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“Do you think you can help, old friend?”
Rei frowned. “Are you not being a little dramatic? Surely…” He unfolded his crossed legs so that they hung over the side of his bed, facing the golden divider between him and Hibiki.
Hibiki popped a few colorful rubber balls out of his hair and began juggling them. “Have you ever known me to exaggerate~?” The jester threw the red ball into the air, and it popped, promptly dropping a pair of scissors into his hand. “Feel free to try ♪”
“I’m sorry, what!?” Nito closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “You gathered all of the Mystery Researchers… the group that tours spots brimming with divine energy in hopes of discovering creatures of legend… to figure out how to cut Wataru-chin’s hair!?”
Rei cleared his throat, a humorous smile threatening to tug at his lips. “I assure you, Hibiki-kun’s hair is a marvel that’s worth investigating. Once I demonstrate for you… Hibiki-kun, if you will.”
The clown of fine leapt off Tenshouin’s bed, took a bow, and twirled around to expose his hair.
“Observe.” Rei slowly approached the hair, scissors in hand.
When the vampire neared, the hair began to squirm.
Nito and Yuuki gasped.
When the scissors were finally a mere five centimeters away from it, the hair suddenly smacked the scissors away, sending them flying.
Nito caught the shearing tool, a horrified expression on his face. “How is Wataru-chin doing that!?”
Hibiki winked over his shoulder. “Ohoho~ I certainly wish I was! But in fact, my hair is doing this of its own volition. It even strikes me down should I attempt to trim it! Truly Amazing~☆” His boisterous grin quieted into an apologetic smile. “Although, perhaps not…”
Yuuki put a hand to his chin as he squinted at the fantastical hair. “I mean… it’s just hair, right? It can’t be that difficult to find a way to cut it.”
Rei mockingly tilted his head. “Do you truly think you can easily come up with a better method than Hibiki Wataru of the Five Eccentrics? Three of us are gathered here for a reason.”
“R-Right…”
Nito clapped Yuuki on the back so hard that his glasses were knocked askew. “Chin up, Mako-chin! There are six of us here, three of us being the genius Eccentrics. Our whole circle is for solving mysteries, and we won’t be stumped with this one!”
Shinkai hummed. “Even among the Eccentrics, Wataru is a ‘mystery’~”
“I happen to think that description fits you more, Kanata,” Hibiki teased. “Sooo~ Who wishes to face the gauntlet first?”
“I-I might have an idea,” Aoba muttered.
“Ohoho~ I can’t wait to see what idea my fellow jester has! Surely, this will be entertaining ♪”
Aoba bowed deeply. “Long Hair-san, please allow us to cut you. We promise we’ll still leave you very long, and that we’ll finish cutting before you know it!”
Everyone in the room held their breath as the flowing locks slowly reached out to the bluebird.
Light blue strands curiously prodded at Aoba’s nose and eyebrows before abruptly slapping the glasses off his face; Aoba’s glasses flew at the speed of light, slammed into Yuuki’s face, and knocked off his glasses as well. A red mark gradually appeared between the corner of Yuuki’s eye and right cheek.
Nito whistled lowly as the two glasses wearers screamed. “Wow, a double knockout…”
Rei chuckled. “Well, Hibiki-kun was right. That was quite entertaining to watch.”
“Leave it up to me~♪” Yuuki declared confidently. “Pass the scissors.”
Nito reluctantly handed over the cutting tool. “It’s weird to see you so confident… Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
Yuuki nodded, brandishing the scissors in an unnecessarily flashy way. “As a pro gamer, you have to always be able to move and think faster than your opponents. This hair can’t be any more overwhelming than an AI on the hardest difficulty, right?”
“Careful, Yuuki-kun,” Rei warned. “Every part of Hibiki-kun exceeds typical human limitations. You would do best not to underestimate him.”
“Have at it, Yuuki-kun,” Hibiki encouraged, still facing away from the rest of the group. “Show us something Amazing~☆” He flashed a peace sign.
Yuuki dramatically stepped in front of the enemy before him, and he took a deep breath. “Okay… Here goes…!” He slashed horizontally.
The hair dodged the slice by blowing to the left, almost as if it was hit by a sudden gust of wind. It then bunched itself up into a couple of tendrils that shot out toward Yuuki’s hands.
The game master twirled the scissors and managed to cut off a few ends before retracting his hand and going back in for a diagonal cut.
Hibiki gasped as the hair spun him around, putting him directly in the path of the scissors.
“…!” Yuuki frantically jerked his hand away from Hibiki’s stomach, and he grunted as a tendril managed to grab his hand and pry the scissors from his fingers. “Ghah!? Come on! That’s cheating!” He sidestepped the scissors as they tried to snip at his hair, several dark blond strands falling to the floor. “This… This isn’t going to work…”
Nito sighed resignedly. “So, I guess his hair is smarter than an AI?”
Yuuki groaned in frustration. “Well, it’s hard to beat a difficult boss on the first try… Usually I’d take the time to learn all of its attack patterns, but I don’t want to hurt Hibiki-senpai. Doesn’t Hibiki-senpai’s hair care if he gets hurt!?”
“Maybe the hair knew you would be able to avoid hitting him?” Aoba considered.
The defeated gamer stared thoughtfully at Hibiki’s hair, which was being scolded by its owner for putting him in danger. “Well, all you’ve got to do is get the hair in a single strike before it can even think about trying anything.”
“Pat pat~” Shinkai gently patted the top of Yuuki’s head. “Have some ‘fish’ as a reward for your effort.”
Yuuki chuckled weakly. “Well, I didn’t really do much, but thank you.”
“Maybe if we ‘puka puka’, the hair will listen~” Shinkai lazily suggested. “Does anyone have some ‘water’?”
“Here.” Nito tossed a water bottle over.
“Thank you~ Now, Wataru, please ‘stand’ in the middle of the room, where there’s no carpet.”
“Hoho~ What do you have planned for me?” Hibiki chuckled, obediently following his fellow Eccentric’s instruction.
“Turn around so your ‘hair’ is facing me, close your ‘eyes’… and… weeee~” Shinkai uncapped the bottle and splashed it onto Wataru’s hair, which somehow absorbed all the liquid without a single drop hitting the floor.
“Ehh!?” Yuuki shrieked.
Hibiki sighed in relief. “How refreshing ♪”
“Long Hair-san, just follow me~” Shinkai slowly bobbed from side to side. “Puka puka~”
“Oh my!” Hibiki was dragged along as the hair began swaying in sync with the oceanic movements. “Everyone, join in!”
Rei and Aoba enthusiastically went along with Shinkai’s movements while Nito and Yuuki laughed awkwardly in second-hand embarrassment.
“Let’s just ‘puka puka’,” Shinkai lulled, subtly reaching for the kitchen knife in his back pocket. “Puka puka ♪” The aquatic expert’s lax movements suddenly sharpened as he slashed with the knife. “Uh oh…”
Strands of sky-blue hair amounting to no more than twenty fell to the ground, but the rest of the hair managed to wrap itself around Shinkai’s wrist, swiftly disarming him before shoving him away.
Nito caught Shinkai with a grunt. “Are you okay, Kanata-chin? What happened!?”
Shinkai groaned as he oriented himself. “I ‘sliced’ the hair, but I hit something ‘hard’ out of nowhere…”
“Oh! Those were my props,” Hibiki sheepishly clarified. “I’m afraid I keep a warehouse’s worth in my hair, and dear Kanata may have hit a saw or something of the sort!”
“AEUHHHAHHHHHHHHHHH!” Yuuki shrieked.
The hair nonsensically swung around the knife it’d taken from Shinkai, dangerously close to slicing all the idols in the room.
Shinkai stepped forward and bowed apologetically. “I’m sorry, Long Hair-san… I hope you ‘understand’ why I did that…”
Hibiki’s hair stopped waving wildly… before dart throwing the knife straight at Shinkai’s head.
“GET DOWN!” Yuuki yelled, tackling the blue hero to the ground.
The knife soared through the air before sticking into the dorm door with a foreboding thud.
The entire group, even Hibiki, was rendered silent, all staring at one another with wide eyes.
Aoba was the first one to speak up, his voice even meeker than usual. “U-Uh… so, let’s try another plan?”
While Hibiki sat comfortably on Tenshouin’s bed, humming his favorite fine songs, the Mystery Researchers sat in a circle on the floor, all brainstorming. Shinkai’s eyes were closed in concentration as he bobbed around, Yuuki continuously glanced between a Rubik's cube he was fidgeting with and Hibiki’s hair, Aoba was skimming articles about persuasion on his laptop, and Nito’s foot tapped impatiently on the ground as he occasionally tugged on his own hair.
Rei was equally miffed, amused, and puzzled at how some longer-than-average hair could be causing a group dedicated to solving problems so much strife. They’d tried being polite, cutting furiously, distracting it, and it was like the hair had triumphed against such tactics every day for the past decade! He just wanted to crawl into his coffin and forget all the drama happening…
Nito abruptly stood up. “That’s it,” he growled. He stomped up to Hibiki. “Look here, Long Hair-chin. You’re being a nuisance for all of us, so how about you just give up before I find some lice to put in you.”
“W-Wait,” Aoba interjected, waving his hands frantically. “Isn’t that going too far!?”
Nito stepped even closer to Hibiki, who only looked amused at the altercation. “Try something. I dare you.”
Hibiki’s hair formed into a whip.
As the hair came down, Nito caught it with his hands and chomped down hard. The rabbit held on as the hair squirmed, determination blazing in his eyes, but he gasped as a tendril compressed and hosed tea at him.
After drenching Nito, the hair shoved him to the ground and launched a fleet of rubber duckies at his face, waving around in amusement as the ducks squeaked upon hitting their target.
Nito jumped back up, his eyes already relit as he was raring to go for Round Two. “YA FWUCKIN’ PWIECE O’ SHIT!!!!! BITCH, I’LL—”
Yuuki and Aoba pulled Nito back before any damage could be done, and the magician giggled anxiously. “Maybe we should calm down, Nito-kun… How about we take a break?”
“WATARU-CHIN!” Nito commanded in a shrill voice. “GWET THE PROPS OUTTA YWER FWUCKIN’ ‘AIR!!!”
“O-Of course~ Hair-san, if you would! Relinquish your—”
A braided tendril reached into the depths of the sky-blue hair and pulled out a squeaky hammer, whacking its owner over the head.
Rei sighed. “Perhaps it’d be better to take a short break and brainstorm a tad more.”
Shinkai nodded wisely. “Some ‘fish’ will make us all feel better~”
Shinkai walked in a circle as he handed out a plate of sushi to each Mystery Researcher. As he handed a plate over to Hibiki, who was still resting on Tenshouin’s bed, he pointedly glared at the jester’s hair. It was amusing to see the normally relaxed hero be so hostile toward some hair, which responded with a motion dangerously close to flicking somebody off. Shinkai huffed before returning to the group. He sat down on the floor next to Rei and tilted his head. “Do you have a ‘plan’ yet, Rei? You know you are the smartest one out of all of us besides Wataru~”
“You flatter me, old friend… Well, I suppose I do have an idea.”
Everyone expectantly looked at the vampire besides Hibiki, who hummed delightfully as he munched on his sushi.
“Rather than a single idea, perhaps it would be more efficient to combine our efforts. After all, the Mystery Researchers is all about collaboration toward reaching our goal, is it not?”
Yuuki scratched the back of his head. “Well, in this kind of CO-OP, fighting together can end up with us getting in each other’s way.”
“That’s why we need a cohesive plan,” Aoba agreed. “T-That’s what you wanted to say, right?”
Rei nodded.
Nito frowned skeptically. “But Rei-chin… None of our plans really did anything… And I don’t see how they can work together…”
The vampire chuckled. “With each failed attempt, we have learned something new. Aoba-kun exemplified that persuasion will hardly work, Yuuki-kun deduced that we cannot afford to take a long time lest the hair think of a plan to deter us, Shinkai-kun realized that there were props that any cutting tools could get stuck to, and Nito-kun showed that the hair was willing to use those props to fight back. But before we get to that, I believe we’ve forgotten about Hibiki-kun.”
“Wataru-chin?”
Everyone turned to Hibiki, who had just finished cleaning his plate of sushi, promptly placing it in his own hair. He gasped in faux surprise. “Oya~? Have you finally figured out something?”
Rei sent his old friend a piercing glare, his suspicions confirmed as the eccentric magician started to sweat despite his broad grin. “Hibiki-kun. Tell me. What method have you used to attempt to cut your hair?”
“I’ve tried using scissors, of course~♪”
“Are you telling me that with all your creativity and resourcefulness, you thought no further than grabbing a pair of scissors before giving up?”
“…”
“Sakuma-senpai,” Yuuki interjected. “Are you saying Hibiki-senpai might be intentionally sabotaging us!?”
“W-Well, I don’t think he’d do all that…” Aoba mumbled. “Or maybe he’s just withholding information from us…”
Nito’s eye twitched, noticeably struggling to keep his voice level. “How… is that any different?”
Shinkai wrapped his arms around the yellow rabbit from behind and rocked him back and forth. “Shh… let us just puka puka~ That will help ‘calm’ you down ♪”
Hibiki chuckled proudly. “It seems age hasn’t caught up with you yet, old friend. Well, you all have found me out ♪”
Rei shook his head disappointedly. “I fear Tenshouin-kun has rubbed off on you a bit too much… What are you hiding?”
“Well~ I was unsure was to whether or not it was truly relevant, to be hones—”
“Just tell us,” Nito gritted out.
“Unfortunately, many of my magic tricks are useless when my hair is attached to my head at all times! So, I asked it why it refused to be cut, as I knew that it knew that I knew that it knew it was essential to keep a manageable level of hair. And it signed to me.”
“It knows how to sign?” Yuuki asked. “Wait, you understand sign language!?”
“Why, of course~ How else am I meant to communicate effectively with my deaf or mute audience members? Anyway, my hair signed to me that it refused to let me cut it because it made a promise with an ‘angel’. I couldn’t see how that would help us, so I decided it would be best to just try to take it down by brute force!”
“An angel!?” Yuuki’s glasses slid down a bit as he gaped.
“An angel…” Aoba hummed, eyes shut tightly in concentration. “Why does that sound like…” With a gasp, he pulled out his phone and started texting urgently.
“What are you doing, Tsumugi-chin?”
“I might have an idea… but I don’t want to assume too much either…”
Hibiki smiled humorously. “The bluebird has an idea? I remember how things turned out the last time that happened ♪”
A few minutes of texting later, Aoba put down his phone with a sigh.
Yuuki carefully balanced his plate of finished sushi on the stack everyone else made. “So?”
Aoba smiled reassuringly. “It looks like those persuasion articles ended up coming in handy after all! He said he was on his—” Before the magician could finish his sentence, the dorm door opened, and an unfortunately familiar face stepped through.
Nito’s eyes lit up for a moment before narrowing. “Oh… When Tsumugi-chin said he was calling for help, I was expecting literally anybody else, but it’s just you.”
Tenshouin smiled innocently. “Am I not allowed in my own dorm?”
“Being allowed and being welcome are two different things,” Rei pointed out.
Shinkai turned away without acknowledging the angelic emperor.
“Hello, Eichi-kun ♪” Aoba greeted.
Yuuki nodded, only briefly making eye contact with Tenshouin.
With a swish of his hair, Hibiki tossed a thornless rose, which landed in someone else’s light blond hair.
Tenshouin removed the rose from his hair, smiling fondly as he twirled it in his hand. “Now, who would like to be graced with the honor of catching me up on the situation?”
“…And that’s about everything we’ve got so far,” Rei finished.
“Fufu…” Eichi looked mildly amused at the situation.
Nito rolled his eyes. “What the hell is so funny!?”
Tenshouin cleared his throat. “Apologies. I simply found it hilarious that Wataru’s hair would keep its promise to me after all this time. Even more so that Wataru would forget his promise.”
“YOU’RE THE ANGEL!? NO FUCKING— MNGH!” Nito struggled to break free as Shinkai covered his mouth.
Aoba’s eyes brightened. “I had a feeling. Of course, ‘angel’ was referring to you, who has the character ‘ten’ in his name.”
Rei side-eyed Hibiki. “And just what promise is he talking about…?”
The jester shrugged.
“I suppose I should tell this story then.” Tenshouin clapped his hands. “Gather, children. It is now story time ♪” He gracefully sat down on his bed next to Hibiki.
“How do you manage to regularly maintain so much hair?”
“Hm?” Wataru looked up from the playscript he was reading, and he grinned arrogantly as the face of fine approached him. “Your Majesty, the Emperor! For what do I owe you this pleasure this cold winter night?”
“Are you… alright?” Eichi hesitantly lowered himself onto the bench next to Wataru. His nose scrunched up as the school rooftop’s wind blew some of Wataru’s hair into his face. “Ghh… You really should find a way to control that hair.”
Wataru chuckled darkly. “After all you have done to my new family these recent months, must you still find ways to control us?”
“…”
The jester’s expression brightened. “Now now~ That was merely a jest. Most of us Eccentrics understand why you did what had to be done. Otherwise, the five of us performing together would have absolutely crushed all of you fine in a heartbeat. You would have been powerless to stop us ♪”
“…”
“Is something wrong, Emperor?”
“You’re beautiful.”
Wataru’s eyes widened slightly. “…Ohoho~ Where did this come from? Well, I already guessed you thought this about me ♪”
“Your hair must be quite impractical to deal with.”
Wataru deliberately flipped his hair into Eichi’s face. “It is unconventional, but I assure you it’s more practical for me than having short hair. After all, where would I hide my props?”
Eichi gazed up at the stars in the night sky. “Every part of you… it all fits you perfectly. Wonderful, insufferable, utterly unique. As much as you haunt me, as much as you torment me… I hope you never change.”
“But I will change. It’s the natural progression of life.”
The emperor huffed petulantly. “I know that. But the core parts of you…”
“Even my hair~?” Wataru teased.
“Even your hair.”
The magician leapt up and stood proudly on the bench, hair dramatically billowing in the wind. “Then I promise you. No, not only I. But also, my hair. My hair and I promise you to keep the essentials of who we are. Though decades may pass, my hair will continue to be just as lustrous and wild as it is today. That is my oath.”
Eichi tried holding back a laugh, but subtle snorts escaped him until he finally couldn’t hold it in, his breathless laughter a foreign melody that flowed freely throughout the frigid starry night.
Hibiki nodded knowingly. “Ahhh… That did happen, didn’t it?”
Rei facepalmed with an exasperated sigh. “How did you forget about the promise you made?”
“AHA!” Nito wrested himself free from Shinkai’s grasp and jumped up, accusatorily pointing at the angelic leader. “SO, THIS WHOLE THING WAS YOUR FAULT!?”
Aoba gently led the yellow rabbit back down to the floor. “L-Let’s calm down… It’s not like Eichi-kun did it on purpose, right?”
Nito begrudgingly sat back down, though his glare didn’t soften at all. “You know how that guy is… who knows far ahead he can plan things out…”
Yuuki chuckled sheepishly. “From the sound of it, it was actually just Hibiki-senpai making a promise he couldn’t keep.”
“I did keep my promise though ♪”
Shinkai chucked the empty water bottle at Hibiki’s head, smiling smugly as he got a clean headshot accentuated by an exaggerated gasp of pain.
“As much as I hate to admit it…” Rei sighed. I really, really hate to admit it… “I believe most of the blame in this situation rests squarely on Hibiki’s shoulders.”
Yuuki turned to Tenshouin. “Since you’re the one that made the promise in the first place, you can undo it, right?
The leader of fine smiled sweetly. “Hair-san, please allow Wataru to cut you ♪”
Hibiki’s hair slowly rose and began signing.
Tenshouin stifled a laugh. “Translation, Wataru?”
“Allow me ♪ Essentially, the issue is that all of you are telling Eichi to tell my hair to get cut, but my hair would only do it if Eichi said it of his own volition. Without being manipulated.”
“Us!? Manipulate HIM!?” Nito choked out. “You can’t be serious!”
Tenshouin batted his eyelashes prettily. “I am but a vulnerable soul. Have you seen my sickly disposition?”
Shinkai chucked a second water bottle at the emperor, who caught the projectile aimed at his head with ease. “You seem ‘fine’ to me…”
Yuuki groaned. “Well, Sakuma-senpai? You said you had a plan? It looks like we’ll have to rely on that after all.”
“Correct. Hibiki-kun, would you mind leavi… never mind.” As he probably should have expected, Hibiki had already somehow vanished before Rei could finish voicing his request. “Now, I plan to make use of everyone’s skills.”
Tenshouin’s eyes crinkled in amusement as he leaned back on his bed. “Please, go on.”
The vampire fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Shinkai-kun — as the strongest one out of all of us by far, you should be the one to deliver the final blow. The issue you had was that you ended up hitting a prop stored in Hibiki-kun’s hair. As we saw, if provoked, the hair will discard some of its props. The goal is to find an opening, provided that Nito-kun can get a reaction out of the hair.”
“I’m guessing this where I come in,” Yuuki interjected. “This sounds just like the kind of strategy you work out in a CO-OP game…” His eyes glittered excitedly. “While Nito-senpai forces the hair shoot out more of its props, I can look for a perfect opening for Shinkai-senpai to strike. It’ll be a small window of opportunity, but I think I can find it!”
Aoba raised a hand in question. “Wait, what about me?”
Rei shrugged. “Moral support? Or no…” The vampire grinned devilishly. “I have an idea…”
The meek magician gulped.
“Well then,” Wataru began, ignoring the startled cries from Aoba, Nito, and Yuuki as he dropped from the ceiling. “Have you finished developing your plan~?”
Rei smiled confidently. “Yes. Now, prepare yourself. We will try our best to make sure we do not cut it shorter than waist length. Nito-kun?”
As Hibiki turned around to expose his hair, Nito immediately leapt at it, not allowing the hair a chance to dodge or retaliate.
The feral rabbit clutched onto the hair and viciously bit into it. “Trwy it!” he taunted, shaking the hair around with his teeth.
“Get ready, Aoba,” Rei advised, only receiving a groan and regretful nod in response.
As expected, the hair launched a jack-in-the-box at Nito’s head.
“No!” Aoba jumped between the hair and Nito, and the child’s toy painfully bounced off his forehead. “Ugh… why does this have to be my job!? A-Are you okay, Nito?”
The rabid rabbit nodded furiously, continuing to mercilessly tug at the hair with his teeth.
Aoba continued to act as the meat shield for Nito as props pelted down upon him, deflecting pins and bobs, and dodging knives and saws. “H-Hurry guys, I can’t keep this up forever!” He snapped his fingers, and a flash of magic stunned the hair.
Yuuki’s eye glinted. “There! Right below Nito-senpai’s right hand!”
As Nito jumped back, Shinkai horizontally slashed without hesitation.
All the hair up to Hibiki’s knee fell to its owner’s feet, and what remained of the hair writhed in agony.
Nito let go and heaved exhaustedly. “Did… did we… do it?”
Twirling around, Hibiki clutched his own hair and threaded his fingers through it. “Excellent technique, Kanata~! Now I know to avoid you if I ever see you with a knife in a dark alley ♪”
Shinkai giggled as his shoulders sagged in relief.
Yuuki sighed. “That was a bit of a violent end, but I guess— AUGH!?” A lock of hair reached out to his arm.
Without warning, the hair shot out and handcuffed everyone in the room, except for Tenshouin, whose eyes widened, and Hibiki, whose startled yelp was muffled by a mouth stuffed full of hair. A devious tendril forced Shinkai’s hands open, effortlessly taking the knife from him.
A bead of sweat trailed down Shinkai’s face despite his calm expression.
“Calm down, everyone!” Rei ordered. “Give me a second to think, and I can—”
“TENSHOOWIN!” Nito barked. “IF YOO DON’ HELP US—”
Tenshouin cleared his throat, dismissively waving his hand. “Do you really think so low of me, Nito-kun? You wound me~” He scooped up the pair of scissors Rei had previously discarded, and with several clean strikes, he severed the locks holding onto everyone. “You’re welcome ♪”
Rei huffed, “We would’ve figured out how to get out without your help… but thank you.”
Hibiki pulled his hair out of his mouth, not appearing disgusted at all. “Oya~? No need to be so cold, old friend! Eichi’s helped us out this time, and that’s quite alright to admit!”
“Speak for yourself,” Nito spat. “Wataru-chin, we cut your fucking hair, so I’m leaving now.” The tiny adult stomped his way out of the room.
Shinkai grabbed Yuuki’s arm. “We should ‘go’ too. Help me make some fish, okay~?”
“S-Shinkai-senpai, why is your grip so tight!? Y-You’re gonna break my arm— AHHHHH!?” Yuuki’s screams faded as the Eccentric dragged him down the hall.
The four occupants left in the room stared at each other.
“…Well then,” Tenshouin said to break the silence, infuriatingly smug as usual. “It appears I have completed my job satisfactorily, even if it was much to the chagrin of the people I saved. Tsumugi, would you mind joining me for a cup of tea?”
“Sure ♪” the bluebird sang, completely oblivious to the animosity flooding the Hell Dorm. He left with Tenshouin, chatting animatedly all the while.
With an exhausted sigh, Rei allowed himself to finally fall face-forward onto his bed.
“Tired?”
“I miss my coffin,” Rei whimpered. The weary vampire jolted as a loud thud resounded within the dorm walls. “Wha…”
There, in the center of the dorm, rested Rei’s coffin, the one he used back when he and Hibiki still attended Yumenosaki Academy, the cover slightly off as to allow entry.
“I…” Rei rolled off his bed and scrambled to his old coffin on all fours. Gripping the edge of the opening with pale white fingers, he wryly smiled at Hibiki. “How do you always manage to surprise me, old friend?”
“Is that not an entertainer’s job?” Hibiki’s usual boisterous energy had calmed down significantly, and he wore a fond smile instead of a wide grin.
“You know, Tenshouin-kun won’t be pleased… He already gave me a scolding on it not too long ago.”
“No need to worry about him.” The clown of fine winked. “Remember, Eichi would buy a country for me if I so asked ♪ For now, go to sleep. Is it not your free day?”
“How did you… Regardless, I should be trying better to adjust to a normal idol’s sleep schedule. I should try to be productive.” Rei’s thin fingers trailed the edge of the coffin, and as he peeked through the opening, the cushiony velvet called out to him. An allure more captivating than any UNDEAD performance… well, perhaps he was exaggerating a bit… but…
“I’d say you were plenty productive! Haven’t you been working tirelessly for the past couple of hours to cut my unruly hair?” Hibiki chuckled as a tendril of hair rose up to tickle his left ear.
Rei stared into the coffin for a few more seconds. “You do make a good point… Perhaps… it would be alright to allow myself a short power nap. Just a bit of shut eye…” He yawned, as if his body was signaling him to give in to the temptation. Losing the rest of his resolve, the vampire slid the cover to create a bigger opening and crawled into the coffin, closing the entrance behind him. “Why does it feel as though…” this was his plan all along? No, surely Hibiki-kun… Wataru couldn’t have accounted for everything playing out the way it did, could he? Of course not. That would simply be… inhuman…
“Good night, Rei,” Hibiki gently whispered, muffled through the coffin’s cover.
It’s still afternoon, old friend… Rei wanted to retort, but he was too tired to speak, so he finally allowed the comforting darkness to claim him.