Friend or Foe

"Morning everyone! My name is Kishimoto Daisuke" an introduction caught everyone's attention in the class. Some were speculating that he's a delinquent send to this northern town to rehabilitate himself. Some argued that he's from the city, looking for a change of pace in the quieter side of Hokubu. Meanwhile, Mizuki is still perplexed as to why this guy that she saw, apparently a week ago at school, is only now transferring and in her class no less. Almost like, he's here for her. For better or for worse. While Daisuke is still telling the class about himself, Mizuki is too distracted by her own imagination as to his reason for coming here. Understandably she's very cautious of him considering the events of last week.

"-Well then Kishimoto san, you can choose among the empty seats. Our school don't have that many students so you'll find plenty" the teacher instructed him. before Mizuki realizes it, he already finished his introduction and is already making his move. He cuts through the crevices of occupied seats and is now heading in her direction.

Her brain fires up varying scenario as to what his next move is "what's he trying to do? What's his plan? Is he coming this way? Surely he's not gonna do anything outrageous in this situation! There's too many eyes here! He won't, he can't... right?!"

While her mental space is firing every emergency escape plan possible to her, he already passes by her seat. She stood breathless. Her head blanked. And then he picked a seat 3 tables across to her right. Too far to be able to pull anything, too far almost like he never knew her in the first place. He didn't even bat an eye on her. Just a normal transfer student picking an empty seat, and humoring other students' curiosity about him.

After a couple uneventful class sessions. Mizuki took opportunity of the recess to head to the washroom. 'In the end nothing happened... That was him last week right? He wasn't a student back then but he already had the uniform and was at school. What was he doing back then? And yet he act like he never seen me? Was that really an act? Am I the crazy one here? This all doesn't make sense...' the splash of water sweeping her face somewhat calms her head, "almost like it's all just a crazy dream..." She speak to herself. Luckily the stalls are empty so nobody would pay attention to her monologue. As she head out of the washroom, she catches sight of a figure passing by.

"Isn't that...?" Something arouse her curiosity. She follows the figure as it makes it way across the school building. "Kishimoto san! As I thought you're still suspicious... What are you trying to do?" She whispers to herself. She follows stealthily behind him, enough distance apart so as to not alert him. Tailing him brings her to several rooms and facility in the school. The rooftop lounge, a typical lunch spot for named characters in manga. The school infirmary, this is where various absurdities, and romantic scene happens in the literary works she'd read. The school garden, a staple of romcom where a green thumbed character develop a relationship with a flowery hearted student, or a delinquent with a supposedly unconventionally gentle interest in the flora. Yet none of this locations seems to be his final stop, which continues to perplex Mizuki 'where exactly is he trying to go?' she frustrates herself coming up with an idea to his random choice of destination.

Just as she's busy with her own thought, the person in question turns behind him, suspecting he's not alone. Mizuki quickly pulls herself back behind a corner to escape his field of vision. He's looking up the stairs to where Mizuki is supposedly hiding but didn't let out any reaction.

''H-he didn't saw me right..?'

After an awkward pause, she heard his footstep continues down the stairs and resume pursuit.

'Where. Exactly. Is he. Going??' after a few more times following him to various locations in the school, Mizuki had grown vexed guessing his plan. Until they reaches the cafeteria and Daisuke finally slows down and expresses his delight in having found the place. He seems like he's glowing with excitement to be able to reach the cafeteria.

"All this time he was just lost looking for the cafeteria...?"

Until a bell rings and cut Daisuke's celebration short, announcing the end of recess. The time supposedly allocated for lunch they both spent walking around school and getting lost.

As the bell rings announcing the end of study sessions, Hokubu High's students are seen at the shoe lockers in front of the main door, a girl is sighing thinking of her troubles "This is no good, the more I stalk him the more he confuses me... even after school he's still walking aimlessly around school, I can't explain his behavior at all..." Seeing that her further pursuit bears no fruition to any of her suspicion, she's starting to give up. All but one, the most boring and normal conclusion out of all her crazy ideas "...Or is he just checking out and getting familiar with the school...?" an anticlimactic answer. But the most plausible one at the moment. She felt stupid for not reaching that answer earlier, or maybe she was deliberately avoiding it in favour of a more extraordinary scenario. Something crazier in her ordinary school life.

'maybe I'm the one overthinking this.. am I the one going crazy..? Was last week just me seeing things..?' trying to rationalize the contradictory information in her head, Mizuki's about to gave up on chasing the truth out of him. School session is already over too, she wouldn't want to stay here too long and repeat last week's incident.

Until, she spots Daisuke on her way out of the school gate. "Whatever makes you happy, Kishimoto san..." She tries to brush him off, refusing to pay anymore attention to him. But as she walks further and further, she notices that he's not budging from his spot at all. Just standing still, looking at... something. She look ahead of him and see nothing but the rocky beach in front of the school and the school gate marking the border of the school area. Before she notices, her steps came to a halt, puzzled by yet another bizarre behavior of Daisuke.

"I-is he admiring the beach or something...? What is he doing standing there all alone like that...?" She forms an assumption. But it didn't sound as satisfactory as she want. The more she look at him the more she's not convinced by that idea. Before long, the last batch of students starts leaving school already. It's the extra curricular students who already finishes their after school activities. And yet these two are still here.

"No no! What really is he doing just standing there? It's been an hour!" Continuously exasperated by his peculiar inaction. Mizuki reinforces her conviction to observe him. Not letting him out of her sight for even a moment.

"He's still... he's just standing there..." Even her patience has a limit. It's been almost two hours now. Her feet feels sore from standing still too long. Her constant being on edge ever anticipating his next move is wearing her down and accelerating her exhaustion. "..He's just standing there... MENACINGLY!!!" she renews her resolution. Getting right back up to continue her unfruitful monitoring.

Or so she'd plan, until "he... he's gone...?" A shocking turn of events. In front of her eyes no less. But weirdly enough she don't remember seeing him vanishes, much less moves an inch. It's like a section of her memory observing his process of leaving the area was cut off from her brain. Leaving her with only the realization that he's gone without her remembering when or how "But how? I never-" before she could express her confusion, a voice cut her off "Yo! What are you staring at so intensely" Daisuke spooks from behind her.

"HUWAWAWA!! KISHIMOTO SAN?!!" Reasonably alarmed by his sudden disappearance and reappearance, Mizuki jumps the opposite way. But even then she tries to regain her composure, "N-not much really!! You too, what are you doing here at this hour?" as if the fact of her thrown back a couple meter forward wasn't witnessed by him. A notion that forces an inaudible chuckles out of him.

"Owh I was just on my way out. I was checking out some places in school to get familiar with the building. Though I'd found a suspicious stalker tailing a student in the process..." He explains himself. Some of them checks out with what she remembers so far, some don't.

His last comment kind of sound like he's commenting on her action. However, still trying to keep up her facade and feigning ignorance, she tries to justify the action of those other person he's talking about. "I-I see... Maybe that person actually doesn't have any bad intention and was just trying to make friends with you or something, you know since you're new and all, they might be a little shy about it.."

"O owh, I see..." Unconvinced he quietly nods as if not following her conversation.

"Anyway.." taking advantage of the opportunity that she got his attention now "you don't happen to be here last week after school right?" She starts investigating him for the main question bothering her.

"Huh? Last week?" Although confused by her question, he still entertains "at this hour... after school time huh..? Last week... Hmmm..." He starts thinking deeply on the question. Rummaging through his brain for anything notable to bring up. Though it looks like it's quite the heavy task for him. His forehead wrinkles like an old man, his eyes shut concentrating. He overthinks so much, his brain is overheating from the process he almost let's out smoke from atop his skull cap. The longer she wait, the more bothered he looks, she almost feel sorry for even asking in the first place.

'it appears like.. he's having a very hard time there...' she feels guilty for putting him on the spot like that. Maybe he really is unrelated. Maybe it all never happened in the first place. Maybe it was just her and her crazy head all along. 'maybe.. I shouldn't be bothering him with all these nonsense...' her doubt eventually stop her from pursuing the matter. "Y-you know what.. actually.. forget anything I said.." she cancels the plan to dig him further, breaking him from his deep pondering "hehe it's nothing important really, you should head home immediately though, you really don't want to be here after dark" he couldn't react to all her words in time, "O-ouh.." before he could form any further response she's already making her leave "well then, see ya!" Leaving him all the more puzzled by himself. Not being able to say anything to that, he could only laugh it off gently as her trying awkwardly to make friends.

As the sun starts to fall behind the horizon, the days began to dim. However, just outside the school fence is Mizuki, tottering about on her way back home "Jeez.. what am I doing.. bothering the new kid like that.. now he's surely gonna think I'm weird!" Regretting today's odd activity of hers "w-what if..?" She starts to overthink her situation "He brought this up in class tomorrow?? Then not just him, everyone will think I'm weird!! Even a stalker!! ARGGHH!!" Abrading her head chaotically at the thought. Perhaps in hope of peeling off the idea from her brain. From afar, she would like a highschooler troubled by romantic worries. From afar, she spots a passing figure, heading the opposite of her direction, turning into the gate she'd just passed thru. Going to school.

"That girl... she's going to school? At this hour?" Mizuki took notice. School session has long ended so no student should have any reason to be there. She theorizes 'she's wearing our uniform but I've never seen her before. New student?' but too lazy to overthink the matter she just brush it off "maybe she just forgot something" so continues on her merry way.

But then halts on her step, she recalls the occurrence of last week 'wait- going to school at this hour..? It's dangerous!' She turns back towards school. It's probably her sense of responsibility, or the thought of being consumed by guilt would bother her for longer to come. "I've got to stop her!" The fact that she can avoid similar situation for other people prompts her to take action.

Mizuki gave chase, hoping she can catch up to her before she steps inside the building. 'maybe because she's a new student, she hasn't heard about the rumor, if she enters that building now, that same incident might happen to her too!' she's set on saving her from that experience. No one should go through such ordeal, especially not a new student just getting used to their new school. The girl is already obstructed by the wall of shoe lockers in front of the school's main door. 'we can still make it, we just need to leave immediately' she thought as she caught sight of her passing into the corner. After another sharp turn she catches up to her. But maybe too close "WATCH OUT!!!" a late warning from Mizuki, as she crashes into her.

A loud thud.

They both fall to the ground.

"Ow ow ow.. what was that for...?" The girl rubs her bottom, sore from the fall.

"Ahhh I'm sorry, but you can't be here, this place is-" before Mizuki could finish her sentence, a strange detail about the girl distracts her. Or rather, it's the missing detail about her. As she's still rubbing her bottom from the impact of the fall, the rest of her legs are nowhere to be found. Incomplete. but it wasn't a handicap. Her incomplete legs didn't end with a stump, or a prosthetic, or bandages, but what she could only assume is, spectral cloud. Almost holographic, but blurrier the further down it gets. They're reminiscent of what she looked like in that white space with Kishimoto san.

'She's... Not human?! A ghost!' Mizuki's panic attack starts seeping in. She brings her palm to her temporal region. Much like how she attempts to sooth her headache after she woke up several days ago. It's a defense mechanism, in trying to make sense of a new reality that contradicts her former truth. A lie to the self. But it comes with a strong headache. But not this time, she can't construct anymore lies, she has to confront her current predicament this time. There's no telling what this ghost would do. 'am I going to be attacked like last week? How am I getting out of this in safely? How did I do it before?' Her brain scours for information and solution to bring her out of this danger. But no matter how much plan she could come up with, her body won't move. She's glued to the ground.

As Mizuki's panicking in response to the revelation, the ghost is still clueless "uhhh that hurts y'know" she says as she turns to Mizuki. Only now did she notice her breathing heavily, terrified of her. She notices that Mizuki can see her paranormal features and is in deep horror, traumatized by the sight. "GAH! no no no sorry, I didn't meant to scare you! I can explain!" Now the girl is also freaking out, but for completely different reason. "Y-you can calm down for now! I'm not going to haunt you or anything!" Hearing that Mizuki jerks a little. Surprised by her reaction. But Mizuki's reaction worries the ghost even more, thinking she'd scared her even further "wawawa I-I don't mean any harm!! B-b-be not afraid!! How do I calm this girl down???" That last part sinks under her breath.

The statement from earlier arouses her suspicion but now Mizuki's more convinced 'She's.. just as shocked as I am.. is she really harmless...?' seeing as the spectral girl is still panicking after causing great fear to others, Mizuki breaks out of her shock, although not completely, to comfort the girl and not cause her further distress "no no it's okay! I was just.. I just had very bad experience with ghost previously, that's all it is!" She picks herself back up and lose the traumatized look on her face to convince the ghost that she's fine.

She smiles "thanks for trying to cheer me up..." But then shifts to a defeated expression "but It's okay... You don't have to force yourself, it's only the natural reaction after all for humans." She surrenders, even if Mizuki's no longer scared of her, her experiences with humans haven't been so great thus far, and certainly her future interactions too. "Now that I've looked like this, even my parents wouldn't..." She whispers to herself. But still, it caught Mizuki's attention.

However, stalking them from around the corner, a figure approaches them from the dark. It caught sight of Mizuki talking with the ghost girl, hitting it off quite nicely like they're old acquaintances. Both still seated on the floor in the same spot they fell down. They are more relaxed now. Chatting without a care in the darkness of the twilight. Mizuki is listening attentively while the girl is covering her face while laughing, like that of a dignified, or perhaps shy daughters of the noble.

Suddenly, a swift moving object strikes the ghost girl's palm between her and Mizuki. Severing it clean off her hand.

She shrieks in agony.

Mizuki didn't even have time to react, one moment she was talking happily, next the girl is crying in pain with her hands cut off. Stuck between her and the girl, a knife, coated or maybe glued to something. Thrown with it. She traces the direction from where the knife flew from, into the dark shadow deep inside the unlit corridor. From the shadow came out a young guy. A familiar face. But something is off with him "ah damn it, I missed.." he said while still being half swallowed by the darkness "oh but don't worry, the next one will surely do the job!" He announces. A threat.

Mizuki looks in terror, she starts sweating. Just as she's recovering from the horror earlier, she's faced with a new danger. Her heart that was slowly returning to calming pace now starts beating faster to the point that she can hear it. She feels threatened. Daisuke is holding up a knife towards them. It looks the same as the one thrown earlier, the attacker. It's the same guy she'd been following all throughout today, but he looks more deranged. Even more so compared to how he first appears last week. He looks like a predator, set on his kill. The look of a hunter seeking thrill from the hunt. An assassin. He speaks, different from how he sounded at school, but similar to the tone and voice of the mysterious boy who appeared last week "Yo! We meet again!"