Episode 2 “Rumors of Ghosts”
――In a corner of the site of XX High School, the old school building exists quietly.
The three-story wooden school building is eerie no matter when you look at it, and it is said that no one, let alone the students, is allowed to enter.
Since the building can be considered a burden will be a nuisance if left alone, the successive Principal thought of disposing of this old school building. During the week, a contractor tried to dismantle it but for some reason, it was left alone without getting dismantled.
The reason is simple.
The old school building is haunted.
Whether it was a woman, a man, a boy, or a girl, there are various rumors and it is not certain. Some say one thing is true, while others say it’s all lies, and still others claim that everything is true.
However, among the countless rumors about the old school building, there is one that is most certain.
There is a ghost of a silver-haired male student.
He’s a ghost that can be seen in classrooms, rooftops, and corridors. He’s said to appear out of nowhere, and he eats the students who visit the old school building for fun.
That said, there are no stories of people who meet the male student and get chomped from the head and don’t come back alive. All of them were abandoned in an unconscious state in front of the door of the old school building.
And, it’s said that if you pass the boy’s judgment, he will grant your wish.
“Things like that are fake.”
Houzuki’s friend, Aoyagi Towako, says while washing her hands in the girl’s restroom.
She’s a girl with glossy black hair and silver-rimmed glasses who gives off an intellectual impression. You can see how serious she is when she wears her black sailor suit, which is the uniform of XX High School, without crumpling it.
Aoyagi Towako and Kasugadani Houzuki are childhood friends. Houzuki, who can’t be said to be very amiable, is always with her, and she’s very grateful for her existence.
Towako raises her eyebrows and asks while wiping her wet hands with a handkerchief.
“Houzuki-chan, do you really believe in such rumors? Do you think that something ridiculous such as a ghost granting wishes exists?”
“Even so, I want to try believing in it.”
Houzuki looked straight into the eyes behind Towako’s silver-rimmed glasses and said,
“I’m so tired of it. I don’t want to worry about this constitution.”
Upon saying that, Houzuki looked at the mirror.
The polished mirror reflects her own reflection.
Short bluish-black hair, with black eyes. A face that could be considered neither attractive nor unattractive, lacking any noticeable expression. there is no trace of a smile; not a hint of a grin. If the lips were forced into an upward curve, it would only result in a disturbing smile.
There was someone behind it*. (TN: Reflection)
In a corner of the women’s restroom–something is crouching. Covered in black mist, it looks like a female student wearing a sailor uniform
Her neck is bent in an unimaginable direction, and she’s looking up at Houzuki through her unkempt long hair in a resentful manner. There is no sanity in her bloodless face and her dry and cracked lips are muttering something.
She was clearly not human. Nor did she seem like a living student.
“I’m so sick of it……”
Houzuki mutters.
It has always been like this ever since she was born.
KasuGadani Houzuki has always been worried about her constitution that attracts ghosts ever since she was born.
Elementary school, junior high school, and even high school age did not improve her constitution that attracts ghosts.
That’s why she had no choice but to cling to such rumors. She’s had enough of having her life ruined by ghosts.
It’s exactly because she knows about her struggles that Towako was sympathetic towards her.
“If Houzuki-chan is so concerned, I won’t say anything anymore. But remember that I’m worried about you as your childhood friend.”
“Yeah, I know. Thank you, Towako.”
Houzuki smiles at Towako.
She really is a kind childhood friend. She doesn’t know what will happen to her, but she’s a kind girl who keeps hanging out with her.
Houzuki still chose to go to the old school building, although it was hard to give Towako unnecessary worries.
In order to make the old school building’s ghost do something about her constitution.
☆
After school, Houzuki rushes to the old school building, which stands quietly in the corner of XX High School.
Although it was after school, it was still daylight. Houzuki isn’t even in club activities, so it’s extra.
“Should I go with you?” Towako also offered but she refused. She can’t get her involved in her situation.
The wooden school building soaring in front of her has an eerie air, and it has an atmosphere that keeps others away.
“I wonder if he can really grant it……”
Houzuki puts his hand on the closed door of the old school building.
Gyi~. (TN: Creak)
It opened with just a little push.
A dusty smell hits his nose from the slightly opened door.
She tries to look into the school building, but she can only see the front. Darkness sank in the far end of the hallway, and even though it was still daylight, not even the sun’s rays entered the school building.
“I can only go in……”
In order to improve her constitution, she has to meet the rumored silver-haired male student.
Houzuki makes up her mind to open the door and steps into the school building.
The rotten floorboards make an unpleasant noise, and the rusty hinges creak as they close.
Gyi~, batan. (TN: Prolonged creak, door closing)
Gishi, gishi. (TN: Creak, creak.)
Gishi, gishii.
A dusty smell wafts through the school building.
A yellowed slogan is hung on the wall, and it is unknown when it was pasted.
Perhaps the floorboards are also rotten, and you can see a little bit of a hole in the floorboards. If your foot gets stuck in that hole, you’ll be in for a bad ride if a ghost is chasing you.
Houzuki walks in the school building while illuminating the front with the light of the smartphone.
Gishi, gishi~.
Gyi, gishi~.
The air that caresses his skin is cold. It’s like midwinter.
This time of the year is supposed to be approaching summer, yet why is it this cold? It’s a wonder how there’s not a single sunlight entered despite there being a window.
And strangely, there are no ghosts. Even though Houzuki’s field of vision is almost always filled with ghosts.
Gyi, gishi~.
Gi~, gishi~.
――――――――Gishi~.
“Hiih”
Houzuki lets out a shrill and nervous sound.
She heard a sound from behind.
There shouldn’t be anyone other than Houzuki in this school building.
“Wh, who’s there?”
Houzuki, who turned around with a snap, uses the light from the smartphone to illuminate behind her.
The hallway that she entered simply stretched out, and there was no one there.
ただ、埃が落ちた廊下には鬼灯が残した足跡以外のものが存在していた。
手だ。
However, in the hallway where the dust had fallen, there were things other than the footprints left by Houzuki.
They’re hands.
It’s someone’s handprints.
“――Hands?”
Houzuki strains her eyes and observes the handprints on the floor.
For some reason, there are handprints beside the footsteps that she left behind. Only in that spot, the dust has been cleared, taking the form of hands.
Why a handprint? The reason is, of course, unknown.
“Why are there handprints…”
It’s impossible to put these on unless one is standing upside down on this dusty floor.
――Gyii, gishi~.
She can hear a sound.
She can definitely hear some noises.
――Gyi, gishi~.
It’s getting closer.
――Gishi, gii.
It’s right there.
“――――Is anyone there!?”
When she pointed the smartphone light in the direction of the sound, no one was there.
However, she certainly heard it.
It’s nothing to do with hearing noises or house rattling. It’s the sound of someone walking up.
When Houzuki looked around for the person who was approaching,
BAAN!!
In the room nearby, the sound of something hitting the wall hits her earlobes.
It’s much louder than what she heard before. Is someone playing a prank on me?
The room from which the sound was heard is labeled “staff room”. It may have been originally a staff room, but there are many messages on the posters and the tags that were put up are removed.
Houzuki stood in front of the closed staff room door.
“…………”
Making up her mind, she opens the door of the staff room.
The door that opens without any obstacles.
Beyond that, the dilapidated staff room spread out.
A number of overturned office desks were lined up, and in the back of the staff room, which was the size of two classrooms, there was a blackboard with the word “schedule” printed on it in advance. The top of the blackboard is covered with spider webs, making it dusty overall.
Even though there are no curtains on the windows, the sun never shines through. The dimly lit room stretched out endlessly.
There is no source of the sound, and even the being who made the noise can’t be seen.
“Where did it go……?”
It was at that moment.
“Ohh~, you have quite a delicious smell.”
She, heard a voice.
“I’m gonna have you for dinner tonight.”
――What Houzuki saw when she turned around was a silver-haired, red-eyed boy with a devilish grin.
