Chapter 8: Could You Play it Cool if She Made a Move on You?

The cold air seeped through the ventilation and crawled up his back, subjecting the boy to a less pleasant way of waking up.

As if any way to wake up could ever be considered pleasant.

Trying to seal off the gap that was leaking heat with his covers, the boy switched from his crunched-up position to lying on his back, keeping the cold air of the room away from his body.

The only problem was that, except for the spot he had been sleeping in, the rest of the bed was not warmed up, and because of the decision that he had made in a rush, Haruto was now feeling the cold side of the bed on his clothes, with no way of falling back asleep.

Still, the boy smirked.

I'm a genius for this, he thought.

There had been many nights—too many to count—in which his mind would be troubled the first thing in the morning by a single question. Should he turn left or right? On which side should he be when he opens his eyes so that the eerie thought that somebody had been watching him sleep could subside?

How come I haven't thought of this until now?

Today, the answer finally came into view, and it was all thanks to this cold winter day that Haruto found the way to come out on top.

He had finally won. He could finally open his eyes to something that wasn't Yuurei's pink eyes prying into his soul.

So long had passed since the last time he had woken up to a plain ceiling—so long that he couldn't remember what that ceiling even looked like. Was it painted the same color as the rest of the room? Did it have any special models drawn on it? What if there was a hole in there that he had never dared gaze upon? Or what if what stood above Haruto all this time was a branch? A branch that he could climb and from on top of which he could get a good look at his whole room. No, the whole block!

Whatever lay up there, Haruto wouldn't know until he opened his eyes. Finally, the moment had come. It was the moment to find out what his ceiling was made of. It was the moment that his curiosity would be satiated, and a whole new world would open before the boy's eyes.

Expectations alone had the boy tremble, and that's when he opened his eyes, ready to face the view that would take him one step further up the stairs of life.

"Now!" his brain gave the signal, and Haruto opened his eyes.

"*_*"

"..."

But maybe mortal eyes were not yet ready to gaze past the wall called "ordinary" that kept life safe, stable, and void of adventure.

"As handsome as ever, my darling!"

Floating above him, with both of her hands stretched forth as if to reenact a kabedon with the bed serving as the wall, an all-too-familiar ghost with pink hair and pink eyes stared into the depths of Haruto's soul.

Upon thinking about it, his strategy could have only worked were he to open his eyes the second he turned. Dreaming about the beautiful ceiling that was now out of his sight only played in Yuurei's favor. Now, he was in an even more awkward situation than ever before.

"So, what will it be first? Breakfast? A morning shower? Or maybe..."

"How about you stop there before you say something you can't take back?"

At first, Yuurie had prepared her derpy face, expecting the usual reaction from the boy below her, who would act unimpressed most of the times he would find himself face-to-face with her. Yet something felt different this time.

"Eh~"

From the answer that he gave while looking another way, to the tone Haruto had used, everything pointed in one clear direction. And upon noticing that, Yuurei's derpy face turned into a smug smile.

"Could it be... You're getting shy?~"

"Are you listening to what you're saying? There's no way I'd get shy over something like this—"

But Haruto's words didn't seem to reach Yuurei's ears, and whatever he was trying to say got cut off the moment the ghost leaned in closer to the boy's face. So close that were she to have breath, Haruto would feel its warmth on his lips.

"Kyaaaa! That's so cute! Look at you getting all red and flustered. I guess that's how boys act at your age. I was expecting a bit more mature calmness by now, but I think I like this side of you even more!"

"Whenever you feel like it, you can set away your twisted fantasies and get off of—"

"Oh?~ 'My' fantasies, you say?"

With the curtains closed, it was still pretty dark in the room, and in that dimly lit room, a color never before seen made its appearance. Through Yuurei's gaze and hair, the room had been decorated with a deep purple that went above and beyond what hair and eyes are supposed to do and shone its color on the walls and everything around.

"So how about it, darling? If these are my fantasies, could I trouble you to give me the answer I am looking for? It's been so long since spring... I might not be able to hold back any longer~"

"Hold back? Hold back on what?" Haruto asked, his pulse rising way beyond what was normal for an usual morning. "What can a ghost possibly do in this situation?"

"Oh... it's just something that I have been thinking about these past few days," Yuurei answered in a whispered voice, licking her lips as she closed the already small distance between them.

"This ghost could eat you whole for example~"

In these desperate moments when the answer to Yuurei's confession was the last thing Haruto could think about, one thing got engraved into the boy's mind. His one salvation, and the only place he found peace in.

"I want back on my branch..." he whispered.

"No branch is getting you out of this~ Not without my answer~."

That's when the doorbell rang throughout the small apartment.

"Branch! You're here for me!" the boy shouted, breaking away from Yuurei's grips and rushing to the door.

Behind him, the girl—whose hair had lost its shine and turned to a disappointed blue—sighed, and she watched her meal talk to whoever was downstairs.

"Huh? Why do you know where I live?"

Yet whether that saving branch was one Haruto could grab on to or one that would let him down when he relied on it most, that was yet to be confirmed.

"I just have something to tell you... Don't tell me that you won't call your pretty senpai up to see your apartment. You know this is a chance few come across..."

The one who was waiting at the entrance was the one woman Haruto considered even more dangerous than the ghost. A being just as unpredictable, but not lacking the body needed to interact with her surroundings.

"Fine... you can come up if you want to."

"Eh~ That's no way to speak to your seniors now, is it?"

With nothing left to do but sigh, the defenseless boy called the vampire into his abode.

"Please come up, Airi-senpai."

When those words resounded in Yuurei's ears, she grabbed onto her chest, confirming that her heart did not suddenly start beating again.

"So why..." she asked herself.

"Why does my chest feel so tight?..."