Not My Type

七

 "—Akane, please leave."

[Name] occupied Akane's thoughts even as he made his way to—to be honest, he just went wherever his feet led him to. Her grandfather's behavior bothered him. For someone other than Ao-chan, he would actually be willing to butt in whatever was troubling them. Akane could only let out a sigh when he saw that he was back at school.

Was there anything left for him to do here? He had practically skipped classes earlier.

Ah, that's right. Ao-chan.

 "Akane-kun?" How soothing.

Smacking his hands on his cheeks, Akane braced himself before turning to face Aoi. The girl, whose expression was etched with concern, carried her bag with her. It looked like she was about to head home.

 "Akane-kun, where have you been? [Name]-chan wasn't here today either."

A forced smile made its way to the bespectacled boy's lips. "Minamoto-kaichou assigned something to us."

 "Really? Is it that tiring? You don't seem okay at all." Worry seeped from Aoi's voice. If this had been just another issue, Akane would be overjoyed to see her thinking about him. The thing was, this wasn't his problem.

Akane removed his glasses and rubbed his temples. No matter how he looked at it, he wasn't in the place to tell Aoi about this. Plus, the old man's words kept repeating themselves in his mind. What had he planned to say? It was only after a few moments that Akane had remembered Aoi was there.

 "Uh, yes. [Name] was tired so she went home first, Ao-chan." Seeing Aoi's brows furrow made Akane smile wider. Even if she wasn't going to believe it, Akane wouldn't give her the answer she wanted. He was about to come up with a follow-up statement when a certain ghost appeared behind Aoi.

Unpleasant. Akane rubbed the bridge of his nose. His day wasn't going well and that slimy, perverted ghost just decided to show himself. What business could he possibly have with him?

 "Ao-chan, go home without me." His words made Aoi gasp. "I swear, I'll make it up to you next time."

Aoi could only nod, smile, and wave at him as she left. As soon as she escaped Akane's line of vision, Hanako stared at him straight in the eyes. The ghost boy seemed to be... displeased?

 "Hurry up and tell me what your problem is, brat."

Hanako crossed his arms. "For a school mystery, you're blind. I suppose that the spectacles that the president made were effective." Akane raised an eyebrow at Hanako's response. Did he really come here just to insult him? "Come on, what's with that look? Do you not sense the malice surrounding you?"

Akane clicked his tongue. "I sense it. Still, maybe it's because you're the source."

 "I'm talking about that girl you left with! The girl who's been spending time with Yashiro!"

 "[Name]? What about her?" His reaction made Hanako's eyes widen. Was it that surprising to see he was clueless?

The ghost's irritation gradually faded. His lips formed a thin line as he gulped. "You seriously don't know? That girl... she's not a supernatural but I can sense something from her. Yashiro also noticed this as well."

Akane was at a loss for words. All of a sudden, Mr. [Middle Name]'s words came back to him.

 "Wait, you're joking. You don't mean to say that she's cursed, right?" He stared at Hanako in disbelief.

 "That... that would be the proper word to describe things."

Before he knew it, Akane found himself in the Tsuchigomori's office. He fiddled with his fingers while waiting for the teacher to find [Name]'s book. No matter what was written there, he would have to come terms to it. Who knew he'd have to face something like this so soon after learning of Yashiro's lifespan?

Did this mean that there was a chance Aoi would have to lose another friend?

 "I found it."

Fifteen minutes passed like an hour. Tsuchigomori's exasperation did nothing to ease Akane's anxiety.

 "This is troublesome, to say the least. It's the first time I've ever encountered something like this." He shook his head. "[Surname]'s future... it's erased. It just comes to a stop."

 "You mean, she'll die?" Akane struggled to keep his cool. "Another student will die?"

Tsuchigomori scratched the back of his head. It seemed that he really didn't know how to put the situation into words. "I'm not sure but if that aura doesn't disappear from her, she'll more or less die. Aoi, give me a few reasons why supernaturals can't go to the far shore."

Akane crossed his arms. "They've sinned. They have regrets. They have something binding them here, for example, revenge. "

 "Correct. In [Name]'s case, someone wants revenge on her. To put it simply, an evil spirit is hanging around her. You should have noticed it sooner. Even when I was on the other side of the school, I could feel the animosity surrounding her. Judging by how this evil spirit can conceal itself, it must've been with her for quite some time. What do you think will happen soon, Aoi?"

The bespectacled boy gritted his teeth. "The spirit will drag [Name] to the far shore."

 "Correct again. I assume you know what it means to keep spending time with her. The evil spirit will by no means allow you to affiliate yourself with her. If [Name] has close ties to the near shore, it will be harder to pull her to the far shore." Tsuchigomori turned to Hanako. "Isn't that right, Honorable no. 7?"

Hanako merely glanced at Akane and said, "There's nothing you can do, boy. A mystery's powers only work inside the school. You wouldn't be able to protect her. That spirit basically clings to her wherever she goes."

 "I can't just do that! Isn't there a way to get that spirit off her back?!" Akane stood up from the couch with his fists clenched. "If Yashiro-san dies, if [Name] dies, how do you think Ao-chan is going to handle this?"

 "Since when were you so naive, boy? Death is unavoidable. It's the last stop for everyone."

 "But [Name] isn't going to die!" Akane rebutted. "Spider here says that her future has been erased, not that she's going to die! Look, if I can stop that spirit, then [Name] will get to live, right?"

Tsuchigomori nodded his head. "Yes, that's true; however, if we take the spirit's identity into consideration, you don't even have a ten percent chance of succeeding."

Akane glared at the mysteries in front of him. "Just who is this spirit, anyway?!"

 "It's her mother, [Mother's Name] [Surname]."