Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

10pm. 

'That was so fun!'

'The food was so good...'

'You think those Yōkai stories the Shinonome siblings were telling are true?'

'Pfft, no way!'

It was the night after the school festival...a once-in-a-year dance where students from Kamiyasuzaka Academy can enjoy theirselves, socialise, party and tell stories. Stories...about Yōkai.

Kamiyasuzaka: a school in Kyoto central known for its supposed 'spiritual link' to ghostly beings. A school where legends are shared, from Kitsunes, to the Gashadokuro, and are spread like wildfire (usually by Akito and Ena Shinonome). A school where bathroom stalls, and dorms, and homerooms are covered in ghost charms and stickers. A school...which Momoi Airi loves.

Momoi Airi, a second year transfer student, who dreams of becoming an idol. Back in Shibuya, she never cared for such legends, she believed that myths had no reason to affect her life in any way...but that all changed when she moved to Kyoto. The festivals, the light, the joy...it was so spectacular to her. It felt weirdly...home-like. And, ever since, she's been researching further into the history of her new school..

'Hey, Ena!! What was that story you were talking about? I missed a few notes..'

'Eh? Oh, Airi! You're seriously noting this stuff down? You got an essay or somethin'?'

She asks with a slight laugh. She was carrying art supplies, very likely back to her dorm room. During the dance, rather than...dancing, she sketched out different outfits for the night. Might seem creepy to just look at people, but hey, thats artists for you.

'I mean...not really, but i really wanna note it down! Especially if there ARE actual ghosts in our school, y'know?'

Ena shakes her head, and raises an eyebrow. She looks at Airi with a slight smile, her chocolate brown eyes with a sense of mischeif. She thinks for a short moment, messing with her uniform ribbon. The freckled girl lets out a sigh.

'...'kay. Tommorow, lunch time, meet me at the library. Got it?'

'Tommorow-?!'

'Take it or leave it, im tired.'

'You little b- ...alright. see ya then.'

'See ya, Aiiiii~'

Dorm Room 2B - Airi Momoi, Haruka Kiritani, Minori Hanasato.

'Oh, i won! Look, its a diagonal!'

'Ahhh, w-well done, Haruka-Chaaaaan!'

'Oi, you two started game night without me?'

Two girls were sat cross-legged in the middle of the dorm room. One a blue haired girl, one a brunette, playing Connect 4. The lights were dim, and they were already in their pajamas, occassionally sipping on hot chocolate as they played with focus. This was, no doubt, the joyful and loveable Kiritani Haruka, and the enthusiatic, pining Hanasato Minori. Airi's roomates.

'Hm? Oh, hey Airi! Me and Minori were waiting for you!'

'We've already made your hot chocolate, so you should hurry and get into your pajamas soon!'

'Huh? Oh, okay, thanks!'

'Oh wait, and also- ...there she goes..'

'So fast...'

The pink haired girl nods, sprinting to the bathroom to get changed before Haruka could utter another sentence, notebook still in hand. She dodges all of the random charms that fell into the ground, before looking at herself in the mirror. She puts her hair down and smiles. She writes a few notes and reminders for tommorow, before letting out a satisfied hum, and getting changed.

'This is gonna be fun...'

Chapter Text

10:45pm

'Im baaaack~!'

The pinkette grins, twirling in her pajamas that were nearly as bright as her own hair. Her facial expression showed a sense of pride, almost as if she didnt spend half an hour getting ready. She grabs her cat plushie from her bed before running over to Minori and Haruka.

'Ooh- finally!'

'Me and Haruka-Chan got to play like 4 more games while you were gone! Its almost time for ghost stories!!!'

Airi raises and eyebrow, a smile creeping onto her face. This was the best part of Festival Days...everyone was talking about crazy, scary or downright strange stories and myths. It was the most social that Kamiyasuzaka becomes all year!

'...ghost stories? Told by the oh so almightly Kiritani Haruka? Oh what a miracle- OW WHAT THE HELL!'

Before she could finish speaking, a penguin plush hit her right on the head. Minori was trying to supress her giggles, while Haruka smiled a smug smile. Airi swiftly flips her off, her hair utterly ruined by her standards.

'Im getting revenge on you-'

'Please, Airi, wouldn't you just let me get on with the story?'

'Yeah, i wanna hear it too!'

'Ugh..fine. still gettin' revenge though..'

She mumbles under her breath. The three girls sit in a small circle around a small lantern, crossing their legs, and holding their respective plushies tightly. Minori and Airi's eyes were locked to Haruka's every movement. She takes a quiet sigh...

'Right...this starts back about a decade ago..'

She says...she lifts up the lantern, putting it infront of her face to cast an orange, menacing light upon herself. Minori gulps, holding onto her dog plushie a little tighter. Airi, on the other hand, leans forward to listen more closely.

'In this dreadful year, there were 4 mysterious deaths of previous Kamiyasuzaka students, sending a great surge of depression and grief across the Academy.'

Airi raises a curious eyebrow. 

'4 mysterious deaths, huh?'

'In one year t-too..?!'

'Mhm. 4 cases —

— It all began with the case of Kamishiro Rui, a boy who suddenly went missing after visiting his aunt's grave, but none of his remains were found,

The case of Tenma Tsukasa, an upcoming stage actor who is said to have died from a stage accident of some sort,

The case of Hinomori Shizuku, who is said to have been caught in a train accident on her way back from school,

And the case of Asahina Mafuyu, a reserved but knowledgeable lyricist who is said to have drowned in the strong currents of the ocean...

Its said that they haunt different areas of the school, to this day..'

...the room was silent. The two girls were utterly disturbed...then, Minori breaks the silence. Loudly. Very. Loudly.

'KYAAAAH!!!'

'Eh- Shush, Minori!!'

'A-ah, calm down, Mino! Its just a rumor...'

As Haruka tries to relax Minori, Airi's thoughts drowned them out. So, there were ghost inside of the school...? 4 of them to be exact...

What if...she went on an experiment? Hypothetically, if she were to search for them, would she find them? (hypothetically...) And, if she were to...befriend them...would she get more information on them and their mysterious deaths...? (hypothetically...)

The possibilities...they were endless. Perhaps, maybe just maybe, she would be able to solve the mysteries of Kamiyasuzaka...then, she could document them, and become famous, and have ghost friends, and be popular, and be super knowledgeable about ghosts and then-

'AIRI! Can you blow the candle out, for the 7th time..?'

'Huh..? Oh, yeah. Sorry..'

D A R K N E S S .

Chapter Text

The Next Day, 11:42.

Airi was sat quietly in class, looking at the board. Well, she was daydreaming but close enough. All day, she had been thinking about the stories Haruka told her...they were fascinating. The idea of 4 previous students residing here, it seemed unreal...

It was like time was mocking her. The seconds felt like minutes, and the nimutes felt like hours...she just wanted to go to the library and talk to Ena..! She began to fiddle with her pen lid to keep her mind off of it.

11:56

Click.

Click.

Click.

Crap, this is getting annoying. Just hit 12 already..Airi thought. As she sat there, drowning out the sounds of the teacher and students, she thought about the ghost's stories again. 4 deaths of students in a single year...that cant be some silly coincidence. ...Maybe they...

RIIIIIING.

Airi flinches, before grabbing her books and flinging them into her bag. No time to be calm. She jumps up from her seat, pushing past the students in the classroom and running to the Creative Lessons Hallway. 

The library was on said hallway. Why? Something called plot convenience. Airi didnt really care, so she never questioned it.

Airi stood at the end of the hall, sending Ena a quick message reminding her of their meeting. As she walks, she begins to daydream again.

Could Ena tell her more about the backstories of those ghosts Haruka spoke of? Did she have any evidence of their existence? What other mysteries resided here instead, if not dead students...what if-

'HA-HA-HA!!!!'

'..eh?'

A loud laugh boomed from the theatre. It wasnt familiar or anything, it just sounded...loud. Very loud. Part of Airi was telling her to keep moving and pretend that never happened. The other part, however, was telling her that exploring might not be a bad idea...Ah, screw it. Impulses always win.

She takes a breath, before walking into the theatre quietly, and stays in the shadows to make sure nobody could see her...she looms up to the stage.

Standing there, doing some extremely dramatic and probably very physically demanding poses, was a strange boy. He had blomde hair that faded into peach, bright-orange eyes like stars, a heck ton of freckles, and...fox...ears...? He was wearing the old school uniform too...who the hell was this guy? And why was he so dramatic? Despite the 88 questions she wanted to ask, Airi was paying attention to the boy's movements nontheless. He seemes to be practicing some sort of...greeting?

'HA-HA-HA!! I AM TSUKASA TENMA, STAR OF THE STAGE, AS WELL AS THE AFTERLIFE!'

....what. the. Hell.