Chapter 13

"Did you hear that school-wide announcement earlier?" Natsuki asked calmly. "They broadcast our location every ten minutes. Time's almost up. When people show up and find you lurking in the girls' bathroom, what do you think will happen?"

The spirit fell silent, realizing the implications. Even among vengeful spirits, some rules held. A male spirit caught in the girls' room would be labeled a pervert. The female spirits would tear him apart in seconds.

Panicked, the spirit tried to use its power to teleport between bathrooms. To its shock, Natsuki's grip on its wrist held firm.

"Human, let go—" the spirit began to threaten.

"Quiet," Natsuki cut it off. "Open the stall and let the girls out first."

The spirit bristled at being ordered around by a mere human. But before it could react...

"Oh! The door's unlocked now," Chika exclaimed, stepping out with Kaguya.

"Chika, give the candy back," Natsuki instructed.

Chika quickly complied, and the spirit took the candy back without protest.

"Let's go," Natsuki said, finally releasing the spirit's wrist.

As they left the bathroom, Kaguya reminded them, "The broadcast will start again soon."

"Should we head to the roof?" Chika suggested.

Right on cue, the announcement blared their location, sending the school into a frenzy again. The trio raced up the stairs, only to find the roof access locked.

"No worries," Chika said, reaching for a hairpin. "I've got some lock-picking skills. I can open this."

"How long will that take?" Natsuki asked.

"Three to five minutes, maybe?"

Without a word, Natsuki turned and headed back down. "We're leaving."

They'd be sitting ducks if they stayed put that long.

As they rounded a corner, they nearly collided with a tall, suit-wearing ghost shrouded in black mist. Its aura of resentment twisted into horrifying shapes.

A warning flashed in Natsuki's mind:

[Level: Dean of Studies]

[Weakness: Ultimate cat lover - won't harm cats, even as a vengeful spirit]

Click, click, click.

The leggy spirit appeared behind them. They were trapped.

Natsuki quickly pulled out cat-ear hairclips and looked at Kaguya. Her face was expressionless, but he could almost see the words "So scary, so scary" floating above her head.

"Kaguya, put these on!" he urged.

Kaguya frowned. "Why?"

"No time to explain. Trust me," Natsuki insisted, handing her the clips.

Without hesitation, Kaguya took them. Teammates had to trust each other, and silly emotions like embarrassment weren't in her vocabulary.

She calmly clipped them into her long black hair, face still cool and composed.

To Natsuki's disappointment, Kaguya didn't transform into a catgirl. She just looked like Kaguya... with cat ears.

But the mist-shrouded Dean froze, his red eyes dimming as if afraid to startle a cat.

"It worked?" Chika whispered in awe. "That weirdo's scared of cat ears?"

"In his eyes, Kaguya's a cat now," Natsuki explained. "He likes cats too much to risk scaring her."

"How do you know that?" Chika asked, curious.

"Secret," Natsuki replied.

"I'm great at keeping secrets!"

"People who say that are usually the first to spill," Natsuki teased.

"Hey!" Chika protested.

Kaguya spoke up, her tone level. "I don't even like cats." She reached up to touch the cat ears, tilting her head slightly. The cool expression combined with the cute gesture was oddly captivating.

Suddenly, the misty Dean took a half-step forward, his red eyes flaring.

"Uh-oh, he's angry," Chika whispered. "Kaguya, quick! Say you like cats!"

"Hold on," Natsuki interrupted. "He's mad because Kaguya's not acting like a cat. Cats can't speak human language. She needs to sound like a cat."

Chika's eyes lit up. She raised a hand to her ear, mimicking a paw. "Like this, Kaguya... meow!"

Kaguya, ever the quick study, copied the gesture perfectly. Head tilted, she uttered a cool "Meow~"

"So cute!" Chika squealed. "Perfect score!"

Natsuki shook his head. "I'd give it a 60."

"What? Why?"

"The ice-queen expression kind of ruins it," he explained.

Kaguya lowered her hand, face blank. "I refuse to change that."

Her meow seemed to stun the Dean. He stumbled back, eyes dimming again.

Just then, thundering footsteps approached. A horde of vengeful students rounded the corner, ready to capture the trio.

"Dean!" one yelped, spotting the figure behind Kaguya. The students panicked like mice before a cat. The leader skidded to a halt so fast he tumbled, scrambling to turn tail.

"No running in the halls," the Dean's hoarse voice rumbled. He strode past the trio towards the fleeing students.

In seconds, the corridor was deserted and silent.

"What now?" Chika whispered.

"We follow him," Natsuki decided. "With Kaguya here, we're untouchable."

It wasn't unlike how ancient rulers used imperial authority to control nobles, he mused. Using Kaguya to manage spirits wasn't so different. Sometimes, you had to be the fox using the tiger's might.

They hurried after the Dean, who had caught an unlucky spirit. The poor thing trembled, head in hands.

The Dean grabbed the spirit's head, lifting it up. With a sickening crunch, he crushed the unfortunate student into wisps of black smoke that quickly vanished.

Natsuki shuddered. Thank goodness this wasn't real life. Any teacher dishing out that kind of punishment would be behind bars in no time.

The Dean turned to look at Kaguya, his red eyes dimming once more. He neither approached nor retreated, just stood there silently.

The other spirit-students who'd been watching from the shadows quickly ducked out of sight, not daring to come closer.

"Kaguya's perfect as our mascot," Chika said, relieved. "We just need to wait out the game now, right?"

"Since we've got time, why not try another scenario?" Natsuki suggested. "Higher scores mean better rewards at the end."

"Agreed," Kaguya said coolly. Above her head, invisible to the others, floated the text:

[I don't want to be a mascot!]

"This is the main building," Natsuki said. "Let's explore a bit."

As they walked, the Dean silently followed, seemingly intent on protecting the 'cat girl'.

Suddenly, a game prompt chimed...