The hide and seek game! Ayumu vs Masami.

‘I found you!’ Ayumu failed to recognize Masami's voice. A cold sweat trickled down his back. He turned his gaze to the small room, devoid of any hiding places. Then, he pivoted toward the entrance, swallowing hard as time was running out before the girl discovered him. Yuuko said the place wasn’t abandoned. The girl who sometimes hid here may have been aware of Ayumu. She would search his belongings to confirm her doubts. Ayumu furrowed his brow and swallowed the lump in his throat. If hiding was futile, he only had one option.

‘I need to escape!’ with his right hand gripping the doorknob, he heard a barely audible click as the door locked. The boy peered through the narrow opening, saw an empty corridor. Ayu took a deep breath, and silently opened the door and stepped forward, striving to minimise any noise. Ignoring the need to close the door, he approached the staircase when, out of nowhere, the door slammed shut behind him. ‘Damn it!’ the girl’s voice reverberated.

‘Do you think you can run away!?’ Ayumu dashed forward, nearly stumbling down the stairs but, but somehow kept his balance. The girl’s footsteps approached the hallway, only to be interrupted by a beeping sound that halted her. Masami announced, ‘Alright, I enjoy a game of hide and seek too! I’ll give you a chance!’ silence once again pervaded the vicinity. Ayumu anxiously glanced toward the stairs, hearing no approaching footsteps. With little time to spare, he hurried toward the main entrance. Through the small windows of the door, he glimpsed three other students engaged in a heated argument.

‘What the hell do I do now?’ his gaze darted around the scene, seeking an alternative escape route. His attention settled on the wide hallway leading to the hot springs. ‘Through the backdoor!’

‘Ready or not, here I come!’ Masami’s enthusiastic voice echoed from above. A mischievous smile adorned the face of the blonde girl as she strolled down the hallway, drawing closer to the stairs. ‘I hope you’ve hidden well… Ayumu.’

Ayumu halted in front of the locker room door, preparing to push it open in a hurry. To his surprise, someone opened it from the inside. Startled, he lowered his gaze and found himself met with the crystal blue eyes of a girl, no older than 8 years old. She was wrapped in a towel, her silver-haired dishevelled. Both were a bit stunned by the unexpected encounter.

‘Nori!’ she remained stupefied, beholding an image of a woman with similar features in Ayumu. The boy quickly covered her mouth to prevent her from screaming. The girl shook her head, dispelling the illusion. ‘It’s impossible that it’s her.’ The girl noticed the scar on Ayumu’s hand with horror, her face contorting in a grimace of pain and anger. As Ayumu turned, hearing the creak of the wooden tiles, a faint whitish gleam sprang into the girl’s eyes. Her index and middle fingers were covered in a layer of ice, resembling sharp needles. With a swift movement, she directed them, ready to pierce Ayu’s chest. At that moment, she visualised him dead, fulfilling her every desire to see him annihilated. Her hand stopped just before a deadly impact. Startled, she quickly concealed her hand as Ayumu turned his gaze towards her.

‘Forgive me,’ Ayumu uttered quietly. He took her hand and dragged her along with him to the locker room. He carefully closed the door

‘Got’ya!’ Sakai peeked into the hallway but found no one. She strolled down the corridor at a slow, calm pace. ‘I’ve never heard of a ghost that plays hide-and-seek so poorly…’ she mocked, standing in front of the bathroom door. ‘I guess not everyone can win, huh?’ Opening the locker room door, she was greeted by a dense cloud of steam. Masami waved her hand to dissipate it. ‘What a sore loser.’ In an unexpected encounter, Masami’s gaze and the silver-haired child’s met. The child’s body was submerged in the water, leaning against the smooth stone. Both were taken aback, and silence ensued. The morning sunlight sparked off the water, blinding Masami’s vision.

‘Wow!’ the child feigned to be astonished. ‘Have you come to enjoy the hot springs too?’ she smirked warmly. ‘Maybe Onee-chan doesn’t know.’ She made a pensive expression upon seeing Masami’s surprised face. ‘But this place is prohibited.’ With a sinister smile, she lifted her hair as if she had horns. ‘If you don’t leave soon, you’ll suffer the curse of the Onihime, who will pursue you until you beg for death.’

‘But… it was supposed to… What?’ Masami retreated apologetically. ‘Sorry!’ She stepped back and closed the door behind her, leaning against it in confusion. ‘How strange, I could have sworn…’ Her cellphone beeped again. ‘Right, my phone!’ she retraced her steps and ascended the stairs.

‘Your fangirl has already left,’ the girl looked toward the rocks, and Ayumu emerged from behind them, walking towards her.

‘Thanks for covering for me.’ His clothes clung to his body, weighed down by the water. She glanced at the mark on his hand, her expression growing serious.

‘Tell me, Onii-chan,’ she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. ‘Don’t you think such a visible tattoo could cause problems?’ he turned to look at her, his confusion clear.

‘Tattoo?’ He glanced down at his hand, following the girl’s gaze, and noticed the mark for the first time. ‘What the hell? When did I get this scar?’ he turned back to her, and she burst into laughter, capturing his attention.

‘I’d like to know that, too. Stay with me for a while. Who knows, maybe we’ll even discover how you got it.’

‘I can't, sorry. I’m waiting for a woman, but she hasn’t arrived yet. She may have got into trouble because of me.’ Ayumu walked toward the wooden fence. The girl gave him another suspicious look.

‘Oh, your girlfriend?’ he turned around, blushing. ‘Let’s see how this unfolds…’

‘No, she’s not my girlfriend. She’s my teacher.’

‘A teacher?’ The girl closed her eyes and offered a fake smile. ‘Great, I thought I couldn’t be Onii-chan’s girlfriend!’ she taunted. ‘That teacher could be…’

‘Do you know Miss Serizawa?’ she looked at him again, somewhat puzzled.

‘Yuuko, what kind of trouble have you got yourself into?’ she grinned sweetly once more. ‘Of course, Yuu is Natsu’s friend.’ She averted her gaze from the young man. ‘Well, that’s odd… If she said she’d be here, she should show up soon. Maybe you should reconsider staying longer.’

‘I’m really worried about her. If those four found out about me, she’ll be at risk.’

‘Huh? But Natsu wants to play with Onii-chan a little longer.’ She puffed up her cheeks and feigned annoyance.

‘Look, if we meet again, I promise to play with you, okay?’

‘Sure, remember your promise,’ she mocked, ‘bye, bye…’ Ayumu leaped over the fence. She extended her arms, her mind fixated on the mark on the boy’s hand. Natsu emerged from the water with a perplexed expression. ‘I hope you have a good explanation, Yuuko.’ Her childish tone shifted into a more mature one.