"If you want to know, you can come hang out in my room," Amamiya Natsuki said casually.
"I think I'll pass." Yurikawa Hana covered her chest with both hands. "Mom told me not to go play in strange boys' rooms. I might run into danger."
Amamiya Natsuki sighed in disappointment, his voice wistful.
"So, in Yurikawa-classmate's eyes, I'm just a dangerous stranger."
"You're not a stranger! Amamiya-classmate, you're already my friend." Yurikawa Hana hurriedly waved her hands. "...I'll go hang out in your room in a bit!"
"I refuse."
Amamiya Natsuki picked up his teacup and took a sip.
"Eh?"
"There are things in my room that shouldn't be seen. It really is dangerous, so you'd better not come, Yurikawa-classmate."
"..."
Fujiwara Chika: Call Me an Outlaw
"A family has two children. Given that one is a girl, what's the probability that the other child is also a daughter?"
Yurikawa Hana lay sprawled over the desk like a salted fish left out to dry, listlessly blowing bubbles.
"It should obviously be one-half. Why does the answer say one-third?"
"I don't understand."
"Not at all."
"Miko, why is it one-third?"
"I don't know." Yotsuya Miko shook her head. "I think it's one-half... Maybe the answer's wrong?"
Excellent.
I admire your commitment to your own opinions.
What do you do when you get a question wrong?
Obviously, the answer key must be wrong!
"This is a basic permutations and combinations problem." Amamiya Natsuki looked at the workbook, speechless. "The answer really is one-third."
"Eh? Amamiya-classmate, you know how to solve it?"
Yurikawa Hana perked up, quickly sitting upright and leaning toward Amamiya Natsuki.
"Before a child is born, the probability of having a boy or a girl is the same, so it really is one-half." Amamiya Natsuki spun his pencil between his fingers. "But the question clearly says the children have already been born. It's asking about the possible combinations of the two children, and the order doesn't matter."
"Staaare—"
Yurikawa Hana opened her eyes wide.
The girl's eyes were large, their clear, deep blue as bright as the sky after rain.
"...Why are you looking at me?"
Amamiya Natsuki raised an eyebrow.
"Well..." Yurikawa Hana stammered, lightly tapping two fingers together in front of her chest, her face faintly flushed. "Could you explain it again, Amamiya-classmate? I didn't understand just now."
Amamiya Natsuki silently looked at Miko.
Yotsuya Miko said nonchalantly, "I understood."
"Then you explain it to Yurikawa-classmate," Amamiya Natsuki said.
"Sorry." Yotsuya Miko promptly apologized. "Actually, I didn't understand either."
If you didn't get it, just say so. You were always satisfied with a vague, half-baked understanding of things. No wonder your grades were always average.
Amamiya Natsuki sighed and could only explain the problem again.
This time, Yurikawa Hana finally understood. Then she scooted over beside Amamiya Natsuki, clasped her hands together, and said:
"Amamiya-classmate, please teach me math!"
"Hmm?"
"My math grades have always been bad, ever since I was little. I often fail, and I disappoint Mom every time." Yurikawa Hana looked pitiful. "You're good at math, Amamiya-classmate, so please help me study. I'll offer you a delicious sacrifice. Please say yes!"
A delicious sacrifice?
Amamiya Natsuki's gaze drifted downward of its own accord.
It was just studying, and she was willing to offer her body as a sacrifice?
"Staaare—"
Yotsuya Miko said, "Wipe your drool, you pervert, Natsuki."
"Got it." Amamiya Natsuki quickly pulled his gaze back and put on a serious expression. "I don't mind, as long as I have time."
"Thank you so much!"
"..."
In the blink of an eye, it was five in the afternoon.
Amamiya Natsuki let out a long sigh.
They said that the bigger the chest, the smaller the brain. Today, Amamiya Natsuki discovered that this saying was surprisingly credible.
Take Shinomiya Kaguya, for example. She was a famous genius girl at school, the top of the grade, and incredibly intelligent. Unfortunately, it seemed she'd traded her bust for brains. Her chest was as flat as a board, on par with an elementary school student's.
Fujiwara Chika was well-endowed, and didn't look very bright.
Yurikawa Hana was the same.
"It's getting dark." Yurikawa Hana stretched, raising her hands over her head and displaying her perfect curves. Unfortunately, she seemed completely unaware of it. "Miko, Amamiya-classmate, I'm heading home."
Amamiya Natsuki stood up. "I'll head back too."
"I'll walk you out."
Yotsuya Miko followed them downstairs. On the way, they ran into Miko's younger brother.
Miko's mom was still at work and hadn't come home yet.
After greeting Miko's little brother, Amamiya Natsuki walked out of Miko's house with the dog on a leash.
"See you tomorrow."
Yurikawa Hana waved goodbye, holding the straps of her schoolbag as she headed toward the tram station with light steps.
The sunset was fiery red.
Its glow painted the whole street crimson, and the girl's shadow stretched long in the evening light. She looked quite beautiful.
It would've been even better without the Vengeful Spirits wandering around.
"..."
The air quickly fell quiet.
After a brief silence, Yotsuya Miko pressed her pink lips together, raised her eyes to Amamiya Natsuki, and asked softly:
"When did you start seeing those... things?"
"Last night, when I went out to walk the dog."
Amamiya Natsuki didn't hide anything. He told her about the strange events he'd encountered.
The game hadn't warned him to keep it secret or forbid him from telling anyone. Besides, dozens of players were participating in Vengeful Spirit Academy alone. Who knew how many people in the real world were Game Players? There was no problem with telling Miko.
"A survival game?" Yotsuya Miko was shocked. She raised a hand to cover her eyes, her voice troubled. "I've never encountered the game you described. My eyes just suddenly became able to see those terrifying things a week ago. I almost went crazy."
At the same time she saw the Vengeful Spirits, she could hear their voices. Yet she had to pretend nothing was wrong. She couldn't run, scream, or do anything that might give her away... Yotsuya Miko felt as though every day was torture.
But now things were different.
A ray of hope had appeared in her life!
Yotsuya Miko grabbed Amamiya Natsuki's right hand, her eyes sparkling. "So those Vengeful Spirits really can be destroyed, right?"
"They can, yes..."
Amamiya Natsuki briefly explained how the Evil Spirit Repellent aura worked.
"Come home with me." Yotsuya Miko's eyes shone brightly as she pulled Amamiya Natsuki toward her house. "Let's get rid of the ones hiding inside first."
"What about your dad?" Amamiya Natsuki asked.
The Evil Spirit Repellent's radius was five meters. He didn't know what would happen if Miko's Dad was caught in it, so they had to be careful.
"Hmm..." Miko thought for two seconds, then quickly said, "I'll keep an eye on Dad. You go exorcise them, and we'll keep in touch by phone."
"Sure."
Amamiya Natsuki returned to Miko's house and began his exorcism mission.
The kitchen, living room, bathroom... In short, he walked around the house and activated his aura whenever he spotted a Vengeful Spirit.
There weren't many of them, but each one was uglier than the last. Seeing one out of nowhere was bound to give you a scare.
When Amamiya Natsuki finished the exorcism, he said goodbye and headed home.
"Tonight, I can finally sleep peacefully!"
At eleven that night, Yotsuya Miko happily set an alarm on her phone and prepared to go to sleep. Then, the corner of her eye caught the curtain.
A twisted black shadow had appeared behind it at some point...
Yotsuya Miko silently bit her lower lip, tears welling in her eyes.
"Do monsters really 'respawn' this fast?"
"Do I have to go to Natsuki's house and... live together with him?"
The night passed without incident.
The next day.
After a simple breakfast of bread and a glass of milk, Amamiya Natsuki headed to school.
"Good morning, Amamiya-classmate!"
Fujiwara Chika waved and called out to him, her voice clear and cheerful.
"Morning."
Amamiya Natsuki answered and looked toward Shinomiya Kaguya. It was obvious she hadn't slept well.
"Kaguya-chan, your dark circles are even worse." Fujiwara Chika widened her eyes. "Did you stay up late again last night?"
Shinomiya Kaguya lightly bit her lower lip, her expression still cool and composed. "I didn't stay up late."
She simply hadn't dared to sleep.
A terrifying monster stood by her bed, staring at her. How could she possibly fall asleep?
Amamiya Natsuki said:
"Enough talk. Let's open our Blind Boxes."
They'd agreed after school yesterday to open their Blind Boxes as soon as they got to class this morning, just in case something went wrong. After all, none of them knew whether they might get a Vengeful Spirit.
"I'll go first."
Fujiwara Chika raised her right hand, becoming the first to buy today's Blind Box. Then she opened it immediately.
"Eh? There's a Skill card inside..." Fujiwara Chika showed them the card's attributes, her voice disappointed. "After learning it, you can change other people's names to 'Outlaw'..."
"What a useless skill. Two stars!"
Before you continue