Chapter 28 Hinata: Oh no, it's coming for me...
The next day was still a day when we had to go to school.
This time, it was Hajime Hinata who didn't sleep well.
Everything that happened yesterday afternoon was too fast—from discovering Xia Chuan's abnormal behavior, to Xia Chuan's disappearance, to the unsuccessful search for Xia Chuan, and to learning about the marks that suddenly appeared on his arm... These things happened one after another, which was really overwhelming.
Although Hyuga Hajime managed to participate in his interactions with Tsukino and the others with a relatively clear head thanks to his rationality, a sense of absurdity welled up within him again after they said goodbye and he lay back down on his dormitory bed, reflecting on the series of events that had occurred after school.
...The end result was that last night, Hajime Hinata couldn't stop thinking about these things, which led to him not getting a good night's sleep.
Then came the next day.
Everything was normal in the classroom. No one even mentioned anything related to Xia Chuan anymore.
That's true. After all, Xia Chuan is just a classmate from the next class whom everyone isn't very familiar with yet. Of course, besides Hinata Hajime, there were other people in this class who saw Xia Chuan acting strangely yesterday. But after a night, they probably already forgot about it. Or perhaps, it was already a topic of conversation last night, becoming a thing of the past.
It was still early, and students were arriving at the classroom one after another. At this time, even whether Xia Chuan would come to school today was not immediately known.
Exhausted, Hajime Hyuga sighed and told himself that he couldn't rush things; there was no point in rushing now.
He awkwardly straightened his sleeves. Hidden beneath the sleeves of his preparatory course uniform were the gruesome marks that had appeared out of nowhere yesterday, like the claw marks of a wild beast.
The mark is currently just quietly appearing on my arm, without causing me any discomfort. When it's covered by my sleeve, it's as if it doesn't exist at all.
Even so, just thinking about the meaning that Tsukino and Chiya had mentioned about the mark made Hyuga Hajime feel like he was having a heart attack.
...There's no way around it, it's normal to feel aversion to the idea of "death," right?
While Hajime was still lost in thought about the mark, Tsukino and Chiya walked into the classroom.
Compared to Hyuga Hajime, who hadn't slept well the night before, Tsukino and Chiya looked perfectly normal, as if nothing had happened yesterday.
In fact, yesterday, after the clues from that notebook temporarily went cold, the three of them had a brief discussion about their next move.
Wang Ma Xiaoji explained that he was an undergraduate student at Hope's Peak University, and because he was too conspicuous, it wasn't appropriate for him to come to the preparatory course to gather information. Therefore, in the preparatory course, Hinata Hajime, Tsukino, and Chiya would join in the conversations with other students during breaks, and incidentally inquire about anything related to Natsukawa or anything that seemed amiss in the preparatory course.
However, this will have to wait until the break between classes.
Hinata Hajime put aside his complicated thoughts, greeted Tsukino and Kane with a "good morning," and then prepared to take out the things he would need from his bag.
etc.
Hajime Hyuga, who had suddenly discovered something, paused in his breath.
Something seems off.
He cautiously peered deeper into the depths of his desk.
Nothing... at all?
The same things were still inside the table, exactly as they were before, everything remained the same as always.
only……
After confirming that there was nothing strange about the place, Hyuga Hajime looked up again. The classroom seemed no different from usual. The chatter and laughter of his classmates occasionally drifted from various parts of the classroom. Their voices, like invisible threads wrapped around Hyuga Hajime, slowly but firmly pulled him back to reality.
Hajime Hinata became uncertain about what he had just seen with his own eyes.
Just as he bent down to get something, he seemed to see a pale human face from the deepest part of the table, behind the back panel.
But that only happened in a moment of distraction. The next second, or perhaps less than a second later, when Hyuga Hajime tried to get a closer look, the face-like thing had completely vanished... or perhaps it had never existed at all.
Could it be an illusion? Because my mind was filled with thoughts of the strange, I had a fleeting illusion of seeing a human face?
And is that really considered a human face?
At the time, Hyuga Hajime was only looking to get something and didn't look closely into the depths of the table. So he only caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye that... looked somewhat like a human face, but when he tried to look closer, there was nothing there. He only had a vague impression of the face he had vaguely seen, such as "pale as death" and "the facial features seemed to be eerie black holes."
...It's really weird no matter how you look at it!
So if he wasn't mistaken, then wasn't he... seeing a ghost in broad daylight?!
*******
Whether or not the story of seeing ghosts in broad daylight actually happened, Hajime Hyuga wasn't quite sure.
The object that resembled a human face flashed by so quickly in his peripheral vision that it didn't reappear during the first class that followed. Instead, it was Hinata Hajime who, noticing his tendency to glance under his desk from time to time, was subtly reminded by the teacher.
"Hmm...a human face?"
During break, Hinata Hajime told Tsukino and Chiya about it. —Since they sat next to each other, it was very convenient for them to talk.
After a few seconds of thought, Tsukino and Chiya asked, "Is there anything else in your table?"
"No."
Hyuga Hajime was very certain of this, after all, he had been glancing at the table from time to time after noticing the thing that looked like a human face, and had checked it many times to make sure that nothing was missing or added to the table.
"There is nothing more, and nothing less."
"I see..."
“More importantly,” Hinata asked, “you don’t seem to doubt what I’m saying at all? Actually… even I’m not entirely sure if I’m seeing things or…”
"After all, the situation is special right now. So my advice is to treat anything that seems amiss or might be an illusion as real, so as not to miss any important clues. ...Although it is indeed rare for this to happen during the day."
Tsukino and Chiya shared their experiences.
"Isn't this how it often happens in horror movies? The characters actually saw signs that were wrong a long time ago, but they thought it was a coincidence or that they were seeing things and ignored it, which led to tragedy."
"I see." It sounded quite reasonable. Hyuga Hajime nodded in understanding. Using a horror movie as an example was indeed very simple and easy to understand.
"So, regarding the reason why I saw that face... no, something resembling a face in the desk drawer, do you and Tsukino have any clues?" Hinata Hajime humbly sought advice from his classmate, who seemed to have a deep understanding of the supernatural.
As a result, Tsukino and Chiya said in a serious tone, "Maybe it just wants to scare you by getting close to your face."
"Huh? Is that so?" That sounds so unreliable!
"There's nothing I can do. I was also an innocent bystander caught up in this. And... well, I only know a little more because I encountered this kind of thing earlier than you and heard some things from professionals, but it's still not much, so Hinata, you'd better not have too high expectations of me."
“No, no, I didn’t mean to put pressure on you. To be honest, encountering something like this suddenly, having Tsukino and Kazuha cheer me on really put my mind at ease, so it’s okay if I don’t know much about him. In my heart, Tsukino and Kazuha are actually very amazing, after all, I know nothing about the supernatural.” Hyuga Hajime smiled, “Let’s work hard together.”
Tsukino and Chiya said seriously, "Hinata."
"What's wrong?"
"You're such a good person."
"...What a sudden friend card."
"..."
Chatting is just chatting.
Hajime Hinata's original intention was to inform and inquire about the "face" he had seen in the drawer. After a brief chat with his friend, he felt his initial worries and anxieties lessen considerably. Now, it was time to get down to business.
The "real business" they were talking about was what they had already discussed: during breaks, they would each gather information from other classmates to see if they could get any new clues.
Then, during lunch break, the two of them exchanged information with each other again in the preparatory course cafeteria.
Hinata Hajime sat down opposite Tsukino and Chiya, carrying the fried chicken set meal he had just bought.
Perhaps to prevent their hair from accidentally getting smudged with curry, Tsukino and Chiya tucked their braids behind their backs. Seeing Hinata Hajime sit down, he didn't exchange any pleasantries, but instead got straight to the point about his discovery.
First and foremost—
"You probably already know," Tsukino and Chiya said, "Natsukawa didn't come to school today."
Hyuga Hajime responded, indicating that he understood.
After disappearing into thin air yesterday, Xia Chuan has truly never reappeared.
Hinata Hajime, Tsukino, and Chiya shared some similar approaches during their investigation. For example, they all asked Natsukawa if he had returned to the dorm yesterday, and the answers they received were either "I didn't notice" or "I don't think so." "Now that you mention it, I don't think I saw him." "That kid must have gone out to play late at night, and he didn't even invite me."
Although these answers sound varied, a little thought reveals that no one said, "I saw Natsukawa come back."
"...He didn't return to his dorm last night, and we can't contact him. This has made some of his close friends uneasy today," Hyuga Hajime said. "It's only been a day, so things haven't gotten too serious yet. But as time goes on, this matter will probably attract the attention of others, right?"
In fact, this had already been aroused long before the Xia Chuan incident.
"Perhaps."
But they would definitely be crushed by Hope Peak. With that thought in mind, Tsukino and Chiya scooped up a spoonful of curry rice and stuffed it into their mouths, chewing and swallowing it all before speaking again.
"But instead of worrying about whether it will bring me trouble or opportunity, we only need to focus on one thing right now."
That means resolving this strange occurrence.
Hajime Hyuga was clearly aware of this as well.
Aside from the fact that "Natsukawa didn't come back yesterday and didn't come to school today, so it seems he really is missing," Hinata Hajime, Tsukino, and Chiya also obtained a clue during their morning investigation.
Tsukino and Chiya had actually realized this clue yesterday. But today, he wanted to ask the other classmates to see if he had missed anything.
One clue… The phrase “just one” sounds rather pathetic, as if symbolizing the slowness and failure of their investigation.
But perhaps the only clue that points to Xia Chuan in the whole incident is that one seemingly absurd but actually crucial clue?
"Tsukino Kazumi, I don't know as much about strange things as you do. Do you think it's possible that..."
Hajime Hinata slowly revealed his guess.
Could Natsukawa's disappearance be related to the love letter he received back then?
*******
There is plenty of time for lunch break.
While finishing their meal, the two of them had roughly discussed Natsukawa's situation. Afterwards, Tsukino and Chiya told Hinata Hajime more about various strange and unusual stories.
According to Tsukino and Chiya, these stories were heard from other people. However, those "other people" actually refer to former Indigenous people, and those strange stories are real experiences of Indigenous people in the past, which may be suitable as a reference in this situation.
So when Hyuga Hajime returned to class, his mind was filled with thoughts of "strangely increased knowledge".
The bizarre logic behind their actions is indeed varied and diverse.
There are strange beings who were teachers in their previous lives, forcing innocent people to take exam after exam. There are also strange beings who directly issue warning letters in schools, indicating that someone is going to be harmed. Thinking about it this way, it's not impossible that another strange being will send love letters to people.
Although this is just speculation at the moment... it has to be said that receiving a love letter when everyone is not yet very familiar with each other at the beginning of the semester is really surprising.
Of course, it's possible that some people develop feelings for someone very quickly. However, judging from Xia Chuan's reaction later... it seems more like he was pranked by someone after being stood up. That makes it even stranger, since Xia Chuan gets along well with his classmates and doesn't seem like someone who would be treated like that right at the start of the semester.
Xia Chuan was just one of the most common students in the preparatory course. But he had an accident while the other students were not, which meant that during the investigation, they needed to find out what happened to Xia Chuan that the others did not.
At this point, the only thing that can be found is that the letter was suspected to be a prank.
Moreover... the day Xia Chuan had his accident happened to be the very day he finally stopped keeping his promise.
But even if the blame is being placed on love letters, what exactly should be done next?
The strange events haven't been resolved yet. Now that Natsukawa has disappeared, if the strange entity wants to continue targeting people... will other people receive love letters next?
This also means that if the matter isn't resolved, there might be more and more victims... And the problem is, not everyone who receives a love letter will find out. If someone receives a love letter but doesn't speak up and instead handles it privately... will they only find out when something else happens?
This is troublesome.
Now that things have come to this, we can only take it one step at a time.
Hinata Hajime sat back down in his seat, and couldn't help but think of the thing that looked like a human face he had seen in the desk drawer. He subconsciously looked deeper into the desk drawer again.
Just like before, he didn't see that "face" again.
only……
"What is this?"
Upon seeing what had been added to his desk drawer, Hajime Hinata's pupils constricted sharply.
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Author's Note: Creator: Bu Hao
Happy Dragon Boat Festival everyone!
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