"Alright! Operation: Unrequited Love Unbinding is now active!" (Y/n) did a mock whistle with her fingers as she gave the incredulous Nene a pat on the head.

It seemed that the tension the (h/c) haired girl was putting off had finally dimmed down, leaving said girl in a series of unhinged pure raw energy of taking things to the extreme. Nene was surprised by how fast the girl's emotion can change right off the bat. Though for Hanako, it was a different case.

"That's the spirit!" Hanako beamed, resting his arm on the (h/c)ette's shoulder. He then took out the book, flipping over a few pages before stopping on one. "So, what's on our agenda today?"

(Y/n), being the closest to hin read the lines in a giddy tone. "Method 78: Capitalize your abilities."

"Mhmm." Hanako nodded, removing his arm from (Y/n) and floating towards Nene who's expression held trust in them. It wasn't anything deep, probably still doubtful, but hey, it's still trust at least. "So, Yashiro-san, do you have any special abilities?"

Nene glanced over to (Y/n) who gave her a thumbs up. The radish girl's coral eyes lit up as an idea hit her. "That's it!"

●=======●■{♧}■●=======●

"Wow, a field!" came the perky voice from Hanako.

The three now stood in an open area just outside the old building. Both (Y/n) and Nene dressed up casually for the sake of keeping their uniforms clean.

He scanned the area in amazement, looking from here to there, as he saw crops of different colors and sizes sprouting from the ground, bushes, and trees. He just couldn't help but imagine what sort of delicious food could be cooked from them. For a moment, his face morphed into something so subtle, so little it would come off as merely a trick of the light. He felt an overwhelming hiraeth. Longing for a home. Then that feeling vanished in a snap. His soft features morphed back into shallow joy.

"... " (Y/n) just stood beside the ghost, pondering.

"It's our school garden." Nene chimed, picking up a hoe and a bucket. "The school's not really agricultural based so it's a bit cramped."

Hanako's mouth formed an O-shape as he turned to the silver-haired girl. "This is you special ability?"

Nene nodded, placing the bucket down and swinging the hoe in one single swipe onto the ground. "My speciality is growing things from the ground!"

The reaction it got was nonetheless unexpected. (Y/n) gave a soft sigh before burying her face in her hands, while Hanako gave the radish girl a strained look.

Nene felt heat rise to her cheeks in embarrassment. "Wha‐what's with those reactions! (Y/n)-chan! You've seen me grow stuff before, why are you acting like that?! I plant flowers, isn't that girly?!"

"Nene-chan… it's not that… " the (h/c)ette removed her hands from her face, walking over to her friend with a sad smile.

Nene reciprocated this expression, crouching down whilst using the hoe as means for support. "I guess it isn't really that cute, huh."

Hanako tapped on (Y/n)'s shoulder, who in turn looked at the ghost shaking her head. She then began to crouch down beside Nene, drawing circles on the silver-haired girl's back. 

"I started gardening," Nene looked onward wistfully, "because a guy I used to like mentioned he liked feminine girls. I learned how to cook and sew as well. I figured that if I managed to master those three, he'll like me back. I planned on confessing to him once I was sure."

Hanako opened his mouth to ask something when (Y/n) being the mother hen in the group rose an index finger and placed it just a few inches over his lips. Hanako didn't utter another word after that.

"It took me… three." Nene began to shiver slightly, barely containing the emotional baggage she was carrying. "It took me three long years to confess to him, but… "

"You don't have to say it." (Y/n) gently wrapped her arms around Nene, taking out her handkerchief to give to the radish girl.

Nene's cries were muffled by the fabric as she took a firm hold on (Y/n)'s cold, cold arms. Nene stifled. "It's… it's okay (Y/n)-chan! I'm okay! It's already been a month since that happened, it's not on my mind anymore!"

(Y/n) huffed. "No you haven't! Tears don't lie, Nene-chan!"

"Yes I have!" Nene whined more. "I like Minamoto-senpai now! I'm going to get a great guy like senpai and make that idiot regret passing me up!"

"Really?" The two girls stopped their bickering to turn towards Hanako, who was also crouching beside them, looking at them  with his head resting on the palm of his hand. "Then, anyone would do for you, right?"

"What?" Nene squeaked, feeling her face flush slightly.

(Y/n) pushed Hanako away by the face out of the blue, causing the boy to stumble. "Stop saying suggestive stuff!"

"Whaaaat?" Hanako retorted, a grin on his face. "I was only asking Yoshiro-san an innocent question. It's you who's jumping into weird conclusions! Unless~"

There's that face again. Hanako's smirk widened. "(Y/n)-san could it be that you're—"

"Enough of this!" The (h/c)ette rose her tone into an unsolicited high pitch, pushing the ghost away yet again. She then turned her attention to Nene. "As for you, Nene-chan, please take your time in this! Are you really sure you like this Minamoto person? Or is he just a rebound?"

"Of course I like Minamoto-senpai!" Nene reaffirmed.

"What's his first name then!" 

…

"... "

… 

"Look. A bug." Nene dodged the question. "I'll feed the koi with it."

"Nene-chan… "

"Here we are!" Hanako suddenly interrupted, coming in-between the two girls. He reached a plain heart-shaped card to Nene. "Take it!"

"What would I need a card for?"

"Alright, let me introduce you to," Hanako did a pose, raising an index finger to add dramatic effect. "Phase 1 of Operation: Unrequited Love Unbinding; Give Him A Gift!"

Too dramatic, very anticlimactic. (Y/n) and Nene thought.

"I already did something like that… " Nene mumbled.

(Y/n) seeing her friend in low spirits again, decided to join Hanako. "Well there's always a chance! As much as I don't like this guy, you deserve to be happy! You gotta give it a try Nene-chan! You have to give it your all!"

"After all, you've come this far. Why stop now?" Hanako added.

… 

Nene took a moment to register what she heard, looking down to the card in her hands. Then she smiled.

"Okay! I'll do my best!"

The team then went on for the rest of the day doing cupid's work. At first it felt really ridiculous and rather simple, but then things turned out for the worst. 

"At least you tried." (Y/n) said while she rubbed ointment on Nene's reddening forehead. A metal bowl filled with water was placed on the sink beside them, with a soiled towel damped inside. 

Nene whined. "I didn't know where I was going and headbutted some random person down the stairs! What's senpai gonna think of me now!"

"Well, I've run out of options," Hanako hummed, before snapping his fingers and floating just above the two girls. "Why don't you just confess to him?"

This received a blunt refusal from both girls.

Nene formed her arms into an X for further emphasis.

"Hanako-san, Hanako-san," (Y/n) sighed, trudging towards the floating boy, before flicking his forehead. "That's an idiot's suggestion! Confessing needs preparation; you can just rush it!"

The poor boy held his hand up to the part where he was hit, slightly cowering over the girl's gaze. He protested. "Well, I'm not exactly well versed in these kinds of things. You can't expect a newbie like me to know much, did ya?"

"Newbie?!"

It was Nene's turn to loom over the boy. (Y/n) stood from behind silently cheering the radish girl on. 

"Wait, wait! I've got some other tricks up my sleeve!"

Hanako floated away from the two, rummaging his pockets for who knows what. Items were tossed here and there; the longer the girls watched the more questions were raised: How did he manage to put all of those inside his pockets? Why does he carry so much weird stuff? What's he even looking for anyway? And so on and so forth.

Finally, Hanako gleamed, holding out a doll whose face could easily match that of a permanently scarred yet unsurprised look of disappointment, which shouldn't really be what a doll looks like but eh, its their preference I guess.

(Y/n) mimicked the doll's face while Nene gave it a questioning look. "What is this?" (Y/n) scrutinized the doll, then Hanako.

It was off putting seeing the overtly cheeky boy suddenly fluster, giving the girls a shy smirk. "It's pretty lewd, isn't it."

Nene chucked the doll straight out the bathroom window, earning a round of applause from (Y/n).

As Nene proceeded to bicker at Hanako, who seemed momentarily occupied in looking for his lost possession, (Y/n) looked down to the condition of that bathroom. It was a mess, no doubt, filling (Y/n) with an urge to clean it up. She thought of what other people would think had someone suddenly barged into the bathroom. Luckily, due to the rumors of it being haunted, students rarely use this place, oftentimes avoiding it. She had to thank Hanako for that.

As the girl crouched down to pick up the litter, a flash of silver caught her attention. In front of her, one of Hanako's wisps was hovering above a small red pouch that was slightly open, revealing its contents. Something small and round, silver like a coin. She picked it up, brows meeting down in the middle of her face. As much as it looked like a coin, it certainly didn't feel like it; slimy and somewhat soft. (Y/n)'s expression darkened to an unbelievable extent.

"Why do you have this, Hanako-kun?"