Chapter Text
One thing that Yashiro Nene could say about her life…
Was that it was just plain hard.
Not the type of difficulty that is compared to maybe a broken family, or pressure in school.
This was a whole different situation in general.
When she was young, she never thought she would be put in these types of situations… after all supernaturals were simply myths, or stories that were told to give people the creeps.
Well, not anymore they weren’t.
Now, every day, there wasn’t a time when she didn’t see a supernatural roaming around the halls.
They took the form of animals, humans, plants… anything you could imagine.
It was just so tiring though.
She wished it would all go away, but she did cause this to herself, she supposed.
And actually, the more she thinks about it, it’s not all that bad.
For example, her crus- friend. She was able to visit her friend every day in the girl’s bathroom.
They talked, they played… and she cleaned toilets.
Yeah… she was going to add that to the list.
But other than that, it was great.
She also made friends with an exorcist from hanging out with her ghost friend. Which happened to be the younger brother of the hottest male in school. If that wasn’t a win, she didn’t know what was.
So yeah, she couldn’t say it was all too bad. She can’t think of a way she’d be able to live without them…
Literally.
It so happened that the only reason why she could see these supernaturals was that she was going to die within the span of a year.
And it didn’t seem like she was helping her case at all, with every dangerous situation she happened to get in.
If it weren’t for her trusty friends to save her, she’d probably be dead by now.
They protect her so much, that she didn’t even have the chance to do the same. Sometimes she wished she herself was an exorcist, or even an apparition, just so she could be a big help.
But as for now, she’ll just have to leave the saving to them.
Currently, she was on the floor, after Hanako helped fight off a new apparition.
He was called Henjin-Kun, or at least that’s what they called him in the rumors. The apparition was said to chase after young girls out of revenge because he was always rejected when he was alive. So he has been doing random acts such as stalking girls in the classroom, constantly messing with their work, and basically just ruining everything for them.
Nene, being the type of girl she was, happened to gain the attention of the spirit, but only because she could see him perfectly clear.
Just another one of the joys of being herself.
It all happened when Henjin-Kun had attempted to approach her friend Aoi.
Of course, many guys always approach Aoi, so Nene didn’t think much of it, but when the boy started to pull on the flowers in her friend’s pot, she grew furious.
For one Aoi didn’t know what was happening either, but it became quite a shock to the poor girl that she even started to cry a bit. Those flowers have been growing for a while now… almost months, but then they were suddenly dead, just like that.
Since Nene was watching the scene the whole time, she tried to tear the pot away from the random ghost in her classroom, and right when he felt resistance, he automatically found a new target.
So by that time, the girl was already running to the old school building, where Hanako was casually playing cards. He definitely caught up with her a few times and maybe roughed her up a bit.
Although Hanako appeared right in time from feeling a disturbance connecting to their bond.
He managed to chase off the new ghost but sadly wasn’t able to defeat it. It ran away like a coward.
So basically Nene was now washing herself off in the girl’s bathroom.
“Yashiro… why would you approach a spirit without confronting me first?” Hanako sighed. She does this a lot sometimes, tries to fight or argue with something she knows can beat her in an instant. He didn’t know much about that apparition, but he’s definitely heard the rumors. Whether it had a murderous intent or not… that's what confused him.
“Hanako-Kun, you don’t understand. He was bullying Aoi-chan. Anyone who messes with my best-friend will have to go through me first!”
The ghost’s mouth fell into a thin line. “If the spirit was threatening her, I’m sure he’d be getting some punishment from another supernatural anyways.” He indicated towards one of the three of the clock-keepers. “Plus, you don’t have any powers, you can’t just fight off an apparition because you really want to.”
Nene pouted and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She stared and she stared until her expression grew sad. “I-It’s just that… I’m useless.” Hanako immediately flew by her side with a hand on her shoulder.
“You’re not useless Yashiro…” He grabbed a mop out of nowhere and handed it into her palms. “You clean my toilets!” The ghost beamed.
“But anyone could clean the toilets Hanako-Kun!” She threw the mop back into his hand. “I want to be special!”
He looked around nervously and started scratching his left cheek. “You are… special” He muttered. Then his finger touched the talisman on his face giving him a thought. “You also can break yorishiros! Not everyone can do that!” He put a fake smile on his face to cheer her up. Usually, she was very optimistic so he wasn’t sure exactly how to act. The only thing she tends to put herself down for were typically her daikon legs… not her whole self.
“I suppose…” She looked downcasted and stretched out her arm, she winced. It was a bit bruised, she must’ve fallen on it earlier when Henjin-Kun pushed her down. Sometimes, I just wish I wasn’t so weak… I don’t want you and Kou-Kun to feel obliged to protect me every single time.”
“Another wish Yashiro? I’ll have to add that on the list.” He teased trying to lift the mood, although it didn’t work. He did notice she also seemed to be a bit worn out too. Such a silly assistant he had. Walking closer, he was about to lean in towards her cheek until he paused, as the girl looked at him.
“Hanako-Kun… what are you doing?” Her eyes dilated back and forth to his eyes, then his lips that were just inches away from her.
A small blush tinted on his face, and she noticed he started to bite his lips nervously. “A protective charm… you look tired so I thought…” He hesitated. “I didn’t want a repeat of last time, I thought I should’ve asked first.”
“O-Oh! I see…” Her face also became flushed, and she pulled back her hair. “G-Go ahead… and thank you for telling me this time.” She gave him a soft smile.
The boy leaned in and kissed her cheek, the mark number 7 remaining for a second, before it disappeared. “There! Now you should be safe for a bit… especially from that weird spirit with a girl-complex.”
Nene tried her best to compose herself from the kiss he just gave, and she got over it by reminding herself that there were no feelings involved. “T-Thanks, Hanako-Kun! I’m feeling better already.” But then she thought back to his words about the apparition. It was still roaming around… if only she could help fend it off.
“Yashiro are you still sad?” A frown fell on his face. “You don’t have to be strong, you know? I’ll always be by your side.”
The girl clenched her firsts, angry with herself. It just wasn’t fair! In the past, she would give anything for a prince to come and romantically save her from some sort of villain… but now? She would rather be the one protecting Hanako. That was just her wish.
“I don’t want you always saving me Hanako-Kun… I don’t want to be weak anymore!”
“Yashiro-“
The girl had shut her eyes tight and folded her hands together. “Hanako-San, Hanako-San, Hanako-San. Would you please grant my wish?” Her voice came out quiet, but he heard loud and clear.
The ghost stared at her for a few seconds, and then let out a whine. “Yashiro…” He clutched her shoulders. “Why do you do this to me… you know I can’t say no to you.” And when she looked at him that way… all hopeful, as she believed in him with all her heart. He just couldn’t resist.
“Ok. I guess I could answer another one of my assistant’s wishes~”
The brightest smile was drawn on her face, and Nene started to jump up and down happily. “Really?!”
“But for a price.”
Nene immediately retracted away from him with fear in her eyes. The last time she paid the price… let’s just say she was basically cursed for the rest of her short life. “Nevermind…” She started to retreat to the bathroom’s exit until Hanako started to panic.
“Wait Yashiro! I promise it’s nothing bad!” He reassured. “In fact, what I’m about to do for you is worth 100 times more than the price I’m about to offer.”
This piqued her interest, and she turned around curiously. “What’s the offer?”
His expression turned smug, and he threw out all ten of his fingers to show. “I want ten!” Then he literally said no context after that, making Nene fear the worst.
“Ten...hours of cleaning the bathrooms?”
“Ten donuts!” He corrected, making the girl look at him dumbfounded. That was definitely not what she was expecting.
“Really… ten donuts? That’s all you want?”
“Consider yourself lucky Yashiro.” The boy hovered over her and booped her nose. “If it was anyone else, I wouldn’t of gave such a discount~”
The girl thought about it. Ten donuts weren’t hard to make at all anyways... But how did his prices go from being stuck as his assistant, to just making a few pastries? That was very suspicious indeed.
“It’s a deal.” She grabbed his hand midair and shook it nonstop. After a few seconds, he pulled away though, because she was also shaking his whole body too.
“Then your wish is my command!” Hanako stood back up on his feet so he was facing her. Then he reached out a finger toward her chest.
Except he never made contact with it, because Nene slapped his face. “W-What do y-you think you’re doing, p-perv?!” Her face was as red as a tomato from both embarrassment and anger.
“OW! Yashiro?!” He whimpered and held his sore face. “I-I was fulfilling your wish!”
“WHEN DID I WISH TO BE MOLESTED BY A GHOST?!” She yelled, turning Hanako’s confused face to a flustered one.
He put his hands in surrender and began to shake nervously. “Y-Yashiro!! I think you’re misunderstanding something!!!” He took off his hat and covered his whole face with it, so she wouldn’t see how ashamed he was. “I was only trying to touch your heart… I swear!”
Nene turned mortified at his conclusion. Then immediately felt guilty. “I’m so sorry Hanako-Kun! You didn’t even give me a warning though! How was I supposed to know your intentions?!”
“It’s fine. Just stay still this time!” Hanako warned. He brought his finger up again to make contact with the middle of her chest. He then drew the number 7 in the middle with a circle surrounding it.
Nene was looking down at his movements too. She tried her best not to flinch under his touch, but other than that, it was almost mesmerizing to watch. His index was practically glowing as he inserted some of his energy into her. And just as quickly as he started, Hanako pulled his finger away with a little blush.
“It’s done Yashiro.”
The girl looked down at her palms in wonder. She didn’t really feel any different. “What exactly did you do to me?” She questioned.
Then with a smile, Hanako took a few steps back away from her, and then he pointed up. She looked in the direction, which was where the spirit orbs were above him. Although one was missing.
“Where’s your second hakujoudai, Hanako-Kun?” The red one seemed to be missing, and she could tell the one with the green filled circle seemed to be confused as well.
The boy cleared his throat and spoke in the cheerfullest voice. “Yashiro… My dear assistant, from now on, I give you the power to command… hakujoudai.”
“...what?”
Hanako stepped forward and tilted her chin to look to the right of her where she found the missing spirit hovering. “ You asked me to make you stronger, so I did! Now hakujoudai will do whatever you want it to.”
“How?” She stared confused at the orb who was bumping furiously with Hanako’s.
“It’s simple really~” He smiled. “With our bond, our spirits are connected, so whatever is mine, is yours! Although that’s only if I give you permission…” So even though Hanako originally had the power of the hakujoudai, it was now split in between him and Nene, so they each could control one.
“So I could tell it to do anything I want?”
“Anything you want!” He confirmed.
Nene looked around everywhere in the bathrooms until her eyes spotted the mop Hanako tried to hand her earlier. Pointing towards it, she spoke to the spirit. “Hakujoudai, um...can you please get me that mop?”
It looked towards Hanako nervously, and then back at Nene until it floated slowly and grabbed the mop’s stick. It then floated back to wear the girl standing, and handed it to her softly.
“Whoa!” She looked astonished.”That was really cool!”
Hanako let out a chuckle. “Yup I’m sure it was~”
The girl reached out and petted the spirit orb, which easily nuzzled in return. “Thank you so much Hakujoudai!” She loved how much it acted like an animal. It was rather cute, now that she had a good look at it. “I should name you…” She spoke to it. “How about… Red Donut-Chan!” She thought that was the perfect name since it looked like a donut, and it was it’s old master’s favorite dessert.
With its new name, Hakujoudai excitedly swirled around Nene, in joy. Hanako watched the whole thing in amusement. “I guess he likes you.” The spirit only continued to bounce everywhere, making Nene giggle.”So.. how about you?” He got the girl to pay attention to him. “Do you like it?”
She glomped him in a hug, which put him in a surprise. “I love it Hanako-Kun! Thank you so much!” Her cheeks were tinged red, from the dear gift given to her. While the boy looked away from her nervously as he was still in her arms. Then he returned the hug.
“You’re welcome, Yashiro…” He held her for a few more seconds until red donut smacked him in the face. And it kept smacking him until Nene pulled away confused. Hanako looked annoyed.
“I promise I didn’t command him to do that.”
“I know.” He grabbed the hakujoudai by its tail and studied it closely causing the spirit to squirm. He then threw him back into the air, for it to hide behind the female. “Hakujoudai isn’t too dependent, it has a mind of its own…” He watched it bounce furiously, under his stare. “Even though he came from me, I think I’m being seen as a threat…” He smirked, at his former spirit.
Nene gazed at Hanako suspiciously. “Did you used to bully Red Donut-Chan, before Hanako-Kun?” The spirit orb behind her suddenly, when in front of her face and started floating up and down repeatedly.
“No… I didn't.” He shot a glare at hakujoudai which made it stop moving. The boy flew above Nene and hugged her from behind. “I think I know what’s wrong with it though~” Suddenly the spirit came back, and started pounding against Hanako’s back. Then he let go of her, causing it to stop. “Hmmm...It’s looking a little green perhaps?”
“Green?”
Hanako waved her off. “It’s nothing for you to worry about~” Then he grabbed the mop from before and placed it into her hands. “Now it’s time to start cleaning!” He cheered, and Nene groaned.
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15 minutes later.
The girl put away the mop and grabbed her bag. “I’ll be going now Hanako-Kun~” The boy was playing cards with the mokke when he heard her voice. His head jolted in her direction at the phrase.
“What do you mean you’re leaving?! You barely started!”
Nene turned around with a confused look on her face. “Barely started? I cleaned up everything already.” Hanako was about to protest until he saw that she indeed cleaned the whole restroom.
He gave her a suspicious look, “What game are you playing at? You usually clean the bathrooms double that time.” Then he noticed the hakujoudai floating right by her, and gasped at his realization. “You cheated!”
“I didn’t cheat!” She immediately denied. “It’s called using what’s around you to your advantage!”
Hanako squeezed the bridge of his nose and buried his hands in his face. “Yashiro…you can’t…” He struggled to put it in words. “You can’t use hakujoudai for simple matters like this, it’s meant to protect you in tough situations.” He scolded her, making the girl look away in shame. “Hakujoudai has a limit too, y’know?”
“Uh-huh…” He lost her at “can’t”.
“Yashiro, are you listening?!”
“Yup!, I gotcha Hanako-Kun! I’ve got to go now! Somebody has to make your donuts, right? BYE!” Then she ran off, leaving Hanako flabbergasted.
“And why did I give her that?” He muttered to himself.
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The first thing Nene did when she arrived home, was change out of her uniform, feed Black Canyon, then run in the kitchen to set up her dessert she was going to make.
Red Donut listened to all her commands, such as taking out some of the ingredients and supplies before they began. At all honesty, the girl was thrilled to have a free helper for whatever she wanted.
Nene set up the dough, and Hakujoudai helped put them in the fryer. By this time, her mom had already come home and smelled the pastries’ aroma...
“Hey sweetie, what are you making?” Her mom came from behind her and took her a hug. Nene beamed at the familiar body and turned around to face the taller woman.
The girl opened up the lid for her mom to see. “I’m making donuts!” She noticed some were already beginning to have that golden color, so she took them out, and placed them on a pan.
The woman nodded in satisfaction, proud that her daughter learned how to make such good looking desserts. “Want me to help make a strawberry glaze? That’s your favorite right?”
“It’s ok Mom! He likes it plain.” Nene continued to take them out until she froze at her own words. She could already feel her parent’s shining aura from behind. Oh no.
“He?” The woman chuckled. “You’re making these for a boy Nene?”
The girl cringed. She knew that’s what was coming. “I’m just making these for a friend! Nobody else!” She wanted to bang her head against a wall. With all the
boys she’s liked in the past, her mom has always been supportive… but Hanako wasn’t her type! Her mom was getting the wrong idea!
“My baby girl is making donuts for a boy!” She squealed and glomed her daughter in a hug. “So what does he look like? Is he cute? Is he as tall as you want them to be?”
Nene’s face turned red at the attention. It was hard to even mention the word boy in front of her. But she had to admit, she loved that her mom was her biggest supporter no matter what. “MoOOmm, please stOpppp” She dragged out causing her mom to giggle.
“C’mon Honey! I’m just curious~”
The girl sighed reluctantly. “He’s not tall.” Was the first thing she said, her mom stopping instantly. “He’s actually about the same height as me. He has black choppy hair, and always wears a hat.” She continued. “And he has these large eyes! They’re bronze, with a gold crescent shape in the middle!”
Her mom waited a few seconds until replying. “Honey… that doesn’t sound like the boys you like at all… but he sounds cute!” She declared making Nene blush. “I’m assuming you like him for his personality though, right?”
“Definitely NOT! He’s annoying.” Nene crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks. “He’s never serious about anything and is constantly teasing me whenever he gets the chance.”
Her mom giggled again and ruffled her daughter's head. “Boys only tease girls they like, honey. They are strange like that, but they don’t know how else to express their feelings.” Her mom held a happy sigh and cupped her hand around her cheek. “Your father was just the same. He would always make fun of me, and tease me when we were in high school. Although I always let it happen every single time because somewhere deep inside me, I somewhat enjoyed it.”
Nene looked at her mom with concern. She was definitely a masochist. “Uh, Mom…”
“Oh don’t worry, you’ll understand what I mean when you’re older.” She waved her off, causing Nene to pout. But then she was reminded of her short life span. She guessed she’ll never understand what her mom meant then.
“Nene, sweetie… let me find you a container to put them in.” Her mom dug in the cupboard for a box, in which she pulled out a random red one, that she’s never seen before. “Afterall, it’s all about presentation too!”
Nene only gave her a huge smile then reached out for a hug. “Thank you so much. I love you.” Her mom’s eyes softened and held her back.
“I love you too sweetie.”
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In the end, Nene had some leftover batter, so she made a few extra donuts for herself anyways. They were on a plate, sitting on her desk, as she was setting up a little bed for her hakujoudai. She didn’t actually know if they slept, but there was no way she was going to make him float above her the whole time.
She even offered it a donut and she couldn’t really describe how he ate it. Its body kinda went over it, and the pastry just disappeared… like a magic trick. She practically gave him the whole plate, and still couldn’t find out exactly the mechanics of what she witnessed.
She was also a bit jealous. Red Donut looked completely the same after eating the whole plate. Gosh, dang metabolism...but she supposed spirits don’t gain weight anyways.
Nene couldn’t help but squeal though, over how cute her spirit was. He constantly bopped into her, and would sometimes wrap its little tail around her hand, when she wanted to hold him. She never recalled Red Donut being so affectionate with Hanako which surprised her. Also, she was surprised earlier when it even attempted to fight it’s former master after she had the command over him. She assumed since it didn’t have to follow Hanako’s orders, it didn’t bother to continue showing the respect it had for him in the past.
Well, she assumed that’s the reason because Hanako did say it had a mind of its own.
When she offered for him to sleep in his new bed, she was somewhat sad because he refused. He was more like a Lil watchdog than a house pet, she supposed.
But the first night with Red Donut was a success,
The next morning, hakujoudai helped Nene prepare for school early, in which she ran out of the door with the spirit trying to catch up.
The first thing she did when she arrived on campus was visit the old school building. Obviously she had a deal to seal with Hanako, so she went there as quickly as she could.
“Hana~ko~Kun!” Nene called out for him as soon as she entered the girl’s restroom. He appeared automatically at the sound of her voice, but he looked rather surprised.
“Yashiro? What are you doing here so early?” Well, she had to guess it came as a shock because she typically saw him after school to do her duties. There were also maybe a few students on campus right now? It was pretty vacant, and she often came in late.
Hakujoudai was holding a box and gave it to Nene. “I came here to complete my end of the deal!” She held out the container to him, in which Hanako’s eyes automatically started to shine.
“You brought me the donuts?!!!” She gave it to him, and he held it up with tears in his eyes. “Thank you, Yashiro!!!!”
“Aha.. yeah no problem Hanako-Kun.” The boy took a bite out of a donut, and his shoulders slumped in bliss. She watched him happily as he enjoyed the treat, a smile growing on her face.
They still had maybe 30 minutes until class started and Hanako was still munching on the donuts one by one. He probably had about four already.
Nene stared down at his body, with bewildered eyes. When the boy noticed, he stopped eating. “Why are you staring at me, you pervy daikon? Are you thinking some naughty thoughts perhaps?”
“W-what?! No!” She shouted. “And I’m not a daikon!” After being with the supernatural, for a bit, she observed something. “It’s just that… do apparitions gain weight?”
He looked at her as if that was the most absurd question she could’ve asked. “Not exactly…?” He fully let go of his box of donuts and set it down carefully. “Why do you ask?”
“Um well… you’re eating like a bottomless pit. How are you not stuffed yet?”
Hanako thought about it for a second. “Because I’m a spirit? I don’t exactly have a flesh body, Yashiro.” She started to stare at him with a jealous look, confusing the boy.
“I wish I was a ghost.” She muttered, but Hanako caught it anyway.
“You do?”
She saw that he was gazing at her with a genuine expression of wonder. Of course, she was only joking, but if being a ghost meant not having to gain weight, she was all for that. Although as a wishing ghost, he probably took her wish seriously.
“Of course not, Hanako-Kun. I just find some things to be more convenient if one was a ghost.”
He started to eat the donuts again when he pointed to her hakujoudai. “Well you still have Red Donut, I think that’s the closest you’ll get for now.”
The spirit bumped into her with his name mentioned and Nene hugged him against her face. She was lucky to even have him by her side. He was like a little dog that followed her around everywhere. The spirit also gave her a sense of security, knowing that if some apparition were to attack, she wouldn't exactly have to rely on Kou or Hanako.
“Speaking of which, Yashiro?” He gained her attention again. “Like I was trying to say before you ran off yesterday, try not to be too dependent on Hakujoudai. Since you’re its commander, it could only do tasks that are capable within you. It’s all based on our spiritual power. Being that you’re connected to me by a bond, you have more of that connection than any normal human including the power you have as a kannagi. This is why you can’t use up all that energy on simple tasks because eventually, it will all add up. Please keep that in mind.”
Nene doesn’t often see Hanako acting seriously, so this gave her a surprise. At the same time though, she didn’t understand why the little tasks were also a big deal. It’s not like she was having the spirit do everything for her.
Her eyes fell to Red Donut who was holding her bag because she asked.
She was sure that was fine.
“Hanako-Kun~ you worry too much!” She spoke to the guy who barely has any worries ever. AT least in her perspective, he didn’t. “I’m not asking Red Donut-Chan to do a lot, so I’m sure it’s fiiiine.”
He looked at her for a few seconds before sighing in defeat. “Ok then, I’ll trust you for now.” Then he held out his hand in which his hakujoudai sat in. “In the meantime, why don’t I teach you some tricks?”
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“Whoa! So hakujoudai can transport you places too?!”
“Yup~ I’m not sure if you could do that with Red Donut by yourself, so don’t attempt it.” Hanako warned. “But if it were me, I could take you anywhere as long as it’s in the school.”
Nene thought back to the time she was trapped in the endless pit of nowhere and everywhere. After seeing the alive Hanako, Red Donut retrieved her back from the past.
The girl was about to ask another question until Hanako stopped her. “I believe you have 5 minutes left until class starts, Yashiro. I don’t think you would want to be a tardy radish~” She peeked her head out of the hall and looked at a nearby clock.
“AH HANAKO-KUN WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY ANYTHING?” She screeched causing Hanako to withdraw confused.
“But I just did-”
“I’ll see you later after school! DON’T bother me during class!” She had hakujoudai grab her bag quickly, was about to run out until she felt a pull on her arm. Hanako’s face wasn’t cheery again, more like uncertain about something. She couldn’t really tell though, he was usually hard to read.
“Don’t be… stu~pid~” He poked her forehead with every syllable. “Remember what I said, Kay?”
Nene nodded, and then reached out to him for a hug. “Thank you again Hanako-Kun! Byeeee.” Her voice echoed as she ran into the hall, leaving the boy stiff.
Nene made it in time for her class. Luckily it didn’t take long to get there. But her lecture started and she was bored during the whole time.
She started to fling her fingers around and mess with Hakujoudai. She made him fly all around the room and flip around. The wind from the spirit would knock students papers over the floor, and that’s when she decided to stop. Although it was really hard for her to pay attention when the class was so boring. She laid her face flat down onto her desk and closed her eyes… only for the teacher to start scolding her.
“Yashiro-San, there would be no sleeping in my class! You came here for education not to have a nap!”
The girl yawned tiredly before mumbling some demeaning words. “Actually I came here against my will, so…” She didn’t even process what came out of her mouth. She was hanging around Kou and Hanako way too often.
“Excuse me?”
“I said I’m sorry sensei! It won’t happen again.” She straightened up to show she was paying attention.
Her teacher just scoffed and went back to the blackboard. Nene was strangely annoyed by this. She also wasn’t one to be petty, but…
With a quick order, she flicked her finger once again, and hakujoudai blew past the teacher’s desk, scattering all the papers in the air.
The whole class started to snicker making their sensei scurry around flustered. She actually felt rather bad now. Even Akane turned around and looked at her suspiciously, but he was wearing glasses, so it was not like he could see the spirit anyway.
After that point she decided to actually start taking notes for the class. For some reason, she felt an eerily sensation coming from behind her.
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The next activity was gardening.
This was her favorite thing to do, and she loved the fact that they even made her whole class join in the fun as well. The garden always could use some more touch-ups as well.
She knew Hanako did tell her not to use Hakojoudai for such simple tasks… but she wouldn’t dare to call tending the garden as simple. It was an art itself, one that mustn't be tampered with. Which is why she could use all the help they could get.
She had Red Donut take out the weeds, help water the vegetables, plant new seeds, anything you could think of. It was so refreshing not having to work as hard she’ll admit. Nobody ever looked at her suspiciously either too for some reason. That was the most convenient part.
All her classes so far went by in a flash, thanks to hakujoudai.
By this time, it was already lunch.
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She watched as Aoi tended to her pot sadly, while Akane comforted her. She was still pressed about that dumb weirdo ghost that bothered to mess with her best friend in the first place. She was pretty confident though because she had her good ol’ spirit by her side, which currently was pulling out her bento for her. He truly was the cutest… like a little butler!
It’s not like there were many supernaturals who were willing to do such tasks for her to begin with. Maybe the mokke at most, but that was all. All this serving made her feel like some sort of princess being pampered.
The violet haired girl walked over to Nene and tapped on her shoulder suddenly. “Nene-chan, do you think that my flowers were ruined because of the rumor?” Her friend looked so downcast that she suddenly grew fired up.
“Don’t worry Aoi-Chan. I will get revenge for you.” She firmly grasped the shorter female’s shoulders making her jolt.
“Revenge?” She was surprised to find that the voice echoed behind her as well. Turning around she made eye contact with the same lanky, not-so-attractive, boy from before.
“Henjin-Kun… we meet again.”
“It appears so, fat legs.” He smirked with Nene’s face turning red at the same time from anger.
“You wanna fight?! Let’s take it outside!”
The boy grabbed the ends of her hair and dropped in in front of her face. Not before grabbing her skull brooch that laid on her chest. “Try to catch me first you stupid girl.” He stuck his tongue out mockingly and zoomed away. Nene only followed right behind, as Aoi called out to her confused.
She almost ran out of breath on the way, so she used Hakujoudai to help her ride some speed. It was almost a spur of the moment type of move that she cursed herself for not thinking of it anytime sooner.
By the time she made it near him, they were in the empty space of the practice yard (a.k.a. Their school garden).
“You’re trapped Henjin-Kun! Nobody destroys my friend’s plants if I have a say in it!”
The ghost almost laughed. “You’re still upset about that? That was one of the harmless pranks.” A cold air fell over him. “You, on the other hand, won’t be as lucky as those other girls I so-called- tormented.”
Before he could charge, Nene pointed accusingly at him. “Hakujoudai! Hurt him real bad so he won’t fight back!” The spirit flew at her command. And ran through the ghost. His face was shown shocked at first, but then it was switched to relief.
Then he started to snicker hard. “That didn't do a single thing, you dumb daikon, Now it’s my turn.” Nene’s face contorted with horror as she realized the outcome.
“Y-You know? I suddenly don’t want to fight anymore. It’s ok! You won!!” She placed a nervous smile on her lips and started to back away. Henjin-Kun charged quickly at her with a hand stretched out. The only thing she could do was cover her face frightened. So she called out for the one she knew would always come.“HANAKO-KUN!”
A few feet away from her the evil ghost boy was about to get to her until was electrocuted by a force around her body. It was a very recognizably bubble indeed because it wasn’t the first time it appeared before.
“W-wHat?! The mark of No.7?!
“A knife was aimed at the spirit's neck, the holder having an eerily smile. “No wonder all the girls rejected you. Seems like you don’t know when to keep your hands off them.”
“Don’t interfere you stupid school mystery… this is between me, and that girl with the fat ankles.” He hissed.
Hanako chuckled at his remark. ‘Oh? But I must interfere if it’s involving my dear assistant you see. Although it seemed like she was doing fine by herself so far.” He turned around and gave the girl a smile. “But-” Then he turned right back around to the ghost. “I can’t allow harmful spirits to run around my school, and it seems like I’m going to have to exterminate you!” Flicking his knife closer to his neck, Nene from behind faltered.
“W-wait…” She ran back to him and pulled his arm. “Don’t hurt him!!” Henjin and Hanako looked at her with a surprised face as he stopped and waited for the girl to continue. She walked calmly in front of the unfamiliar ghost, bent down, and then snatched her skull brooch from his pocket. “Ok, you may continue.” She said, replacing Henjin’s face with one of disbelief.
“Whatever you say Yashiro~” He lifted his knife once more until the girl stopped him once again. Hanako jolted his head in her direction with annoyance.
“...Actually, don’t kill him.”
“Yashiro… please make up your min-.”
“Henjin-Kun!” Yashiro shouted suddenly, startling both males. “You are a weird, pervy ghost who only likes to harass girls. OF COURSE, EVERY GIRL REJECTED YOU! You aren’t the worst looking, so it was very possible for you to get a girlfriend… BUT YOU’RE PERSONALITY IS HORRIBLE.”
The boy in front of her felt as though an arrow shot him through each time she gave a piece of criticism. He never thought that a girl would actually be giving him love advice, personally.
“And what do you know, fat legged girl? Have you ever rejected or been rejected by a boy to know these things?!” He accused.
Nene suddenly grew gloomy at the thought. Oh, she knew that feeling too well. “First off, my name is Nene Yashiro. Not: fat legged girl! And in fact, I have been rejected before! Also as a female myself, I know exactly what girls like, so SHUT YOUR MOUTH!”
“W-wait… you’ve been rejected before too?” Henjin’s eyes sparkled with hope.
"Can you not look so happy about it?"
“I-I’m sorry…”
The girl rolled her eyes. “Yes I’ve been rejected, so I know exactly how you feel. I worked so hard for him to like me, and at the end...I wasn’t even given a chance because of my… because of my daikon legs.” She sighed sadly, but then perked up. “It’s ok though! Because I learned that he is the scum of the earth and a stupid bastard!” Hanako cheered for her in the background.
Henjin gazed at her empathetically. “So we’re the same then?” Without hesitance, Nene grabbed the boy’s hands in her own.
“Yes! We could be partners!” She beamed, making the boy blush.
“P-partners?!
“Definitely! I mean I’m sure it wasn’t all your fault for being rejected. Some girls just have different tastes. Maybe we could find you a nice girl ghost that you can hit it off with! I’m sure that won’t be a problem and all bu-”
“W-Would you of d-dated me?” He suddenly popped the question, making Hanako grow stiff. Even as a ghost, Henjin could feel the cold blizzard feeling radiating off No.7
The girl put a thinking finger to her now blushing face. “W-Well…” She paused. “You’re not exactly my type, but my friend did say I needed the experience...so… why not?”
A lone tear dripped down the boy’s face in front of her and a soft golden light absorbed him. Nene had to block her eyes from the shine, and Hanako simply held a straight face.
Thank you so much Yashiro-san… I-I never thought I would see the day.” And in a bright flash, he was gone, leaving her confused.
“Hanako-Kun… what happened to him?”/p>
“He passed on. All of his business from the far shore was finished, so he finally was able to move on without any regrets…” The boy still held a grim face but was surprised when he felt Nene intertwine their hands together tightly.
“So is he finally happy?”
Hanako just smiled and patted her head. “Yes Yashiro, he was happy.”
“That’s good then…”
They served in silence for about a minute until Nene decided to walk away.
Although she couldn’t because the ghost was still holding her hand.
“Hanako-Kun. You can let go now.” He didn’t answer right away.
“...Y’know Yashiro.? I want to have a little chat with you first.” He smiled again except this time it didn’t reach his eyes.
“R-really?” She gulped nervously.” About what?”
. .
Back in the girl’s restroom:
Hanako was still holding on to her hand tightly and hadn’t said a single word for the last 5 minutes they arrived there.
“Erm… Hanako-Kun, if you aren’t going to say anything then...”
“Remember what I told you earlier today?”
Nene’s eyes widened at his sudden act of speech. “...Maybe?”
He let go of her hand and sighed. “I’ve been watching you all day Yashiro.” His words made her jolt back defensively.
“Why would you do that?!”
“Because I wanted to make sure you were safe.” He simply said.
Nene faltered. “You… You didn’t trust me?” It felt almost heartbreaking for her to hear him say that. Hanako immediately started to wave his hands around frantically.
“No, no! It’s not that I didn’t trust you…” He looked down. “I… just wanted to make sure that Henjin guy didn’t try anything.”
Nene pouted and crossed her arms. “So you didn’t think I could protect myself? I had Red Donu-”
“Which you disobeyed me when I said not to use him for everything.” He gave her a stern look, and the girl sweated nervously.
“W-What are you talking abou-”
“Playing with hakujoudai during class. Having him fly around so fast that you knocked the students' papers to the ground.” He held up a third finger. “Playing a prank on the TEACHER because he didn’t want you to sleep in class.” Hanako chuckled while mentioning because that was actually very funny. “Then you forced Hakujoudai to help your garden when we both know that you could’ve done that by yourself. Then during the beginning of lunch, you made him grab your bento…”
“But that wasn’t a lot!”
“And then by the time you actually wanted to attack that damn spirit, you and hakujoudai didn’t have enough energy, in which the attack failed. Which was the exact reason why I told you not to make him do every single task you didn’t want to do yourself. You’re lucky you had a protection spell.”
He finished with Nene looking away from him guiltily.
“It was just… really fun. I liked having a little helper by my side.” She made Hanako’s mouth draw into a thin line.
“But that was an overuse of power, even though I deliberately gave him to you for protection.”
Nene served in silence until she grabbed Hanako’s hand and pulled it closer to her. “T-Then you can take him away...For not listening to you.” The boy only gazed at her apologetically, before lifting a finger towards her chest.
“Are you sure? I mean as long as you don’t do that again in the future?”
Red donut was jumping from side to side as his old master’s finger went closer to the girl’s heart. Then it went in front of her face making Nene hold a sad smile.
“I’m sorry Red Donut-Chan. This was fun…” She looked over to Hanako before nodding. “I’m sure. I’d probably still overuse him in the future anyway… I don’t really think that’s fair.” She allowed Hanako to draw his finger over her chest, and he made the shape of an X. It was a quick movement, one that couldn’t really be felt as her ties with her spirit orb was broken. And she saw how he flew over to her friend's side when he retracted his hand away.
“It’s done Yashiro. You are no longer Hakujoudai’s commander.”
“Thank you Hanako-Kun…” The boy could tell she was still feeling a bit sad so he lifted an arm around her shoulder.
“It’s ok! You’ll always be able to see him anyways. And don’t forget I’ll always be by your side!” He beamed, causing Nene to smile as well.
“That’s good to know.”
Then he glomped her in a hug, with the girl’s face being buried into his gakuran. “You’ll always have me, y’know?!”
“Mfgfffph… Hana..ko-Kun!? I c-can’t breathe!” She muffled through the cold of his jacket./p>
The ghost loosened his arms, allowing her some access to air. Then he looked her straight into the eyes with a serious expression.
“I don’t think it’s possible for me to give you your donuts back.”