Yashiro felt a cold hand on her cheek, shifting her head away from it on instinct.
"Yashiro. Wake up." Hanako's voice echoed as he poked her nose. This caused her to flinch and flutter her eyes until they were open. Hanako's smile was the first thing she saw. "Welcome back, Yashiro."
"Uh, yeah. I'm back." She reached up to her eyes to wipe away some stray tears. She slowly sat up and looked around. "We're still in the drama room?"
Hanako nods. "I didn't want to move you because I didn't know how the necklace would react." He said, tilting his head. "How are you feeling? You were out for a while." His smile shifted to a worried one.
"I'm alright. I had...a dream." Hanako echoed her and she nodded. "It was strange, like it was a memory." Should I tell him? "Kind of like when I removed Yako-san and Tsuchigamori-sensei's yorishiro. Except…" Before Yashiro could finish her sentence, she felt a cold breeze and shivered. Both of them feeling a new presence nearby, Hanako shifted in front of her and took his knife out. He whispered for her to stay behind him and she nodded, gripping the edge of his sleeves as she ducked behind his figure.
"Who's there? Show yourself." Hanako demanded, his free hand outstretched to his side to ensure Yashiro stayed back and safe. In front of them, a figure slowly made its presence known.
"My necklace, you found it." A young girl's voice rang as the figure became more clear. "I'm so glad."
"So it is you. I thought it looked familiar." Hanako relaxed his stance a bit. Knife still in hand, but dropped to his side to show innocuousness. "Ren." The name made both Yashiro and the spirit flinch.
"Hanako-kun, do you know that person?" She asked. Although already knowing the answer, she was still surprised to hear him address the spirit so familiarly.
The boy nods with a smile. "I can explain more later if you'd like, but she and I were classmates back in the day." Yashiro starred between him and the girl.
"Wait, but isn't that a highschool uniform?" She mostly remarked to herself, but the boy still smiled.
"Like I said, I'll explain later. For now, we have to settle this rumor." He said as the spirit slowly started lifting her head to look at them.
The girl's feet softly landed on the floor, taking a few steps towards them. "Do you want…to make an exchange?" She spoke, as if scripted, looking directly at Yashiro and causing her to feel uncomfortable. "Popularity and love, for something you value."
"I uh, well…" Yashiro stammered nervously as Hanako got between them, making the spirit look at him instead.
"Since when do you care about being popular, Ren?" He smiled widely. "That's not like you at all." His words caused the girl's eyes to flicker; the green of her eyes wavering from dark to light. He hummed at this detail. "They really messed with your rumor, huh?" He stepped closer, knife ready just in case. Yashiro held herself as he stepped away from her. "Can you hear me, Ren? It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. We're friends after all, right?" He smiled innocently.
In that instance, Yashiro remembered when she first met Hanako. When he said it was nostalgic. "Having someone to talk to after school. Like having a friend again…" Yashiro could already feel the tears forming in her eyes as she watched the two of them. She was Hanako-kun's friend.
The sound of footsteps caught her attention as the girl made an advance towards them without a word. Hanako stood his ground and grabbed onto one of her arms in an attempt to stop her. "Careful now, I said I didn't wanna hurt you." The girl didn't seem to hear him, only looking at Yashiro as she opened her mouth to speak again.
"I'll grant your wish." Hanako's eyes narrowed at this. "The necklace, it'll bring you happiness."
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Ren. You aren't quite qualified to be granting wishes like that." He said with his signature smile, losing his grip on her as she stepped towards Yashiro. "Forgive me."
Yashiro gasped as Hanako struck Ren in the back of her neck, causing her to fall. He quickly caught her in his arms, setting her down onto the floor with ease. "What'd you do that for?" She blurted, reaching out to the girl.
"Don't touch her." His voice rang suddenly and sternly, making Yashiro retract her hands. "I don't know what power her rumors give her, but they seem to be deeper than they appear." He slowly knelt down and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "It seems like the rumor is just using her as a host."
"Like a parasite?"
"I guess you could call it that. But you could also look at it as a role filler of sorts." Yashiro echoed him. "Yeah. Kind of like how I'm filling in for the role of 'Hanako-san' for this school."
"Oh I think I get it." Yashiro clapped her hands together. Because you're really just a ghost, and you're part of the seven wonders."
He nods. "I mean there's no hiding the fact that my name is not really 'Hanako,' I'm just playing her role and possessing her rumor."
"That makes sense." Sort of. She smiled nervously.
"Are you okay?" He looked up at her and she nodded, letting herself calm down.
"Who is she anyway? You said she was your classmate, but she has a highschool uniform instead of a middle school one." Hanako gave a slight and nervous chuckle.
"Yeah I guess that's kinda confusing. You see, when an apparition is…created, they tend to take on the form of what they believe to be their 'true self.' At least at first, after they come to terms that they aren't human then they can sort of morph into whatever they like.." He explains. "For humans, however, they will be wearing the clothing they wore when they died or the ones they were buried in."
"So, does that mean you died before she did?" Yashiro asked, glancing down at the ghostly girl then back at Hanako.
He nodded with a smile. "Yup!" You seem a bit too happy about this.
"Do you know how she died?" She was shocked at her own words, covering her mouth instantly. "I'm so sorry, that's none of my business!" Hanako gave a small laugh.
"No-no, you're completely fine! Unfortunately, that's not really my place to tell." Yashiro sighed. Figures. Hanako-kun may be a ghost, but he's still got morals. "However, I can tell you what I remember." This caught her attention. "Would that be okay?" Yashiro nodded, finding herself eager to learn something of Hanako's life. Whether it was before or after he died, she didn't care.
Hanako smiled a bit, looking down at the resting girl. "First, let's get this over with. I can't bear to see her suffering like this." He stood and Yashiro followed, taking a few steps back as he pulled out his knife. "Ready?"
"Ready." Yashiro reached up to the necklace, tracing the lace on it. Hanako took a deep breath before raising his knife and slicing the air above Ren's body. There was a cracking sound and, before Yashiro could react, the necklace had been cut off her neck and fallen into her hands. "It came off." She mumbled. Was it that easy? Why didn't he do that earlier? She looked back to him as he dropped his hand to his side.
"Good. You know what you have to do next right?" He said and Yashiro nodded.
"Change the rumor. I got it." She sighed. "You know, that's a lot more work than it sounds. It was easy for the Mokke but I don't know about this one. It seems pretty solid if you ask me."
"If you can't change the rumor, then I'll have to take care of her. Which, I don't mind, but…" Hanako knelt back down to the girl, putting his knife away and gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I get it," she said before Hanako could finish. "I'll do my best to change the rumor." Her gaze follows his hand, feeling a tug at her heart.
"Thank you. That would be appreciated, Yashiro." He smiled softly at her, causing her to smile back. I don't want him to have to kill his friend. Especially after who knows how many years they've been dead. "Well, I can handle the rest from here. You can go home if you'd like; it's pretty late and I'm sure your parents are worried."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course. This next part may be sort of personal." He scratched his cheek nervously, smiling.
"But I…" I wanna know more about you. She couldn't bring herself to say it. She sighed. "Alright, see you tomorrow?"
Hanako nods, smiling softly and lifting his hand to wave as she starts to leave. "See you tomorrow-"
A humming noise caught their attention and they both looked down at the girl.
"She's waking up!" Yashiro whispered. Hanako nodded and gestured for her to stay back. She abided and took a few steps back as the girl opened her eyes.
Ren's eyes slowly came to focus. Suddenly she sat up, frantically breathing and looking around the room. Once her eyes met with Yashiro's, she froze. "Who…"
"That would be my assistant." His voice startled her, turning her head to see the boy kneeling beside her. He smiled and adjusted his hat. Ren stared up at the boy in complete disbelief, tears starting to swell her eyes. "And I am-"
"Amane..." Ren whispered, slowly covering her mouth.
Hanako's signature smile softened into one that was almost…hurt. "It's been a while, Ren."
"But…you died. I saw you- your brother- your family!" Hanako visibly flinched, letting his hat cover his eyes. "The newspaper, the coffins, the funeral, was it a dream? Is this a dream? I have to be dreaming!" She reached her hands out to him.
"I'm afraid it's not a dream, Ren. This is quite real." He gently took Ren's hand to prove it. Both of their cold, translucent hands connected and caused Ren to gasp. "Takahashi Ren, you and I are now among the deceased."
"No. No, that can't be right!" She squeezed his hand tightly, but then pulled hers away to hold her own head. She doesn't know she's dead. "This morning I was walking to school. Just like I do everyday! I stopped by your old house, and then I…"
"It was an accident." He blurted, not meeting her eyes when she looked up at him. Yashiro held her mouth as she gasped. "A car lost control. A head-on collision. It happened so fast, you probably didn't even see it." Finally meeting her gaze, his face was mournful. "You died on impact. That's why you don't know that you've passed on."
How awful. No wonder she didn't realize it. Yashiro sat at the desk, sighing sadly. I can't imagine it, not even knowing that I'm dead. Not to mention, having a rumor about me made and being used like a puppet on top of it. That must have been terrifying…
Hanako used his sleeve to gently wipe away Ren's tears when she leaned forward into his chest and held him close. She was bawling; crying and whining, she could hardly breathe despite not needing oxygen. Hanako just hugged her back, his grip tightening as he is not quite sure what else he can do to help.