{ before i start this chapter, i just have to say that i'm SO SORRY for the wait!! forgot that i have voice acting, school and work to actually get done and THEN write LOLOL

i also got into a major slump once i stopped watching the anime ( since yashiro's voice was too high for me in the sub and kou/tsukasa weren't bearable in the dub ) so it took a while for me to get back in the groove.

i promise i won't let this happen again. i just won't have an update schedule so that way i don't disappoint anyone LOLOL

That aside, I have some fanart to share with you all!!

Here is the first featured one for today! These are all from @akss.z on Instagram!

This is from @- on Instagram as well!!

Here's another fanart from @willa on Instagram!

Here's this cute fanart from @afiyah_faya29 on Instagram!

Last, but certainly not least, is this fanart from @lucy on Instagram!

thank you all for your continuous support! even if the people i just mentioned no longer read this story, i'll forever be grateful for their support as well as all of you! thank you all so much and i'l be featuring every fan art in a chapter. }

"Hey, I'm right here! I don't see why you have to scream my name." Y/N teased. She was currently in a tight hold that was from the one and only Hanako. After he had loosened his hold, Y/N used the opportunity to use Hanako as leverage to swing above and destroy the pair of scissors with the swing of her Hinoken. After landing, she turned to Hanako and smirked. "Did you really think that I wouldn't be prepared for something so minor?"

     Hanako scoffed at the girl's confidence and replied, "To think I was so worried about you! Fine then, take care of yourself from now on if you're so tough!" Although he had said this, a small smile formed on his face in relief. The two nodded at each other before Y/N ran to Yashiro and Kou. 

     "You did it!" Yashiro cheered, while Kou shook his head in disagreement. "What's wrong?" Yashiro questioned, confused. Y/N directed her attention towards what was going on behind her. As the Daikon girl looked behind her best friend, she saw that Hanako was, still indeed, fighting the scissors. 

     "Um... Y/N, Kou! I could use some help here y'know!" Hanako yelled out, as he brought out his knife to fight off the pair of scissors. "Go ahead with the plan!" 

     Just as he had yelled it out, Yashiro had been surrounded by the faceless dolls. Kou stood in front of the girl and fought them away and yelled out, "You don't need to tell me that!" while Y/N grabbed one of the mannequin arms from the Mokke. 

     "Are you guys going to hurry up?! We don't have all day you know!" Y/N exclaimed, with the others nodding in her direction. Kou picked up Yashiro while Hanako tried to throw the ultra-padded bra Yashiro only had in her possession moments prior as a distraction for the pair of scissors before they all made a run for it. With all of her might, Y/N reeled back her arm and threw the arm into the shrine's empty spot. With that, the shrine's tiny doors slammed shut and the much larger doors opened in front of them. "Got you!" Hanako smiled in her direction before ordering everyone to run into the next room, all running from the current danger they were facing. 

     Slamming the door shut behind them, they all collectively let out a sigh of relief before sitting down to take a break. "Who knew a girl like you could have that much strength! You're just full of surprises!" Hanako laughed before he saw the look Y/N's face. "Oh,! Um, I mean.."

     "Is that meant to be an insult or a compliment?" Y/N asked, glaring at the terrified ghost boy. Hanako had started to sweat as he struggled to come up with the words as he saw the young exorcist girl bring her sword out of her sheath. Laughing nervously he replied, "It's, um, obviously a compliment! You're... haha... easily the best exorcist out there!" Before screaming in terror, as he saw her point her sword at him. 

     As Hanako screamed along the lines of, "Oh great exorcist, please don't kill me!" Yashiro stood up and looked at the surroundings around her. "It seems that no matter where we are, it'll all look the same," Yashiro mumbled, a disheartened expression now on her features "No sign of Aoi, or anyone here." Just as she finished this thought, the phone started to ring again which had the entire group's attention. 

     The first to approach the phone was once again, Y/N. "This lunatic sure loves her phone calls.. Seriously, hasn't this boomer heard of texting.." Then, she picked up the phone. Before she could hear or say anything however, Hanako gave her a wink and took the phone.

     Clearing his throat beforehand, Hanako spoke into the phone. "Hello~?" A pause, then there comes an answer. 

     "My left arm. Find my left arm for me." Y/N's eyes widened as she realised, "This isn't an automated message. This woman is actually speaking to us." Once again, Y/N is broken out of her thoughts as the spirit continued her monologue. "I pray before class every morning. I clap my left and right hands together as I pray for everyone to have another happy day. Hurry, class is--" Hanako cuts her off with his own sentence.

     "Hey there, Number Two long time, no see. You remember me... right?" The glint in Hanako's eyes sent shivers down Y/N's spine. For some reason, she had a feeling that there was more to the ghost than what he let on. Hearing a pause from the phone once again, Hanako was about to repeat his sentence before the voice cut him off.

     "Class begins soon." The phone cut off.

     Hanako's eyes dimly stared at the phone as he placed it down. He gave out a confused, "Hmm?" once he looked up at the trio. "I was just saying hello! Stop looking at me like I'm a murderer!" Y/N deadpanned at his lame joke. "Aren't you one though...?"

     "Do you know that person?" Yashiro questioned, with Hanako giving her a chuckle in his response. "Well, we're both Wonders of the School after all, it'd be strange if we didn't know each other." Before anyone could comment, they heard a click coming from behind them and as they looked, they saw that a new hourglass had started it's timer. 

     "Seriously, another arm hunt? What a pain!" Kou sighed, scratching his head slightly "Hey, Hanako! Isn't there any other way?" Hanako tilted his head at the question, slightly frowning. "Like what?" Kou sighed and explained more thoroughly, "As in; does Number Two have a weakness or something?"

     Hanako's frown slowly turned into a smirk as he replied with, "She does." Yashiro and Kou let out a surprised gasp as Y/N's eyes sparkled at the new discovery. "Oh, really?! What is it, Hanako?" Smiling at the girl, the pat her head and replied, "Well since you asked so politely and  not trying to kill me, I'll tell you!" 

     "She indeed does have a weakness; her Yorishiro." Hanako explained, picking up a nearby item as an example. "Oh, oh! I know! It's an item that she considers dear to her and allows her to occupy a physical space, correct?" Y/N piped up, earning a high five from Hanako. "Yeah, you got it! There's more to it though for the Seven Wonders."

     "For you two that don't know," Hanako pointed to Kou and Yashiro "They're precious objects that give power to the Seven Wonders." Seeing the confused looks from Kou and Yashiro and the admiring gaze from Y/N, he flipped over the toy he held and opened the back to reveal the batteries it had. "To put it simply, I guess it's kind of like a battery?" Hanako took the batteries out of the toy, as it instantly lost "life". "Breaking it will significantly weaken it's power. Kind of like this toy here! Long story short; she wouldn't be able to maintain this Boundary anymore if her Yorishiro was broken by someone."

     "That's it!" Kou exclaimed, getting pumped up about the situation himself "So where's this Norishiro, Korishiro, Yashiro or-- whatever thing. Where's it at?!" Yashiro and Y/N sweat dropped at the mention of the Daikon girl's name. "Yorishiro, Kou. I thought that my fellow exorcist comrade would know something so simple!" Y/N teased, earning an embarrassed blush from the younger boy. "Sh... Shut up!" Kou exclaimed before turning back to Hanako. "Y... Yorishiro! Yeah! Where is it?" 

     Raising a finger to his lips, Hanako replied, "It's in the deepest part of this Boundary." Kou and Yashiro gave him a look as they replied back with, "The... deepest part?" Y/N sighed at their reaction.

     "Think of it this way! When you go into a video game dungeon, you find the treasure at the very end of the it. That's usually where the boss is, guarding it. Meaning, we'll have to go to the very end of the Boundary to find it. Think about it, they wouldn't leave their prized possession out in the open, y'know." Y/N explained, earning a hum of approval from Hanako and an "Ohh!" reaction from Yashiro and Kou.

     "Wait, so if what you said was true then..." The group collectively looked above them to see the many, seemingly never ending, floors above them. "We're going to be here for a while..." Y/N commented as they all looked dejected at this discovery. 

     "Alright, everyone! Let's get climbing! Ready, set, go!" Hanako cheered, while the other three dejectedly pathetically raised their fists. "Yay..." They all replied. "No! I hate working out! No! My poor, beautiful legs!" Y/N cried internally and decided to finally start to complete each and every task on every floor with the others. 

     "Finally! The last one!" Y/N cried out in joy as Yashiro placed the last item into the shrine, before getting on her knees and praising the heavens. "I knew it was too early for me to pass! Thank you for this test of courage, I shall never falter!" Feeling a pat on her shoulder, she stops her prayers and finds Hanako looking down at her pitifully. "It's okay Y/N... Just get up." As she took his hand to get up, Kou exclaimed, "The doors are opening!"

     Taking a look, they indeed were. Finally, they could meet the Second Wonder of the Seven that were out there. "Once I think about it," Y/N thought to herself as she stepped through the doors with the others "She wanted us to assemble her body but... How could she have made any of those phone calls without having anything to dial with? A servant perhaps? Or maybe she can do whatever she pleases as long as she's in her Boundary?" That's when she saw it. 

     A woman with fox-like eyes staring right back at her. 

{ word count: 2k words

status: unedited }