"Have you heard of this rumor?"

"There's a rule you must never break, regarding a certain staircase."

"You should never step on the fourth stair..."

"If you do..."

"You'll be taken to the other side."

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"Nene-chan." Aoi said to the girl, looking worried at her. (Y/n) looked to see the daikon girl was lost in her thoughts.

'Those two...' Nene thought.

"So you can get along with a murderer, huh? Yashiro?"

'Hanako-kun said that...but...' Her brows furrowed. 'They seemed off, Hanako-kun was...angry? No, that's not it...and (Y/n)-chan...she seemed sad...'

"Nene-chan!" Aoi exclaimed.

"Huh?"

"You listening girl?" (Y/n) asked, worried as well.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" The girl apologized.

"You're always spacing out Nene-chan." The girl pointed out. "Do you have a new crush?"

"Ha, I wish." Nene sighed, feeding the plants nutrients to help them grow. (Y/n) smirked and hugged the taller girl.

"What are you talking about? You don't need anyone but me!"

"(Y/n)-chan!" The girl squeaked.

"Hmm...I know! Have you heard of this rumor?" Aoi excitedly said.

"The second of the eight mysteries, The Misaki Stairs."

"You must never step on the fourth step of that staircase."

"If you break that rule, you'll be dragged down to the world of the dead. And torn from limb to limb."

"They also say that at twilight, you can see blood dripping down the stairs. Even though there is no source."

"Wh-which staircase is this?" Nene asked shakingly, gripping onto (Y/n)'s shoulder in fear.

"Stairway B, in front of the art department. Some students have said they've seen pools of blood~" Aoi giggled creepily, still talking in her scary story voice. Nene gripped the shorter girl's shoulders tighter.

"What's wrong? I thought you liked these kinds of stories?" (Y/n) asked, wincing in pain. "Also that hurts."

"Ah! Sorry!" The daikon girl apologized. "And I do love them!"

'But...lately her stories have been true...' The girl thought.

"Okay good! I'm not exactly a fan of scary stories." Aoi beamed, entwining her hand with Nene's. "But if they make you feel better, I'll tell you as many as you want Nene-chan! And you took (Y/n)-chan!"

"Awesome, I quite like them. They're interesting." (Y/n) smiled.

"That's great!-"

"Oi!" A deep voice called out. The three girls looked to see their teacher. "Akane-san, think you're forgetting something?"

"Today in the art room. You, me. Guidance counseling." The teacher said, smirking.

"Ah right!" Aoi said, hurrying after him. "I'll find more scary stories to tell you two! I'll see you tomorrow!!"

The door closes as the two leave.

"Huh, that was weird..." (Y/n) commented.

"Huh?"

"You didn't notice the way he was talking to her? Creepy."

"Oh..."

"(Y/n)-chan!" Another voice exclaimed. "It's club time."

"Already? Can't I just skip this time Akane? I doubt you and Teru need me." She whined, now hugging Nene. "Besides, I wanna stay with Nene for longer."

"(Y/n)-chan..." The two sighed, used to how the female acts.

"I will drag you like last time." The red head stated. "And we both don't need to face that embarrassment again."

"That wasn't embarrassing, I mean for me at least." She giggled. "Oh how everyone thought we were in love~"

"Knock it off!" Akane yelled, already rushing the grab the female. "You're not running this time!"

"Oh shit- Gotta blast!" (Y/n) let go of Nene and sprinted out of the room, Akane giving chase after her.

"Get back here!!"

"Catch me if you can, ginger boy!!"

Nene sighed, smiling at the silliness of it all. She then looked back at the plants behind her to see the flowers blooming. 'Those two will love to hear they're blooming! I'll tell them tomorrow!'

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"What the hell?..." (Y/n) muttered in shock. "Where'd those flowers go?"

"(Y/n)-chan! Morning!" Nene greeted.

"Oh, yeah mornin." (Y/n) replied, yawning. "Man, I miss being able to drink coffee."

"You used to drink coffee?"

"Yeah, my siblings loved to experiment with their caffeine. And I was the guinea pig, they made some damn good stuff too." She yawned. "My sister used to add tapioca pearls before it became a trend. Ah good times..."

"Anyway, something isn't right..."

"Eh?" Nene tilted her head in question, now noticing something missing. "Where'd the flowers go?!"

"No clue, don't even know why someone would even move them." (Y/n) looked around, now noticing the teacher entering for homeroom. "Sensei, do you know who moved the flowers Aoi were taking care of?"

"Flowers?" He asked, then pointed over. "If you mean the class flowers, it's over there."

"What is that weed?!" Nene yelled, shocked at Lemon watering a dandelion.

"He's our summer flower duty guy, and Aoi?" The teacher raised a brow. "No one in this class has that name."

Nene stood there in shock, before immediately rushing out of the class. "Yashiro-san! We're in the middle of homeroom!"

"I got her, sensei." (Y/n) said, following the girl. As she caught up she sees the girl crying while holding her phone.

"It's not in service..."

"Check her home." She said, thinking over what's going on.

'She and everything connected to her is gone, even others memory of her...don't tell me-'

"Let's tell Hanako-kun." Nene said, clear desperation in her voice. She turned around to only run into someone. "Oof!"

"Whoa!" Nene falls and drops her phone in the process.

"You okay?" (Y/n) asked, rushing to bring the girl back on her feet.

"Yeah, I'm sorry."

"No I'm sorry, I should've watched where I was walking." The person replied, the two realizing it was a boy.

'A hot guy!' Nene screamed in her head.

'He looks like an ikemen...' (Y/n) deadpanned.

"Here, you dropped this." He said, handing the taller girl's phone back to her.

"Th-thank you so much!" The male walks away, slightly smirking to himself.

"Nene, come on. Let's go." (Y/n) said, dragging the girl to the bathroom.

"Ah! Right!"

Unbeknownst to the two, a black paper crane was stuck into Nene's hair. Soon in their rush, the crane fell out of the locks of daikon colored hair. It spread it's wings and glided into the female spirit's pocket.

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"She's vanished?" Hanako asked, currently playing a card game with the Mokke. "Hmmm..."

"Don't 'Hmmm...' me!" Nene yelled. "Where were you at? I looked for you this morning and lunch!"

"I'm a busy guy." Hanako explained. "Why haven't you reported her disappearance?"

"Because it's not just a normal disappearance." (Y/n) stated, floating over the two thinking. "Everything of hers was gone, her flowers, her desk, memories of her...It can't be something like a normal kidnapping."

"Oh-"

"Hanako!!" A boy's voice yelled loudly, the three turned to see Kou running into the bathroom.

"Minamoto-kun?! This is the girls' bathroom!" Nene exclaimed. Kou ignored her and grabbed Hanako by his shoulders.

"You jerk! What'd you do to my friends, Yakoo and Satou?!" He asked angrily, shaking the spirit violently.

"Kou-"

"This is obviously you're doing! Spreading those damn ghost stories, why does no one remember them?!"

"You mean, it's the same for you?!"

"Kou, let go." (Y/n) floated down and forcefully removed the boy's hands from Hanako. "It's just as I thought..."

"Ah, do you mean..."

"Yeah, considering that's the recent popular rumor." She stated, shrugging her shoulders. "It would make sense."

"You know what's happening?" Nene asked. "Where did Aoi go?"

The two spirits look at each other, Hanako clearing his throat to explain. "There are seven locations in this school that are connected to the realm of the dead. That staircase is one of them, the missing students were probably taken through there."

"Realm of the dead?"

"We call them boundaries, they're a realm that is in between the far shore and near shore." (Y/n) explained. "If a living human passes through a boundary, their entire existence is removed. Though it seems it doesn't affect those with spiritual awareness like you and Kou."

"I've heard of them, Nii-san told me about them." Kou said. "He said that everything forgotten ends up there, whether it be objects or spirits."

"Good, you're very knowledgeable Kou." (Y/n) smiled, patting the boy's head. He flushed at the contact and backed away instantly.

"C-can people who go there ever come back?" Nene asked, tears falling down her cheeks and brows furrowed in worry. (Y/n) heard her sniffles and floated to comfort the girl.

"Hey hey, no need to cry." She said soothingly. "We'll get Aoi back, you can count on that."

"(Y/n)-chan..." Nene said, hugging the female.

"There there..." (Y/n) reassured. "You'll be helping us too, since I know you're gonna want to follow."

"I'm going too!" Kou exclaimed. "I can't let you take Senpai in a place like that! I'll protect her!"

"I don't mind, but you're not my assistant. So you're on your own." Hanako sighed.

"Like I'd ever need your help!"

"Then don't come crying to me when you end up as a piece of meat." He teased, smirking at the boy's fear.

"Y-you're kidding!"

"He is...kind of." (Y/n) answered. "But I'm here to protect you both! So don't worry you're cute self!"

"Cute?!" The boy flushed red.

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"That's disgusting." (Y/n) said, looking at the blood drips down onto the steps.

"Is this what Aoi meant?..." Nene asked shakingly.

"She's okay Nene." (Y/n) reassured.

"We ready?" Hanako asked. "What was it again? The fourth one?"

"Right."

"Then let's go!" He cheered. "One!"

The four took a step.

"Two!"

Another step.

"Three!"

Nene looked closed her eyes in fright, expecting to feel pain when she takes the last step.

"Four."

She opened her eyes, seeing a very colorful and otherworldly area. "What is this place?"

"The Misaki Stairs." Hanako answered.

"Looks like she's been going to town." (Y/n) smirked, ready for anything.