018 Not fitting in

The commercial street, bathed in evening twilight, was spacious and clean.

The air was filled with the scent of takoyaki and crepes.

This commercial street was close to Karin High School. After school, it was common to see high school students in uniforms active in this area.

A clothing store by the roadside.

Four girls stepped out from the entrance.

Three were walking in front, chatting and laughing; one followed a little behind, in silence.

The three girls in the front were dressed to impress, with light, attractive makeup on their faces and adorned with eye-catching accessories such as necklaces, rings, and earrings.

The one trailing behind had makeup applied with slightly less skill, and her appearance was ordinary, especially with the rather outdated black round-frame glasses that took up most of her face.

This girl's name was Ishino Sayuri.

The first impression one might have of Ishino was the devices on her ears that resembled headphones.

They were hearing aids.

Ishino Sayuri had a fairly severe hearing impairment that was congenital. Without the aid of these devices, she wouldn't be able to hear the sounds around her clearly.

Living and studying with hearing aids from a young age made her stand out among her peers.

Everyone else didn't have them; only she did.

That made her stick out, too out of place, didn't it?

"Sayuri!"

A girl named Sae who was walking in front called back to her loudly.

"I'm here," Ishino responded, quickening her pace to catch up.

A faint electric buzz sounded from her left hearing aid.

It had been acting up like this for the past couple of days, probably due to worn-out parts or a loose internal connection.

She should probably get it checked at the hospital when she had some free time.

"Sayuri, my boyfriend is planning to have a test of courage at school next Wednesday night. We're going to the third floor of the west side teaching building, to the girls' bathroom where Hanako is said to appear. Do you want to join us?"

Sae said this, the "H" shaped pendant on her chest glittering dazzlingly.

"Well, I…"

Ishino actually didn't want to go.

An empty school at night, a bathroom said to be haunted.

How could such a thing not be frightening?

But she didn't know how to refuse. After all, it was an invitation from Sae.

Kawano Sae, she was the most popular girl in the class, and the other two girls with her weren't far behind.

Plain and even a little outdated Ishino Sayuri following them was like a dusty, dirty little mongrel trailing behind sleek pet dogs.

Conspicuous and out of place.

But even an unremarkable little mongrel yearned for friends.

As long as she could be friends with Sae and the others, she would become like them, wouldn't she?

Transform into a popular girl, receiving love letters in her shoebox, hearing confessions by the artificial lake.

Which girl in the throes of puberty wouldn't long for these things?

"Come with us, Sae's boyfriend will bring along the handsome guys from their class," the other two girls urged, making a racket.

In reality, a trial of courage like that was just an excuse.

Who really cared about who was braver in a test of courage?

Of course not.

The adolescent boys and girls merely wanted an excuse to spend time with the opposite sex in a place rumored to be creepy and eerie.

In the atmosphere of fear and surging hormones, they found reasons to hold hands, hug, and perhaps, under the influence of misattribution of arousal, develop feelings for each other.

"Actually, I…" Sayuri still hesitated.

"Sayuri, we'll be really lonely without you," Sae interrupted with a giggle, cutting off her words.

"Yeah, yeah," the other two girls also showed great enthusiasm.

"Then I... I'll come," Ishino Sayuri finally agreed, biting her lip.

She still couldn't refuse Saechan and the others.

Seeing Ishino nod, the girls all smiled.

The misty light gathered, and the four high school girls walked toward home in the dim twilight.

As usual, Kawano Sae led the way, the three of them chatting and laughing.

Ishino Sayuri, wearing a hearing aid, followed at a distance, like a dusty little dog.

Out of place, yet not belonging.

…

Early morning.

Strange Tale World.

In the north area of Karin Ghost School, outside the school buildings.

Kamiyagawa, carrying the Bloodstained Chopper, crept toward a lone headless DK with its back to him.

In the past few days since acquiring his precious artifact, Kamiyagawa had nearly figured out the habits of the Ki-ki kids in the school.

Although these monsters had no eyes or even heads, they still had something akin to a field of vision.

Simply put, approaching them from the front was different from sneaking up from behind.

If approached from the front, they would notice you from about ten meters away.

But if you took the back route, as long as your movements were gentle and your posture low, you could get within three steps without being detected.

"Wooo, wooo—wooo?"

The solitary headless DK wept with whatever organ it used to make sound hidden within its body.

As it wept, it finally sensed something unusual directly behind it.

Just as it was about to turn around.

Kamiyagawa, who had approached the limit of proximity, suddenly burst into action!

Utilizing the body coordination skills enhanced by training in Wild Greatsword Mizugami-ryu, Kamiyagawa gripped the chopper with both hands and lunged forward in one swift move!

The gleaming blade of the Bloodstained Chopper pierced the skin, plunging into the Ki-ki kid's lower back, straight to its kidneys!

The weapon effect named [Kidney Strike] delivered massive additional damage!

"Wooo—"

The Ki-ki kid's empty skull cavity emitted a faint wail, as it twisted into pale gray smoke and dissipated without a trace.

As if it had never existed.

[You have killed a Ki-ki kid and obtained 2 Soul Crystals!]

A text popup appeared on the mobile phone.

This was a lethal hit!

"Bloodstained Firewood Knife, the noob's deity!"

Kamiyagawa sheathed his knife with a hint of pride and crouched down to seek his next solitary target.

In fact, the second day after Kamiyagawa got his hands on the Bloodstained Chopper, an excellent-grade weapon, he eagerly logged into the game to test out the damage—

First, he took the chopper and sought out a headless JK in the Sakura forest for a fair one-on-one battle.

This solo attempt was very successful.

The chopper was no stick; every slash had the heft to cut into flesh.

Though the chopper was much shorter than the Field Longsword, and Kamiyagawa couldn't fully exhibit his expertise in Expert Level Wild Tachi Self-Manifestation Style,

it was still barely manageable, and after being scratched only four or five times by the headless JK, he managed to kill his arch-nemesis.

After showing some battle scars, he even had the energy to defeat two more solitary headless high school students, collecting a total of 6 Soul Crystals.

Finally, in the fourth battle, due to depleted physical and health energy, he was defeated in frustration and logged out in shame.