The sky had not fully brightened yet.
Dim gray light barely seeped through the gaps in the curtains as Yotsuya Miko rubbed her eyes and gently pushed open her bedroom door.
She had not slept well last night, so her head still felt a little heavy.
On top of that, the weather had recently begun to cool, making the days shorter and the nights longer.
If not for her alarm, there was no way she would have broken free from the seal of her blankets at this hour.
Yawning, she felt her way through the darkness toward the washroom.
But just as her bare feet stepped past the edge of the living room— “Ugh… mm…” A vague, hoarse groan came from the direction of the sofa, as though it had been squeezed out from deep within someone’s throat.
Miko instantly froze.
By instinct, she turned her head toward the sound, and in the next second, her entire body went numb.
A chill shot straight up her back.
Crap!
She had just woken up and had not reacted in time.
She had actually looked toward it!
In the dim light, a dark mass was writhing on the sofa.
Then, with a twisted posture and joints that seemed as if they had rusted over, the shadow struggled like some bizarre creature before gradually staggering to its feet.
Please don’t let it have noticed.
Miko withdrew her gaze and held her breath.
Her fingers quietly dug into her palm, using that faint sting of pain to remind herself to stay calm.
“Where… is this?” That “thing” shook its head and let out a dry, hoarse voice.
Its words were muffled, as though wrapped in a thick layer of distortion.
“Who… are you?” Miko’s mind spun at full speed.
Her heart hammered wildly in her chest, but the expression on her face remained normal thanks to all the “experience” she had built up recently.
As if she had not heard that voice at all, and as if she could not see the swaying shadow drawing closer, she continued walking toward the washroom with perfect naturalness.
“Hm?
Why are you leaving?” The thing followed after her.
Its voice was still hoarse, carrying the hazy confusion of someone suffering from a hangover.
The evil spirit—or rather, Hiratsuka Shizuka—dazedly followed Yotsuya Miko all the way into the washroom.
After watching the girl turn on the lights and focus on washing her face and brushing her teeth in front of the mirror, Shizuka found it strange and waved a hand in front of her eyes.
“Heeey~ can you see me?” The girl showed no reaction.
Shizuka frowned, thought for a moment, then looked at the upside-down tube of toothpaste on the sink.
She stretched out a claw and lightly tapped it, pushing the toothpaste over so that it fell into the basin.
In the end, the girl merely glanced at it with some confusion, picked the toothpaste back up, and set it in place again.
There was no other reaction.
Seeing that, Shizuka fell silent for a moment.
Then she pressed a hand against her swollen, aching temple, which felt like it was about to explode from the hangover, and muttered to herself.
“She can’t see me?” What was going on?
All the countless shounen manga she had once read rushed into her mind.
Inspiration struck, and Shizuka instinctively thought of one phrase.
Invisible person!
Did I awaken a superpower?
Or could adults become magical girls too?
Wait, could the legend actually be true?
If you stayed single until nearly thirty, you really turned into a grand wizard?
While she was thinking, Yotsuya Miko had already finished washing up and entered the restroom, closing the door behind her.
Hearing the rustle of clothes from inside, followed by the sound of running water, Shizuka could not help scratching her head.
Hiss~ Even so, this ability was completely useless in her hands!
Once Miko came out of the restroom and left the washroom to head toward her bedroom, Shizuka, who still did not know where she currently was and could not quite grasp the situation, quickly followed after her.
Good.
I didn’t give myself away.
Yotsuya Miko felt a little relieved.
It seemed that when she had accidentally looked toward it earlier, it had not noticed.
Next, according to her usual routine, it was time to change clothes…
She walked out of the washroom and returned to her bedroom.
That “evil spirit” really did follow her inside.
Miko took a deep breath, turned her back to the doorway, and began taking off her pajamas.
She could feel that gaze lingering on her back and waist.
Then, that raspy voice murmured with a hint of morning-grogginess and surprise: “Huh, couldn’t tell when you were fully dressed, but you’re actually quite well-developed.
Tsk, kids these days have such good nutrition.” “!!!” Miko’s ears heated uncontrollably.
She forced herself not to hug her arms around her body or rush too obviously.
Instead, she changed as quickly as she reasonably could, pulling on her school uniform shirt and nearly buttoning it wrong.
Her skirt, her socks…
every movement became unnervingly difficult beneath that gaze, which somehow carried the atmosphere of a middle-aged uncle.
Once she finished changing, she rather awkwardly pulled open her bedroom door and hurried toward the living room.
Shizuka followed close behind.
Yotsuya Miko had already decided to skip breakfast today and get outside to a crowded place as soon as possible to wait for Hana before they went to school together.
That way, she could avoid being followed around by this female ghost forever.
Based on her experience, as long as most people could not see evil spirits, evil spirits could not actively harm them.
Usually, they would not keep obsessively following someone either.
So as long as she kept pretending and did not reveal any flaws, there was a chance she could shake this one off after walking some distance.
Unfortunately, plans could never keep up with changes.
When Yotsuya Miko left her bedroom and came into the living room with her schoolbag, she suddenly stopped at the sight of the figure sitting there with a cup of warm water, slowly sipping it to soothe his throat.
Hearing the movement, Higashino Akira also turned to glance over.
When he saw the strange pair walking one in front of the other, their expressions and behavior both extremely odd, he froze for a moment.
In front was Yotsuya Miko, her ears red, her eyes fixed straight ahead, her entire body stiff as if a ghost were chasing her.
Behind her was Hiratsuka Shizuka, her hair a mess, her shirt and trousers wrinkled and clinging to her body.
Her eyes were hazy, but carried excitement and a desire to explore.
“What are you two…” Akira set down his cup, and his gaze landed on Shizuka.
“Uh, Shizu-chan, why are you following Miko?” Shizuka looked as though she had been badly startled.
She abruptly turned to Akira, her eyes going wide in an instant.
“You!
You can see me?!” What kind of nonsense is that?
I’m not blind.
Why wouldn’t I be able to see you?
Akira gave her a speechless look.
“If you’re still drunk, go find somewhere to lie down.
If you’re awake, hurry up and wash up.
Breakfast will be ready soon.” “Eh?
Ah?
Wait!” Shizuka looked at Akira, then suddenly whipped her head toward Yotsuya Miko, whose body had trembled because of those words.
At last, Miko slowly turned around, mist gradually gathering in her dark-gold eyes.
After things had reached this point, even Miko, no matter how slow she might be, had finally realized it.
The strange thing that had suddenly appeared in her house and followed her around just now was not an evil spirit.
It was a drunkard brought home by her “brother,” someone he actually knew.
Shizuka pointed at herself, then at Miko.
Her mouth opened and closed several times before she finally squeezed out a complete sentence.
“Then…
just now…
I…
she…
Eh?!
W-Wait, this…!” A blazing wave of heat, mixed with embarrassment, shame, and absurdity, rushed to her cheeks and ears with a boom.
Yotsuya Miko was not doing much better.
Akira looked at the two of them, who had almost simultaneously turned into a pair of red-faced tomatoes, their gazes trembling and refusing to meet.
He raised an eyebrow.
“What happened?” “N-Nothing!” They answered in unison, their voices abruptly loud.
Shizuka fiercely scratched her messy hair and let out two dry laughs.
“Ha…
haha, good morning!
I-I’m going to wash my face!” With that, she practically charged into the washroom.
Miko also lowered her head deeply and quickly whispered, “I’ll go prepare breakfast…” Then she hurried into the kitchen.
Sitting on the sofa, Akira picked his cup back up and watched one person flee into the washroom while the other hid in the kitchen.
He took a sip of water.
How strange.
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