Chapter 24: Yotsuya Miko Finally Sheds Little Pearls!
Luke walked down the street, nursing a headache.
The fierce sun beat down from above, making him feel miserable all over, draining every last bit of his strength.
Having just left the client's house, he was already eager to get home.
He hated the heat the most.
"H-hello."
A timid voice, tinged with nervousness, came from behind.
Luke turned around to see a cute girl standing behind him.
One hand held down her skirt, while the other was raised in the air, seemingly greeting him.
"Mm! What do you want?" Luke asked, frowning impatiently.
"C-could you... um... w-wait h-here for m-me, just a sec," Yotsuya Miko said, sniffling and choking back sobs.
She lowered her head, looking utterly wronged, both hands tightly gripping her skirt.
Her fair thighs pressed together tightly once more.
Now, she remembered the important thing she had forgotten earlier.
"..."
Yotsuya Miko bit her lip shyly, a blush spreading across her face, her body trembling with embarrassment...
Luke glanced downwards.
Below the skirt Yotsuya Miko was covering, water appeared seemingly out of nowhere, dripping uncontrollably onto the ground, forming a puddle.
He quickly said, "Uh, mm... cough cough, okay. Y-you, um, you should go take care of that first."
"Mm." Yotsuya Miko kept her head down, hands tightly gripping the handles of her shopping bag, feet shuffling across the pavement towards the restroom, taking the smallest steps possible.
The flow she had been desperately holding back, once she relaxed when he stopped, had uncontrollably broken through the dam.
Ughh— So embarrassing.
The deeply wronged Yotsuya Miko hadn't been scared into this state by the ghost, but at this moment, she finally shed little pearls (tears).
o(╥﹏╥)o
Yotsuya Miko walked into the restroom, glanced left and right, and seeing no terrifying ghosts, let out a huge sigh of relief.
She chose an unlocked stall and sat down on the toilet.
Right now, the public embarrassment from before was gone, her mind completely filled with what had just happened.
Why did the ghosts back away?
Why were they... afraid?
Yotsuya Miko gently lifted her blue-black skirt, revealing the soaking wet panties underneath.
Could he be an exorcist?
Good thing I went shopping for underwear today, don't have to endure this uncomfortable state.
She gently removed the panties clinging to her legs...
She picked up some tissue and gently wiped the inside of her thighs.
Could it be an item like a talisman?
"Can you see?"
Yotsuya Miko, holding her panties, froze abruptly.
She slowly looked up.
From the adjacent stall, a pitch-black ghostly head stretched over.
"Can you see?" Seeing Yotsuya Miko's gaze, the ghost's head, perched on the partition, elongated its neck like a python's body, coiling over the divider.
It dangled its long neck, dropping its terrifying face right in front of Yotsuya Miko.
Its empty eye sockets opened and closed along with the shape of its mouth, simultaneously making sounds.
"Can you... see...?!!!"
Ughh— Help!
Yotsuya Miko stiffly rubbed her neck, eyes wide.
But even though her heart was filled with fear, her mouth still spoke calmly, "Ah... my neck is so stiff, shopping is so tiring."
As long as I pretend not to see it, everything will be fine! Stay calm, just like always.
"Ah! It's so late, I need to hurry home."
Yotsuya Miko quickly changed into fresh panties, grabbed her shopping bag and phone, and pushed open the stall door...
Without even washing her face, she hurried out.
"Did you see? Me... did you see?"
The ghost's voice came from beside her feet.
Wuwuwu~~~ Why is it still following?
Yotsuya Miko was about to cry again.
She quickened her pace, observing the ghost with her peripheral vision—
Its shaky body followed beside her, skinny, slightly bent as if carrying an endless weight.
Its slender neck drooped down, dragging its head rolling on the ground, continuously following beside Yotsuya Miko.
Its tattered robes, decayed by time, hung raggedly.
The clothes were stained with blood, mud, and the stench of decay, emitting a nauseatingly putrid smell.
Its arms and legs were unnaturally twisted and deformed, as if warped by endless pain and torture, but still not as terrifying as that python-like neck.
Yotsuya Miko ignored its questioning whispers in her ear and quickly returned to her starting point.
Her gaze landed on the boy waiting there with his back to her.
Yotsuya Miko's heart leaped with joy.
She lifted her foot, wanting to approach, but...
Her raised foot gently lowered.
She hesitated...
"Can you see?" The evil spirit beside her ear was still asking.
If he's not an exorcist... if his items can't deal with the evil spirit, will he be in danger? Yotsuya Miko hesitated.
"Can you see?"
Yotsuya Miko bit her lip, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes.
Maybe I should just forget it.
Anyway, as long as I pretend not to see the ghosts, they can't do anything to me.
That's fine... just fine.
"Hey! I've been waiting for ages. Takes that long to change clothes?"
Yotsuya Miko quickly looked up and saw the boy making a fist near his face, walking towards her in that peculiar way.
"Don't come over!" she quickly shouted to stop him.
She didn't want to drag anyone else into this.
But, Luke was already beside her.
"Can you see?" the evil spirit emitted a ghostly voice.
"Ah, I can see," Luke recited.
"You can see!" The evil spirit swung its long neck, picked up its own head, and threw it out.
"No!" Yotsuya Miko cried out anxiously, only to see a wooden sword appear from nowhere and slice through the evil spirit's neck.
Like a kitchen knife slicing through tofu, easy and effortless, the thought flashed through the stunned Yotsuya Miko's mind.
Watching the evil spirit's body turn to ash and scatter in the wind, Luke nodded with satisfaction.
No wonder the surroundings felt off when he was walking around earlier.
Malice clearly filled the air, but as soon as this girl left, everything cleared up—
Girl, you have a big problem! Luke shifted his gaze to the dazed, teary-eyed girl.
"What did you just say 'no' about?"
Yotsuya Miko turned her cute, delicate face towards him.
Although they had never met before, a long-lost sense of security washed over her, causing the fatigue accumulated in her body and soul from seeing ghosts all these days... to finally break her down.
And so, Yotsuya Miko began to sob silently, tears streaming down her face like rivers...
"Uh, scared? Don't cry!"
Luke suddenly felt helpless, looking at the girl in front of him, not understanding why she had suddenly burst into tears.
If others noticed, he'd really have trouble explaining himself.
As if to confirm his thoughts, passersby started casting glances their way.
Yotsuya Miko's little pearls (tears) fell even more heavily.
...
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