The silent hallways of the academy felt almost like dark tunnels underground or passageways into the depths of some haunted castle to Saya. While she hadn't paid much attention to modern media growing up—her parents had attempted to strictly control her access to books, movies, and the like to insure that she was exposed to only classical Japanese sources—it wasn't possible to live in the world without experiencing it, and during junior high she'd realized that she had a definite fondness for the horror genre, in stories, books, and movies alike.

It had been fun, especially, to go on movie dates with Alice. There was nothing weird about a couple of friends seeing a film together, and in the dark they could snuggle close, hold hands, and not catch anybody's eye. Or at least that was the way it had been. Now, she couldn't help but imagine eyes on them everywhere, watching closely, examining them for any trace of what might reveal them as girlfriends.

She glanced at the shadowy form of Chikane next to her, feeling a knot of resentment grow. It just wasn't fair! Why did Himemiya have to get the loving, supportive family who not only accepted her for who she was but actually went to the trouble of smoothing over the troubled social waters to the extent they could? Not only did the Himemiyas not mind having an out lesbian for a daughter, but it was their influence that had intervened with the Kurusugawas and gotten them to ease off and at least try to be accepting.

If Saya tried coming out, she was morally certain that her parents would either lock her away in some prison-like reformatory or asylum, try to force her to marry some man immediately, or disown her and throw her out on the streets. Possibly more than one of those.

Maybe in a while things would die down. At some point, Chikane and Himeko's relationship would just be a fact of life in Mahoroba, not accepted by many people but not unusual and therefore not attracting attention to everybody else around her. It might help if Arrow got a boyfriend, too, to help reassure people that it was Chikane and Himeko who were the unusual exceptions in their group, not the rule. Certainly Arrow would be glad of it if she could fall in love! But that sort of thing didn't happen according to plan—romance came at its own pace, and Saya couldn't count on relief happening there.

If she were older, of course, it wouldn't matter. As an adult, she could go live on her own and escape the entire situation. She'd probably have to change her name, but really, when had "Nanase" ever been anything but a burden to her? But that was in the future. She was still a minor, without even a high school education to her name or a lifeline she could cling to if cut off from her family. If she could just get through university...

If.

It was probably the biggest word in Saya's life just then.

She glanced at Chikane once more.

"I'm not going to apologize," the other girl said softly.

Saya gasped softly.

"No, I haven't turned mind reader," Chikane continued. "It's not hard to figure out when you've been boring a hole in the side of my head with your eyes, though, and when you haven't said a word since we split up into groups.

"But I'm not going to apologize. If you had any idea what I've gone through for the sake of being able to just walk down the street holding Himeko's hand, you wouldn't even think about asking it."

There was an edge in her voice just then, and not the kind of sleek, clean edge one would normally associate with Chikane. This was something harsh, something dark, something that hinted at what Alice had once said about Chikane.

I don't know when, or how. It doesn't really match up with what we know, so maybe there's something to this past-life stuff she talks about, but sometime, some way, Miya's been hurt very badly and she's still carrying bits and pieces around with her.

And again, the evening after Himeko transferred in: I swear, Saya, she nearly threw a party on the spot, like...like Kisaragi would if she learned she was going to room with you on our class trip. And just because she found out that Miya had a best friend.

The girl who prompted those kind of remarks, the one whom Alice said she saw beneath Chikane's surface, that was whom Saya heard talking to her now.

"I didn't ask for an apology," she replied. Recognizing that something was there was one thing. She still didn't intend to be intimidated by it.

"Maybe, but you're asking for something."

"Some consideration, maybe." She paused, then sighed. "An apology would imply that you regret what you've done, and you obviously don't. And you don't owe me anything, anyway, not about this. You've got the reaction of society to you to consider, your career prospects, and your own family relationships to consider in coming out, and then there's Kurusugawa-san, the reaction of other students to your relationship, and all of her coming-out issues. It's not like I haven't gone through the same consideration in my own mind before, thought for long hours about where, when, and how I would—could—insist on living my own life for who I am. The effect on your third-best friend's closeted romance is not a matter to take into account, or at least it's so far down the list that it would not tip the scales."

Chikane nodded, acknowledging that Saya was in a similar position.

"It isn't my third-best friend's romance. It's my best friend's romance," she pointed out, her sharp edges clearly not yet retracted.

"Your third-best friend's personal issues, then."

"All right. So you say that your own decision to not come out is based on a variety of factors, but that how it might affect me wasn't one of them, The fact that Alice is being upset by it would be relevant because she's the one you're dating, but my concerns as Alice's best friend for Alice are too remote to weigh in on such a personal matter of yours. And in that light, you agree that similarly you don't have any hold on my decision as it concerns going public with my relationship with Himeko."

"Yes."

Chikane arched one slim eyebrow at her.

"Then precisely what are we arguing about, if you admit I don't owe you anything?"

"No, that's different."

"Excuse me?"

"I said that you don't owe me an apology. But there's such a thing as taking responsibility for consequences, too."

Chikane stopped walking.

"What is it that you expect me to do, Saya-san?"

"I don't know! I don't have any answers." The sheer absurdity of it hit a moment later and she broke into a smile. "I think that's why I'm angry, because there isn't any answer, not unless you can change my parents into different people or remake the world so there's no such thing as hatred or bigotry."

"I'd like to see a world like that, but I don't think there'd be any people in it."

"Except Arisu-chan."

"And Himeko. And they'd probably miss us."

Saya smiled again, warmly.

"Probably." She glanced around, realizing that they were outside the library. "I guess there's no sign of the Weeping Lady."

"She probably got scared of the Sniffling Girls out here and ran away," Chikane said, then offered Saya her handkerchief. Saya blotted her eyes, surprised to find that she'd been tearing up, then blew her nose. At least she wouldn't be embarrassed when they rejoined their friends by obvious signs of crying; Alice had been right about that. "Um, I'm sorry, Himemiya-san."

Chikane blinked.

"For what?"

"For being snappish with you this week."

The other girl looked surprised at that.

"They were your honest feelings, weren't they?"

"Of course they were. But I do regret getting angry at you about them, when you're one of the few people who knows my circumstances and is on my side."

"Ah. Well, I accept, then."

"Good! We perfect Japanese beauties can't be going around bickering with each other, after all. It's beneath our dignity."

Chikane snickered.

"That sounds like Alice talking."

"Yes," Saya said with a grin.

"Now there's a fact that always confuses me."

"Oh?"

"Well, if we're the 'perfect' ones, why are we always changing to suit our girlfriends' good advice?"

They were both glad Alice wasn't there just then, since she'd certainly have a pointed answer to that question.

~X X X~

"Achoo!"

Alice's sneeze echoed through the empty hall. Combined with the shaking of her body with the convulsion which caused the flashlight to jerk in her hand and send its light skittering here and there, it made for a surprisingly eerie moment.

Arrow, it seemed, did not share this sentiment.

"You're kidding, right?" was her reaction when Alice mentioned it.

"You don't think it's spooky here?" Alice said. "I mean, just imagine it...here we are, two sixteen-year-old girls, walking through an abandoned high school, deliberately seeking out the supernatural curses that haunt its shadowy corners, virtually inviting them to prey on us..."

Arrow cracked up, chortling.

"You are totally a mood-killer, do you know that?" Alice pointed out with a grin.

"Sorry, it's just, the idea of supernatural curses..."

"This is why your dad always has to hire part-time miko for festivals. Seriously, Arrow..."

"Totally different things. Religion and superstition aren't identical, y'know. The Seven Mysteries are just ghost stories. Heck, the one about the rose garden is about us and remember what Himemiya and Himeko were saying about the classroom—"

She broke off suddenly, a weird look on her face.

"Arrow? Hello, Earth to Ohgami?"

"Wha—? Oh, sorry. I was just reminded of something."

"Reminded of something like the fact that you basically just made my point? I mean, the classroom thing is about Himeko in a previous life. Two of our friends are living, walking, talking examples of the reality of the supernatural and you're standing there pooh-poohing the whole thing."

"I stand on my previous point about religion."

"What, because reincarnation is a theological doctrine? I'd let you get away with that if your dad was a Buddhist monk, but as it is, I have to say 'Nice try.' So, Miss Skeptic, we'll just have to see if you can still be so blasé about things when you open..." She spun and aimed her flashlight with a theatrical pose. "The basement stairs!"

Arrow rolled her eyes.

"Oooh, scary."

Alice had to give her friend credit for backing up her words with action; she stalked right to the unmarked door, turned the knob, and pulled it open, revealing the open black gulf of a descending staircase.

"They really ought to lock this. I mean, yeah, it's a basement, but...it's not like anything good can come of leaving it open."

"Maybe the door at the bottom is locked?"

"There isn't a door at the bottom, Alice."

"Oh? That's not the way I heard the story," she said with a wide grin.

"Okay, in the story, yes, but..." She sighed. "Why am I arguing about this? Let's just walk down and see."

"Don't forget to count the steps!"

Arrow laughed.

"You're incorrigible, you know that?"

"Yep. Everyone says so."

She shook her head and started down the stairs, counting as she did. "...Ten, eleven, twelve...Holy crap! Thirteen!" She looked back up at Alice. "Hold on; I'm going to count again." She went back up, counting again and once more reached the count of thirteen as she set her foot on the top step. "Damn, what's going on here?"

"Shall we go down and take a look?" Alice said cheerily. Too cheerily, as it turned out, as Arrow saw through her in two seconds flat.

"Okay, spill it."

"Spill what?"

"You tell me. But you were expecting this, or else you'd be completely excited right now over discovering that one of the mysteries was true."

"Darn," Alice pouted. "I need dumber friends. Maybe that's why Kisaragi hangs around with Mifune Kyoko and Ozawa Misaki?"

"Personally, I'd chalk it up to 'birds of a feather,' but you can always ask her when we get back."

"Nah, the moment would have passed by then. Timing is important for funny remarks."

"I didn't know being a smartass was such a technical skill."

"Oh, absolutely. Now, just being surly and disagreeable is more of a general setting, so that's why your own experience is confusing you."

"You're snarky tonight," Arrow observed.

"Yeah, it's probably because I gave away the game before you got...well, you wouldn't get scared, but all confused and flustery and complaining a lot."

"Oh, I see. Spoiled your own fun, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm just a lousy actress."

"Too honest. And you've spent nearly the whole time you've lived in Japan trying to be the reverse of someone who holds in their feelings and emotions."

"Kind of like you," Alice shot back, smiling.

"Yeah, except I'm not stereotyping myself as an outrageous foreigner." Arrow reached out and ruffled her shorter friend's hair. "So, anyway, what's going on with the stairs? You may not get to see me spooked, but you can at least play Great Detective."

Alice smiled at that.

"Ah, that's true, isn't it. And it's quite elementary, my dear Arrow."

"Don't push it."

Alice giggled.

"The solution is simplicity itself," she said, and pointed the flashlight at the open door. "These aren't the basement stairs."

"I figured out that part. Where do they go?"

"It's a Cold War bomb shelter. It was added in the 1950s, big enough so the whole school population, teachers, students, and workers alike, could hide in the event of a Soviet attack." She paused. "That must have been scary, living with the constant knowledge that if either the U.S. or U.S.S.R. got its panties in a twist, the whole world might go away in an eyeblink. I should ask Mom and Dad about it; now I'm interested. Anyway, that's why there are metal doors and that tunnel like in the story; the shelter is actually back up inside the hill."

"So how'd you find out about it?"

"School records and blueprints; it's not a secret. Usually the door is kept locked, but, well, while Miya was pilfering keys this afternoon I snuck up and unlocked it."

"That's why she sent us this way, to help with your joke?"

"Miya play a practical joke?"

"She has lightened up some ever since Himeko showed up."

"Yeah, 'cause it punched a hole in her public facade and more Miya gets out. But she was never much like that with us anyway. So, no, that was just luck. I had a couple of excuses planned to switch it around if things went wrong, though."

"I see. And then since it's dark and we were talking, you just went a little further down the corridor to this door instead of the regular basement door?"

"Now you're getting it. I figure that the day the guys in the story found the shelter, someone had left the door unlocked and they just went down the wrong one."

"It makes sense to me. Hey, I just thought of something."

"What?"

"The 'Hungry Goblin' story, it's about how the school was built over a cave into the mountain? Do you think there's a connection to the bomb shelter—even if it just got tacked on to explain why the goblin was coming into the school?"

Alice shrugged.

"It could be. I don't know if there were ever any natural caves or anything like that. Besides."

"Besides what?"

"That's somebody else's story to figure out, right? Let's let them have their fun."

~X X X~

Himeko wasn't at all sure that she would describe this experience as "fun." The major problem, of course, was that she missed Chikane. Walking through a creepy school in the dead of night, aware that there were legends about a creature that would come and devour offerings of food, was something that was best done in the company of someone she could snuggle up to! Darn Alice and her "no couples" rule, anyway!

She supposed that it could be worse. It could be a horror movie or something—like the time her middle-school art class had watched The Ring and she'd had to write a report on it so she'd had to actually watch, not just screw her eyes shut and ignore it. At least if a real goblin appeared, it couldn't be any scarier than Yamata no Orochi...right?

I'd be a lot more comfortable if I had the Solar Priestess Blade right now instead of a camera, though!

Himeko wondered if Otoha was scared of ghosts. She certainly seemed to be in a strange mood. Though it was probably just that being on an outing with Chikane and the other girls was a weird feeling for her. Or a variety of several different feelings, mixed. When you got right down to it, Otoha's different emotions would probably take some kind of flowchart to properly diagram. On the other hand, it was kind of nice to see that, at least to the point that it made it plain she wasn't just a bully.

"Um, Kisaragi-san, I was thinking...is there any part of this wing that really shows how old it is?"

"How do you mean?"

"Well, the 'Hungry Goblin' story is about something that's been supposedly haunting the school for years and years, right? Because the school was built over its cave?"

"That's right."

"Well, I thought the photograph ought to show this wing like that, like something from a Victorian-era Gothic novel, or maybe something from the Taisho period would be better?"

"I...I kind of like that idea. It fits the story, too. Both of those periods were all about 'progress,' social and technological advancement in cultures that believed they were on top of the world and destined to keep rising, but of course now we can look back and see them as just steps along the way. Those are exactly the right kind of time periods which would push aside something like a local spirit for a construction project like in so many ghost stories."

Himeko stared at her. the idea of putting the photo in some kind of sociocultural perspective had completely escaped her; she'd just been talking about the atmosphere.

"Wow, you know a lot about history, don't you?"

"It's my best subject."

"It's my worst," Himeko admitted.

"Not chemistry?" Otoha asked dryly.

"Geez, that could have happened to anyone!" Himeko pouted. "But no, I'm lots worse at history."

"The wrong answers are just less volatile."

In spite of her nerves, Himeko giggled.

"What's that for?"

"You sounded just like Arisu-chan." Or Marika-chan, or Mako-chan... Himeko's close friends in her various lifetimes tended to follow a pattern, personality-wise. Which she supposed made sense—she was herself in all her incarnations, it stood to reason that she'd be attracted to the same personality traits each time in her friendships, just as she'd always been attracted to Chikane as a lover.

"God spare me."

"Arisu-chan is a nice person!" Himeko snapped back. "She's kind and she's funny and she's really patient with Chikane-chan even though that's not always easy and she's trustworthy, too! She kept Chikane-chan's secret for years and—well, you see what I mean!" She cut herself off just before she blurted out how Alice had also kept Saya's secret. That would have been awful, since Himeko was pretty sure that Saya's fans were really high on the list of people she wasn't supposed to spill the beans to.

Surprisingly, Otoha seemed almost cowed by Himeko's sudden defense of Alice.

"I didn't say she wasn't," she said in a remarkably small voice. "I'm just not...I mean...Gah!" she finally exclaimed with a sudden explosion of breath. "What's wrong with you, anyway? I all but call you an idiot to your face and you stand there and laugh, but I say something that might be an insult to Ishida-san and you jump down my throat?"

"It just sounded like you were teasing me about chemistry. Anyway, I really am bad at it, so it's fair to say." Seriously, Himeko had been insulted by much nastier people in her time, and when she'd had a lot smaller support network than she had now, not to mention a couple of lifetimes' worth of, not self-confidence, but at least self-acceptance. "But what you said about Arisu-chan was just plain wrong."

"All right, all right, I apologize!" Otoha flung up her hands in frustration. "Are you anything like you seem to be, Kurusugawa-san?"

"...I get that a lot?" She pushed her forefingers together nervously, and nearly dropped her flashlight. Otoha just stared at her, and for the life of her Himeko couldn't figure out if she ought to find the drill-curled blonde's look of stunned bewilderment insulting or complimentary. Maybe it was a little of each.

Finally, she turned and pointed her flashlight up the corridor.

"The attics," she said.

"Huh?"

"The atmospheric picture you were talking about. Most of the interior around here has been done over with the usual school décor: tile floors for easy mopping, off-white painted plaster walls, all that. The attic over the science labs, though, are probably still close to their original design. Who remodels an attic, after all, especially if it's just utility access and storage spaces?"

"That's a good idea."

"I just hope the door isn't locked. I know Himemiya-san gave us the keys to the west wing, but if there's any more alarms, we won't know what to do."

"She said there weren't any others."

"You trust her to get it right?"

"I trust her with my life." What else could Himeko say, given the past? Still, her casually heartfelt declaration was apparently way out of place for an ordinary high-school girl, at least judging by the return of that bewildered look on Otoha's face.

"That wasn't really the kind of trust I meant," Otoha mumbled. "But I guess I can't see Himemiya-san being wrong about it, either."

"Nope!"

Otoha led the way to the attic stairs, Himeko tagging along in her wake. They weren't an extension of the ordinary multi-level stairwells that extended between the classroom floors, so first they had to go up to the third floor and then down another hall, around a corner, and to a second hall, by which time Himeko wasn't sure she could find her way out of the building if she had a map and a compass. They went up a narrow flight that ended at a door that, sure enough, was locked. The keys were labeled, though, so it was easy for Himeko to open it, revealing a large, cavernous space with angled roofs. The attic didn't appear to have been divided up into rooms other than the wall that separated it from the central section and the stairs they'd just come up.

The girls let their flashlights play across the attic, which was big enough that the beams faded out at the far end, making Himeko wish they'd brought more powerful lights. Dust was everywhere, suggesting that the place didn't get swept out very often, and there were even cobwebs in a bunch of places. Obviously the area was primarily used for storage; there were boxes, crates, and an eclectic variety of old furniture piled here and there in no set pattern or suggestion of organization.

"This place is kind of creepy," Himeko said. "You were right, though, Kisaragi-san; look around." She let her flashlight play around the nearby interior walls, showing their wooden construction, then angled the light up at the wooden crossbeams above and the narrow window that extended through the sides to provide light, obviously having been built in case the attic would be put to more productive use. "This is just the kind of thing that I was thinking of."

"Glad to help."

"We'll have to come back in the...um, is that the north or south wall?"

"You could look out the window and see," Otoha snapped. Himeko thought that was a good idea and took a couple of steps towards it when the other girl sighed heavily. "It's north." Belatedly, Himeko realized that her companion had just been being snippy again.

"Oh. I thought you'd gotten turned around, too."

Otoha facepalmed.

"How do you get through the day being such a complete ditz?"

"Maybe you're just not as good at being bitchy as you think you are?" Himeko suggested. Otoha just stared at her like she'd been smacked on the back of her head. It was a reaction that Himeko seemed to provoke a lot in her. After a few seconds, she shook it off, literally, with a sharp hiss of breath and a shake of her head.

"Why do you care which side of the building this is?" she said, obviously deciding that the business at hand was less likely to leave her dumbstruck.

"It's for the light, when I take the picture. Since this is the north wall, I'll need to come back in the morning to get the right lighting. If it was the south side, I'd take the picture in the afternoon after school instead."

"Oh, I see." Which sounded more like, "I have no clue what you're talking about but I'm taking it on faith that you have a reason that makes sense." Himeko was familiar with that particular use of "I see" or "Okay," from long experience of using it herself. She was about to explain with greater detail, but was cut off by a sudden draft that blew cold against her skin.

"Ahh!" she yelped in surprise.

"What was—" Otoha started to ask, then stopped mid-question. Himeko went ahead and started to answer her anyway, only to get cut off.

"I felt a—"

"Shh!"

Otoha held up her hand to forestall any further attempts to talk, and peered around, listening intently.

"I think it came from this way," she said, starting off into the depths of the attic.

"What did?"

"After you yowled, I thought I heard something."

Himeko tightened her grim on her flashlight and followed along.

"Heard something? Like what?"

"I don't know; I didn't hear it clearly."

"Maybe the draft knocked something over," Himeko suggested. "Or it could have been a creaking window. Are they casement-style? An open window could explain where the breeze came from."

"Like I said, I don't know, but it wasn't just a random creak or—"

She stopped, the beam of her flashlight pointing off to her right, between a couple of piles of boxes. This time, Himeko heard the sound too—a cat's startled meow. The slightly irritated expression on Otoha's face drained away, to be replaced by a sappy-looking grin.

"What is it?"

"I think I know why the Hungry Goblin didn't take Arakawa-san's offering."

Himeko came up alongside Otoha and looked where the other girl's flashlight was pointing.

It was a cat, all right, a grey with dark stripes wearing a slender leather collar. Ordinarily, Himeko thought it would have run off from the intruding humans, but the furry mob of kittens it was busy suckling had other ideas.

"I guess it had more important things to do," Himeko agreed. She was smiling broadly when she took out her cell phone to call Chikane about their discovery.