This chapter contains content from the manga. (Chapters 60-78)
Please exit to avoid possible spoilersif you aren't up to date with these chapters.
It's cold. Why is it so cold? Yashiro could feel herself shiver, slowly opening her eyes to darkness. Oh right, I passed out after Hanako-kun put the necklace on me. She suddenly sat up, aware of her surroundings. Wait, where am I? Where's Hanako-kun? She frantically looked around, trying to familiarize herself with the room. I'm still in the drama room, but it seems...different. She scoffed, smiling nervously to herself. Talk about ironic. Here's another close-call. She looked down at her feet to see if there was any water. There wasn't. So I'm not in a boundary. Which means… Her breath hitched. "Don't tell me it happened again! Am I in the past?" She ran to the door, opening it to reveal the old school hallway. But once again, it was different. "I am! This is the third time this has happened, what's going on?" She sighed in frustration, trying to piece it together. What do the other two times and this time have in common? She stepped out of the room, trying to think when she heard footsteps. Fast ones.
Turning in the direction of the footsteps, as if on cue, a body ran in front of her. The two of them locking eyes in the instant they crossed paths; yellow eyes meeting pink ones, like a slow motion scene from a cheesy romance movie, the moment only lasting seconds before the boy tripped over his own feet and fell forward onto his shoulder-sling bag with a loud thud. Yashiro gasped, quickly snapping herself out of the trance, letting her knees drop to the floor beside the boy. "Are you okay?" The boy only groaned in response, lifting himself up onto his knees and holding his forehead where he hit the ground.
"Ow ow ow…" His voice soft, almost a whisper. Realizing what had happened, he turned his head to her. Their eyes meet again, causing Yashiro to grow nervous. Hanako-kun? He was wearing his usual winter uniform, that would explain why she was so cold when she woke up. "You're…" he spoke and she froze. Crap, does he recognize me? The both of them were startled by a girl's voice echoing down the hall.
"Amane! Where'd you go?!" He jumped, cursing under his breath as he quickly gathered his bag and grabbed her hand; pulling her up as he stood, he ran into the drama room and closed the door behind them.
Yashiro leaned against the wall in shock. The warmth of his hand still lingering. That's right. Every time I've gone to the past, Hanako-kun was there. She glanced over to him, seeing him crouched next to the door and listening closely. He wasn't even out of breath from running down that hall. First the classroom, then the festival, and now this. She could hear footsteps again, holding her mouth to keep herself quiet. There doesn't seem to be any sort of pattern...is it because of the mermaid scales?
"Where'd he go?" A voice lightly echoed in the empty hallway. A teacher? No, she sounds younger. "Jeez, that boy, I swear he's trying to make me mad." The footsteps continued, slowly fading to the other end of the hallway before the both of them sighed in unison. Catching this, the two of them looked at each other. Yashiro was the first to smile, be it an awkward one, but he returned the gesture shyly. He stood, sliding his hands into his pockets while studying her.
"Are you new here or something?" He asked, seeing her uniform. "And why are you wearing a summer uniform, aren't you cold?" Yashiro laughed nervously, slowly standing and picking at her nails. Right to the questions...
"I uh, I'm a first year. In the highschool division." She blinked back and forth between him and the floor. He tilts his head, shifting his weight onto one foot as he hums.
"I guess that explains why I haven't seen you before. Then why are you in the middle school building?" He thought for a second, looking around. "Why were you in here?"
"That's...not important." She dodges the question, looking at the smaller boy. So he doesn't recognize me. That's good. "Why were you running from that girl just now? Was she bullying you?" Yashiro blurted, making him flinch. He looked away and scratched his cheek, which she just noticed was bandaged.
"No, not exactly..." He said nervously, leaning against a desk. "She's trying to make me join a club. The drama club." He chuckled a bit. "I guess it's ironic that I'm hiding from her here of all places."
Yashiro sighs in relief hearing that he wasn't being bullied, then smiles. "Yeah, but it's kinda smart. Why would she check here if you don't wanna be here?" The boy nods, smiling at her.
"Yeah, you're right I guess." Yashiro looked at him, studying his face and the few bandages that lined it. He noticed and tugged his bangs in front of his eyes. "W-what is it?"
"Oh, nothing, it's just...your wounds, do they hurt?" She absently reached out for him, but he stepped back and turned his head.
"I'm fine, it's just a few scrapes and bruises." He held his cheek. "I was...wrestling with my brother and it got out of hand, that's all."
His brother. "Are...are you two close? You and your brother?" She spoke softly, looking at him as he flinched.
"Uh, yeah. Maybe a bit too close." He sighed, letting his shoulders slouch. "He's always been extremely clingy, but he's been especially attached since it's winter already."
"What does that have to do with him being clingy?" She tilted her head. He stretched and leaned against a desk.
"I tend to get sick very easily around this time of year. Nothing serious, at least not as much as when I was younger. It's just a simple cold. But he always gets super worried-" he stopped himself, clearing his throat as he realized he was starting to ramble to a stranger. "Sorry, I don't usually do this." He covered his mouth in embarrassment.
"No, it's okay. I get it." She assured him with a smile. The boy smiled back, tilting his head as he looked at her. "What's your name?" He asked, relaxing his shoulders a bit. He seemed more comfortable now.
Yashiro noticed and flinched, looking around nervously. She nervously waved her hands and looked around as she stammered. "I-I'm uh...Ne-Nashiro!" She blurted as the boy echoed it and tilted his head. "Yeah, Nashiro! What's yours?" She spoke before he could say anything else.
"Oh uh, I'm-"
"Yugi Amane!"
The both of them jumped as they heard the door slam open and a girl's voice shouted coldly. Yashiro quickly hid behind the teacher's podium as the girl glared in the room. Hanako looked around frantically for a place to hide, but he was too late. The girl had already grabbed ahold of his hand. "Found you~" The boy let out a quiet yelp as Yashiro peeked from behind the podium.
Why am I hiding? I didn't do anything. She thought to herself, watching as Hanako stood nervously beside the girl. She's...so pretty! The girl was taller than him, but then again most girls are taller than the boys during middle school. She had long brown hair that just barely passed her shoulders. It was curled, but unkempt; she was just running through the halls not too long ago, so that's not surprising. She studied the girl as much as she could, noticing something around her neck. Is that… she squinted a bit before making the connection. It is! The necklace! Wait, do I still have it on? She quickly reached for her neck. I do! She was so confused, lost in thought for a moment about the situation before Hanako's voice brought her out of it.
"T-Takahashi-san." He choked out nervously, trying to free his hand subtly. "But how did you…"
"Jeez, how many times do I have to tell you? Call me Ren! RE-N!" She pronounced her name as if it had two syllables instead of one, putting emphasis on the -n. Hanako looked away, pulling his hand away from her as he scratched his cheek.
"R-Ren...san." He spoke softly. The girl sighed, holding her forehead.
"Good enough I guess. But couldn't you have chosen a cuter honorific? I mean, we've known each other for how many years now? Three? You're always so formal." She said with a pout.
"That's kind of what happens when you have a traditional mother." He mumbled sarcastically, letting out a sigh. Yashiro flinched at the mention of his mother. Hanako-kun's mom? I wonder what she's like. His family too… She brought her knees closer to her chest as she listened.
The girl, now named Ren, looked around the room. "Good call hiding in here, it would have been the last place I'd check. Especially considering you don't like drama."
"It's not that I don't like it, I just don't see the point in joining a club I have no interest in." He looked away as Ren sighed.
"And yet you declined Tsuchigamori-sensei's offer to join the science club: one that you'd actually be interested in? That doesn't make sense, Amane." She crossed her arms as she watched him avert his eyes even more with an uncomfortable expression. She sighed, reaching into her pocket. "Give me your hand."
"Huh? Why?" He flinched, stepping back.
"I wanna give you something." She pouted, holding out her hand for his. He hesitates, but slowly reaches out. She turns it so his palm is facing upwards and drops the small item in his hand. He brings it closer so he can look at it better. "Yesterday was your birthday, right?" He quickly looked up at her, eyes wide.
Hanako-kun's birthday? She quickly looked around the room for any sort of calendar, glancing at the blackboard. WednesdayNovember 26th, 1969. Was written in the top right corner.
"How did you know that?" He questioned nervously, clutching the object.
"I was helping the student council organize for their monthly meeting yesterday, and I found your file." She looked away with a slight redness to her cheeks.
"So you peeked." He said in monotone. She flinched and nodded. He just sighed, looking back down at the trinket and slowly raised it to eye level. He let it dangle on its chain. Yashiro turned to see what it was.
That's..! She quickly dug in her pocket and took out the key and keychain Hanako's past self had dropped back in the classroom. She lifted it up to compare them. It's the same one.
"Sorry I couldn't get you a better quality one." Ren spoke softly, but it still caught his attention. "I didn't have much of my allowance left, and there aren't really any stores that sell stuff like that. So I…"
"I like it." He cut her off, smiling warmly. "Really, it's great. Awesome even. I'll put it on my house key." He said, doing just that as he took his key out from his bag and showed it to her. "See? Now I'll be able to see it everyday!" He laughed a bit, causing the girl to blush slightly more before his face softened. "Thank you, but you really didn't have to get me anything."
Ren quickly grabbed his hands, startling him. "Of course I did!" She shouts, looking the smaller boy in the eyes. "We're friends aren't we?" Hanako echoed the words in shock, not knowing what to say. "Now come on, I've got another present for you!"
"Wait, what? Another one?" He nervously choked as the girl pulled on his arm.
"Yeah, come on! It's starting to get dark, so it's perfect!" He stumbled on his words, pulling back.
"Wait, I can't- Ren-San!" He looked back in the room, meeting eyes with Yashiro. She flinched and ducked behind the podium again, but slowly peeled out and nervously put a finger to her own lips with a smile. Signaling him not to mention her. He raised an eyebrow at this as Ren continued to pull on him, dragging him out of the room.
"Of course you can! Hurry up or we'll miss it!" She laughs. Slowly, he and Yashiro were separated by a wall and door as they left.
Yashiro stood from behind the podium once she was sure the two of them were gone, holding the key in her hand. So she's the one that gave this keychain to him. It's cute. She examined it, letting her nails line the grooves and paint chips. That girl...Takahashi Ren-san, I wonder who she is to Hanako-kun. She slowly glanced around the room again, the setting sun shining a warm orange hue in the cold room.
"November 25th, huh? I wonder how old he is. Even as a ghost, he wears a middle school uniform. And I read somewhere that ghosts typically wear what they died in…" she paused, holding the keychain close to her chest. "So he died when he was still just in middle school?" She took a step to the door, but had to lean against a wall to find her balance. "Uh oh, I'm starting to get dizzy again." She muttered, letting her back slide down the wall as her vision blurs.
Hanako...kun...