Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Have you heard of the seven mysteries of the school? I could tell you the most famous one, Number 7, Mitsuba-san of the Photography Club. It’s said she had one wish in life to have friends. In order to summon her, you pick up her old camera and take a picture of the window in the photography club room while saying, ‘Mitsuba-san, will you grant my wish?’ Once summoned, she’ll ask you for a wish. Be careful what you wish for because she’ll take something in return.”

Kou wasn’t interested in the rumors. They did sound interesting, but he didn’t want to try it out himself. There were a bunch of ways that it could go wrong and he didn’t want to deal with the consequences. He wanted to check it out, but he was trying to get better about being careful. His brother always told him to be careful of what he did, so he wanted to live up to that expectation.

His curiosity was piqued, but he didn’t want to risk anything. Besides, there wasn’t really anything that he would wish for. He was fine with the life he was living. He had decent grades and a good social life. There wasn’t much that he’d change about his life.

Although one day at lunch, his friends were talking about more rumors. Even if Kou wouldn’t do it himself, he would most definitely do it if someone asked him to.

“Kou, have you heard about Number 7?” Yokoo asked. Kou nodded. You had to be sick for the last few weeks to not know about Number 7. It was the biggest hit going around the school. It was even bigger than all the fake gossip everyone made about each other. If there was one thing that they all agreed on, it was the rumors of the seven mysteries.

“Well, I believe you should check it out. Tell Satou and I if it’s true or not,” Yokoo continued on with the thought. Meanwhile, Satou just stared back at Yokoo.

“Shouldn’t you just check it out yourself? Not everyone wants to get tangled-” Satou started, but was then cut off by something he didn’t really expect Kou to say.

“I’ll do it. What should I fear? It’s better if I just check it instead of the three of us all checking it out on our own,” Kou said calmly.

Satou sighed. He knew Kou was just looking out for him and Yokoo, but looking into some ghost story was taking it farther than expected. It was only Yokoo who was interested in it.

“Kou, you know you don’t have to. Yokoo should do it anyway,” Satou said. It was Yokoo’s idea to check it out. It wasn’t Kou’s responsibility to take on someone else’s reckless idea.

“No, I can do it myself, Satou. If you want, you can just wait by the door,” Kou suggested. Satou seemed concerned, so Kou thought it’d ease his worries to come along.

“On second thought, maybe it is better if you’d do it yourself,” Satou said while scratching the back of his head.

Yokoo rolled his eyes at Satou’s comment. He turned his attention back to Kou and said, “remember to tell us if it’s real or not, okay?”

Kou nodded. Should he get Teru’s advice? No, everything would be fine. What was the worst that could happen? It couldn’t cause someone dying. Besides, it was just some rumor. What were the odds that it was true?

Once Kou finished his classes, he waited until he was sure all the clubs had finished. He texted Teru that he would stay at a friend’s house for a while, so he didn’t question his location. Although, if Teru was still at school for some student council plan, then Kou might be screwed, but he didn’t go too deeply into it.

Before entering the room, he peaked in through the window to make sure no one was in there. No one was there, so it was safe to enter the room for the time being. Who knew what crazy stuff would happen afterwards?

As he moved to open the door, it creaked open on its own. The last time he checked, doors didn’t do that on their own. That was enough evidence that there was something wrong with the room, but it wasn’t enough to know if the rumor was true.

Kou walked into the room, which was a pretty normal room. It was slightly messy, with cameras still on the table and a few pictures on the floor. He picked up the cameras, carefully looking for the camera that had Mitsuba on it.

It couldn’t be that hard to find a camera. Wrong. He struggled to find the camera. He looked at the shelves and the bins. It took him a good minute of thinking to realize he could look at the cameras that were already out.

He found a camera with the name “Mitsuba Sousuke” on it. As Kou read the name a few more times, he thought to himself, wait, isn’t that a boy’s name?

Kou thought little of it before he turned it on. He was having doubts the camera did anything special. It turned on like a normal camera. How could this camera differ from the other cameras and summon a wishing ghost?

As Kou looked around the room more thoroughly to get a picture at the window, he realized there was something about the room that didn’t sit right with him. He wasn’t sure what it was, but something wasn’t right. The room was empty, yet it felt like someone was watching him.

He felt something cold on his shoulder, but he thought nothing of it. It was probably because the window was open. He raised the camera to take a picture. His finger rested on the button. The slightest pressure on the button could change his life.

Was he even doing it right? Did he have to take it like a selfie? He took it multiple ways to figure out which one worked.

He raised the camera again at the window. With a confident tone, he spoke, “Mitsuba-san, will you grant my wish?”

After a few seconds, it didn’t work. He tried again, this time taking a selfie. While he took the selfie, the chilly feeling on his shoulder came again. With the chilly feeling came a laugh. “Wow, you really are stupid.”

Kou turned around, almost throwing the camera out the window, but catching it back into his hands as he took in what had just happened.

Some ghost with pink hair and a pink sweater had the school uniform. So he was a student at the school. Well, used to be a student because dead people didn’t go to school. Unless, hell for students was just going to school with no breaks. Kou wouldn’t like that at all.

“I’m not stupid!” Kou shouted at the ghost. Was this the great Mitsuba-san of the photography club the rumors were about? Kou expected someone nicer than calling the person who summoned him a ghost.

“Not only are you stupid enough to not turn around, but you also have a lame earring. Such a lame ass traffic earring you have. Even I have a better fashion sense than that. Besides, what is it even keeping you safe from? You’ve probably already been in an accident with how stupid you are,” the ghost insulted.

Kou ignored the insults. How did this ghost even have the role of granting others' wishes if all he did was insult them? Kou stood there, listening to what the ghost had to insult about him before he properly introduced himself.

“What? Did you just come here because you want to have your way with me?! Just because of my small and delicate frame doesn’t mean I’m weak!”

Kou had to deal with that for at least 20 minutes before the ghost actually calmed down. Kou gave up on trying to get any information out of the ghost.

“I’m Minamoto Kou-”

“And? What’s your wish? Come on, let’s get this over with so I can go back to watching you fail,” Mitsuba cut Kou off.

Kou didn’t understand how he was supposed to deal with Mitsuba. Before Kou could continue his thought, Mitsuba started talking again. Although, this time, it was a bit more respectful than the last.

“As you’ve heard from the rumors, I’m Mitsuba of the photography club. I’m here to grant whatever your wish is. Before you ask, no, I am not a genie,” Mitsuba sighed in response. Kou facepalmed at Mitsuba’s statement about being a genie. Wasn’t it obvious that a ghost and a genie were two separate things?

“So, you’re going to grant my wish no matter what it is?” Kou asked. Mitsuba just scoffed.

“Why would I ever want to grant the wish of someone with such a hella lame traffic earring?”

Kou facepalmed again. The rumor was true, but what should even do now that he’s done figuring out the truth? He could leave, but would Mitsuba just follow him and annoy him the rest of the time?

Kou took his chances and walked out of the room. Following him, the ghost shouted, “hey I still have a wish to grant you!”

Kou rolled his eyes. He didn’t even have a wish. He just wanted to see if the rumor was true and now he had to deal with a rude ghost.

“You sure weren’t that excited to grant it earlier,” Kou said. Mitsuba sighed and gave Kou puppy eyes. Such an odd ghost he had met.

“Well, unless you give me a wish to grant, you have to deal with me bugging you, so tell me your wish!”

Kou thought about it for a while. Did he even want anything? He was content with his life. Of course, there were small things he could change, but he could live without the life he wanted it to be. He was content with the life he had.

“I want a pet,” Kou muttered. Mitsuba snickered about it. Kou faced a ghost who could grant wishes, yet he asked for something that was so easy to obtain.

“What? Do you need me to help you write an essay to your family to convince them to get you a dog?”

Kou groaned at Mitsuba’s response. He sighed and continued to walk away.

“Wait, come back! I’ll get you a dog, I guess.”

Kou turned back to Mitsuba. Why was he the one who had to deal with this situation? He regretted his decision instead of making Yokoo do it.

Mitsuba groaned. He didn’t want to deal with getting someone a pet, but it was his job to do so.

Mitsuba walked away from Kou, on his way to find some homeless dog on the street. Kou didn’t realize Mitsuba had left him alone in the hallway. He ran up to the ghost, almost running into the wall at the end of the hallway.

Mitsuba laughed at Kou. In response, Kou tried grabbing Mitsuba, but it failed completely since the ghost was transparent. Mitsuba laughed even more, finding Kou even more stupid for trying to grab a ghost.

“Why would you even try to grab me? You can’t grab a ghost, hella lame traffic earring,” Mitsuba snickered. He continued to walk outside with Kou walking behind him.

Where would Mitsuba even find a dog or some sort of pet? How would he even be able to get a pet without it looking like he stole it?

Mitsuba came to a stop at the entrance of the middle school division. He sighed and looked around for something.

“What could you even be looking for?” Kou asked. Mitsuba ignored the boy, walking further away and looking in a bush. Why a bush of all places? Why would there be a dog in a bush at school? It seemed so bizarre to Kou, but he just went along with it.

Mitsuba turned to look at Kou with an unamused look. He pointed towards the bush, telling Kou to look through the bush himself.

“Why can’t you do it?” Kou asked. Mitsuba rolled his eyes. He didn’t care if Kou didn’t want to go looking in the bush. It was Kou’s wish, so he should be willing to go searching in a bush.

“It’s not my wish,” Mitsuba shrugged.

Kou rolled his eyes. As he searched through the bush as Mitsuba told him to, he realized Mitsuba never really introduced himself to Kou. The only reason Kou knew Mitsuba’s name was because it was in the rumor.

“Hey, so why am I even looking in a bush?”

“I saw movement. Might be a lost dog or something,” Mitsuba shrugged once again.

Kou pulled something out of the bush, but it wasn’t what he expected. It was some sort of pink bunny. It looked like a bunny peep marshmallow. How was this what Mitsuba called a dog?

“Look, you have a pet. Now pay up,” Mitsuba said.

Kou glared at Mitsuba, feeling like it was a scam all along. What even was the marshmallow bunny anyways? There was no way it was a real bunny. Was it some illusion?

Mitsuba took a few steps back. He saw something that Kou couldn’t see.

“Why are you backing up?” Kou said. Mitsuba pointed behind Kou, but he still didn’t see anything.

“Are you blind!? Can’t you see that thing!” Mitsuba shouted.

Mitsuba’s scarf grew some bone-like structures on it and increased in length. Kou didn’t understand why Mitsuba was acting like he was. There was no danger around. The scarf went to slice something that was behind Kou.

“What was that for!?” Kou shouted. Mitsuba rolled his eyes. Kou looked behind him again and there were more marshmallow bunnies. How did they multiply while he wasn’t looking? He knew there was only one that he saw earlier, so why was there now at least ten of them?

“These are the mokke. Little thieving supernaturals that don’t like to be seen by humans. Seems you accidentally stumbled upon multiple, which made them act like a threat. They’re harmless by themselves, so you can keep one as a pet,” Mitsuba explained.

Kou was going to reply to Mitsuba, but Mitsuba just continued to explain the situation. “So, because I saved your life, I think that suffices as a wish, right?”

“I would have been fine on my own!” Kou shouted. Mitsuba rolled his eyes.

“You and your lame ass traffic earring couldn’t even see the threat. You can’t protect yourself against something you can’t see, dumbass.”

Kou grumbled, not wanting to make a deal with Mitsuba. His life was perfectly fine and he didn’t like where Mitsuba was taking the situation.

“If you help me with keeping everything settled between humans and supernaturals, then I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

“I don’t trust that,” Kou said. He really didn’t trust that Mitsuba would keep him safe after putting him in danger by making him look through the bushes.

“Well, you’ll pay one way, no?” Mitsuba said.

Kou sighed. Why did he have to be the one that roped himself into the mess? There weren’t many options. Either way, his life would still have already changed.

“Fine,” Kou reluctantly agreed with Mitsuba. He still didn’t want to agree with Mitsuba, but he did save his life.

Besides, how crazy could his life even get?

Chapter Text

Only three days in and Kou was regretting his life choices. Mitsuba annoyed him all the time in class. Kou knew Mitsuba would be annoying to deal with, but he didn’t expect Mitsuba to annoy him constantly while he was trying to focus in class.

Even worse, Mitsuba would have Kou stay longer after school just because he was lonely. Of course, he didn’t really mind staying later, but it was hard to keep telling Teru that he was just hanging out with Satou and Yokoo for the past three days after school. At some point, Teru was going to ask him about why he’s spending so much time at his friend's house when he didn’t really do that to begin with, but suddenly he was doing it in three consecutive days.

“Mitsuba, you know at some point I’m going to get in trouble, right?” Kou brought up as he sat on the roof with Mitsuba.

“Don’t worry about it. You’re not lying about staying with a friend,” Mitsuba said, as he shrugged it off.

Friend. That term was thrown around loosely. Kou didn’t know how to consider Mitsuba. He wasn’t necessarily a friend, but he wouldn’t consider the ghost a stranger.

“How about you lie to your brother about spending time with your alive friends? He’s going to think I’m crazy if I tell him about you, you know!” Kou said in an outburst of annoyance. The ghost really did get on his nerves. What did Mitsuba not understand about him not being able to tell anyone about seeing the ghost?

Kou felt the tone change in the conversation. Mitsuba was quiet for a moment, not saying some snarky come back like he always did.

“Mitsuba, are you o-”

“Mitsuba-san! I’m here to exorcise you!” a girl’s voice exclaimed from somewhere else.

Mitsuba and Kou looked around to see where the voice came from. When Mitsuba didn’t notice anyone, he just shrugged it off, thinking it was just his imagination.

“Mitsuba, behind you,” Kou warned Mitsuba. Mitsuba rolled his eyes.

“Come on Lame Ass Traffic Earring! Why would anyone want to exorcise a cute and delicate ghost like me?” Mitsuba pouted.

Kou rolled his eyes at Mitsuba. Why didn’t he understand that someone was actually after him?

“I’m Yashiro Nene, here to exorcise you!” the girl introduced herself, which then caused Mtisuba to laugh.

“With what? Your thick ankles? I think you should go home and forget it, Daikon-chan,” Mitsuba said.

Nene’s face darkened when Mitsuba mentioned her thick ankles, which led Kou to attempt to shove Mitsuba with his elbow, forgetting that Mitsuba was a ghost for a second. His attention focused back on Nene, and he felt his face burning up.

“Uhm… hey miss, I would prefer it if you didn’t cause us trouble,” Kou said.

Mitsuba looked at Kou, noticing the way he looked at her. He scoffed and stood up. At least it was an excellent distraction.

“But you don’t understand! Do you not see that Mitsuba-san’s scarf can turn into bones?”

“Of course I can see, but miss, you have it all wrong. He might be sassy, sarcastic, selfish, obsessed with cameras, and gets a bit too emo sometimes, but he’s still a good person,” Kou said.

“Rude! And I’m not emo!” Mitsuba commented. Kou rolled his eyes, not caring about what Mitsuba thought of his interpretation of his personality.

“Says your emo haircut and what just happened,” Kou said.

Nene watched how Kou and Mitsuba bickered. Kou kept trying to punch Mitsuba lightheartedly, forgetting that Mitsuba was a ghost.

“Boy! Don’t you understand the danger?” Nene asked with a concerned tone. Kou raised an eyebrow at Nene, confused about how dangerous Mitsuba could really be.

“He’s a killer, boy! More specifically, a cannibal at that!” Nene said.

Kou felt the air in the room tense up. Surely it wasn’t by choice. There was no way Mitsuba was a cannibal. Unless, that’s why his scarf became bones.

“What’s your evidence?” Kou asked.

Nene sighed. She grabbed Kou’s shoulders and shook him lightly.

Kou looked back at Mitsuba. The ghost looked more stoic than usual. Kou expected a laugh as a comeback, but instead he just stood there, watching Nene tell Kou how dangerous he was.

“The bones on his scarf! The reason behind the bones is that he was a cannibal.”

Kou stayed silent, not wanting to believe what Nene said. He didn’t want to believe Nene, but the evidence was there, but it was still a massive assumption for Mitsuba to have eaten another human when he was alive.

“Miss, look, I know the situation seems bad, but how can you be sure that it was cannibalism?” Kou asked. It could have just been a sign of murder, so saying it was cannibalism was a stretch.

“If it was murder, he would have had his own…”

Nene trailed off, noticing Mitsuba’s scarf had turned into bones again. She sighed, knowing her assumption was correct in some way.

“Look, if you can prove to me that he is good and isn’t a psycho, then I’ll reconsider exorcising him. For now, I still have to at least make an attempt,” Nene reasoned.

Kou felt that something was off. Mitsuba seemed tense, as if he didn’t want Kou to know about something. Nene’s appearance felt off as well. Was she really an exorcist? She didn’t look like she was related to the Akane family, but maybe Kou was just judging too soon.

Nene took off the covering of the staff she held. Mitsuba stood still, letting his scarf be the one to retaliate against her attacks.

As Nene and Mitsuba fought each other, Kou was determined to find evidence to prove that Mitsuba wasn’t that bad. The bones that made up Mitsuba’s scarf whenever he was in battle was a factor that Kou had to figure out how to explain.

“Look, Daikon-chan, I know we didn’t have the best start, but how about we just forget this ever happened?” Mitsuba proposed.

Nene had a look in her eyes that she didn’t believe that Mitsuba was evil either, but she didn’t want it to seem like she had failed. Kou made a mental note to talk with her at another time about the situation, but for now he watched Mitsuba settle out the conflict with Nene.

“I won’t exorcise you, but I’ll watch you to make sure you don’t hurt anyone,” Nene said to stop their fighting.

Mitsuba nodded as his scarf became regular fabric again, at least what Kou assumed was regular fabric. He had no idea what Mitsuba’s scarf was capable of.

Nene had walked away from the scene, presumably going home, once she came to an end of the conflict. She didn’t want to disappoint with the results of the day, but there was still a chance of good inside Mitsuba, hopefully.

While approaching the ghost, Kou wondered what was going through Mitsuba’s mind. Mitsuba stopped being serious and his teasing and rude demeanor was back.

“So, Lame Ass Traffic Earring, do you still believe that I’ll protect you when you’re in danger after what she told you?” Mitsuba asked.

Kou thought for a moment, not knowing what kind of answer Mitsuba was looking for. To be real, Kou didn’t know himself if Mitsuba was good or not. He was just saying that Mitsuba was good for the time being, based on what he saw. Even so, Mitsuba still saved Kou from dying when he couldn’t see his enemy.

Kou nodded and waved Mitsuba goodbye. It was time for Kou to go home before Teru started asking questions on where he was and why he wanted to spend a lot of time with his friends.

Chapter Text

“Kou, would you like to hear another rumor that’s been going around?” Yokoo inquired to start a conversation. To his knowledge, Kou was too busy doing other tasks during times he used to be free, and he naturally got curious.

Kou didn’t want to get too focused on supernaturals, but he probably should listen despite how much he was reluctant to get involved. His life was already tangled up with supernaturals. Might as well just be informed before Mitsuba said something randomly and threw him to the wolves.

He sighed, but nodded to Yokoo’s question. Yokoo chuckled, continuing on with what he had heard.

“Well, they say that if you step on the fourth step near the art room, you’ll be transported to another world. Then from there, you’ll most likely die in a gruesome way,” Yokoo explained. He laughed awkwardly afterward, hiding behind his laughter from the nervousness it brought him.

Kou scrunched his face in disgust upon hearing the rumor. An annoyed sigh escaped Satou’s mouth as he said, “Yokoo, if the rumor was true, then I think most people in this school would die.”

“Well, I heard if you don’t complete the trial on the other side, you won’t be able to return,” Yokoo said.

Satou facepalmed. It was a clear sign the rumor was fake. If there was no proof of people disappearing and dying, then it was obviously fake.

Kou nodded as Satou looked at him like he was crazy. “Am I the only sane one here!?”

“Just because I’m interested in it doesn’t mean I believe it,” Kou said. He was skeptical about the rumors, but after meeting Mitsuba and Nene, he didn’t know what to believe. It was true that the rumors could have been fake, but his beliefs shifted after one of them turned out to be true.

Kou said goodbye to his friends and walked away. As he left the scene, he pulled out his phone to text Teru that he would. He looked for Teru’s contact on his phone, but he wasn’t there.

Did he block Teru in the heat of the moment? He scrolled through his recent texts, finding an unknown number. If he did accidentally block Teru, then it was most likely Teru’s number. While texting the unknown number, he noticed nothing went through. He tried calling the number, but the robotic voice on the other side just said the number was no longer in use. Did Teru get a new phone number?

Teru was at school all day. There was no way he’d be able to buy a new phone in the time that he last saw him. Besides, he was the student council president, which meant he was even busier preparing his speech.

Kou didn’t understand. Maybe he could ask someone in the student council to see if they saw Teru. If only he knew where the student council meeting was. As he made his way to the high school division, he overheard shouting coming from the photography club room.

“Where’s Yamabuki-kun and Akane-kun!”

The club members were just staring at the commotion in the room. Kou pushed through the crowd, only to see Nene frantically trying to get Mitsuba to answer her question.

“How should I know?” Mitsuba scoffed.

“Please! You must know something!” Nene begged for an actual answer from Mitsuba.

Kou listened to the crowd whispering. He took a hold of Nene’s wrist and dragged her away from second hand embarrassment.

“Is she crazy?”

“Should we tell the school counselor about her?”

Kou sighed as he dragged Nene to a hallway away from the crowd. He facepalmed.

“I was getting answers from Mitsuba-kun.”

“Can’t you do it more discreetly? Like after they leave?” Kou asked. He sighed and facepalmed. Although, he didn’t want to admit it was something he’d do as well.

“I just thought I had more time before clubs started,” Nene answered.

Kou sighed again and shook his head. Why couldn’t she have waited a few minutes longer? It won’t take the photography club members to grab their cameras and leave to take pictures.

“So, Senpai, what were you trying to get Mitsuba to tell you?” Kou asked.

“I was trying to get an answer out of him, but he won’t tell me anything about the missing students!”

Kou thought for a moment. Missing students? Was there more missing than just his brother? He didn’t suspect anyone else from his class was gone.

“Well, they should be gone now, so you can talk to Mitsuba now,” Kou said. No one else was near the hallway.

Nene walked back to the photography club room, which was basically just a closet with cameras at this point. No one was there often. They just walked in there to grab their camera and walked around, getting pictures of all the other clubs.

She could have waited slightly longer until the members got everything sorted, but it was urgent. Students were missing. That seemed more urgent.

“Wait, if students are missing, why don’t you just ask a teacher if they’re just sick?” Kou asked. It made more sense to ask a teacher about a missing person than to talk to someone who’s been dead for who knows how long.

“I already tried that! It’s as if they never existed in the first place! Even their desks were missing!” Nene shouted with urgency. She grabbed Kou’s shoulders, tugging him back and forth.

Kou stayed silent as he thought about it all. Did Teru end up in the same place as Nene’s friends?

“Well, now that they’re gone, you can talk to Mitsuba’s about it.” Kou walked away from the hallway towards the photography club’s camera closet. It was a room, but it was used as a closet that they went to grab their cameras. Unless they were working on the yearbook, then it was used as an actual room.

“Mitsuba-san! Do you know anything about the missing students?” Nene asked with urgency.

“Are you sure they’re not just sick?” Mitsuba asked. He shrugged, not taking Nene seriously.

“Teru-nii’s phone number isn’t working, if that helps with anything.” As Kou responded to Mitsuba’s question, his mouth formed an “o” as he realized who was behind it all.

“You’re on your own for this one. I helped you once. If you want me to help you again, there’s something more you have to do,” Mitsuba stated.

“Don’t you only ask for something in return when I wish for something?” Kou asked. His brows furrowed as he tried to understand Mitsuba’s statement.

“Well, it can be both a wish and a favor, no? So, I need you to give me something in return for my help,” Mitsuba answered. Kou sighed and facepalmed. Why couldn’t Mitsuba just tell him?

“What could you possibly need for a simple favor?”

“WELL I DON’T KNOW IF YOU’LL USE ME FOR PORN!” Mitsuba shouted. Nene’s expression became very disturbed at Mitsuba’s comment.

Kou tried to punch Mitsuba again, but his fist just went through Mitsuba’s translucent body. Kou immediately pulled his hand away as the coldness of the ghost consumed his hand.

“Are you going to shut up about the porn now?” Kou asked. He sighed with annoyance.

Mitsuba put his thumb on his chin as he thought of what he could use Kou for. He smiled as he said, “you’d be useful as an assistant, I guess. Might have to change that lame ass earring of yours though.”

“Wait, didn’t you already make this deal?” Kou asked.

Mitsuba shook his head and laughed. His response didn’t make Kou all that excited to be his assistant.

“Nope! I said I would keep you out of trouble if you helped me. There was no mutuality in that agreement.”

Kou groaned out of frustration. He wanted to pull out his hair. “That’s basically the same thing,” Kou grumbled.

“Well, don’t you need help to get the missing students back?” Nene asked. Surely, there had to be a way to reason with Mitsuba.

“I mean, if I really wanted to do it, I could. But I don’t want to. It’s not that important No one should remember them anyway.” Mitsuba shrugged. It just depended on his mood and if someone threatened him or not.

Nene took out her staff, pointing it at Mitsuba. The lightning sparked from the staff. Mitsuba smiled nervously and pushed it aside. He sighed and gave into helping the two.