"That ghost chick is off her rocker," Umi huffed, hugging herself with one arm and resting her chin on the other. "Chika didn't even lay a finger on her. Why's she throwing us under the bus?"
Natsuki's voice was grim. "First it was the guy with glasses, now it's Chika. Seems like the players are the main course."
"There's gotta be a reason," the short-haired gamer girl mused, her eyes suddenly lighting up. "Wait, could that attack on Aki be connected?"
"What if you get the wrong answer and they yank you off the subway at the next stop?"
"Hang on a sec!" Chika's panic was palpable. "Isn't that gonna be me?"
She'd just been singled out by the ghost, and her answers matched the otaku boy's to a T. Was she next on the chopping block?
As they chatted, the subway began to slow, clearly approaching a stop.
"Natsuki, what're we gonna do?" Chika looked over, anxiety written all over her face.
Without a word, Natsuki strode over to the body of the office worker sprawled by the subway door. He crouched down and started rifling through the briefcase.
Papers, a towel, wallet, keys, some weird pill bottle, half a pack of smokes...
"What're you after? Need a hand?" The girls huddled together nervously, hesitant to get too close to the corpse.
"Got it," Natsuki announced, producing a metal lighter.
To activate his combo skills of thug-busting and evil-vanquishing, he needed to see what they were up against. The lighter's flame might be weak, but it'd do for basic illumination.
Chika's eyes lit up as she caught on. "How'd you know he had a lighter?"
"Read a thousand chapters of Detective Comics," Natsuki muttered.
"It's the fingers, right?" Umi chimed in excitedly. "Happens all the time in Conan. Heavy smokers get yellow stains from the cigs."
"Bingo." Natsuki shot her an approving look. "Nice catch, Oni."
"It's Umi, not the Minotaur Leader!" she retorted.
As they bantered, the subway slowed further. A weird buzzing filled the air, and darkness descended once more.
Natsuki didn't hesitate, flicking the lighter. A faint, eerie blue flame sputtered to life, offering a sliver of visibility.
"Was worried it wouldn't light," Chika sighed in relief, inching closer to Natsuki.
But then...
A ghostly whisper tickled their ears, followed by an icy chill. The feeble flame flickered and died.
"The guy who blew out the lighter was inside the subway!" Natsuki's face darkened.
The doors hadn't opened yet. How the hell did someone get in?
Without hesitation, Natsuki spun around and pulled Chika close. No way was he letting her get snatched. If she vanished, they might never find her again.
Silently, he called out to the guardian spirit slumbering in his heart: 'Shimizu, it's go time! Even if you can't fight, at least be a human shield, will ya?'
In the darkness, Natsuki could feel Chika pressed against him. She was... more well-endowed than he'd imagined. The scent of her shampoo mixed with hints of milk, fruit, and cake tickled his nose.
'Girls are made of sugar, spice, and everything nice.' Whoever came up with that clearly had Chika in mind.
The secretary was just as nervous, clinging tightly to Natsuki's waist. Her warm, quick breaths fell on his neck. Neither of them cared about the awkwardness – this was life or death.
A moment later, the subway lights flickered back on.
"Did... did nothing happen?" Umi sighed in relief.
"Maybe hugging prevents ghost attacks?" the gamer girl theorized. "Or was it Natsuki's answer?"
"Glad you're okay," Natsuki muttered, slowly releasing Chika.
Her hair was a mess, her breathing rapid, her face flushed.
As they talked, a hand shot out and grabbed Umi's wrist.
"You touched me?" the ghost hissed.
'Seriously? Can't you come up with new material?' Natsuki thought.
Realizing she was the new target, Umi's face went pale. She glanced at Natsuki, hesitated, then decided to follow his lead:
"You're the one who groped me... you subway perv!"
The ghost's grip tightened, blood and tears streaming from its eyes. "You're slandering me without proof."
Natsuki could barely keep from facepalming. 'You're using my own words against me! At least do it right!'
"What now?" Umi asked nervously. "She's not playing fair!"
"Who says there's no evidence?" Natsuki's voice rang out.
"I just saw your thighs are covered in inspirational quotes!"
"...Your thighs are covered in positive words," Natsuki declared, pointing.
Everyone's eyes snapped to the ghost, even the other spectral passengers. Only the last two kept their heads down.
"Impossible! You're talking nonsense!" The ghost released Umi, stumbling back. "There's no way I have positive words on my legs."
"You're panicking," Natsuki said coolly. "If there's nothing there, why so flustered?"
"There's a limit to slander." The ghost's face twisted with rage. She slowly began lifting her skirt. "I'll prove it right now."
Chika quickly covered her face with her hands, peeking through her fingers.
"Why are you covering your eyes?" Natsuki asked, exasperated. "She's not a guy."
"Oh, right." Chika nodded, then suddenly stood on her tiptoes to cover Natsuki's eyes instead. "Don't look, Natsuki! No peeking at anything indecent!"
'It's just thighs, for crying out loud!' Natsuki thought.
Suddenly, Umi gasped. "Hey, wait a sec... there really are words!"
"So many of them!"
Chika's curiosity got the better of her. She whipped her head around, eyes widening. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven... wow, that's a lot!"
Natsuki tilted his head to look. The ghost had lifted her skirt, revealing pale, lifeless thighs between her stockings and hemline.
Sure enough, her thighs were covered in identical characters, each the same size – as if they'd been printed on.
"Who writes 'normal' all over their thighs?" Natsuki stood up, pointing accusingly. "You really are a subway perv!"
"Impossible!" The ghost's bloody eyes darted around in panic. "How did those get there? You must have done something, human!"
"Don't soil my good name," Natsuki raised his hands innocently. "Everyone saw I didn't lay a finger on you."
The ghost reeled from the shock, releasing Umi completely. She seemed terrified of something unseen.
Umi let out a relieved sigh, glancing curiously at Natsuki. "What's the deal with those characters?" she whispered.
The short-haired gamer girl leaned in too, her face full of curiosity.
There was no doubt the characters on the ghost's thighs were Natsuki's doing. He wasn't just unafraid of these vengeful spirits – he was messing with them, making them question their very existence. Was he some kind of ghost-busting pro?
Natsuki just shrugged. "Hey, I didn't write those words."
Only Chika caught on to the truth. Her eyes sparkled, but she bit back her words, realizing this wasn't the time for a dramatic reveal.
After walking for what felt like ages, Natsuki was beat. He was about to plop down for a rest when his brow furrowed.
[After careful observation, you noticed no one was sitting. You decided to remain standing like everyone else.]
Thud.
Umi had already sat down, rubbing her heels. "Ugh, these high heels are killing me..."
"Get up. Now." Natsuki's voice was low and urgent.
"Huh?" Umi looked confused.
"Umi, listen to Natsuki," Chika said quickly, tugging at her friend's arm. "Come on, stand up!"
Since this whole ghost train mess started, Natsuki's instincts had been spot-on. Chika trusted him completely. As she pulled Umi to her feet, she whispered to Natsuki:
"What's wrong?"
"It's the midnight subway," Natsuki murmured, "but none of the passengers are sitting down."
The three girls froze, then slowly looked around at the ghostly passengers. Sure enough, every single one was standing.