting in front of him with a silly grin, grabbed the leash, and headed out to walk the dog.
Evil spirits appeared both day and night—it was just scarier at night. Since that was the case, he'd change his dog-walking time to daytime from now on.
He walked the dog around the nearby park. On his way out, he happened to run into Miko Yotsuya at the park entrance, along with her best friend Hana Yurikawa.
"Amamiya-kun, good afternoon."
Hana's voice was bright as she waved in greeting. Her gaze fell on the Akita, and her eyes immediately lit up. "Oh, what a cute doggy. Is this Amamiya-kun's dog?"
"It's my dog."
"Can I pet it?"
Hana's gaze was hopeful.
"Sure." Natsuki nodded.
"Thank you, Amamiya-kun."
Hana thanked him happily. Rather than crouching down, she braced her right hand on her knee and reached toward the Akita with her left.
Natsuki suddenly felt a mysterious gravitational pull in the air. His gaze drifted over involuntarily.
Under the pull of gravity, the girl's uniform collar drooped slightly, revealing a delicate, lovely collarbone and snow-white, porcelain-smooth skin.
Objects with excessive mass exert gravitational pull on their surroundings. The law of universal gravitation doesn't just apply to celestial bodies—apparently it works on girls too!
The sun sure is white today...
No, wait.
The sunlight is so bright.
In that fleeting glimpse, a Newton's cradle from the physics lab involuntarily floated into Natsuki's mind.
"Stare—"
Miko, sporting a pair of dark circles under her eyes, silently looked over. Her pink lips moved slightly as she softly uttered two words:
"Pervert."
How is that perverted?
A Newton's cradle represents the beauty of physics. It's perfectly normal to be unable to control where you look. Even Newton himself would be dazed!
After happily petting the dog for a while, Hana finally stood up reluctantly.
Natsuki was about to head home when Miko suddenly invited:
"Um... I bought some strawberry daifuku. Do you want to come eat with us?"