'I shouldn't have done this, I shouldn't have done this, I shouldn't have...' as she made her way deeper into the abandoned building of the old school, Yui repeated the same phrase over and over in her mind, completely regretting it.
When her friends wanted to go check whether ghosts existed for some reason, that's how random her friends were, it was like they were characters in a story who had to create drama for no reason, Yui wanted to go too.
And although she didn't dare say it and ended up secretly following them only to get caught, and somehow her "I wanted to go with you too" turned into "As part of the Public Morals Committee I have to make sure you don't do anything wrong," in the end, technically, everything turned out the way she wanted.
But the farther they went, the more Yui regretted it.
As someone who used to read only textbooks and rulebooks and now only interesting manga, whose idea of television at home consisted entirely of science documentaries, and whose entire social life had started at most three months ago, Yui only knew the basics of what a ghost was.
...
"So people are supposed to die and not disappear, but remain as spirits?" she once laughed disdainfully after hearing that. "Don't you know we're just matter? Once we're dead, we simply cease to exist."
"Yui, you don't get it, it's not the matter, it's a person's soul. After death, the soul remains in the mortal world, sustained only by resentment so it can take revenge on the living" Mio said with a sinister expression, but Yui didn't even flinch.
...
Back then, Yui only wondered how a soul could touch anything, much less harm a person. Or what she meant by "sustained by resentment." Did ghosts feed on emotions? If so, couldn't emotions be used as an energy source if we learned how to harness them too?
But now, despite never having watched a horror movie or heard a ghost story, she understood.
The eerie hallway, the chilling noises, the creaking wood beneath every step.
At that moment, she discovered that she was apparently weak against scary things.
Her fear reached its peak when a ghost appeared in front of them. It wasn't remotely frightening and looked more like an ordinary female student, but Yui, already terrified beforehand, finally couldn't take it anymore and fainted.
...
"Where am I?" Yui murmured, rubbing her eyes as she woke up.
"Kotegawa, are you okay?"
"Rito?" Yui asked in confusion as she heard his voice directly beneath her.
When she opened her eyes and saw her position, she nearly jumped in surprise.
"Ah?! Why are we...?!"
"W-wait, you're going to fall!" Rito said in panic, holding her more tightly.
"It's fine, put me down!"
"O-okay, sorry" Rito apologized as he crouched down until Yui's feet touched the ground.
"Well?" Yui asked, staring coldly at Rito.
"Y-you were unconscious, so I was carrying you home. Risa and Mio stayed with Oshizu, and Lala seemed like she wanted to talk about something with Yuuji, so I was the only one who could bring you. Sorry if I bothered you."
"I-it's fine, you didn't bother me, I was just... surprised." Yui said before noticing something. "By the way, who's Oshizu?"
"The ghost?" Rito answered, unsure how to approach the subject.
"Pfft. Don't be ridiculous, ghosts don't exist" Yui laughed in complete denial.
"Don't you remember her? A little short? Straight black hair? Clothes from another era..."
"La-la-la, I can't hear you. Stop making things up or I'll give you a penalty."
But instead of getting scared, Rito laughed.
"Could it be... you're afraid of ghosts?"
"Of course not!" Yui shot back immediately, quickly searching for an excuse. "I didn't even know what a ghost was until recently, how could I be afraid of them?"
"Yeah, what's scary about ghosts is the unknown. The less you know about them, the scarier they are. That's why people who watch horror movies regularly usually aren't afraid of them."
"I-I see. So you're saying that if, hypothetically, I were afraid of ghosts, I'd have to watch horror movies to build up immunity?" Yui asked.
"Well, I think so, but... if you're scared, watching movies might be difficult. Maybe if you watched them with someone?"
"So I just have to watch them with someone? That's easy... Wait! This is just an excuse to ask me out on a date? Yuuki Rito, I didn't expect this from you."
"Huh? W-wait, that's not what I meant..."
"Even though you already have Haruna..."
"Kotegawa Yui!"
Both of them stopped when they heard the strict voice calling Yui.
Without noticing, they had already arrived at her house, and unfortunately for her, it turned out to be one of the rare occasions when her mother had decided to be home when she returned.
"Mother, good evening" Yui said immediately.
"Who is he?" she asked, ignoring the greeting and focusing her critical gaze on Rito.
"J-just a friend."
"I heard something about going to see a movie?"
"Impossible, Mother, it must have been..."
"Are you implying that I'm lying?" she interrupted in a cold voice. "To think that my daughter would dare lie to my face now. It seems I haven't been strict enough."
"No, Mother, it was my mistake. I'm very sorry." Hearing her mother's tone, Yui apologized immediately.
"Make sure it doesn't happen again, and I hope I never see you with that person again, whoever he is."
"Huh?" Yui expressed her surprise before realizing what she'd done.
"'Huh?'" her mother raised an eyebrow.
"N-no, I mean..."
"W-wait, please! It was just a misunderstanding. Kotegawa and I are only friends. But controlling her life like that is..."
"And who are you?" her mother interrupted him.
"Y-Yuuki Rito, ma'am. I'm Yui's friend."
"You were" she corrected. "What do you mean by controlling her life? Is that what Yui says about me?"
"No, Mother, I would never..."
"Silence, I'm not talking to you" she interrupted again. "I'm talking to your 'friend.'"
"Yes." Yui lowered her head and remained silent.
"She didn't say anything!" Rito defended her. "But it's obvious from the way you're acting, ma'am. Yui doesn't even dare answer you. That's not normal."
"Not normal, you say? Do you want to be Yui's friend that badly? You must have other intentions."
"This isn't about me, it's about Kotegawa. If you can end a friendship that easily, how many others can you end? You can't control your daughter's friendships as if they were your own life."
"You're an annoying child. You talk too much" Yui's mother complained after hearing him. "Fine, you can remain friends, but you'd better not have any other intentions toward my daughter."
"Huh? T-tha..."
"And another thing! My name is Mitsuko, Kotegawa Mitsuko, not 'ma'am.'" With that said, Mitsuko walked directly into the house and slammed the door shut.
"W-what just happened?" Rito asked in confusion.
But the truth was that Yui had no idea either.
"Sorry, my mother is too strict and caused you trouble" she apologized.
"N-no, it's fine, I don't mind. I was just worried about you" Rito said, waving his hands awkwardly.
"Worried?"
"Yeah."
"About me?"
"Yeah."
"Pffft, impossible. My mother couldn't care less" Yui laughed. "It's fine, thanks for standing up to her anyway. See you tomorrow."
"Huh? You don't seem to care very much?" Rito asked.
"Of course not. My mother barely pays attention to me. Even if she wants us to stop being friends, she won't find out if I ignore her" Yui said dismissively.
"Huh? But she seems to care about you a lot."
"Rito, you need to read more manga. You don't understand people" Yui said as she walked away. However, at the door to her house she stopped and glanced back at Rito.
"'Kotegawa' is too serious. You can call me Yui" she said quickly before slamming the door shut.
Outside, Rito remained staring at the house with a complicated expression before beginning to walk toward his own home.
"It looks like a house full of misunderstandings and feelings that never reach each other."
...
"Yui, come here. I want to talk to you."
As soon as she entered the house, Yui was greeted by her mother's ever-strict voice calling from the second floor.
"Right away" she answered instinctively.
'Could she really be angry?' she thought, realizing that the situation might be more serious than she'd believed.
With unease lingering in her mind, she climbed the stairs. In front of her was a small hallway that wasn't particularly large.
She walked to the end and knocked on the wooden door to the right.
Knock Knock.
"Come in" her mother's voice sounded from inside.
Yui took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down before entering.
Her mother was waiting for her sitting on the bed. As soon as she saw her, she gestured for Yui to sit beside her.
"Is something wrong, Mother?" she asked worriedly.
"It's about your friend. Do you have many friends like him?"
"Huh? Maybe? They all have their own personalities, so I don't know what to tell you" Yui replied.
"I see. And what about you? What is your personality like?"
"Mine?" Yui frowned, not understanding what her mother meant. "I'm... serious and responsible? Maybe a little boring?"
"Haha." Hearing that, Mitsuko chuckled, a light and small smile, but one that made Yui widen her eyes in surprise before quickly hiding it.
'She laughed? My mother smiled?' she thought in disbelief.
"Do you know what your description reminds me of?" Mitsuko asked.
"O-of you?"
"Close... my mask."
"M-mask?"
"Yes." Mitsuko sighed before looking at Yui seriously. "Daughter, there's something I want to talk to you about."
______________________________________
+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
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(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)