Estyshana’s POV
   School’s finally over, and Esty can finally hear the (supposedly) grim tale which involves the infamous Secretary. At least, right after they leave the school. For some reason, Anri is extremely reluctant to talk about it right now.

   “So, where are we going then?” Esty asks her.

   “Hmm, good question. Maybe we could go to a-”

   The rest of her sentence is interrupted by the sound made made the speaker when someone is about to make an announcement.

   “Dear students, the Student Council has decided that it is too dangerous for all of you to loiter around after school hour is over. As such, you are urged to go right back home. Club activities are suspended as well. Those who found guilty of breaking this rule shall be punished. I repeat…”

   “Well, so much for hanging out at someplace.” Anri mumbles.

   Esty shrugs.

   “It’s not a crime if we’re not caught.”

   Anri shows her a wicked smile.

   “I like the way you think Esty-chan. You’re a demon, alright.”

   “Why, thank you for your compliment.”

   The two of them share a sinister laugh. Anri then notices the Hero about to leave the class.

   “Hold it! Where are you going, Minase-kun?” she demands.

   “To my home, of course.”

   “Did you think you can weasel your way out of treating me to a meal of yakiniku?”

   “Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear the announcement just now? No loitering around, remember? That includes having dinner together with classmates.”

   “But, we had a deal!”

   The Hero rolls his eyes and takes out his phone. He taps the screen multiple times with his thumb. A few seconds later, Anri’s phone rings, indicating that she just received a message.

   “Read the message I just sent you.” he tells her.

   She did as he was told. Curious, Esty goes to her side and take a look as well.

   “Let’s meet up at Yakiniku Gin at 6.” the message writes.

   “Sure, we’ll be waiting.” she writes before sending it to him.

   The Hero furrows his eyebrows after he has read the message.

   “...We?”

   “Esty-chan, Chifuyu and Ayumi can come along, right? Oh, you can invite Nyri-san too if you want.”

   He rolls his eyes again and sighs.

   “I’m leaving. See you.” he tells them openly.

   “Yeah, see you later-I mean tomorrow, Minase-kun.”

   The other girls said their farewell to him as well. All Esty did was wave at him with her hand. He waved back before finally leaving.

   “So, where are we going before we go to you-know-where?” Esty asks.

   “We could hang out for a bit at my house.” Anri suggests.

   A pause.

   “On second thought, my house is kind of bad.” she retracts.

   “Why’s that?”

   “It’s kind of messy right now.” Anri replies hesitantly.

   “We can help you to clean it up. I mean, a room can’t be that difficult to clean, right?”

   “That’s the thing. When I said my house, I meant my house.”

   “...Oh.”

   “It’s the same thing. You’re going to need help to clean up the place, right? We’ll help.” Chifuyu tells Anri.

   “Exactly. That’s what friends are for.” Esty agrees.

   “...Thanks, you two.” Anri tells them gratefully.

   “What about you, Ayumi? Do you have something to do later?” Chifuyu asks Ichihara.

   “Not really. I can at least stay until the sky gets dark.”

   Anri’s house is indeed messy. The floor is littered with papers that have lots of words typed on them. There are so many of them even the entrance isn’t exempted from them. Esty picks one up. It shows a circle with different-colored sections. Esty remembers that it’s called a pie chart. There are also lots of words written below the pie chart.

   “What’s with all these papers?” she asks Anri.

   “They’re my mum-I mean mother’s. Sometimes, she’s so engrossed in doing research she ended up making a huge mess inside the house.” she explains.

   “That’s, some dedication.”

   “Come on, girls. Let’s begin the clean up already.” Chifuyu tells them.

   Thankfully, the mess is only caused by the heaps of papers, so the house rather easy to clean up. It still took a while, though. After they’re done, they take a short break at the living room.

   “Why don’t your mother just hire a helper to deal with this?” Esty couldn’t help but ask.

   “My mother always insisted that she doesn’t need one. More like she doesn’t want her reputation to be ruined. She doesn’t want people to know that a famous anchor like her is actually a disorganized person.”

   “Still, Chieko-san is pretty impressive. She had been working very hard so that the public can know the truth.” Chifuyu says.

   “True. Even after she got kidnapped the other day, she still didn’t waver and continue with what she think is right.” Ichihara agrees.

   Anri looks away. Esty could tell that she’s being embarrassed, even though it’s her mother that’s being complimented and not her.

   “I guess even with this slight flaw, she’s still an awesome mother…” she mumbles while blushing slightly.

   She then claps her hands.

   “Well, enough about my mother. It’s story time.” she announces.

   Esty sits up straight. Finally.

   “As far as I know, the entire Date family has someone working at a field related to law enforcement. Lawyers, judges and police. The Secretary’s mother is a Senator, her father is a judge, and she has an elder brother who’s working as a policeman.” Anri begins.

   “Is that why she always blabbers on about rules and regulations?” Esty asks.

   “Pretty much. Ever since she was young, she received strict education and was told that rules and laws are everything. Nothing else matters.”

   A pause.

   “At least, that’s what I was told when I did some investigation. I’ve never talked to her before, so I don’t know for sure. Anyway, when she was enrolled to Yokosuka last year, she wanted to form a Disciplinary Committee, but the principal rejected the idea. He said that having the Student Council is good enough. He also thinks that it’s too much of a pain. So the Secretary did the next best thing: she joined the Student Council. She was aiming to be at least the Vice President, but the position of Secretary is all she got.”

   She suddenly lowers her volume to a whisper.

   “Don’t tell anyone this, but there’s a high chance that she used an underhanded method to obtain the Secretary’s job.”

   Chifuyu and Ichihara both looks at Anri with a surprised look.

   “Where did you heard that from?” Chifuyu asks.

   “I didn’t hear it from anywhere. It’s kind of obvious, don’t you think? The previous secretary, Ootori Isao senpai, was doing a good job. One day, he just resigned his position. I’d say the Date family did something. Back to the story. It happened on a day that started out normal. It was around three months after the Secretary was appointed. Thanks to her, Yokosuka’s school rules have become much stricter. One of the new rules is that we’re not allowed to bring snacks. Well, one of the student broke that simple rule.”

   Esty notices Chifuyu shuddering.

   “Are you okay, Chifuyu?” Esty asks. “You were shivering.”

   “I’m fine. Well, kind of. I mean, I was just a few feet away from the site of the incident and saw the whole thing happening right before my eyes. I think it sort of traumatized me.”

   “I’ll just tell this story again when you’re not around, then.” Anri offers.

   “Yeah, I can wait.” Esty agrees.

   Chifuyu shakes her head.

   “It’s fine. Just continue, Anri.”

   “Okay, if you say that it’s fine.”

   Anri clears her throat before continuing.

   “The student who broke the rule, let’s call him Student A. The Secretary was checking the bags and pockets of every students at the front gate in case they brought something they’re not supposed to. Student A had a bar of chocolate inside his trousers’ pocket. He told the Secretary that he had forgotten to take it out when he bought it last night and wanted her to cut him some slack. Naturally, she’s not that soft. She handed him the punishment of picking up the trash around the whole school. Student A was dissatisfied and got into an argument with her, and it’s a fierce one too. In a fit of rage, the Secretary took out her taser and tased him.”

   “Um, I’ve seen those things in action before when I was watching the TV. They aren’t strong enough to seriously injure someone, right?”

   “Under normal circumstances, no. The thing is, Student A had a pacemaker inside him.”

   Esty tilts her head.

   “What’s a pacemaker?”

   “In simple terms, it’s a device used to make a heart beat.” Ichihara explains.

   “So it’s like a battery for the heart.”

   “I guess you could put it that way.”

   “A pacemaker could malfunction if its host got electrocuted, and that’s exactly what happened to Student A’s.” Anri continues.

   Chifuyu shudders again.

   “He fell to the ground and kept on convulsing. He twitched for a while, and he just went still.” she recalls.

   “So, he’s dead?”

   Anri shakes her head.

   “Daigo-sensei did CPR on him frantically until the ambulance arrived. After that, he somehow survived. But boy, the aftermath was chaotic.”

   “The incident was on the news for an entire month.” Ichihara tells Esty. “Every single day, news reporters were loitering around the area near Yokosuka hoping to interview its students. Some even went so far as to wait at the school gate.”

   “And I take it that the Secretary was let off easily.” Esty predicts drily.

   “Forget easily, she wasn’t even punished. How do you think that she still gets to keep her position after almost killing someone. The parents of Student A wanted to sue her, but what hope do they have when they’re up against a judge and a Senator? They were pressured into dropping the charge, and the incident was brushed over like it never happened. They were paid lots of compensations as hush fee, and Student A transferred out of Yokosuka.”

   “Hmm, the story’s at best mediocre to pass the time. It’s nothing exciting.” Esty gives out her opinion.

   “Well, I guess this is no big deal for a demon. Anyway, that’s about it.”

   “Is something wrong, Ayumi?” Chifuyu asks Ichihara. “You’ve been sitting quite still.”

   “Actually, something is indeed wrong. The sky has gone dark, but nothing is happening around the cities nearby.” Ichihara informs.

   “How do you even know the view of the cities when you’re just sitting there?” Anri asks.

   “I was looking through the eyes of the shikigamis that I sent as scouts.”

   “Ah, that makes sense. But, isn’t it good that nothing is happening?”

   “No, it’s not. You saw the news for the past two days, right? Tons of ghosts appeared the moment the night arrived. Tonight should have been no different. Their leader is probably plotting something.” Ichihara says grimly.

   “Maybe they decide to come out a bit later tonight.” Esty suggests.

   “...Maybe. I better tell Minase-kun.”

   Ichihara takes out her phone to call the Hero.

   “...Yes. They’re not appearing at all. What? It’s nothing to be worried about? And bring Meiko to the yakiniku place later? No, that’s all I have to say.”

   She disconnects the call with a slightly irritated expression.

   “I’ve forgotten about how uncaring he can be.” she grumbles. “What’s this about a yakiniku place?”

   “He promised me that he’ll bring me there and pay for my share of the bill as an atonement for keeping secrets from me.” Anri explains. “Do you want to come?”

   Ichihara sighs.

   “Might as well.”

   “And is Meiko the oni girl you mentioned this afternoon?”

   “That’s right.”

   “Why is he so fixated on her coming along with us?” Anri asks disapprovingly.   

   “He thinks of her as his cute little sister that he wants to spoil.”

   Anri sighs in relief. She then looks at Esty while smiling mischievously.

   “Oh, that’s it huh? You must be really relieved, Esty-chan.”

   Esty feels her face burning.

   “I-I don’t care.”

   Anri lets out a chuckle.

   “Sure you don’t.”

   Ichihara gets up from her seat.

   “Well, I need to go back to the shrine and get changed, not to mention getting Meiko. We’ll meet you at…”

   “Yakiniku Gin.” Anri informs.

   “Yakiniku Gin it is.”

   “Esty and I will go back to our house and get changed first.” Chifuyu says to Anri.

   “Sure, I’ll do the same too. Once you’re done, just come over again and ring the doorbell.”

   When Esty and Chifuyu got back, Chinatsu is already back from her work. Right now, she’s sitting in front of the television and watching the news. Mama Kana is probably inside the kitchen, and Uncle Shun is nowhere to be seen.

   “I’m home, onee-chan.”

   “I’m home, Chinatsu.”

   “Welcome back, you two. Weren’t you going to eat out tonight? Why are you back so early?” Chinatsu asks.

   “Our school don’t allow the students to loiter around, so we hanged out a bit at Anri’s house until it’s almost time to head out.” Chifuyu explains.

   “I see. Well, be careful out there. You’ll never know when those ghosts will come out again.”

   “I wouldn’t be too worried. After all, we have Esty with us.”

   Esty lifts up her head proudly.

   “Yup! I don’t care how many ghosts are coming out, I’ll thrash them all!” she says smugly.

   “Just be careful and don’t get carried away.” Chinatsu tells her.

   Once they got changed, they leave the house and go to Anri’s house again and press the doorbell as told. Within a minute, Anri comes out while also wearing her casual clothes. Together, they head to the Yakiniku Gin place that the Hero mentioned.

   The inside of the place is empty minus one table. The Hero, Ichihara and Meiko were already here.

   “What took you guys so long?” the Hero asks grumpily as they sit down.

   “Didn’t you know that it takes time for ladies to get ready?” Anri chides.

   The Hero gestures at Ichihara.

   “Kameda is much closer to here than our houses, you know.”

   “Oh, whatever. Let’s just order already.”

   “Hell yeah! I’ll be sure to eat a lot tonight!” Anri says excitedly.

   “Just don’t go overboard.” the Hero tells her.

   “Yeah, yeah. Unfortunately, my stomach can’t fit lots of food inside. Speaking of which, where’s Nyri-san? And the Graylock sisters?”

   “Nyri’s at home. Said she has something real fun to watch at the television. As for the sisters, they said they have some kind of social dinner at their student dorm tonight, so they can’t come.”

   After they placed their orders, Esty notices that Anri is staring at Meiko.

   “Hi, you must be Meiko-chan. I’ve heard so much about you. My name’s Watanabe Anri. You can all me Anri if you want.” Anri tells Meiko in a friendly manner.

   “Hello, nice to meet you Anri-san.” the oni greets bashfully.

   “Be careful of this one, Meiko. If you got too friendly with her, you’ll end up regretting it.” the Hero warns.

   “What’s that supposed to mean, Minase-kun?” Anri asks while glaring at him.

   “Nothing.”

   They pause the conversation as the meat has arrived. All of them are raw. The human who brought them food turns on the grill, bows and leaves.

   “Wait, are we supposed to do this ourselves?” Esty asks once she was gone.

   “That’s right.” Chifuyu confirms.

   “Seriously? Why can’t they do it for us?”

   “This is actually more fun than you think, you know? Just try it.”

   “Fine...”

   Once the grilling has started, Esty realizes that she’s actually enjoying it. So this is what it feels like to have a meal while surrounded by friends. Prior to this, she could never understand the joy, but she kind of does now.

Tomomi’s (Date Jr.) POV
   As usual, Tomomi is all alone in the office of the Student Council. The President is busy with his basketball training, and the others, well, Tomomi couldn’t even remember their excuse as they left in a hurry.

   “All of them are so irresponsible…” she grumbles as she gets the rest of the documents sorted out.

   Once, she has estimated that at least 70% of the total work was done by her. Which means that the others only contributed to the remaining 30%. and they call themselves the Student Council? They’re going to be fired for being a waste of space the moment she’s appointed as the new Student Council President. Not only that, she’s going to transform Yokosuka into a school with proper rules. Banning of being into relationships, no more detours once school hour is over, and most importantly, harsher punishment for breaking the rules. She’s going to be very busy.

   “Whew, that’s the last of them.”

   There. Now she can finally go home. Once she’s back, she’ll eat her dinner, take a quick bath, and then begins her revision. The exam is coming in a few week’s time. As usual, she’s going to take 1st place and proves to everyone that being disciplined will make you go very far in life.

   Suddenly, she notices someone standing right in front of the door. She gets up at once, her hand already inside her pocket where her taser is.

   “Who are you? How did you get in?” she demands.

   The intruder is wearing a thick brown trench coat, a black fedora, a pair of sunglasses and a mask. From the body size, she could tell that the person is a male. Then again, it’s very hard to tell nowadays. He’s also holding a metallic briefcase on his right hand.

   “How did you even managed to come inside without making a single sound?” she continues to demand.

   Instead of answering, the intruder opens up the briefcase. There are lots of syringes with transparent liquid inside.

   “Those syringes…Are you to one who caused Isobe-kun to be hospitalized?” she asks.

   Again, no reply. Her patience is slowly wearing thin.

   “If you don’t leave, I’m going to call the police!” she threatens him.

   “Do you want power?” he asks.

   “...What?”

   “You wish to pass judgment to those who sinned. The power which allows you to do it is within you. And this, this can help you with it…”

   “I…”

   Suddenly, those syringes inside the briefcase look extremely tempting. Tomomi slowly gets up and heads to where the man is. By the time she realized, her right hand reached out for one of them…