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It was a quiet day, about time when students involved in club activities leave school after their club hours. Going on with their lives like nothing was wrong with the world. Blind of the existence of supernatural creatures living among them.

A certain protagonist who certainly didn't belong to any club, walked through the silent school halls of the old building of Kamome Academy.

For those who've read the past couple chapters, might have an idea as to where she was headed right? After all, staying after school hours was a norm for her. Spending her time in the school's library that is.

Things were a bit different in this current picture though. After all, by the Himana had arrived to her destination, she was standing in front of the entrance to the girl's bathroom.

Now, you might be wondering what she was doing there, strayed out of her usual schedule. To know why, we have to recall back to a few days. When they found special meanings in each of their eyes inside the school library.

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"Hey, Hanako-kun, what role do you School Wonders play in School? Scaring Students? Or do you just exist to provide excitement in our bland world?" Himana wondered out loud, now sitting up on the bed with her back leaning against a pillow placed between her and the headboard.

She didn't seem to be fazed by what transpired between them a mere hour ago. The way she talked-it was as if nothing happened at all. Even if she had talked very unusual things, she seemed as casual as ever. Hanako experienced no tension or discomfort in between them, hence why he decided to just go along with the flow.

The apparition floated down to sit on the table besides the open window. "Well, we Seven Wonders have the duty to oversee all the Supernaturals who exists within this school, and maintain correct relations between humans and Supernaturals. So, we technically have to eliminate dangerous supernatural." Hanako explained with a smile.

Himana's bows slightly furrowed to show confusion, staring at the wall before her while Hanako observed her expression. "But, there's a way to deal with them without eliminating them." The white-haired girl mentioned, before turning to Hanako. "You can just change the rumors can't you."

Hanako momentarily went silent, staring at the girl with a speck of interest floating around his amber eyes.

It's actually surprising how much she knows about us when she's only human...

"I'm only a ghost, I can't interact with humans so there's no way that's happening." Hanako simply answered truthfully.

Himana nodded, turning her head back to blankly stare at the wall. "I suppose not..." She mumbled out, thinking of another way.

She herself knew-she wasn't good at human interaction. Personally, she'd rather have no interaction with any normal humans at all-but that was something she wanted overcome, and if the situation calls for it, she would like to help Hanako as much as she could.

Hanako floating down to sit on the edge of the bad. He already had an idea of what's going through that head of hers, and he was hoping for a certain outcome. The apparition couldn't help but smirk satisfactorily when he got the feeling that he had accomplished his task.

"What're you thinking about?" Hanako asked childishly. Leaning his face closer to the girl, a knowing grin displayed on his visage.

The girl in response, slowly turned to him-coming face to face with the boy, mere inches between them. Yet, none of them seemed bothered by the close distance.

"Hanako-kun, I have a favor to ask of you." Himana asked monotonously, her eyes blank.

Hanako couldn't hide his smirk from her at this point. Being satisfied with his accomplished goal to talk her into making a wish to him.

The apparition let out a chuckle. "What is it?" Hanako asked, still not bothered to move away.

The white head looked down at her lap, where her hands held each other. "I want to help you with changing the rumors of the dangerous Supernaturals." Himana voiced out thoughtfully.

"It's not their fault, they don't have a choice but to follow their rumors if they want to exist. So, it's not fair to just kill them off." The corners of her lips were tugged down the entire time, the small frown being endearing in the eyes of the apparition next to her.

Hanako smiled fondly. Forming a liking with the way her mind worked, especially with how indifferent she was towards both humans and Supernaturals alike. Had she been a normal human, he doubted they would think of the Supernaturals as good beings.

All in all, Hanako was satisfied, he made up his mind with no contractions. Himana was the perfect human to be his partner in crime.

"You did summon me three days ago." Hanako mentioned, gaining her attention, hence making her look back up at the ghost. "I owe you a wish for that. But remember, I'll be taking something from you as payment." Hanako reminded with a smile. He floated up so that he was floating a few feet above the bed, his legs crossed as if he was sitting in air.

The blue-eyed girl followed his movements, her face as blank as ever. "I know, I'm willing to take that risk. You don't look like a bad person Hanako-kun." She had reasoned, making Hanako's smile falter with her words.

He was honestly surprised with what the girl thought of him. From the way she said it Hanako knew she meant what she said. Meaning, she never thought of the option that he might turn to be an evil spirit in disguise.

"Oh." Himana let out, as if remembering something. Effectively snapping the ghost out of his thoughts. "I'm still keeping an eye in you. The fact that your boundary is a girl's bathroom doesn't change." She added, making Hanako sweat drop.

"Y-your still on to that?" The dark-haired apparition mumbled under his breath. With an awkward smile.

"Yeah, I am." Himana replied, as if it was the most obvious thing.

Hanako's shoulders slumped, letting out a huge defeated sigh. "I got it~" The ghost whined. "You can keep your eyes on me..." Hanako trailed off as a smirk made its way on his lips. "I definitely don't mind~" The apparition sang, uncrossing his legs to lean down so that he was face to face with the girl. Their faces mere inches apart yet again.

Himana continued to hold direct eye contact, wondering why Hanako's aura changed from being defeated to smirking confident within mere seconds. "What?" She drawled out blandly, making Hanako go back to his defeated self within mere seconds yet again.

The clueless girl was left to blink in confusion, wondering if Hanako was going through an emotional phase or something with his abrupt change in emotions.

Then all of a sudden, said apparition hopped back to his usual self, bringing his face dangerously close to Himana's face which the girl responded by instinctively pressing herself further back in to the pillow. Now seriously wondering whether Hanako was okay.

Well, he looks like a child when he died. So maybe being a Seven Wonder put him under too much pressure?

Hanako grinned childishly. "How about we get back to the main topic yeah?" He asked, making Himana break out of her current thought process to give Hanako her undivided attention.

She nodded, albeit slowly. "My wish huh..." The girl trailed, making Hanako cheerfully nod his head. "Then, I wish to help you deal with violent Supernaturals."

The apparition froze for a moment, processing her words. The way she put it, sounds way more dangerous to his liking-when Hanako only wanted her to change the rumors. Though, he decided to shrug that thought off for now.

Cause either ways, I'm not letting her get hurt.

The young boy smirked. Clasping his hands around Himana's bandaged smaller ones. He kept his eye level with hers, who stared right back at him curiously.

"Then, in return..." Hanako trailed off. Leaning near her ear, still smirking. "I want you to get bounded with me." He whispered right in to her ear. Making goosebumps travel down her spine.

"Bound?" Himana mumbled questioningly. "To be connected?"

Hanako leaned back, making eye contact with the girl while smiling softly. "Yeah." He mumbled, freeing a hand to reach into his pocket.

Both of them never broke their connected gazes. Well, that was before Himana felt the apparition slip something into her cupped hands that is. The white head looked down, Hanako's hands still cupped underneath hers as she observed the odd, thick and transparent circular glass like thing in her hands.

"This is..." Himana whispered, trailing off as she eyed the weird thing she'd never seen before in her life. While Hanako kept on smiling as he freed his right hand, bringing it to the white heads chin to slowly tilt her head up-making the both of their eyes to lock again.

"I want you to swallow that." Hanako voiced, before taking his hands off from her to float back. Giving her some space to do the deed. "Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous." Hanako assured with a tilt of his head. "I don't look like a bad person after all... right?" The apparition mentioned. Repeating her words from mere minutes ago with his hands held behind his back.

Himana stared at Hanako for a moment, looking from his right eye to his left while he kept on smiling. Then to Hanako's surprise, a soft-almost invisible smile appeared on her face, before looking back down at the mermaid scale. Without another moment of single hesitation, she brought it to her lips-swallowing is right afterwards.

She looked back up at Hanako, still smiling softly. "I trust you Hanako-kun. I never got the feeling you're a danger to me, not once. So, don't worry." Himana reassured.

Leaving the apparition is awe, but grinning brightly. "Got it!" He chirped, and by the time he brought up another mermaid scale to his mouth, small scales had started to form on Himana's arms.

Despite this, she never took her eyes off the apparition, which sent a strange sense of relief through the said apparition. "I hope to live up to your trust, Himana~" He sang, intentionally using her first name as he swallowed the mermaid scale.

The scales appearing on her hands stopped at whole, slowly disappearing into miniature light particles. Her eyes were still glued to the floating apparition before her, observing the way the afternoon rays light up his face as if accompanying his smile.

"Across the border between this life and the next, we have been linked." Hanako announced, slowly floating down to lean his forehead against hers, his eyes temporarily closing with his calm movements. His smile was soft, and for once within the many years of his apparition life-he felt content.

I wonder what holds for us in the future, Himana...

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That's exactly how Himana found herself bound to an unearthly boy apparition. After that, he had explained what the mermaid scale was and how it curses the one who swallows it.

The white head didn't at all mind being cursed, especially when she knew the curse was split between her and Hanako. She had deemed it a fitting payment for her wish so she wasn't going to complain. After all, it was her decision to make the wish and she may as well as live with it.

That doesn't mean it's not annoying though. She can't take a proper bath after all.

The girl let out a silent sigh, being reminded of the struggles she had to go through when she took her first bath after swallowing the scale. Because despite Hanako's warning, she forgot all about it and carelessly got in to the bath tub. It was a pain to get out of it.

She almost got sucked into the drain. Thank god her fish form was larger than those holes, otherwise only god knows where she would have ended up. Not to mention, those holes looked gigantic in that form that it was actually creepier than anything she had ever seen in her entire life.

The white head shook her head, getting the flashbacks out of her head as she entered the bathroom.

I'll just get used to it...

She surely wasn't expecting the apparition to come barreling into her the moment she stepped inside though. So, her back made contact with the door behind her, while the culprit of the impact clutched on to her tightly.

Himana's eyes went wide with her hands awkwardly frozen in mid-air. "Where have you been Himana~ Do you know how lonely I was!" Hanako fake cried in to the crook of her neck before abruptly leaning back, unwrapping his arms to hold the both of her shoulders instead. "Why did you visit Tsuchigomori before me?!" The boy complained with a pout.

Leaving the girl to blink, letting her arms rest back near her sides as her brows furrowed. "How did you know I visited him before you?" Himana questioned calmly, a huge contrast to the childishly pouting ghost who was throwing a mini tantrum.

"Hakujoudai." Hanako's answer came bluntly, still pouting.

"Oh, so it was following me because you assigned it to monitor me." Himana noted to herself, eyes trailing over to the two soul like orbs floating near the apparition.

Hanako huffed. "That's not the problem!" He childishly exclaimed, letting go of Himana's shoulder to turn around. Facing his back to her to fold his arms across his chest. "You're my partner now, you're supposed to keep me company." The apparition complained. Still pouting like the child, he was.

Himana's already blank face deadpanned even more. "I didn't know being partners meant we were supposed to stick around each other at all times."

Hanako whipped around, the spin so violent that her eyes didn't even catch it. By the time she blinked, Hanako's face was mere inches away from her own. "Of course, we have to be~" Hanako whined.

"But I have classes, I can't just skip them." The girl bluntly mentioned the obvious, making Hanako's shoulders slump in defeat.

Himana was left to stare at Hanako's dejected form, silently wondering what she can do when he continued to stay depressed for a couple minutes longer than usual. She had opted to calmly walk up to the ghost's side, only to pat his back pitifully. "It's okay Hanako-kun. We're friends now, we'll see each other quite often from now on."

Himana's tone was as bland as usual, but her words made Hanako eyes widen. He slowly turned to the girl besides him. "Friend?" He mumbled, the word being foreign for him. Especially when he was involved in it.

The girl nodded. "I... am your partner. Meaning we are already friends... aren't we...?" There was obvious hesitance visible in her tone, unsure of her own words. "Well, at least that's what I think it's supposed to be..." She had finally trailed off, averting her gaze away.

"Sorry, I'm not sure either... I don't remember having a friend before." The girl mumbled out with a soft frown. Struggling to remember her past, the days she lived with a smile-as being told by the people who knew her before that accident. It wasn't like she remembered those days though, not much of it anyways.

Hanako may act childish, but he was quick to notice Himana's sudden change in mood. He gently grabbed both of her hands, snapping her out from her thoughts and making her look up at Hanako who was grinned down at her like a child who just got his Christmas present.

"Sure! We can be friends!" Hanako announced happily. "From now on, we are friends, kay?" Hanako declared, expectedly waiting for a response from the girl.

He didn't have to wait long. Cause a rare genuine smile made its way on her lips as she closed her eyes. "Yeah." Himana exclaimed. Well, her voice was lower than a shout but compared to her usual bland low tone, it was five times greater.

It was the loudest Hanako had heard her voice go, and her expression was undeniably one that would appear once in a blue moon. So, Hanako made sure to paint her face in his memory. Not wanting to forget such an expression on a daily blank face.

The moment was however short lived, because Hanako was quick to notice someone approaching the bathroom.

His change in expression didn't go unnoticed by Himana, who tilted her head-expression already back to usual. "What happened?" She had asked, only to be shush by Hanako who pressed a finger to her lips.

"Shh, someone's coming." Hanako hastily informed, and then proceeded to grab a hold of Himana's wrist to lead her towards the third stall. He didn't give her a moment to talk as he closed the door. Trapping both of them in the narrow space. "Stay quite." Hanako whispered, floating up to sit on top of the water tank.

Himana was left no other choice but to awkwardly stand in the space as she blankly stared at the apparition. The stall was small, but there was enough space for the two to not suffocate. If he wanted, Hanako could easily float through the wall-but for some reason she didn't know, he decided to hide with the girl.

To say Himana was confused was an understatement. The situation was awkward. Never in her life had she been in a toilet stall alone with a boy. Hanako may be an apparition, but in her book, she considered apparitions and humans as equal beings. Both have feelings and both have their own senses.

That wasn't the only thing bothering her though, because mere seconds after Hanako trapped them in the bathroom stall, the main door of the toilet opened. Which was followed by the sound of footsteps. That's when she knew, a human had entered Hanako's boundary.

If the person entering didn't worry her enough, it certainly did when she realized that the anonymous person was headed right towards the third stall. Their steps awfully slow and wary with the sound echoing through the defining silence.

It was when the person stopped right in front of the third stall did Himana knew, she was screwed. Her body tensed, and she instantly held her breath. Afraid that the person right behind the thin door may hear her in the silence. She stared down at the shadow of the person been seen for the space bellow the door, wondering what the person was here for.

Hanako who was behind her, immediately took notice of her worry. He silently chuckled to himself, finding the situation quite amusing. The apparition floated down, his body floating above the toilet seat as he leaned down to her ear.

"Ease up." Hanako whispered, only getting an unsure glance from the girl. Grinning, Hanako floated around Himana to float right in front of her, his back now facing the door. "It's fine, they won't hear you." Hanako assured, his voice still low.

The girl in question almost immediately complied. Having reached her limit of holding it in, she opened her mouth to exhale silently. Inhaling right afterwards.

Hanako gave her a thumb up of approval. Still grinning, not a bit bothered by the current situation at all. Which soon faltered when the anonymous person knocked on the thin door separating them. The knock soon repeated again, and again. Silence followed afterwards.

Hanako and Himana's eyes widened, recognizing the pattern as they both turned to the door. The white head looking from above Hanako's shoulder.

"Hanako-san, Hanako-san, are you there?" A voice that belonged to a girl, echoed through the room. The voice being extremely familiar for the white head, making her brows furrow, wondering where she'd heard it from before.

Meanwhile, Hanako was facing a slight dilemma, quite shocked with their current situation. All because of the warmth that started spreading in his chest right after the unknown girl's chant-signaling that he was indeed being summoned. Hanako didn't hesitate to unlock the knob, letting the door open just a tiny bit.

The apparition then glanced back at Himana who still had her brows furrowed, but this time because she was at a loss for what she was supposed to do. Hanako reassuringly smiled at her, giving a pat on her shoulder before turning right back to the door.

The boy proceeded to grabbed the door, making sure the girl behind it had seen his fingers gripping on the thin surface. "Here I am~" He sang eerily, the silence perfectly making his voice hauntingly echo through the space.

Hanako continued on to slowly open the door. His body moving along with its movement before passing through the wall connected to the left stall as the door opened to its full length.

He only spared a single smile before disappearing through the thin wall, leaving Himana completely and awkwardly exposed to the person who had just summoned Hanako.

She was met with the sight of one of her classmates, a girl with radish hair and fat ankles, who was clutching her hands to her chest with her eyes tightly closed. A name instantly appearing at the right of her unique radish appearance.

The blue-eyed girl's earlier question was answered, the voice only sounded familiar because it belonged to the girl who sits right in front of her in their assigned class. Meaning they were classmates, a classmate she had never held a conversation with that is.

Now I know why class seems a bit pleasant these days... because she, who sits in front of me... her presence isn't uncomfortable like the other humans...

Is she one of Tsuchigomori-sensei's love child too? Does that mean she's related to Teru-san...? Huh? They don't look anything alike though...

Come to think of it... Tsuchigomori-sensei and Teru-san look nothing alike either...

... does that mean Tsuchigomori-sensei hangs around with different women? Does it?

Oh, but this is Tsuchigomori-sensei we're talking about... I've never seen him interact with any women his age before... wait, how old is he even?

As Himana's thoughts went off to a completely different tangent while completely forgetting about her situation, Yashiro slowly opened her eyes. Only for it to widen abruptly when her eyes locked on a familiar classmate. She stumbled back a step, absolutely thunderstruck. "Y-Y-YUTSUKI-SAN?!"

She had successfully managed to get the white head out of her spiraling thoughts.

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Despite her liking horror and mysterious stories, Yashiro Nene never actually believed in ghosts. she only came to the third-floor girls' bathroom on a simple desperate whim. She had absolutely no faith that a ghost would actually respond to her call.

So, she had never expected the door of the stall to open with an eerie response. Much more, she had never expected to meet a certain white-haired girl inside the very stall. A person she highly respects at that is.

That being said, against Yashiro's extreme shock, Himana's face remained blank. Perfectly in character despite her awkward situation. She even dared to raise a hand in greeting. "Hello. Fancy meeting you here." Himana uttered, her voice echoing across the room.

The blue-eyed girl's gaze trailed behind Yashiro, where a certain floating apparition clutched his stomach. Doing his absolute best to not burst out laughing.

He found the situation very laughable. I mean why wouldn't he? Himana was being too casual with her situation after all. He could only guess what Yashiro was feeling at the moment.

As for the radish haired girl, she could never explain the confusion she was going through at the moment. Soon enough, she let out her confusion out loud, directing Himana's attention back to the surprised girl.

"W-what are you doing here?! At this hour!" Yashiro all but exclaimed. She was answered with silence, Himana trying to think up an appropriate but truthful answer.

She didn't have to talk though, because Yashiro didn't give her the chance to-her face changing that to realization. "Don't tell me... you were here to call for Hanako-san too?!" The expressive girl asked, her eyes glistening excitedly.

Who would have thought Yutsuki-san would have the same idea as me! It's too bad Hanako-san doesn't exist.

Oh, how wrong her thoughts were, because just a second later-she felt a hand on her shoulder, which was followed by an eerie whisper of a boy. "Looking for me?" Fortune for the apparition, he had received the kind of response he had wanted from him victims. It was just unfortunate Himana never gave him that satisfaction.

That was the story of how both girls officially met. During an awkward situation, with a boy apparition floating by their side. Had Hanako never existed, both of them would have continued to be strangers. Yet in this story, both of them experienced an encounter-and their unexpected meeting would soon develop into a wonderful friendship.

_______[⨀]T⨂ILET B⨂UND HANAK⨂-KUN[⨀]_______

FACT NO: ⨂⨂⨂

Yashiro — [ 八尋 ]
[ 八 ] Eight  
[ 尋 ] To inquire/ fathom/ look for

Nene — [ 寧々]
[ 寧 ] Rather/ Preferably or peacefulness/ tranquility
[ 々] A character used to indicate repetition of kanji

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