CHAPTER VIII
~I See You~
As Yuzuki stepped back onto the field, she instinctively scanned the crowd of classmates, searching for Kaito-kun. Her eyes darted from group to group, but to her unease, he was nowhere to be seen.
Throughout the dodgeball game, Yuzuki tried several times to catch Reina’s attention and share what she’d overheard near the Headmaster’s office. But the constant movement, shouts, and chaos of the game made it impossible for them to have a private conversation. Every time she got close, another ball would whiz by or a teammate would call her back into play.
It wasn’t until the PE period ended and the teacher signaled the break that the class hurried off the field, eager to change out of their sweaty uniforms. Yuzuki, still unsettled and with questions piling up, followed the crowd back inside, determined to find a quiet moment to talk to Reina at last.
The moment students re-entered the corridor, pandemonium broke out. Voices clashed and footsteps thundered as kids darted from classroom to classroom, faces twisted in disbelief and anger.
“Who took my entire bento?!” someone yelled, the sound echoing down the hall.
“My math workbook’s gone! It was right here!” another cried, flipping through an empty desk.
A group of girls huddled by the windows, one nearly in tears. “My new gel pens—every single one is missing!”
Boys tore through their bags, tossing out gym clothes and textbooks in a desperate search. “My sports shoes are gone! How am I supposed to play after school?!”
Even teachers appeared bewildered, checking the supply cabinet only to find the chalk, erasers, and attendance book missing. “Where’s the class register?” a teacher demanded, voice strained.
Desks were upended, chairs scraped across the floor, and the shrill sound of accusations filled the air:
“Did you take it?”
“No, I swear!”
“Who was in here during PE?”
“Check the windows—did someone sneak in?”
A chorus of wails, shouts, and frantic questions—“My cookies! My ruler! My whole lunch is gone!”—created a wall of noise, the usual order of the school shattered by the chaos of missing belongings. Even the usually calm students were swept up, searching every nook and cranny, suspicion and confusion spreading like wildfire through the halls.
Amid the chaos, Yuzuki hurried to her desk, hoping to find some sense of normalcy. But as she reached for her lunchbox, her heart sank—it was gone. She blinked in disbelief, scanning the floor and under the desk, but it was nowhere to be found.
Her gaze shifted to the hook where she had hung her gym bag. Panic tightened her chest as she realized the carrybag containing Kaito’s cleaned clothes and the furoshiki-wrapped cookies she had carefully packed was missing too.
Her breath caught, and for a moment, the noise around her—the shouts, the frantic searching—faded into a distant roar. Yuzuki’s hands clenched into fists as she struggled to process the sudden loss, the mounting mystery deepening with every vanished item.
As Yuzuki stood frozen by her empty desk, trying to make sense of her missing things, Reina rushed over, her face flushed with worry.
“Yuzuki-chan, did you see my water bottle?” Reina asked, voice tight. “It was in my gym bag just a second ago, I swear! Now it’s gone too!”
She frantically unzipped her bag, turning it upside down and shaking it, but only a few stray hair ties and a crumpled handkerchief fell out. Reina looked up at Yuzuki, eyes wide with disbelief, as if hoping her best friend might have some explanation for the vanishing act.
Yuzuki shook her head, equally stunned. “Mine’s gone too… and so is everything else I brought today.”
The two girls exchanged anxious glances, the reality of the situation settling in—whatever was happening, it was affecting everyone.
Tsukimoto Sayaka sauntered over, a sly smile on her lips as she called out, “Mikazuki-san~ Do you have your lunchbox? I’m getting HUNGRYY!”
Trailing behind her were her usual entourage—Miharu, Kanae, and Airi—each of them eyeing Yuzuki with the same expectant, mocking glint. It was clear they were gearing up to pester her for her lunch, hoping to provoke her or maybe just take advantage of the chaos.
Yuzuki met Sayaka’s gaze, narrowing her eyes in quiet disgust but keeping her tone steady. “No. I don’t. Mine’s lost too,” she replied calmly, refusing to give them the reaction they wanted.
Sayaka’s smirk faded for a moment, and her chicklings exchanged confused glances, momentarily thrown off by Yuzuki’s unbothered response and the unexpected turn of events.
Rumors spread like wildfire as students from every class roamed the halls, searching for their missing belongings. In the midst of the chaos, one word kept surfacing in hushed conversations and nervous whispers: “Korobokkuru.”
Sayaka, curiosity piqued, called out to a group of girls chatting animatedly nearby. “Hey, what are you all talking about?”
One girl turned, eyes wide. “Oh. Haven’t you heard?”
“It’s all over the school now!” another chimed in, her voice urgent.
“There’s a saying,” a third girl began, lowering her voice for dramatic effect, “that when rice spills without reason… or when a key vanishes from a locked drawer… it means they’ve been here.”
Reina leaned in, her brow furrowed. “They?”
“The Korobokkuru,” the girl whispered. “Tiny spirits from old stories. Most people think they’re cute. Benign. But when they show up in schools…” She swallowed, glancing around nervously. “It means something’s coming. Something worse.”
Airi’s eyes widened. “Something worse? Like what?”
“Like the end of the world?” Kanae asked, half-joking, half-serious.
“That’s impossible,” Miharu scoffed, though her voice wavered.
“We don’t know,” the girl replied, shivering. “They say we shouldn’t stare at them. If they know you’ve seen them, they vanish, with the stolen object.”
Meanwhile, a crowd of anxious students surrounded the Prefects, Takasago Himari and Tsukigami Kaito, bombarding them with questions.
“What’s going on?”
“Are we safe?”
“Should we call our parents?”
“Did someone break in?”
Himari raised her hands, trying to calm the crowd. “Everyone, please settle down! We’re looking into it. For now, stay calm and don’t leave your classrooms without permission.”
Kaito, usually stoic, looked tense. “We’ll inform you as soon as we know anything. Please cooperate and don’t spread rumors. The teachers are handling it.”
Just then, the lunch monitors arrived, wheeling in trays of school-provided kyūshoku. The prefects quickly redirected everyone’s attention. “Lunch is here. Please take your trays and remain in your seats until further notice,” Himari instructed.
Yuzuki and Reina collected their trays and returned to their seats, the tension in the room palpable. Moments later, two prefects from other classes appeared at the door. “Prefects of Class 3-B, please assemble in the Student Council room immediately,” one announced.
Kaito and Himari exchanged a look and left at once. Yuzuki watched Kaito go, her suspicion deepening.Kaito… He wasn’t there during PE, and now he suddenly appears out of nowhere? That’s not like him at all. Something’s really off, she thought, narrowing her eyes as he disappeared down the hall.
Minutes ticked by. The prefects didn’t return.
🎶🔔Ding-dong-ding-dong | Ding-dong-ding-dong🔔🎶
The bell rang, signaling the end of break.
At 1:20 PM, the teacher entered as the bell finished ringing, wrote “Self-Study Period” on the board, and turned to the class.
“Sensei, what’s going on?”
“Sir, are we under lockdown?”
“Will we get our things back?”
“Is it true about the spirits?”
The teacher waved off the barrage of questions. “Focus on the task at hand,” he said flatly, then walked out, leaving the class in confusion.
Ayaka stood up, holding her phone. “Everyone, listen! Himari-san messaged me to monitor this class, so nobody make any sounds and please study,” she announced, trying to sound authoritative.
The class grumbled but complied, opening textbooks or pretending to work.
A few minutes later, Ayaka walked over to Reina, who was quietly discussing the project with her group. “I’m going to the bathroom. Take care of the class,” Ayaka said abruptly, then hurried out.
Students immediately noticed.
“Hey, where’s she going?”
“Isn’t she supposed to monitor us?”
Reina stepped up, addressing the class. “She’s just gone to the bathroom. I’m in charge now.”
She returned to her group, but the uneasy atmosphere persisted. Suddenly, five girls slipped out of the classroom.
A boy near the door called out, “Reina-san! A few girls just escaped.”
Reina spun around, startled. “How many?”
He held up his hand, all five fingers splayed. “Five, I suppose.”
Reina’s face paled as she glanced at Yuzuki, panic flickering in her eyes.
Yuzuki sighed, then stood and walked over. “Let’s split up. I’ll go after three, you get the other two.”
Reina nodded, determination returning to her face. She dashed off after the girls who had turned the corner, while Yuzuki scanned the corridor, searching for the others, the tension in the air as thick as ever.
Yuzuki hurried down the corridor, her footsteps echoing against the linoleum as she searched for any sign of the missing girls. Turning a corner, she spotted the familiar janitor, mop in hand, working quietly near a set of old trophy cases.
She approached quickly. “Excuse me, did you see three girls pass by here? One with black hair, one with jade-colored hair, and one with pink hair?”
The janitor paused, looking up with a knowing glint in his eye. “Ahh, those threesome, yes, I’ve seen them. I suppose they…” He trailed off, then slowly raised his hand and pointed left, down a dimly lit hallway.
Without hesitation, Yuzuki dashed in the direction he indicated. But as she passed, his voice called after her, low and urgent: “Be careful! The Left Wing is not a safe place.”
Her mind stuttered at his words, but her legs kept moving, carrying her toward the forbidden part of the school.Left Wing?The phrase echoed in her head like a warning bell. The Left Wing had always been sealed off, rumored to be cursed after a fire ravaged it years before Yuzuki ever joined the school. She’d been a student here since she was three, and not once had she seen those doors open.
Now, with the corridor yawning before her, Yuzuki realized the doors were indeed open—and she was running straight into the heart of the school’s most notorious mystery.
As Yuzuki raced down the dim corridor, she suddenly caught the faint sound of giggling drifting from a nearby room. She skidded to a stop, retraced her steps, and pressed her ear to the door. The laughter was unmistakable—playful, careless, and completely out of place in the deserted Left Wing.
Without hesitation, Yuzuki pushed the door open. Inside, the three girls—one with black hair, one with jade, and one with pink—were huddled around a desk, scribbling on three rectangular slips of paper, oblivious to the tension outside.
Yuzuki’s frustration boiled over. “What are you doing here? You left the class without permission, even after we were told to stay put! And how dare you enter a restricted area? Do you have any idea how serious this is?”
One of the girls, barely looking up, waved her hand dismissively. “Balalalalala, we were only tryna to catch up with the new trend, chill out, Yuzuki-san.”
Yuzuki exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Look, I get it, but this isn’t the time. Please, just head back with me before we get in even more trouble.”
The girls exchanged glances, their bravado fading as Yuzuki’s concern became clear. Reluctantly, they gathered their things and followed her out, the echo of their earlier laughter replaced by the heavy silence of the forbidden corridor.
As they made their way out of the Left Wing, one of the girls suddenly stopped and pointed ahead. “HEY! Guys! Look! Isn’t that Himari-san’s pencil case?”
“Pencil case?” another echoed, turning to spot the object. “OH yeah! It is!” She darted forward, snatching it up.
“Oh!! Another pencil case,” she exclaimed, noticing another on the floor. She grabbed it, then spotted yet another. “Oh! Another one!” Her arms quickly filled with the missing items.
Her two friends, caught up in the excitement, rushed over and began scooping up more scattered belongings—erasers, notebooks, even a familiar water bottle—each item a piece of the chaos from earlier. The four of them, now including Yuzuki, found themselves following a trail of lost things leading deeper into the shadowy corridor.
Yuzuki hung back, watching the girls crawl and scramble for the items. Her unease grew with every step they took into the gloom.
What…is…all this?she wondered, dread settling in her chest as she took in the bizarre sight.
“Girls,” Yuzuki said, her voice low and urgent. “Turn around and walk back, without looking up.”
A shiver ran through the three as Yuzuki’s tone cut through their excitement. The terror in her voice was unmistakable, and the girls froze, realizing that whatever lay ahead was not something they wanted to face.
One of the girls, still gripping the items she’d gathered, glanced down—and in an instant, the pencil cases and notebooks in her hands shimmered, then vaporized into thin air, leaving nothing behind. She stared at her empty palms, stunned and speechless.
Her friends, standing right beside her, began to tremble. As they looked down at the things they’d collected, those too dissolved into mist, vanishing before their eyes. Panic swept through the group.
Yuzuki swallowed hard, forcing herself to breathe. She inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. “Let’s… walk back,” she suggested, her voice a whisper.
Turning around, Yuzuki started down the corridor, every muscle tense. She could hear the three girls’ footsteps behind her—quiet, hesitant, afraid.
But then, echoing from the darkness behind them, a voice rang out:
“I see you…”
Another voice joined in, chilling and overlapping:
“I see you…”
To be Continued...
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