Here is where Oga, Hilda, Baby Beel, and Furuichi come in now. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: Beelzebub belongs to Ryuuhei Tamura, not me.

Chapter 4- Ishiyama gets Involved

I jolt out of bed again, my body drenched in sweat, and my heart pounding rapidly against my chest as I pant in fear. Upon glancing around my bedroom, I close my eyes and press my hand against my chest, sighing in frustration. Yet another nightmare has decided to come and haunt me, only this time, it was as if I was trapped in a Silent Hill game.

Upon glancing at the clock, I note that the time is 2:30. While this isn't new, since I'm a light sleeper, this is one of the first times I've been losing sleep because of nightmares. While the nightmares have been varying, one thing remains the same in all of them: they are centered around that strange girl from yesterday. But why is it that it's like I'm a protagonist in a horror movie? Who the hell is that girl? And why was she in the school?

I lie back down and try my best to get some sleep, but to no avail. My mind is too troubled to even let me fall asleep, and even if I try, I might end up having even more nightmares. "Oh, fuck it," I mutter to myself as I climb out of bed, yawning. Since I'm awake, I might as well get ready for school. But since my parents are asleep, I have to be quiet.

Grabbing my uniform, I silently make my way to the bathroom to shower and freshen up. After my shower, I dry off and brush my teeth before changing into my uniform. I then brush my hair before going back to my room and getting my things together for the day. Once I've gotten ready, I sit in my room and just go through some homework that I was unable to complete last night. By then, it's 3:30 in the morning.

"Fuck…" I mumble. "Today's gonna be a long day…"

Eventually, the first light of dawn starts to shine through my window, and I soon start hearing Mom and Dad getting out of bed and getting ready for the day. At this time, I decide to go downstairs and eat some breakfast.

"Good morning, Yumi," Mom greets as I enter the kitchen.

"Mornin'," I mumble. "Mom, can I have something light for breakfast? I don't think I can stomach a full meal today."

Dad looks at me in concern. "What's wrong?" he asks me.

I sigh. "Couldn't sleep last night. I've been up since 2:30 and I got ready for school at around 3:00, I think?"

Both Mom and Dad are shocked to hear this. "Why?" Mom asks, gently holding my face. "Were you stressed about something?"

"No… I just had some weird dreams," I say, trying to be as vague as possible.

Dad shakes his head, a wry smile on his face. "I've told you before, haven't I?" he reminds me. "No reading horror novels before going to sleep."

"Yeah, I know."

Mom gives me a hug and kisses my forehead as I eat my breakfast. "Do your best in school today, okay?" she encourages me. "Try and get some sleep if you can."

I nod, giving her a smile. Once I'm done, I grab my bookbag and make my way to the door. "I'm leaving now!" I call.

"Have a nice day!" Mom calls back.

On my way to school, my mind is preoccupied with the events of yesterday, from my encounter with the girl in the school hallway to reading about the Demon of the Third Floor. For some reason, I feel like there is a connection between the Demon of the Third Floor, the girl from yesterday, and Shibuya Airi. Is it possible that…?

I shake my head. No. That's impossible. There's no way that could be real. It's probably just a coincidence. But even as I repeatedly tell myself that, the thought still lingers in my head, and continues to do so even after reaching school.

"Morning, Yumi," Shizuka greets as I make my way to my desk.

"Mornin'," I mumble exhaustedly, resting my head against the desk.

"You okay?" she asks me.

I shake my head. "So fucking tired…" I tell her. "I woke up at 2:30 in the morning, and I didn't even go back to sleep after that. I just got ready for school at 3:00."

Shizuka looks at me in shock. "You got ready for school at 3:00?!" she repeats in disbelief. "That's way too early!"

I shrug. "I mean, I'm a light sleeper, and this isn't the first time I've woken up early in the morning," I say. "But this is the first time I'm losing sleep because of nightmares."

"Nightmares?"

"Yeah. It felt like I was trapped in a fucking Silent Hill game, and that I was being stalked by something. It started after yesterday." My eyes widen in shock after saying that. I didn't mean to say that. I wanted to try and keep it to myself, but I guess I can't now.

Shizuka looks at me in concern. "Can you tell me what triggered it?" she asks.

I sigh. "Well-"

The chime suddenly rings, signalling the start of class. "Tell me at lunch," Shizuka encourages me as our teacher walks in and everyone goes back to their seats.

It's a struggle for me to stay awake during the morning, and several times, I've caught myself on the verge of sleep. The morning also seems to go by so slowly, which is torturous, and I find myself glancing at the clock frequently in the hopes that class will end soon. Eventually, class finally ends for lunch, and nearly everyone leaves the classroom, leaving Shizuka and I in the room.

Shizuka turns to me. "Tell me, Yumi," she starts. "What happened?"

Rubbing my forehead, I sigh. No point in trying to hide it now, I guess… "Well, yesterday, I had left my Japanese textbook in here, so I came back to get it," I start. "However, after I got it, I felt this… this strange presence in the hallways, as well as this chilly air."

"Go on," Shizuka tells me.

"I then… I saw this girl standing at the end of the hallways," I tell her. "I don't know who she was, but she just started stalking towards me, and I just bolted out of the school." I shake my head. "Honestly, I'm kind of worried."

I half-expect Shizuka to either not believe me or roll her eyes at me, but to my surprise, I see a look of complete shock crossing her face. "You too?" she asks in disbelief.

I stare at her in surprise. "Wait, what do you mean?" I ask.

Shizuka slowly shakes her head. "I mean, I thought I was hallucinating, but…" She looks up at me. "I saw her too."

My eyes widen in shock. "Seriously? When?!"

"Two days after we saw the movie," she tells me. "I was in the bathroom when I heard what sounded like crying from outside. When I left the bathroom, I saw a girl crouched down in the hallway and crying. I had never seen her before, but when I tried to comfort her, she just looked up and glared at me." She shudders as she remembers the story. "Yumi… she had this black gunk running down her face, and her eyes were blank and filled with hatred… it was as if she was just looking into my soul."

"Really?"

"I've also been having nightmares about it," she confesses. "I don't know what's going on, I don't know why this is happening…"

I shake my head. "I don't know either…"

"Just as I thought. You two have also seen the Demon of the Third Floor, huh."

We turn towards the door in surprise and see Izuma standing in the doorway. Standing behind him, to our surprise, are Oga, Baby Beel, Furuichi, and Hilda.

"Eh? What are they doing here?" I ask.

"Just like you two, they all saw the Demon of the Third Floor haunting Ishiyama High School, and so have I," Izuma explains.

Wait, what? I think. Haunting Ishiyama? But why? "Why in Ishiyama? I thought that she only haunted St. Ishiyama," I ask.

"Well, we apparently saw her on the third floor of the school three days ago," Furuichi explains. "It was brief, but it looked like she just sneered at us before disappearing. We came here because she was wearing a St. Ishiyama school uniform, and we wanted to know if anyone knew about her here."

I smile wryly. "Looks like you guys came to the right place," I say, my voice laced with dry humour. "I saw her yesterday, and I've been having nightmares since then."

Shizuka shrugs as well. "Me too," she adds. "Two days after watching a movie, I saw her, and I've also been suffering from nightmares."

"That's why we had to come here," Hilda explains. "We need to know if any of you have ever come across her, and who she is exactly."

They all come inside the classroom and sit down in some desks as Izuma starts talking. "The Demon of the Third Floor story started around a few years ago," he starts. "The basic story is about a girl who was brutally murdered on the third floor, and because her killer was never brought to justice, her ghost is haunting the third floor of St. Ishiyama."

"Her ghost haunts the third floor of any educational institution, like high schools and universities. They say that anyone who sees her ghost will be haunted by her until they commit suicide," Shizuka finishes.

Again, I feel the same uneasiness and dread building up in me as I recall how Dad told me about reopening the case of Shibuya Airi's murder. Both these murders are so similar to one another that it's no longer sounding like a coincidence. However, even if that were the case, no one would even believe us. Even so, I should still say something about it, no matter how absurd I sound.

But there's something else that's still gnawing at my mind. The officer who had been investigating the murder of Shibuya Airi had died. Apparently, according to Dad, it had been a hit-and-run. However, something really is not right about that. I mean, why the hell was that guy killed? It was probably to shut him up. Even Dad's suspicious about that. There's no way that it could be a coincidence.

"Guys…" I say, getting their attention. "Now that I think about it, my dad told me that he's reopening a case that was closed that sounded so similar to this story. There was a student who was murdered in the third floor hallway of St. Ishiyama twenty years ago, and her case was closed a year after her death, because the officer investigating the case died."

"That so?" Oga asks.

"What are you trying to say?" Izuma asks me. "That there is a connection between this story and the case of the murdered student?"

"To be honest, I don't even know if it is a legitimate connection or not," I admit. "I was just noticing how similar they both sounded."

"Oi, don't be silly, Tanaka," Oga tells me. "Ghosts don't exist."

"That's what I keep saying to myself," I say, sounding worried. "I don't even know if I can believe that anymore."

Right then, we hear the sound of the chime ringing, meaning that lunch has finished, and that class is going to start soon. "Since class is starting soon, you'll have to go. We'll discuss this after school."

"Okay then. We'll be waiting." Oga, Baby Beel, Furuichi, and Hilda get up and leave the classroom as we take our seats.

For the rest of the day, however, I'm distracted by this thought. Is there really a connection between Shibuya Airi and the Demon of the Third Floor? For some reason, my gut keeps on telling me that there is, that the two of them are connected in some way. But there is something else that's bothering me. Are demons involved in this somehow?