After getting a grip, Hiyori walked out of the bathroom and found herself on the second floor of the school. She instinctively knew where her classroom would be and at what seat she should sit as if the routine of years were guiding her steps. Arriving late, she got a pretty good scolding from the teacher before she was allowed to take her place. Looking around, she saw the looks of her classmates, all giving her weird stares, some even filled with apparent, unmasked disgust. Even her teacher looked at her like a lost cause.
"..." She remained silent, maintaining an indifferent look, but it was greatly unnerving and, simply put, depressing. Those were her own honest feelings, but as soon as she sat down, she slowly, carefully let Yukari's thoughts seep in, too, trying to figure out her demon's situation.
What she felt was quite the opposite of what she expected. Yukari's feelings were mixed, yes, and one could say they were even messed up. Her reaction to the glares was contempt and jealousy mixing together in a destructive cocktail. On the one hand, she looked down on the rest of the girls here, thinking how vain and bitchy they were; on the other, she was extremely jealous of those who were already maturing beyond their age. She had no better outlook towards the guys either, seeing them as horny beasts, wagging their tails, going after the other girls, ignoring the best choice in the classroom; Yukari herself. If a boy would finally realize her worth, she would worship him just as her parents worship God every day. She would sacrifice everything for him! Just as he should do the same for her. It was what felt... normal. Right until Hiyori steeled her mind, shutting her out.
"You were not right in the head from the start, huh?" she murmured, shaking her head a little. She was not an idol, not in the slightest, yet she had never thought about others like Yukari did. Maybe her future as a demonic being was already sealed while she was alive. Hiyori may have joked with Sayako about things like this, but it was also a joke at her own expense. She had friends among the other girls in her class and even among the boys. Yukari's position was the complete opposite, and if her thoughts were real, she had nobody to thank for it but herself alone. "Or you are already so badly twisted that even your memories are affected by it," she added, feeling that it could also be possible, considering she was now inside the head of a dead girl. Of a demon.
Sitting through lesson after lesson was nothing like she remembered it to be. In Yukari's case, it was quiet and boring, and it was nothing like how Hiyori experienced her own school days. Between lessons, when the break came, nobody even talked or looked at Yukari, avoiding her desk like she had the plague. Whenever her eyes met with another's, they immediately averted theirs, preventing any possibility of long eye contact. Hiyori had to realize how much of a difference it made in her life that she had friends and people she could spend time with and how different her school life felt compared to Yukari's. When the 40-minute lunch break finally came, she decided it was time to look around a little. It's not like anyone would bother her about where she is going, anyway. For the first few minutes, she just walked around the corridors, looking out the windows and watching the students shuffle around the school building. Even then, she recognized that it was not just her own classmates who looked at her weirdly; a lot of other students and teachers did so, too. Everybody who she walked past either ignored her or watched on with obvious disdain.
"Do I have a nasty rumor going around about me?" she thought to herself, but no new memories came to her, not even when she tried probing Yukari's consciousness. In the end, she decided to go up to the roof, checking out the difference between its state now and then. Opening the unlocked door at the top of the stairs, the rooftop was completely empty, and there were no chain-link fences put up at all; only a waist-high railing went around the edges.
"Finally," came a male voice that made her flinch. Turning towards it, she saw a man leaning against the wall surrounding the door, just right next to her. She did not even notice him before... Watching the man, a memory quickly came to her, and she recognized the figure as the PE teacher, Fujiwara Daisuke. At least after the first glance… but something was off.
"Sensei?" Hiyori flinched, squinting at him multiple times. No matter how she looked, his face was blurry and hard to make out. It looked as if various features of a face were trying to overlap each other.
"Not really!" He shook his head with a chuckle. "Try to focus! Who am I?"
Looking closer, Hiyori finally could make out his true characteristics. They got clearer and clearer the more she looked, and as they took shape, she soon realized that Everlong was standing before her with a small smile.
"Everlong!" she yelped as relief washed over her that she was finally not alone, hugging him immediately.
"Hehe, good~ You did good~!" he patted her back with a surprisingly proud voice.
"What do you mean?" she blinked, releasing him, looking up at him with question marks in her eyes.
"I was watching you, examining how you coped with the situation and how strong your will is. You handled it perfectly, not letting her take over your personality and sink into the illusion of her past life." The detective explained, clearly in a good mood.
"Wait! You were watching the whole time?!"
"Yep. From the moment our minds melded with Yukari's. You showcased the talent that was needed for this line of work if you truly wish to work with me after we are done here."
"Um… thanks? But… What would have happened if she took over? If I don't recognize I am not her? Would I be dead? Or…?" she asked with a nervous gulp, turning a bit whiter than usual.
"Not immediately. You would slowly sink into oblivion, though. The deeper you fall, the stronger the melding of minds becomes between you and her. In the end, she would devour your personality, and she would win. Probably even possess your body."
"Perfect… you know, you could've warned me or something!" she crossed her arms, clearly turning angry at Everlong.
"I could've, but I had to see how you handle things on your own. If I have to hold your hand at all times, you should forget being my partner! I would have helped you clear up your mind, but after all is done, this would be over. I would have escorted you home, and that would be it, we would have never met again." He answered with a strict voice. "What I do, I do for a reason, Hiyori. And I won't bring a deadweight with me just so I can watch her die. Or WORSE. Understood?"
"Yes..." she muttered while she lowered her head, holding her own fingers before whispering again, "Sorry…"
"Don't be…" he softened his voice, stroking her hair. "You passed the test. You are a strong-willed girl, and you show great potential!"
"Am I?" she asked, with a much happier voice now, looking back up at him.
"Yep~" he nodded as the black strands of her hair ran through his fingers.
"Oh, by the way, I found out about a few of her feelings!" she explained excitedly, telling everything she learned so far about what Yukari's mind and life were like.
"Hm, so she has some personality problems right out of the gate." He nodded, crossing his arms. "We need to find the trigger that led to her suicide and her transformation. After death, people don't just turn into demons, unless there was already a kind of infestation in her. Which... That could be the case. For now, your job is going to be to live as her, note down every thought that comes to your head, and we are going to complete this puzzle."
"And what about you?"
"Well, I am going to play the role of a stalker!"
"Huh?" she blinked her eyes, tilting her head from left to right.
"This is Yukari's memory. She only has knowledge about things she has interacted with personally." He opened his arms with a smile. "Even if I go to any faculty to question others, it would be like trying to speak with mannequins. Nothing is real here; these are nothing but reflections of her past. It only moves and seems alive around you. The files in every cabinet would be empty if I tried to take a look. Go ahead! Just try to speak with any of the people around here; their answers would be bland, or they would just look at you. Maybe say something Yukari thinks they would say to her. Plus… only those things would happen here that left a significant mark on her psyche! So I can only do one thing, follow you around while you experience those events~"
"I… did not think about it like that…" she murmured, biting onto her thumb. "So I need to pick up the clues…"
"Yeah. You are the one in her body. Or mind. You two are connected not just here but on the outside, too. You have to gain your own leverage over her. She knows everything about you, yet you do not know her at all."
"And knowledge is power." She smiled at him, receiving a proud nod from Everlong.
"Exactly! The biggest fear anyone can face is the unknown. As soon as you understand her, you are going to be freed from her. Forever!" he exclaimed, watching Hiyori's eyes as they were now filled with fire, ready to do anything.
