I stepped down the hallway, my hands in my pockets. I didn't go to the bathroom today. I still had a few days off anyway.
I didn't know what to say to Hanako.
Anyway, I decided to go around... and look for stuff. Who knows what I could find?
At some point, I found a random door with the words 'Keep Out' on it. So, I opened it. I didn't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this.
In front of me were a green-haired girl, a pretty guy with messy red hair, and someone who looked practically identical to Hanako.
But he wasn't Hanako. I knew that. They all stared at me awkwardly.
Also, there were random floating body parts around. Creepy. I love it!
"Sorry, am I interrupting something? I was sort of curious, I didn't really expect anyone in here." I apologized. "..Should I leave?"
After the three exchanged looks, the green-haired girl shook her head. "That is not necessary. This is the Broadcasting Club. This is a private meeting, but I suppose it is alright if you participate. We are short on members, after all."
Sounds like BS, but sure.
"Oh, okay! Thank you!" I sang, closing the door behind me. "So, who're you anyway?" I plopped down on the floor.
"My name is Sakura Nanamine." She introduced. "I am a third-year here. And you are?"
"I'm [y/n] [l/n]! Hello! You're really pretty!" I exclaimed quickly, shaking her hand. "I hope we can get along, Nanamine! What about them?!" I pointed towards the two boys.
"Hyuuga Natsuhiko. You're a cute one." The taller one flirted, leaning close to my face.
"Thanks, I already knew that." I responded, pushing his face away from mine. "You have zero rizz. Find someone else to bother."
Lies, lies, lies. Was he actually being genuine, or was he just trying to find a date?!
"Oh, you're quite cold, aren't y-" He was then cut off by Nanamine. "Natsuhiko. Leave them alone."
"Yes ma'am!"
I turned to the Hanako-identical. "Wait, you can see me? Okay! I'm Tsukasa!! Hi!" The boy greeted childishly, and pulled me into a hug. "Yaayy! It was getting boring!"
"Hi!!" I responded, squeezing him back. "You think I won't be boring?! That's the greatest thing I've heard in my life! You seem entertaining!"
The other two stared at us with an expression of exhaustion and fear.
..Wait. Broadcasting club. Ghost that looks like Hanako. Ties to an apparition. Changing rumors. Oh, shit. No, wait. Oh, YAY!
"Alrighty, I'll get to the point, okay?!" I said, as Tsukasa let me go. "You guys are the ones that are changing the school rumors, aren't you?" I pointed at them with a smile.
"Buutt, I'm not here to stop you or any of that cliché stuff! I want to help you! Pleaasseee? Even though my life isn't really that boring anymore, I wanna make it even more fun! C'mon! Or are you just gonna kill me? That would be dull." I requested, resting my head on my fist.
"Huh? What school rumors? I have no idea what you'r-" Natsuhiko began, before getting whacked by Nanamine.
"You are correct." She confirmed with a nod.
"LET THEM JOIN! I WANT ANOTHER MEMBER! YAY! WELCOME TO THE BROADCASTING CLUB!" The boy cheered, jumping on me again. I caught him and squeezed the clingy boy.
"YAAYY! THANKS! I WON'T BE A BORE!"
"But that's not it." I continued.
"You guys know that I'm Number Seven's assistant, right?" I pointed out. "Furthermore, he practically looks just like him." I pointed at Tsukasa, who was still holding onto me.
"I totally get if you don't trust me ASAP. I also get it if you guys wanna kill me or something, just try not to get caught, okay?" I smirked.
"Ah, and I won't snitch on your plans. That wouldn't be entertaining, would it?"
"Amane! Is he a good smoocher?" He leaned in toward me.
"We aren't dating."
"You suurree?"
"Not yet anyway."
"What?!"
"Are you guys related?"
"I'm his twin brother!" The ravenette pointed at himself childishly. "Didn't he tell you? I'm also the person he killed!"
"OMIGOSH REALLY?! THAT'S SO COOL! ARE YOU PISSED AT HIM? No, no, wait, you don't seem pissed." My eyes lit up.
"Nope! I love my big brother!" The boy smiled, clinging onto my arm.
..Good to know.
"It seems like you two are getting along well." The third-year cut in. "[l/n], I am Tsukasa's assistant. I have as many ties to him as you do to Mystery Number Seven. His actions make zero sense, and he has no sense of personal space, so I find it helpful to think of him more as a cat than a person."
"Are you talking crap about me?" The boy jumped in.
"I see." I nodded. "Okay! I get that! Honestly, I'm not even sure what I view Hanako as, but you can always ask Ney." I added. "It's really easy to get her to talk, y'know. Plus, I'm sure she already has some idea of Hanako."
Oh, crap. Okay, that's Ney's problem now.
"...Ney?" Natsuhiko asked.
"My friend. That's my nickname for her." I crossed my legs. "Y'know, the other assistant?" I gestured. "Geez. I know you guys stalk us somehow, so I'd be surprised if you didn't know who she was."
"Nene Yashiro?" Sakura questioned, which I confirmed with a nod.
"Alrighty! I told you something from our side, now tell me something from your side! Pleeaase? I like you guys, so you're my friends now!" I proclaimed with a smile. "Other than that one." I pointed at the red-haired boy.
"Wh- Why?!"
"Because I don't like you."
"Yeah, I said why?!"
"Because I said so."
He proceeded to sulk in the corner of the room.
"So you can trust me with your plans, alright?" I tilted my head. "I trust you enough to tell you stuff I know."
"Can you do the same with me?"
The three people in front and beside me stayed quiet, before the ghost boy broke it. "OKAY! I INTEND... TO REUNITE WITH AMANE! TODAY!" He blurted out. "Do you think he'd be happy to see me? I like you! You seem fun!"
Well, that was easy-
I paused. "I dunno, he seems considerably guilty over killing you, which I don't understand." I responded. "I did talk with him about it a while ago, though." I added on. "But there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" I suggested with a mischievous glint in my [e/c] eyes.
A wide, childish grin spread across his face. "I like how you think!"
"I'm flattered!" I said happily, leaning my head back. "Do you guys only spread rumors, or do you guys do more than that?"
"Obviously more! Duh! That would be so tedious!"
"Hooray!"
"I have something to show you!" Tsukasa continued. "Tadah!"
It was... another jodai?
"Oh! Your brother has these too! I think his is called 'Haku-Jodai'." I remembered.
"This is Koku-Jodai." Nanamine explained. "It's also what we use to gather information with."
"Clever." I commented. "Oh, by the way. I can't come here every day, because I still have to do stuff as Hanako's assistant. I won something between us though, so I don't have to for another week. I still hafta spend time with him, though."
I doubt he'd want me to after he finds out what I'm doing.
How upsetting. I'll forget about that. Pfft.
Tsukasa looked disappointed. "Awww..."
The girl nodded in understanding. "I see."
Natsuhiko looked at me. "Sorry, I forgot your name."
"Relatable."
"'Cause I can call you 'mine'." He said with a wink.
"Flirt with me one more time, and I'll shove my foot up your ass so hard you'll start getting periods, you hear?" My eyes darkened, my smile widening.
"O-Okay! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He apologized frantically. "Wait, what's a period?"
"..." I looked at him with a blank expression, covering my face with my hands. "Blood."
"Huh?"
I turned to the other two. "So, when're you gonna go and 'reunite' with Hanako?" I asked Tsukasa, my hands behind my back.
"As soon as these things finish the job," He pointed vaguely at a couple of mokke. Huh?
"That reminds me! I should get going. See you later!" The boy waved, before disappearing.
Nanamine nodded before standing up. "I believe we should get going as well." The girl gestured toward the door. Natsuhiko immediately stood up and walked beside her.
I got up as well, stretching. "Alrighty!"
As we walked outside, the green-haired girl looked over at me. "[l/n], may I ask you a question?"
"Ask away! And call me [y/n], please." I grinned.
"Thank you. You may call me Sakura." She smiled with a polite nod. "Why are you helping us? My gut and head tell me you won't speak of this to anyone. I believe that Number Seven and the others are against what we're doing. If you're one of his assistants, why would you do this?"
I laughed. "Oh, that's easy. Life's short, and pretty boring. When I agreed to be his assistant in exchange for my wish to be granted, my life wasn't repetitive anymore. I had no idea what to expect!" My eyes lit up. "However, after being told about 'mystery traitor' or whatever, I could relate to you guys more. Besides, think of the spectacle! I'd never be bored again."
I sighed. "Don't worry, okay?"
"I won't."
We were now outside. I sat on the bench, crossing my legs. Soon, I spotted a mokke run towards us.
"Hi there." Sakura greeted. The mokke jumped into the palm of her hand. "You managed to do it?" It made a circle with its ears. "Green light." It confirmed. "I see. That's a good boy." She praised it, giving it a headrub.
"Dun dun dun! I can't wait to hear about it." I sang childishly, hanging upside down on the bench with my legs. "Honestly, I'm pretty curious about how Hanako would react to this sorta of scene as well."
.
.
.
I yawned, leaning on Nene's desk. It was lunchtime. Tsukasa wasn't back yet, so I might as well ask what happened from daikon-legs. "So, did I miss anything today?" I questioned, biting into an onigiri. "Sorry I wasn't at toilet duty. I didn't know what to say to him."
"It's fine, it's fine. You missed way too much! I made Hanako some donuts... oh, um! It's not like I wanted to do it without you! It's just that... um... you'd probably set it on fire or something! And also I couldn't find you! Yeah!"
"Chill, I'm not mad. Did you save me any?"
"Yeah, that's the thing! As soon as we went up to the rooftop to eat them, a weird crane paper apparition came out of the bag, and someone identical to Hanako came out. I think he was the person Hanako killed... Hanako seemed really upset after that. I didn't see him for the rest of the day. Not even in the bathroom."
I nodded as she went on, twirling my pencil in between my fingers, a look of annoyance on my face.
TSUKASA. WASTED. A PERFECTLY. GOOD. BAG. OF FUCKING DONUTS?!
YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! THE POOR DONUTS!
"..I guess.. people from different species really can't understand each other..." The cream-haired girl frowned. "Maybe it would've been better if I were a supernatural too..."
"Want me to turn you into one?" I offered. "You have regrets, right? That means if you died, you'd become a-"
"NO, NO, NO! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! ANOTHER WAY!"
"Oh-ho? You wish to become supernatural? Well, well, how very convenient. Allow us to grant your wish!" I heard a voice that reminded me of a fancy mustache man.
I crossed my arms, looking around. "Who the fuck broke into the school at this hour?!"
"WHO'S THERE?!" Nene shouted after me. "Who's talking to us..?"
"Oh! Down here! We are beneath you!"
I looked down to see... Nene's desk, liquified, with a mustache pufferfish and a bowtie koi fish?! "It is our deepest pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mxster and Madam!"
"F-FISH!"
"TALKING FISH!" I exclaimed, my eyes lighting up. "I've always wanted to dissect one!"
"My apologies, Mxster, but I believe you should think twice abo-" I grabbed the pufferfish out of the desk and sprinted away at full speed.
"[Y/N]!"
"MXSTER, please! Unhand me! I am of the high and noble water people! I am here to deliver a message, and I highly suggest that you do not dissect me!"
I ran into the broadcasting room, my [e/c] eyes shining. "GUYS! IT'S MEE! DID YOU MISS ME?!"
The green-haired girl and the reddish-brown haired boy looked over at me. "Welcome back, [y/n]." Sakura said with a smile.
The taller one's eyes moved to the pufferfish in my hand. "..What do you have there?"
"A surprise! Where's Tsu? I'll tell you once he gets back!"
"Tsu? You mean that runt? He's still not here yet. Speaking of him, are you sure that was a good idea?" Natsuhiko questioned. "Can he be trusted out in the wild?"
"Yeah, it's fine. Besides, he wouldn't listen if I told him not to." Sakura said flatly, looking through a book.
"'Kay, but.. what if they find out we're the ones changing the rumors? One of them already found us out, and it was a stroke of luck that they're into this kind of stuff. I doubt that the rest are like this. Right?" He looked over at me.
"Yep! I'm probably the only one who's going to be willing to help you. Consider yourself blessed!"
"I have no doubt we'd have to fight all three of them. Oh yeah, and I'd be willing to bet that President Minamoto is onto us, too." He continued.
Sakura closed her book. "Well, Natsuhiko. It's a good thing I have you to protect me. Isn't it?"
The boy blushed, before taking her hand. "Don't worry about a thing. I'm here fo--" He was quickly cut off by Sakura whacking him on the head with a book.
"Don't touch me."
"'Kay. I'm sorry." He groaned.
I sighed. "Hmm... I could tell you about them, if that helps." I suggested.
"That would help." She nodded.
"Mxster! Please, let me go!"
"Huh? Can't you make me let you go yourself?"
Suddenly, black smoke appeared, and Tsukasa floated down. "Guess! Who's! Back! Hi!" He grabbed Sakura in a uncomfortably close hug.
"TSUUU!" I yelled, jumping onto his back. "How'd it go?!"
"[N/N]!!" He cheered. "Wait, Tsu?"
..[n/n]? OH!
"Short for Tsukasa." I explained. "C'mon! What happened?!"
"Kind of a creepy wardrobe choice, isn't it?" Sakura asked.
"Oh, is it? Heh! Come on. I hadn't seen him in so long, I had to celebrate!"
"You went out of your way to match your brother?"
The Koku-Jodai then magically switched his clothing back to normal. "Yeah! He actually seemed happy to see me!" He said it with a grin, floating in a carefree way.
"Ooh, he did?!" I cheered. "Yay! Sounds like fun, Tsu!"
Wait, but Nene said he was upset? Eh, both sides are fun.
"Oh, right! I have a present for you guys! Tadaah! A talking pufferfish!" I introduced dramatically, waving the mustached marine supernatural in the air. "What do you think?!"
I was going to look for Hanako and give it to him, but I doubt he's interested in this stuff.
"I am NOT a present! I am a very high ranking, dignified servant of our mistress, the Mermaid!"
"WOOAH! It really IS talking!" Tsukasa gasped, taking a look at the spiky ball thing. "I wanna see!" He took it out of my hands, poking it.
"C-Cease and desist! Do not treat me so violently!"
"Wanna dissect it with me? Unless you wanna keep it around or somethi-"
"YES! YES! [N/N], YOU'RE THE BEST! Whaddaya think we'll find?" The ravenette clapped his hands together, placing it onto the table and grabbing a pen.
"C'mon, that's not good enough! Here!" I handed him a knife. Actually, I don't think I should trust Tsu with a knife-
The boy looked it over. "Ooh! It's pretty! Hey, what do you guys think talking fish are like on the inside?!" He looked over at Sakura and Natsuhiko, who were staring at us with a dumbfounded expression. The boy's eyes had gone pitch black, and he had a devilish smile on his face.
"You two. Stop. Don't kill it."
"Why not?" I asked.
"Oh, don't worry! We're just gonna take a little peek!" He raised it and proceeded to cut the pufferfish in half.
"Oh, come on, I wanted to do that part!" I huffed, poking around and pulling out some... supernatural fish guts. "What the?! Are these vocal cords?! Human vocal cords?"
"Ooh! Fish intestines!"
"OHMYGOD. ARE THESE IT'S EYEBALLS?!!" I yelped out, shaking. "Scary."
"Ehh? What's wrong with eyeballs?" Tsukasa questioned, looking over something that looked like a kidney.
"Hey, do fish have dicks?"
"Like, the dicks in porn?"
"Yeah, the dicks in porn. How big are they, if they do have it? I heard that ducks have cocks shaped like corkscrews and they can be even bigger than the duck's body itsel-"
"CAN YOU PLEASE SHUT UP?!"
"ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT!"
Tsukasa and Natsuhiko shouted in unison.
"...Geez... I told you not to do that..." Sakura groaned, sounding like she was on the verge of throwing up.
"..Yuck."
After the pufferfish basically turned into pufferfish skin after getting all of its insides pulled out, I sighed and washed my hands off. "You're cleaning that up!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
"NO!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
"Fine then, you can clean it up." I snickered.
"HEY, YOU MADE ME SAY THAT! THAT'S NOT FAIR!"
"IT IS SO!"
"Fiine!"
I spotted a small fish-shaped bottle of thick pink liquid. I looked at it, before shrugging and pocketing it.
The boy laughed. "I'm still not moving too great for some reason and had to take off right away. Oh! I almost forgot. [n/n], put these on." He handed me a pair of headphones. "So tell me, Sakura. What tasty rumors are on the menu tonight?" He asked with a smile.
I put them on. "I can't wait to hear it." I commented.
"Oh, by the way, both you and Sakura can change rumors. You can switch them back after we achieve the goal, okay? You can also change some rumors to give my poor assistant a break. But you'll have to use a voice changer!" Tsukasa said teasingly.
"Sure." I yawned.
"How about..." She sat in front of the microphone.
"Has anyone out there heard this story...?"
. . .
Meanwhile, with Nene
Hanako sighed. He just threatened to turn the fish [ that ditched their pufferfish teacher after witnessing [y/n] and Tsukasa dissect it out of fear. ] into sashimi, thusfore scaring all of them away for good. "You made me those donuts.. sorry I ruined them... will you forgive me?" The boy made puppy eyes with his large, amber eyes.
"...Yes!"
"Wait, WHERE'S [Y/N]?! WHY ARE THEY NEVER PRESENT HERE?! WHY DO THEY ALWAYS DISAPPEAR WHEN I'M LOOKING THE OTHER WAY?!"
"..They ran off with the talking pufferfish, and then the other fish followed them, but then they came back in tears and continued to bug me... I don't know where they are now."
"..." The ravenette had a blank expression on his face. "Knowing [y/n], they probably killed the talking pufferfish or something." He groaned. "I'm not surprised, but I seriously need to talk to them later."
"Anyways, thank you. I've never had a girl tell me she likes me before. It made me happy. You know, I.. I had a younger brother. But I killed him. So, Yashiro, do you really wanna get to know me? If you do, then someday, I'll tell you everything."
"Be my assistant until then, okay?" He held up his pinky with a small smile.
"..Okay!" The girl agreed, returning the gesture.
.
.
.
"Okay, guys! I need to get going now. I'll be in the school bathrooms tomorrow, but I'll come after bathroom duty's over, okay?" I chirped as I put the headphones down.
Tsukasa looked at me with a sad look on his face. "Do you really have to go? Can't you at least stay here for the rest of the day?"
"Aww, do you really like me that much?" I teased. "Fine. You wanna play taser tag?"
"Taser tag?"
I pulled out my bag and searched for some. "I don't have a full kit, but I do have a couple of tasers, if you want." I offered. "So, we can't do the real thing. Instead, we'll just play tag! But to tag someone, you've gotta use this on them!"
"I'M IN!"
"HELL NO!"
"..No, thank you."
"Boring, what a bunch of party poopers." I huffed. "YOU'RE IT!" I yelled before sprinting away.
"OW! THAT'S NOT FAIR!"
Tsukasa and I spent the day playing 'Taser Tag'.
"[N/N], GET DOWN FROM THERE!"
"NO! FLOAT UP HERE YOURSELF!" I yell back, somehow sitting on the hanging ceiling light. Ow, my body hurts.
"I CAN'T FLOAT THAT HIGH!"
"WELL THEN I WIN!"
"DID NOT!"
"DID SO!"
"DID NOT!"
"DID SO!"
"DID NOT!"
"DID SO!"
"BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP!"
"WE'RE SORRY!"
"That means I win!" I cheer, pointing at him.
"Fine." He huffed childishly, tossing the taser at me. I catch it and jump down. Natsuhiko ended up catching me in his arms and throwing me a wink.
"Thanks for saving me from breaking another one of my bones." I responded, remembering that my wrist was still broken.
"No problem, sweetheart."
"What did I say?"
"Sorry!"
I sighed, reaching into my bag in search of the bag of miniature muffins I brought today. I didn't eat it during class somehow.
As I sat down and opened it, I saw an arm stick itself into the bag and pull out some for themselves. That arm belonged to none other than the gremlin Tsukasa.
"Thanks!"
"It's half empty now..." I said, sounding depressed.
"Aw, are you a half-glass empty person? C'mon now, it's still half full. Think on the bright side!" The boy exclaimed, a pastry in his mouth.
"Sure." I ate the rest of the muffins in the bag and threw them away. I checked the time. 7:13.
I picked up my bags. "Okie dokie! I need to go now. See you tomorrow!" I waved.
"Come back soon, okay?" The ravenette asked, clinging onto your arm.
"Who knows?" I patted his head and walked away.
.
.
.
"[Y/NNN]!!!!!!!!" Hanako yelled, jumping onto me. "I MISSED YOU! Where have you been? You said you'd still come and talk to me!" He hugged me. I felt like he had broken my ribs or something.
I squeezed him back. "Sorry."
"I MISSED YOU!"
"Hanako, I think you're crushing them." Nene butted in.
"It's fine, I do this all the time." I sighed, giving him a head pat.
"HANAKO, ARE YOU IN THERE?" I heard Kou's voice. I turned around to see the boy holding the sleeves of a restrained.. person?
Wait, are they a girl or a boy?
"Oh, boy! What is that?" Hanako asked awkwardly, detaching himself from my body and holding onto my arm instead.
"An obnoxious evil spirit that I caught harassing students at the junior high entrance!" The blonde said, ignoring the pink-haired apparition's desperate attempts to escape.
"Hm... well, aren't you going to exorcise him?" The boy asked.
They made a surprised muffled noise behind the tape, which sounded awfully adorable for some reason.
"Yeah... I kinda gave that reckless life up. I just thought there might be a more spiritually humane way to work things out, okay?!"
"Looks like that fight really changed your perspective on things, huh?" I crossed my arms.
"You could warm a dead man's heart." Hanako joined in. He leaned in towards the other spirit's face, his amber eyes meeting their pink ones.
"Well, he's here because he has regrets, isn't that right? Seems like that would be the best place to start." He suggested.
"Oh, snap, that's brilliant! That'll solve everything instantly!" He grabbed them by their collar. "Come on, spirit! Let's get rid of those regrets!"
"Should we go with them just in case?" Nene asked.
"No, they'll be fine. I would advise you to keep your distance in general, but it's not that dangerous now. And if something unexpected were to happen, you'll be okay. It would just require a little extra work." Hanako reassured.
. . .
As Nene cleaned up the bathroom, Hanako clung to me and refused to let go.
.
.
.
At the Mermaid's place
A funeral was being held for the poor deceased pufferfish. Unfortunately, they were unable to retrieve his body. I wonder why?
"..I see. Well, well, How dreadful. Is that what's happening on the near shore? A supernatural disrupting the supernatural rumors.. I cannot believe that attempting to bring that [h/c] one over to our side would end up in the death of one of my servants."
"Those two may be imbeciles, and one of them might be extremely violent and brash with not only physical assaults but also verbal, they still technically are one of us. I wanted to give them shelter before anything happened. But it would seem I am forced to give up that hope..." The Mermaid sighed, as the koi fish explained everything.
word count: 4036
[a/n]: alrighty, i added the little mermaid arc!! my apologies for not doing so earlier hsahdfkshdf