"…I don't think most people would say that outright," the girl called "Something-Megumi" said, her expression unchanged. "Also, Sawamura-san, I really like your *Irish Lover*. Please keep making new pieces—I'll keep supporting you."
"Thanks, thanks!"
"But *Maid Skirt*… I can't seem to love it. Maybe my taste isn't refined enough. Sorry."
"Nah, everyone's got their preferences. Not liking it's normal."
Kagura figured she might find *Maid Skirt* too sultry—pure girls often did. It was, after all, inspired by Hayasaka's climax, composed imagining her skirt hiked, tongue and vibe tag-teaming her to a standing, spraying peak. A lustful tune.
"Hm… you seem easy to talk to, Sawamura-san?"
Her faint question felt more like self-reflection than aimed at him.
"What, you'd prefer me acting like some haughty genius noble pianist to make you happy?"
"Rather than that…" She fully turned, eyeing him curiously, finger to her lips. "Should I call you 'Lord Duke,' 'Sir,' or 'Lord Earl'?"
"Why those? We're not in England."
"Just… clarifying your title?"
"Technically earl, honorary marquis, duke way later."
"Oh… well, here's to becoming Lord Duke soon~"
She tilted her head, smiling lightly.
"No… that needs my dad to kick the bucket first." Kagura gave a wry laugh.
His dad—however "adoptive"—gave him status and luxury. Kagura wasn't an ingrate wishing him dead. Plus, Eriri would bawl her eyes out, and he doted on her too much for that.
"Ah, sorry…! My history's shaky…"
She covered her mouth, bowing, hair grazing her shoulders, baring a pale, alluring nape.
"Cough, no worries. By the way, your name's…?"
"Huh? Name…?" She blinked, as if shocked someone like him would ask, then shook her hair. "It's Megumi—Kato Megumi. Nothing fancy like your middle-named coolness~ Just a common Japanese name."
*Like I'm a dime-a-dozen high school girl.*
"Kato, right, Kato!"
Yesterday's roll call clicked.
"Hm… you said you never do homework. Really?"
"Yup. Wanna check?"
"What'd that prove…" Kato leaned closer, hand shielding her lips, whispering, "But our homeroom, Kirisu-sensei, is strict. Be careful."
"Got it, thanks."
"No need. Sorry for my rude comment earlier~"
"Forget it~"
He waved it off; she nodded one last apology, facing the board.
Homework? Never his problem. Schools begged *him* to attend—he didn't beg them. Grades, assignments—he wouldn't need a job later. If Sobu High threatened expulsion, he'd ditch for Tokyo, where schools lined up for him. He stayed for proximity, to watch over Eriri.
---
At noon, Kagura pulled his bento from his desk, ready to eat. Then, thinking—since he'd hit it off with the guy behind him—why not eat together, chat?
He turned, bento in hand. "Eat together?"
But Hikigaya Hachiman was halfway up, bread in hand, heading out. They locked eyes, Hachiman stunned. Before Kagura could backtrack, Hachiman rewound to his seat like a reversed clip, gripping his beef-lettuce sandwich, deadpan. "Oh… sure, let's eat."
Kagura hesitated but said nothing, setting his bento down, unwrapping the cloth. "Alright… together then."
"Cough…" Hachiman cleared his throat, glancing at nearby classmates, fishing for a topic. "So, Kagura, heard of Sobu High's seven mysteries?"
"Oh? You into that?"
Kagura's lips curved, intrigued.
That maybe-chuunibyou senior, Sakurajima Mai, was digging into this. Kagura knew little—school friends were scarce.
"Well, I'm curious, but those who know won't spill."
"Don't make it sound so pathetic! Let's see… I know two."
Savoring his meal, Kagura shared "The Girl in the Mirror" and "The Nonexistent Classroom" with a starry-eyed Hachiman.
The first hit him when he saw Mai-senpai; the second was a classroom, unfindable, where Mai died forty years ago, her vengeful curse erasing it.
"First I'm hearing this…"
Hachiman nodded, engrossed, biting his bread—still wrapped. He'd been too hooked to notice, chomping plastic.
He coughed, spitting into his hand, embarrassed. Kagura stifled a laugh at his goof.
"Cough…" Peeling the wrapper like unveiling a treasure, Hachiman freed half the bread, gripping the rest. "I know one—'Hide and Seek.'"
"Don't know that. Spill."
Kagura tilted his head, curious.
Hayasaka mentioned it once, but he'd been more focused on her mouth doing… other things. No way he'd ask Hachiman for *that*—guys, traps, not his thing.
"You know pen fairies, dish spirits, fox games?"
"Yup."
Kagura snapped his fingers.
"It's like those," Hachiman bit, chewed fast, swallowed, patting his chest. "But unlike two-player games, 'Hide and Seek' needs just one."
"One? Then?"
"First, it's gotta be a Sobu High classroom—no offices, pools, halls, nada."
Hachiman raised a finger, voice turning spooky.
"But one can't play hide and seek, right? Yet this works. Guess why?"
"Why…" Kagura's left eye rolled up, thinking. "A ghost plays with you?"
"Bingo." Hachiman hummed approval. "'Mai-senpai' joins… but needs a stand-in, usually a doll."
"Oh… doll."
Kagura pictured Mai's silhouette—she'd rock a bunny outfit. So, a rabbit doll? Long-eared, black?
"After school, empty classroom, stick a 'Mai' label on the doll for Mai-senpai. Start as seeker: place the doll, stay with it, cover your eyes, count ten to one silently, uncover, find the doll, claim victory with 'Mai~ Mai~ stabbed in the gut,' and stab it with a craft knife."
"That's it?"
Kagura felt like he'd wasted brain cells.
"Nope, halfway." Hachiman's voice chilled, muffled by bread. "Then the doll's seeker. You hide somewhere in school. Three rules: one, no noise except victory or ending calls; two, don't leave school till it's done; three, *never, ever* get found."
"Hiss…"
The eerie delivery gave Kagura a shiver.
Hachiman, seeing his reaction, smirked, pinching an orchid finger. "Scared, huh? You don't *actually* believe this?"
"Nah…"
Kagura rolled his eyes, recalling using it to chat up Yukino yesterday.
"Playing with a doll, it won't seek you—but *something* will."
"Just psyching yourself out."
Brushing it off, Kagura waved.
"Pretty much~"
Hachiman shrugged, munching.
"But…"
He paused mid-bite, hesitant.
"What?"
"There's stuff about it I don't know."
"Rumors morph—different versions happen."
"True." Hachiman grinned, relieved. "Hey, Kagura, what if something *does* find the player?"
"Probably just hid too long, passed out, and a night patrol teacher finds you."
"Done for."
"Yup."
They shared a laugh, dropping it to focus on lunch.
---
Time slipped away; school ended. Kagura packed leisurely, slinging his bag, heading to the old schoolhouse.
The vibe shifted instantly—maybe the aged wooden structure's inherent creepiness. Inhaling dusty air, he swatted floating motes, bounding upstairs two at a time to the fifth floor.
The leftmost classroom bathed in dim orange corridor light. He knocked twice.
"…C-Come in."
Yukino's voice answered fast but sounded shaky.
Pushing in, the old door groaned. Scanning the room, something felt off, but he couldn't pin it.
Yukino sat, knees pressed tight, tilted elegantly left, not reading—almost like she'd been waiting, eyes tense on the door.
Their gazes met. Her face looked pale, startled, giving her a frail charm that, paired with her slender frame, oddly boosted her allure.
"Afternoon. You okay? Bad timing?"
He recalled barging into Hayasaka's room last night—mid-tampon. Yukino's pallor… period too?
"Greetings… don't overthink." She flicked her hand diagonally. "Sit."
"Alright."
He dropped his bag, took a few steps, sat opposite, tossing his bag right.
Yukino pulled out the same black-cat-covered paperback from her bag, coughed lightly into her fist, and opened it on her seamless lap, flipping to her bookmark, reading.
Not long after, Kagura, restless, propped his chin on the sofa's left arm. "So, Yukino, what do I do? Remember my request?"
"I'm not *that* forgetful—I recall your request perfectly. Also, rushing is a relationship killer. Except for rare love-at-first-sight cases, winning a girl's heart takes time. For me, constant pestering is less appealing than you grabbing a book to read together."
She smiled confidently, nodding at the large bookshelf left.
Though scratched and worn, it looked sturdy, five shelves crammed with new and old classics. Kagura, passing by his first day, noticed a Russian slant.
He preferred music to literature, but no piano here, and lugging a guitar to strum in the Service Club was absurd. Sighing, he approached the shelf, scanned, and pulled *The Cherry Orchard* by Chekhov.
Yukino, eyes closed, preened. "I've read that five times—new insights each go. Didn't expect you to pick it first try. Feels… odd."
"How so?"
He hadn't read it—just grabbed at "Chekhov." Flipping through, the near-pristine book was dense with neat, feminine annotations—older notes abundant, newer ones sparse, all one hand. He glanced at Yukino.
She pinched her chin, side-eyeing him. "Odd because imagining your hands on my notes feels like dirt creeping into my mind."
"…You."
He nearly snapped *you're a damn jerk*, but, figuring she'd be his future wife and recalling his banter with Hayasaka, he swallowed it.
Then the system chimed: "Greetings, Lord Kagura. New bounty—choose one or skip:
A: Slap a girl.
B: Open a door.
C: Read a book."
"…C."
Answering, his focus snapped back.
Ignoring her jab, he gripped the book, sat, legs flat, flipping to the character page with one hand.
System: "Bounty complete. Reward: [What's Most Needed] x3. Analyzes a target's deepest desire, summoning their most needed item to system space for retrieval, like [A Girl's Secret]. Three uses. Bonus: triple stamina/energy potion."
Kagura smirked, probing, "System, I want a perfect wife—can I use it on myself?"
"Sorry, this system doesn't traffic humans."
"…"
He flipped the system a mental middle finger, eyeing Yukino.
"Hiss… Yukino." Snapping his fingers for attention, not using the item yet, he asked, "Anything you really want?"
"Why ask?" She frowned, then sneered. "Trying to bribe me? I know you're loaded, but I'm not *that* girl."
"Not like that…" He waved. "I mean, something you want but can't easily get?"
"…Sounds the same. Just read quietly—I'm not interested."
"…"
*Shouldn't have asked.* Staring at her, he thought: *Yukino Yukino, what's most needed.*
Instantly, his mind expanded—a new "space." Closing his eyes, he saw…
Huh? A clean white pair of girls' panties?
*What, the system stuffed panties in my head?*
Yukino's top need—underwear? Was she… commando? No way—not in this era, not pristine Yukino, Sobu's elegant ice queen.
He doubted the system, but it rarely erred. Why panties, though? Period leak, maybe—her pale face at entry suggested it.
Handing her panties felt too bold, too perverse—like he'd be pegged as wanting to see her wear them.
Unbeknownst, Yukino's real reason: alone with Kagura, her slit quietly dampened. Talking was fine, but touch? Instant flood. She'd packed a spare, but with him here, changing was impossible.
Reading, Yukino mused aloud, "Quiet times savoring literature, lively times dominating the court—girls fall for that balance. Reading calmly matters."
"You talking to me?"
Kagura recalled a meme barrage: *"They really want to teach me!"* Yukino seemed dead serious about coaching him to charm girls.
"Is there a third person here?"
She flipped her hand, matter-of-fact.
Just then, the clubroom's rickety door *slammed* open, like a kick.
"Third person's here."
Kagura grinned, nodding at the door.
"…Seems so." Yukino, irked by the timing, frowned. "Excuse me, please kn—"
"Help, *save me*—please!"
A girl at the door clutched her chest, shrieking.
"Huh?"
Kagura shot up, seeing only her—no suspicious figures or things.
Shoulder-length pink-orange hair, a cute bun on her right—his left—bobbed with each word. Her eyes, maybe red contacts, were pinpricks; nose pale, forehead beaded with sweat. Slender fingers gripped her shirt, knees clamped, like one scare could make her collapse, wetting herself.
"What's wrong? Sit!"
Yukino dropped the door issue, standing to usher her in. Kagura darted to shut the door behind her.
The girl vaguely "knew" him, nodding frantically like a pecking chick as he closed it.
Even seated, she was rattled, plopping onto Kagura's spot—nearest the door.
He didn't mind, standing behind her sofa, asking, "Calm down—what happened?"
Yukino moved to the door, "locking" it with stacked cardboard boxes.
"I… I'm—*Mai-senpai's hunting me*!"
Tears welled, her hands tugging her skirt as she sobbed.
Though her uniform matched Yukino's, her skirt was hemmed short, baring over half her pale thighs when seated. Her shirt's top buttons were undone, flashing collarbone and a heart pendant on a cheapish gold chain—nothing like Hayasaka's gift from him.
A pleasant citrus scent—deodorant, he guessed.
"Huh…?"
He exchanged looks with Yukino, who rubbed her temples, puzzled. "Mai-senpai… the third-year idol?"
"N-Not her…" The girl pressed a finger to her lips, whispering, "The 'Mai-senpai' from the school's ghost stories."
Repeating "Mai-senpai," she flinched, as if the name cursed her.
"…" Yukino pursed her lips, massaging her head. "Your name?"
"Oh, sorry… I'm Yui Yuigahama, Class 2-C."
Calmer, she pressed a hand to her chest, introducing herself.
"I see. I'm…" Yukino started, but Yui cut in, "We all know you, Yukino-san!"
"Really…" Unfazed by the jittery interruption, Yukino nodded at Kagura. "Tell us what's up. Pretend that guy's not here."
"Hey!" Kagura barked. Yukino stifled a giggle, like a prank landed, then added, "Kidding. You know him too, right, Yuigahama-san?"
"Mhm…" Yui nodded, muttering, "No one at Sobu *doesn't*."
After her story, Kagura pieced together why Yui was terrified, crashing into the Service Club.
It tied to Hachiman's "Hide and Seek" tale. Yesterday evening, alone in Class 2-C post-exodus, Yui played the game. When the doll was seeker, she hid in the lectern's alcove.
Minutes later, ending the game, she found the knife-stabbed doll gone. No one entered, yet it vanished, freaking her out. Last night, she was paranoid; walking alone, she felt followed. In the old schoolhouse today, it intensified, leading her to the only lit room—here.
Kagura learned Hachiman's missing bit: "If the game doesn't end right, 'Mai-senpai' kills you."
"I get it," Yukino said, exuding *I've cracked it* confidence, gesturing at Yui. "Hide and Seek's just self-suggestion—no need to worry."
A staunch atheist, Yukino gave a textbook-correct answer. Kagura agreed—he'd told Hachiman the same—but for panicked Yui, it'd likely flop.
"Eh…"
Yui's face fell, not refuting but clearly unconvinced, her doubt plain.
"In a dim classroom at dusk, doing a creepy ritual, hiding in a tight space—you'd feel uneasy, even hallucinate. That's strong self-suggestion. You need to overcome it."
Yukino delivered a model response.
If Yui wasn't trembling near tears beside her, Kagura would've clapped—100 points.
But the doll's disappearance was fact. Without it, soothing a normal girl's cursed-level fear was tough.
Kagura doubted Yukino's advice would work.
"B-But… the doll *really* vanished… no one came." Yui clutched her chest, trying to argue.
"Someone knew you'd play and pranked you. Ask your circle?"
Yukino smiled.
Her smile was gorgeous, but Kagura saw zero solutions.
"…Even my bestie Miura didn't know. It *really* disappeared."
Yui slumped, tugging her skirt limply, her distress tugging heartstrings.
"Get strong—that's the 'ghost' in your heart. Only you can beat it." Yukino, not harsh enough, added firmly, "If you expect us to scour the school for your doll, you're mistaken. Lingering in a classroom post-hours for weird rituals breaks rules. Own your consequences."
"Ugh…"
Yui whimpered, wiping tears with her knuckles, lips quivering, eyes begging Kagura for ideas.
What could he say? He backed Yukino fully. Facing Yui's plea, he was stumped.
Summon a doll via system? Nah—he avoided over-relying on it. Plus, shouldn't he help close ones, like cleaning Hayasaka's cum-stained homework?
"I understand. Thanks…"
Seeing no help, Yui wiped her eyes, wobbling up to leave.
"Once you're strong inside, this can't touch you." Yukino shot Kagura a *see?* look, boasting, then added, "Need an escort?"
"No… bye. Sorry for the trouble."
At the door, Yui bowed, lips parting hesitantly, then moved the boxes, opening it to go.
Kagura's heart twinged. Staring at her back, he thought: *Yui Yuigahama, what's most needed.*
As the door shut, his mind gained an item.
Eyes closed, he saw…
Not a doll?
Nope—a red *omamori* charm, gold cloud embroidery.
[*Omamori*: divine protection, safety.]
It clicked: the doll was her curse's symbol now. More than finding it, she craved protection.
He moved to chase her with the charm.
Before he reached the door, it flew open.
"Mai-senpai" stood there.
No scolding from Yukino—she didn't react, flipping her book calmly, making Kagura, staring at Mai, feel foolish.
"Both you second-years are here…"
Sakurajima Mai, mildly surprised, strode in, her tight legs in black pantyhose, carrying something left-handed like she owned the place. "This…"
Kagura glanced at Mai, then Yukino—ignoring her—confused. Seeing Mai's "item," confusion turned to shock. "That's Yui's doll!"
He pointed at the pink-white long-eared rabbit, claw-machine sized, triangle mouth, left ear flopped, right held by Mai.
"What? Just a stabbed doll. You're a year younger—why the fuss?"
Mai dangled it, winking her left eye, smirking.
"No…" Kagura started, but Yukino snapped, "Doll? Sawamura-san, can you *quiet down*? Forgot what I said?"
"???"
*She can't see it? Or Mai?*
Turning to Mai, her expression said *duh*, arms crossed, doll swinging from her finger, eyeing Yukino. "Yup, she can't see me."
"…"
Speechless, Kagura wondered if he'd misjudged Mai.
He'd pegged her as chuunibyou, but Yukino's reaction was real—she didn't see her.
"If I want, no one notices me—except you."
Mai stepped closer, bending, grabbing his open collar's tie, pulling it halfway, locking eyes with curiosity and… approval?
"So, care to explain, Sawamura Spencer Kagura-san?"
She seemed miffed, lips pursed, but he couldn't fathom why.
"I… c'mon, senpai, step outside."
Grabbing her tie-holding hand, he tugged her out.
Her hand was as imagined—warm, soft, slender, strong. It felt *right*.
His mind flicked to Yui, who'd fled here for salvation, only to get Yukino's cold "science" dismissal. He couldn't let that stand.