Sorry...the progress of this fan fiction is so slow and late and...didn't go like what i wanted it to be.
Thanks for reviews/faves/follows.
Thanks to Crimson for edit.
Night Time, Ayase's residence;
A freshly well baked Piroshky was served on the table, Eli stood near the sink as she carefully tended to the kitchen's utensils while Nozomi who was sitting on a chair, was reading a stack of old newspapers which was given by the student councils members and principal Minami herself.
They said the newspaper pretty much contains the story about the legend and information that has a chance of being useful for the two… but…
"Hmm…. Ericchi… this Legend feels like it's made up…." Nozomi said.
"So it was just a prank, huh?" Eli asked,
"I'm not sure… but people said that the target has to be the girl with the lowest rank…"
"…and we both know, Yazawa Niko is in the lowest rank…." Eli replied.
"Yes….we knew that…. but the girl who was targeted back then wasn't her…"
"Wrong target perhaps?" Eli asked.
"It can't be… there must be something else that makes the target a target…" Nozomi replied.
"A contract?" Eli asked again.
"Contract? Now that you mention it Ericchi…. There was this article of "Believe It or Not" in the corner of one of the newspapers…." Nozomi started to look for the newspaper again.
"A story about a girl who made a contract with Hanako-chan…." she continued again as she unfolds the newspaper and places it on top of the table,
"It says…. Hanako-chan promised the girl that she would help her get great marks on her exam, but has to meet her in the school's toilet at midnight. After that, the said girl then made the contract…"
"Oh….?" Eli raised her eyebrows, showing her interest to the story,
"….Even though she made the promise, the girl was said to not be capable of fulfilling it… so that's how she ended up getting mysterious red paint fall upon her as she walked out of the school after her exam was announced…"
"Huh? Now that doesn't make much sense… unless you're saying that this… Hanako-chan is angry because she didn't fulfill her wishes, and decided to get revenge by pouring the red paint…"
"Exactly Ericchi!"
"That still doesn't make any sense! Why did she even do that? I mean… in all ghost stories, the ghosts supposedly bring the victims to their death, not into some trouble with red paint!"
"That's what I don't know, Ericchi… I mean, even though I believe there should be a hint of mystery in it, there is still the chance of it to be just a made up story to cover a prankster's act…"
Eli lifts her eyebrow,
"I'm surprised that you put it into reason…" she said,
"Sheesh, Ericchi! I'm a believer, not a madman!"
Eli giggles—and once more, Nozomi was awestruck by her voice… though she shook her head and tried hard to focus back onto the topic,
"Hmmph! Ericchi! So mean!" Nozomi said with a cute pout on her face.
Eli smiled sweetly at her as she dries her hand with a towel and heads to the dining table to pick up the Piroshky and offer it to Nozomi,
"I'm joking, forgive me will you…?" the blonde asked nicely.
Nozomi remained still as her eyes looked at the bread the blonde held, and then decided to accept it—with a bite.
"Hold it yourself…sheesh…" Eli said. Nozomi took a moment to swallow her food….
"Take it as your way of apologizing to me…"she said.
"Huh? Fine then… big baby…."
"Big Baby? Seriously Ericchi?"
"Something wrong with that?" Eli asked.
"Hmm…. probably…. But I hoped that it could be more intimate…"
"Intimate? Like…. My baby?"
"Yup… or…My Honey also could work…" Nozomi said teasingly.
Knowing her intention, Eli sighed weakly and then stood up from her seat.
"Are you testing me, Nozomi?"
"Hmm… testing you for what?" The purplenette smiled playfully.
Eli remained quiet as she approached the purplenette and placed her hand on her shoulder,
"Testing my ability to flirt with someone like you…" the blonde whispered—and just with her voice, Nozomi felt herself getting tensed all of a sudden. She also could feel the blonde's pale hand trailing down from her shoulders to her arm—it was gentle and warm…
"E….Ericchi…..?" Nozomi asked carefully.
"Just because I appear to never do this kind of thing…doesn't mean I don't know how to do it…" Eli replied—still with a whisper…
"…. I know how to charm a girl—it became one of my study in life… you know…" she continued again. Nozomi's heart started to race, and no form of words could escaped from her mouth.
"….and since you've been a naughty girl from ever since we met…." The blonde continued while the purplenette began to feel numb all over her body.
"Let me introduce you to my charm…." Eli gently placed her tentative fingers on Nozomi's jawline, then leads her head to face hers….
"….My Sweet Honey…." She continued before she closed the gap to her lips—though just right before she reaches it…
Red liquid showered her face.
"W-Whoa?! N-Nozomi?!" Eli quickly made distance to look at what kind of red liquid dripped on her face,
"B-Blood?" Eli flustered,
S….S…So….good….M…My heart can't take it….
Nozomi said in her mind before she fell to the ground.
"N-Nozomi! W-Wait there! W-What happen to you?!" Eli quickly tried to wake her up, yet the purplenette fell unconscious with blood ran down her nose.
"Nozomiiii!"
The next day, Otonokizaka Highschool's student council room;
Clippings of articles were gathered in one big board, arranged as a mind-map. A few sticky notes written neatly and some illustration of ghost attached near each article.
It was Nozomi's first time to see such an amazing sight. She didn't make it, but she can understand it easily—or maybe… just some part of it.
"Ericchi-Ericchi, what's this?" Nozomi asked as she pointed to an illustration that was attached alone. The illustration is just a picture of a little girl with short bob hair, wearing a kindergarten sailor uniform.
"That one, it was the mix of description from this article…" Eli pointed to the upper illustration that was placed near an article, it's just a picture of the girl's face.
"….and this description from the interviews a few years ago…" she continued.
"Hmm…Ericchi, did you draw it by yourself?" Nozomi asked.
"Of course…" she replied.
"You're good at it! You should draw me next time…"
"Huh? What? Why would I want to draw you? Sheesh!"
"I can pose like a sexy model, Ericchi!"
"I don't need that! Beside, we're not getting into that topic again… I don't want you to have another brain failure…"
"It wasn't a brain failure, Ericchi! the heat was just too much for me—I just need to practice more and I swear I can face your ultimate flirt!"
"It wasn't even an ultimate flirt! I was just flirting like usual!"
"So it's not your final weapon?! Interesting!" Nozomi replied with full of enthusiasm.
"Nozomi…." Eli sighed,
"….let's just focus on this…" she continued,
"Ok, anything for you, Ericchi…so…who is our victim… detective?"
"Do you even remember what we are doing?! Sheesh….!"
"Oohhh! I remember now! We're looking for the culprit! Let's look inside the toilet now!" Nozomi said.
"That's not wrong, but that's not quite right either! Remember what we have to do to be able to summon it…."
"Eh? We just need to get in the toilet, knock on one of the door's stall and call out, 'Hanako-chan, are you there?' ….. right?" Nozomi replied.
"That's what the myth says…silly, but look now, do you think that would just happen out of nowhere?!"
"We just need to hear her reply like 'I'm here!'….. right?"
"That's true too… but then again Nozomi! I really doubt for it to work that way… we need to know what we need to have her respond to us…."
"Hmm…. bad marks?"
"Yes! It is one of the clues that match with each of the victim's testimony!"
"Then, I don't need to study for the next exam, got it!"
"No-no-no, you silly girl! No one is slacking here! We just need to find someone else to do it for us while we watch from her back! That's why I'm put up that girl…" Eli points to an illustration of someone specific—one little girl with twin-tails and black hair.
"Niko-chan?"
"Yes, exactly, Nozomi… we will use her as our bait…"
"Oooh! I love that idea!" Nozomi said enthusiastically.
"But you will have to be the one that does the talking, I don't want to talk to her about this…."
"Hnn…Ericchi, you're just bad at it, huh?"
"N-No! I just…well…don't want to look stupid...talking about this ghost-thing. It already makes me feel stupid, you know…"
"Hmm…it's not that stupid if you believe in it… it's exciting, you just have to look at it differently…"
"It doesn't make it any better, just…. I don't want to talk to her…. you do it…"
"Alright-alright, I get it Ericchi!" Nozomi giggled to her,
"Putting aside that you made this huge mind-map just for this case…." Nozomi glanced to the board,
"I didn't make it for this case! I just feel—someone is too pathetic to do things right!"
"Are you talking about me, Ericchi? My! How cruel!" the purplenette giggled.
"S-Shut up! You can always tell her that you made it!"
"She will think I'm a very organized person… I'm not… right?"
"You are from now on…. I'll make you into one… starting from the smallest detail…" Eli said surely as she looked at Nozomi's uniform—not so tidy and not so messy. With all the buttons unattached, her white shirt disheveled and skirt slightly crumpled.
Noticing the glance from the azure eyes, the turquoise eyed girl began to realize…
"E-Erichi…?"
The Idol Club-room, Otonokizaka High-school;
Eli and Nozomi stood right in front of the door as they noticed a noise play on from inside the room—an incredibly not friendly kind of noise. The two are in an extremely neat uniform, with perfectly tied and polished shoes. They are holding a journal and absence books on their arm and a pen hanging on their coat's pocket.
They know someone is bickering with some people, and not for a good reason too.
"….listen, Niko… I really don't want to hurt you, but, really? Dragging us here just to make a show to the student council?"
"…you cannot continue this club alone, Niko-chan, don't you have any shame?"
"I have hope on the juniors! You all don't need to join in! You just need to help me out, this time! Please!" said the familiar voice.
"We really are not going to do this for you, Niko-chan. I mean…listen, you have bad grades… you really should focus on studying instead of being an idol…. It's not cool if you are left behind in class…" said the other girl.
"It's not because we don't care, ok? It's because we care…." Said the other.
Then just right after it was said, Eli decided to open the door without even bothering to knock politely.
"I suppose you are ready with the test…" she said coldly as she steps into the room. Niko and the other girls seemed to be very astonished with her. Niko was about to say something, though knowing that it's Eli and she is the student council president—who has all the right to enter their room without anyone's permission.
"Hehe…sorry to come without ringing the alarm, she just doesn't want you all to fake anything….so that's why we are here by surprise…" Nozomi said calmly—trying to justify the act that her friend just did.
"I've told her yesterday that I will come to make the test… I'm not sorry for doing this…" Eli replied—still coldly.
"Sheesh, Ericchi… come on now… we're in still the same grade as them. We're not supposed to be teaching her how to be rude like this…" Nozomi whispered,
"No one is teaching her, either way…. I want them to show me what they have now…"
Nozomi sighed at her, then her eyes turned to the concerned girls and to the black haired girl who seemed to be nervous.
"Just tell us what you all are doing in the club…" Nozomi asked politely to them.
Then when the girls are about to answer…
"I want the president of the club to talk for her members…" Eli said.
Understanding the purpose, Nozomi smiled faintly at her then back into looking at the black haired girl—expecting her to not screw it up.
"Well…we're school idols, we are here to dance and have fun with everyone. We're aiming to get a popularity as much as the recently debuted one from UTX, A-Rise…." Niko replied confidently,
"Is that so? Then, please tell me what kind of benefit do we get from it?" Eli asked again,
"A-rise has made the UTX popular and they're mostly become the reason why their school's applicant number raises…"
"I see, so I suppose everyone is ready to show me an example of your group's dance?" Eli asked again—which bothers Nozomi because she knows that it won't go well.
"E-Ericchi…we don't have much time…" Nozomi said,
"Five minutes…. that's all the time I will give you…" Eli insisted.
Then the girls and Niko herself remain unmoving until they realized that they really should do something.
"N—…." Niko is about to start,
"We can't…." one of the girls cut in…
Eli and Nozomi quickly turn their attention towards the girl.
"It's embarrassing, ok?" the girl said again.
No one responds, though Eli seemed to remain to give all her attention to the girl while Nozomi began to give them concerned looks,
"….being her background dancer and singer, singing her name over and over with terrible lyrics… the music isn't even that interesting…" said the girl again,
"….I really don't want to say all that… you know…." the girl continued again.
Eli and Nozomi remained still in their place, looking at Niko who seemed to try her best to hold her tears.
"To hell with her grades, it doesn't matter. We don't even care about her, not a single bit. Who likes a selfish narcissistic girl like her?" she raised her voice before she stomped out of the room. The other girl who is still clenching her fist, decided to talk as well,
"We're trying so hard to not hurt her feelings, but we want it to stop for the best of everyone…"
Eli and Nozomi remained quiet while Niko still tried her best to not cry.
"….we know that we can't tell her all that, we're trying to be polite… to lie about it and be well with her… but I suppose it just can't go that way. This is a mess that you're trying to put on us, Niko, once again, we don't want to help you with keeping this club running, if it has to be demolished, then let it be… perhaps there are better things to do out there…" the other girl also left and Niko remained in her place, she began to not be able to hold her tears—not even daring herself to wipe it on her own.
As the two girls left completely, Nozomi and Eli stood on their place, doing nothing but looking at Niko…
She is still sobbing and trying hard to look tough until Eli decided to break the silence,
"I'm still waiting for three minutes…" she said.
Ericchi…. what are you trying to do…
Nozomi asked in her mind…
I'm so lost here… what's the point of doing this? Are you trying to save her or are you trying to shove her down to the cliff?
Then she began to observe the blonde's eyes. Cold and Mysterious, but there's a hint of caring in her eyes…
Please tell me what do you want to do….
She said again in her own mind.
The three minutes passed, yet Niko still doing nothing but holding her cry.
Eli sighed heavily and she just walked to the door by herself,
"If that is what you want to display to the society about what an idol club can do, then let me tell you that no one here lives from other's pity… crying in front of me and begging for this club to be not closed down will do nothing. You have to work on something else…." She said coldly before she grabs the door's handle,
"I'm leaving this case to you Nozomi, I will have to take care of the other clubs…" Eli said as she throws her journal to Nozomi then leaves with only a pen and absence book.
Still clueless about it, Nozomi decided to remain quiet as she examines the journal while waiting for Niko to calm down.
As she looks through, she noticed that Eli has prepared a few papers that folded neatly inside her journal. It says,
Club Name changing form.
A Name changing form?
Nozomi thought,
Could it be….
She tried to think of something…
Ohh! I get it! What a wonderful idea, Ericchi… you could've become a criminal mastermind this way!
Uh…wait…that's not quite right…
I mean….
Maybe she can do something that's related to this club that she is trying to protect…with just changing the name and activities… she can continue without needing her….uh… friends…to help her…. Then at the same time, we can….
Nozomi looked at the note that Eli attached on the page where she kept the name changing form. Telling Nozomi to not forget about what they need from her…
….convince her to help us with our problem….
She nodded slightly.
But…sheesh…I feel bad for doing this, after all Ericchi did to her I mean…
Why does she have to be that harsh? It could've been—…..
Nozomi paused.
….ah…she was like me after all… maybe there's something from her that bothers her a lot and she can't help to not react like that towards her….
Perhaps because idols are related to dancing?
What's with Ericchi and dancing?
I surely need to pry a bit about that later….
But maybe not so soon…
Either way…. I have to talk to this girl first!
Hopefully, what I think right now is the same with what Ericchi might've planned for her.
"Are you ok with some talking now?" Nozomi asked kindly.
"I'm fine…!" Niko forcing a reply.
"Then, let me say this once to you, Niko-chan… It's ok for you to have passion in something, but it's bad if you're forcing yourself too much. I'm not encouraging you to stop, but I want you to think of a way to keep yourself around what you are fond of…." Nozomi said as she placed the name changing form on the table placed in the corner of the room.
"Maybe it will give you a little idea, but… perhaps, watching an idol dancing is like watching a circus. Some of the audience probably would want to be in it, but some just prefer to be on their seats and be entertained. In other words, you don't have to be able to be what you love, but you can always be their support…." She continued again as she looked into Niko who seemed to focus on what she just placed on the table.
"Then…. Being in this school gives you a main task— to learn about all the given topic, getting fairly enough marks, and then graduate… it's not wise to forget all that…. even if you're here not by your will, it still doesn't change the fact that you are still bound into those task…"
"Talking like an adult, aren't you?" Niko said—somewhat in an annoyed tone,
Nozomi smiled faintly,
"Heh, not really. I'm just saying that because I know who I am… perhaps all you need is to understand your place after all. But if I am to be adult-like, I would've forced you to get decent grades. I never said you should, just getting good enough marks is fine… After all, being in school is not simply just to be after good marks, right?"
Niko raised her eyebrow, confused with what Nozomi is exactly trying to tell her.
"I wonder if you knew, but… I heard there are a few people who're willing to help you study… perhaps you can ask around for that? Some said it's guaranteed decent grades and doesn't require as much hard work as studying on your own…" Nozomi asked.
"Huh? You must be joking, right? I've heard that rumor before…"
"Really? How did you learn it?" Nozomi asked in enthusiasm.
"Back then before we were taking test, there was this rumor that flew around… it said that we can change our fate with grades if we go into the school at 4:44 PM, carrying the subject that we cannot do… then, we go to the bathroom, knock on the stall's door three times, and then call upon that girl…Hanako…. If she answers, we will promise to return again to complete the pact at 4:44 AM…."
I've never heard of that rumor….
Nozomi thought,
"I think it's fishy, because… truth be told, people who have decent grades never have that rumor roam around them… nor hearing it… so I thought, maybe it really is just a stupid prank…. I mean, no one goes to the school after midnight, right? It's just stupid…" Niko continued,
"I do realize that we have to work hard for our own lives… I won't do such a thing…." She said again as she turns her face away.
Nnngghhh….she is actually not that stupid… I mean… hey…she did use her logic…..
Nozomi thought again,
Ericchi would have agreed with her, but really… it's not whats supposed to happen… I need to use her as bait for Hanako-chan to appear—so that we can get some explanation out of her!
"Well, you never know if you don't try… I mean, you're in a real need of good grades, right? Just imagine how much people will appreciate if you're getting good grades…maybe they will want to join to the club…"
"Now, didn't you make contradict to your own point? You said we don't need good grades—we just need good enough grades to pass… I can study my ass off for it…" Niko said.
"That's true… but…really, it's not that bad to ask help from others. I didn't say it has to be from Hanako-chan… she just… an instant way to do it…" Nozomi replied.
"Oh…."
"But now that you mention that you can study your ass off for bringing up your grades, did you not study before?" Nozomi smiled teasingly,
"W-Well! N-Not quite! I…I mean… not really… I was…sort of busy…. You know…. idol stuff…."
"Ooh….so you're blaming your own activity now?" Nozomi asked again,
"N-No! I'm just… uh…busy!"
"Hmmm…. I see… then, I suppose, you will have to choose the instant way somehow?" Nozomi glared at the little girl, she could see all the doubt in her as she speaks for herself.
"I…I told you, there's no way of me to try the instant way! I'll just study my ass off for it, ok? Just watch me!"
"Sure, that's your decision anyway, I was just trying to help you…." Nozomi replied—still with a teasing smile on her face.
The Otonokizaka-Highschool, Art Club's room;
Nozomi arrived to the club's room and started to look for the specific blonde—which she found to be in the middle of a conversation with the leader of the club.
As she approach them she only managed to listen to a few part of their conversation…
"….think you can manage to put it as a show?" Eli asked,
"…I don't know, president. It seems hard to make something like that happen, but we can try…"
"…the only thing I want to know about is how and who is the victim that will fall into it, I don't really need it to be too artistic, just to make it seem realistic is enough…."
"Between realities and art, that's what we've been working on, President, but really… don't give us that much hope, we're afraid we can't meet your expectation…"
"I'm not worried… as long as you actually try…"
"Very well, president, then we shall work swiftly…" said the Art Club's leader before she headed to give the announcement to the members...
"Ericchi, what are you trying to do?" Nozomi asked,
"I'm just trying to make a remake of an incident. The newspaper you brought, gave me something that makes me really curious…" Eli replied.
"What is it?"
"About the possibility of it being a prank, it's not that I don't believe in you or your spiritual thing. I've seen things with my own eyes, but I still want to know the truth. There are just too many things mysteriously placed in the latest incident…"
"Eh? Well…I know nothing about it, care to explain?" Nozomi asked.
"Simple, the last incident, the time when the victim was poured by a bucket of red paint is at the time after she left her classroom—which will be in the second floor…"
"The second floor? So she is a second year? A junior?"
"Yes, but that detail isn't important, whats important is…first, she may not be the lowest rank in her grade, but she is the lowest from her class. Perhaps our theories about it requires something else as a curse is accurate, but then, the other fact that we need to know is, how she made the pact with her…."
"Niko just told me that there was a rumor flying around her about Hanako-chan, but its strange because people who're not troubled with their grade never know about it. I didn't know either and I don't even know that my made up confession was actually something true…"
"So it came from a rumor, huh? Did she agree to help?" Eli asked,
"I didn't actually ask for help, but maybe she will do it anytime soon, knowing that she is in a pinch….i just gave her a little push…"
"You tricked her?" Eli raised her eyebrows,
"Eh…how else can I do it? I don't really know how to talk about it… besides, I'm still not sure if it works or not…"
"Just a talk as usual would do it, right?"
"I don't think so, she isn't that stupid…and doesn't look that cooperative either." Nozomi replied with a wry smile,
"Listen up, Nozomi. It might take about an hour for the art club to remake the incident that I asked them to off Which means, it will be around 4 before we can leave here today… we don't have much time to look for her if there's a chance of her to look for that actual thing…I mean, there's only two of us and there are about four toilets around the school… we can't possibly wait her in every single toilet…."
"We can always ask the spirit… or my cards…" Nozomi replied.
Eli sighed,
"Fine…"
"Sheesh…Ericchi, you're too worked up… just rely on me a bit, will you?"
"Putting that aside, Nozomi… we should go look around for a bit while waiting for the art club to finish…"
"Where should we go next, Ericchi?"
"I finished with most of the clubs, there should be more tomorrow—but we don't need to worry about them today… just relax and make sure you're always ready if there's anything that needs to be done by two of us together…."
"Hmmm..I like how that sounds…. Something to be done by two of us…together…." Nozomi smiled teasingly.
"I'm not going to play along with that…" Eli replied somewhat coldly.
"Spoilsport…" Nozomi pouts.
"Whatever…." Eli replied again as she leaves her place. Nozomi followed after her as Eli explored the room, examining each of the art work that was displayed around the room. She seemed to be interested in each one, though there's no word that escaped out of her lips.
"Say…Ericchi, do you like art?"
"It sounds a little dumb when you ask it like that…." Eli replied.
"Hmm…Why?" Nozomi asked,
"Simply, because everything that we use right now is a form of art… it just a matter of what kind of art…"
"Then I assume you like art….?" Nozomi replied with a somewhat teasing smile,
Eli sighed heavily…
"Yes….I do…." She replied.
"Am I awkward…?" Nozomi asked playfully.
"Yes you are…" Eli replied again.
"Thanks, you are awkward too, Ericchi!" Nozomi replied playfully again.
"I don't get you…" Eli once again replied as she stopped at a specific work of art. It looked like a vortex, but it's not quite a vortex as it appears to have something that stuck out of the center— now that she thinks of what it resembles….
"A flower….?" Eli raised her eyebrow.
"Hmm…? Vortex Flower?" Nozomi said as she also looks into what Eli has her focus on.
For a moment there, Nozomi had no idea why the blonde suddenly took an interest into the flower, though as she tried to look more closely, she began to realize that something feels very off about it. It's like there's something inside it—something as fade as a soul, which she used to look at every day.
But the longer she looked at , the more faded the souls looked. She started to not be able to feel anything on it anymore—instead, she could feel something is off with her friend again…
Her eyes went blank and her gesture seemed different.
"Ericchi? Are you ok?" Nozomi asked.
"…..she's calling me…." Eli whispered all of a sudden. Her voice also seemed to be slightly different than usual…
"E-Eeehh!? Ericchi?!"
"Three times knock on the stall's door before calling my name….. I can hear it…." Eli mumbled again before she headed out in a hurry.
"W-Wait! E-Ericchi!"
Otonokizaka High-school's hallway;
Eli, who walked so quickly was hardly to be stopped. Nozomi—having no idea of what exactly happened to her can't be so sure about what to do.
Did she get possessed again?
She thought.
But why is she possessed all of a sudden?! I mean… she didn't even touch the strange flower!
She continued in her mind.
In all seriousness though!
Nozomi decided to run to catch up with her.
Why does she get possessed so easily?! Was it because her mind went blank? But I doubt that's the case! She should be thinking of something before she was possessed!
There must be something else… something that makes most of the ghosts attracted to her presence….
I hope it is not because she is beautiful though…
I mean….she is too perfect, even for me….
She could get any kind of girl she wanted…. or so I think…
Unlike me….who could get any kind of rejection...
I'm too used to getting rejected….
Nozomi slowed down without realizing,
Hnmm…sometimes I think I'm expecting too high….
How disgusting…
She stopped.
Why am I chasing after someone that can't possibly be mine…?
All the teasing that I did to her…. that's just a part of my wish to have an actual girlfriend…
Such a loser….I treated that as a joke because I'm too shy to admit the truth….
Ah…no…. I have to put that thought aside for now, she is probably in danger…
I'm doing this because I want to be her friend, not her girlfriend…
I mean… it's enough right? We don't have to go that way…even though we both know that we're into girls….
Nozomi decided to continue looking again.
Now I lost her, good job…me….
Seriously…. I hate myself at times like this…
It's pathetic...that even after I found someone who's in the same sexual orientation with me, she is not into me….
I know I shouldn't just judge her like that, but… from the way she always brushes my jokes off….
Not to mention she was flirting with me yesterday—for fun too perhaps?
There's no way of her to do it for real. I have nothing to offer to her while she… has everything I wanted…
Aahh…too perfect….
Uh… focus, Me… focus… let's look for her before anything bad happens…. Uhm….
Where can I start now….?
She thought to herself as she started to look around.
A faint transparent light flew through the hallway—it looks like a common soul, alright, but there's a lot of chance of it knowing where Eli might've gone. Nozomi decided to catch up to the soul and as she got closer to her…
"Excuse me…" the purplenette said,
The soul turned around,
"You can see me….?" the soul asked.
"Yes—but that doesn't matter, I just want to ask if you have seen a blonde haired girl going somewhere this way?"
"Ohh…. The new student council President? Well… she just passed through the hall way, probably going to the bathroom with Hanako-chan…"
"E-Ehhh?! H-Hanako-chan?" Nozomi tried to confirm.
"Yep, hehe… she seemed happy …maybe the new student council president is helping her?"
"Helping her with what?" Nozomi asked,
"Uhm…I don't know…honestly. Hanako-chan likes to travel around and she always talks about a mission, but I don't understand what exactly she is doing….why don't you ask her yourself?" the soul replied.
"Do you think I can talk with her, huh?"
"Eh—you can talk with anyone, it's just a matter of how you approach them or how they react to you… but, in all honesty though, you're pretty infamous while the student council president is famous…"
"Me…infamous?" Nozomi tried to confirm.
"Sort of… for many reasons, but one of it is because you're too arrogant as a human being…" the soul replied calmly.
"Then, are you scared of me?" I asked.
"I have nothing to do with you, besides, you were asking for a favor… knowing you are capable of seeing me, then you must have a higher tier of spiritual power than common exorcists, so I want to help you out…"
Nozomi tilt her head slightly, wondering if there's anything special from being able to see souls. For the first few seconds, she tried to examine what exactly the soul has on her…
White kimono, pale skin, black hair, blue eyes, faint white fogs surrounded her—that was the time when Nozomi realizes that she is not the usual kind of soul. A legend, she may say…
"S-Snow girl?!" Nozomi asked.
"Ssssh! Not so loud… the other will hear…." The soul said.
"E-Ehh?! But why are you here?!" Nozomi asked again,
"I don't know… but… the last thing I heard before I was here…. Hmm… it was something about the door between our worlds are cracking…. and then... we started to swap our places with mortals…"
"W-w-whaaatt!?" Nozomi replied loudly.
"Ssshh! Not so loud!" the snow girl said.
"W-Wait, then… how could you be in a soul form…?"
The snow girl giggled,
"Simple…. We just need to kill the host…"
"That's not a solution! Sheesh!" the purplenette yelled.
"Eeeh…? No?"
"Now you better help me to get Hanako-chan before she kills my Ericchi!"
"Hehehe… Don't worry, she and Hanako-chan aren't going to merge… Hanako-chan just wants to borrow her a bit I guess…"
"W-What do you mean, borrow her a bit?!"
"She always wanted to have friends…so maybe her idea is just to help others! Isn't that good?"
"It's not! What if she decides to take Ericchi's life so she gets to befriend her?!"
"Hnnggg…. Being dead isn't that bad…."
"It is bad! For me at least!" Nozomi said loudly.
"But why?"
"We didn't get to touch each other yet! We didn't get to trade our love and all! She didn't even look at me now!"
"Ooohh! You're in love… hmm-hmm… interesting… that's surely a positive side of being alive…"
"Don't just say that! Please help me find her!"
"Ehehe…I got it…I got it…. just walk through this hallway and I'll call you when I find her…"
Nozomi did just like what she was asked to,
She keeps walking through the hallway, setting her ears open to listen to any kind of noise and sharpen her instincts for any kind of aura that would probably be the one she is currently after…
Then to wait for the snow girl to appear and call after her….
It's sort of frustrating as she couldn't actually detect her presence—not now at least.
When Nozomi looked around the hallway, she noticed that someone has been stalking her by now. She believes that it is not a coincidence for someone to be around her. Who wants to be at school after 4 PM?
But now that it was mentioned, supposedly, this is the hours when she was supposed to be looking for Niko and see if she actually does it.
When she passed through the toilet…she noticed that a strong presence inside and its probably not quite peaceful either. She decided to enter the room—without any single doubt in her…
Then when she managed to reveal what was inside…
Her eyes opened wide in her surprise…
Eli is floating in the mid-air, she seemed to be unconscious while a little girl with black hair—Niko cowered right in front of her.
"Ericchi! Niko-chan!" she shouted—taking attention to the Eli who seemed to be still unconscious and yet controlled over by a force that she can't see.
"H-Hey! Y-You! H-Help me!" Niko cried,
"You're having trouble with science… right…?" A voice that she never heard before…coming out from the unconscious Eli.
"Answer me first, are you Hanako-chan?" Nozomi asked.
"Yes…that I am…" the voice replied.
"Why did you take Ericchi?" Nozomi asked,
"She…? Well…she is loved by everyone…so I suppose… using her will make things easier… but… this big girl refused to cooperate….then she began to reject me from her body at the time I offered help to the little girl…I had to put her consciousness down…."
"That's not good, Hanako-chan! You don't just take people to help you with that!" Nozomi said.
"How else do I get friends?" she replied,
"Why would you want friends? You don't belong here!" Nozomi said
As she said that, no one seemed to answer…
Until a few second passed, Hanako disappeared along with the unconscious Eli.
"No!" Nozomi tried to grab her, though she was a lot faster to fade.
No…this can't be!
The purplenette said in her mind as she cringed bitterly.
How can I find her now? I don't know where she might be…
She said again.
Niko, who is still clueless about what exactly happened stood up and kept her eyes on the busty girl. For the first few seconds, she would just retreat…but…looking at how much the other girl seemed to be in trouble….
"Oi… are you ok?" Niko asked.
"O..Oh….Sorry…I was…spacing out a bit…" Nozomi replied with an obvious fake smile.
"Do you need help?" Niko asked again.
"H-help….? N…No…not really… you've done your part…." Nozomi replied—somewhat awkwardly.
"I can do this myself… thanks though…." Nozomi replied quickly before she left the room swiftly.
Niko raised her eyebrows, wondering what might've gone wrong with her…
In a hurry, Nozomi scanned through every traces in the school,
She even asked many single souls about what they may have seen or what they know about Hanako, but they all gave her the same information,
Hanako-chan is lonely… Hanako-chan likes to have friends….Hanako-chan wants to have a friend…
Then when they were asked about where she might be,
Hanako-chan likes to adventure across the country…it's impossible to figure out where she would probably be right now.
And those words are enough to make the purplenette cry in worry. She might've failed to save someone—or perhaps, she was the one who caused it.
If only she didn't act like a fearless hero, she could've at least made some deal with the ghost, just like how she did back then.
Have I not learned my lesson? Why did I do this again?
She thought.
I shouldn'thave acted that way towards her…. this is all my fault….and if anything happens to her….I will never forgive myself…. But…. what can I really do?
She continued to move in a hurry, scanning through every corner in the school. While doing so, her eyes met with a familiar soul and she decided to approach her,
"Hey you…. Snow Girl…" she said with all informality.
"My…Aren't you rude to call me out like that… Even though I look young, I'm way older than you…." the snow girl replied.
Hearing the complaint, Nozomi stared into the snow girl with guilt on her face,
"Sorry, I was too panicked, it just came out of my mouth…"
The Snow Girl giggled,
"I understand, you've never really had a friend, huh? Then tell you what, even though you're a good friend of someone, it's much better if you can adjust on who you're talking with… maybe you can talk that way towards people who don't mind, but you have to not do that towards people who mind it… I mind so don't talk to me like that…" she replied.
"I…I see… Sorry…well, uh…. Snow Girl, have you seen Hanako-chan? She took Ericchi!"
"Uhm…? She took that cool president? Then, she probably has gone to our realm by now… if you want her body, you need to wait until midnight… she probably will just show up in the bathroom…"
"W-wait a minute there… when you said, body…do you mean… the soulless kind of body?" Nozomi asked in fear,
"Uhm…of course, do you think Hanako-chan will return her soul? She is such a cool girl, I bet everyone in the realm will like her…" Snow Girl replied.
"Oh—You have got to be joking me! Please return her to me—along with her soul!"
"Hehe… is that ok if we return it separately?"
"No!" Nozomi yelled.
"But she seems fun… we like her…"
"We…? Are you their ally?!"
"We all are allies with each other… we have respect and all…"
"Putting that aside,… If she truly is in that other realm! You have to somehow take me there!"
"Hnn….don't you know the consequence of it? If you are in there for too long, you and your body will split… and you might not be able to return here again as a living being…"
"How long I can stay?!" Nozomi asked.
"I wouldn't know, you have to ask to the Demon King…by default, every living being who traveled there are given at least six hours…"
"The Demon King…. Dai-Mao?" Nozomi asked,
"Yep… I'm surprised that you know him…"
"I've met him before…" Nozomi replied.
"Y-Y-You did?! That's even more surprising! What did you do?" The Snow Girl asked,
"Skip the details, if I have to face him once again, then please… help me…." Nozomi said in all seriousness.
The Snow Girl remain quiet as she saw how serious Nozomi is right now, part of her felt touched, but part of her started to question— what kind of girl is Nozomi…? Will it be troublesome if she helps her? Putting that aside, there was something before and it probably will be solved if she somehow gets to know with the relationship between the two.
Maybe… it really isn't wrong to help out a stranger?
The Underworld;
The traveling didn't take long and they arrived in front of the castle immediately. Apparently, the Snow girl is a common patron of the area. There are big creatures everywhere, but not to forget about the smaller ones as well, where some are more faded and hard for Nozomi to see.
She doesn't remember the place to be as crowded, but perhaps it was because she didn't have as much spiritual power as now.
When she takes a step inside the castle— the souls around her seemed to ignore her existence, perhaps it's because she is coming along with the Snow Girl. But then again, It was also pretty common for other souls to bring living beings into this world.
The castle looks like an ancient temple, but more grand than the biggest one on earth. The decorations were excellent and the guard looks a hundred times scarier than what she could imagine,
When they both arrived at the throne room, the guard didn't bother to acknowledge the two. Once the two stops in front of the giant ancient looking armor—no… there's someone big and scary inside that armor, with big fierce teeth displayed inside his mouth and yellow eyes under the shade of his helmet,
"Hmm…." A huge trembling voice boomed out of the armor sitting on the big throne.
"…have we met before…?" He asked.
"Dai-Mao… it's me, Nozomi Toujou…."
"Nozomi Toujou….." the armor put some thought to the name…
"Ah… you're that little girl…." He continued—and his voice somewhat became friendly. Making the Snow Girl get more and more curious about their relationship.
"I'm here to look for my friend right now…. nothing else…." Nozomi replied.
"Hmmm….." His voice faded as he changed his sitting position,
"Who is this…friend of yours… is it another dead being?"
"No, she is alive… her name is Ayase Eli. One of your residence took her….and I heard that she is probably here…."
"Ayase….Eli….huh?" The King said as he makes another thought of the name.
"I've heard the name, but I'm not quite sure of it. Who is the one who took her?" He asked again,
"Hanako-chan… Hanako-chan who likes to linger in the toilet…" Nozomi said.
The king snorted all so sudden,
"Pardon me, Toujou, can you just not call her like that… ?" He asked with a chuckle.
"I'm being serious now. That's how we Earth people call her…" Nozomi replied.
"Ah–very well, whatever suits you… but I'm sorry, I cannot help you that much. She has never stayed in one place for too long, nor does she visit the area in a pattern. She always goes around at her own will…" The King replied.
Nozomi began to dread after the response given to her, and then again looked up at him,
"Is there really nothing I can do? I need to find her as soon as possible! She might be in danger!"
"Hnmm…. What is this… danger… you're talking about, Toujou? Are you afraid of her to join us sooner than what you think?" He asked again.
"She still has so much to do… we just… well… we just started our friendship… it isn't that good yet, but… I….. I want to work on it…"
"Then…what is your exact problem with her dying? You can see us, you can communicate with us… why not with her? It could be better…" The King replied again.
"You don't understand…" Nozomi replied again,
"She is in love, my Majesty, she wants her red thread to be linked…" The Snow Girl said.
"Then, unite in death, it will last longer…" The King replied again.
"It's different, my Majesty, it's hard to explain her feelings right now… but I'm pretty sure you will understand if you ask your wife…" the Snow Girl replied. Then suddenly the King coughed dramatically,
Flustered by what's exactly wrong with 'wife' in his interpretation, Nozomi remains quiet as she knows that the conversation will probably be in her favor right now—thanks to the Snow Girl.
"Uurgh….hmm…alright… then….can anyone just show me how this Ayase Eli looks like?" The King asked, and then suddenly, a soul approached him and showed him a picture of her—which is still unknown as to where it exactly came from. Even Nozomi doesn't have her picture!
"Very well …if you really insist… there might be something I can help you with… though, I would want to renew our contract…" the king said again.
"How does this re-new work then?" Nozomi asked.
"You're still on the same task, but I am no longer putting your family on the bet… each time you have failed your mission…or ignored an important task which you needed to solve, I will cut your friend's life by halves…"
Hearing that, Nozomi widen her eyes in surprise,
"Wait a minute there, even with my family, you're only cutting their age by the minute, how could you be cutting her life by halves? It's too much!" she protested,
"You should've been happy with that kindness, it helped you to finish our contract sooner… I get a feeling that your relation with her is still as shallow as a koi pond, it won't be that bad to lose her…" The King replied.
"Ridiculous!" Nozomi protested again.
"If you don't want that, then I have nothing else to offer… I have to let you down…."
"At least make it easier! I'm not a professional!" Nozomi replied again.
"It's the cheapest trade I can offer to you. I can always make it in an instant if I wanted to… Besides, don't you always want to be free? That's one of my ways to help you out…you can do it in less than a day if you like… or within years if you want to somehow look a lot like a friend to her…she will never know…." He replied again.
Nozomi remain quiet, it seemed that somehow—this Dai Mao that she knows is currently trying to find his way to somehow have her Ayase Eli. It makes her wonder, what kind of attribute makes Eli seem so interesting? It can't be simply because of her beauty, right?
She believes that Dai Mao's wife has a lot more beauty than every living creature that exists… so of course, it's probably not about that. As curious as she is, Nozomi wanted to ask, though it will probably be disturbing if her prediction ended up to be correct.
She decides to keep silent and wonder if it will be worth all the trouble. She looked into the Snow Girl, she seemed to not say anything about the case.
"So… are you in?" The King asked again,
In all honesty, she is indeed in a desperation to look for Eli—and maybe this is her only way to do so. No one knows where exactly they might've gone off to. When the King said he might be able to do something, then he probably really will be able to do something.
Back again with her previous question to herself…
Will it be really worth it to put her friend's life at stake at the cost of the very same person's safety? It's so ridiculous that she feels like anything that will happen later will be dangerous for Eli. In other words… a lot of soul wants her die so that she joins them…
But, if she is confident right now, nothing bad will happen if she chooses to cooperate. All she need is to not make any mistakes and never fail her missions. It's like—Eli's life is in her hands now.
Perhaps…
It's not that bad to pick that choice…
As long as she doesn't know….
"Fine, I'll renew the contract…!" Nozomi said.
An hour already passed,
When Nozomi opened her eyes, she is already inside an unfamiliar building. It's in an ancient building that's made of woods and the decoration seemed to be somewhat familiar, but she has never seen it arranged in the same way.
"Toujou-san…. Toujou-san!" a recently accustomed voice called out,
"Snow Girl?" Nozomi questioned.
"Wake up… this place is scary…." She said timidly.
"How are you even scared of this place, you're one of a kind and in other words, a legend…" Nozomi replied.
"…Can you feel it? There's a weird aura…. It's so big and….feels more like a thirst than anything else…"
Nozomi stayed silent to look for what the snow girl mentioned.
She does feel something big and all, but there's nothing else other than that—especially not the thirst. Though when she keeps trying to detect the other feeling, she started to realize that there is something familiar with the aura. It was cold and sharp…. Just like….
"Ericchi….?" She called her name.
"Eh…her? What about her?" The Snow Girl asked.
"This aura…. It's Ericchi's Aura…. I can feel it…" Nozomi said as she quickly shoots up from her place.
"H-how did you know?" the Snow girl asked,
"It's so familiar, it's so obvious…to me at least…" Nozomi started to walk. The Snow girl raises her eyebrow,
"You're pretty obsessive…." She commented on the purplenette.
"Obsessive? Not really, I'm just thinking that…it is my responsibility to do this… I have to prove that I'm a friend to her…and I truly will be her friend…"
"So...what about the love thing?"
Nozomi stopped.
"Let's leave it like this… perhaps, it may look too disgusting for her…"
"What do you mean…disgusting?"
"I've realized that—…." Nozomi paused again, and then shook her head,
"No… maybe it's just me…" she continued.
"….but…to put it simply… she is like a super star… she could have anyone she wants, within seconds… and for me to try teasing her with everything…. maybe that's the reason why she keeps making a distance…and maybe I'm also the reason why she is in danger right now…or perhaps… wants to be out of her life…"
"Hnngg…I know it's stressful to live… but…. you know what, Toujou-san…." The snow girl smiled at her faintly,
"…if that's the only amount of confidence you have, you'll never have anyone for yourself..." the Snow girl continued again.
"….to begin with…maybe she is right about everyone being born to be alone… everyone lives on their own feet and it's never going to be the opposite…" the snow girl once again continued as she moves herself next to Nozomi,
"…but really, what's the point of you to be capable of socializing with others if not because so you could ask for help or give help in return? How could you expect someone to believe you if you cannot believe others?"
"Believing others…. Huh? What if that just gives me fake hope…just like how it was…?"
"Mmm…. I see, so you're scared to believe in others… yet you seemed to be a religious person…it's strange for you to have that trust issue…"
"God never leaves me alone…while humans… well… they come and go…." Nozomi replied.
"Then just do the same, believe in others, you will never know until you try, right? It's not like everyone is always the same…and I know that deep inside your heart, you're saying out loud that this Ayase Eli is a whole different person than the usual people you meet… that's why you're here—after her…and it wasn't simply because it's your responsibility, right? "
"I have a heating feeling with her, remember?" Nozomi replied.
"Trust me, you're not the only one… yet you've made this far and it's impressive for a starter…" the Snow girl giggled,
"Then to remember that she is not the only hottie in this world… people could always have shallow feelings about her. They just like the person and nothing else, while you… well… you like her, you admit it, and you're chasing after her… don't give up and stop just because you think you're not worth anything—make yourself worth something for her and this is your chance to do so…" she continued again.
Hearing that, the purplenette smiled faintly,
"You're right… then I really should go after her now… thanks—I can't believe my motivation went down after coming this far…" she said to the Snow Girl.
"I can't blame you… I know that feeling because the cold was what killed me too… if only I didn't lose my hope that time, I could've reached a cottage and be safe…."
"So you're saying I'm dealing with coldness, right?"
"Hehe, yup, that's how cold kills, you may not realizes it but they will eventually put your motivation down and take your breath away as you sleep…so that's why you just need to keep going…"
"Hmm...isn't someone say she was scared a while ago? Now you look the opposite…" Nozomi asked,
"E-Eh…well … this aura is still scary for me… I'm really bad at this so… yes, lead the way, Toujou-san!"
The Snow Girl said energetically.
"Alright…don't wander off on your own…."
They explored the area,
It was easy for them to identify each area since for some reason—Nozomi felt like she knew the pattern of area while the Snow Girl said that she is somewhat familiar with the area as well. Even though they are still clueless about where the source of the big aura is coming from, they believe they have traveled enough time to figure out where the source might be.
When they reached the most bottom level of the place, they realized that they also reached a place where the aura is stronger than anything and there's absolutely something wrong with the rooms.
"Toujou-san, don't you think it's strange that even though this place appears to be a place that is meant for souls like me, no one wanders around here?"
"You mean… why this place is so quiet?"
"Yes!"
"Maybe it was because of the aura?"
"N…Not quite… to be honest, this kind of aura actually attracts most souls… but just not me…" The Snow Girl replied.
"I really prefer warm and fuzzy ones!" she continued again with a big smile.
Nozomi giggled at her,
"I understand… then I suppose you're not going to be after her…"
"Says who? She has the warmest heart...you see… I can sense all of it behind that snowstorm on her face…"
"Say what?" Nozomi raises her eyebrow,
"The snowstorm… when you see her face, it's like something cold and murderous, reaching out to you—though when she speaks, you just get a feeling that there's a warm stone heart waiting for you inside her… the loneliness in her eyes and the cruel words she spoke, it's like… if you are somehow able to reach her, she will obsess over you and …you know….that sort of thing which will make you feel like a queen…"
"I don't get you… I swear you were trying to push me to go after her and now you appear to be a rival?"
"Oh-come on! I'm a fair woman! I don't do bad things to others just because I want what belongs to them….There will always be enough time and chance for me…besides, she isn't the first priority for me… I really prefer…. Well, you know… one big man with a handsome face and good heart…"
"I'm glad to hear that…. Which means that I can always just shove you into those men pit if you're getting in my way…"
"Men pit?! Seriously, Toujou-san? That almost sounded like Armpit!"
"I didn't even mention arm pit there… your fault.."
"I just said it sounded like an armpit!"
Then they continue to explore further, ignoring the fact that the cold aura is getting stronger and stronger.
While they didn't expect anything to come, they suddenly heard a loud yell,
"Heeelp! Someone please heeelpp!" shouted a voice that they somewhat knew.
That's all for now. Gonna have to wait again for next chapter...