Chapter 5
Moments later, poor Aiger, Valt, Honcho, Pheng, and Fumiya were forced to kneel before the class, their legs wobbling like jelly. The senior had saddled them with heavy stacks of books and dictionaries, weighing down their trembling arms and making kneeling a real pain. To add insult to injury, if any of them dared to shift position or drop their paper tower, the senior would whack them mercilessly with a long fan - which he had sneakily stolen from Honcho, of course.
The other three students had somehow avoided this cruel punishment, having reported themselves to the senior beforehand and begged to be let off the hook. Lucky them!
As Daigo had mentioned, this senior was a real looker, with his long white hair, smooth androgynous face, and striking mismatched red-and-blue eyes that went well with his gray school vest and button-up white shirt. But Valt couldn't help noticing the guy bore an uncanny resemblance to Hyde, the upperclassman from earlier - just way more sadistic when it came to dishing out creative punishments. Valt gulped nervously, wondering what other tortures this senior had up his sleeve.
Then again, he knew they were getting off lightly this time. The last tardy had earned him a brutal punishment - 300 grueling lines of "I will not sleep late because I wanted to hunt for ghosts and missed class." By the time he finished, his arms were like wet bread dough. Still, he braced himself for more pain.
As the senior lectured, Valt's arms ached and his legs tingled with numbness. Aiger muttered curses under his breath, while Honcho looked half-dead, his spirit practically floating out before a sharp smack jolted him back. The rest of the class frantically copied the senior's warnings, occasionally shooting pitying glances their way. Ken in particular appeared guilt-ridden.
The upperclassman, Mr. Phi, gestured to the tardy group and declared, "This is the punishment that awaits you if you're late. I expect punctuality from all of you, every single day. Fail, and you'll face my harsh personal retribution."
The class muttered a reluctant, "Yes, Mr. Phi."
Delta exasperatedly copied his notes while beside him, Dante chatted obliviously with a pair of red-and-blue twins, unaware of the danger looming. Ranjiro watched his brother Honcho with concern and pity, wincing each time the fan struck him. Shasa whispered excitedly to a new girl with pink hair and blue eyes. Ichika discussed the merits of literature with Arman and Hanna Suiro, as they were supposed to. Naru, Aiger's little sister, chatted about shopping with Valt's siblings Toko and Nika, who Valt suspected had a crush on her.
Mr. Phi calmly wrote on the board, casually tossing more books onto the students' already-buckling piles. Nearby, Pheng and Fumiya had stopped arguing and were attempting to redistribute their loads to the nearest pile - Aiger's. Honcho looked at Valt desperately, silently pleading that they wouldn't perish under the weight (metaphorically, of course).
Just then, the door slammed open and a familiar voice called out, "Yo, Phi!" It was Hyde, the upperclassman from earlier, strolling in with his signature casual swagger. "Whatcha doin'? Kyle's off and Evel's in his lab. Need some help?"
The class eyed the newcomer with a mix of curiosity and awe - some girls swooning over his "god-like beauty," as Daigo put it, while others regarded him with suspicion. Phi wore an annoyed yet fond expression. Hyde peered at the tardy bunch, who gazed back at him with pleading eyes, begging to be saved.
"What the hell, Phi?" Hyde sauntered over and plopped right down on Phi's desk. "Thought we agreed - no 'creative punishments' till midterms! 'Sides, they're late 'cause Evel was terrorizing 'em. As co-teacher and your only blood relative, I'm lifting their punishment so they can get back to classwork!"
Valt silently cheered as the class watched in awe - Phi, the campus's notorious harsh upperclassman, was about to meet his match. All eyes turned to Phi, waiting for his verdict. The man himself massaged his temples, then let out a resigned sigh. "Fine."
Immediately, the students tossed their books aside and tried to stand, only to collapse back down, their legs numb. Hyde grinned at Phi, who pointedly ignored him and continued with his work. Up close, their resemblance was uncanny - identical twins, Valt realized. Scrambling to his desk, Valt gratefully began copying Honcho's notes.
The "savior" himself, Hyde, was now chatting amusedly with Phi, smirking and swearing despite the rules. "I'm telling ya, it's getting damn good! Those guys you mentioned? Gotta be a strong one. Think we should corner 'em down?"
Phi cut in, irate. "Hyde. I'm in the middle of a class. We can talk about this later-"
Hyde interrupted rudely, earning a scowl from his twin. "Come on! Been so long since somethin' like this happened! The fuck you hesitating for? You're usually the first to act. Don't tell me you're waiting for me to help, dear brother o' mine?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Phi caught sight of Hyde's Cheshire-like grin and relented. "No. Maybe. Yes, fine. Damn you, manipulative son of a bitch. You're lucky you're my twin, otherwise you'd be dead."
Hyde cackled gleefully, delighted. Unbeknownst to them, the entire class was leaning in not-so-discreetly, eager to eavesdrop. Just then, the door - that ever-dramatic harbinger of entrances - slammed open again, for what must have been the gazillionth time that day.
"What the hell?" Two new heads poked in. "Uh, is this the ELA class?"
"Yes," Phi cut in quickly, before Hyde could presumably reply with a colorful expletive. "And who might you two be, and why are you late?"
"I'm Yugo," the mohawked boy answered, gesturing to his companion. "And this is Ukio. We're new here, and we've got a late slip."
"From who? That red-spiked dude?" Hyde laughed, swinging his legs around before somersaulting to land right in front of the newcomers. "Tell 'im he's still gotta beat me in a street brawl! Otherwise, I ain't telling him how to nail a stomp to the face without getting his own ass kicked!"
Yugo stared at Hyde, eyes wide with disbelief, as if the boy had suddenly sprouted a second head. Meanwhile, Ukio pinched the bridge of his nose, exasperation written all over his face. Clearly, the new students had not been properly warned about the notorious craziness and sheer insanity of the upperclassmen - a fact currently on full display. Valt knew brawling was strictly forbidden in this academy, but given his recent discovery that ghosts were real, he wouldn't put it past them to break that rule too.
"Yes, sir," Ukio said warily, blissfully unaware that the real danger was standing right beside him. "We got the information from Mr. Xander. May we please join the class?"
Phi waved a dismissive hand. "Yes, you may. But let me give you a friendly warning - never, ever accept an invitation from that maniac over there," he said, pointing at Hyde, "to anything involving excessive slang and more than six swear words per sentence. That's his idea of 'fun.' I'd strongly advise you to heed my warning, for your own safety and sanity."
Yugo could only nod dumbly, at a complete loss for words. Hyde was barely containing his laughter, while Ukio facepalmed himself in dismay. Valt shuddered - Phi gave that same unnerving warning to his class regularly, and it was definitely worth taking seriously. Valt had heard about two students who ignored it, only to end up in the hospital and promptly expelled, with the culprit himself completely unscathed.
Yugo and Ukio settled themselves at their own table, eyeing the room. Valt waved and mouthed a greeting, which Ukio returned. Suddenly, the bell rang, dismissing them all for the next period. Valt hastily gathered his books and walked down the corridor with Honcho, chatting animatedly.
WHAM! Valt collided with someone, hard. His books scattered across the floor in a circle around them. Valt hurriedly bent down to pick them up, then dropped them again to help the stranger. "Oh no! I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"
Valt froze, biting his tongue, as a pair of familiar ruby eyes met his own, filled with concern and recognition. He stood there, tongue-tied, because he'd seen those eyes just the day before - and they belonged to only one person: Mystery.
Shu looked over at Valt, his face etched with worry. "Are you okay, Valt? I'm sorry, I was late because I had to move in. I hope you can forgive me."
Valt could only manage a flustered "S-Sure," acutely aware of Honcho standing behind him. Shu bent down and gently retrieved the scattered books, handing the pile to Valt. He then finally noticed Honcho and greeted him warmly. "Oh, hello. You must be Valt's friend, Rantaro. He's said such nice things about you. I'm Shu, Valt's...friend."
Honcho grinned and winked at Valt, the implication clear. "I'm Valt's buddy, Honcho! Welcome to the academy! You're rooming with him, right?" He punctuated the question with another obnoxious wink.
"Yes, I am. Pleased to meet you, Honcho-san. I hope we can be friends as well." Shu bowed respectfully, drawing a laugh from Honcho. Valt squirmed, mortified by Honcho's suggestive behavior.
Just then, the others caught up to them. "Hey!" Aiger called out, a new boy - Hikaru? - beside him. "Where were you? We've got Math next, and I don't want Elsa to wipe the floor with me again!"
"S-Sorry, we're over here!" Valt replied. "Aiger, this is Shu. Shu, Aiger's my new roommate." He shot Honcho a pleading look. "And we're not like that, Honcho, so stop laughing!"
Honcho's snickering only intensified. Aiger picked up on the subtext and sent Valt a mischievous grin. Valt silently thanked the heavens when Hikaru spoke up. "Honcho, where's Hyuga? I thought he was supposed to be here?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, I did tell him to come." Honcho glanced around. "But knowing him, he's probably off with that Bel kid again."
"What?!" Hikaru exploded. "If he does that one more time, I'm banning him from social media! That guy almost blew up the school statue because he was bored! No way I'm letting him hang out with Daizora again!"
"Yo, everyone!" Dante rushed up, his face split in a manic grin. "I heard there's gonna be a duel in the courtyard, and I wanna be in it!" He pressed his face into an exaggeratedly excited look until Delta scooped him up and patted his head.
"Calm down, Dante," Delta ordered. Everyone knew he had a massive crush on the excitable boy and relished any chance to tutor him. “I’m tutoring you after school, remember? You can watch it at my place.”
Dante deflated, his ADHD energy spent. But just as quickly, he perked up again. "Gwyn promised he'd help too, so I don't need tutoring! He said I can visit his house and watch the match. Yaaay!!"
Delta's brow darkened as he loomed over Dante, muttering under his breath. Clearly, this Gwyn character posed a threat to Delta, given Dante's apparent friendship with him. Shu seemed lost, and Valt couldn't blame him.
They exited the hall and entered the chattering classroom, where the slumbering teacher went unnoticed as the students eagerly gossiped about the latest rumors. Shu sidled up to Valt and spoke in a low, conspiratorial voice.
"You've met two Mysteries in your last class."
Valt whipped his head around so fast, his spine let out an audible crack. "WHAT?!"
Shu winced and quickly shushed his friend. "I can see their magical signatures on you. They must have rubbed off when you were around them. One you've met before, the other is new. I can't identify them, but since the traces are faint, they likely don't know about you. So we don't have to worry."
Valt sighed in relief. "Oh, thank god, Shu! You really had me going there. Wait, who do you think they are?"
Shu considered this, a thoughtful look on his face. "Probably someone...distinctive. To be honest, Valt, we Mysteries aren't exactly the picture of stability after over 20 centuries in the twilight realm. So most of us would appear insane or odd to normal eyes. And the magic enhances our appearances and personalities - we tend to be very striking, often considered handsome or extraordinarily beautiful. Does that make sense?"
Valt glanced around the room, where the girls were openly ogling Shu, giggling and chirping like a flock of enamored birds. "Yeah, I think I get it."
Daigo plopped down next to Valt, eyeing him and Shu with a sly grin. "Yo, Valt. Who's your romantic partner? This guy? Nice pick."
Valt and Shu both exploded, "WHAT?!" The entire class swiveled their heads towards the trio.
Daigo snickered and raised an eyebrow at Valt, the implication crystal clear. Valt's face burned with embarrassment. "NO, WE'RE NOT! DAAAAIIIGOOOO!!" he shrieked.
Shu hid his flushed face behind a textbook, clearly mortified. But Daigo was unperturbed. "So you're in denial? Damn. Was hoping to see you two kiss."
Shu snapped his head up, ruby eyes seething with embarrassment and a hint of grudging admiration. Meanwhile, Valt's brain had short-circuited, desperately trying and failing to reboot. Clearly, Honcho had updated everyone on the situation and encouraged them to escalate it.
Daigo's voice came barging in, interrupting the silence as he fidgeted with his skull-adorned hair clip. "Well, anyway, there's a new rumor going around. Have you heard the latest?" he asked, his tone dripping with mischief.
Shu looked up, his full attention now on Daigo. Nearby, Valt's brain had crashed, desperately trying to salvage whatever dignity remained. He was definitely going to murder Honcho for this.
"Apparently, there's been a string of thefts around the school," Daigo continued, poking Valt relentlessly, each jab a little more painful than the last. Valt remained unresponsive, lost in his own personal torment. "No one knows who's behind it, and even with cameras and locks, random things keep getting stolen - mostly stuff that holds significance to the victims. And if you try to steal them back, well, let's just say they'll be sorely missed."
Shu hummed thoughtfully to himself. Daigo, growing bored of poking Valt, decided to take a more direct approach, reaching for his ear and twisting it a full 360 degrees, his nails clamped on tight. Valt awoke with a yelp. "Daigo! Owowowowow!"
"Anyway, that's all I got," Daigo said, catching sight of someone and striding off towards them. "See ya. Got a thing with Ken." He turned back to the duo and smirked widely. "Hope you two get to first base soon. Can't wait to see Valt swooning over someone."
"WHAT?! DAIGO-" Valt screeched, but his dark goth friend had already disappeared, chatting with his ventriloquism crush. Valt dropped his head into his hands, wondering if he was going insane. At this point, it would at least help relieve him of the headache from all this madness. "Oh my god. I'm sorry, Shu. I had no idea they'd do that, I swear..."
Shu's face scrunched up in deep thought, making him look adorably cute. Valt shook off the distracting thought and turned back to Shu. "Wait, do you know something and you're planning on not telling me?"
"No." Valt glared at Shu, who quickly relented. "Alright, fine. It's about that rumor your friend mentioned - the one about the thefts."
Valt blinked. "The thefts? What about them?"
"Nothing." With that, Shu dismissed the entire conversation. Valt grumbled to himself, knowing he'd get no further reaction from his stubborn friend.
The morning carried on without incident. Valt sat with Shu, watching as he neatly copied Valt's messy notes during their lunch break. Aiger and Ranjiro had caught up to them, dragging along Hanna, Ichika, Honcho, and the trio embroiled in a love triangle. Meanwhile, Delta glared daggers at who Valt assumed was Gwyn, who was chatting with Dante, Arman, and Taka - the poor new silver-haired boy steadfastly ignoring the intimidating glare. The cafeteria buzzed with the lively chatter of the group.
Ben rambled on anxiously as Daigo glared at him, with poor Ken caught in the middle. "I'm telling you, something's up with all these new thefts. There's no way it's just one person. It's gotta be a group," Ben insisted.
Daigo sassed back, "So? Do you have any proof? I don't know who it is, but it sure as hell ain't a human. How else could it slip past Hawk Woman?"
Hanna was rummaging through her purse, a worried look on her face. "Um, guys? Has anyone seen my iPad? I saved for 5 years with my brother and friend Pri's help to buy it."
Taka joined the search. "Speaking of, does anyone see my phone? I thought I left it on the table." He turned to Arman, "Big bro, did you take it?"
Arman looked confused. "No, I didn't. I had my own, so why would I take yours? I thought you still had it."
Taka's distress was evident as he anxiously exclaimed, "I swear I put it in here!" Hanna also looked visibly worried. Shu frowned as he inquired, "Are you sure you didn't misplace it?"
"Yeah, I'm positive," Hanna insisted, her eyes shining with tears. "I never went out without it - I used it constantly. There's no way I could have lost it, especially now when I need it for my finals study notes. That iPad is my most important thing ever."
Taka solemnly agreed, "Same here. I had so many important things stored on mine - photos with you guys, my drawings..." His voice cracked with emotion. Arman joined the search but came up empty-handed. Even Dante appeared troubled, as no one had touched their belongings, let alone taken them.
Shu went to comfort the distraught pair as the others abandoned their meal to help search. By the time the lunch bell rang, their missing items remained elusive. Valt sighed as he headed to his next class, Social, pondering, "I just don't get it. No one would dare steal here - the consequences are too severe. So how could our things just randomly vanish like that?"
Valt opened his backpack, only to find it completely empty - not a single item inside, even after shaking it multiple times. It was as if someone had secretly removed all of his belongings without him knowing. "Huh? Wait, what?! Where did all my stuff go?!" Valt sputtered in disbelief.
Shu hurried over to investigate. "Valt, what's wrong?" he asked.
"M-My stuff! It's missing!" Valt stammered, starting to panic. This was just like what had happened earlier!
Suddenly, a spooky voice crept into Valt's ears, lilting ominously. "Maybe it's Shikaku-san~"
"GYAHH!" Valt shrieked at the top of his lungs, making Daigo wince. "Sheesh, just scaring ya. Nothing to be so freaked out about," Daigo dismissed, rummaging through his own bags for snacks.
Shu plugged his ears with high-tech earbuds, prepared for the inevitable. "Who's Shikaku-san?" he asked Daigo.
Just then, a booming voice resounded right beside them. "Hahaha! I didn't think anyone would still listen to those rumors! Good!" Xander Shakadera, the loudest senior on board, had yelled directly into their ears. Valt was absolutely petrified, while Shu and Daigo winced in unison - they'd been through this before, and it was nasty.
"Oh dear..." Shu muttered.
"GYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAA!" Valt screeched, rattling the window panes. Even Xander looked momentarily scared as Valt continued his bone-chilling wail. "GYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAA! WHY IS EVERYTHING SO MESSED UP TODAY?!"
Xander frantically tried to calm the raving, shrieking Valt, who was in the midst of a full-blown meltdown. "Calm down, calm down, CALM DOWN!" he pleaded, to no avail. Fortunately for Xander's eardrums, Valt had already expended most of his formidable lung capacity from his earlier tirade, leaving him with only a few feeble squeaks.
Swooping in to the rescue, Daigo jammed an enormous taiyaki pastry straight into Valt's open mouth, instantly muffling his cries. "Thank goodness that's over," Xander sighed in relief, rubbing his temples. Beside him, Yugo and Ukio looked on in stunned silence.
"I'm starting to question whether he's even human," Yugo muttered.
Just then, a princely-looking boy with spiky gray hair approached them. "Uh, hi. I thought I heard someone getting murdered over here. Do you guys need any help?" It was Xavier Bogard, Aiger's rival.
"No, no, we're fine now, thanks," Shu replied, still comforting the now-sulking Valt. Daigo shook his head, struggling to suppress his laughter - everyone knew Valt's earsplitting shrieks could shatter glass with ease.
"Why does all the weird stuff always happen to me?!" Valt whined. Shu had no idea how to console his friend, especially with Daigo's simple but effective tactic of shoving food in his mouth. Valt continued his litany of complaints, "First I'm late, then my stuff goes missing, and now I'm the target of every scare in the universe? What the actual flip is going on?!"
Shu turned back to Xander, the guy in question, still consoling Valt. "I gather you know something about these thefts?" he asked.
"Yes, I do!" Xander grinned. "There's a rumor going around about 'Shikaku-san'," he said, making air quotes.
"Shikaku-san?" Daigo blurted out. "I haven't heard that one before. What's it about?"
Xander waved his hand. "Ah, it's a mystery. They say Shikaku-san steals items around the school to feel the owners' love and ease their loneliness. You can take your things back, but you mustn't look Shikaku-san in the eye - otherwise, they'll take your soul as compensation."
Several students shivered. "The stolen items were indeed all essential to their owners," Xander added. "I hope they find the culprit soon."
Valt muttered, "Gah, that's just plain creepy." Shu's expression turned contemplative. Daigo seemingly shrugged and walked off, presumably to speak with someone else. "Well, I suppose that's the latest news. I'm off. See you."
Valt griped openly, "Okay. But how does that make sense with my stuff going missing? I don't see how a rumor would justify taking all my books! No offense, Shu."
"None taken." Shu's face contorted into a thoughtful expression as he stalked off with Valt. "Though I'm not sure if this is a human's work."
As they left the table, a stray eyeball seemed to rise up from the ground, its iris fixed intently on tracking Valt's movements. As he left the classroom with Shu, it skipped off the table using its bloody nerves and skittered after him…