Chapter 1: The diamond of hope (Parts 3-4)

Chapter 1 Part 3

Chie, Seji-sensei's teru teru bozu, despite being drunk, starts to tell us a bit about the functions of diamonds.

— Let me explain, *hic*!

The lights in the house turn off and Chie settles under the light of a lantern as if about to tell a scary story.

Seji-sensei, Miru-chan, the other spirits, and I sit on dining chairs to hear what he had to tell us.

— So, we have the power to create magical weapons with diamonds, and since we are spirits inhabiting the diamond, we need a worthy bearer to use our powers.

— Okay, but why do you need to create magical weapons?

— I doooon't knooow *hic*!

All the seriousness of the situation was gone, and as usual, he left us with more questions than answers.

Why does this happen to us?! Not even the diamond spirits know what they're for!

— But, in the meteorite, I felt... no, many presences contrary to our ideals, and that doesn't seem like a good sign...

Hmm, it seems there are many more diamonds than I expected, but my thoughts were abruptly interrupted.

The lights come on and there's a loud growl from Ai's non-existent stomach, Miru-chan's diamond spirit.

— I'm hungry, where are those pupusas?!

— Pupusas? — my confused teru teru bozu exclaims.

Apparently, he was quite intrigued by pupusas. What was his name again, Bako, Koba? Oh no, was it Boki? Whatever, I'll ask later.

Seji-sensei takes a plate of pupusas he had saved, serves them on four different plates, and puts two cups of hot chocolate on the table.

— Well, since Rasec came late, you guys can eat his dinner, go ahead, young lady.

Miru-chan, feeling embarrassed about eating my dinner, replies:

— Thank you very much, but I couldn't eat someone else's meal.

I cheerfully reply to Miru:

— Don't worry, it's a good opportunity for you to try pupusas.

— Really? Thanks, Senpai! — she says with a sweet smile, then turns to Seji-sensei to introduce herself.

— Oh, right! It's a pleasure to meet you in person, Seji-sama. I'm Sakurai Miru, Uraseku-senpai has told me a lot about you.

Miru-chan says as Seji-sensei serves her the food.

— Oh, what a polite young lady. I hope she's said good things about me. Maybe you'll learn something from her, Rasec.

I sensed he would say that. Since they're eating my dinner, I might as well see what I can have.

— Ugh, I'll just have a churro and then go to bed.

— Don't eat up all the merchandise from my shop.

Seji-sensei tells me since he also sells other products.

— Ch-churro?

I love using words no one understands in Japan, especially to see Miru-chan's confused face!

— Please eat, before it gets cold. — Seji-sensei tells all the diamond spirits and Miru-chan.

The teru teru bozu seem very excited.

— Pupusas?

— Smells delicious!

— Let's eat!

Miru-chan also joins them, which doesn't surprise me; she loves trying new things.

— Enjoy your meal!

They all take a bite at the same time, and for a moment, they fall silent. Did they like it? Hmm...

— IT'S SOOO GOOD! — they all exclaim loudly.

I got scared and thought they didn't like it, I guess the first time you try pupusas must be quite an experience.

It's Reina-dono-sensei's recipe after all.

— How can it taste this good?!

— It's like a warm hug to my taste buds!

— The cheese melts in my mouth!

— I've never tried this before, it's delicious!

Even Miru-chan liked it; she should start getting used to it. If she were to live with me, she wouldn't eat anything else... hahaha... well, that's not going to happen, right...?

— Senpai, I've been your friend for three years, how could you hide this delicacy from me?!

— Huh? You've been friends with this girl for three years? I'm your teacher and just now finding out... I guess you're bigger than I thought... — Seji-sensei exclaimed with great surprise.

My mind goes blank so I can't process things normally.

— Anyway, I'm going to bed.

I start climbing the stairs to my room, Seji-sensei looks at me and says:

— Remember, tomorrow you're going to Adachi Institute, don't stay up late playing your dating games.

I turn around, exasperated, and reply:

— They're not dating games, they're role-playing games, just because you can have a girlfriend in them doesn't mean that's why I play! Also, don't say that in front of Miru-chan!

Seji-sensei proudly looks at Miru-chan and the diamond spirits eating.

— She's too busy eating, so it doesn't matter, but don't stay up late.

— Yes, yes.

I continue climbing the stairs to my room when Miru-chan says something to me, and I turn to look at her.

— Uraseku-senpai, good night.

Miru-chan smiles sweetly when she wishes me good night, I couldn't help but turn as red as a tomato, how can she be so cute?!

— Um, good night, Miru-chan.

Very flushed and shy, I try to be serious and continue climbing to my room.

In my room now, I just hear them talking, nothing about diamonds, they seem like lifelong friends based on what they're saying.

It seems they don't give enough importance to the topic of diamonds and teru teru bozu.

— Just when I thought nothing would happen today.

I look at my hand with the diamond mark; I try to remove it gently, but it's impossible and very painful, I think I'll leave it be.

Now that I think about it, they only have the marks of the diamonds.

I haven't shown my diamond to Seji-sensei; I'll do it tomorrow anyway.

Chapter 1 Part 4

In the middle of the night, a figure appeared in my dreams, shrouded in dense white fog. I wonder if it's a representation of Boki or whatever it's called.

— Um... as you may already know, there has been a mistake.

The silhouette of that person began speaking to me with a deep, almost unearthly voice, but no matter how much I try, I can't see their face.

— You are not the person meant to possess the diamond; the spirit will not be bound to obey your orders or grant you its power.

No matter how hard I try to speak, it's impossible; what the heck is that rag talking about?! At this point, all I can do is keep listening.

— With time, the diamond will start rejecting your body, consuming it until your inevitable death.

As they said that, their silhouette began to fade into the dense fog.

— I suppose we'll meet again... if you discover how to avoid your misfortune, I trust you'll succeed.

I couldn't speak; before I could ask anything, the dream had ended.

— Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!

I wake up with a loud scream and a burning sensation on my face.

What is this? Do I have a cut on my face?

There's definitely a cut on the left side of my face.

Touching it, my hand with the diamond is covered in blood from my face.

— Tch, that damn rag...

Blaming Boki is the most normal thing in a moment like this. By the way, where has he gone off to?

I'm bleeding too much to think about that; I better clean my face.

Seji-sensei shouts up at me:

— Hey! Stop screaming! You have school today, so you better get ready!

— Ah, y-yes!

I shouldn't waste any more time.

I clean my face, put on my uniform, and go downstairs for breakfast.

— Here, wash the dishes before you leave. — Seji-sensei said while serving me breakfast.

— Understood.

Seji-sensei places a plate with three bean and cheese pupusas and a cup of chocolate for himself.

I can't hide the cut on my face, and Seji-sensei can't ignore it; he looks at me with some curiosity.

— Umh? Why do you have a cut on your face? Don't tell me you're one of those who cuts themselves.

— N-no, I didn't do it!

— Then it must've been the spirit of your diamond; get it under control, or it'll end up killing you.

This is the last straw; now there are two of us thinking the same thing!

— It will end up killing me; maybe that'll happen, hahaha...

Did I just say I'll die?

— Umh?

— Forget it! By the way, where's Chie? Maybe he knows where Boki is.

First time using my brain, although it didn't help much.

— He woke up with a hangover, so I left him in the backyard because I didn't want him to vomit inside. Don't bother him; he's still asleep. Also, it's not Boki; it's Kibō. Say his name right unless you want him to sell you off in parts on the internet.

— I can tell...

I guess Boki, I mean... Kibō, must be inside my diamond. I better stop thinking about that and get going to school.

During the entire way to school, I can't stop thinking about how to explain if someone asks about the cut; it's better to keep the topic of diamonds and teru teru bozu to myself.

Finally, I arrive at school, earlier than ever; on my way to my seat, I bump into someone, and my notebooks fall.

— Hey, watch where you're going! — a guy with a troublesome demeanor shouts at me.

— I'm sorry.

I pick up my notebooks and head to my seat. I can hear them talking about it afterward.

— Leave it; let's keep going. — one of his friends tells the guy I bumped into.

He stares at me for a moment, but I decide to ignore him.

Then, I hear a voice in my head; I think it's Kibō.

— Who was that guy?

Now in my seat, I sigh heavily and say:

— Oh, that's Sakamoto Hiroki; he and his group like to bother others.

— That presence... — Kibō said in a very serious tone.

— By the way, why did I get cut...? Aaaaaaah!

My question was interrupted because my diamond starts emitting a strong green glow.

Kibō is coming out of the diamond! I quickly hide it under the table! It's hard for something like this not to attract attention; the whole class turns to look at me.

— You fool, you can't just show up like this in public, and what are you doing here?!

I ask him quietly and under the weight of the entire class's stares.

— I live in the diamond; I need to recharge!

— Whatever, you can't just show up like this in public; it wouldn't be normal if they saw a floating, talking teru teru bozu!

A friend of mine approaches; I urge Kibō to hide back in the diamond.

I try to play it cool, but everyone must have noticed how bad I am at this.

— What was that big glow about, Uraseku-chan? Tell me.

It's Kenji, my friend since first grade; I don't even remember how we became friends...

— Ugh!

Why do I worry if everyone saw the glow?!

— Uh, well... um, it was nothing.

— And that cut?

— Ugh!

What should I tell him?!

— Oh! Um, did I... injure myself?

— Umh... You're so absent-minded; we'll both end up failing, hahaha!

— Uh, y-yes!

Phew, it's a good thing Kenji is as clueless as I am... wait, why is he so mischievous?! He's really getting a smirk on his face!

— Could it be that you're in love, and that's why you're distracted?

— Eeeh!

I knew he'd go there!

Kenji gets really close to me; our faces are less than a foot apart as he holds his mischievous expression.

— Aren't you in love with that girl from first grade? Who was it? Oh, the one with orange hair, right?

— Ah!

I'm blushing now; he's right! But wait, it's not because of distraction; that damn rag did this to my face. I'll try to keep my composure.

His face is too close; I try to move away from him to avoid confusion among my classmates, even though I usually go unnoticed by everyone.

— You spend a lot of time with her; I thought you two were a thing...

— *cough* She and I are just friends.

Kenji finally backs away from me.

— Haha, whatever you say.

I manage to keep my composure, but now that he mentions it, maybe I am in love with her...

Focus, stop thinking about it when you're about to die at any moment!

Dying at any moment...

— Please take your

 seats; class is about to start. Since we're late, I'll begin the lesson now.

I didn't notice when the teacher entered the classroom. Kenji says goodbye to me and returns to his seat while I get my study materials out.

Throughout the class, I keep thinking about death; Kibō isn't speaking to me, not even in my mind. I don't know what he's doing in there.

I didn't realize when class ended.

When I leave school, Kenji decides to walk with me to the exit.

— Miru-chan didn't come today?

I ask Kenji, who was next to me.

— Oh, I think she got sick from something she ate.

— Um!

I look ahead, somewhat worried.

Did the pupusas not sit well with her? I guess Japanese stomachs aren't used to that ambrosia; I would never call it "ambrosia"... what's wrong with me?!

— Hey, the school workshops are starting soon; which one are you going to join?

Kenji asks, looking at the horizon.

— Maybe I'll choose music; I hate sports and the sun, and music is the only indoor activity that doesn't require sewing or acting. Besides, I can play the guitar, so it won't be difficult for me.

— Heh, very typical of you.

Kenji and I talk about many irrelevant things as we head to our respective homes.

I seem very calm to others, but inside, I'm only thinking about whether that dream was a real warning or just a bad nightmare.

It's true that the diamond didn't choose me; I'll ask Miru-chan or Seji-sensei to see if they've had a similar situation.

For now, all I can do is enjoy life my way; maybe I'll visit Miru-chan tomorrow.

She won't recover in less than a day, but I hope she feels better tomorrow.

I should think about what gift to give her when I visit.

Final part of Chapter 1

In a dark room filled with rock and metal posters, guitars, basses, drums, and a shelf full of games, there's a girl in punk clothing with black hair tipped in red sitting in a corner, crying and hugging a teru teru bozu with a flower instead of a bow tie.

Background shouts can be heard, perhaps from her parents.

The girl, with her right hand bloody, says:

— I...

— Su-Sumire-chan!

The teru teru bozu exclaims, scared and trembling; the shouts continue in the background.

— I... just want peace...

The girl curls up more and more.

— Nya!

A very small black cat with bangs on its forehead hides and meows.

It has a teru teru bozu, suggesting that the appearance of the fourth diamond room could be about to happen...