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Nene wasn’t sure what possessed her to do this. Why she’d wished it, perhaps it was everything they just went through—from how Hanako stopped Akane from kissing her. Or how he held her so tenderly when the villagers had tried to kill her.
Or maybe it was the way Sumire talked about love that Nene realized she wanted her first kiss to be with someone she was in love with. Once upon a time, she would have let anyone kiss her. But now there was only one person.
One ghost.
And, as though she were under a magic spell, she found herself standing before Hanako in their usual place—the toilets.
“Hey, Hanako-kun…”
“Yashiro,” he said, looking away from the window. “What’s up.”
“It’s just…I wanted to try…something.” ” She prodded her fingers, the way he stared at her with those big, moonlike eyes unnerved her.
“Try what?”
Her tongue felt thick, and her heartbeat quickened. She took a deep breath, centering herself.
“Hanako-san, Hanako-san, I wish for you to kiss me.”
“Y-Yashiro?!” His eyes were impossibly wide; his pupils small at the center. “Wh-what?”
“I wish for you to kiss me,” she repeated, trying not to lose all the bravado she’d built up, but slowly, it crumbled.
He touched his seal as though he were mentally debating something. And then he lightly touched her cheek, and Nene shivered. His hands were cold, and yet all she felt was warmth flooding into her cheeks. His moonlit eyes softened. And she found herself melting into his touch. “You know I can’t say no…when you ask like that.”
He trailed his fingers from the apple of her cheek to the corner of her mouth, his thumb just barely brushed over her bottom lip. His gaze darkened. “Are you sure this is really what you want?”
“Yes,” her voice was like a whisper. But then something in her snapped—something that made her realize what if he doesn’t want to kiss me? Was she forcing this on him? “O-only if y-you want to!” she blurted out, nervously twirling the green ends of her hair around her finger. “K-kiss me, I mean.”
He jolted back, dropping his hands to his side, and his entire face and ears turned bright red, reminding Nene of the stars Hanako taught her about—red giants. Her stomach churned, and tears threatened to burst out of her like a supernova explosion as the realization sank in. He didn’t want to kiss her.
He pulled down his hat, hiding his eyes. “Yashiro,” he groaned. He peeked at her with lips slightly pursed. “No one’s ever wished me that…”
“What?”
“Wished for what I want.” His shoulders relaxed, and he sighed as though in resignation, taking his hat off, placing it on the windowsill.
“O-oh?” she stammered along with her pulse.
“Why is it always so hard to say no to you?” he mumbled so lowly that Nene barely caught it. He took her by the shoulders; his touch so light, so gentle, it sent chills down her spine.
And he kissed her, and Nene’s eyes widened. His eyes were closed, his dark eyelashes stood out against his ghostly skin, and she found it to be utterly enchanting. His lips were like a press of ice—so cold, it left her burning. And that was exactly Hanako—he burned her in the best ways. Made her veins pulse with fire and ice. And her eyes fluttered closed, and her hands drifted to the back of his head. His hair was soft like silk against her fingers as she tugged gently—and he shivered against her.
The kiss was addicting and all-consuming—as though there was a gravitational pull that existed between them with the strength of a massive black hole. The kiss grew deeper and faster. No longer shy and tentative—but desperate and rash—with only brief gasps for air.
And as they pulled apart, Nene’s mind whirled and whirled—she loved him. She truly and wholly was in love with him.
But he was dead and—
“The price for your wish—“ Hanako’s voice pulled her away from her thoughts. He had a cheeky grin spread out on his face, and his hands deep within his pockets. “Come back to the school tonight. There’s something I want to do.”
Nene blinked. And blinked again. Slowly, her entire body flooded with warmth, and sweat prickled the back of her neck. “EH?”
“No! N-not like that! I just—let’s stargaze together?”
“Stargaze?” she echoed. “Like a date?”
Hanako squirmed under her gaze, fiddling with the buttons on his uniform. ”I guess…”
And for now, Nene thought, she wouldn’t think about it. She wouldn’t think about the fact that he’s dead.
Because his words made her happy.
So truly happy.
She smiled. “Okay.”
~Fin