It was 8:30 AM. The alarm had gone off, then immediately the snooze button had been hit. At 8:45, the alarm had gone off again. The snooze button was once again pressed. When the alarm rang for the third time at 9:00, instead of hitting the snooze button, the entire alarm clock had been yanked out of the wall and thrown across the room. Now it was 9:30, and the occupant of the bed was still asleep. This caught Mari's attention.
"Hmm... What to do, what to do..." Hovering over the bed, she considered her options. There was the tried and true method of whisking the covers off, exposing Yoshiko to the morning chill. She could always get more creative, though. There was no telling how much time she had left before Yoshiko woke up, though, so perhaps a Rube Goldberg type of device would be overkill. She had another idea, though.
Hustling out into the bathroom, she opened the sink cabinets and grabbed a roll of duct tape. Then she came back out and pulled the covers off of Yoshiko, putting the roll of tape between her teeth as she grabbed the still-sleeping girl by her ankles. The two of them floated up to the ceiling, where Mari held Yoshiko's ankles with her arms so that she could rip some tape off of the roll.
It was a tough maneuver, but she was able to place one of Yoshiko's feet against the ceiling and begin to tape it up so it'd stick there. Then she repeated the task with the other foot, having to leave Yoshiko dangling by one foot so that she could do a better job of keeping the foundation sturdy. She didn't want the poor girl to fall immediately. Once the job was complete, she moved back to admire her handiwork. Then she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted out:
"Yooottannn! Wake up!"
"Gah!" Yoshiko woke up with a jolt, staring right into the frowning face of Mari. Not only was she frowning, but her entire face seemed to have been rearranged. Almost like she was upside... down. That was when Yoshiko realized that Mari wasn't upside down: she was. Quickly she looked down, but when she saw her bed all the way below her, she wished she hadn't. "Mariii! What did you do?!"
"Me? Why do you always suspect lil' ol' me?" Mari placed a hand on her heart, a mock expression of hurt on her face.
"Because who else has access to my apartment and would also tape me to the ceiling?"
"Hanamaru."
"Hanamaru isn't even five feet tall! Get me down from here, Mari!" She began to struggle in her binds, trying to reach up and unfasten the tape from her feet. It then occurred to her that a fall from the ceiling, even onto her bed, would probably be a bit painful. Not to mention she'd probably break her poor bed, and she couldn't afford another one. "Mari, I swear, if I fall and break my bed..."
"Don't worry, I'll buy you a new bed!" She couldn't help but laugh, watching Yoshiko hang uselessly from the ceiling like an upside down wacky waving arm inflatable tube man. Finally she floated up and started to pull the tape off of Yoshiko's feet, getting a few yelps of pain in response. "Does Megamax take Dogecoins?"
"Are you really asking me if a store on this planet Earth takes Dogecoins?" This situation was ridiculous. Just another ridiculous situation she had gotten into without really meaning to. "What time is it?" Without bothering to wait for an answer she looked down at her nightstand, but the alarm clock wasn't there. "And where the hell is my clock?"
"You threw it across the room when it kept beeping." Mari was almost done ripping off the last of the tape. "It's after 9:30, Yottan."
"What?! 9:30?!" Oh great, she had overslept again. What was the point of an alarm clock if it couldn't wake her up? Her class started in thirty minutes, and she was stuck to her ceiling. "I have to get ready for class! Get me doWNNN!" Mari got her down, and she fell from her ceiling all the way to the bed. At the same time, Mari dropped like a stone, sliding down onto the bed and catching Yoshiko in her arms.
"And it's Mari Ohara with the life-saving catch! And the crowd goes wild!" She pumped a fist in the air, smirking down at the growing blush on Yoshiko's face.
"Sh-Shut up, you weirdo." Jumping out of Mari's arms, Yoshiko hurried to her drawers and pulled out an outfit for school, barely glancing at it before she rushed into the bathroom and shut the door. She began to undress, but had only gotten down to her bra and panties before she got the feeling that someone was staring at her. Sure enough, when she turned around, Mari was floating in front of her with a big grin on her face. "Mariii! I told you no peeking while I'm getting dressed!"
"I'm not peeking: I'm overtly ogling you." Mari giggled while Yoshiko tried to cover herself with her hands, scowling right back at the troublesome spirit. "Alright, alright, I'll go make you breakfast." Still giggling, Mari left the bathroom, allowing Yoshiko to fully undress and change. She sighed heavily as she threw her old clothes in the laundry basket and gathered her school stuff. Having a ghost hanging around her apartment really was troublesome...
"Mari? What is this?" Standing in the kitchen, Yoshiko held up a bag of chips with an annoyed look on her face.
"Well Yottan, those are spicy chips."
"I know what they are!"
"Then why did you ask?"
"Rrrrr!" Yoshiko nearly ripped the bag open in frustration, stamping her foot down crossly. "You know what I mean! How is this bag of chips a balanced breakfast?"
"Well, someone hasn't bought groceries lately, so there's nothing to make you for breakfast." Grumbling, Yoshiko turned away, not wanting to admit that Mari was right. "Anyway, you only have time to eat those chips on the way to school. Maybe you won't be too late if you hurry."
"Right right right. Alright, fine, see ya!" With no time to spare, Yoshiko rushed out of the apartment, barely remembering to lock the door as she hurried off towards campus. She didn't have a car, so she'd have to run. Well, run, then run... out of breath, after which she'd walk and pant heavily. Hopefully that'd get her to class on time.
As for Mari, she watched Yoshiko leave with a smile on her face. Of course, as a ghost, she didn't have any responsibilities, so there was no point in staying there at the now-empty apartment. So she ghosted through the door and followed after Yoshiko so she could have some fun at school. Fun, of course, would not involve learning, because that was no fun at all.
Yoshiko ended up five minutes late to class, earning a stern look from the professor as she walked in. She pretended not to notice it, trying to ignore the stares of her classmates as she slunk towards the back of the room and sat next to Hanamaru. Once she had stopped being a distraction, the lesson continued.
"You look exhausted, zura," Hanamaru whispered as Yoshiko pulled out her notebook and a pen, looking up at the board in an attempt to see if she could figure out what she'd missed, if anything. "Did you oversleep again?"
"M-Maybe." She really needed to get a better alarm.
"Well, luckily you didn't miss anything. Maybe you should come sleep at my place next time. I always wake up on time, so I'd be sure to get you out of bed." Her smile was so sincere and innocent, but Yoshiko had to look pointedly at her notes to force down the blush that was threatening to bloom all over her face. It was bad enough that she'd been crushing on her childhood friend for three years now. The last thing she needed to think of was sleeping in the same bed as her. It may have been fun to have sleepovers when they were in kindergarten, but it was a lot different now that they were eighteen.
"I-I'll think about it." After that, they both went quiet as they concentrated on the lesson. Not that Yoshiko was all that interested in history, but it was better than flunking out of university and having to explain to her parents that she was going to be a professional neet. The thought of her parents' disapproving faces sent shivers down her spine.
Class was going fine for awhile, but then Mari popped in for a visit. Yoshiko sucked in a breath, knowing this wasn't going to go well. True to her worries, Mari floated behind the professor and started to make weird faces. That only made Yoshiko silently beg her to stop, but it was when Mari began to mimic the professor that Yoshiko started to laugh. Out loud. Audibly.
"It seems that something about my lecture has brought Ms. Tsushima some form of amusement." It wasn't that her history professor was a mean-spirited guy. He just was a no-nonsense sort of guy, and it didn't help that she'd been late to his class before. She was really treading on that thin ice. "Is there something funny about the Siege of Caffa?"
Well, kind of. In a really morbid sort of way. "No sir." She really didn't like having everyone's attention on her. It gave her bad flashbacks to middle school, and the less she remembered of those years, the better. Thankfully, like always, the attention went back to the front, and the lesson continued. Everybody seemed content to just forget anything had happened. Except for one person.
"What were you laughing at, zura?" She looked over at the curious stare of Hanamaru, then over towards Mari, who waved at her. Sometimes she forgot that Hanamaru couldn't see Mari. Not anymore, anyway. When they had been in kindergarten, both of them were the only kids who could see the ghostly blonde. They had a lot of fun back then, even if Hanamaru was the only kid Yoshiko had been able to befriend.
She could remember vividly having Mari lift the two of them off the ground and carry them around like a bomber plane. They couldn't have been more than a few inches off the ground, but to their young minds, it seemed like they were so high up. After kindergarten, though, they'd both been separated for many years, and when they surprisingly met each other again in high school, Hanamaru never mentioned Mari again. She had clearly forgotten about their ghostly friend after all those years, and neither Yoshiko nor Mari had felt it right to spring that on her again.
"Uh, just a... joke I thought of." Even though she knew that Hanamaru had seen - had experienced - the existence of ghosts, she also knew that there were no more memories left of Mari, meaning Hanamaru would think she was crazy if she admitted that she had a ghost living with her. It made things awkward when she didn't really have an explanation for why she did something. Like now, for instance.
"Oh? Can I hear it? I love jokes." Yoshiko had to bite back an easy retort: that Hanamaru never understood any jokes. It was almost like being a comedian at the Apollo, but the entire audience was Drax the Destroyer. If Drax was shorter and really cute... Where was this train of thought going?
"Uh, maybe after class, alright?" For once, paying attention in class was better than the alternative: coming up with a joke on the spot. It was quite a motley crew of unfunny people that she palled around with. Ruby had never told a joke in her life, Hanamaru never understood the jokes, and Yoshikowas a joke. She was going to have to scold Mari - again - for interrupting her class and getting her in trouble. Not like that had ever phased her before. Nothing could phase through her, and nothing could phase her in general.
Hanamaru seemed mildly surprised that Yoshiko would rather pay attention in class than goof off, but she accepted it with a nod and went back to taking notes. Yoshiko did the same, doing her best to ignore Mari floating around and pretending to play the drums on students' heads. Having a ghost follow her to school was really annoying...
In between classes, Yoshiko found herself in the library with Hanamaru. On Tuesdays, they both had history together, then two different classes that just happened to be at the same time. It was far enough away that they could go do something, but not enough that they could go home and come back. Of course, it was Hanamaru who had suggested spending time in the library. Yoshiko just followed along like a dope with a crush.
While Hanamaru was looking for another book on World War II - seriously, how many of those did she need to read? - Yoshiko was hanging back, watching her stretch to reach for books on higher shelves. It was unbearable and unfair for her to be that cute doing such a simple thing. If only she had the courage to talk to her...
"Hanamaru's really grown into quite the young woman, hasn't she?" Mari's voice took Yoshiko by surprise, and she fell right out of her chair. "Well, not height-wise, but you know what I mean."
"Ow... Yeah yeah, I know." Yoshiko groaned, rubbing the back of her head as she rolled over onto her stomach. She pushed herself onto her knees, sighing and glaring up at Mari.
"Especially her boobs-"
"Would you shut up!" She barely remembered to whisper that, lest she get thrown out of the library for yelling at herself. Sighing again, she got back up and sat down in her chair again. "Ugh, I can't stop staring at her. It gets worse every year. I feel like my heart is going to pop out of my chest right in front of me so that I can step on it accidentally."
"How vivid." Mari laid herself down on the table, posing seductively. Yoshiko ignored her. "I know you don't have the confidence to speak to her, but you know who does? Yohane!"
"Come on, Mari. Don't say that name again. I don't do that anymore." When she was a kid, she had believed herself to be a fallen angel, and she acted as such. She dressed in weird black outfits, called herself Yohane, and did satanic rituals that never ended up working. Mari told her she needed to connect to Hell's wi-fi. It had all been a coping mechanism for her childhood loneliness, and it ended up getting her bullied and ridiculed all throughout middle school.
After she reunited with Hanamaru again - and started to develop her current crush - she'd resolved to become a normal high school student. She did her absolute best to try and fit in, throwing out all of her weird ritual stuff and making herself avoid dropping her vocal range into that familiar deep tone. It made her feel strangely empty, like she no longer had an identity. At least Hanamaru considered her normal, though. No rituals, no consorting with demons, and no friendships with ghosts.
"Besides, Hanamaru wouldn't like someone as weird as Yohane."
"Well, if she's as sweet as you say she is, she'll like you no matter what." Mari huffed, folding her arms and sitting down on Yoshiko's lap. "At least you've got good ol' Mari in your corner, right?"
"I need a new corner, then." Yoshiko stood up, shivering slightly as she passed through Mari's ghostly body. With her fascination of the supernatural and satanic tampered down, she never knew what to get at the library. She'd tried delving into a few topics, but none of them really intrigued her, so she'd end up just surfing the web on her phone instead.
"Hey, Zuramaru? I'm hungry. You want a sandwich or something?" She had approached Hanamaru and tapped on her shoulder, stirring her from her literary perusal.
"Mm... Can you get me a candy bar?"
"That's not a meal, Zuramaru." Yoshiko sighed, checking her wallet to make sure she had enough money for the food. "Look, I'll get you the flatbread, alright? I know you like how it's flat."
"Bread is usually so fluffy and expanded. They flattened it, though. It's so curious, don't you think?"
"Ah, yeah, I... guess. Look, I'll be back soon, okay?" Waving at her, Yoshiko power walked out of the library, with Mari in pursuit. The sandwich shop wasn't too far away, but it could've been closer. She sighed, placing her hands on her hips. Then she started floating. Wait... shouldn't that be walking? "H-Hey! What th- Mari?!"
"Don't you wanna get your food faster, Yottan?" Mari grinned, hoisting Yoshiko off the ground. "I can carry you there!"
"P-Put me down before someone sees me!" Sometimes Mari just did things without thinking. How was she going to explain to someone if they saw her floating in the air? She'd probably end up as a government experiment or something. Jeez, sometimes Mari still acted like Yoshiko was five years old.
"Ohh? Is Yottan afraid someone will look up her skirt?" Yoshiko blushed at the comment. That hadn't actually come to mind as an issue, but now that she mentioned it... "Maybe I should lift you up over Hanamaru's head."
"N-No! Don't you dare! Just put me down now!" Thankfully, Mari finally complied, and Yoshiko grumbled crossly as she smoothed down her skirt. "You're such a hassle, Mari."
"Isn't that why you love me?" Yoshiko didn't respond to that, instead striding forward and beginning the trek to the sandwich shop on campus. Hopefully she wouldn't be too late.
When she reached the shop, there were only two people in front of her. One was already ordering, and the other was Ruby. Looked like Yoshiko wasn't the only one who needed some food. "Hey Rubles. 'Sup?"
"O-Oh, Yoshiko! I-I was just getting a sandwich." Well, that was obvious. Poor Ruby was still the same bundle of nerves and fear from high school. Personally, Yoshiko blamed Ruby's perfectionist older sister for instilling this constant sense of fear in her. Not that she'd ever say that to Dia's face. She was really scary.
"Uh, yeah, me too. You wanna bring your sandwich to the library? Zuramaru's there, so we can all eat together."
"O-Okay, yeah! That sounds great." Her smile made Yoshiko smile, since it wasn't often that the poor girl did it. She had promised Ruby that smiling wasn't going to bring the wrath of the Kurosawa ancestors down upon her, but apparently that wasn't really funny. Ah well, maybe after university Ruby could escape her sister's shadow. Maybe.
After the two of them bought their sandwiches - Yoshiko made the sandwich maker add more hot sauce three times - they went outside. Yoshiko glanced around, realizing that Mari wasn't there anymore. 'Where could she have gone...?'
"Ah, what are you looking for, Yoshiko?"
"Huh? Nothing. Come on, let's get going." She walked ahead of Ruby and back towards the library. It wasn't often, but sometimes Mari would disappear without letting her know. Not that Yoshiko was worried. She always came back, anyway. If she had to guess, Mari was in the gym locker room watching the softball team undress. "We gotta eat before our next class."
"R-Right!"
On the roof of the science building, Mari sat on the railing with a handful of rocks. She picked one up and tossed it as far as she could, trying to land it on the roof right across from her. The first two were successful, but the third one hit the edge and bounced down. "Whoops! Watch out!" Of course, no one could hear her warning.
"Ow!"
"Sorry!" She laughed, but it was a hollow laugh. In truth, she wasn't feeling all the shiny. Very dull, in fact. There had been something about the way Yoshiko had talked to her earlier that made her sad. Things were so different now than they were back when Yoshiko was a little kid. Time didn't pass all that fast for Mari, but it clearly had for Yoshiko, and she wasn't interested in playing anymore.
Things had been so much simpler all those years ago. She didn't even think about her predicament back then. Instead, she enjoyed playing with Yoshiko and Hanamaru, pretending to give them plane rides and keeping them from running into too many trees. Their childish laughter had made her so happy. Now though, Hanamaru couldn't even see her anymore, the intervening years having dulled her memory. On top of that, Yoshiko seemed to find her more of an annoyance than a fun ghost friend. Maybe Yoshiko didn't want her around anymore.
What was worse was that she had no one to talk to about her feelings. There weren't any other ghosts hanging around the campus, and it wasn't like she could tell Yoshiko about all this. Ironic, considering how she had always told Yoshiko to follow her feelings when it came to Hanamaru. Yoshiko never listened though, stubborn as she was. It was just one of her many charms.
She wasn't going to leave, though. There wasn't anything for her to do but hang around Yoshiko, and there probably wasn't anything as enjoyable. She didn't have any ghost friends, so Yoshiko was her only friend. Her best friend. Maybe there would be some other way for her to make Yoshiko want to have fun again. She'd have to think on it, though.
Meanwhile, though, she needed to get back to Yoshiko. She didn't want her to worry or anything. So she floated up off of the roof and zoomed towards Yoshiko's next class. There had to be some kind of mischief that would entice Yoshiko like when she'd been a kid.
Later that night, Yoshiko was diligently not doing her homework. Instead, she was laying on her bed watching TV. Mari was watching with her, a look of disapproval on her face. "Don't you have homework, Yoshiko?"
"I was never told which home to do the work in." Yoshiko shrugged, ignoring Mari's concerns. "It's ambiguous. How can I deal with such confusion?"
"You still haven't bought groceries."
"Jeez, you sound like my mom."
"Oh? Well, your mom's pretty hot."
"Don't even think about it." She would've tugged on Mari's cheeks, but it was kind of impossible. Instead, she had to settle for a well-worn frown as she threw up her arms in defeat. "Ugh, I don't wanna do any of that, alright?! I've got a lot on my mind."
"Does it say 'zura' a lot?"
"... No comment." Sighing, Yoshiko stood up, her phone falling out of her pocket and onto the bed. "I just need to stop thinking about Zuramaru. There's no way I can tell her that I have a crush on her. It'd be weird." She looked rather forlorn at the thought that her having a crush was weird. "I'm gonna go to the restroom." She then left Mari alone in the room. Alone with the phone.
"Hmm..." A cheeky grin spread across her face as she quickly grabbed Yoshiko's phone and opened it up. It had a passcode, but there was no hiding it from a ghost that saw all. She brought up her texts and went to type up a message to Hanamaru. 'Hey Zuramaru, mind if I stay over at your place tomorrow night? They're gonna be fixing the AC in my dorm.' Sure, it was a boldfaced lie, but technically Yoshiko wasn't telling it.
She waited after that, hoping to get a reply as soon as possible. It was well known that Hanamaru was a bit of a technological novice, but over the last three years, Yoshiko had been teaching her how to join the modern day. Now she could use a computer without shutting it off immediately. Her little Maru had grown up so fast. Ah, there was the reply! 'Sure! I'll wake you up at a normal time!' Ooh, Yoshiko wasn't gonna like that. Oh well, she'd thank Mari later.
She dropped the phone back on the bed just as Yoshiko came back, and she immediately noticed the knowing grin on Mari's face. "Alright Mari, what did you do?"
"Who me? What could I possibly have done?"
"You obviously did something." She looked down at her phone, then did a double take, patting down her pocket as if her phone would be there. It should've been in there. "Did you touch my phone?" Her eyes narrowed directly at Mari.
"How can I touch your phone, Yottan? I'm a ghost, remember?" Yoshiko rolled her eyes and flung herself onto her bed, grabbing her phone and quickly opening it. It automatically revealed the texts, and she paled instantly. She knew that she hadn't sent those texts.
"Mari... Did you tell Zuramaru that I wanted to stay at her place tomorrow night?"
"Lemme see." She floated over and looked down at Yoshiko's phone. "Oh, yeah, that was me. I did that."
"Wh-Wh-Why? Why would you do that?!" Yoshiko exploded, dropping her phone and jabbing a finger right at Mari's chest. Of course, it just went right through her. "I just told you I can't talk to her about this, and now you want me to spend the night with her?!"
"You just needed a little push to help you out!" Mari's smile didn't waver, laying herself down on the bed. "I believe in you, Yottan! Just go there tomorrow, look her right in the eyes, and say 'Please let me motorboat your zuras.'"
"Absolutely not!" Yoshiko was sure her face had gone completely red. "You are so damn lewd, Mari!"
"They don't call me 'Lewd Mari' for nothing."
"No one calls you that." Mari had really gotten her into a sticky situation. Wait, no, after those lewd words, she didn't want to use 'sticky'. Uh, a... bad situation. Yeah, that was fine. It was a bad situation, and she couldn't really cancel. Well, she could pretend she was sick, but she didn't want to lie to Hanamaru. She was already feeling nervous, and it wasn't even tomorrow yet.
It was the only thing she could think of for the entire night, and then the next morning as well. In class, Hanamaru didn't even mention it. Probably because it wasn't that big a deal to spend the night at a friend's place, but it was a big deal to her. She just knew that she was going to get caught staring at Hanamaru, or she would say something really weird and off-putting. Gods, what if she accidentally saw Hanamaru changing? She'd probably just die right there. A good death, but an embarrassing death.
That night, she nearly walked out of her dorm without a change of clothes. So she walked back in, and immediately walked back out and forgot them again. She was definitely not in the right state of mind for this. When she came back for the second time, Mari threw her pajamas at her, giggling the whole time. "Nervous?"
"Cool as a cucumber," she shot back dryly, heading back out with her ghostly compatriot in tow. "I don't know why you're doing this to me. I've let you live in my dorm, and not once did I call Luigi to come take care of you."
"You're real nice for a demon." Mari chuckled and patted the top of Yoshiko's head. "Because I know this is what you want! You're just too chicken to go after the girl of your dreams. That's why I'm here: to turn you from a chicken to an eagle!"
"Why an eagle?"
"Because they're brave, like you'll be by tomorrow morning. That's an Ohara guarantee!" Somehow Yoshiko wasn't ready to put too much stock in the Ohara guarantee, but there wasn't time to turn back now. 'Stupid Mari...'
The distance to Hanamaru's dorm wasn't far, but it seemed longer when her feet felt as if they were trudging through wet cement. She kept shooting annoyed glares at Mari, but she just smiled and stuck out her tongue. There was no getting through to her, it seemed. Then again, when had that ever been the case? After all these years, Mari was the same as always.
When she reached the dorm, she knocked on the door and waited for someone to open it. It was Ruby who opened it, smiling when she saw her friend. "Hey Yoshiko! Come in, please." Yoshiko nodded and walked in, moving into the living room as Ruby closed the door. It was pretty convenient that her two friends lived together. That meant, if she needed one, the other would always be there.
"Ah, Yoshiko." Hanamaru smiled, laying down on the couch with a book in her hands. Somehow she was able to lay down comfortably on a couch and still leave room for another person to sit down next to her. "It sucks about your air conditioning, zura."
"Ah yeah, the... air conditioning." She had almost forgotten the stupid excuse Mari had made up. "Well, I'm sure they'll be done by tomorrow. Thanks for, uh, letting me stay."
"No problem, zura!" She hated lying to Hanamaru, even if she hadn't actually done the lying. If only she could just admit that Mari had done it, but then that would be admitting that she saw ghosts. Even if Hanamaru had once believed in her as well, Ruby certainly didn't. The last thing she wanted was more people getting wind of her insanity. "You wanna come sit down?"
"Ah, yeah, thanks." Yoshiko sat next to Hanamaru's feet, looking over at Ruby as if expecting her to come and join them. Instead, she excused her, saying she needed to write out her weekly progress report to her sister. What kind of crazy family were the Kurosawas anyway? "So what are you reading, Zuramaru?"
"Ring."
"You're reading the movie?"
"It's based on this book, zura." She gave Yoshiko a look. The 'books came before movies, zura' look. Hanamaru could be a bit testy about movie adaptations. It was maybe the only thing that made the normally calm girl upset. Ruby had once told her that, after each Harry Potter movie, Hanamaru would spend weeks going over in detail every little difference and how they skipped so many important parts from the book.
"B-But then the movies would be like six hours long."
"Good." That was basically how those conversations would go. Yoshiko certainly wasn't interested in being lectured outside of class, so she just mumbled an apology and gazed curiously at the book. Normally Hanamaru was more interested in historical books. She hadn't pegged the bookworm as a horror fan. Now Yoshiko, on the other hand, absolutely loved horror. It was the one thing from her past as a 'fallen angel' that she felt okay with holding onto. Plenty of normal, well-adjusted people liked horror, right?
"I never tagged you as a horror reader."
"I'm trying to branch out." She smiled oh-so cutely, making Yoshiko's heart start to beat faster. "I know you really like horror movies, so I want to see what all the fuss is about. It's really fascinating, zura."
"Y-Yeah, it is." How far could she go without awakening that weird side of herself that she'd buried away? "You know what's really cool, though? Creepypastas." Wait, fuck, go back.
"Creepypastas? Ooh, like linguine!"
"Uh, not that kind of pasta."
"It's like little floppy tentacles, don't you think?"
"Not... really. Here, let me just show you, alright?" She stood up and walked into Hanamaru's bedroom, with the shorter girl in tow. Sitting down at her computer, she almost grabbed the mouse before catching herself. It was kinda rude to use someone else's computer without permission. "Hey, is it okay if I look it up on your computer?"
"Go ahead, zura." Grinning, Yoshiko brought up a new web page and brought up her favorite creepypasta.
"You see, Zuramaru, creepypastas are these scary stories people tell nowadays. They can be based on cryptids, or on cursed media, or anything your mind can think of!"
"So they're ghost stories you tell around a campfire?"
"Well, I mean, kind of, but they're cooler! And you don't have to go outside or anything." That was the real benefit. The outside world was full of bugs, and bug bites were no friend of hers. "Here, check this out! Usually they're just written down, with maybe a picture or two, but this one has videos! It's my absolute favorite."
"Ben Drowned?" Hanamaru hopped up on her bed, leaning forward to peer curiously at the screen. "Aww, poor Ben..." Since they were just watching the videos, Yoshiko told Hanamaru all of the backstory before each video, hoping to alleviate any confusion her friend might have. "That little green guy doesn't look real, zura."
"Link isn't real, Zuramaru. It's just a cursed video game cartridge."
"So is he Ben?"
"No, he's Link." She had a feeling Hanamaru wasn't understanding, so she resolved to try even harder to explain it properly.
"Eek! He's bending really weirdly! I don't think that's supposed to happen, zura..." She looked kind of scared now, which was good. What could be scarier than Ben Drowned? Besides being an adult. "Oh, he's going in the water now! Is he going to save Ben?"
"... No. Ben already drowned."
"Aww, poor Ben..." Okay, maybe this wasn't going over as well as she had hoped.
Yoshiko was sleeping on the couch when she felt someone shaking her shoulder. Grumbling, she blinked open her sleepy eyes and found Hanamaru staring down at her. "Z-Zuramaru? Wha's goin' on?"
"Yoshikooo, I had a nightmare that the little green guy statue was following me, and he was trying to drown me!"
"Well, it's over now, right? I'm sure it'll be fine." Barely awake, Yoshiko tried to fall back asleep, but Hanamaru punched her in the shoulder. "Ow! What was that for?"
"Your creepy linguine scared me, zura! You should come and protect me from more bad dreams."
"Hah? How am I supposed to do that?"
"By sleeping in bed with me."
"..." Yoshiko sat up and looked at Hanamaru, slowly realizing what was being asked of her. "Run that by me again?"
"Yoshikooo!" Hanamaru pouted, grabbing onto Yoshiko's hand and tugging on it. "Come protect me in bed!" Yoshiko so desperately wanted to say 'I'll get a condom then', but her mouth - thankfully - wouldn't work properly. Instead, she stood up and let Hanamaru pull her into the bedroom and push her against the bed. If she wasn't so damn sure that Hanamaru was a hundred percent serious about her being there to chase away the nightmares, she would've been blushing a hell of a lot more than she was at present.
"Come on, Yoshiko. You're blocking the way, zura." Yoshiko quickly scrambled into bed, feeling so very awkward. Hanamaru got in after her, laying down with a smile visible in the dark. "Thank you for helping me, zura. Goodnight Yoshiko."
"Good... Goodnight." And just like that, Hanamaru had closed her eyes and was soon asleep, just laying there as if this wasn't the most tense situation in such a long time. How had this happened? She had been minding her own business, sleeping, and now she was laying right next to her crush. How was she supposed to deal with this close proximity? Suddenly Mari floated in to assess the situation and give Yoshiko some sage advice.
"Yottannn..." She whispered, despite only Yoshiko being able to hear her. "Grab the bootyyy." Yoshiko flipped her off instead. She certainly couldn't sleep now. Not when all her muscles were tensed up as she did her best to not touch Hanamaru at all. This task was made a lot more difficult when Hanamaru decide to take matters into her own hands. Her own unconscious hands, anyway.
Without warning, the sleeping Zuramaru was suddenly way too close, wrapping her arms around Yoshiko and cuddling up to her side. She was still fast asleep, but her grip was like a vise: Yoshiko couldn't wrench herself free. It was way too warm now, and it wasn't all from the body heat. Of course it wasn't. Of course this would happen and she'd get into this embarrassing situation. She looked up at Mari in desperation, but her ghostly pal was just giving her a thumbs up.
She slipped in and out of sleep all night, feeling embarrassed but also somewhat okay with the situation she was in. There would likely never be another time where she got to be this close to Hanamaru, and if she woke up embarrassed, Yoshiko could rightly point out that this was all her fault. That at least got her to sleep finally, until Hanamaru woke her up.
"Zuraaa!" She finally let go of Yoshiko and stretched, yawning as Yoshiko watched her curiously. Even when tired, she looked absolutely adorable. "Ahh, I had a weird dream after you joined me in bed. We were walking around the school, and there was a ghost following us! It seemed so familiar too, zura..." She put her chin in her hand and stroked it in thought. Yoshiko looked up at Mari, wondering if she had something to do with the dream, but Mari just shrugged. "Oh well! Gotta go to the bathroom!" She bounced off the bed and hurried out of the room. Yoshiko didn't miss the wistful look on Mari's face the moment Hanamaru turned her back on them.
"Mari? Is something wrong?"
"Hm? Nope! Not at all!" That wistful look was gone in a flash, but Yoshiko knew she had seen it. She frowned up at Mari, wondering why her ghostly follower would hide her true emotions from her. Despite their differences, she had found that Mari was the only person she could really confide in. "What? Why are you frowning at me?"
"Because you're hiding something from me. What was that look you gave Hanamaru?"
"What about the looks you give her?" Mari grinned, swooping down and putting her hands on Yoshiko's shoulders. "You gotta ask her out! It's the perfect opportunity!"
"What?! Why is now the perfect opportunity?!"
"Because you just spent an intimate night cuddling in her bed?"
"I didn't choose to do that!" Yoshiko laid back down, grumbling up at Mari. "You're just trying to distract me from that look! Do you have a problem with Zuramaru?"
"No, of course not! I wouldn't help you try to woo her if I didn't think she was good enough for you."
"Then what's the deal? Come on, I've told you way more than I should have about how I feel about Zuramaru." She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen a troubled look on Mari's face, but there it was. "Mari?... What's wrong? You can tell me, you know."
"I-" Before she could respond, Hanamaru came back in, and Yoshiko nearly fell over trying to make it look like she hadn't been staring at the wall. "Never mind." Her voice sounded way too sad for Yoshiko's taste, and it wrenched her heart. She felt like she needed to do something, but what? What could she do while Hanamaru was in the room. Hmm... Maybe she needed to go for a hail mary.
"Uh, hey, Zuramaru, you remember when we were friends back in kindergarten?"
"Of course! Remember when you fell off the playground structure because you thought you could fly?"
"I... wish I didn't." Yoshiko ignored Mari's laughter and stood up, walking to Hanamaru. "Don't you remember when we'd hang out together, and there'd be a ghost with us? A blonde ghost?"
"A-A ghost?" Hanamaru looked very unsure, looking at Yoshiko with widening eyes. "A-Are you talking about my dream?"
"No, it's real! That ghost: her name is Mari. She follows me all the time, and we all used to be friends. I think our time apart caused you to forget, but please remember!" She could tell that Hanamaru thought she was crazy, but she persisted, not wanting Mari to be forgotten any longer. "Please remember her!"
"Uh..." Hanamaru frowned, trying to remember these moments that Yoshiko was talking about. She thought about when they were kids, playing on the playground together. There was a time when she was sitting on the swings, reading a book, as she was wont to do. Up came Yoshiko, who said she had a neat trick to show her. So she put the book down, and watched with wide eyes as her friend began to float in the air.
It was impossible, surely, but there it was: happening right before her eyes. How was Yoshiko doing it? There was someone behind her. They were virtually see-through, but there was clearly someone there with a big smile on their face. When Yoshiko told her what was going on that day, she began to see the figure more clearly. It was... a ghost?
"Zura... Mari?" Suddenly it became oh-so obvious that there was someone else in the room. A familiar person was floating above her bed, giving her a small smile. It was all so familiar, something that she'd forgotten over the past decade plus. "M-Mari?"
"Ehehe, I didn't think you'd ever notice me again." Mari floated over between the two girls, flashing them both a big grin. "Looks like the cat's out of the bag, huh?"
"I-I remember now. O-Oh, I'm really sorry, zura!" Hanamaru bowed slightly, but Mari waved off her apology.
"Nah, it's okay, Hanamaru. Yottan and I had agreed to keep you in the dark in case you found her super weird for talking to ghosts."
"We don't need to let that cat out of the bag!" Hanamaru began to giggle, making Yoshiko blush. "A-Anyway, now you know, alright? Now, how about breakfast, hmm?"
"Hmm indeed." Mari grinned her most cat-like grin, and Yoshiko didn't like that look. She wanted to tell Mari to stop thinking whatever she was thinking, but it was too late. "You know what Yottan likes for breakfast?"
"Pancakes!"
"Okay, but besides that." Mari moved over and slung an arm over Hanamaru's shoulder, looking directly at Yoshiko. "She really prefers a Hanamaru sandwich." Yoshiko blushed furiously, mouth opening and closing without any words coming out. Hanamaru's eyes widened, looking at Mari in surprise.
"There's a sandwich named after me?!"
"Okay, let's back up a second and try that again." Mari couldn't help but laugh. Sweet, innocent Hanamaru. "Yottan has a crush on you!" At that moment, Yoshiko dived forward, attempting to cover Hanamaru's ears and deafen her from Mari's truths. The force of her movements, however, just sent the two of them toppling over with a matching set of yelps.
Slowly she removed her hands from Hanamaru's ears, her face completely red. It didn't help that she was now laying on top of her crush. "You didn't... hear any of that, did you?"
"I, uh, I did, zura." Shoot. Yoshiko sighed, embarrassed beyond belief. What the hell was Mari's problem?! "I-Is it true? Do you have a crush on me?"
"I... Y-Yeah." Yoshiko looked away from her, sighing softly. "I'm sorry..."
"Why are you sorry? Is it bad to have a crush on me?"
"Wh-What? No! It's really great! I-I mean, it's not bad at all. I'm sure lots of people have crushes on you. It's totally normal."
"Yoshiko, you're rambling."
"Am not." Another sigh. This was truly the curse of her terrible luck. Having a ghost following her around was embarrassing. "A-Are you upset with me?"
"No. I'm actually kinda happy." Hanamaru smiled, catching Yoshiko completely off guard. "I-It feels nice to know that you like me, but does that mean you'd want to date me too?"
"U-U-Uh, yeah. Y-Yes. Absolutely." She looked back at Mari, unable to believe this was happening. Mari just mouthed 'Told you so!' at her. "W-Would you, uh... you know... date me?" Her voice rose up in pitch when she said 'me'.
"Y-Yeah, zura!" Then she again surprised Yoshiko, this time by giving her a kiss. It was a quick kiss, but it was a kiss nevertheless. She was dazed by it, but that didn't mean she wanted to stop. Emboldened by the situation, she dipped down and kissed Hanamaru right back, with a bit more power this time. Their kiss lasted until they both heard a small but audible gasp. Her eyes opened and she looked up to find Ruby staring at them, her eyes wide and her face beginning to turn red.
"O-Oh my..." She whimpered softly, covering her eyes. "D-Dia says abstinence is the best policy!" She then scrambled back into her room before either of them could say anything.
"You know..." Mari leaned down and whispered into Yoshiko's ear. "Abstinence is actually the worst policy."
"I'm not taking advice from either of you right now!"
"You're still lying on top of her, you know."
"Gah!"
"You know, I didn't really get the chance to thank you." Yoshiko was laying on her bed watching TV, but she muted it to talk to Mari. "Even though that was embarrassing and totally rude. How dare you, you know?"
"Are you still thanking me, then?" Mari laughed and floated down to lay next to Yoshiko. Her expression then took on a more serious look. "I should thank you too, then. For telling Hanamaru about me. It... feels nice to be remembered again."
"I could tell that something was wrong. Like I said, you can always tell me what's on your mind, just like I tell you." She rolled onto her side and propped herself up with her arm, looking just as serious as Mari. Her ghostly friend had always allowed her to confide in her. It was only fair that she reciprocate.
"I know, Yottan." She bit her lower lip, deliberating what she wanted to say. "The truth is, I feel... like we don't get to play anymore. We were so close when you were a kid, and we'd have so much fun. It just doesn't feel that way anymore, and I miss it." Yoshiko was surprised by this. She had never expected to hear Mari be wistful. Well, she was a ghost, but still, she'd never expressed that she missed anything. Especially this.
"Mari, it's just because I've grown older. I don't have as much time to do those kind of things anymore. But that doesn't mean we're growing apart, or I don't want you here. You're my friend, after all." Yoshiko smiled, shooting her a wink. "My shiny ghost friend."
"Eee!" Mari squealed with happiness, lunging forward and enveloping Yoshiko in a ghostly hug. "You're the best friend a spirit could ever ask for, Yottan!"
"Hug's really cold, Mari! Cold!"
"That's just because I'm so cool."
"Jeez, what am I gonna do with you and your bad puns?" Yoshiko shook her head, smiling fondly. In middle school, she'd been convinced that her entire life was just one long string of bad luck events. Maybe that wasn't the case, though. She had friends, and now a friend that she was going to go on a date with. Plus, she had something others didn't have: a ghost friend who cared for her and always watched out for her. That seemed pretty lucky to her.