Chapter Text
“Did you hear?” A girl whispered to her friend. As always, I tuned in for the rumors. They held great importance, especially when it came to apparitions. “Six new students! Three boys and three girls. The boys are so hot, but one is totally not my type.”
“Six?! We rarely get more than one,” murmured the friend, voicing my own thoughts. She looked around, spying me watching them, so I ducked my head and pretended to be lost in thought.
“Yeah! They’re coming tomorrow…I think,” she answered, tying up her auburn hair and smiling. “I wonder what they’re like, you know? Like do you think they’d like me?” she giggled, which lost my interest as they continued gossiping.
Picking up my pace, I sped to the girls’ bathroom to find Kou and Hanako already there—it wasn’t unusual as Hanako lived there and Kou’s last class for the day was right next to the bathroom.
Kou was shouting at Hanako while Hanako avoided his jabs. When I skidded into the bathroom, they paused. “What’s up, Nene?” Kou asked, lowering the mop he was using to hit Hanako.
“There’s six new students coming tomorrow! Isn’t that weird? Do you think it’ll be an apparition related—after all, six is a lot more than any number of students we’ve gotten,” I said, out of breath from the sprint over here.
Hanako thought for a moment. “Well…” he drew out the word, “I suppose it might, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if it was just a coincidence, or they knew each other. If it is an apparition linked, let’s hope it’s good and not bad.”
Kou nodded. “I don’t want any trouble with them!” he exclaimed. “If they try anything, they’ll wish they hadn’t.”
I smiled, giggling slightly at Kou’s ferocity.
Hanako threw cleaning supplies at me, and I had to rush to catch them. “These bathrooms won’t clean themselves!”
Grumbling about how he was so cheery about something he didn’t have to do, I took the cleaning supplies and started scrubbing the sinks. Kou continued mopping the floors, Hanako sitting on the windowsill as his haku-jodai floated around him. I thought about the new students. Were they together, or is it somehow a coincidence? No, I shook my head, definitely not an accident.
So, why so sudden? Why come at the same time? Maybe it is apparition-centered! Hanako can be wrong sometimes. They could be evil! Or maybe they’re true heroes. But to save us from what? The apparitions aren’t causing any trouble, and when they do, Hanako, Kou, and I kick their butt! So why?
“You’re unusually quiet, Yashiro,” Hanako commented, big brown eyes looking at me curiously. “Something the matter?”
“Huh?” I startled out of my thoughts. “Oh, I was just thinking about the students, that’s all,” shaking my head, I went back to cleaning.
Perking his lips, Hanako mumbled, “What, not thinking of me?” he pouted.
Pausing my cleaning again, I looked back. “Hanako, I’m working for you. I think you can survive if my every thought isn’t on you. I swear, you can be so tiring sometimes.”
Gasping, Hanako drew back as if wounded. “Yashiro! You wouldn’t say this about me, surely. Perhaps you confused me with Kou. He’s the tiring one.”
I let out a sigh, but didn’t respond.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
“Mom, I’m home!” I called out, closing the door. The smell of barbecue chicken reached my nose. “Mmm, what are you cooking?” I asked, walking to the kitchen.
My mom was cooking, an apron on and a towel over her shoulder. “Hey, Nene. How was school? I’m making dinner now; it'll be ready in half an hour.” She said, stirring the rice.
“School was great! And dinner smells amazing. I have some homework, though.”
She smiled. “Alright, I’ll call you when it’s ready. Love you,” she called, turning back to the food.
“Love you too,” I said, scrambling up the steps to my room. Closing the door behind me, I tossed my bag across the room and flopped onto my bed, sighing. I felt for my journal and pen hidden in my blanket. Bringing it out, I flipped to the last page.
Dear Diary,
Hi, it’s me again, Nene Yashiro. Today was good. Nothing much happened, though. It’s still nice to see Hanako and Kou. Oh! Something did happen, actually. Apparently, we’re getting six new students! I’m a little suspicious, but Hanako doesn’t seem worried, so I suppose it could be nothing. Still…I’m waiting for tomorrow to see what they’re like. I hope it’s not anything to worry about. Hanako is the only apparition I want to see for a while. Well, except for the other seven wonders. But no more!
Okay, I have some homework, but I’ll talk more about the mysterious visitors later! Bye!
-Nene Yashiro