Just Another Ghostly Story

Mixed Feelings

The hubbub over Kirei's untimely passing swept over the class and the entire school. The somewhat rural school doesn't have that many students to begin with so everyone practically knows each other.

"Everyone's talking about Kirei chan... hey, what did you tell her dad?" Mizuki asks Daisuke about yesterday.

"He was quite terrified of her before but now that it come to this though he's mourning her death, he's somewhat relieved."

"Terrified of Kirei? Her dad was? Does he know about the ghost?" Mizuki inquires.

"Kirei didn't say anything but she and her dad haven't been talking much since her possession, He already suspected something off with his daughter."

"But this situation... this could be troublesome..." Daisuke turns his glance towards the crowd, a troubled look sours his face.

"But forget about them, let's talk about us" he turns his gaze straight into her eyes, leering almost. With his forearm supporting his chin. Like he's trying to seduce her. Which surprises Mizuki a bit as it came a bit out of nowhere. Eyebrows raised, she turns to him at the other corner of the class. They have been speaking telepathically this whole time. But before she could response to that a couple of her classmates talked to her.
"Ne Mizuki san, you were talking to Kirei last night, right?"
They look a little concerned.

"Yes I was-" Mizuki replies impromptu but then thought
'wait! Don't tell me I'm a suspect of her death now! I totally was involved somehow! What do I do now?'
"Uhh I mean... I was just.. asking her for a pencil... as if heheh.." she tries for a cover story to not arouse suspicion to herself.

As she's talking, more of the girls start crowding her and listening in making her even more nervous.

"Um um I.. I... the truth is..." She starts panicking.

"That's not good Mizuki san! You're in danger now!" One of the girls says.

"Ah no I can explain-!.. Ueh?" Mizuki who's panicking from being a prime suspect gets feasibly confused by their worries.

"That's right! You could be next!"

"Heeeeehhh?!"

During their training activity after school hours, Mizuki explains the content of the conversation her classmates had with her.

"A cursed chain?" Daisuke tilt his head.

"Yes yes, apparently Kirei chan was afflicted with the curse"
She explains wide eyed, like foretelling a doomsday scene.

"Heeeh, interesting" he reacts undisturbed, maybe even piqued instead.

"It's not interesting at all! I'm next on the line here! What do I do?!" Flailing her arm worrying about her fate.

"Rumors are bound to fly with how weird and popular her death had become. It's just people assuming and falsely associating different occurrences and coincidences together, it's not real"

"I was doubting it at first, but then the signs of the curse is already showing up..."

"Oh? Like what?"

"Well they say... First, you'll see animals acting weird around you..." Although a bit hesitant, she recounts the signs of the curse as were told to her. Together with the earlier accounts of her in class noticing a couple of birds clumped together mid flight and falling off relatively next to her.

"...And then, the teachers would call you out more and you'll fail to answer their questions..."

Flashback to when Hirase calls out to her to answer a question in class which she failed, then she told her to pay more attention in class.