Chapter 04

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"Special delivery!" Izumi announced as she walked inside the bathroom. It was an early morning and Izumi went to deliver the donuts she made.

"Izumi-chan!" The ghost happily greeted, floating away from his bathroom stall. Izumi walked towards him. Izumi regretted her decision to walk near him as she was immediately locked in his tight hug.

"Oh, Honorable No. 7, I only came here to give you this," Izumi said, not wishing to be hugged again. The ghost pulled away, his eyes twinkling at the box.

"Thank you, Izumi-chan!" Hanako took the box and looked inside. He pinched Izumi's cheeks, catching her off guard. She could only look at him in shock. Thankfully, Hanako let her cheeks go, grinning up at her.

"Ah, you're welcome," Izumi muttered as she held her reddened cheeks. "I'll see you later."

Izumi walked outside the bathroom as soon as she excused herself. She looked back at the bathroom, dumbfounded by Hanako's actions.

———

Izumi was sitting at the stairs, watching the students walking and talking to each other. A certain silver haired daikon suddenly approached her, grinning at her. Izumi returned the smile, standing up from her spot.

"Izumi-chan, do you want to come with me?" Nene asked. Izumi cocked her head to the side in question.

"Where are you going?" She queried, walking with Nene.

"To the rooftop! I want you to accompany me, Izumi-chan," Nene happily answered. Izumi only chuckled at her answer.

"You could've said so," Izumi broke into a grin. "I'll be happy to!"

Nene smiled back at her. The two chitchatted as they make their way towards the rooftop.

"Hanako-kun? I thought you said you can't come?" Nene wondered as she looked at the boy. Izumi looked away, not wanting to meet his eyes.

"Ah, well, I had time to spare so I came," Hanako scratched his cheek with a small smile, floating towards Nene.

"Good afternoon, Honorable No. 7," Izumi greeted, letting out a forced smile. Hanako waved at her as he went and sat next to Nene.

"Ahhh~! I don't suppose a hot guy would fall from the sky," Nene let out a dreamy sigh, hugging her book into her chest. Hanako and Izumi looked at each other, although Izumi was hesitant, and back at the daikon.

"Yashiro..." Hanako called with a slightly worried expression. Nene looked away from the two with a deadpan.

"Come on, you two, I'm not really serious," Nene replied blankly. "I know the difference between fantasy and reality."

Izumi let out a long sigh of relief, clutching the hem of her shirt. She looked at Nene with a blank expression.

"I won't blame you if you really became... delusional," Izumi spoke slowly. Nene looked at her, shocked at her comment. "But why is it that you hope for something like that?"

"Because, I am a supernatural's assistant and I'm friends with a demon," Nene answered, huffing at Izumi's comment. "I can't help it if I end up hoping for a special encounter that leads to a special romance."

"Special?" Hanako questioned. Izumi only gave her a questioning gaze, silently debating if she should be worried still for the girl's sanity.

"Yeah, like in this movie," Nene was clutching her book as she tell them the story. Izumi decided that she should, in fact, still worry about the girl's sanity.

"I'm honestly quite curious as to why you want romance. Your romantic fantasies won't happen if you're stuck with him," Izumi pointed to the supernatural who looked at her in shock.

Her words seemed to have struck through his heart, wounding his ego. He sulked at her words, muttering to himself.

Nene looked at Hanako, shaking her head at his antics. She gave a Izumi a blank look, agreeing with her. And it seemed to have Hanako sulk even more.

"But Nene, a guy randomly falling down the sky sounds dangerous," Izumi said, catching Nene's attention. "He would hurt himself and he won't be able to save you, thus, hurting you in the process as well."

Hanako, who seemed to have recovered from both girls' words, was about to comment and tease her when a yell stopped him. The three of them looked above and saw a young blonde jumping down towards them.

"I finally found you, you vile fiend!" He shouted as he fall. Izumi sweat-dropped at the scene.

'How coincidental,' Izumi thought to herself as she thought back to her words.

"K-Kou-kun?!" Nene's voice was drowned out by the boy's own introduction. Izumi's head snapped at Nene with an amused smile. She nudged her.

"The one who swallowed the other mermaid scale?" She asked the daikon quietly. Nene flushed in embarrassment as she heard Izumi's question.

"Yeah..." Nene quietly admitted, making Izumi grin. The two looked at Hanako who was silently watching the blonde.

"You know him Hanako-kun? I think he can see you," Nene asked Hanako. Izumi turned her attention back at the blonde, eyeing the clothed golden staff that he was holding.

"Well, we've never met in person..." Hanako turned to Nene. "But he's from the Minamoto Clan, right? That would be why he can see me."

Izumi turned to the duo, interested in their topic. She never heard the name before, seeing as she had appeared out of the blue. Hanako told them about how the Shuten Douji was slain by the exorcist extraordinaire, Minamoto no Yorimitsu.

The young descendant of Minamoto no Yorimitsu let out a cocky laugh. He then went on about the anti-evil artifacts from his ancestors, pointing towards the dark haired ghost as he speak.

"And so, I'm here to exorcise you!" Kou leapt up, getting ready to hit Hanako. "Prepare to die, Hanako!"

Hanako barely dodged in time for the staff to hit his left shoulder. He held the staff and let out an amused smirk.

"Exorcise me? I don't think you can pull it off," Hanako teased. The two girls on the other hand, were silently watching.

As much as Izumi wanted to stop them, she can't. She was curious as to how this will all play out. Meanwhile, Nene was clutching the hem of her uniform, anxious about what is going to happen.

Izumi immediately ran towards the ghost as soon as the staff released lightning. She stood behind Hanako, getting ready to catch him. As soon as he fall, Izumi caught him. She gently laid him down, caressing his hair in comfort.

As Izumi was preoccupied by the school mystery, Kou got ready to hit Hanako again. Luckily, Nene was able to stop him in time, making Kou stop in surprise.

"You stupid idiot! Don't just jump in front of..." Kou trailed off as he saw the familiar face. "...me. Senpai?"

"W-What are you doing?!" Kou exclaimed. Nene was glaring at him as she spoke.

"I'm Hanako's assistant and friend! And if you do anything mean to him again, I'm gonna get really mad!" Nene stood her ground. Kou spoke up in confusion, blushing slightly at the cuteness Nene was unknowingly showing.

"Huh...? But he's a super-evil supernatural," Kou replied, hoping Nene would back down. "And, uh... I have to exorcise him for the sake of our school..."

"Hanako-kun isn't a bad supernatural! He even helped me!" Nene exclaimed, trying to convince Kou.

"Are you nut— er, you got it all wrong, senpai!" Kou grabbed both of Nene's shoulder, bringing her close to him. "He's not just any supernatural!"

"It took all of my grandma's strength to seal Hanako-san of the toilet away. He's a really diabolical evil spirit!" Kou started. "And look, he uses that knife for a weapon. That's proof that he used it as a weapon while he was alive as well!"

"He used that knife to take someone's life!"

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