"Should you depart, pray, take your satchel with you."
Yukino, observing Kagura's intent to leave, stifled her unease and shifted delicately, indicating his bag across from her. "Pardon me, I must step out briefly and shall return anon." Kagura flung open the door and hastened out with fervent urgency.
Yukino, entranced by the door's resounding slam, murmured under her breath, "I beseech you, do not return…"
Mai Sakurajima had courteously closed the door behind him, yet now stood bewildered, tugging at her hand and calling after Kagura with a furrowed brow, "A moment, please! Sawamura, whither are you leading me? You seem not the sort to compel another—pray, compose yourself."
Kagura, serene in his resolve, deemed it imperative to find Yuigahama swiftly, elucidating the matter to Mai as they pressed onward.
"I comprehend," Mai replied, her clarity blossoming. With a gentle smile, she paused, firmly restraining the still-eager Kagura. "Pray, grant me a moment to speak?"
"Very well… proceed."
Kagura, resigned, steadied himself and turned to heed her words.
"Firstly…" Mai withdrew her left hand, tender from Kagura's grasp, and flexed her wrist, pouting as she chided, "To seize a lady's hand so abruptly is most discourteous. Do you hold your senior in such scant esteem? Given the cause, I shall pardon you this once, but let it not recur."
"…My apologies, I was overly hasty."
"And further," Mai continued, arching a brow as she displayed the pierced long-eared rabbit plush in her right hand. "I did not purloin this toy to terrorize her. Behold it yourself."
"Oh…"
Kagura scrutinized it. Affixed to the plush was a note bearing "Mai Sakurajima" in bold script, skewered by Yuigahama's paper cutter. Considering Mai's name, well…
Reflecting, Kagura mused that, were he endowed with such an uncanny ability to vanish and witnessed a curse enacted upon a plush inscribed with his name, he too would feel disquiet.
"Do you see? Such a sight would unsettle anyone. My intent was merely a playful jest, unforeseen in its potency… I owe her contrition; I bear some fault." Mai sighed heavily but soon rallied, extending her left hand to Kagura. "Shall we seek that maiden to mend this affair?"
Kagura nodded resolutely, retrieving the "talisman" from his pocket, a system-drawn artifact clasped tightly.
His stratagem was to locate Yuigahama with Mai, present the talisman while retrieving the plush from Mai, crafting the illusion of its sudden emergence. Yuigahama would wield the talisman for protection, and as the plush fell, the notion of "the talisman vanquishing the curse" would dispel her prior fears.
Mai offered a subtle enhancement to his plan…
Five minutes prior:
Yuigahama, trembling, emerged from the Service Club, closing the door. Turning to the corridor, lit only by two dim amber lamps, it plunged into darkness. Stifling a cry, she saw the lights flicker back to life.
"Oh… I was nigh frightened to death. Pray, cease such jests—my heart cannot endure it…"
Yuigahama patted her chest, where two buttons were artfully undone, and leaned against the doorframe, sighing piteously.
Clutching her collar like a cat stealthily filching dried fish, she warily scanned the corridor, treading upon the aged wooden floor of the old schoolhouse.
*Creak, creak.*
The boards resounded louder than usual, each step a cautious probe through a perilous field.
"I… I must grow stronger… 'tis all in my mind. No curses exist… Yukino is so gallant…"
Yuigahama chanted Yukino's "rational exposition" as a mantra, inching through the gloom toward the stairwell.
Fifth floor, fourth floor… she reached the third unscathed. At the corner, she nearly stumbled, nearly crying out but swiftly covering her mouth and grasping the railing. "Phew, that was fortunate…"
Relieved, Yuigahama pressed a hand to her brow, catching her breath, then cast a nervous glance at the fourth-floor landing.
Naught was there, naturally.
Yet as she moved toward the second floor, a figure ascended from the stairwell below.
Nay, not a "figure."
It was an indescribable entity, wreathed in shadowy tendrils, gliding like sludge, silent yet undeniably present.
Yuigahama instantly deemed it Mai's unappeased wraith, come to exact vengeance for the plush's desecration!
Her legs buckled in terror. She turned to flee, but the downward stair was barred by "Mai." Loath to lead this horror to the fifth-floor Service Club, where Yukino and Kagura were blameless in her heart, she…
Scrambling, Yuigahama ascended to the third floor, muffling her cries, frantically testing doors until she breached a science lab with a faulty lock.
If prior fears were mere fancy, this vision was irrefutably real.
Yuigahama eased the door shut, darting to the farthest bench, curling beneath it, clutching her mouth.
Tears streamed, her bladder aching, teetering on the brink of release.
"Do not find me, I beg you, do not find me…"
Yuigahama grasped for solace, but lacked even a talisman, bereft of any lifeline, plunging her into despair.
Shivering, she wept silently, pleading inwardly.
Time dragged torturously, fear her tormentor. She pressed her face to her knees, shrinking to nothingness, ears straining for any sound.
After an age, hurried, heavy footsteps neared and halted on the third floor.
She felt doomed, envisioning a missive to her toiling mother and dear friend, Miko Yotsuya, warning against the folly of "hide-and-seek."
At last, like a death knell, the lab door creaked open.
Yuigahama clamped her mouth, yearning to peek but lacking courage, praying fervently.
She expected no aid from Yukino, a mere girl, against spirits, but hoped… hoped the prince who'd faltered earlier might come, if only for a glance.
Yet such a man was likely destined for a luminary like Yukino, not her.
The nauseating sound of shadowy sludge drew near, methodically scouring each bench's underside. Yuigahama felt ensnared, discovery and demise inevitable.
Knowing death loomed yet craving survival, the contradiction drove her to madness.
Nay, she must flee! To wait was certain doom, but struggle might yield salvation!
Steeling herself, Yuigahama crawled from her refuge, inching toward the back door.
The wraith searched the lab's fore, its shadows darker than all Yuigahama had known, save for a crescent gash—its mouth—bristling with jagged, bloodied teeth, chilling her soul.
Suppressing her urge, she reached the back door, testing the lock. It yielded—hope surged!
She nearly wept with joy, but pulling the handle, it resisted.
The lock was broken; the handle moved, yet the door held fast.
Her face blanched. She tugged desperately, tears falling as she struck the unyielding lock. The noise roused the wraith, which cackled triumphantly, hastening toward her.
"No—!"
Yuigahama cowered, legs pressed together, screaming as she lost control. "Yuigahama!! Confound it, begone from her!!" Kagura burst through the front door.
Spying Yuigahama trembling, he drew the system's talisman, charging at the "spectral" Mai, bellowing, "Avaunt, spirit!!" and thrusting the talisman forth.
No spirit existed—it was Yuigahama's delusion.
Yukino spoke truth: abject fear conjures visions and sounds, unveiling the "unseen."
Like Mai Sakurajima, the invisible maiden.
To Kagura, Mai was a statuesque, captivating third-year, but to Yuigahama, she was a vengeful specter from decades past, cloaked in malevolent shadows, intent on her life.
The shadow at the third-floor corner was merely Mai ascending.
"Sawamura?!"
Seeing Kagura with a potent talisman, Yuigahama found her anchor, fear ebbing markedly. She gripped the handle to stay upright.
*Snap!*
In his zeal, Kagura misjudged, pressing the talisman—and his fingers—against Mai's bosom.
Mai's amused visage froze, their eyes locking in awkward silence. Kagura felt the softness of her chest, its resilience remarkable despite layers, surpassing Aki's modest allure.
Mai raised her hand, tempted to strike, but…
As a devotee of his melodies, she relented.
Kagura withdrew, and Mai cast the rabbit plush to the floor, slipping out like a thief.
To Yuigahama, it was a different tableau.
She saw Kagura's talisman unleash a miasma from the dread specter, its anguished wail echoing as it dissipated, leaving a flushed, panting Kagura and the pierced plush.
"Phew…"
Kagura rubbed his faintly aching face, retrieving the plush.
He noted Yuigahama's mishap, liquid dripping, soaking her socks and floor. He'd saved the plush in time.
"Sawamura… thank you…"
Yuigahama took the plush, tugging her skirt to conceal stains, her face aflame.
"It was possessed, but I've purged it."
Feigning ignorance of her state, Kagura extended the talisman. "Take this. It wards off malevolent spirits. Cherish it." System-crafted, it was infallible—nothing surpassed the system.
"Just now…"
"I stayed silent to spare Yukino's knowledge. You understand?"
Kagura interjected, and Yuigahama nodded eagerly, beaming. "Yes! I knew it!"
Her reaction eased Kagura's mind: *That sufficed…*
After a pause, Yuigahama, legs pressed shyly, stammered, "Um…" as Kagura said, "So…" They collided. "You first."
Again, in unison.
"Pray, you speak."
Kagura deferred.
"Well… I've troubled you sorely today… and you've seen me so disgraced… As a maiden, I'm utterly wanting…" Hugging the plush to hide her flush, Yuigahama whispered, "Game's end."
She flung the plush to a distant corner.
"Ahem, 'tis naught," Kagura said, turning away. He produced sealed alcohol-free wipes and a white cotton garment meant for Yukino, offering them. "Change. You must be distressed."
"D-Don't speak of it! Waa…"
Yuigahama nudged him, seizing the items and murmuring thanks. "Shall I wait without?"
Kagura gestured to the door, stepping forth.
But Yuigahama, head bowed, clutched his hem, whispering, "Please… do not leave me… I'm afraid."
"Mai has been banished."
"Even so…" Yuigahama's voice quavered like a famished kitten's. Shaking his hand, she murmured, "Or… do you shun my company?"
"No such thing." Kagura stepped back, sitting on a bench, facing away. "Tend to yourself. I'll remain. Call if need be."
"Thank you!!"
Yuigahama bowed deeply, but Kagura only waved.
Truthfully, Kagura was discomfited. Touching Mai's bosom had stirred him, unseen in the dimness. He wished to depart, lest Yuigahama's state provoke his imagination.
Aki's climactic displays were provocative—restraint was the anomaly.
Yet Yuigahama held him, and Mai, re-entering, stood by the blackboard, arms crossed, glaring to ensure propriety.
Yuigahama could no longer see her.
Kagura felt like a watched thief—helpless.
Behind him, Yuigahama shed her soaked garment, briefly holding it before discarding it. Ensuring Kagura's averted gaze, she opened the wipes, gently cleansing her thighs and legs.
After thorough wiping, she shed her socks, donned shoes barefoot, and slipped on the provided garment.
Adjusting it silently, she ventured, "Um… I'm grateful, but why carry a lady's undergarment? 'Tis uncommon for youths… a tad peculiar, sorry, I mean no slight to your music."
Mai's gaze grew scornful.
Kagura coughed, replying, "Not daily. Merely today, by chance."
"Such… fortuitous chance…"
Yuigahama bit back a quip, as its beneficiary.
"Oh, I see!" Snapping her fingers to ease tension, she said, "'Tis that… creative muse, yes? Your melodies are so… evocative. I've heard them, and they feel… ardent."
"You mean inspiration?"
"Yes, that! Bravo, musicians wield such arcane terms."
Yuigahama clapped, forcing a smile.
"Haha… one might say so."
Kagura chuckled, meeting her gaze. They shared a foolish grin.
His music, drawn from Aki's ecstasies, tied loosely to such garments. (Aki's chest-induced peaks were his long-cultivated art.)
Mai, exasperated, muttered, "Fools…" Pointing to the door, she trumpeted at Kagura, "I'm off, dolt!" and stuck out her tongue—a charming caprice for a luminary.
Kagura waved discreetly. Yuigahama, finding the air heavy, stepped before him, hands clasped. "Ahem… if you'll indulge me, may I treat you to a drink? As amends and gratitude…"
"Here?"
Kagura gaped, incredulous.
"Nay, not here! What fancy, Sawamura!"
Yuigahama flushed, imagining untoward thoughts.
"…You were vague."
"Pardon."
Yuigahama covered her mouth, bowing slightly.
"Yet, let's go. I must fetch my bag upstairs."
"I need mine. Shall we meet below?"
"Forget it, I'll forgo studies. Let's descend—bags can wait."
The door was faulty regardless.
"Ehh?! You shirk homework?!"
"Indeed."
Kagura slid off, waving jauntily.
"So… dashing!"
Yuigahama clasped her hands, eyes agleam.
Kagura tapped her brow, chiding, "Don't emulate me. Study diligently."
"Aye… your academics need no worry."
Yuigahama sighed but rallied, smiling and bounding to the door, her vigor signaling Mai's game forgotten.
Relieved, Kagura followed, hands pocketed.
He considered notifying Yukino about his bag but, lacking her contact, smiled and relented.
Yukino wasn't one to linger for his sake, he mused. Her harshness seemed vengeful, yet he'd never wronged her—what ailed her?
In truth, Yukino sensed some indiscretion by Kagura, her body betraying her in his presence, her intimacy inexplicably stirred.
Descending, Yuigahama, uneasy with someone behind, bade Kagura lead. He complied, but nearing the second-to-third-floor landing, she yelped.
Her garment had vanished—reclaimed by the system, intended for Yukino.
Flushing, she pressed her skirt, glancing warily. "Yuigahama, all well?"
Kagura turned from the landing.
Yuigahama, knees tight, hand clutching her skirt, looked flushed and vigilant. "Uh… n-nothing…"
She dissembled, head bowed, fretting: *Mai's doing? Vexing… why would a maiden act so?*
Relieved it wasn't fatal, she trusted the talisman, but the jest was cruel.
Yuigahama descended warily, distracted, and caught her shoe on a worn stair, screaming as she fell toward Kagura.
"Danger!"
Kagura turned to catch her, but her proximity and speed overwhelmed him, their collision sending them sprawling.
Awaking, darkness enveloped him.
His head throbbed, time unmoored. "How am I home abed? Why so hard?" he mumbled.
Memory faltered, as if inebriated, a total lapse.
Something warm and moist clasped his face, faintly familiar.
*New morn? Aki rousing me? Heh, I'll indulge.*
Forgetting Aki's cycle, he flicked his tongue, seizing her waist, deftly tracing her contours, teasing her essence.
The flesh quivered, yielding sweet nectar.
Yuigahama, dazed, legs numb, was gripped by fear, unaware she straddled Kagura's face, exposed.
"Hm? Amiss…"
Kagura paused. The orientation erred—Aki's anatomy differed. The texture—slight fuzz, unlike Aki's smoothness.
*Not Aki… Kasumi?*
Concussed, his judgment waned. Perhaps Kasumi, aping Aki, or a maid from childhood games. He persisted, presuming familiarity.
The fresh, youthful taste bespoke a young maiden. (Yuigahama's thorough cleansing aided.)
"Wait… where am I…?"
Yuigahama awoke, horrified to find herself atop Kagura, bare. *He's… no!*
As sensation returned, an alien pleasure surged.
Her dog licked her hands, but this… Kagura gripped her waist, probing her untouched sanctity.
"No… how can I… it's exquisite…"
Yuigahama covered her mouth, eyes shut, torn between flight and bliss. They'd just met, he'd saved her, yet she'd fallen into this indiscretion.
Kagura noted distinctions—Aki's sleek lips versus these flared ones, pliable under his tongue.
He recalled Aki's displays, now inverted.
"Tastes fine."
Kagura pressed closer, lips coated with her essence.
*He's… tasting me? Boys are brazen… even by mishap, it's untenable… a fleeting liaison?!*
Yuigahama froze, feigning a swoon, stifling gasps.
Her lips, slick with her nectar under Kagura's skill, betrayed her arousal. He savored her, coating sensitive areas, especially her bud.
*Should I rebuke him? He's dashing, a savior, adored… I know not! Yuigahama, assert yourself! This is violation! Resist… but it's divine… I'm dissolving…*
Yuigahama's thighs tightened, her body subtly seeking his touch, praying he'd not notice.
Her mounting ardor was evident—hotter, richer nectar clung to his tongue. He lavished her bud, tracing ellipses, then frenzied flicks.
Her legs clamped tighter. Sensing her crest, Kagura teased her entrance, stirring wildly.
"No… I cannot resist… let it be a dream…"
Yuigahama arched, grazing her bud against his nose, trembling in ecstasy. Her legs spasmed, and he plunged deeper.
"Hah… hah…"
Her stifled gasps pierced the gloom. "Eeeeek—!"
Yuigahama sprang up, scooting back, hands clutching her skirt, face aflame, stammering, "Y-Y-You… Sawamura, what have you done?!"
"Huh? I…?" Kagura's head ached. "Ouch, let me rest."
Seeing Yuigahama, he realized he wasn't home. *Why bare? I gave her… when did she… to entice me?*
"S-Sorry… no! How could you… I…"
Yuigahama nearly wept, humiliated by Mai's pranks—losing her garment, then this.
She knelt, legs apart, sobbing, "Waa… Mai, I loathe you… no more hide-and-seek… I'm sorry, cease this torment…"
Kagura smiled, aiding her once calmed.
Her meticulous cleansing left no impurity—he'd relished it, so why demur?
She used the final wipe to scrub his face, especially his lips, as if to erase the deed.