Daydreams Going By

by Ulquiorra9000

Chapter 36: Too Spooky

"Oh, that house is just awful," Itsuka commented as she and her girlfriends passed by the notorious West Lane house on their walk home from school. This was a quiet part of town, and it was a dull and cloudy evening. "I don't like walking past this place."

"Me neither," Kinoko admitted. She shivered. "I'd like it better if cute mushrooms were poking out of it. In fact..." She held out a finger and grew a toadstool on it.

Itsuka put Kinoko's hand down. "Let's not get accused of property damage."

"Spoilsport," Kinoko pouted.

The next day, Itsuka passed the West Lane house with Reiko and Yui, and Itsuka idly commented again how she didn't like that house, with its broken windows and dark exterior and its ruined roof and thick weeds in the yard...

"Oh, I see what you mean," Reiko said. "I can see her, too."

Itsuka felt a chill. "See who?" She gripped her school bag tighter.

Reiko pointed at a window in that horrible house. "The woman making funny faces while hanging on that noose in the house..."

What the...! Itsuka felt a thrill of horror as she stopped and stared into the house, but saw no such grim scene.

"I was just joking," Reiko told her.

Itsuka snapped. "That's not funny! Don't joke like that!"

"Well, I definitely saw something." This time, Itsuka could tell that Reiko wasn't joking.

So the next day in homeroom, Itsuka raised her hand. "Sir?"

Vlad King looked up from his class planner. "Yes, Itsuka?"

"Are there any... well... squatters in that West Lane house? Or stray animals?"

"Or ghosts," Reiko added.

Vlad shrugged. "I never heard of such a thing. That property is in the opposite direction of my house anyway."

Itsuka was later tempted to take another route home, but this was by far the fastest route, so she sucked it up and went. She surrounded herself with Setsuna, Yosetsu, Ibara, and Kinoko, and Yosetsu complained about what a dump the West Lane house was.

"It's gross," Setsuna agreed. "Someone call the wrecking ball guys and tear it down."

Kinoko stopped dead. "What was that?"

Itsuka felt another chill. "Did you see something?"

Kinoko pointed at the house's biggest window. "There, right there... on a noose...!"

Itsuka thought she saw two eyes in that house reflecting dull light as they glared at her -

"RUN!" Itsuka broke into a mad sprint for home, and her friends joined her. She didn't dare ever ask Kinoko if the mushroom girl was pulling her leg like Reiko, or actually saw something. Better not to know!