1 Chapter 1 - The Small White Worm

"Please... help me..."

Huh...? That voice... like a gentle breeze, soft, loving...

"Please... please... you're the only one who can... help... please... help..."

There's... a woman... reaching out to me... her hair swirls around her face, her eyes pleading... or are they? It's hard to see...

My eyes open to see the paper lanterns floating above me disappear and fade with a swirl of purple mist. So it was a spirit after all. Not strong enough to appear physically in front of me, or at least stick around after I woke up. I sit up, folding the blanket away from me as I yawn and stretch. The bamboo-latticed door is open, letting in a pleasant breeze which is warm and smells of delicate jasmine flowers. The zen garden is looking a little out of touch - I forgot to rake it yesterday.

Getting to my feet, I only barely manage to stumble this way and that, grabbing my school uniform, my socks... I yawn loudly as I slip into my shirt and zip up my skirt. The days are getting colder... my bed is looking more and more appealing the more I look at it-

"Are you up yet?" Small but loud footsteps thump down the hallway as the sliding door is thrown open. My little sister, Miya, glares at me. She's only two years younger than me, but she's taken on more responsibilities than I expected her to. I suppose she needed to because of me.

"Yes. Good morning to you, Miya."

"Good. Grandma is waiting in the main room for you to eat breakfast. Mother is waiting for us too."

"Okay." I nod, yawning once more as I pull my socks on and reach over to my cabinet for a hair tie, plaiting the sides of my fringe and pulling up the hair in a high ponytail.

"Oh- don't forget this-" I murmur to myself as I grab the mizuhiki hair clip and pin it into place, admiring my reflection in the mirror briefly. "Okay, we got this." Fix my hair a bit too.

"Good morning, Grandma, Mother." I bow my head as I enter the kitchen, which connects to the dining room. Miya has her head in the fridge, the sounds of clattering jars emanating. Mother is seated at the table, a tall woman dressed in office attire with her dark brown hair tied back in a low bun, allowing her fringe and her sides to flow down gracefully. She looks up silently from her breakfast of toast and jam, her emerald eyes scanning me up and down before turning back to eat her toast without a word. Grandma smiles gently, seated across from our mother, a bowl of steaming hot rice and miso soup fogging up her small spectacles.

"Good morning, Erika. Did you sleep well?"

"I did, thank you. Erm, actually, I was visited by a spirit this morning."

"Ara, did you now? They're getting much more frequent these days, aren't they?"

"Err... yes..." I glance around nervously. Mother has been chewing on her toast throughout the conversation but hasn't swallowed. Miya is still in the fridge but the clattering seems to have stopped.

Only Grandma continues, either ignorant or ignoring.

"I'll go visit the shrine this afternoon and clean it up, okay? That should help calm down the spirits, even just a little bit."

Grandma nods, her smile widening even more.

"Of course. Thank you for being such a good girl, Erika."

"I'm headed off!" Miya jolts up from the fridge, her bento in one hand and a croquette from last night's dinner in the other. She turns on her heel and heads out of the kitchen, her footsteps fading down the hallway as she makes her way to the lobby.

"Me too. I'll be off." Mother stands up and pushes her chair in, following after. I step back to not be in her way as she beelines after Miya.

"That girl..." Grandma murmurs to herself, before shaking her head.

"You must be late, Erika. I packed you lunch, but you'd best head off too." She offered a small lunchbox tied with cloth to hold its contents together.

What? I'm late? I glance up at the clock. So my family weren't just heading out for the sake of uncomfortableness. No... no waaay!

"Aaaah— I'm off! Take care, Grandma!" I grab the lunchbox, plant a quick kiss on her cheek before pushing the door open, slipping and stumbling down the hallway. The floors were waxed two days ago, and slippery as with socks.

I clumsily slide into my shoes and shut the door behind me before running down the pathway towards school.

... I forgot introductions! Hi, my name is Erika Suzume. I'm 17 years old, and nearly at the end of my first year at senior high! That makes me a freshman, right? I live with my grandmother, a former shrine maiden, my mother, a successful office worker, and my little sister, who is in her second year of junior high.

And as I mentioned before, I can hear spirits.

Please don't worry! It's not as spooky as it sounds most of the time! I can't quite remember when it started happening... but I think it was around the time of—

"... Please... please help..." A thin, whistle-like voice whispers in my ears.

I'm being spoken to again! It was a different voice from this morning, but the tone is the same! I stop dead in my tracks, looking around. I can only see trees and the river which runs under the bridge. I'm about two thirds of the way from the high school.

"Hello? I'm here, and I can hear you— where are you?" I call out, turning slowly in a circle.

"... Please... I messed up... you've got to..."

... over there? By the river? I look around again. There's no mistake. I wade through the stringy prickly grass before clambering down the riverbank. My feet hit the piles of rocks, clattering underfoot as I begin to walk along the waterworn pebbles.

"Where... where are you?" I lower my voice a little as I slow my walking rate. It was still rather early in the morning, and it didn't do well to cause fuss if someone heard a girl talking to seemingly no one.

"I'm... ow... you're stepping on me..."

I jump back, yelping a bit, despite not being the stepped-on one. My eyes instantly fall onto a large round rock shaped like an egg.

"I'm sorry!" I fall to my knees, stroking the rock in front of me like a small rabbit.

"I didn't mean to-"

"I... I thank you for your concern... but I'm under the rock..."

My fingers curl around the edges of the egg shaped rock, heaving a little as I pull the rock out of its place. It was so heavy...

As the rock falls aside, in the indentation left was a small white worm.

I shriek and nearly drop the rock back down on it again. It clatters and bounces off of another rock, rolling to safety away from the white worm.

Silence falls around us.

"I- I'm so sorry! You were the one talking?" I cover my mouth with one hand, trying to look anything but disgusted and horrified.

I didn't know bugs could speak! Or rather, was this a bug ghost? This was the only way it was speaking to me, right?

"... Surprise...! You found me..." The voice is even fainter now. I can almost see it's spirit wafting out of the tiny little worm. It continues,

"Good... good... I'm glad you're the one who... found me..." A large puff of blue smoke blows outward from the small white worm, pushing my hair back. I close my eyes instinctively, eventually opening them up again when I don't feel any more wind.

"I... who—?"

My eyes fall on where the small white worm should be - but a tiny worm there is not. There, laying on the rocks in front of me, is a boy about half a head taller than me. His long white hair is tied back in a loose ponytail, and his fringe falls over his pale face. In fact, his whole complexion is rather pale. His chest rises and falls in short breaths. He's wearing my school uniform, though... there's no doubt about that cream coloured blazer and those white pants. He's a student of Ribon Academy.

He's... beautiful... but who is he? ... And...

I hum, tilting my head to one side, eyebrows scrunching a bit in thought.

Haven't I... seen him before? Has he always been part of our school?