While Miko was in class, focused, she suddenly startled when she noticed a figure beside her. However, she quickly calmed down and whispered:
"What are you doing here?"
Mary-san shrugged while humming and replied in a melodious voice:
"My dear asked me to protect you while he wasn't around."
Miko wanted to bring her hand to her face, but held back and whispered again:
"But you didn't have to come."
Mary-san did not respond with words. She hummed again and, after taking a couple of turns around Miko's desk, sat down quite naturally on Hana's desk.
Miko looked at her with sparks of anger in her eyes, but Mary-san only returned a mischievous smile.
Hana, noticing that her friend was staring at her, thought that Miko wanted to tell her something. She returned a silent greeting and a radiant smile, completely unaware that a ghost was using her seat.
"I was bored," Mary-san added, swinging her legs in the air. "So I came to keep you company. You're happy to have my company, right?"
Miko held back the urge to scream, let out a long, heavy sigh, and fixed her gaze back on the board.
...
Finally, the bell announced the end of the day. Miko, Hana, and the invisible presence of Mary-san left the school.
"Bye, Miko! See you tomorrow!" Hana said goodbye with her usual energy, waving her hand as she walked away toward the station.
A horrifying spirit, with deformed limbs and multiple eyes oozing a black substance, emerged from the asphalt right in front of them.
Miko startled instantly.
The spirit noticed her reaction… and got excited.
"You can see me!" it exclaimed with twisted enthusiasm.
Miko froze. Her eyes widened as panic flooded her.
The spirit began to approach slowly, extending a deformed, dripping hand toward her face.
Mary-san watched from the side without intervening, with a faint smile.
However, just as the spectral fingers were about to touch Miko's skin, the spirit stopped abruptly.
It began to tremble violently, as if an invisible force were crushing it.
And in the next instant, its body split in two before exploding into a cloud of black smoke.
Behind the remains of the spirit, a tall figure dressed in white appeared.
Hachishaku-sama smiled kindly.
Miko still didn't react. She was in shock.
Mary-san approached and gently tugged at her uniform.
"Hey, hey, why aren't you moving? It's just Hachishaku-sama, don't be afraid," she said naturally.
Miko swallowed and looked at Hachishaku-sama's seemingly harmless smile.
'That smile is even scarier…', she thought, shuddering.
Even so, she forced a smile and whispered:
"Th-thank you for saving me."
Hachishaku-sama simply nodded with a slight movement of her head.
...
While the three walked toward Miko's house, Mary-san noticed something.
A golden glint stood out on the girl's neck: a thin chain holding a gold ring.
Mary-san's expression changed immediately. Her eyes narrowed and a shadow of jealousy darkened her face.
At first, Miko didn't notice… but soon she felt the temperature drop drastically.
When she looked to her side, she saw that Mary-san wasn't taking her eyes off the necklace.
Unconsciously, Miko held the ring with her hand. She remembered the moment when Reik gave it to her, and a small smile of affection escaped her lips…
Which only made the situation worse.
Mary-san's aura grew darker.
Hachishaku-sama, although still smiling, also fixed her eyes on the jewel, and her presence became subtly more oppressive.
'Danger, danger!' Miko's mind screamed.
"Hehe... you know," she said quickly, trying to save the situation, "Reik has more than one of these. The reason he didn't give you one wasn't because he didn't want to, but because... according to him, this only works for living people."
She wasn't lying.
She clearly remembered Reik's explanation: that necklace was made of a type of supernatural "pure gold" capable of slowing aging and revitalizing the body.
As ghosts, they didn't need those effects.
Mary-san pouted, crossing her arms with childish resentment.
"I know," she muttered in an annoyed tone. "It just bothers me not having received a gift. Mph... maybe it's because we're just 'ghost girls' and not alive like you."
Hachishaku-sama narrowed her eyes and nodded slowly, as if she shared the same feeling.
Miko began to sweat cold.
"Don't worry!" she exclaimed with a nervous smile. "I bet he'll give you something soon. Maybe he's preparing something much more special and unique for you."
While accompanying them to the entrance of her house, Miko discreetly took out her phone.
'I have to text Reik right now,' she thought urgently. 'I need him to get something for them soon… the last thing I want is to deal with jealous ghosts!'