At New Years, Nene and Kou stood at the shrine that the exorcist’s grandfather and great-grandfather had tended to on the hill overlooking the entire city. There were wishes for the new year posted on every tree as people rushed to get a good view of the fireworks.
Nene stayed as far away from the fishbowls at the festival as possible as the Mokke nibbled on the bushels of cotton candy.
“It’s amazing…I didn’t think you’d make it this far when I heard you were dying.”
“I WAS DYING!?” Nene’s dropped in bags in shock.
“Eh…I mean, well…it’s a long story. You can go ask sensei later. You were supposed to die two months ago, but all 7 mysteries used our combined powers to stop that from happening. You were knocked out.”
“You…,” Nene leaped forward and hugged Kou. “Thank you!”
“Well, go ahead and make your wish, I guess.” Kou rubbed his neck.
Nene held the slip of paper in her hand as she glanced up at the tree branches. Her heart raced a mile a minute as she slowly yet steadily placed it on the slender twig-like a ring placed on a finger.
“I wish for a boyfriend. A human, LIVING boyfriend. A handsome guy. Maybe someone who’s been there all along like one of that cute rom-com I saw with Aoi last week! One that’s loyal, kind and smart! I want to enjoy this life others have worked so hard for me to have!”
As the clock run in the New Year, Hanako-kun sat on the sink as he watched the fireworks from inside the windows of the girls’ bathroom, pondering what Kou and Nene were up to since Winter break started. Then, a bright light began to envelop the “seventh school mystery”.
“What…the…?” Hanako peered at his hands as they went from translucent enough to see the tile floors to solid. He touched his arms just to make sure and then pinched himself. “Well, this will be fun.”
1 day later
Unsurprisingly, Tsuchigomori was the first one to discover Hanako’s re-humanization.
“Ouch!” Hanako banged his head against the door of the administrative office.
“You can’t float through doors anymore, remember?” Tsuchigomori unlocked it.
“Well, it’s been fifty-plus years since I’ve been a living human…so, no. I don’t.”
“Ugh, this is going to be a nightmare. Let’s get started on the application for enrollment.” The supernatural teacher readied his pen. “Remind me just to save myself a trip back to the archives, but do you have any living relatives?”
“Well, Tsukasa was my only sibling and he died at 13 so that means no nieces or nephews. I can’t remember anything about my parents.”
“Well, you can stay here until winter break ends, then you’ll have to hitch a ride with either Kou or Nene. We can’t have a living child run around the school at night. It’s not safe, even if you were the most powerful spirit for 50 years.”
“Understood,” Hanako groaned.
“Also, have you bathed?” Tsuchigomori backed away as he caught a whiff of Hanako’s stench.
“I lived in a shower-less bathroom for fifty years where I couldn’t be washed by the water since I was unaffected by most physical objects, what did you expect me to smell like?” Hanako rolled his eyes.
“Just when I thought we finally found some peace, this happens! It’s like every time I turn around, some chaos has wrecked the school!” Tsuchigomori sighed. “Wait until that fox gets ahold of this information. She’ll have a field day.”
“Have you told Tsukasa yet?”
“No,”
“Once you get yourself a bath at the local onsen, I think you should.”
“No, I need to tell him before I leave this school. Go and work on the papers.” Hanako paused as he left with an uncharacteristic morose tone as he searched for his brother. It didn’t take that long to find him. “Tsukasa,”
“I heard the rumors, but I didn’t believe them. You’re human!? Like a living human?” Tsukasa poked Hanako and felt his pulse. “You really are! How’s it feel being a powerless, replaceable human, O Great No. 7, leader of the school mysteries? Or should I say ‘FORMER leader of the school mysteries? Or should I say, Akame-kun?”
“Right, I’ll be leaving.” Hanako rubbed his forehead as he walked away, not looking at his brother in the eyes.
He paused for a moment before he took the first step outside of the school in fifty years. He immediately looked back at the school once he passed the gates, specifically towards the third-floor bathroom window. Tsuchigomori went with him since he wasn’t an earth-bound spirit. He gave him money to get a bath, a haircut, a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, and as well as a new uniform to change into once he was done.
It was surreal to see his body in something besides his 1960s uniform. When his hairdresser asked him what he wanted, he just told her that he wanted a trim. A touch-up to make his hair look a little less messy. It was weird to be in another bathroom beside the one that he still thought of as his home. It felt…foreign, as though he had stumbled on some other world. One that was even more different than the ones in the boundaries.
Not to mention it was terrifying to try to sit on a toilet only for it to open on its own and start spraying water.
“SENSEI!!! These toilets are haunted! They’re moving on their own! They’re playing music and lighting up!” Hanako pointed at them.
“These are newer toilets, Hanako.” Tsuchigomori took one glance at them. “They’re not possessed by anything.”
“T-Then how do they move on their own without someone putting a motor in them!? They don’t have any exhaust coming from them. It’s not like a car! It doesn’t look like it has wires, either.”
“It’s complicated. Now that you don’t smell like total garbage, let’s go get something to eat.” Tsuchigomori listened to Hanako’s stomach growl for the first time in a half of a century.
Hanako made quick work of several bowls of ramen from a nearby restaurant. Tsuchigomori rented a hotel room for the night for the former ghost to stay in and get some well-deserved rest to let his meal digest. The schoolteacher was deep in thought as he tried to figure out what to tell Nene and Kou about their new classmate…