"Shu-shu-shu~"
The sky seemed greatly aggrieved, as large raindrops fell from a great height, like countless crystals smashing onto the ground and crumbling into dust.
"Ah~ I'm all wet. It suddenly started raining this hard, really."
At the bus stop on Ukiyoe Fifth Street, a black-haired girl in the Sobu High School uniform, with a bag over her shoulder, let the water from her hair drip down her body. Unconsciously, she squeezed her already completely wet short skirt.
The girl's black hair reached her shoulders, otherwise smooth and flowing, but stuck to her body because of the rain. Her shirt, soaked with water, also faintly shone white.
"Ding-dong~"
Just as she finished squeezing her skirt, a notification sound came from her phone in the bag. The girl hurriedly pulled out her phone and opened it.
[Hana: Miko, are you okay? You didn't get completely soaked, right?]
On the phone screen, a person with a rabbit avatar had sent a message.
Seeing it, the girl smiled slightly and touched the screen to reply:
[I lost something, came back to look for it, and now I'm completely wet.]
The girl's name was Yotsuya Miko, an ordinary high school student from Sobu High School. The person with the rabbit avatar who was concerned about her was her good friend, Yurikawa Hana.
After Miko replied to the message, she took a photo of herself, completely wet, and sent it.
[Ding-dong~]
Just as she sent it, she saw that Yurikawa Hana had actually forwarded the exact same photo back.
"The same photo?"
Seeing that, Yotsuya Miko was confused, not understanding what was wrong with Yurikawa Hana.
But before Miko could send a message to ask, yet another identical photo was forwarded.
"Hm? What's going on?"
Seeing this, Miko was even more confused, but then a series of notification sounds rang, and her own photos began appearing on the screen continuously:
"Ding-dong!"
"Ding-dong!"
Messages came faster and faster, and an inexplicable fear began to rise in Miko's heart.
Photo after photo appeared, and the phone screen even began to warp.
Just when Miko thought Yurikawa Hana was joking with her, suddenly, on the phone that kept displaying her images, a ghostly face appeared.
"Ah!"
Frightened by the face, Yotsuya Miko slumped her hand and directly threw the phone, stumbling a few steps back and almost falling.
Taking a deep breath, the girl looked around. The rain-soaked street still had only her. Under the gloomy sky, Yotsuya Miko felt real fear.
"Was that… a mistake?"
After calming down a little, Yotsuya Miko looked at her phone and muttered, but still stood for a while before gathering the courage to pick it up.
[Hana: Where are you, Miko? Should I bring you an umbrella?]
Shivering, she opened her phone. On the screen, there was no longer the series of photos or the eerie ghostly face. There was only her friend's concern.
Seeing this, the girl was even more convinced that she had seen something wrong just now and exhaled in relief.
"Was I really too tired today?"
Saying that, Yotsuya Miko raised her hand and rubbed her eyes. She hadn't rested well these past two days and was now having hallucinations.
Thinking so, she closed her eyes for a moment to relax, then opened them again, feeling refreshed. However, the ghostly face that appeared immediately before her eyes startled her so much that she froze in place.
At that moment, Miko even forgot to scream, standing stiffly.
"Can you see me?"
A horrifying two-meter-tall monster, whose lower body was covered with dark gray arms, now stood in front of Miko, its black mouth open as it emitted an eerie whisper.
"…."
Looking at the spirit, Miko had no expression, not even opening her mouth to speak.
"You… can you see me?"
Seeing that the girl ignored it, the monster tilted its head and approached. This time, the whisper echoed past her ear; Miko could in no way avoid hearing it.
But in response, Miko just turned her head and looked into the distance, muttering:
"Ah~ So slow, why hasn't the bus arrived yet?"
This behavior confused the monster. It carefully looked at the girl once more, then turned its massive body, and its whisper was lost in the rain:
"She can't see… She can't see…"
After the spirit left, the girl lowered her head and looked at her phone. But at that moment, tears were already welling up in her eyes, and with her other hand she tightly gripped her skirt:
"I can see! I can… see it perfectly clearly!"
…
"Ah~ Today's mission was surprisingly easy, I didn't even have to use a weapon."
In an abandoned factory, with Nakano Yu's carefree and contemptuous tone, the young man suddenly applied force and the target of today's mission was crushed under his foot.
After completing the mission, Nakano Yu also received one lottery chance as a system reward.
After all that, the young man took an umbrella and headed down the road beside the factory. Passing through a narrow alley, Nakano Yu returned to the main street.
The reason he went out this time was not the mission, but because the house had run out of groceries, so he went out to buy vegetables. It just happened that the system mission refreshed, so he completed it along the way.
Realizing he still hadn't bought the vegetables, Nakano Yu didn't delay and headed toward the supermarket.
After buying the vegetables and leaving the supermarket, the rain had already weakened considerably. Seeing that, Nakano Yu found a vacant spot to put away the vegetables and headed home in the light rain.
As he walked, he suddenly stopped, slightly frowning:
"Hm?"
He heard crying, very quiet, just sobbing, but… Nakano Yu recognized the owner of the voice.
Following the direction of the sound, his gaze fell on a small pavilion in the park beside the road.
Seeing the figure sitting in the pavilion, Nakano Yu sighed helplessly. He had already wanted to leave, but his nature of meddling in others' affairs still compelled him to head toward the pavilion.
…
"Really, why hasn't this rain stopped yet?!"
Under the pavilion, Miura Yumiko sat on a bench, staring at the still pouring rain, lamenting with red eyes.
Saying that, Miura Yumiko unconsciously stomped her foot on the ground, but the sharp pain in her ankle made her shiver and quickly cover her foot with her hand:
"Sss~ It hurts so much! Why am I so unlucky today?"
Today, Miura Yumiko was in a very bad mood, but not because Nakano Yu had rejected her, but because her friends had actually left her after school and gone without her!
They said there weren't enough umbrellas and that they would go first, but obviously… she had an umbrella…
Thinking about it, Miura Yumiko looked at the cat-patterned umbrella next to her, and the more she looked at it, the more nervous she became. Just as she wanted to kick it, she remembered her sprained ankle and reluctantly pulled her leg back.
Puffing out her cheeks, Miura Yumiko continued to wait for the rain to stop. At that moment, a voice was heard behind her:
"What, hurt yourself?"
"It's none of your business! I warn you, my friends are coming soon, don't bother me…"
Hearing someone try to talk to her at a time like this, Miura Yumiko, already in a bad mood, naturally had no intention of being polite. She wiped her tears and spoke harshly, turning her head, only to see a figure that greatly surprised her.