Chapter 243: Reflex
CRACK—!
A sudden snap of wood echoed—and the floor beneath them gave way.
Everyone fell, totally caught off guard.
"Ahhh—!"
Screams rang out in sync with the fall.
Shichen acted fast. With one arm wrapped around Yui Kotegawa, he used his powers to stop Risa Momioka and Mio Sawada mid-air, keeping them from hitting the ground.
Lala and Yami? They didn't need any help.
Creeeak—!
Shichen landed on what was still intact floorboards, though the noise was sharp and dust kicked up everywhere.
"Ugh, so dusty…" Lala coughed as she touched down.
"You two okay?" Shichen asked Risa and Mio, who were now safely on their feet.
"Yeah, we're fine..."
"Wait, were we just… floating?"
The two of them looked bewildered.
"That was me," Shichen said casually.
"Eh? The principal has superpowers?" Risa blinked.
"It's not really a superpower," Shichen replied, smiling and glancing toward Yami. "Anyway, now's not the time for that."
Yami stood silently, staring into the darkness ahead.
"You see something?" Shichen walked over to her.
"There's… something up ahead," she said. "Also, I don't think the floor collapsed from age or rot."
"What do you mean?"
"Can't say for sure yet."
"Don't tell me… it's ghosts?" Risa and Mio huddled together, trembling.
"G-Ghosts…?" Yui immediately buried her face in Shichen's chest.
"Relax, I got you," Shichen reassured her.
"…Your hand," Yui whispered.
"Hm?"
"Your hand is…"
"Oh."
Only then did Shichen realize his hand had somehow slipped under her skirt, grabbing something... round.
No wonder it felt so soft.
He'd assumed she was just too scared to talk.
Too bad there were safety shorts in the way—ones he himself had asked her to wear.
Lala too, actually.
After all, the skirts were short, and making uniform changes wasn't exactly simple.
Sure, short skirts meant good views around school. But Shichen didn't need sneak peeks. If he wanted to see something, they'd gladly show him.
Once you've had the full course, you stop caring about the appetizers.
Shichen gave a squeeze before shifting his hand to her thigh.
No barrier there. Softer, smoother—though his hand wished for more to grab.
"You…!" Yui looked up, blushing furiously.
"Sorry, reflex," Shichen said.
"R-Reflex!?"
"Alright, focus. Not the time for this." He nodded toward Lala and the others.
"Huh?"
Yui glanced over—and flinched. Just ahead, pieces of debris were floating in mid-air.
"—"
"Whoa, that's wild! How's that even floating?" Lala was fascinated.
Risa and Mio were still clinging to her from both sides, trembling.
"This has to be ghost stuff!"
"T-Totally haunted…"
"This is a ghost? I don't see anything," Lala said, tilting her head.
"Those floating objects—clearly ghost-controlled!"
"Is it? But Shichen can float stuff too."
"Eh?"
"Let's find out," Yami said, stepping forward. Her right arm morphed into a blade, and she sliced the floating pieces clean in half.
"I hear something over there." She moved deeper into the shadows.
"Yami, wait up!"
Lala dragged Risa and Mio along and followed.
"Yami, what was that blade arm thing?!"
"Seriously, that was so cool!"
Their fear was quickly replaced by curiosity.
"Let's check it out too." Shichen carried Yui and followed.
"W-Why?"
"Aren't you curious?" he asked while walking.
"No! I just want out!" Yui's voice trembled. She was clearly spooked.
Which was understandable. Most girls hated ghosts—unless they were like Lala or Yami, who didn't even register the danger.
"Don't worry. I'm right here." Shichen gave her butt a light pat to distract her.
Small, but nicely firm.
"You…!" Yui glared at him, red-faced.
"Heh~" Shichen just laughed and gave her one more pat before catching up with the others.
Nice and firm.
Yami was already at the music room, pushing the door open.
Inside was a mess—broken furniture and debris everywhere—but in the center stood a pristine piano.
"Was that the sound we heard earlier?" Lala pointed at the piano.
"Maybe… but now it's silent." Yami narrowed her eyes, trying to sense anything strange.
"Lala? Yami? Anything in there?" Risa and Mio peeked from the doorway.
"Nothing yet."
"Okay, th—"
Suddenly, something flew at them.
They froze, unable to react.
But right then, Shichen stepped in and caught the flying object mid-air—just a couple of old music books.
"You two okay?" he asked as he walked in.
"Y-Yeah… Thank you, Principal!"
"Yeah, thanks! That scared the heck out of us!"
They both breathed a sigh of relief.
"You're lucky," Risa said, eyeing Yui with envy.
"W-What do you mean?" Yui noticed her gaze.
"Being held and protected by the principal… I want that too."
"Mhm!"
Yui blushed even more, unable to argue.
She wanted to say getting held came with a downside—like a certain someone grabbing her butt—but there was no way she could admit that. All she could do was punch Shichen's chest in frustration.
"What was that for?" he asked.
"Ask yourself!"
"Huh?"
"Over there!" Yami called out and took off running.
Shichen shook off the confusion and led the others after her.
Outside the music room, Yami had stopped at the door, unmoving.
Shichen stepped past her and froze.
Ahead, two anatomical models were moving—jerkily, creepily walking toward them. One had a half-skeletal face that looked especially disturbing.
"Ahhh!" Yui let out a sharp cry just from seeing it.
Shichen gave her a pat again to try distracting her with embarrassment, but she clung to him, terrified.
Creak… clack clack…
The figures shuffled forward with unsettling sounds.
"Get out!"
"Leave now!"
"They're talking! That's the same voice from before!"
"There really are ghosts!"
Risa and Mio screamed, clinging to each other.
"Huh? How are they even talking?" Lala walked right up to one and casually pulled its skull off.
"Lala…" Shichen chuckled.
"This thing's weird."
"G-Give it back…" the skull said.
"Wait, how's it speaking?"
"Put its head back and I'll show you," Shichen said.
"Okay." Lala reattached it and skipped back over to Shichen.
"Rain—come."
Holding Yui in one arm, Shichen raised his other hand. A red "α" symbol glowed on the back of his hand.
Suddenly, rain began to fall—out of nowhere.
The moment it hit the models, they crumbled—releasing dozens of tiny fuzzball-like creatures that spilled out onto the floor.
"Are those the ghosts?" Lala asked.
"Nope... Look over there." Shichen pointed deeper inside.
"Ah! Someone's there!"
A transparent figure was visible through the rain.
"Crap—they saw me!"
The figure spun and ran. "Help! Somebody help me!"
"Don't run!" Lala shouted, about to chase, but Shichen grabbed her collar.
"Shichen?"
"Hold on."
"But he's—"
RUMBLE—
Before she could finish, the old school building began to shake.
CRACK—!
Both side walls split open—and thick, purple tentacles burst through.
"You fools. You should've just left when you had the chance."
A booming, unfamiliar voice rang out—and the true form of the threat revealed itself: a massive, octopus-like alien, its gaping abyssal mouth opening wide, with a huge single eye above it.
"M-Monster!" Yui screamed.
"That's not a monster," Shichen said with a smile, patting her again.
"That's an alien."
"Eeeeek!"
~~~
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