*** Read in white mode for better experience.

You walked down the hallway of Kamome Gakuen high school, gaze set straight ahead on your destination, ignoring the curious stares coming from the students around you.

You shifted uncomfortably in your school uniform for the tenth time since you put it on before letting out an aggravated sigh.

'This dumb uniform will only make my job harder.'

"E-excuse me..."

You heard a voice call from behind you, but you kept walking, hoping they would give up and go away.
"Excuse me!" A hand on your shoulder finally made you stop and turn to face the person.

A brown-haired boy stood behind you. As soon as you made eye contact, his cheeks flushed bright red, and he quickly averted his gaze to the ground.

"You're Y/n L/n, right?" Instead of answering, you looked down at his hand that was still on your shoulder, your calm expression twisting into one of disgust.
"Why are you touching me?" You asked, and at the venom in your words, the boy was quick to retract his hand and lower his head.
"I-I'm Yuki Yurino," he stuttered. "I've was assigned to show you around s-since you're new...and all." He slowly lifted his head to give you a small smile, holding his hand out to shake yours. "I-I hope we can be friends." You stared down at the boy's hand with a frown.
"No thanks," you said dismissively before turning and heading toward the entrance to the old building. Yuki watched you in shock for a moment before hurrying to follow you.

"B-but-"
"I don't need a guide." You stopped and turned to glance back at him, the intensity of your gaze making him involuntary shrink back. "I have no intention of staying at this school. I just came to do a job."

With that, you left, leaving the rejected boy to watch you until you were completely out of sight.

You walked up the stairs of the old building and stopped at the third floor.

'Knock and say her name three times in front of the third stall of the girls' bathroom on the third floor of the old building and ask upon her presence.'

You looked around before your eyes landed on the sign above a door at the end of the hall.

Girl's Bathroom.

You made a beeline towards the room, wanting to get this done and get out of this school.

You entered the empty bathroom. It wasn't necessarily dirty, but it was clear that it wasn't used very often. You reached into your bag, pulling out a metal staff and pressing a button to make it grow about half your size as you approach the third stall.
"Time to exorcise you," you muttered, knocking three times.

"Hanako, Hanako, Hanako...Are you in there?"

You gripped your staff tightly, ready to attack as soon as the ghost appeared.

But it never did.

After a moment of silence, you growled in annoyance.
"Don't tell me I was lied to." You turned to leave, already planning the death of the person who had told you about this bogus rumor, only for the quiet creak of the stall door to make you whirl around and point your staff in that direction.
"Come out!" You shouted, watching as the third stall slowly opened. A boy wearing an older uniform peaked his head out, a smirk spreading across his face when he saw you.
"You summoned me?"
"Hanako of the seven wonders, prepare to be exorcised," you said, getting into a fighting stance.
"Oh, so you're an exorcist, hm?" He asked thoughtfully, but instead of answering, you rushed at him, aiming to hit him right in the stomach only for him to disappear right before the staff made contact.

'What the-'

Not even a second later, you felt a cold hand rest on your waist as another gripped your staff. Hanako stood behind you, the position forcing your back to press against his chest, and you couldn't help but shiver.

'He's so cold.'

"You think you can exorcise me?" You flinched, feeling his lips brush against your ear, but soon smirked.
"Actually, I do," you responded as blue lightning came from the staff, electrocuting the apparition and catching him off guard long enough for you to shove him off you. You swung your staff again, but he jumped up, causing you to miss by just a hair.
"Wow, you're pretty strong, a lot stronger than some others I've faced." You whirled around, attempting to strike but once again missing.
"Maybe the strongest...no, there was that one girl, and then there was a guy before her that was pretty strong too."

He appeared by the front door, and you rushed at him, throwing multiple attacks that he effortlessly dodged as he muttered to himself. "And then there was-"
"Shut up, and take this seriously!" You shouted, his relaxed attitude making you angrier by the second.
"Fiesty, aren't we?" He teased as you launched another attack, but this time he grabbed your staff once more, not even flinching at the shock. You tried to tug it back, but it wouldn't budge, and you were quick to let it go and try to throw a punch.

"Oh, but there's still something that all of you have in common," He said, catching your fist like it was nothing. You tried to grab your staff with your other, only for him to let it clatter to the ground. He grabbed your wrist, turning you around to shove you against the wall so that your back was facing him. He leaned in close to your ear.
"None of you can beat me," he concluded.
"I'm sure you know that I've killed someone, correct?"

After facing the fact that you weren't getting out of his grasp if he didn't allow it, you stopped struggling and nodded reluctantly.

"Well, I've asked for forgiveness, and God said that if I fulfill this role, my sins will be absolved, so I can't allow myself to get exorcised just yet." He brought your wrists together to hold them with one hand while he used his free hand to trace his finger across the side of your face. "Now, little miss exorcist, if you don't trust me, you're welcome to observe me if you want, and if I do anything that causes harm to someone in this school, you may exorcise me. Do we have a deal?" You analyzed his features, trying to detect any ulterior motives.

'If he's lying, then I sure can't tell.'

"Fine," you huffed, and Hanako smiled before releasing your arms. You reached down to grab your staff, pressing the button and making it shrink back to regular size before placing it back in your bag.
"But I'll be watching you from here on." Hanako smiled innocently, and you rolled your eyes.
"Looks like I'll be staying in this school for a little bit longer," you muttered as you headed towards the door.

"Hold on." You stopped when Hanako hovered in the air in front of you, floating upside down with your faces mere inches apart, but you still maintained your blank expression.
"I still owe you a wish," he said, and you raised a brow as he stared at you expectantly.

"No thanks."

With that, you left.

You sighed as you checked the paper with your schedule.

'This is not what I had planned,' you thought, opening the door to your homeroom class. All eyes turned towards you as you entered, looking around for a moment before making your way to an empty desk.

"Hold on!" You turned to look at the teacher who was standing at the front of the class.
"You must be the new student," he said. "I'm Mr. Tsuchigomori." He held out his hand for you to shake, and you reluctantly grabbed it, but as soon as you did, a familiar tingling sensation went from your hand and seemed to course through your entire body, similar to the feeling you had gotten when Hanako had touched you. You looked up at him with wide eyes.

"You're an-"

Before you could finish, he quickly pulled away and turned to face the rest of the class.
"Class, this is Y/n L/n. She will be joining us as of today. I would like you all to be patient with her since she's been homeschooled up until this point."

You looked around at the class. Some of the girls smiled and waved kindly, some of the boys watched you with interest, one or two of them even giving you flirtatious smirks and winks, while other people didn't even spare you a glance.

"Alright then." Mr. Tsuchigomori turned back to you after a moment of silence.
"You can sit at any open desk. Try to follow along for today, and I'll try to get you a book tomorrow. Welcome to our school."

You hardly tried to pay attention to whatever lesson Mr. Tsuchigomori said they were reviewing and instead stared out the window either at the garden or the cars passing by just outside the gate. A soft tugging of your hair made you whirl around to be face to face with the ghost from the bathroom. He smiled at you, and you narrowed your eyes, jerking your head to make your hair fall out of his hands.
"What are you doing here?" You hissed.
"Waiting to know what you wish for," He responded, the tone of his voice making it evident that your irritation amused him.
"I told you, I don't want anything, now leave me alone," you said, trying your best to keep from yelling at him.
"I won't leave you alone until you've made your wish," he said, taking your hair in his hand and playing with it once more. You rolled your eyes, opting to ignore him and hope he'd eventually go away.

Soon, the bell rang, and all the students stood up. All the friend groups began to join up, chatting and laughing together. You watched them all with a bored expression. For a moment, you considered joining them and attempting to make friends, but you quickly shook the thought out of your head and turned your attention back to the window.
"Aw, is somebody shy?" Hanako teased, poking your cheek playfully. "If you want friends, then just say the-"

"I'm not shy!" You yelled, catching the attention of a few other students. "And I...I don't need friends." You slapped his hand away and quickly stood up, grabbing your bag and heading out of the classroom.

You stood on the roof of the school, deep in thought.

'Why do people place so much importance in friendship? I've gone this long without it, and I've turned out perfect.'

You knew that was a lie, and no matter how much you tried to convince yourself that you didn't want, let alone, need friends you couldn't help but wonder how it felt.

Sensing a presence behind you, you sighed, closing your eyes and letting the wind blow through your hair.
"Hanako, if I wished for a friend, what would it cost me?" You asked.
"I thought you didn't need friends." His tone was teasing and playful, but on the inside, he was surprised at the question.

"I don't...But everyone else seems to value them so much. Plus, I've never had any friends before, so I'd like to know how it feels. So what's the cost?"
"I can't tell you until after it's done, but if that's what your wish, I'll be happy to grant it." You lowered your head, carefully considering your choice before turning to face him.
"Yes. I'd like to wish for a friend." Hanako smiled at your words.
"Good. Then consider it done," he said, and your eyes widened.
"It's that easy?" You looked around the rooftop, almost expecting someone to appear out of thin air. "Where are they?"
"Right here." You turned to look at Hanako, whose smile hadn't faltered as he began taking slow steps towards you.
"I'll be your friend."

You stared at him with wide eyes. It's not like you were against becoming friends with the apparition, but being an exorcist, you weren't too sure about it either.

"And in exchange?" You asked, and Hanako smiled.
"You'll be my assistant," he responded, and you titled your head in confusion.
"Assistant?"
"Yes. We can be friends too, of course, but I also need some extra help."

'I don't know exactly when he needs help with, but it can't be that hard, right? And even if it is, there's no going back now.'

"Fair enough," you nodded. "I'm Y/n, by the way." You said, remembering that you never told him your name. Hanako nodded.
"Nice to meet you."

And that's how you became friends with the apparition that would inevitably be your downfall.