Chapter 9
Both were attractive, top-performing students. If either of them even hinted at starting a social circle, they'd be surrounded instantly.
And yet—neither of them cared.
Yukino Yukinoshita had no tolerance for shallow relationships built on convenience.
And Ethan Kane had zero interest in keeping up meaningless social niceties.
In some ways, their personalities were strikingly similar.
"Hmph. Ethan Kane, who doesn't even have friends, dares to talk about others?"
Yukino raised an eyebrow, but a faint smirk curved her lips.
Maybe it was just the resonance of two loners. She'd never admit it aloud, of course—but there was something familiar in him.
"I have one or two," Ethan said calmly.
"I mean real friends," Yukino clarified, her tone sharp.
Ethan only smiled, refusing to explain further.
---
"The bus is here—" Yukino began.
But Ethan's eyes had already narrowed.
A wave of black mist surrounded the approaching bus. Inside the windows, he saw grotesque shapes writhing and twitching.
And right in the middle of it all—Yotsuya Miko sat still as stone, her face composed, but her aura radiating silent panic.
Ethan frowned. That's not good.
---
The two boarded the bus together.
To the average passenger, the interior looked ordinary.
But not to Ethan.
His Sharingan activated subtly.
Inside the vehicle, dozens of twisted monsters drifted in the black haze. They clawed at the air, hissed silently, and glided through the walls like smoke.
Yukino stepped past them unknowingly, completely unaware of their presence.
"Can you see us?"
"Can you see us?"
"Can you see us?"
The spirits whispered in empty, hollow voices as they circled the passengers, searching—hungry.
A tall skeletal figure wielding a scythe moved slowly through the aisle, occasionally swinging its weapon through unsuspecting riders.
Most were unaffected.
But some… paled. Coughing. Trembling. As if something unseen had touched their soul.
Ethan kept watching, his Sharingan dissecting every detail.
---
"Damn it! Down again?!"
A few seats up, a bald man gripped his phone. His trading app glowed in his hand—filled with nothing but red.
"The Nikkei Index just dropped again?! My entire savings—!"
The man's expression twisted in rage and despair.
Ethan's gaze flicked toward him.
All red. He's losing everything…
Suddenly—
Swish.
The skeleton's scythe passed straight through the man's chest.
"Found one!" the monster rasped gleefully.
It plunged its weapon again, this time hooking a glowing blue mist from the man's chest—his vitality.
It inhaled greedily, its black haze growing darker and thicker.
"Cough—cough—!"
The bald man doubled over, his face draining of color. He touched his lips.
"…Blood? My gums again? Must be stress…"
He shrugged it off.
A twenty-six-year-old programmer. Young. Burning out. He thought it was just exhaustion.
Ethan's eyes narrowed. He just lost nearly half his life force...
Negative emotions made people more vulnerable. That much was clear.
The skeleton's glowing eyes turned next toward Yotsuya Miko.
---
Miko's heart slammed against her ribs.
Please no. Please no! Not me—!
She trembled, frozen as the monster stepped toward her.
"Found one."
"Your aura is delicious."
Its scythe gleamed. Its hollow sockets glowed green.
Ethan's hand tensed.
He had wanted to observe a little longer—but not at her expense.
Time to step in.
---
"Yo. Morning, Yotsuya-san."
Ethan raised a hand and smiled.
Miko's head snapped up. Shock turned to relief in an instant.
"E-Ethan Kane…?!"
---
"Huh?" Yukino blinked. "You know Yotsuya Miko?"
Yotsuya was well-known at Soubu High: composed, elegant, respected. She wasn't the kind of girl people casually approached.
For Ethan, a new transfer student, to know her?
He did say he had one or two friends… Don't tell me—
Yukino's eyes narrowed.
That's not being solitary. That's already ahead of half the school.
Her brow twitched.
The face slap came too fast.
---
"Swish!"
The skeleton brought down its scythe.
Just in time, Miko jumped from her seat, narrowly avoiding it.
"You can see us?!"
The monster screamed in fury.
Miko panicked, stumbled—then darted straight into Ethan's arms.
"Ethan—please! Help!!"
Her voice cracked, her hands clinging to him as if he were her only lifeline.
---
"Don't worry," Ethan said softly. "You're safe now."
He gently brushed a tear from the corner of her eye.
---
Nearby passengers turned.
"Whoa! Bold move!"
"She just jumped into his arms! In public?"
"Ah… youth…"
To them, it was just a dramatic high school love scene.
---
Yukino stared.
Miko...?
Yotsuya Miko—known for her iron composure—had once turned down a public confession from a martial arts club senior without blinking.
After that, she'd earned the nickname "Heroine Among Girls."
Yukino herself admired her.
But now… that same "heroine" was trembling in another student's arms?
That's impossible.
Unless…
Unless she'd been manipulated.
There's only one explanation.
Yukino's eyes turned razor sharp.
Ethan Kane—you playboy scumbag.
---
"You scumbag."
"…Huh?"
Ethan looked up, completely confused.
Yukino was glaring at him with pure disdain.
"You're jumping to conclusions," he muttered.
"Don't mind her," Miko said frantically. "That thing's still coming!!"
She gripped Ethan's arm tightly, voice on the edge of panic.
---
Yukino frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Miko pointed toward the front of the bus.
But Yukino saw nothing.
Just empty space.
Though… the air did feel unusually cold.
She shivered slightly. "Is the AC broken?"
She couldn't feel it—but in Ethan's Sharingan, the entire bus was descending into chaos.
The spirits had noticed them.
Their eerie, echoing voices surrounded them.
"You saw us."
---
End of Chapter 9
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