He observes around him before taking out what looks like a brush until he pulled a hook from it's side, revealing a scroll of paper. The long stretch of paper is invisible to the students around him, seemingly made of SP.
A list of various prefectures in Jousho with several names below each. From some other prefecture, a single name vanishes and among the list attached to the Hokubu prefecture, a new name emerges, a latest change.
"Oh my... this surely is a first in a while"
He exclaims, audible to no one but himself.
Meanwhile, at the older school block.
Calmly Mizuki responds.
"I see... however, there's no way that can happen"
"Wha- Mizuki chan... I swear I'm not lying to you, you really don't remember?"
Desperately Fubuki plea.
"That's impossible because Fubuki Ne were already gone when I was still a baby. It's not possible that we've shared any memories or even went to school together"
Mizuki stays resolute.
"That's... not true... is that what they told you? Is that what Mom and Dad told you?"
Before Fubuki could question her, Mizuki's face change. Reacting to her mentioning their parents.
"Mizuki chan... they... might be lying to you. Don't you s-?"
The bell rings. Signalling the end of their meeting.
Seeing Mizuki maintains a hostile expression, also discourages her from going further.
"I guess... that's it for today... It's okay, you can take your time Mizuki chan, Fubuki Ne won't leave you again. Nee chan will always wait for you"
That last sentence triggers something inside Mizuki.
[Don't worry, Nee chan will always wait for you]
Not just the same sentence, the same tone and voice, from someone else deep within her long lost reminiscent that she never recall outside her dream. A memory she never remembered but somehow feels, nostalgic.
'is this...?'
An instance of memory plays in her mind, as if responding to Fubuki's voice. An unexplainably familiar scenery. She turns towards Fubuki
'this is... is this her doing..?'
{"Mom what is Ne chan like?"
Fuuka peeks under her arm to the source of the voice, a young girl, a younger Mizuki in middle school uniform.
"Hmm, let's see... well you were still a baby when she was your age. But she loves playing with you and spoiling you every chance she get. She was a very loving big sister. Even Mom loses to her sometimes"
A tiny chuckle escapes the mother's lips.}
{In another day, an older first year highschooler Mizuki is ready to go to school when she turns around towards the gentle face observing her from the door.
"I wonder, if I'll go to school like this together with Ne chan if she's still with us"
With subtle tears dancing at the corner of her iris, Fuuka responds.
"she would have already be in college by now."
She puts her hand around the teenage girl.
"But I'm sure wherever she is, she's still proudly watching over you, Mii chan. We all are"
She say as she kisses her teen daughter's temple.}
Those memories of younger Mizuki starts to eat away at her, even to this day. With her duster still in hand, Fuuka stares solemnly at an old photograph of middle schooler Fubuki. The very same girl from the picture on the altar but with a brighter expression, a Fubuki from a happier times. Standing next to her is what seems like young Mizuki in elementary school uniform. The younger sister is frowning towards the camera while her big sister is hugging and consoling the moody little girl. A middle school's gate in ceremonious decoration sits behind the girls. A faint smile lights up the young mother's otherwise melancholic face, reminiscing the simpler times. A forgotten past.
Back at school,
"Lucky for you, you can have your first kill"
Daisuke announces to Mizuki who's still taking a break, panting after falling from their sparring training.
"This is a 'Dead or Alive' bounty"
"You mean like one of those wanted posters for outlaws that sheriff puts around?"
"Yes. It means the Corps is desperate to arrest this ghost regardless of the condition. And this guy in particular is last detected in our area"
He explains.
"It's been a while... Since they put out something like this."
Though despite her enthusiasm the other day, that news did not improve Mizuki's mood, instead the opposite. Something else is weighing on her mind.
"I thought you'd be more excited about this, Mizuki kun?"
"N-no of course not! I'm excited for my first bounty! What are we waiting for then, let's get hunti-"
She acts all eager.
"Calm down.. First things first, our target is very elusive and tricky. There's a reason why it's a 'dead or alive' bounty in the first place, we need to approach it cautiously. Fortunately the last hunter that tracked our criminal collected their SP sample so we can at least detect them when they're close by"
Mizuki still desperately looking away.
"Can't we just ask around if anyone have seen our criminal? If they're a wanted criminal then surely they would be attracting attention wherever they go"
"A good idea! Unfortunately, It's not that easy... Our target is adept at avoiding bounty hunters' path. Plus not everyone will cooperate"
"Eh? Why wouldn't they? Wouldn't catching the criminal benefit the ghosts that live around here too? That's one less dangerous ghost in the area"
"The only ghosts that cares about law and order on the other side is the Corps and of course us bounty hunters"
He pauses a bit while looking far in the distance behind Mizuki.
"Generally ghosts don't really care about what's right or wrong in regards to humans, or about humans at all. The ones that do care about humans mostly are the troublemaking ones, the bigger guys only care about their own reputation and the smaller guys are too busy admiring those ghosts that have the Corps' bounty on them while at the same time working on their own as well. It's more like an achievement rather than a deterrent"
After a while, he turns back to Mizuki.
"That's why-"
Looking her dead in the eye, slightly agitating Mizuki.
"Whenever a ghost does show itself in front of humans, it's always safer to first assume there's an ulterior motive"
They locked eyes briefly. She couldn't look away.
"Yeah, you already told me this before"
She replies, a tad confused.
He grins.
"Just a reminder, because you attract trouble wherever you go"
Then he turns the other way pouting
"But it's not like I'm worried about you or anything!"
"Seriously cut that out already..."
She comments, tired.
Although later that night, Mizuki's on her bed thinking.
{"Whenever a ghost does show itself in front of humans, it's always safer to assume there's an ulterior motive first"}
{"...even now, the fact that you can see her, is on purpose..."}
she recalls that line from her earliest encounter with Daisuke.
'I know I should be more careful around her. She could be making all that story up just to make me trust her. But...'
She turns over on her bed, facing the ceiling.
'she's the only one who can tell me anything at all about Fubuki Nee right now'
Her hand covers her eye, blocking the faint moonlight hitting her face from the narrow gap between her curtains.
'Why is it so hard to get an answer from Mom when I ask about Fubuki Nee...'
'how am I supposed to confirm the story then...?'
She raises her hand midair, observing it through the darkness of her moonlit bedroom. Vaguely seeing her own hand reminds her of Fubuki's story about their supposed shared childhood. How Fubuki would grab her hand through the night while she kept her eyes closed and guide her out of a dark closet at school. Her middle school, according to Fubuki.
'the more I think back about her story, the more real they feel to me... are these... also her ghostly trick...?'
'which one of them is real?'
The scenery evoked in her mind from Fubuki's story plays out inside her head. Strangely, as she imagines them, vivid recollection of the scene plays out from her perspective.
Mental fragments of her sister grabbing her by the hand and running across the school corridor in middle school uniform.
Flashbacks of them playing hide and seek together.
The scenery of her sister leaving her behind from the regular dream she keeps having.
'I...'
She sits straight up on her bed, her sudden jolt pushes her blanket away and her plushies down the bed.
'I need to hear more about Fubuki Ne!'
The following days plays out the same routine. During class, she would get distracted by the spontaneous recollection of her sister that she unearths from her foggy childhood. During recess she would ask the ghostly Fubuki about it. After school she would spar with Daisuke while her mind is still hung up with Fubuki's story. Later at home, she would make several attempts to ask Fuuka about the matter with mixed result.
Sometime her mom would try to answer her while getting distracted by the chores, other times she would answer only briefly and changes the topic immediately. One thing for sure is that every time Mizuki got the answer from Fuuka, she always look like she have more questions than answer.
"It's natural that you don't remember, Mii chan. You were still too small then"
Is Fuuka's response to Mizuki's dissatisfied look every time.
That unsatisfactory explanation and the constant new memory she seemingly unlocks from her subconscious every time she talks to Fubuki leaves her regularly abstracted in her other routine.
"Mizuki kun!"
Daisuke's call wake her from daydream, she's not focusing during training.
"Ah yes!"
She stands straight in response. The SP weapon she was creating in her hand immediately shatters and disintegrates in the air.
Daisuke just stares at her clumsily trying to pick it back up but eventually just proceeds to create a new one with some effort.
"This is not working. You've been focusing less and less during our spar recently. Maybe you're not ready yet"
"No no! I promise I'm trying as hard as I can. I just..."
She tries to defend her case.
"While it is true that you're getting better at creating your weapon without much focus-"
He acknowledges
"Yes that's right! I'm slowly improving my-"
"But. That's no excuse to get distracted in the actual fight. In a real combat scenario, that momentary distraction could cost your life"
"That's... I'm..."
She could not come up with anything to defend herself. Realizing herself what's really bothering her mind.
"Mizuki kun"
His tone change, less stern but more concerned
"Have you been-?"
DINGDING! DINGDING! DINGDING!
Before he could question her, a loud chiming noise erupts from his left pocket.
"This is... the bounty news-"
"Mizuki kun, get ready to transform! Our target is nearby!"
Swiftly he warns her before running his finger onto her forehead. Before she could brace the impact he flicks, pushing her backwards
"Henshin!"
and instantly her body changes into an SP form.
"Waah! wait wait!"
Before she could mentally prepare herself he drags her along by the hand.
"No time to waste. I'll explain it to you on the way there"
He take the lead while rummaging inside his pocket, taking out the peculiar bell to observe it better.
"This is-?! As I suspected..."
"Why? What is it? What does it say?"
"The List is detecting our suspect in this vicinity"
He replies without turning to her
"And the trace that it detects... has been near you before"
His statement surprises her, but still she tries to get more clarity.
"Couldn't it have been near everyone here if it's in the area?"
"If it was that simple then we would have found our target sooner. A criminal ghosts of this level are usually good at erasing their trace. This one in particular is good at avoiding other people and ghosts to escape detection."
By the time he's explaining this, both of them already crosses the school's fence into the forest at the back. The passing ring of the peculiar bell follows their pursuit.
"you normally wouldn't pick up their trace unless any of you make contact with each other or they never see your presence as threat or .."
He briefly turns towards her
"...if they trust you"
She starts to look more disturbed.
"Wait Daisuke kun, I think-"
"Shhh! Mizuki kun, from here on out approach stealthily. It's nearby"
He place one hand in front of her mouth, his other hand holds tightly to the List, preventing it from making any noise and revealing their position.
When she starts paying attention she realizes where they are. Deep in the uncharted forest behind her school, a dark passage roofed over by the dense tree branches. She could hardly make out the short distance in front of her, barely thirty meters forward and it's covered with leaf and bushes.
However, once her brain adapts to the shape of the bushes covering the ground and the juvenile trees occupying beneath the canopy, she sees it. A dark hunched figure jittering about and crouching on the ground. Seemingly consuming something on the ground. It's silhouette too disjointed to be mistaken for any sort of animal. It's noise too haunting to be anything other than supernatural.
Before she could gasp at the sight of it, the twig behind her breaks under her footstep and gives away her presence first.
Instantly the hunched figure stands at full height in response, the upper part of it's body hidden behind the green canopy of the forest. However, even without seeing it's face, she knows.
It already sees her.
She turns around to find Daisuke already gone.
'where did h-?'
But before she can finish evaluating her current situation, the gigantic sound of rustling from the beast's direction sends terror throughout her system. Even in her SP form, her fight or flight response is in full swing. Without even looking back she can already feel the haunting presence of the figure chasing after her from behind. She is dead set on getting back to school. Her feet already guides her backward before she even think of escaping.
The frantic sound of her footstep mixed in with the giant rumbling of whatever is hot on her tail. Further fueling her panic escape. Even more when the beastly rustling of the leaves behind her rapidly grows louder and louder.
'THIS IS BAD THIS IS BAD THIS IS BAD! WHERE IS HE AT TIMES LIKE THIS?!'
The fervour throws off her sense of time, losing grasp of how long she has been running for. That is until, a familiar figure at the end of the light stops her on her track. A surge of relief washes over her.
"Mizuki chan?"