A Must-Eat! But We Never Got to Eat It!

"What if Yamamura Miki really gets spirited away?"

Morishita Ran wagged her finger, speaking with conviction. "It's spring, and this is the twilight hour, when the worlds of yin and yang meet. We're in a small grove, and Yamamura Miki has such a peculiar presence. The three elements of heaven, earth, and humanity are all in place. It's time to open the door to the supernatural world."

"If it really opens, what good would having one more person there do? Did you drag me here because you thought I wasn't going to die quickly enough?" the real psychic snapped.

"Of course I brought you along so we could go die together. That way, I wouldn't be lonely over there." Morishita Ran blinked and answered without a trace of shame.

"..." Did I have a grudge against you or something? You had to drag me along even when you were going to die?

"N-no, nothing like that! I'm just naturally inconspicuous." The most peculiar person there, Yamamura Miki, was actually the one who believed in science the most.

"Now, I'll read out the rules of the game." Without waiting for the others to react, Morishita Ran launched into her explanation.

From who knew where, she produced a yellowed book titled Japanese Yokai Folklore Records.

Mikage Touji's mouth twitched. "Where did you dig this thing up?"

"This? I borrowed it from the school library at lunchtime. Also," Morishita Ran shot Mikage Touji a glare, "please don't interrupt me."

The Advanced Nurturing school library even had something like this? What a complete waste of taxpayers' money.

After a brief pause, Morishita Ran opened the book. Her flat, emotionless voice echoed through the quiet grove.

"Summer, the fifteenth year of the Taisho era. Cicadas droned like a sudden downpour. Kenta, Kazuhiko, and Koume were playing blind man's bluff in the woods outside their village. Kazuhiko counted with his eyes covered: 'One! Two!' When he opened them again, only the empty buzz of cicadas remained among the trees. The handkerchief Koume had tied on drifted onto the branch of an ancient cedar. Where the wind swept up the dead leaves, a child's voice stammered, 'Three...' as if swallowed whole by the deep shadows of the trees."

A gust of wind swept through, rustling the leaves.

"Eek!"

Yamamura Miki hadn't been scared at all before, but Morishita Ran's story made her heart jump. She looked toward the depths of the grove, as though something might suddenly leap out at any moment.

"That's pretty much it." Morishita Ran snapped the book shut.

"But to make sure Yamamura Miki doesn't actually get taken, whether you're seeking or being sought, we'll call out our numbers every so often. I'm one, Mikage Touji is two, and Yamamura Miki is three. That's settled."

"Wouldn't that make it even scarier?" Mikage Touji said, exasperated.

The grove wasn't large, but there were only three of them. Whether seeking or hiding, the thought of calling out a number alone from some patch of grass in the dark, secluded woods made him feel like they might actually summon something unclean.

"Can I not play?" Yamamura Miki was already curled up beneath the bushes.

"Then the Twilight Spirit-Away Game officially begins." Ignoring Yamamura Miki's protest, Morishita Ran briskly announced the start of the game.

"Next, we'll play rock-paper-scissors to decide who's It."

"..."

Mikage Touji refused to take part in such childish behavior.

"Come on," Morishita Ran urged. "If you don't play, you're It."

One second later, Mikage Touji decided to join in.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" ×3

"Under no circumstances are you allowed to leave the grove, Mikage Touji. Got it?" Morishita Ran stood with her hands crossed over the tree trunk, eyes closed and back to Mikage Touji, as she called out.

Mikage Touji rolled his eyes. "You're the only one who'd do something like that, you know."

Then he turned to Yamamura Miki, who was trembling. "Yamamura, let's go together."

"Okay!" Yamamura Miki let out a long breath and gave him a grateful look.

"I heard that!" Morishita Ran's voice drifted over, eerie and distant.

There were plenty of places to hide in the little grove, but neither of them made much effort.

After ducking into a random spot, Mikage Touji sat against a tree and struck up a conversation with Yamamura Miki.

"By the way, why are you going along with Morishita's nonsense? If you just ignored her, she'd find somewhere to kill time by herself." Mikage Touji lowered his voice.

"Because... Morishita is the only person who's ever come up to talk to me on her own. That day... I was eating in the cafeteria, and she suddenly came up behind me."

Yamamura Miki placed a hand on her chest, smiling as if lost in memory.

"I've been inconspicuous ever since I was little. In kindergarten, when we played with toys, I was always beside the pile of blocks in the corner, watching the other children laugh together. Sometimes, when the teacher handed out snacks, she'd miss the hand I raised. During group activities in elementary school, I was often the last one left. No one chose me or fought over me, so the teacher could put me in any group she wanted..."

"When I got to middle school, I tried to fit in. At first, everyone welcomed me, but the next day they were still talking about things I didn't understand. That's when I knew I didn't belong there. They'd carry on just the same whether I was there or not..."

"Eventually, I got used to it. I wasn't liked, and I wasn't disliked. I was just... always alone..."

"But!"

Yamamura Miki's eyes suddenly lit up.

"One day, Morishita called my name from behind. She didn't get it wrong or anything. She said my full name!"

Mikage Touji listened and smiled silently. Who would've thought that Morishita Ran's habit of calling everyone by their full name could have an upside?

"That was when I realized Morishita was different from everyone else. She remembered my name, went out of her way to befriend me, and thanked me so earnestly."

"So I don't want to stay where I am anymore. I want to try doing things I could never have done alone!"

"Even if the thing itself is terrifying?" Mikage Touji added teasingly.

"Eek!"

Yamamura Miki, who'd just worked up her courage, reflexively shrank back. She looked around, then shut her eyes and spoke in a slightly tearful voice.

"Mikage, please stop scaring me!"

"Okay, okay. I won't scare you."

Mikage Touji raised both hands with a laugh. "I surrender, I surrender..."

It was hard to resist teasing a girl who jumped at the slightest provocation.

Once she'd calmed down a little, Yamamura Miki asked the question on her mind.

"What about you, Mikage?"

"Me?"

Yamamura Miki stole a glance at Mikage Touji, then quickly looked away and muttered, "You're going along with Morishita, too..."

Mikage Touji was nothing like her, someone with no presence at all. In a way, he was the most conspicuous person in Class A.

"Now that you mention it, that's true." Mikage Touji lowered his head and rubbed his chin, thinking it over on the spot. "Yeah... why am I going along with Morishita's nonsense out here?"

"Of course it's because Lady Morishita is adorable..."

A voice devoid of emotion, cold and piercing as an Arctic gale, came from behind them.

The two of them, still chatting, jolted at the same time. Their breath caught, and they turned around stiffly.

They suddenly realized they'd been so engrossed in their conversation that they'd forgotten something they were supposed to do.

"Heh."

Morishita Ran rustled her way through the weeds and dead branches beside them, laughing without a trace of expression.

"Do you know how terrifying it is when Lady Morishita calls out 'one' all alone in a pitch-dark grove and no one answers?"

"The whole forest only had a Japanese blackbird answering me. Oh, right, and the crows beside the school building were going 'caw~ caw~.'"

"Twilight. A silent little grove. The crows' cries. There were three of us, and now there's only one..."

Her flat voice echoed through the grove. Paired with her icy face, it was downright chilling.

"I told you not to take it so seriously. Now look, you've scared yourself." Mikage Touji quietly protested.

"Mikage, stop talking." Yamamura Miki tugged at the hem of his shirt.

"Mikage Touji, are you saying this is Morishita Ran's fault?"

"Ahem, no, that's not what I meant. It was my fault for not following the rules..."

As he spoke, Mikage Touji's expression changed.

"Then prepare yourselves—"

"Um... sorry to interrupt," Mikage Touji said, swallowing before cutting Morishita Ran off. "Did you hear a strange sound?"

"Are you still trying to scare Lady Morishita at a time like this?"

"No, I'm not. Morishita... I think I heard it, too." Yamamura Miki's voice began to tremble, and she unconsciously edged closer to Mikage Touji.

"How could that be? Who else would be here at this time besides us?"

Morishita Ran looked suspicious, folded her arms, and stood still, listening.

In the quiet grove, they heard the flapping and calls of birds, the continuous rustle of leaves in the breeze, and the occasional patter of the last raindrops falling to the ground...

"Listen... you hear it, right?"

"I think I do."

"I-I hear it too."

The three of them stood there, taking turns speaking.

"What's it saying? Four? Does it want to play blind man's bluff or the Spirit-Away Game?"

"Idiot. It's obviously saying 'death.'"

"Um... I think it's saying 'go die'..."

"..."

A gust of wind swept through, leaving the grove in utter silence...

"I told you not to go looking for trouble! Now we've run into something real, and all three of us are going to die because of you!"

"How could something like that be real?! Come on, let's go take a look!"

"W-wait, we're going over there?"

"You believe in science now? And, Morishita, could you please stop hiding behind me and pushing me?"

"I brought you here for exactly this! Go on, Mikage Touji! I'll cheer you on!"

"Actually... we could just... leave right now..."

The two in front turned around together. "No! We've come this far. How could we be satisfied without taking a look?"

Chapter 23: A Must-Eat! But We Never Got to Eat It!

Kushida Kikyou had been feeling very irritable lately!

She'd finally received her acceptance letter from Advanced Nurturing High School. She'd planned to leave her past behind and start a new life somewhere no one knew her.

What she'd never expected was that Horikita Suzune, who'd attended the same schools as her since middle school, whose mannerisms she couldn't stand, and who might know about her dark past, would also come to this school.

And they'd even ended up in the same class!

She was annoyed! Frustrated! Her head hurt!

Negative emotions welled up in her heart one after another.

But Kushida Kikyou still had to smile and greet Horikita Suzune amicably every day. Otherwise, not only would the image she'd painstakingly built up in class fall apart,

Horikita Suzune might also stop paying her any attention, and she'd lose her chance to become friends with her.

Yes, even though Horikita Suzune's deadpan face annoyed her, even though she couldn't stand her self-important attitude, and even though she mocked her naive belief that she could do anything despite not knowing her limits, Kushida Kikyou still wanted to be friends with Horikita Suzune. She wanted Horikita to open her heart and tell her, her good friend, about her troubles, her unhappiness—everything...

Then Kushida could gleefully reveal Horikita's ugly side in front of everyone!

But no matter how hard she tried, that beautiful fantasy never got past the very beginning.

"I don't want to know you. Goodbye."

"Don't show up in front of me. You're annoying."

"I don't need friends. I can do everything on my own."

Again and again, again and again, that woman rejected her without the slightest mercy.

The rabid boars in class told their stupid jokes and bragged about their laughable grades. And during swimming class, they stared lecherously at her chest...

Men really were all a bunch of trash!

Sakayanagi Arisu, stop pretending to be cute and trying to win the sympathy of those guys in class. I saw through your self-important personality from the start. I just couldn't be bothered to call you out.

Karuizawa Kei, clinging to Hirata Yousuke, loudly ordering me around every day and making me do this and that, all under the pretext of "helping a friend."