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“Hey, have you heard the rumor? They say you must never enter the girls’ locker room in the old schoolhouse alone. If you do, Ao Nyōbō-san will find you. And if you aren’t careful, then when she does…”
“None of you could ever understand my loneliness,” a gruff voice bellowed.
Hanako, Nene, and Kou were gathered in the locker room of Kamome Gakuen’s old schoolhouse. The cramped room was shaped like a hallway, and a large window occupied the far wall, red curtains drawn. A dim light flickered overhead, giving the trio long shadows. Rows of wood cubbies—empty aside from countless spiderwebs—flanked the walls.
They faced a short woman floating before the window. A dingy gray kimono with a faded flower pattern hung off her frail body. Moth holes dotted the fabric like Swiss cheese, allowing one to see that underneath was another kimono. And under that another. And another. Each one a different color and pattern. Some sleeves trailed the floor, others were too short to be seen. Some collars poked up from around her neck, others drooped off her shoulders. Scraggly black hair shot off her head, and flies buzzed around it. With her legs spread out, shoulders raised, and head lowered, she looked like an animal ready to pounce.
The woman snarled, contorting the pale, white face. Her lips were blood red, thick with poorly-applied lipstick. “All I want is to be beautiful so my lover will return. Surely Number Seven’s gang has better things to do than fault an apparition for such a humble desire?”
Kou wriggled his nose. The room’s stench of sweat and must from lack of sunlight did not mix well with the foul breath of the apparition, which seemed to waft out of her mouth in clouds every time she spoke. “Keh. Maybe if you were happy to sit around and powder your nose, we wouldn’t have to confront you like this.” Clenching his fists around the Raiteijou tighter, he declared, “But your rumor is that you eat humans. We aren’t just going to go, ‘Oh, okay, sorry to bother you,’ when you’re that dangerous!”
“I cannot have anyone interfering with my reunion with him,” the apparition asserted, “anyone who does must be punished swiftly.” She stuck out her tongue, sliding it across her red lips.
A hand to her mouth, Nene’s eyes darted back and forth between the apparition and Hanako. She stood towards the back of the room, beside the cubbies. Eyebrows furrowed, she interjected, “Ha-Hanako-kun, can’t we just change her rumor, or resolve her regrets?”
“Mmmmmm,” Hanako intoned. The ghost stood on one of the two benches splitting the middle of the room, making him head and shoulders above his companions. Resting the back of his knife blade against his shoulder, he tilted his head as he regarded the apparition.
Hanako had already looked into this apparition’s regrets. Seemed this rumor started based off a girl who killed herself decades ago when a senpai she loved refused to return her feelings. Now her ghost haunted the school, decorating herself with lipstick and ornamental gowns as she eagerly awaited a lover that didn’t love her, had long since graduated, and would never come back.
Yet such sordid details were best left unsaid. Should the sentimental Nene and Kou catch wind of the truth, Hanako reasoned they would be overcome with sympathy and unable to do their duty to protect the school.
“I don’t think we can play nice with this ao nyōbō, Yashiro. With a grudge this strong, she could turn one of your friends into a tasty snack before we managed to change her rumor.”
“If you won’t let me go…” With a growl, the ao nyōbō lurched forward, arms reaching towards Nene. “Then she will be my first meal!”
Nene backpedaled with a squeal, tripping over her daikon legs and landing on her behind.
The ao nyōbō’s mouth opened impossibly wide, wide enough to devour Nene’s head whole. It appeared like the yawning entrance to a cave. A deep, dark cave Nene would never get out of.
Kou raised his staff with a cry, but Hanako leapt off the bench and slashed his knife in a deadly vertical arc, slicing right at the ao nyōbō’s neck as she flew over his head.
Hanako landed on his feet. The ao nyōbō writhed, howling as she held her neck. Baring sharp teeth, she turned to Hanako. “You will suffer dreadfully for disrupting my reunion!” The dingy kimonos and stringy hair turned to dust, floating into the air and vanishing. The sharp teeth and red lips lingered before disappearing, as though the malice behind them could not vanish so easily. “I curse you to suffer in agony,” the disembodied mouth said, “in the form you’ll least expect.” The mouth, too, vanished.
With a, “Phooo,” Hanako hid his knife underneath his school coat. Turned to the others with a clap of his hands. “We won! Yay!” Jumping into the air and floating, he formed “V’s” with both hands.
The other two did not join the cheer. Kou scratched his chin, staring at the floor. Tentatively, he offered Nene a hand.
Without sparing the hand a glance, Nene stood, eyes never leaving Hanako. “Hanako-kun,” she began with a timid voice, “aren’t you worried?”
“Hmm?” Hanako’s wide-open eyes blinked as he floated towards Nene. “About what? The curse?” Waving his hand, Hanako dismissed, “Pssssssh. Curse, schmurse. As a Seventh Wonder, I’m immune to such things. Besides, if everyone who cursed me actually succeeded, I’d long since be in hell by now. So don’t worry!”
Nene pounded her foot, shouting, “That just makes me even more worried!!”
That night, Nene laid on her side, curled in a fetal position in the middle of her bed. Pulling the blankets up until they covered half her face, Nene peered into the darkness. The sound of her own breathing seemed magnified.
Hanako-kun’s never been cursed before , she thought, but if curses don’t work on him, why would an apparition curse him at all?
Nene shut her eyes. Behind the darkness of her eyelids, she could make out a ring of red growing larger, larger. The black maw advancing towards her with blinding speed in the locker room.
Squinting open her eyes with a whimper, Nene gazed into the black of her room before her. A new shadow seemed to appear in front of the far wall.
Shoulders.
Torso.
Her breath reached a fevered pitch. Blood rushing in her ears, Nene threw off the covers, tumbled out of bed, pounded across the floor, and smacked the light switch.
The round ceiling lamp lit up at once, blinding her.
Blinking rapidly, Nene scanned the room.
Bed against the wall. Red covers. Bookshelf with books, potted plants, and a plushie. Desk overflowing with pastel knick-knacks and even more books. Then, on the far wall…
Nene let out a huge sigh.
Her school uniform. Hung on a hanger on a rack.
“Ah-ahahaha. You’re not a little kid anymore. Jumping at shadows like that...”
On the floor, her hamster perked up in its cage, wondering what the sudden hubbub at such a late hour was about.
“Go back to sleep, little guy,” Nene whispered, speaking to herself as much as her hamster, “nothing to see here.”
Face burning red, Nene turned the light back off. Crawled under the covers.
There’s nothing to worry about, she thought as she shut her eyes, even if something scary were to happen, Hanako-kun would protect us .
Kou stared up at the black ceiling of his room, lights off, hands folded behind his head.
There was something weird about that exorcism today , he thought.
Oh, Hanako would be just fine. He was sure of that. That pesky ghost was like a cockroach. Charming in a way, but could never be gotten rid of. Still, what about Nene? How was she faring right now? Poor girl was scared half to death earlier.
Kou knit his eyebrows. “No matter what happens, I’ll protect her,” he muttered out loud, a solemn vow to no one. Then she’ll see what a cool, strong guy I am, he added silently, chest swelling a bit at the image of him zapping away all their enemies with his Raiteijou, clinging to Nene with his free arm.
But what if Nene was wide awake right now, petrified from night terrors, or having a nightmare? As cool as Kou was, even he couldn’t protect her from her own mind, let alone when he was miles away.
I bet Senpai’s pajamas are really cute.
This abrupt tangent overpowered all other thought. They were pink. He was sure of it. With a little red heart pattern. Yes. Forget nightmares, right now he imagined her lying on her bed, hair tousled, mouth slightly open as she quietly breathed in and out. A hand would be curled and tucked under her chin. Just like an angel.
Kou’s eyelids became heavy. Yes. Shutting them completely, he repeated, An angel…
A cold gust of wind hit Kou, and he shivered. Knit his eyebrows. He forgot to close the window. Whatever. It was too much trouble now.
Anyway. It was time once again to ruminate on what Nene had for breakfast every day. He just couldn’t decide. Was it a model Japanese breakfast with steamed rice, grilled fish, and miso soup, or a simple, Western style one of bacon, eggs, and toast? Both had their own charm. He always imagined her cooking them herself, clad in an apron over her school uniform as she hummed over the stovetop.
A warm breath tickled his cheek.
Grunting, Kou wrestled his eyes open. “Teru-nii…?”
Kou blinked as his eyes adjusted. A shadow hovered before him, right at his bedside.
Wait. This couldn’t be Teru-nii. He didn’t hear the door open or footsteps.
Sweat beads broke out across Kou’s forehead as his eyes bored into the shadow.
The shadow took on the outline of a head. A white face with a red ring for a mouth. The mouth opened, revealing sharp canines poised to strike. Strands of spittle connected the teeth, vibrating as the mouth took in heavy breaths.
Screaming, Kou’s hand shot to his bed frame, grabbing the Raiteijou off it. The head tilted, following his movements. Yet Kou could make out no body attached to the head.
With a cry, Kou stood up on the bed and swung the Raiteijou with all his might.
Crack!
It connected. The head jerked the side, howling. It retreated to the window in a flash, bobbing up and down. Yet the head never stopped facing Kou.
Kou hopped off his bed, landing running. Throwing open the blinds, he leaned out the window. In the pale moonlight, he could just barely make out the white face and red lips against the navy night sky. It receded backward towards the horizon. Squinting, Kou spotted a long string behind the head. Then the white face became a blur, the string thinner, and they both escaped from sight.
Huffing, Kou gripped the Raiteijou tightly.
“What in the world was that ?”
Nene sat in the back, leftmost seat in classroom 1-A. Students chattered around her, some sitting backwards on their chairs. School shoes squeaked against the floor as other students shuffled in.
In front floated Hanako, leering forward as he held an index finger to his mouth. “Yashiro? What’s with the bandages?”
A rude ray of sunlight shone directly onto Nene from the window beside her. Bags hung under her half-closed eyes. Shutting her left eye to shield it from the sun, Nene gingerly poked the bandage on her head with a whimper. “Uuu, I think I fell out of bed last night.”
Putting both hands on his stomach, Hanako floated backwards a bit as he kicked his legs. “Ahahaha! Figures. You’re such a klutz!”
Tears in the corners of her eyes, Nene flailed her arms. “It’s not funny! I couldn’t sleep at all.” Because I kept jumping out of bed from shadows, she added silently, turning away. Shaking her head as her cheeks flushed, she thought, But he doesn’t need to know that!
Hands gripped Nene’s cheeks. “In that case…” Hanako pulled on her face, forcing her to turn. Their noses nearly touched. Voice coming out in a soft whisper, Hanako asked, “Want me to give it a kiss to make you feel better?”
Nene jumped in her seat. “Wha—?!”
Pushing out his lips, Hanako inched closer. “Mmmmmmmmmwah!”
Nene gripped his shoulders, pushing him away as she jerked her head to the side. “Ahh! Hanako-kun, get off me!”
Hanako floated backwards, laughing. With a huff, Nene unzipped the shoulder bag hanging from the hook on her desk. “Sheesh,” she muttered, cheeks puffed out. “Stop messing around in the classroom. Everyone’s going to think I’m some kind of weirdo, talking to myself.”
Scanning the classroom, Hanako announced, “No one’s looking over here though.”
Nene looked up from her bag. “Huh?” The voices, usually reserved and coming out in a slow drawl in the mornings, were excited, feverish.
“Last night…”
“Did you hear—?”
“You too?”
“I thought I was going to die…”
“Nene-chan, Nene-chan!” an airy voice cried from the doorway.
Aoi bounded up to Nene, weaving between desks.
“Oh, Aoi-chan! Good morning,” Nene called back.
Shaking her head, Aoi exclaimed, “Never mind that! Did you see it too?” Nene shook her head. A twinkle lit up Aoi’s eyes. “Then, you haven’t heard the rumors?” Without waiting for an answer, Aoi began, “Last night, a floating head with a pale face and blood red lips appeared in many students’ bedrooms.” She spread her arms. “The head was the size of a boulder, and had a long, loooooooong neck, so long it was impossible to see the end of it.” Raising her hands and wriggling her fingers, Aoi continued, "Before leaving as quickly as it came, it growled, flashing teeth sharp enough to bite through an oak tree!”
Wide-eyed, Nene sputtered, “E-everyone saw that?”
“Not everyone . Just most.” Aoi put a hand on her cheek, sighing. “I didn’t either…”
A bead of sweat dripped down Nene’s forehead. “You seem disappointed.”
Upturning her eyebrows and shrugging, Aoi added, “Well, anyway, this IS just a rumor. It’s possible someone dreamed the whole thing, and everyone else that did is just claiming to have seen it.” Aoi gazed at the window. “But wouldn’t it be something if it were true?”
Nene laughed nervously. “Ah-ahaha, that couldn’t possibly happen…”
Hanako sat on the window’s windowsill, one leg up. The brim of his hat cast a shadow over his eyes, and the top of his knee obscured the view of his mouth. The ghost stayed silent for several seconds, surveying the two, then vanished.
Scratching the back of his head, Kou stepped onto the school rooftop. “What’s going on, Hanako? You said you wanted to talk to me about Senpai over lunch break…”
Hanako leaned up against the rail bordering the rooftop. The rail looked like little spears with horizontal bars running across them. It came up to Hanako’s chin. Fluffy white clouds drifted past overhead, and a cool breeze ruffled Hanako’s school coat.
Turning around, Hanako rested his elbows on the rail. “First, I want to tell you a ghost story, Shonen.”
“Eh?” Kou put his hands on his hips. “Believe me, I’ve heard enough of those. I LIVE them.”
“Now, now,” Hanako lectured. “You probably haven’t heard this one. It’s a very old tale, going back to the days of your ancestor’s youkai hunting.”
Kou frowned. It wasn’t every day Hanako brought up the Minamoto family’s history. “What’s this story of yours?”
Hanako turned away, gazing at the clouds. “A long time ago, a wicked innkeeper murdered his wife for her money. Then he used that money to build his inn.” Drumming his fingers on the gate, he continued, “But the wife’s soul didn’t rest peacefully. Instead of cursing the husband, she possessed their daughter every night, changing her face and extending her neck until she became a monster called rokurokubi. Yet the story ends there. There’s no happy ending for the daughter.”
Gripping the gate, Hanako pushed his full weight into it. Voice mirthless and tight, he asserted, “It’s a funny story, isn’t it? The husband is the one at fault. He’s the one who killed his wife. Yet it’s the daughter that suffers in his place.”
Kou shifted in place. Said nothing.
Hanako eased his grip. “You saw the apparition last night.”
It wasn’t a question. Kou grimaced. “Y-yeah. It’s all everybody’s talking about today.”
“It wasn’t a trick of the eyes? A dream?”
“No! I hit it, even.” Kou threw his arm to the side. “Now tell me, what does any of this have to do with Senpai?!”
A gust blew past, upsetting their clothes and sending a chill through Kou’s body. Hanako whirled around. Narrowed his eyes.
Kou gulped.
Floating as he tossed his arms up, Hanako cried, “Absolutely nothing!”
Kou fell over. Hanako burst into snickers. Scowling, Kou got up to his feet. “I KNEW this was just a stupid prank!” Scratching his head, Kou turned away. “Ugh, I feel so stupid for trusting you.”
“Hold up now, Shonen.” Hanako placed a hand on his shoulder. “The students really are in danger. Yashiro included.”
“Oh yeah?” Kou jerked his shoulder, forcing Hanako’s hand off. “If you ask me, the only danger is hanging around a ghost that plays with a knife and stalks girls’ bathrooms.”
“I never joke around about the safety of my assistant.”
Kou turned. Hanako had pulled out his knife and was holding it horizontally, index finger poking the tip of it. A thin smile broke across the ghost’s face.
Sighing, Kou grumbled, “I’ll hear you out, but if you start joking around again, I’m leaving.”
“Come now. I’m always serious.”
Kou half closed his eyes.
Twirling the knife in his hand like a circus performer, Hanako explained, “This apparition is very much real. It attacks students who fall asleep. Everyone else is wide awake, excited about the latest rumor.” He tossed the knife into the air. “Yet Yashiro didn’t sleep well last night. Huuuge bags are hanging under her eyes!” Catching it, Hanako rested the flat of the blade against his shoulder. “But if she falls asleep in class, that apparition is going to appear before her…” Hanako sliced the knife down. “...and attack.”
Kou clenched his fists. “Dammit…” The poor girl went through enough yesterday after nearly getting eaten. She didn’t need another thing to have nightmares about. “You want me to keep her awake without her finding out what’s going on?”
“I knew I liked you, Shonen. You catch on quick.”
Kou cracked his knuckles, smirking. “Heh. You should have just told me all this from the start! Protecting Senpai is what I’m best at.”
“I’ll leave her in your capable hands, then.” With a wave of his hand, Hanako invited Kou to come closer. Kou leaned in. Hanako held up a hand to his ear, whispering, “But I had an idea you might want to try…”
As a man with round glasses in a plaid shirt scribbled on the blackboard, he droned, “Serizawa Kamo founded the Shinsengumi in 1863 in Kyoto. This group of samurai was noteworthy for…”
Students around Nene scribbled at their notebooks, while she just rested her head on palms, elbows on the desk. Balancing a pen between the bridge of her nose and lip, her eyes drooped. Why would I want to learn about a dusty old guy? Head leaned forward. Pen fell, clattering to the floor. Elbows split further apart.
Thunk .
With a jolt, Nene snapped her head to the window. Nothing. Just blue sky, white, fluffy clouds, and even a few hawfinches passing by.
“The leaders of the Shinsengumi were its founder Serizawa Kamo as well as Niimi Nishiki and…”
“Must have been the wind,” Nene muttered. Stifling a yawn, she pushed her chair back with a skrrrt , leaned forward, and planted her chin on the desk. Closed her eyes.
I’d much rather think about Minamoto-senpai. A smile creeping on her face, she imagined him clad in the Shinsengumi uniform. She could just envision the haori hanging off his broad shoulders, his chiseled pecs pushing against the front.
Thump, thump, thump , thump...
A rhythmic pounding came from somewhere outside. It sounded like, like… galloping hooves. Perfect. Together, Nene and Minamoto would ride on a white horse through the streets of ye olde Kyoto, protecting the peace from revolutionaries. But most of all, he would be protecting her.
Bang, bang, bang .
With a groan, Nene opened her eyes. Turned.
Pounding the desk with her palms, Nene shot to her feet. The chair fell on it’s side with a thud.
“Mi-Mi-Minamoto-senpai?!”
It was the wrong Minamoto, but a Minamoto nonetheless.
Kou hung off a rope on the side of the building, leering through the window. Flashing a grin, he gave a salute. “Yo!” The chipper voice was muffled by the glass.
The class burst into noise, some laughing, others screaming, but none scribbling in their notebooks.
Nene unlocked the window with a click , and Kou rested a foot on the windowsill, hoisting himself up. “Senpai! You don’t need sleep when you have ME!”
Face burning red, Nene held up her hands and waved them rapidly. “Wh-what are you talking about? Get down from there!”
“Not until I sing you this love ballad I wrote.” A burst of laughter. Kou took out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket.
Kou cleared his throat. “Ahem! ‘An Ode to my Favorite Fish Bowl.’ ” The noise died. They weren’t going to miss a word. Some held up their phones.
He was really doing this. Nene backed up, hands frozen in the air, uncertain if she should cover her eyes or her ears.
Holding out an arm as if he were reciting a soliloquy in Shakespeare, Kou’s voice boomed, “ ‘An angel, a fish? I do not know which. Maybe I could find out with a—’ ”
“Minamoto-kun!” the teacher roared over the students, finally heard thanks to the sudden silence. “This again!? Get back to class!”
Crouched in the hallway, Hanako traced circles in the wood-paneled floor. Hearing a click and the squeaking of shoes, Hanako looked up.
The teacher had Kou by the arm, dragging him out the classroom. Head hung, Kou hardly moved his legs as the teacher stomped.
“You’re going straight for detention after school. Do you have any idea how dangerous…?”
They rounded a corner.
“Ahhhhh, what a dummy, that Shonen,” Hanako lamented, “of course something like that would land him detention. He needs to be more subtle, like me.”
A gaggle of Mokke waddled up.
“All set.”
“Here you go.”
“What you wanted!”
Every single Mokke held up a match with one ear. In the other, a lighter.
“Fireworks!”
“Big boom.”
“Ahaha, thank you!” Hanako cheered, clapping his hands. Taking one match and lighter, Hanako floated up to the fire alarm on the ceiling. “Annnnd, on the count of seven…”
Nene buried her head in her arms, face planted on the desk. Students giggled and whispered, undoubtedly staring at her.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to travel back to Kyoto with Minamoto-senpai. Yet the image of riding on horseback fizzled out, replaced with Kou swinging on a vine like Tarzan, ululating out a ballad.
Nene gripped her head. “Uuuuuuuuu. That was so embarrassing…!” She never wanted to turn into a fish as badly as she did right now. At least then no one would be staring at her.
Fsssssssssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Something cold pelted Nene’s head, as if she just stepped into the shower.
Wait.
Water?
Nene stood up, eyes wide.
The sprinklers were on full blast. Thick, black smoke billowed in the hall, visible through the door window. The stench of charcoal, like an oven that hadn’t been cleaned out in months, filled the air. Students shouted. Chairs squeaked as they pushed out their desks. They grabbed shoulder bags and used them like umbrellas. Students gathered around the door, uncertain if they should wait for the water to extinguish the fire. Others made their way to the windows.
Nene gazed down at her arms. Already scales covered them, glistening from the beads of water.
Taking off in a mad dash, she pushed through the crowd and into the hallway in hopes of making it to the next floor before her footsteps turned to a fish’s flailing. Between gasps for air, Nene yelled as she threw her head back, “Today is not my daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!”
Leering around the corner of the gym storage shed neighboring the school yard, Hanako studied the students exiting the school building.
The fire out and classes over, smiling students strode down the pavement, slinging their bags over their shoulders as the sun sparkled in the sky with a soothing shine. The chilly morning air gave way to a crisp afternoon breeze. Boys shoved each other, saying they were the ones who were scared of the fire, not themselves. The girls mused about how it would have been romantic to be serenaded by any other boy than the classless Minamoto, laughing as they thought of which boy they’d want to hear sing for them.
“Hrrrrrrrrrrk…!”
Withdrawing around the corner, Hanako floated up to the window built into the shed’s door. Inside, he saw Nene gripping the bars of a metal rack and pulling. Dust exploded off the shelves as it shuddered along, warbling like a vibrating pan. With a few more tugs, it stood before the window, obscuring the view.
Nene wheezed, rubbing the back of her arm on her forehead. Instead of a wet school uniform, she wore dry gym clothes with a cleaning bandanna wrapped around her head.
Gripping a broom closer to her chest, Nene complained, “I can’t believe Hanako-kun’s making me clean the dirtiest place in school just for one joke about my clothes! That jerk!”
Hanako eyed the rack. Rolled-up exercise mats with faded colors, cylinders full of dirty baseballs, and stacked traffic cones smeared with mud burst off the shelves. It’d be difficult to quickly shove something that heavy aside to reach the window.
Hanako surveyed the shed’s interior. Dim lights. Grey walls. Other wire metal racks lined up against them. A dingy exercise ball sat in the middle of the room.
“I should look on the bright side,” Nene reasoned, “the place needs tidying up anyway.” Putting a hand on her hip, Nene knit her eyebrows and smirked. “Besides, cleaning up boys’ messes is plenty feminine, right?”
“Clap, clap, clap!” Hanako called, floating through the door. The sweltering stench of humidity and the bitter reek of mud assailed his nostrils. “That’s just the sort of positivity I’d expect from my assistant.”
“Hanako-kun?”
Landing on the floor a few feet from her, Hanako folded his hands behind his back. “Still feeling sleepy?”
Half closing her eyes, Nene retorted, “After all that happened today, how could I be…?” Frowning, she stepped towards Hanako. “Huh?” Peered around him. “Where’s Minamoto-kun?”
“He was naughty, so he’s in detention.”
Nene’s face flushed as she turned away. Sweeping the floor aimlessly, she stuttered, “I-I keep telling him to give me space, s-so it’s his own fault for climbing the school like that!”
Hanako watched Nene’s sweeping steady, going over the same spot repeatedly until not a speck of dust remained. The same method she’d use when cleaning Hanako’s bathroom.
Hanako tugged at the brim of his hat. “Yashiro?”
She didn’t turn. “Hm?”
“Why do you always go so far for me?”
Upturning her eyebrows, Nene laughed. Looked over her shoulder. “What’s this about, all of a sudden?”
“It’s dangerous to be with a ghost.” Hanako’s hands clenched into fists. “Just being with me puts you in apparitions’ line of fire.”
Turning to him, Nene lowered her head. “Even if…” A small smile split her face. “Even if that’s true, I know you’ll always save me. You’re the first boy to take notice of me, Hanako-kun.” Raising her head with a tilt, her smile widened. “So I don’t mind a little danger if it means being with you!”
Hanako matched her smile.
Waving a hand, Nene added, “Besides, there’s no way an apparition could be scarier than turning into a fish!”
He reached into his back pocket. Wrapped his hands around the contents.
Nene turned away, resuming her sweeping.
Hanako began walking towards her.
“Speaking of apparitions,” Nene began, stopping mid-swing of the broom. “Why am I cleaning the storage shed?”
Hanako walked faster. Pulled out his hand from behind his back.
Whirling around, Nene asked with a pout, “Shouldn’t I be helping you look for the apparition?”
“There’s no need to look for it, Yashiro.”
Hanako gripped her chin with his left hand, lifting it. Their eyes were level. Nene’s wide eyes gazed into Hanako’s narrow slits.
“Because the apparition is right here.”
Jamming his thumb into Nene’s mouth, he wrenched it open. Nene took a step back, letting out indiscernible yelps. Hanako clamped his other hand around her open mouth, tossing something into it. Nene backed up further, and Hanako matched her steps. Letting go of Nene’s chin, he wrapped the arm around her waist instead.
Nene struggled, kicking out her legs and flailing her arms.
“Mmmphh! MMMPHH!”
“Sorry, Yashiro,” he murmured in her ear. “This was the only way I could think of.”
Nene wriggled against him, bending over slightly. Knees buckled.
“You probably won’t remember when you wake up.” Loosening his grip, Hanako let Nene fall to her knees on the floor. The assistant’s arms dangled limp at her sides. Glazed over eyes watched him as Hanako knelt with her. “But if you do, just think of this as a long, relaxing nap.”
Heavy eyelids blinked several times, then stopped opening at all.
Hanako set her down on the floor. Stood up. Walked backward a few paces. Stuffed his hand between the fold of his school coat.
The only sounds were Hanako’s ragged breaths and Nene’s slow, rhythmic ones.
And then…
A thick, heavy vapor rose around Nene’s neck, as if seeping out the pores in her skin. It spread into the air and covered Nene’s head and shoulders like a liquid until they resembled a marble bust. The vapor bubbled then stretched, making a grotesque, churning sound. Nene’s neck stretched with it, at first centimeter by centimeter, then inches, feet. It grew so large it coiled around itself like a snake. The head rose, floating towards the ceiling. The neck, flexible like a noodle, bent and undulated with every movement. The vapor, now turning into a liquid, dripped off in globs that dissolved into steam before they could touch the floor. In their wake, Nene’s face was left exposed.
And yet, it wasn’t Nene’s face anymore.
White skin stretched across the head, and a ring of crimson covered the lips. Nene’s flaxen hair had been replaced by long, stringy black hair that floated as if by static cling. The head grew until it was as tall as Hanako, the neck far too thin to support it. A low hiss came from the mouth as the lips pulled back, flashing teeth large enough to bite a person clean in half.
“Seems the rumors have done quite a number on your appearance, ao nyōbō,” Hanako noted as he took a step forward. “Or should I say…” Pulling out his knife, he narrowed his eyes. “Rokurokubi?”
“You’re the one that did this to me!” the rokurokubi professed without being asked, voice no longer Nene’s high pitch but instead a raspy undulation of worn, rotten vocal cords. “Not just you, this whole, cursed school did.” Fervent words gushing out like blood from an open wound, the rokurokubi spewed, “All I wanted was to reunite with my lover, and yet the students spread lies, saying he never loved me and had graduated decades ago. Then they said I became a ghost that would eat anyone who came close! Ohhh if only I did. Every student would have deserved it.” A low gurgle resembling gargling escaped the rokurokubi’s lips, a poor miming of laughter. “She deserved this curse too. For slashing at my neck, the neck of the student you so adored would become grotesque. An eye for an eye.”
Tightening the grip on the knife, Hanako grit his teeth.
Still growling, the rokurokubi whirled away, neck flailing. Nene’s languid body dragged across the floor, tugged along by the neck. “I’ll pick off every student until not a single—” Upon clasping eyes on the rack blocking the window, the rokurokubi let out a shrill cry.
Hanako walked up to the rokurokubi, each step echoing in the small shed. “Did you think escape would be that easy? I made sure when Yashiro fell asleep it was in a small, tight space away from students. Even asked Mokke to bring me sleeping pills from the nurse’s office to control the exact moment she slept.” Hanako stopped walking, standing underneath the head. It cast a dark shadow over him. “Let me show you just what happens when you anger a Seventh Wonder, apparition.”
The rokurokubi flew over Hanako’s head, speeding towards the door. “I refuse to surrender! You’ll never exorcise me!” It knocked into a rack, causing baseballs to roll to the floor, bouncing. Traffic cones tumbled out.
“You made things personal by going after Yashiro.” Hanako’s hand shot out, grabbing the neck. He could feel the elongated muscles contracting and writhing underneath his fingertips. The rokurokubi squealed. “I’m a nice, wholesome ghost. So I’ll make this quick.” Hanako held up the knife. Narrowed his eyes. “But if you go after my assistant again… I won’t show such mercy.”
With one clean motion, Hanako slashed down in a vertical arc, cutting the neck’s side.
A loud cry died in the rokurokubi’s throat as the neck went limp. It collapsed, causing the head to smash into the floor with it. A vibration shook the room, jostling the racks. The neck rescinded as the head shrunk down to normal size. By the time the head sat upon Nene’s shoulders again, her face had returned to normal.
Hanako stashed the knife in his coat, then took a tentative step towards her. Nene’s breathing came out in long puffs.
“I don’t mind a little danger if it means being with you!”
“Haaaaaah.” Hanako knelt next to Nene, resting his elbows on his knees. Poked her soft cheek. “What am I going to do with you, you big, big dummy?”
The familiar sound of a mop scrubbing the wooden floor filled Hanako’s bathroom. Afternoon light flooded in from the large, stained-glass window, casting the wood floor in multiple shades of yellow, pink, and green like a prism. Hanako perched on one of the cast iron sinks attached to the wall, watching Nene work the mop back and forth in the fourth stall, smiling. No incident was truly over until his trusty assistant returned safely to the bathroom, cleaning as always.
Yet...
The door burst open. “Yo, Hanako, Senpai! I finished my rounds of all the third-years’ classrooms.”
There was one thing that was definitely not the same as always.
Nene poked her head out the stall, smiling. The motion sent two things on her head flopping to and fro. “Thank you, Minamoto-kun! I’d have joined you, but…” The assistant’s eyes trailed to the toilet beside her.
Kou pounded a fist into his chest, sending the appendages on his own head vibrating. “Not to worry, Senpai. I’d do anything for you, so this bit of busywork is nothing!”
The two wore a matching pair of brown, frizzy dog ears attached to a hairband.
“Anyway, all the third years are wearing dog ears too,” Kou reported, “seems like everyone besides the school staff have gotten on board.”
The only known way to cure a rokurokubi’s curse was to feed it the liver of a dog. Yet since sitting Nene down for a fine dining meal of Crème de la Crème Canis familiaris was out of the question, Hanako asked Nene to spread a rumor that if one wore a pair of dog ears, they would be protected from unwanted apparitions at night. Of course, the reality was that Nene was curing herself of the curse with dog ears instead of dog liver, but no one needed to know that.
“Such a weird rumor to spread,” Nene remarked, returning to the stall as she continued scrubbing. “Why are floating ghost heads supposed to be scared of dog ears, anyway?”
Kou pointed at Hanako. “It was all his idea. I keep telling you, this guy can’t be trusted. His last ‘great idea’ got me thrown in detention!”
Hanako gasped, putting a hand to his chest. “Who, me? Serenading Nene was all your idea, wasn’t it, Shonen?” Hanako floated over to Nene, holding a hand up to his mouth as he loudly whispered, “Don’t you think so? Can’t you just picture him coming up with that embarrassing poem all on his own?”
Nene half closed her eyes. “W-well…”
Hanako threw his arms in the air. “It’s settled, then!”
Kou pounded his foot. “Stop playing innocent!”
Putting his hands behind his head, Hanako jeered.
It couldn’t be helped. Hanako wanted to resolve this incident alone, and with it involving his precious Senapi, Kou never would have agreed to that. So he filled Kou with lies about how the apparition appeared when any student fell asleep, and fed him a bogus plan sure to put him in detention for the day.
Nene looked up from her scrubbing. “There’s just one thing bothering me…” Turning around, she furrowed her eyebrows. “Hanako-kun, did we go to the gym storage shed a few days ago?”
Hanako stopped laughing. Folding his hands behind his back, he bent down and floated towards Nene, peering up at her face. “What, do you think we did something dirty in there?” Hanako hugged himself as he closed his eyes. “With the lights down low and no one around to watch, we tenderly embraced. I ran you ragged until you fell asleep on the floor, defenseless.” Half opening his eyes, Hanako put a hand to his mouth. “Don’t tell me you were imagining something like that? You’re such a pervert!”
Nene’s face burned. “O-of course not!” Stomping past Hanako into the neighboring stall, Nene slammed the door behind her. “Why do I bother talking to you about anything ,” she grumbled, voice echoing against the stall’s walls.
Hanako floated through the door and placed a hand on Nene’s shoulder. Stiffening, she stopped sweeping.
“Now, now, Yashiro,” he began, “the only thing you need to know about that is you’re headed for great things.”
Looking over her shoulder, Nene blinked. “Huh?”
Hanako’s mouth twisted as he spoke, as if trying to keep a straight face during a poker game. “Since no matter how I think about it, you really are—pffft — head and shoulders above any assistant I could ask for.”
Nene gripped her broom, crying, “I-I don’t get it, why are you laughing?!”
“Because you’re, ahaha, always, aha, s-sticking out your neck for me, so… pfffffffffft!” Hanako put his hands around his waist and laughed hysterically.
A weight the ghost didn’t realize was haunting him lifted, replaced by an overpowering warmth as he watched Nene sputter about something or another.
Students wearing the dog ears would feel safe, and with the threat of being attacked at night gone, so too would the allure of spreading rumors about the rokurokubi. For as much of a todo as they raised about the apparition, the students would probably forget about both it and the dog ears in a day or two. Such fickle creatures, humans were. For now, Nene was safe, and so was the school. But it wouldn’t be long before new rumors started up again.
As Hanako laughed uproariously, he wondered what would be the next apparition the trio would tackle would be.