Chapter Text
"Wahhhh! It was soooo scary!"
"I know, I know! Like, what even was that noise!"
"Ugh, that was so creepyyyy!"
Ibara looked over at her classmates who were all whining about something. She cocked her head and wondered to herself about what they were referring to, but she didn't know whether or not she could go over to them and ask them about it.
When she thought about it, she didn't really have any friends, did she?
"Ibaraaaa~!"
Maybe she didn't need too many friends with the ones she already had. She turned and saw the students clear a way for Akira and Makoto to make a beeline to her desk. Akira sat himself on her desk, while Makoto stood off to the side.
"I'm bored. Entertain me with something!"
"Why not read through your anatomy books?" She cocked an eyebrow at him.
"Those are sooo boring! They're completely inaccurate-- I checked-- and I've read through them so many times!" He draped himself across her desk. "I wish Mr. Human was back here..."
Ibara hummed and looked out the window.
It had been several weeks since everything went down. Those four strange people dropping onto Hyakki Island, meeting that man who's supposed to marry Ibara in the future, the ball with Kai, and... learning about what Kai's family had done.
She shook her head. No need to dwell on that. They said it wouldn't happen for over a hundred years in the future, so they had plenty of time to process it. But Akira wouldn't stop talking about that human they encountered during that time.
"Ooh! Makoto-kun, what do you want to do after school?"
"Uh... study. We have midterms soon, so we should study."
"Boooring! Midterms are super boring!" He flicked his forehead, making Makoto squawk in surprise.
"Akira. You need to be quiet." She hummed.
"But being quiet is bo-riiiiing!" He twisted around and laid on his back. "I neeeed excitement!"
Ibara rolled her eyes and looked over at her classmates. When they saw she was looking at them, they quickly scurried out of the classroom. She sighed and looked back at Akira.
"If you really want to do something after school... I have an idea."
That night, the trio snuck out of the dorms, managing to evade the various guards meant to block them off and met at the entrance of the school. Akira looked around before smiling at Ibara.
"Sooo....what exactly is this, Ibara-chan?"
"I heard some classmates talking about something. I then heard something about there being a ghost in the school."
"G-Ghost?!" Yamazaki turned to her, his mouth agape.
"A ghost?!" Akira's eyes widened.
"So, I think we should investigate for ourselves. You know, gathering data."
She turned and walked into the school, leaving the two boys standing there. Akira marveled up at the school for a moment before wandering after her, his arms swinging beside him. Yamazaki was stunned for a moment before he ran after his friends.
"I didn't think you two were actually going to follow me."
"I mean, to see a ghost would be amazing!"
"I-I just don't want you guys to get hurt!"
Ibara hummed and continued walking through the hallways. She looked around, and realized a slight problem in her plan.
"We don't have a light."
Yamazaki looked at her. "You don't h-have a light for us to use?!"
"No, I'm afraid I don't..."
Akira looked around."Well, I can see spirit energy, so I suppose we don't need it too badly!" He hummed as he continued walking through the halls. They stepped through the school, looking around to see if they could see any ghosts.
"Come on, Ibara! You said there were ghosts here..."
"I said I heard people talking about ghosts being here. Don't put words in my mouth."
Akira shrugged and Yamazaki looked to some of the doors. No one was in, which made sense. However...
"Guys... is that light on?"
They both looked to where Yamazaki was pointing. Indeed, behind one of the doors, it was illuminated. They all stood there for a moment before Akira stepped over to the door. They both gave him a look before walking over to him.
"Akira, what are you-"
"A-Ahh..."
They all paused and leaned closer to the door.
"Fuck..."
"What was that...?"
"I dunno..."
They began to step away, dragging Akira along with them.
"We should leave, Akira..."
"I think that as well..."
"Awww, but I wanna see!"
There was a clatter from inside the room and they all flinched. Akira looked back at his friends.
"You know... maybe you're right. I'm not prepared to die at 20."
They all scurried out of the schoolhouse, and soon after they were gone, there was a noise of a desk moving.
"...Did you hear that, Acchan?"
"Who cares, you haven't given anything for me to finish to, dammit!"
The next morning, Akira walked into the classroom, stretching his arms above his head with Ibara following after him.
"Makoto really wouldn't wake up this morning?"
"Nope! He passed out last night and he hasn't woken up since! Isn't that faaascinating?"
Ibara rolled her eyes and sat at her desk, with Akira sitting next to her. He turned to her, placing his head on one of his hands.
"Hey, what do you think those noises were last night?"
"I'm not certain..." She looked up when she saw her teacher enter the room, yawning as he did.
"Ahhh... alright... what do we have on the lesson plan for today..."
Ibara cocked her head and Akira looked over at her.
"Something wroooong, Ibara-can?"
"No... no, it's nothing."