It had been days and Maki felt as if she was finally going insane. It began as something she saw out of the corner of her eye as it flew past the window. Then it would happen again and again, and continue into the very early hours of the mornings. After watching tirelessly, she was able to recognize that flying past her window were shikigami paper dolls illuminated with a gentle, hazy white glow.
Having had enough of this, she went outside to see just where the paper dolls were going. To her surprise, they flew into open windows with skill; into indows that belonged to Yuta, Inumaki, and Panda. Now she wasn't just irritated, she was confused as she stormed back inside and whipped Yuta's door open.
"Explain!" She yelled, finding Yuta at his desk attentively writing something.
Yuta looked up, startled, as he tried to process just what Maki meant. However, she left him no time as she walked over to his desk to pick up what he was writing on— the paper doll with two different handwritings scrawled on top.
I don't really like theme parks, but my brother does.
Really? What about movies? Do you
Yuta's reply was left unfinished since Maki had taken the paper away.
"What's this?" Maki asked, handing him the paper doll back.
Yuta sheepishly smiled, "Haku's practicing range and accuracy with their paper dolls so we've all been exchanging messages to Haku. It's really cool! Haku sends us the paper doll with a message and when we're done, we seal it with cursed energy and Haku calls it back."
Maki folded her arms across her chest, "Kohaku's never sent me one— hold on. All of you?!" Her eyes wide as she exclaimed, outraged.
All Yuta could do was nod shyly as Maki turned on her heels to march for her next target, Inumaki's room down the hall. Whipping his door open, Inumaki too had been at his desk writing something. He turned around, not expecting a visitor, much less Maki as his eyes widened unsure of just what she wanted.
Like with Yuta, she went over to his desk to find another paper doll sitting on it with a message.
That joke was good, I laughed a lot!
"You're exchanging jokes with Kohaku?!" Maki exclaimed in disbelief.
"Sha-ke..." Inumaki agreed hesitantly, not understanding the issue with it.
Maki groaned as she stormed out of Inumaki's room, leaving him very confused as to what just happened. Lastly, she went into Panda's room. Upon entry, Panda was laughing uncontrollably at his desk. Maki walked over to find the paper doll with another note.
I like cats.
"Maki! Get this— Hakuchan says cats are the best! Can you believe how stupid they are?! Clearly Pandas are the best!" Panda howled in laughter, threatening to fall over.
Now thoroughly pissed, Maki left the room without saying anything to Panda as she went back to her room and slammed the door shut. It was stupidly small thing, but she couldn't help but feel a bit dejected that she was the only one left out of the letter exchange.
The next day during the afternoon break, Maki went off alone as she strolled leisurely. Still petty from the night before, she decided to walk to the zen garden to clear her head. Her feet led her to the bridge that ran over a small portion of the lake as she stared down into the vast blue pond; she watched the koi fish swim about in circles as it took the edge off her mind.
"Kohaku doesn't write me letters on shikigami," Maki pouted, kicking a rock as she leaned her weight against the railings of the bridge.
"Ah— I know, Kohakuchan doesn't write to me either."
Maki's head whipped to the side to find Gojo Sensei pouting with her as he joined the pity party on the bridge. In the blink of an eye, Maki straightened up refusing to be caught looking sorrowful by Gojo Sensei of all people.
"Somehow Sensei, that doesn't make me feel any better," Maki said, glaring at him before briskly walking away.
— Later that same day —
"Haku, how come you don't write letters to Maki? I think she's a bit upset because of that."
Beside the lake's edge, Yuta asked Haku as they sat watching the sunset together.
Haku picked up a stone, "It's not that I choose not to— it's that I can't." With force, they flung the stone as the two watched it skip across the surface of the lake in the zen garden. "Maki's cursed energy fingerprint is incomplete in my mind compared to all of your's. Compared to fresh fingerprints on a glass pane window, her's are like a minuscule smudge that no one realizes next to the glaringly obvious prints— barely visible."
Yuta nodded, understanding what Haku meant by that now. Haku shifted uncomfortably on the ground as they drew their knees to their chest,
"But also Maki terrifies me more than death itself. So maybe I do choose not to try..." Haku whispered.
Although the comment was quiet, Yuta still heard it and let out a chuckle, "Maki? She is a bit intimidating but once you get used to her, she's one of the most caring people ever."
The next morning as Maki was getting ready to leave for early morning lessons, she opened her door to almost step on something unexpected. Outside her door, peacefully laid on the ground, a single white tulip with a paper doll shikigami. Hesitantly, Maki picked up the objects to see this shikigami wasn't like Haku's usual spirits. This paper doll had been manually cut from a sheet of paper and written on top was a short note.
I'm sorry. — Haku
"Damn that kid..." Maki whispered under her breath as she looked around the hallway, no one was awake yet. She took another look at the flower and paper doll as she faintly smiled, retreating back into her room to put the gift away safely.