Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Hello, My Friend. Goodbye, My Friend.
"Good morning, Miko," Amamiya raised his hand in greeting.
"Morning..." Miko, the girl with long, straight black hair, mumbled sleepily.
Yotsuya Miko—Amamiya's neighbor and the eldest daughter of the Yotsuya family—was a quiet girl who loved to study. The Amamiya family had moved into the neighborhood three years ago, and since Miko and Amamiya attended the same junior high school, they had grown to be childhood friends of sorts.
Amamiya glanced at her with concern. "Your dark circles are getting worse. What've you been doing lately?"
Miko bit her lower lip lightly, her voice a little hesitant. "I haven't really done anything... Just watched a horror movie last night. Didn't sleep well."
"Watching a horror movie by yourself? That's pretty brave," Amamiya said with a raised eyebrow.
Miko remained silent, and the two of them continued walking towards school.
As they passed a busy intersection, something caught Amamiya's eye. Among the crowd across the street was a striking woman—a well-dressed office worker with an air of confidence that turned many heads. But Amamiya wasn't focused on her beauty. His eyes were locked on what lingered behind her—an enormous, grotesque baby-like spirit, swollen and bloated, with a long, drooling tongue lashing out toward unsuspecting passersby.
He shot a glance at Miko and noticed her face had gone pale. She was staring at the ground, her fists clenched tight, fingers trembling as they gripped her sleeves.
"Miko," Amamiya whispered, his voice low, "are you okay?"
Miko shook her head slightly, biting her lip. "I'm fine."
The traffic light turned green, and the woman, along with the spirit attached to her, moved forward. The creature seemed to writhe in joy as it crossed the street.
Just as Amamiya was about to follow, Miko tugged on his sleeve. "Wait a second," she said softly, looking up at him with teary eyes. Her voice was shaky, barely holding it together. "I just remembered... I need to get something from the convenience store. Can you come with me?"
"What do you need to buy?"
"Don't ask so many questions. Just come."
Without waiting for an answer, Miko grabbed Amamiya's wrist and quickly led him in the opposite direction.
Amamiya watched as the woman, along with her twisted companion, disappeared into the distance. He could feel Miko exhale a sigh of relief beside him.
But then, Miko suddenly froze again.
In front of the convenience store, a warped spirit in a store uniform was bowing politely to the customers entering and exiting the store, as if continuing its duties even in death.
Miko stared for a moment before muttering, "Actually, I just remembered... I already have spare pencils in my bag. Let's head to school."
Amamiya followed her gaze and observed the twisted ghost, thinking to himself: 'Could Miko see it too?' If she could, did that mean she was also part of the strange game he had been thrust into?
Leaning closer to her, Amamiya lowered his voice. "The strange game... have you played it?"
Miko blinked at him, clearly confused. "What game? What are you talking about?"
Amamiya straightened up, slightly relieved. "Never mind. Let's keep going."
'So she isn't a player,' he thought. That was probably for the best. If she wasn't involved in the game, she wouldn't have to face its terrifying consequences. But why could she see the spirits?
Before he could ask further, a cheerful voice interrupted their thoughts.
"Miko!"
A bubbly girl with short, blond hair and a curvy figure was jogging over, waving energetically. "Morning, Amamiya-san!"
"Good morning, Yurikawa-san," Amamiya responded with a polite nod.
This was Yurikawa Hana, a friend Miko had made since the start of the semester. The two seemed to have grown close, and Amamiya often saw them together on the way to school.
Hana turned to Miko, her gaze immediately drawn to the dark circles under her friend's eyes. "Miko, you look even worse today! Were you up all night again? You know staying up late is a girl's worst enemy."
Miko yawned, attempting to wave it off. "I just... didn't sleep well. Watched a horror movie with my brother."
"Ah, I get it! Even though you know it's all fake, you still get too freaked out to sleep."
'No, you don't understand.' The ghosts weren't fake. They were all too real!
The short-haired girl suddenly slapped her forehead as if remembering something. "Oh right, we ran out of pencils last night. Wanna hit up the convenience store to buy some?"
"Huh?" Miko's eyes widened in panic. "I-I can just lend you mine..."
"Why borrow when the store's right there? Come on!" Before Miko could protest, Hana had already grabbed her arm and started pulling her toward the store. "Let's grab some snacks while we're at it!"
Turning to Amamiya, Hana smiled. "You go ahead, Amamiya-san. We'll catch up!"
Amamiya sighed. 'Hana's definitely a good friend—if only she knew what she was putting Miko through.'
Miko's tearful eyes silently pleaded with Amamiya as she was dragged toward the store. He turned his attention back to the ghost at the entrance. The twisted figure in the employee uniform bowed to them: "Welcome..."
Amamiya made up his mind. He activated his recently acquired aura—the one that repelled evil spirits—and took a few steps forward. As soon as he got within range, the spirit seemed to burn, recoiling in pain before evaporating into mist and disappearing completely.
"Eh?!"
Miko's eyes widened in disbelief. "It's... gone?"
"Looks like it was dispersed," Amamiya said nonchalantly, nodding as Miko turned to him.
"Was it... you, Amamiya?"
"Hurry up, let's shop," Hana interrupted, oblivious to the exchange. She dragged Miko into the store, leaving Amamiya behind.
Amamiya turned and made his way toward the school.
Soon, he arrived at Shuchi'in Academy. For those who know about this prestigious institution, there's no need for an explanation. Its reputation speaks for itself.
Amamiya approached the shoe lockers on the first floor, ready to change into his indoor shoes. As he reached his locker, he noticed a girl standing nearby. She had long, waist-length black hair and an icy aura that seemed to freeze the very air around her. It was Kaguya Shinomiya—his game teammate from the night before.
Although it had been half a month since the first-year classes had started, Amamiya and Kaguya had yet to exchange a single word. Her reputation as "Ice Kaguya" was well known. She exuded such a cold demeanor that anyone who dared to approach her was bound to freeze, metaphorically speaking.
'Strange...' Amamiya thought.
Something seemed off about Kaguya. She was standing rigidly in front of her locker, her hand poised as if to open it, yet she was completely still—frozen like a statue.
Amamiya observed her for a moment, and suddenly, a line of text appeared above her head:
[So scary, so scary, so scary... What should I do? What should I do? What should I do...? Why is something like this in my shoe locker?!]
Curious, Amamiya shifted his gaze to the open locker in front of Kaguya. Inside was the severed head of a vengeful spirit, its blood-red eyes staring unblinkingly at the paralyzed girl.
The ghost's head, sensing Amamiya's attention, slowly turned its gaze toward him.
"C-can you see... me?" the spirit whispered.
'Here we go again,' Amamiya thought with a sigh. 'Are all vengeful spirits just parrots, repeating the same line?'
Without hesitation, Amamiya walked toward Kaguya, his face expressionless. He activated his spirit-repelling aura. The moment his aura enveloped the ghost, the head inside the shoe locker began to writhe in agony, as if it were being consumed by flames. Twisting and screaming, it disintegrated into black smoke, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone