Chapter 61

"Hey, wanna have some fun with this?" Chika asked with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Do I have a choice?" Kaguya sighed, but there was a hint of excitement in her voice. "I suppose one can never have too many skills, especially Natsuki's ghost-repelling aura. I really want to try it!"

"That's the spirit!" Chika cheered. "Who knows, maybe if you try hard enough, your bicycle will turn into a motorcycle!"

The pink-haired girl flashed a smug smile and made a peace sign. "Besides, there's no penalty if we fail, right?"

What are you grinning about, Chika? Keep talking, and Miss Ice Queen over there might get all moody again!

"Alright, let's do it," Natsuki said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "But how exactly are we going to pull this off?"

Chika pondered for a moment before replying, "Well, if it's a ghost... it should be an evil spirit, right?"

As if on cue, a water-logged spirit dripping with pond weeds phased through the wall, entering the room silently.

All four of them turned to look.

Sensing their gazes, the spirit drifted closer, its hollow voice echoing, "Can... can you see me?"

Umi's face went pale, and she quickly lowered her head, suddenly very interested in her manicure.

Can't see it, can't see it, can't see it...

"Hey, Natsuki," Chika whispered, "should we use this as our test subject?"

Natsuki gave a slight nod. "Might as well."

The spirit's terrifying face, covered in mud and weeds, loomed closer to Kaguya. She could almost smell the earthy, fishy stench.

"The sun's out today," Natsuki said casually. "Perfect weather to enjoy the view from the window."

"Oh yeah, and the breeze is so nice," Chika chimed in, linking arms with Kaguya. "C'mon, let's go check it out!"

The four of them quickly scattered.

The spirit circled around them, growing more dejected by the second. "They can't... they can't see me..."

"Natsuki," Chika whispered, giving him a sly wink. She took a deep breath, stepped in front of the spirit, and suddenly pulled a ridiculous face.

"Boo!"

The room fell silent.

Natsuki's eyes widened, his hand instinctively covering his chest. Chika, you madwoman! Did you really just try to scare a ghost?

The spirit froze for a moment, then a dark mist began swirling around it. It reached out with a pale, bloated hand towards Chika.

"You! You can see me!"

"Uh, Natsuki?" Chika stumbled backward. "A little help here?"

Without hesitation, Natsuki activated his spirit-repelling aura. An invisible force struck the ghost, causing black flames to erupt across its form. Within seconds, the spirit vanished with a final, twisting wail.

"Whoa, that was incredible!" Kaguya exclaimed, her eyes wide with amazement as she stared at Natsuki.

Even though Chika had mentioned skills for dealing with spirits in the real world, seeing it firsthand was something else entirely.

"Hold on a sec," Umi chimed in, curiosity getting the better of her. "If Natsuki's this good, why doesn't he use it in the game?"

Natsuki let out a sigh. "Can't. This skill only works in the real world. Soon as I enter the game, it's sealed off."

"Oh, I get it. It'd mess with the game balance otherwise." Kaguya grabbed Natsuki's arm, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "But still, it's so cool!"

Raising an eyebrow, Kaguya turned to Chika. "So, how's the mission going?"

"I didn't scare the spirit at all," Chika pouted, crossing her arms. "Maybe I wasn't scary enough?"

Natsuki couldn't help but tease, "I didn't even realize you were trying to be scary. You just looked cute."

"Did not!" Chika protested. "I use this trick all the time! It works on everyone, even Pez!"

Wait, isn't Pez your dog? You're scaring your own pet? What kind of chaotic energy are you?

Kaguya pondered for a moment. "These spirits don't have normal thought processes. Regular scare tactics probably won't work."

"Good point," Natsuki nodded. "A rational spirit..."

His gaze drifted to Mrs. Kaguya on the sofa.

"Hey now," she looked up from her book. "That's not fair, Natsuki. I'm a guardian spirit, not some evil entity."

Chika tapped her chin thoughtfully. "What about those little old man spirits?"

"You mean those tiny doll-sized ones?" Kaguya asked, clasping her hands behind her back. "They do look like little grandpas. That might work."

The group discussed how these small spirits were common in dark corners, barely knee-high, and pretty low on the spirit food chain.

"Only one way to find out," Natsuki shrugged. "Though I have a feeling it won't work."

"Wait!" Chika held up her hand. "Let's check the surprise box first. There might be a bonus task."

But there were no surprises. Natsuki pocketed a pack of tissues, his expression neutral, and led the girls out of the activity room.

It didn't take long for them to spot a tiny old man spirit lurking in a corner. When it saw them approaching, it quickly ducked behind a vending machine.

"Boo!" Chika cupped her hands around her face, pulling her scariest expression.

A shrill, hollow voice piped up, "You... you can see me?"

Chika nodded. "Yep, I can see you."

"You can see me!" The spirit's eyes suddenly glowed red. Despite its small size, it leaped with surprising agility, lunging straight for Chika.

"Help! Help!" Chika yelped, ducking behind Natsuki for protection.

Natsuki silently activated his spirit-repelling aura, causing the little old man spirit to vanish. "Looks like that approach won't work," he sighed.

Kaguya frowned, thinking out loud, "From what we've seen, these real-world spirits don't seem to have any self-awareness or fear."

"What now?" Chika whined. "I finally got an interesting mission. I don't want to give up!"

"Well, I might have an idea," Umi piped up, raising her hand. "What about the 'ghosts' played by staff in amusement park haunted houses? They count as spirits too, right?"

"That'll have to wait till after school," Natsuki said, checking the time. "I've got an exam to take."

"Let's meet up later then," Chika agreed, then added with a grin, "By the way, I remember the entrance exam rankings. Natsuki, you were second, right behind Kaguya, weren't you?"

Natsuki's face remained impassive. "Your memory's too good."

"Aw, thanks!"

That wasn't a compliment, you know!

"Oh, speaking of school," Umi chimed in, "Natsuki was always top of the class in middle school. But he was so gloomy and quiet, nobody dared talk to him."

Natsuki looked surprised. "How'd you know that?"

"We went to the same middle school, dummy!" Umi exclaimed, pointing at herself. "Don't tell me you didn't recognize me?"

Natsuki hesitated. "...We weren't in the same class, were we?"

"Nope, I was in Class C."

Fair enough. Not being in the same class, it's normal not to recognize each other.

"Oh, what a coincidence!" Chika clapped her hands together, eyes sparkling. "Kaguya's always been first in every exam, from childhood till now. In the entrance exam, you and Kaguya were only one point apart, right?"

"Maybe I'll have a chance to catch up with Kaguya this time," Natsuki mused.

Hearing this, he turned to Kaguya with a determined look. "No, not catch up. Surpass."

Losing feels awful. You've got to win it back.

Anyone who says rankings don't matter has definitely never been first.

"Quite bold of you," Kaguya remarked, crossing her arms and fixing Natsuki with her wine-red eyes. A slight smirk played on her lips. "In that case, I suppose I should take this a bit more seriously."

"Wait, what?" Chika's jaw dropped. "Kaguya, are you saying you've never taken exams seriously before?"

Natsuki couldn't help but boast, "I only use one hand for every exam."

"Wow, that's amazing..." Chika marveled, then suddenly paused. "Hold on, doesn't everyone write answers with one hand?"

The group fell silent, not quite sure how to respond to that.

The day flew by, and the exam was over before they knew it. With Golden Week starting tomorrow, the exam rankings wouldn't be announced until after the holiday. That's when the race for the new student council president would begin in earnest.

"Phew, glad that's over," Chika groaned. "It was so hard! I got so sleepy during the test, I barely finished. I'm definitely going to fail this time."

Natsuki shook his head. "Don't worry, you passed."

"Huh? How can you be so sure?"

"People who say they failed usually end up passing."

Chika, eager to put the exam behind her, quickly changed the subject. "So, Natsuki, shall we get going?"