CHAPTER 24- A... special test? Part 4.

(Pov- Yuki.)

A delicious smell woke me up.

A smell that reminds me... of my mother... The food my mother prepared for me when I was alive... A... nostalgic smell.

I opened my eyes and yawned, as I got up from the couch.

I followed the smell to the kitchen.

As I walked in, I saw Saik splitting a cake... Seeing him with an apron on reminded me of my mother... I must stop thinking about her... Saik and I are the same. His parents are dead and I can't see my mother again.

... Saik became my only family... And he considers me his family, too.

I must put the past behind me.

"Good night, Saik."

I couldn't help yawning, I'm still very sleepy... Huh?!

Why did you put a slice of cake in my mouth, Saik...?! It's delicious! Everything is forgiven!

"You look adorable when you yawn."

Ah... I forgot Saik's habit of giving sweets to adorable people.

Fufu. At least I'm lucky enough to be considered adorable.

"A new cake? It's delicious...! Although I prefer the cake you made today."

"It's in the fridge, but I thought eating the same flavor would be boring. I bought a strawberry one. Have a seat, Yuki, food is ready."

I sat at the table and Saik put a plate of pasta in front of me.

The delicious smell of the sauce makes my mouth start salivating.

It smells so delicious!

I want to eat already...! But it wouldn't be polite of me to eat first, I must wait for Saik.

He sat in front of me and closed his eyes for two seconds.

"Ready, you can eat."

Ah... I forgot about the offering.

I took a fork and started eating.

Feeling the taste of the food in my mouth makes my heart race.

This taste is so... delicious.

Saik surprises me with his food every day!

And to think that when I met him, he cooked very badly.

I can't say he has natural talent, because that would be unfair. I've seen him studying and watching cooking tutorials. He has improved his cooking thanks to something called "effort" and "hard work."

“By the way, Yuki, I need you to help me with something."

Ah... It is easy to know what he is going to ask me.

"You want me to help the soccer and basketball teams win, sabotaging the rival team? Sure, okay."

"Wow, it was easier than I thought."

"Cheating is bad, but I'd rather help you. Besides, I know that even if I tell you I won't help you, you'll find a way to cheat. I'd rather help you and earn a reward in return."

"Oh... That side of you I like... Okay, this is the plan."

•

•

(Pov- Sylphie.)

It has been a long time since I enjoyed a dinner with my mother.

A dinner without discussions... A quiet dinner.

She has changed a lot. She became a better version of herself and is more confident.

... Huh?

She is smiling while reading a message that arrived on her smartphone.

D-does she...?

"Mother... Are you dating someone?"

"D-dating?! N-no! H-he's j-just a friend."

"Oh... Fufu. And you're interested in him? This is your chance, Mother, you must meet someone. You deserve to be happy again."

My father died many years ago, I would accept my mother dating another man.

"No... It is impossible for me to date him."

"You're not ugly, Mother."

"That's not why... He's very... No... Forget it, please... And how was school, Sylphie?"

She is changing the subject... Why does she say it is impossible?

•

•

Meanwhile, Saik was lying in his bed, texting Sylphie's mother.

“I guess her self-esteem is improving... I must stay like this for a while longer."

And so, Saik enamored both mother and daughter.

•

•

(Pov- Saik.)

A new day of school has begun. Tuesday, one of the least popular days of the week.

For me, every day is the same, none is better than another.

Well, let's go.

I took my backpack and left the house with Yuki, ready for a new day of... Of...

—... "This feeling ..."

Something evil... An evil ghost is planning something bad.

... The user is acting... I must discover their identity.

•

•

Today is Tuesday, a new day has begun.

And for Cristal, it's a great day, because today her friends invited her to the beach. She will go to the beach after a long time.

"See you tomorrow! Goodbye, mother!"

"Be careful, Cristal."

She said goodbye to her mother and left home for school.

At the bus stop, she met up with two of her friends and they started talking about girl's stuff about their age. "Did you do the homework?" "Did you buy a bathing suit?" "Did your breasts grow?"

Common questions from a common conversation.

As they spoke, Saik walked past them, across the street.

Cristal realized that and was curious, because Saik was very far from the school, and considering the direction he is taking, he is moving further and further away.

As the curious girl she is, she decided to go and ask him.

"How long before the bus passes?"

"Mmm... 5 minutes."

"Perfect. I'll go say hello to a friend!"

Although Saik only considers her a girl with whom he plays a game, he does not consider her a friend.

Like the fast girl she is, she caught up with Saik and started walking beside him.

"Where are you going, Saik? Will you miss classes?"

"Ah... Hello, Cristal. I'll just go buy some things."

"But you will be late for school."

"Mmm... Yes... I guess so... I don't think I should be overconfident with the points I have."

She realized that the bus was approaching the stop.

"Come on, we'll be late for school, the bus is coming!"

Saik felt a chill as he watched Cristal run toward her friends.

"It is here..."

He headed toward Cristal as the bus approached the stop.

He stood next to her and turned to look at the bus which, although it was somewhat far away, Saik could realize that its speed was too much, something was not right.

—...

Cristal talked to her friends and none of them realized what was going on.

On the bus, the driver had a look identical to Saik's. A look that reflects nothing. An expressionless face.

"My wife cheated on me... My son is not my real son... My life is ruined..."

He discovered his wife with another man and with a blood test he discovered that his son is not his real son.

Devastated, all he wants is to die... And since he doesn't want his death to be insignificant and nobody to remember him, he wants to do something that makes everyone remember his death.

On the bus, after picking up the people, he killed them.

And now he's about to commit suicide, crashing the bus with some students, and to his bad luck, one of those students is Saik.

"H-hey... I-isn't it going too fast?"

They realized it too late.

The bus was too close, they couldn't react in time.

But Saik had the reflexes necessary to react.

He waited until the bus was too close and when the girls started screaming and closing their eyes in fear, Saik simply hugged all three and jumped backwards, crashing into a wall.

The bus destroyed the bus stop and crashed into the wall next to them.

They were unharmed and Saik took out his smartphone to call the police.

"Hi... Yes... I want to report an accident. My name is Sato."

None of the girls heard it, because they're trying to process what just happened.

He knew that, so he took the opportunity to give a false name and fake another voice.

Cristal's friends and she were in shock and kept watching Saik.

It took them a few seconds to realize that Saik saved their lives.

"Yes... All right, here we are... No... We're fine, but I don't know the condition of the passengers..."

"C-Cristal... Th-that boy... saved our lives?"

The three looked at the damage caused by the bus and realized that they would be dead if Saik had not saved them.

"Y-Yes... H-he saved us..."

"Yes... Thank you."

Saik put his smartphone in his pocket and yawned.

"Cristal, I have to go to school, I forgot that I have to meet with my team to discuss that special test. The police will be here soon, so you can' t leave, they need witnesses and I don' t have time. I saved you, so I want you to do me that favor as a thank you. Okay?"

"Y-Yes... Y-yes, it's fine."

"Thank you. By the way, don't say I saved you, just say you managed to dodge the bus. Goodbye."

Saik walked away and all three watched him leave.

"Th-that boy is... great."

"Cristal, do you know him?"

"His name is... Saik ..."

•

•

(Pov- Saik.)

Ah... I was late.

I was planning on stopping him before he crashed, but I didn't calculate right.

"Saik, you were amazing! You saved those girls! Great!!"

—... "I'm sorry, Yuki."

"Eh?"

•

•

The police arrived at the scene and began questions to the witnesses.

"That's all we know."

"Yeah, it just crashed, we couldn't see anything else."

"And it was just you at the stop?"

"And a man, but he had to go to work."

"A man...?"

"We already checked the recordings from the bus camera. The driver went crazy and killed everyone. Those girls were going to be his last victims."

"I will call their families."

•

•

Sayu arrived at the crime scene and checked the security cameras with her smartphone.

—... "Mmm... There's no security camera in this area... The last time Saik was seen was at the mall, buying sweets and meat... The bus security camera only records the inside, nothing can be seen of the outside, it is impossible to know if Saik was there..."

An alert was activated and the image from a security camera appeared on her smartphone.

The image showed Saik eating a hamburger in a coffee shop, which is far away from the crime scene.

"He's far away... Shadow wouldn't risk that much... Ah... I must give up, he is not Shadow."

A call came to her and she answered.

"Do you have the number of the person who called the police?"

"Yes, but the number belongs to a deceased named Danik."

"Tsk. Track that number."

"In fact, we have already found the smartphone... And there are no footprints at all... He wiped out all his trail. And the voice is different from Saik's, we already analyzed the recording of the call."

"Shit…"

•

•

(Pov- Saik.)

I had to modify the memories of those girls and the memories of Yuki... I can only do that one more time.

"Okay..."

I went into the bathroom and pulled out of my pocket a little ghost looking like a grown man.

The bus driver was manipulated by this.

"Why did you make me little, you son of a bitch?! Give me back my normal size!"

"Answer my questions. Where's your owner?"

"I'll never tell you!"

My eyes turned gray.

"Obey."

"My master is at home, having sex with his girlfriends."

"A manipulator, the worst user... Give me his address."

•

•

(Pov- Sylphie.)

Saik missed the first few classes... He won't come to school? Will he have a fever or did he get sick from something?

.... And he lives alone, no one can take care of him or help him... I'd like to visit him, but I don't know his address.

... Will the teacher give me his address if I ask for it?

I hope so... He helps me a lot, I must help him too.

•

•

(Pov- Saik.)

"F-fucking son of a bitch!"

Four women are putting on their clothes while crying.

Ah... That's why I hate rapists.

"My name is White Wolf. You're the one who's capturing ghosts and using them to make people do stupid things and bad things. You've caused many deaths... Ah... You are pathetic... And you have a small member... Rape women to feel more manly... A very disgusting and senseless thought."

I put my foot on this man's head... Fat and disgusting... Ah... The cliché of the NTR... Everyone here has husbands... And this man used his power to control ghosts to manipulate them.

He deserves a slow death.

—... "Oh … Interesting."

All of them are bloodthirsty... This will be fun.

"Hey, number 99, come out."

The legendary ghost number 99 appeared beside me.

The ghost of a grotesque hooded old man, with tentacles coming out of his ears and nose, his skin is rotten, eyes empty and a disgusting smile.

"The legendary ghost of pain."

"Fufu. I haven't been out in a long time... Will this be my victim? That's disgusting... Let me guess. A rapist?"

"Yes."

"Fufu. Perfect, I have total creative freedom."

I bent down and looked him in the eyes... He's crying, this is satisfying.

"In the place where you are going to be, one second here is 1,000,000 years in that place. A totally different dimension. In that place you will suffer all kinds of torture. And when you get used to the pain, you'll forget everything and start to suffer again. Eternal torture."

"N-no, have mercy..."

He began to turn to dust.

"D-don't do it!!!"

He disappeared completely along with 99 and I turned to see the women.

"I know you feel guilty about cheating on your husbands, but you were manipulated, it's not your fault... But I don't know what to tell you... Number 15, come out."

The legendary ghost of hope appeared beside me.

"Talk to him."

He's the most qualified for this.

•

•

I left 15 talking to those women and visited the bus driver's wife.

I thought it was very cruel that she cheated on that man for so long, she deserves punishment.

Oh … How convenient... She's with her lover... Ah... I hate lies and cheating.

"Number 31."

She appeared in front of me and hugged me.

"Do you need me, love?!"

"You're the one who hates cheating the most."

"Yes, I'm disgusted with liars and cheaters."

"Then I have a work for you."

•

•

Ah... It was difficult, but I made it.

I went into my room and lay on my bed.

I changed my name so the ghost hunter organization wouldn't suspect I'm still here. I put on white clothes and my hair turned red... It was an illusion, but they saw me that way. I used a mask instead of bandages... I think it'll work.

I did all that in five minutes, so I'll be fine. They won't follow my trail, because there's no trail to follow.

I went to a pharmacy to buy fever medicine and returned home.

The ghost hunter that follows me can't suspect anything. My movements were very fast and I took paths where there were no security cameras.

I'll be sure.

"Saik, you're finally here! I was worried. How did you do? Did you manage to get the medicine?"

I modified the memories of Yuki and those girls, it was the best, I can't keep drawing attention... And I erased Yuki's memory so she wouldn't remember the accident, I don't want her to have trauma or memories of something that tragic.

"Yes."

"Sleep, you need to rest. Don't worry, trusty Yuki will take care of you!"

Too much use of legendary ghosts takes a lot of energy and my head starts to warm up.

I've never been sick, but I suffer from physical and mental exhaustion.

I need to rest.

But it was worth it, I took care of eliminating a rapist.

This morning I felt the presence of very powerful evil ghosts, that was nothing normal, that's why I decided to investigate and act on my own... How many people with the power to see ghosts naturally exist? I don't know... But I hope I never see any of them again.

They are the most powerful users of that power. Those who gain that power artificially are nothing compared to those who can see ghosts naturally like me.

... Huh?

My smartphone started ringing? I hope they don't suspect me, I did my best to hide my presence from the crime scene. I even used another smartphone so they wouldn't know I made that emergency call.

I took out my smartphone... Ah... It's just Sylphie.

I answered the call.

"Hi, Sylphie."

"H-hello, Saik... I-I heard you were sick."

"You could say I'm between life and death."

I've always liked to think that a part of me is dead and that's why I can see ghosts. A disturbing thought, but I like it.

"S-seriously?!"

... She sounded very worried. She didn't get the joke?

"I'm sorry, it was a joke. I'm fine, I just have a fever."

—... C-can I go to your house?"

"To my house?"

"I-I just want to bring your homework to you!"

"Ah... Yeah, thanks, I'd appreciate it. The teacher only took 10 points off me for missing school because I was sick, so you don't have to worry that I lost a lot of points."

"I'll bring you some hot food."

"Don't worry, I've got pizza and hamburgers here..."

"Y-you must eat something more nutritious to make you better!"

... That reminded me of when my mother scolded me for eating junk food.

"Oh... It is true… But don't worry, I have the necessary ingredients here, then I'll cook something."

"I-I'll cook you something. You need rest.”

“Really?”

"Y-yes."

"Ah... Thank you very much, Sylphie."

Well... Having company won't be so bad.

•

•

(Pov- Sylphie.)

T-The house of Saik is... big.

... It must be lonely having such a big house and living alone.

"Great, Saik's house is huge!"

"Will he rent it or will it be his?"

"That is not important."

The members of our team came with me.

That's good, Saik needs company.

Although I would have liked to be alone with him... Noooo! I-I must ignore my selfish and dirty thoughts! S-Saik is just a friend I just met, it's impossible that what I feel is love!

I knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

I hope he doesn't try too hard to get up.

The door opened and... my heartbeat accelerated.

"Everyone from the team came, huh? Thanks for coming, I'd rather avoid misunderstandings. Come on in."

S-Saik in black clothes.

His shirt is tight, highlighting his perfect body and arms.

... W-wait... D-do I...? Do I feel excited?! I'm not a pervert! I am not!

Leaving those dirty thoughts behind, I walked into his house... A very clean house... He has many video games, several consoles and many books... Mangas, light novels, study books... He seems to like reading a lot.

"Great, you've got the full Zombie X saga!"

"And you also have all the volumes of my favorite light novel!"

Naok and Bell seem very excited.

Is that so incredible...?

Huh?

Ludius... That look he has on Saik's ass... That expression... D-do he...?

I-I better not think about it.

"You can play while I prepare the food."

"W-wait, Saik, you need to rest."

"I'll be fine, I'm out of fever."

“Really?”

Ludius stepped in front of me and put his forehead with Saik's forehead.

If only I were braver, I would have done it...

"You're boiling! Saik, you must rest!"

"Ah... l guess you are right."

I approached him and touched his forehead with my hand.

H-he's boiling!

"We need to get you to a hospital!"

"It's not necessary, this happens to me from time to time, I'm already used to it."

"B-but rest at least. I'll prepare the food."

—... "Ok... Thank you, Sylphie... By the way, there is cake in the refrigerator, you can eat whatever you want."

Saik lay down on the couch.

"Well, I'll play a little... Naok, pass me a control."

"Perfect, here!"

... How cute he looks playing... Ahhhh! I barely know him, I barely know him!

I-I better be distracted cooking.

I went into the kitchen... I-it's a nice kitchen... He has many utensils... Does Saik love to cook?

I opened the refrigerator... Wow... It's literally full... Saik eats so much? He even has cakes... I forgot he loves sweets.

I have everything I need to prepare the food.

What should I cook? It must be something Saik likes.

"Sylphie, you cook very good, you'd make a great wife."

Uwaaaah! Why did I imagine Saik telling me that?!

I-I must control myself.