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Nene had been quiet since she’d returned from the bath. She’d danced around Hanako’s questions. Avoided conversation about the boundary. Something was clearly wrong, and he hadn’t noticed it, until he asked if she learned anything new, and she brushed away the subject too quickly.
“It’s nothing,” she assured him, shrugging.
Anyone else might have been able to overlook the slight hesitation in her voice, or the way she was fiddling with the sleeve of her robe. But after months of spending almost every day together, it was kind of impossible not to know her cues.
She’s not telling me something.
However, he pushed away the part of his brain that wanted to tease her into spilling whatever secrets she was hiding and instead forced a smile onto his face.
“Alright,” he said.
Eventually, braiding her still-damp hair and aimless conversation was enough to make him forget the topic, and by the time Sumire showed them to a spare bedroom they were back to normal. It was a change so slight he began to wonder if he had imagined it.
~~~
“Sweet dreams,” Sumire called to the pair, extinguishing the candlelight with a stream of smoke. Hanako counted the seconds- three, five, and then her footsteps disappeared down the hallway.
The minute they were alone, he threw his bedding aside.
“Phew, she finally left.”
“You’re not gonna sleep, Hanako-kun?” Nene asked, resting her head in her arms. He shook his head in response, stretching.
“I’m not sleeping. I don’t need to, anyway.”
But I will. I will if you ask me to stay, a hidden part of his mind added.
“I’ll keep watch, so how about you get some rest now, Yashiro? You must be tired right?”
“Maybe I’ll do that then…”
With a small yawn, she pulled the blankets up to her chin and turned to face him. Pink swirled in her cheeks when their eyes met.
“Good night, Hanako-kun,” she simply said.
“...Good night,” he replied.
Hanako sat in the space between their beds, patting her head as gently as possible, and soon enough Nene’s eyes were fluttering closed. He waited until her breathing became steady before leaving her side.
Sliding away the screen door, he glanced outside. The night was peaceful- drenched with a silent sort of chill that settled over the courtyard. The only sources of light were the moon, and silhouettes with lanterns off in the distance.
But other than that, the stars were all resting in their proper constellations, the village was asleep, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
I’ll give No. 6 some credit, he thought with a humorless laugh, It’s almost as if we’re in the real world.
But...that wouldn’t be possible, of course.
Can’t leave the school, can’t even set foot outside the gates- such had been his reality for more than the past half-century. Closing the screen with a rush of warm air, he stole a glance back at his vacant bed.
It wasn’t often that he wished for his humanity back, but for just one evening it was all he wanted to climb onto the futon next to her, and stay up all night whispering together even though they could both barely keep their eyes open.
Some version of this fantasy ended with him holding her hand underneath the blankets, while his palm was warm and real as Nene’s.
Perhaps it was a bit selfish of him, and even thinking of the idea surprised him. But then again, a lot of things tended to surprise him when it came to her.
~~~
Ghosts don’t dream. This was one of the first things Hanako discovered upon becoming one, and though definitely not the most surprising, the small detail was much more disconcerting than he would have guessed.
It wasn’t that he lacked the ability to sleep. But if he couldn’t go anywhere, even in his dreams, what was the point?
He supposed it had something to do with the fact that the dead weren’t supposed to have dreams. They weren’t supposed to be able to love, or do any of the thousands of things they weren’t able to achieve in life.
But by looking to Nene, Hanako began to wonder if things would be different now. If he slept, maybe his dreams would have color for the first time in decades.
He sank to his knees beside her, noticing for the first time that her wrist had settled to the side, revealing a bracelet strung with golden bells.
A phantom pain flared on his forehead where Sumire had stung earlier, causing him to involuntarily wince.
Is that the secret she’s keeping? He lightly ran a finger over one of the bells only to discover that it immediately started to spark with electricity in response.
So why wouldn’t Yashiro tell me? he asked himself, checking to make sure she had remained asleep from the disturbance.
Is it because she doesn’t trust me?
But then again, after everything that’s happened, do I deserve her trust?
A sound outside in the bushes diverted his train of thought and lit up his nerves like a live wire. Jumping to his feet, knife at the ready for potential perpetrators, Hanako immediately chided himself for being so tense. It could have been any number of things: a bird in the bushes. A tree branch. Animals in the fields.
Nene would say he was being cautious, bordering on extreme. But while she seemed to trust Sumire, he remained unconvinced of her intent.
That just seemed to be Nene’s nature- always ready to see the good in anyone. And some small part of him wondered if she was right.
I’ll keep watch outside, he decided, Yashiro...will be safe here.
Lingering for a minute longer, Hanako allowed himself one last glance. Her braid had come half undone, framing her face, and still gave off the scent of pear shampoo. Face awash in moonlight, even he couldn’t say that she truly was, beautiful. When his heart skipped a beat, he sighed into the dark.
“I’m really in trouble with you,” he murmured. Palm just barely ghosting her skin, he sweeped a stray strand of hair off her face and leaned down to brush a careful kiss to her bangs.
“I’ll find a way,” was his final promise before slipping out the room, “To grant your wish.”