And so, with little else to do but stay at home, the remainder of Golden Week passes by slowly, but without incident. Apprehension accompanies your return to school, as it also means a return to the Yatabuya hive. However, hours, days, and then weeks pass, and both you and your friends have gone untouched by gangsters. What's more, you've had very little to do in the way of your committee duties. It's almost as if the gang had vanished - although you know better than to believe that. It's a relief, of course, but on the other hand, you can't shake the feeling that it almost would have made more sense for the Yatabuya to jump you the first chance they got. Why not?

No matter what reasons you consider, your thoughts always seem to wander back to the girl in the sweatshirt. After having plenty of time to think about it, you noted that that marked the second time you'd been saved by someone concealing their identity. However, the contexts were much too different for there to be any meaningful connection other than that. Nevertheless, there's a gnawing suspicion at the back of your mind that continues to suggest that these incidents are more than just simple coincidence.

So engrossed in these thoughts are you that you barely notice the slow death of the thrum of classroom conversation as Otomuji makes her entrance one morning early in the week. Her scowl seems almost more twisted than usual, and her brow has enough furrows to be used for musical notation.

"'Good morning,'" she begins. "That's what I'd like to say, but it's a bit too late for that. As I've only just been informed, the time is growing disgustingly close to the year's first class trip."

She winces visibly as a cheer erupts from your classmates. Even you can't help but shoot a grin towards your friends. In the past, you've never held much love for class trips. You weren't terribly close to anyone in homeroom, and spending so much time with near perfect strangers was more exhausting than fun. This year, though, might prove different.

"All right, all right! Shut up for a minute so I can say what I need to say and get on with it. Anyways, this year's first trip will be for second years only -thank God - and will involve a one-night stay at the historic Yamamori Manor outside of town." Otomuji's voice takes on a deadpan quality as she hurriedly reads from a set of notes in front of her.

"All students will meet at the Toshima-chuo station for departure at 7:00 AM sharp. Any students who fail to arrive on time are responsible for securing their own transportation. Train tickets will be dispensed in homeroom the day before departure - that's my job, so you'd all better straighten the hell up if you don't want your ticket to get 'lost'. Arrival at Yamamori station is estimated at 10:00 AM. Two hours will be allotted for check-in and lunch. At noon, all classes will meet in the hotel lobby and hike -oh, fantastic - to the Yamamori Shrine for a lesson on the area's history and cultural significance. The following day will be free to students until departure back to Toshima at 3:00 PM.

"Sign-ups for roommate assignments are posted in the hall, so take care of that during passing period. Student groups will be formed based on these, so don't come crying to me if you forget and up paired with someone you can't stand. You will be required to travel with your groups at all times while at the manor. So that's about the long and short of it. Any questions? No? Perfect. Now get out your books and let's get down to business already."

"Jeez, what a letdown," moans Hayate once class ends. "Last year's second years got three days at a hot springs resort, you know. And what do we get? Two days at some big house in the mountains and a lecture."

"Yeah, poor us, right?" You say, leaning back in your chair. "I'd go just about anywhere, so long as it isn't here."

The others tighten their lips. They must know how you feel. Ever since Mariko got on the wrong side of the Yatabuya too, Toshima hasn't been feeling tremendously safe for any of you. You would have thought this would make Nisekao the most nervous of all, but he took the story of what happened at the theater surprisingly well. Hayate, on the other hand, has gotten so paranoid of being on his own that he's stopped just short of following you to the restroom. The opportunity to get out of the city for a while should be a welcome reprieve from all the looking over your shoulders you've been doing.

"They make you go on your own?" muses Mariko aloud. "I'd have thought they'd at least hire a bus or something."

"Well," says Hayate, adjusting his sunglasses, "I dunno how they did it back at your school, but around here, they have students catch the train all the time. But, if you're worried, you can always ride with me..."

Mariko's expression mimics one of someone who's just discovered that the milk's gone bad. "I-I wasn't worried. It's just sorta strange is all. Besides, we're all going to ride there together, anyways, right? You, me, Tetsuo, and Nisekao."

"Yeah, of course," says Hayate, who slumps back into his chair with a deflated expression. It took him a while, but ever since he figured out that you and Mariko weren't actually a couple, he's almost gone back to his old levels of garrulousness. Although, to his credit, "almost" is still a huge improvement. Mariko, on the other hand, has continued to be adept at taking it in stride.

"You know, though..." he begins, trailing off and looking expectantly at you and Mariko.

"What?" you ask, knowingly taking the bait.

"Well, I mean, you've heard the stories about Yamamori Manor, right?"

"No..." says Mariko, and you can't help but roll your eyes.

"Don't worry about it, he's just being a putz. It's just some lame ghost story."

Hayate huffs at you. "Aw, c'mon, man! You're sucking all the fun out of it! Never mind, then..."

But in spite of that, Mariko's eyes light up anyways.

"No, no! Keep going, Hayate! I wanna hear it!"

A big grin splits Hayate's face. "All right, then! To start, we gotta go back about several hundred years ago or so. Now, this place used to belong to this family of nobles - very wealthy, real well respected, all that sort of thing. But the most interesting thing they had going for them was the daimyo's daughter - Tsumiki. She was said to be one of the most stunning women in the entire shogunate, so much so that not even the samurai considered themselves worthy enough to attempt courting her. Instead, the daimyo sent her men from the shogun's immediate family, mostly because he was a power-hungry little creep.

"Now, you probably already know where the next part of this story is going. Long story short, Tsumiki was repulsed by the suitors from the shogun's family, and caused a buncha headaches for dear old dad. What she couldn't tell him though, is that she'd been seeing another man in secret the whole time."

"And he probably wasn't wealthy or a noble, was he?"

"Not even close. This guy, Haruto, was a Hinin, a traveling singer. I guess when you think about it, not all that much has changed between then and now - if you wanna pull babes, you better have a little musical talent. Anyhow, socially speaking, Haruto was only thiiiiiis close to being actual dirt, and as you can imagine, he would've been executed immediately if anyone'd known he was even looking at the daimyo's daughter. And as it turned out, they came damn close.

"One night, Tsumiki made the colossal mistake of inviting Haruto to her bedchambers instead of meeting in secret somewhere outside the manor grounds like usual. And, as you'd expect, a jealous handmaiden spotted him lurking about and snitched to the daimyo. The daimyo was so pissed that he sent soldiers to Tsumiki's chambers to arrest the two of them. When they heard the soldiers banging on the door, they knew the jig was up, and did the only thing they could do..."

Hayate pauses, glancing excitedly from you to Mariko.

"Which is...?" you say, even though you've heard the story enough times to know what happens next.

"When the soldiers finally broke into her bedchambers, they found Tsumiki and Haruto hanging from the rafters, hand in hand. They went to the only place that her father couldn't follow."

"Was...that the scary part?" asks Mariko, unimpressed.

"Err, well, no..." says Hayate, "the thing is, that within weeks of Tsumiki's suicide, residents of the Yamamori Manor reported hearing voices that sounded like hers and Haruto's coming from empty rooms, or around corners in hallways with nobody in them. Soldiers on patrol would see spectral figures coming and going from Tsumiki's bedchambers, but when they went to check, the doors were unlocked, but there would be no one inside."

"Woooooo," you warble, crossing your eyes and shaking your hands about. Hayate shoots you a dark look.

"But that's not all. The reason why there's nothing more about the Yamamori family in the history books after this happened is this: one morning, the manor woke to find that the daimyo had disappeared. A search was conducted of the entire manor, but turned up nothing until the family convened in the entrance hall. What they found was a scorched outline burned into the floor in the perfect silhouette of the missing daimyo. Aside from that, nothing else was found of him - not clothes, not a body, not even so much as a look-alike sighting in the village below. It was as if he'd ceased to exist. And so, with the head of the household missing and his only daughter dead, the family faded into the mists of time, leaving only their cursed history behind. And their huge house."

Mariko nods silently to herself, apparently more satisfied by the story's ending. "So, was that all true?"

Hayate opens his mouth to speak, but you cut in, "No, they were actually killed off by a wave of illness. The story's just a story."

He rolls his eyes and heaves a sigh. "Yeah, and Mariko wanted me to tell it, so I did. Frankly, I like my version better. What do you think, Mariko?"

"Sorry, Tetsuo, but I like the ghost story version better, too."

"Seriously?"

"Of course! I love stories about mysteries and the supernatural! Are you saying you've never wanted a little break from real life, Tetsuo?"

"No, it's just a little hokey is all."

Mariko giggles. "Well, yeah. But I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Besides, not all of that was made up - just the part about the ghosts and stuff. You actually really know your history, don't you, Hayate?"

Reddening slightly, Hayate leans back in his chair. "Hey, it's not like I'm completely stupid, y'know. A-Anyhow," he straightens back up and slides his bag over his shoulder, "if we don't wanna be really miserable, we'd better make sure we get all our roommate choices straightened out before we run outta options. The signup sheet's out in the hall, why don't we get this taken care of?"

You have a feeling you know exactly what Hayate's thinking, and you're not sure you're ready for an overnighter in such close quarters.

"Yeah, sure, just lemme go grab Nisekao so he doesn't think we've gone and forgotten about him," you say.

"Ah. Yeah, sure. C'mon, Mariko," he replies, his shoulders sinking as he trudges out of the room with Mariko in tow.

Outside, the hallway has developed a clog of students clamoring around the bulletin board waiting their turn to pencil in their room assignments. Pushing through the throng, you stumble into 2-C to find it nearly empty save for Nisekao, who's staring blankly out the window at his desk near the back of the room.

"Uh, hey Nisekao," you say. Approaching him sometimes feels like handling fine china. His head snaps towards you.

"Ah, Tetsuo! Sorry, I was just...thinking. What did you need?"

"Weren't you going to sign up for a roommate on the class trip?"

"No, not right now. I don't much feel like getting shoved about by everybody anyways. Did...did you sign up with anybody yet?"

"Actually, that's what I was going to ask you. I don't really know any of the guys in our year besides you and Hayate, and frankly, you sound like a better roomie."

The corner of Nisekao's mouth curves upwards. "I can understand that. You don't think Hayate-kun will be put out, will he?"

"He'll manage. I'm more worried for whoever gets stuck with him. C'mon, let's put our names down. Passing period's nearly over, so people oughta be moving along."

Outside, crowd of people clustered around the bulletin board has indeed thinned considerably. Mariko stands nearby, exchanging a few words with the tired, frizzy-haired girl from 2-A you met the day you went looking for Nisekao. Hayate, however, is doing a terrifically poor job of concealing himself around the corner of the stairwell, his eyes frantically darting between the two girls.

"Oh, what's this now...what're you doing?" you ask, striding up to him.

"Hey! Shhh!" he says, pulling you around the corner with him as Nisekao hovers awkwardly at the top of the stairs.

"You're just having the most interesting day so far, aren't you?" you say.

"Don't even joke with me right now, bro. Do you know who that is?"

"Mariko. She helped me save your life, remember?" you reply, even though you know perfectly well who he means.

"No, jackass, the other one. That's Koharu Shimizu."

"Yeah, I've run into her before. Looks like she could stand to go to bed earlier." Hayate snorts.

"You mean the bags under her eyes? Think they make her look cute?"

"Is there a point to this?" You glance over at Nisekao for backup, but he merely shrugs.

"Just answer me, bro. Do they make her look cute or not?"

"Er...yes?" You can't lie, there is a certain something to her.

"Exactly!" hisses Hayate right into your ear. "It's all a game to her! Smoke and mirrors! She wants you to think she's the creepy, shy type, but you can't fall for it! Those shadows are probably just makeup, anyways..." he grumbles before peeping back around the corner to make sure they're still there.

"She doesn't look all that bad to me," ventures Nisekao.

"Nuh-uh. Trust me, you don't wanna go there. She eats guys like you alive. Oh thank God, she's leaving."

The two of you emerge from your "hiding" place and approach Mariko, who's finishing up writing her name on the signup sheet. Hayate leans over her shoulder to read the names on the paper and the color drains from his face.

"Mariko, you can't be serious. What are you doing?" He clutches at his cheeks.

"Umm, putting in my roommate assignment before next period starts. Isn't that you said we ought to do?"

"No, I mean rooming with her!"

"What's wrong with Koharu-chan? I'm not great friends with any of the other girls in our year, and she didn't have anyone to room with yet, so I thought it might be nice if we could room together. I mean, she didn't sound very enthusiastic, but it's got to be better than having one of the teachers pick for you."

"But that means she's going to be in our group! Two days having to deal with her! Why not just push me into traffic and save me the pain."

"Don't tempt me," you mutter, but deep inside, you figure there must be something to this girl to cause such an adverse reaction in Hayate of all people.

"It sounds like you know her," says Nisekao. Hayate grimaces and breaks eye contact.

"Whatever. I don't wanna talk about it."

"Well, we'll all just have to find some way to get along," says Mariko. "Let's try and make this fun!"

Judging from the uncomfortable expressions on everyone else's face, there'll be no guarantee of that.